Find Healing, Find Freedom

I recently met with a young woman who was undergoing post-trauma counseling. We spoke about our respective backgrounds – she had very minimal Jewish upbringing - and eventually segued into a discussion of Jewish spirituality.

Given her personal struggle, the woman asked me to encapsulate a Jewish view on ‘healing’.

I should have been prepared for the question; I should have had a handy sound-bite to deliver. But, frankly, I wasn’t and I didn’t.

I took a deep breath and thought to myself: “How would the Rebbe (Rabbi Schneersohn, of blessed memory) view this precious, suffering soul? How would the Rebbe bring comfort to her troubled spirit?”

Then, I exhaled and replied:

When someone needs healing, it implies some dysfunction. Something is fractured or misfiring.

So the first step is to recognize that you aren’t a walking disorder; you’re a person with a disorder.  

Tragic as someone’s affliction may be, one should be careful not to over-identify with the problem.  .

So, the first step in spiritual/emotional healing is to put the dysfunction in its proper place. It’s a problem you have; but it’s not you per se.

In fact, at a soul level, you actually transcend your disability.

When I say ‘soul level’, I mean: We are each, in essence, ‘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.

So, one’s Divine raison d’ etre, and one’s inner toolbox, is the soul - one’s true identity.

No matter what you’ve experienced, your soul – deep within - is still whole. So, you have reason for hope; it’s the hope that you can ‘unpack’ – albeit incrementally – that whole and healthy you, and make it part of your functional personality.

And that is the beginning of healing. When we recognize that there is a part of us which no one can touch, let alone damage, and that we are destined to lead a life of significance, notwithstanding the problems we have. Then, we have begun to heal.

But first you need to recognize your inner, healthy, you.

On a weekend when we celebrate liberty and freedom, let’s take the opportunity to liberate our healthier selves, and live free.