In my very early years as a Rabbi, I met with a young woman who was undergoing post-traumatic counseling. We eventually segued into a discussion of Jewish spirituality, and the woman asked me to encapsulate a Jewish view on ‘healing’.
I should have been prepared for the question, but I wasn’t.
I took a deep breath and thought: “How would the Rebbe view this precious, suffering soul? How would the Rebbe bring comfort to her troubled spirit?”
Then, I exhaled and shared my thoughts:
When someone searches for healing, they are acknowledging that there is some dysfunction, some misfiring aspect, in their persona. But that disorder isn’t the PERSON per se, it is an unwanted intruder within them. One’s affliction may loom very large, but one should be careful not to over-identify with the problem.
The problem is a challenge, sometimes a very serious one. But it isn’t the person’s essential identity.
“In fact,” I explained to this woman, “at a deeper soul level, you actually transcend your disability.”
We are each ‘a piece of G-d’, an extension of the Divine, brought into the human condition to fulfill a purpose. And we’re equipped with what we need to fulfill that purpose.
One’s Divine raison d’etre, and one’s inner toolbox, is one’s soul - one’s true identity.
No matter what one has experienced, their soul – deep within - is still whole, so there is always reason for hope.
Healing for a person requires identification and acknowledgment of their affliction. But first, they need to recognize their inner – healthy – self. He or she has an inner identity that no one can touch, let alone damage. He or she has a deeper self, a G-dly soul, that is always aligned with the life of significance that they are destined to lead, notwithstanding the challenges.
We can find spiritual health and balance when we actualize and liberate – albeit incrementally –that healthy soul from the bondage of the affliction.
On a weekend when we celebrate liberty and freedom in this incredible country, let us take the opportunity to find inner freedom by taking steps to liberate our healthier selves.
G-d bless America, where we have so much opportunity to live free in all dimensions, true freedom.