The Motives of a Critic

Art: Norman Rockwell

Source: Based on Likutei Sichos, Lubavitcher Rebbe

Parshas Pinchas

The tribes appeared to have convincing proof that Pinchas' motives were not pure [Rashi] but they were mistaken. This teaches us a powerful lesson whenever we are tempted to find fault with another person's good deeds and question their motives.  One can never know another's true intentions.  So long as a person is doing good, he should not be put down or mocked, even if one has a "solid" proof that the person is insincere. And in any case, even if it were true, and the person indeed had ulterior motives, we are taught always to study Torah and perform mitzvos even for the wrong reasons, since in this way one will eventually come to have pure motives.

A deeper question here is: Where does the desire come from to find fault in people who are doing something good?  In our case, the tribes appeared to have holy intentions: they were concerned that Pinchas had slighted the honor of Moshe by taking the law into his own hands.  Similarly, a person may imagine that he has a low tolerance for other people's bad intentions because he himself is humble, and thus he finds the pride of others distasteful.

In truth, however, the reverse is likely the case.  The fact that a person criticizes the good deeds of another is probably because the critic himself is proud and does not like the idea that somebody else accomplished something that he did not.  Of course, he will not admit this, even to himself, because his pride makes him lazy, and recognizing that somebody else has accomplished something makes it more uncomfortable to remain lazy.  Therefore, his arrogance leads him to put down the other person's good deeds, so they do not wound his pride or inspire him to be a better person, which would require effort.

Furthermore, even if somebody's mitzvah observance does have overtones of haughtiness, the critic's pride is nevertheless more distasteful.  For, ultimately, the person who "showed off" with his mitzvah was at least honest about his pride, and did not attempt to conceal it.  The critic, however, cannot tolerate the truth that he too is proud, and he thus stoops to dishonesty, veiling his pride in a "cloak" of humility and righteous indignation.

The lesson is obvious: It is much wiser to be an activist than a critic.  For a little pride can make criticism destructive, rather than constructive, but a good deed always remains good, regardless of the intention.

Conflict, Strife and Tzaddikim

Art: Jacek Yerka

Source: Rebbe Nachman's Wisdom by Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov

The Talmud teaches "In the future, G-d will grant 310 worlds to each Tzaddik".

Each Tzaddik builds his 310 worlds through conflict. Every word of strife is a stone. The letters of the words are called "stones". Thus the Sefer HaYetzirah states: "two stones build two houses...."

Words of strife are built of slippery stones.

Strife is maChLoKes. Slippery is meChuLaKim.

Stones created through strife are therefore slippery and cannot be joined. However, a Tzaddik can join these slippery stones. He can then build them into houses.

He makes peace between these stones, arranging them and joining them together until a house is built. This is the peaceful home.

The Tzaddik builds a peaceful home out of these slippery conflicting stones. Out of these houses he then builds a city, then a universe, until all 310 worlds are completed.

It is written [Prov. 8:21] "That I may give those who love Me substance".

"Substance" is YeSH [yud shin] - adding up to 310. These are the 310 worlds.

A Tzaddik inclines to the side of kindness. He even presumes the merit of those who oppose him.

The world cannot endure the light of a Tzaddik. Those who oppose the Tzaddik obscure his light enough so that the world can hear it.

A truly great Tzaddik must also face many judgments and accusations on high. Those who oppose him silence these judgments and accusations.

A man is on trial for a serious offence. Suddenly, another person becomes filled with zeal and says "I will judge him myself and take vengeance on him".

The others who wanted to bring the defendant to judgment are then silenced.

There are times when the defendant would find it impossible to endure the judgment of his original adversaries. The one who wishes to take personal vengeance is then actually doing him a favour.

It is better for him to endure the judgment of the individual than that of the many. He can bear the former, but the latter would be too much for him.

It is written [Num 25:11] "Pinchas.... turned My wrath away from the children of Israel when he took my revenge among them, and I did not destroy them."

Pinchas killed the sinner Zimri, taking the judgment into his own hands. Had he not done this, the Jewish people would have been sentenced to annihilation. But because Pinchas took G-d's vengeance into his own hands, the accusation against the Jews was silenced.

A man stands up against a Tzaddik. He says "I will act against him! I will show him my strength and revenge!"

This man is actually silencing all other judgments against the Tzaddik.

There is another benefit that comes from such conflict. Before a Tzaddik can rise from one level to the next, he is first tested. [Sh'mos Rabbah 2:3] Those who can advance are called "those who have the power to stand in the King's palace".

11 and The Equation of Life

Hat tip: Joe

A video from Rabbi Pinchas Winston

A Lofty Trait

Art: "Be Still and Know" - Melanie Crawford

"He perceived no iniquity in Yaakov" [Balak 23:21]

R' Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev remarked: 

Hashem, to Whom everything is revealed and known, does not look at the sins of a Jew, as the verse states: "He does not look [lo hibit] at the iniquity in Yaakov".

If this is the way of Hashem, how much more so is it forbidden for us - flesh and blood - to look at the sins of another Jew!  We, too, must cling to this lofty trait of "He does not look at the iniquity in Yaakov".

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

Believe

 
I heard from my master, the Baal Shem Tov, that "belief" means the mystical attachment of the soul to the Holy One, blessed be He.  [Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Ki Tavo]

When your thoughts cling constantly to G·d, He sends you words to fix yourself and the world.

When you become a chariot for wisdom and your thoughts cling constantly to G·d, as it is written, "to Him you shall cling," [Deut 10:20] the Holy One sends you words to uplift and sweeten in order to fix yourself and the world.  [Degel Machane Ephraim]

The Igros Kodesh

 

Ever since Gimel Tamuz, chassidim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe have been writing letters to the "Igros Kodesh" [Holy Letters] - the 24 volumes of books containing letters written by the Rebbe during his lifetime.   A letter or "pan" is written and a random volume of the Igros is chosen and opened: sometimes a miraculous answer to the question posed is received, and sometimes not.  There is great debate over whether this practice is kosher or not, and also why some people receive answers, and some do not.  

Some Lubavitchers will tell you that it depends on your emunah.  If you believe enough, you will get an answer.  But just as before Gimel Tamuz, sometimes the Rebbe would respond to a question, and sometimes he would not.  The same thing applies to the Igros answers.

Rabbi Yosef Yeshaya Braun [ex-Sydney and now a member of the Crown Hts Beth Din] gives his definitive response to the practice of writing to the Rebbe, via the Igros, for an answer to a question.

Rabbi Braun:

The hardest questions are those having to do with Igros Kodesh.  When people open to an answer in the Igros Kodesh and they come to me with it, I tell them that these are the most difficult questions because I never did shimush (i.e. hands-on rabbinic internship) in this.

I did shimush with my grandfather and other rabbanim in various areas of halacha but with this, there are no clear-cut rules.  There are no “Rules of Igros Kodesh.”  And to a certain extent, it depends on hergesh (feeling).

People are inclined to grasp at signs like the date of the letter or to whom it is addressed.  On the one hand, they have upon whom to rely because to a certain extent, the whole inyan of answers through the medium of the Igros Kodesh is based upon the traditional Jewish practice (which the Rebbe praised), to open a Chumash or another seifer and to look for signs.

On the other hand, we tend not to regard an answer we open to in the Igros Kodesh as merely a sign, but as an answer from the Rebbe.  People write a letter to the Rebbe and expect a response.  So when they come to me with questions about the answers they opened to, I have to see whether there is a clear answer and if there isn’t, I am inclined to think (although there is no doubt that the Rebbe always responds and blesses, impacting the actual events in our lives) that this is because we don’t always receive an answer from the Rebbe in writing.

In several sichos of 5748, the Rebbe said that when questions arise in health matters, to speak to a doctor-friend; in parnasa matters – to knowledgeable friends.  Also, in the sicha of 2 Adar 5748 of “come and let us make an accounting of the world,” it says to refer all questions to three Chassidishe rabbanim.  Does asking the Rebbe questions in the Igros Kodesh contradict this instruction from the Rebbe?

When we talk about writing to the Rebbe, we must differentiate between requests for a bracha and questions on various matters.  The Rebbe told us that we can continue asking him for brachos.  Today, when we cannot ask the Rebbe directly, we should write to the Rebbe for a bracha.  Ditto for reports of our activities – we should continue sending them to the Rebbe.

Requests for brachos using s’farim of the Rebbe is an old Chabad practice.  We know that Chassidim would put panim in a Tanya, like it says explicitly in the Rebbe’s letter for Yud Shevat 5711, that after reading a pan it “should be placed among the pages of a maamer, kuntres etc. of the teachings of the Rebbe, my father-in-law, and sent to him (if possible, that day) so it can be read at his gravesite.”

This was the practice of Chassidim when they needed a bracha immediately and could not contact the Rebbe (because in those days there were no faxes or emails and even telephone service was expensive and not always handy).  They would write their request for a bracha and put it in a volume of the Rebbe’s teachings, with the knowledge that as soon as they did so, the Rebbe received it and gave his bracha.

However, when you want to ask the Rebbe a question and receive a response, in that sicha of 2 Adar 5748 the Rebbe makes it clear that all questions should be referred to three Chassidishe rabbanim.

I was in 770 at the time and I heard that sicha.  The hanacha of the sicha wasn’t written as clearly as the sicha itself was said.  The Rebbe reviewed these guidelines a number of times and it is impossible to explain what the Rebbe said in any other way.

At the time, when the Rebbe said that certain questions should be referred to mashpiim or doctor-friends or knowledgeable friends, there were Chassidim who refused to accept this and they wrote the Rebbe that they wanted to continue asking him directly.  The Rebbe responded that when you follow the guidance of knowledgeable friends, he is conveying his answer through them.  In the years that followed, the Rebbe said that after 40 years, the sensibilities of the talmid become like the sensibilities of the teacher.

Yet people do ask questions using the Igros Kodesh and many open to amazingly precise answers.

There’s no question that after this practice has spread and we see amazing answers from the Rebbe to many people, that this is (as the Chasam Sofer put it) a “mofes chai” (living miracle) and “experience the ultimate witness,” that the Rebbe answers even those who ask him questions.

However, we should not be doing the opposite of what the Rebbe told us to do! And as I said, this is not a horaa that is debatable.  It’s a clear horaa that the Rebbe repeated a number of times in that sicha.  I don’t understand how Chassidim can ignore a clear horaa of the Rebbe.  A Chassid who wants to fulfill the Rebbe’s horaos should do as the Rebbe said and ask his questions according to the guidelines the Rebbe set out.

It is possible that a rav or knowledgeable friends will decide that they cannot answer his question, and will tell him to write to the Rebbe.  In the Igros Kodesh we find that Rabbi Dvorkin was asked about a certain thing, and he said it was a spiritual question and should be asked of the Rebbe.  Although the Rebbe usually refrained from answering halachic questions and referred the questioner to a rav, in this case, the Rebbe responded.

There are however, many Chassidim who write any questions and put them in the Igros Kodesh.  Maybe it’s because they don’t know the Rebbe’s explicit guidelines or for other reasons.  Sometimes the answer they open to isn’t clear, and they go to a rav for him to explain it.  Although the rav has to try and explain it, since they wrote already, he needs to tell them that if they want to fulfill the Rebbe’s horaos, these questions should be asked of Chassidishe rabbanim from the outset.

I’ll put it this way – those who ask the Rebbe questions through the Igros Kodesh are doing this on their own responsibility, while those who ask Chassidishe rabbanim are fulfilling the Rebbe’s horaa.

I’ll emphasize yet again, all of this is just about shailos (questions).  When it comes to requests for brachos (blessings), the Rebbe said we can continue asking him directly and based on the Chabad practice of putting a pan in the pages of the Rebbe’s teachings, we can certainly ask the Rebbe for brachos through the Igros Kodesh.

More from Rabbi Braun's interview at : Chabad.Info

Related: Igros Kodesh Story from Chabakuk Elisha A Simple Jew

Wild Winds batter Sydney

Ferocious windstorms have left a trail of battered homes, trains and blackouts across the Blue Mountains near Sydney.

Severe weather and damaging winds have battered Sydney and surrounding areas.

Felled trees wreaked havoc - blocking roads and rail lines, damaging homes and trains and temporarily cutting water supply.

Read more: Snow on the way and a bedroom in ruins

The Limitations of Black Magic

By: Rabbi Eliyahu Haim Aboud

Probably the greatest sorcerer of all time was the evil prophet Bilaam, who, as the Torah relates, attempted to place a curse on the Jewish people and have them annihilated. The commentaries explain [Ramban in Parashat Balak chapter 22:31] that Bilaam’s extraordinary powers stemmed from his mastery of sorcery and black magic, and not from his abilities as a prophet. In fact, he was not worthy of prophecy at all, and was given prophetic capabilities only for a very brief period. This is why in the Prophets he is referred to as “Bilaam Hakosem–Bilaam the Sorcerer,” with no mention of his prophetic status. According to the Midrash  Bilaam and his two sons were originally the most prestigious advisors and sorcerers of Pharaoh during the period of Bene Yisrael’s enslavement. And many other stories abound of ancient nations who enlisted Bilaam to reveal to them the outcome of their battles and to help them win through his extraordinary mystical powers.

Bilaam acquired his great powers of sorcery directly from the evil angels Aza and Azael. Bilaam visited these two angels every day until he learned all the mystical secrets they knew.

Some sources identify Bilaam with Lavan, Yaakov’s crooked father-in-law, who sought to destroy Yaakov and prevent the emergence of the Jewish people. According to this tradition, Bilaam lived well over 300 years.

Bilaam was killed by Bene Yisrael during the battle of Midyan prior to their entering the land of Israel. The Midrash relates that when the Jews captured Bilaam, he used sorcery to raise himself and the five kings of Midyan high in the air and disappear from sight. (Though the powers of impurity can only be summoned while standing on the ground, once the sorcery is initiated, the subject could use the powers to levitate off the ground for a period of time.) Pinhas, the grandson of Aharon, flew after him by uttering the divine name or, according to others, by directing the name of Hashem written on the tzitz (frontlet) of the kohen gadol towards the airborne Midyanites counteracting Bilaam’s powers of magic. Bilaam and the kings immediately fell to the ground and were then easily killed by Bene Yisrael. Bilaam’s decaying body and tarnished soul transformed into evil spirits, snakes and scorpions, the result of the impurity with which they had been saturated during his lifetime.


Limited Time Span
The commentaries add that objects created by the powers of sorcery cannot remain in existence permanently. These creations can exist for only limited periods of time, after which the laws of nature take hold and return them to their original state. This is why the frogs that descended upon Egypt during the second plague remained in the Nile River after the plague, and did not just disappear. Gd demonstrated to Pharaoh and the Egyptians that His creations can exist indefinitely, as opposed to the creations of magic, which are only temporary.

Sorcery is also subject to limited accessibility. The Zohar writes that the forces of impurity are unable to perform magic from hassot (midnight) at night until midday, whereas Hashem, of course, can overturn the natural order he created anytime He wishes.

Additionally, someone born during the month of Adar II, on a leap year, cannot be affected by magic. This is because he is born in a month which doesn’t have a specific mazal and “doesn’t really exist”. Therefore the magicians have no way of dealing with him. In this vein, when Yehoshua gathered an army to fight Amalek, who came to fight Beneh Yisrael using witchcraft, he purposely chose people who were born in Adar II, to whom these forces take no affect.

To read the entire article click here

Mrs. Mozart, Viktor Frankl and the Lubavitcher Rebbe

by Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson

How a Chassidic Master Affected the Trend of Psychology in the 20th Century

Note: A first and terribly incomplete draft of this article was posted on some websites and blogs. This version below is far more complete and authoritative, finalized after extensive research.  [Shirat Devorah was one of the blogs that published one of the first drafts, so here is the complete version]

Three Lives

This is a story about three remarkable lives which converged, in the most unlikely of circumstances, with extraordinary results. It is a story about a Jewish girl who became an opera singer, performing in front of Adolf Hitler; about a Jewish spiritual and Chassidic master, and a world-famous psychiatrist. [1]

It would have remained a secret if not for a strange phenomenon. The famed Viennese professor Victor Frankl (1905-1997), author of the perennial best-seller Man's Search for Meaning and founder of Logotherapy, would send each year before the High Holidays a donation to Chabad of Vienna. This began in 1981 when Rabbi Jacob and Edla Biderman arrived in Vienna to serve as Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries in Austria and began sending an appeal to all the local Jews along with a Jewish calendar in honor of the upcoming High Holidays.

Nobody in the Chabad center or in the larger Jewish community could understand why. Here was a man who was not affiliated with the Jewish community of Vienna. He did not attend synagogue, not even on Yom Kippur. He was married to a devout Catholic woman. Yet, he would not miss a single year of sending a contribution to Chabad before Yom Kippur.

The enigma was answered only in 1995, two years before Dr. Frankl's death at the age of 92.

I Am the First Emissary

Marguerite Kozenn-Chajes (1909-2000) walked into the office of Rabbi Jacob Biderman, the ambassador of Chabad to Austria, who has since built the magnificent "Lauder Campus" in Vienna, infusing Jewish spirit and life in the country which gave birth to Hitler.

Marguerite, an 85 year old woman, was dressed very classy, and looked youthful and energetic. She told Rabbi Biderman: "I know you think you are the first emissary (shliach) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Vienna; but that is not the case. I have served as the first ambassador of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to this city, many years before you."

From the Chassidim to the Opera

Marguerite began to relate her story.

Her mother's maiden name was Hager. The Hagers were no ordinary Jewish family but descendants of the Rebbes of the famed Vishnitz chassidic dynasty. [2] Marguerite was born in Chernowitz, where she studied to become an opera singer, and then moved to Vienna where her career blossomed. She married a Jewish young man with the family name Chajes. [3] They had a daughter.

Marguerite performed during the 1930's in the Salzburger Festspiele (pronounced: Fest Shpile) -- The Salzburg Festival --a prominent festival of music and drama, held each summer in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

On 12 March 1938, German troops marched into Salzburg. The Anschluss -- the annexation of Austria by Germany -- was now complete, and Nazi ideology immediately began to affect the Salzburg Festival. All Jewish artists were banned, the leading Jewish conductors and composers were removed. Yet Marguerite Chajes was still performing.

For the Festspiele in August 1939, Hitler himself made an appearance at two Mozart operas. He did not know that one of the young women singing majestically was a young Jewess, a scion of a leading Chassidic family, Marguerite Chajes.

Shortly thereafter, the general management made a surprise announcement that the Festival would terminate on 31 August, a week ahead of the scheduled finale on 8 September. The reason was, supposedly, that the Vienna Philharmonic was required to perform at the Nuremberg Party Convention. But the Germans were brilliant deceivers. The true reason became apparent on 1 September when the German army invaded Poland and unleashed the Second World War, exterminating a third of the Jewish people, including Marguerite's family.

On the very night after her performance at the Salzburg Festspiele, close friends smuggled her with her husband and daughter out of Germany to Italy. From there she managed to embark on the last boat to the US before the war broke out just a few days later. Marguerite and her family settled in Detroit, where she became founder and president of the Pro Mozart Society of Greater Detroit, and acquired in her circles the name "Mrs. Mozart."

When she was asked in an interview why does a previously successful soprano work so avidly for the reputation of Mozart? Her answer was: "Because the idea of humanity is nowhere so convincingly expressed as in the work of Mozart."

Years passed. Marguerite's daughter grew up and married a doctor, who, in 1959, was honored at the dinner of a Chabad institution. In conjunction with that occasion, Marguerite had an audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. [4]

"I walked into the Rebbe's room," related Marguerite to Rabbi Biderman, "I cannot explain why, but suddenly, for the first time since the Holocaust, I felt that I could cry. I -- like so many other survivors who have lost entire families -- never cried before. We knew that if we would start crying, we might never stop, or that in order to survive we can't express our emotions. But at that moment, it was as though the dam obstructing my inner waterfall of tears was removed. I began sobbing like a baby. I shared with the Rebbe my entire story: My innocent childhood; becoming a star in Vienna; performing in front of Hitler; escaping to the US; learning of the death of my closest kin.

"The Rebbe listened. But he not only listened with his ears. He listened with his eyes, with his heart, with his soul, and he took it all in. I shared all of my experiences and he absorbed it all. That night I felt like I was given a second father. I felt that the Rebbe adopted me as his daughter."

Two Requests

At the end of my meeting with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, I expressed my strong desire to go back for a visit to Vienna.   Margerata was, after all, a kind of self-appointed "propaganda activist" for Austria and its music and she craved to visit the city of her youth.

The Rebbe requested from me that before I make the trip, I visit him again.

A short while later, en route to Vienna, I visited the Rebbe. He asked me for a favor: to visit two people during my stay in the city. The first was Viennese Chief Rabbi Akiva Eisenberg, and give him regards from the Rebbe (the Rebbe said that his secretariat would give me the address and literature to give to Rabbi Eisenberg.) The second person he wanted me to visit I would have to look up his address myself. The Rebbe said that he headed the Vienna Policlinic of Neurology. His name was Dr. Victor Frankl.

You Will Prevail

"Send Dr. Frankl my regards," the Lubavitcher Rebbe said to me, "and tell him in my name that he should not give up. He should be strong and continue his work, with complete resolve. No matter what, he should not give up. If he remains strong and committed, he will certainly prevail."

Using the German dialect, so Marguerite would understand, the Rebbe spoke for a long time about the messages he wished to convey to Dr. Frankl. Close to forty years later she did not recall all of the details, but the primary point was that Frankl should never give up and he should keep on working to achieve his goals with unflinching courage and determination.

"I didn't understand what the Rebbe was talking about. Who was Dr. Frankl? Why was the Rebbe sending him this message? Why through me? I did not have an answer to any of these questions, but I obeyed."

Marguerite traveled to Vienna. Her visit with Rabbi Eisenberg proved to be a simple task. Meeting Victor Frankl proved far more difficult. When she arrived at the clinic they informed her that the professor had not shown up in two weeks, thus there was no way she could meet him. After a few failed attempts to locate him at the clinic, Marguerite gave up.

Feeling guilty not to fulfill the Rebbe's request, she decided to violate Austrian mannerisms. She looked up the professor's private home address, traveled there and knocked at the door.

A woman opened the door.

"May I see Herr Frankl please?" asked Marguerite.

"Yes. Please wait."

The first thing she caught sight of in the home was a cross, hanging prominently on the wall. (In 1947 Frankl married his second wife, Eleonore Katharina Schwindt, a devout Catholic. They had a daughter Gabriella.)

"It was obvious that this was a Christian home. I thought to myself, that this must be a mistake; this can't be the person whom the Lubavitcher Rebbe wanted me to encourage."

Victor Frankl showed up a few moments later, and after ascertaining that he was the professor, she told him that she had regards for him.

"He was impatient, and frankly looked quite uninterested. It felt very awkward."

"I have regards from Rabbi Schneerson in Brooklyn, New York," Marguerite told him. "Rabbi Schneerson asked me to tell you in his name that you must not give up. You ought to remain strong. Continue your work with unflinching determination and resolve, and you will prevail.

"Do not fall into despair. March on with confidence," Rabbi Schneerson said, "and you will achieve great success."

"Suddenly," Marguerite related, "the uninterested professor broke down. He began sobbing and would not calm down. I did not understand what was going on."

"This Rabbi from Brooklyn knew exactly when to send you here," Dr. Frankl told her. He could not thank her enough for the visit.

"So you see Rabbi Biderman?" Marguerite completed her tale, "I have been an emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Vienna many years before you came around."

Forever Grateful

Rabbi Biderman was intrigued. Victor Frankl was now 90 years of age, and was an international celebrity. He had written 32 books which were ranslated into 30 languages. His book "Man's search for Meaning" has been deemed by the Library of Congress as one of the ten most influential books of the 20th century. What was the behind the Rebbe's message to Victor Frankl?

"I called him a few days later," Biderman recalls, "and asked to meet him. But it was difficult for him to meet me in person. So we spoke over the phone. Initially he sounded impatient and somewhat cold.

"Do you remember a regards Marguerite Chajes brought you from Rabbi Schneerson in Brooklyn," Rabbi Biderman asked Dr. Frankl.

Suddenly, a change in his voice. Dr. Frankl melted. "Of course I remember. I will never forget it. My gratitude to Rabbi Schneerson is eternal." In the actual German words of Dr. Frankl: "Eich vel eim eibek dankbar zein." (I will forever be grateful to him.)

And Victor Frankl confirmed the rest of the story Marguerite had already explained to Rabbi Biderman, which revolves around one of the greatest debates in psychology of the previous century.

In the Camps

Victor Frankl was born in 1905 -- three years after the Lubavitcher Rebbe -- in Vienna.   The young Frankl studied neurology and psychiatry, and in 1923 became part of the inner circle of one of the most famous Jews of the time, Dr. Sigmund Freud, the "Father of Psychoanalysis" who lived and practiced in Vienna.

The "Final Solution" did not skip over the Frankl family.  Dr. Frankl relates in his memoirs of the war years that he had a chance before the war to go to America to write his books and build a reputation. Yet he was confused. Should he pursue his career and abandon his parents or should he remain with them? He arrived home from the American consulate, visa in hand, to find a large block of marble sitting on the table. Recovered by his father from a local synagogue razed by the Nazis, it was, Frankl recalled, a piece from a tablet bearing the first letters of the Commandment, "Honor your father and your mother." He let his visa lapse and stayed.

Victor's mother and father were murdered in Auschwitz; his first Jewish wife, pregnant, was murdered in Bergen Belsen. All of his siblings and relatives were exterminated. Professor Frankl was a lone survivor in Auschwitz (he had one sister who immigrated to Australia before the war.) After the war, he returned to Vienna where he taught neurology and psychiatry.

The Great Debate

Already before the war, and even more so during his three years in the Nazi death camps, Victor Frankl developed ideas which differed radically from Sigmund Freud. Yet the faculty of his department and the academic elite in post-war Vienna consisted of staunch Freudian scholars ("Freudesten," in Frankl's expression).  They defined Frankl's ideas as "pseudo-science."

Freud emphasized the idea that all things come down to physiology. The human mind and heart could be best understood as a side effect of brain mechanisms. Humans are like machines, responding to stimuli from within or from without, a completely physical, predictable and godless machine, albeit a very complicated machine.

Victor Frankl disagreed. He felt that Freud and his colleagues reduced the human being to a mere mechanical creature depriving him or her of his true essence. "If Freud were in the concentration camps," Frankl wrote, "he would have changed his position. Beyond the basic natural drives and instincts of people, he would have encountered the human capacity for self-transcendence. Man is that being who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those chambers upright, with the Shema Yisrael on his lips."

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

He concludes that even in the most severe suffering, the human being can find meaning and thus hope. In his words, "Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how.'" A person was not a son of his past, but the father of his future.

After the war, Frankl returned to Vienna, where he developed and lectured about his own approach to psychological healing. He believed that people are primarily driven by a "striving to find meaning in one's life," and that it is this sense of meaning that enables us to overcome painful experiences. In the second half of his book, Frankl outlines the form of psychotherapy that he developed based on these beliefs, called logotherapy - the treatment of emotional pain by helping people find meaning in their lives.

But in the Academic Vienna of the 40's and 50's they defined Frankl's ideas as fanatic religiosity, bringing back the old, unscientific notions of conscience, religion and guilt. It was unpopular for students to attend his courses; his lectures were shunned.

"My position was extremely difficult," Frankl shared with Rabbi Biderman. "Rabiner Biderman!" Frankl said, "I could survive the German death camps, but I could not survive the derision of my colleagues who would not stop taunting me and undermining my success."

The pressure against Dr. Frankl was so severe, that he decided to give up. It was simply too much to bear. He was watching his life-work fade away. One day, sitting at home, he began drafting his resignation papers and decided to relocate to Australia where his sister lived. In the battle between Freud and Frankl, Freud would at last be triumphant. Soullessness would prove more powerful than soulfulness.

Hope and Resolve

And then suddenly, as he was sitting at his home, downtrodden, in walked a beautiful woman. She sent him regards from a Chassidic master, Rabbi Schneerson from Brooklyn, New York. His message? "Do not dare give up. Do not dare despair. If you will continue your work with absolute determination, you will prevail."

Frankl was stunned. Somebody in Brooklyn, no less a Chassidic Rebbe, knew about his predicament? And what is more -- cared about his predicament? And what is more -- sent someone to locate him in Vienna to shower him with courage and inspiration?

Frankl began to cry. He was deeply moved and felt like a transformed man. It was exactly what he needed to hear. Someone believed in him, in his work, in his contributions, in his ideas about the infinite transcendence and potential of the human person.

"That very moment I knew that I would not surrender. I tore up my resignation papers. New vitality was blown into me. I grew confident and became motivated."

Courage of "One Professor"

The Rebbe, we know from other sources as well, was well versed in the important debate which carried critical ramifications on the future of psychoanalysis and therapy. In a letter from May 31, 1962 (27 Iyar 5722) [5] he laments the fact that some psychiatrists and psychologists feel the need to begin "treating their patients by talking against G-d, against respect for a Higher reality, against respect of a father and mother etc. We need to research and explore how great are the benefits of this type of treatment? And even if this is important, does this approach not backfire as time passes?"

"It is obvious," the Rebbe continues in this letter, "that some doctors have helped and healed their patients in straight ways, especially since one professor found the courage in his soul to declare and announce that - contrary to the opinion of the famous founder of psychoanalysis - the faith in G-d, and a religious inclination in general, which gives meaning to life, etc. etc. is one of the most effective ways of healing etc.

"Nonetheless, due to several reasons, this philosophy has not penetrated the mainstream of these doctors..."

Clearly, the Rebbe is referring to the courage of "one professor," Victor Frankl, to stand up to the Freudian school and declare that discovering meaning in life is the primary cause for well-being and emotional health. As we have seen, part of this courage was inspired by the Rebbe himself.

The Conflict between Religion and Therapy

Why did the academic community dismiss Dr. Frankl?

In a letter dated June 19, 1969 (3rd Tammuz, 5729), to an Israeli psychiatrist, Dr. S. Stern-Mirz in Haifa, concerning one of her patients, the Lubavitcher Rebbe presents one possible reason. [6]

"I would like to take this opportunity to add another point, albeit this is her field, that the medical condition of ........ proves (if proof is needed in this area) the great power of faith - especially when applied and expressed in practical action, community work, observance of mitzvot, etc. - to fortify a person's emotional tranquility, to minimize and sometimes even eliminate inner conflicts, as well as "complaints" one may have to his surroundings, etc.

"This is in spite of the philosophy that faith and religion demand from a person the "acceptance of the yoke" - to restrain and suppress natural instincts and drives - and is, therefore, undesirable for any person, particularly in the case of a person who requires treatment for emotional anxiety.

"I particularly took interest in the writing of Dr. Frankl (from Vienna) in this matter. [7] To my surprise, however, his approach has apparently not been appropriately disseminated and appreciated. Although one can find numerous reasons as to why his ideas are not accepted so much, including the fact that such treatment is related to the personal lifestyle exemplified by the treating doctor, nevertheless the question [as to why it is not appreciated] still remains."

Use Me as a Reference

The Rebbe's relationship with Frankl is evident also from the following episode.

In the early 1970's (around 1973-74), Clive Cohen, studying psychology at the University of Leeds, visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe.  Clive, who began exploring the teachings of Judaism at the Morristown NJ Chabad Yeshiva, asked the Rebbe how to deal with the numerous conflicts between the contemporary study of psychology and the paradigms of Judaism.

The Rebbe suggested that he correspond with Victor Frankl on the matter. "If you wish," the Rebbe added, "you can use my name as a reference." [8]

International Influence

Back to the telephone conversation between the Chabad ambassador to Austria and Dr. Frankl.

"Indeed," Victor confirmed, "the words of Rabbi Schneerson materialized. My work soon began to flourish."

A short while later, Frankl's magnum opus "Man's Search for Meaning" was translated into English (first under a different title). It became an ongoing bestseller to this very day and has been deemed as one of the most influential books of the 20th century.The professor's career began to soar. The once-scoffed-at professor became one of the most celebrated psychiatrists of a generation. "Man's Search for Meaning" has been translated into 28 languages and has sold over 10 million copies during his life time. Frankl became a guest lecturer at 209 universities on all five continents, held 29 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, and received 19 national and international awards and medals for his work in psychotherapy.

His brand of therapy inspired thousands of other books, seminars, workshops, new-age and spiritual groups, which have all been based on Frankl's ideas of the unique ability of the human to choose its path and discover meaning in every experience. From Scot Peck's "Road Less Traveled" to Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits," and hundreds of other bestsellers during the last 30 years, all of them were students of Victor Frankl's perspectives.

Victor Frankl concluded his story to Rabbi Biderman with these words stated above: eich vel eim eibek dankbar zein, I will eternally be grateful to him, to the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Chabad Is a Good Cause...

Not knowing who he was talking to, Victor Frankl added:

"A number of years ago Chabad established itself here in Vienna. I became a supporter. You too should support it. They are the best..."

Finally, Rabbi Biderman understood why he was getting a check in the mail each year.

Indeed, during a conversation with Rabbi Biderman, Frankl's non-Jewish son-in-law, Professor Alexander David Vesely, related that his mother-in-law, Eleonore Frankl, shared with him that her husband spoke of the Rabbi with "great respect."

Marguerite, who lived out her final years in Vienna, has become a close friend to Chabad in Austria. "She rediscovered her Chassidic roots, and became deeply involved in our work," Rabbi Biderman relates. She died in March 2000 and was interred in the Jewish cemetery in her beloved Vienna.

Daily Prayers

The story, though, is not over.

When Dr. Frankl was asked about faith in G-d, he regularly gave an ambiguous answer. Throughout his years he never displayed any connection to Jewish faith or practice.

Yet in 2003, Dr. Shimon Cowen, an Australian expert on Frankl, went to visit his non-Jewish widow, Eleonore, in Vienna.She took out a pair of tefilin (phylacteries) and showed it to him.

"My late husband would put these on each and every day," she said to him.

Then she took out a pair of tzitzis (fringes) he made for himself to wear.

At night in bed, the widow related, Victor would recite the book of Psalms. [9]

Indeed, Haddon Klingberg, author of "When Life Calls Out To Us: the love and lifework of Viktor and Elly Frankl", the only authorized biography of Viktor and Eleonore ("Elly"), writes:

"After his death I asked Elly if he actually made these prayers every day. "Absolutely. He never missed a day. Every morning for more than fifty years. But nobody knew this." As they traveled the globe Viktor took the phylacteries with them, and everywhere, every morning, he prayed. He uttered memorized words of Jewish prayers and Psalms."

"After Viktor died I saw his phylacteries for the first time. Elly had placed them in the little cubicle with his few simple possessions..."

Frankl's son-in-law also confirmed this fact to Rabbi Biderman: "My father-in-law would close himself off in a room every day for a little while. Once I opened the door and saw him with black boxes on his head and hand. He was annoyed about my intruding on his privacy. When he was taken to the hospital, however, his practice of putting on tefillin became public." [10]

It seems that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was determined to help Dr. Frankl get this message out to the world: We really do have a soul; the soul is the deepest and most real part of us; and that we will never be fully alive if we don't access our souls.

________________

Footnotes

[1] For this essay I personally interviewed Rabbi Yaakov Biderman. The quotes in the story are not verbatim but completely accurate in content.

[2] Vishnitz was founded by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager in the 19th century. Vizhnitz is the Yiddish name of Vyzhnytsia, a village in present-day Ukraine. Followers of the Rebbe's of Vizhnitz are called Vizhnitzer Chasidim. Today its main centers are in Benei Berak, Israel and in Monsey, NY.

[3] He was a grandson of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Chajes (צבי הירש חיות), who lived from 1805 till 1855, was one of the foremost Galician Talmudic scholars. He is best known for his work Mevo Hatalmud (Introduction to the Talmud), which serves both as commentary and introduction, as well as for his commentary on the actual Talmud. He was the nephew of Rabbi Zvi Peretz Chajes, who served as chief Rabbi of Vienna, from 1918 till his death in 1927. Another uncle was the publisher of the famous "Kozenn Atlas."

[4] Rabbi Sholom DovBer Shem Tov, the Chabad ambassador to Michigan, confirmed to me in a telephone conversation that he had some relationship with Chabad during those years. He did not recall details.

[5] Published in Igros Kodesh vol. 22 p. 227.

[6] Published in Igros Kodesh vol. 26 p. 156.

[7] One episode to illustrate this: A religious Jewish psychiatrist, Jacob Greenwald (today in Jerusalem), related that he was once invited by the Lubavitcher Rebbe for a visit. The Rebbe wanted to know if he was familiar with the writings of Victor Frankl and if they could be integrated into A Torah perspective of therapy. Greenwald was surprised of how familiar the Rebbe was with Frankl's works, "especially due to the fact that to the best of my knowledge his writings were available at the time only in German and Portuguese." (Related by Greenwald to Moshe Palace, who shared this episode with me. Palace did acknowledge that he heard this from Greenwald many years ago and would need to re-confirm details.)

[8] Mr. Moshe Palace (Monsey, NY) related this episode to me. He heard it directly from Mr. Cohen when the latter left the Rebbe's room.

[9] Rabbi Dr. Shimon Cowen shared all of these details with me in an e-mail exchange.

[10] Rabbi Leib Blatner, from Chabad of Arizona, related to me that during one Friday night dinner he was graced with a visit by Dr. Frankl's non-Jewish grandson. He, too, confirmed that his grandfather donned tefilin each day. Even when he went to the hospital, he would take them with him. "As he was taken for the final time to the hospital where he died, he told me he does not need them. I was surprised. Apparently he felt that this was the end.

Israel on Obama's Agenda

US President Barack Obama will visit Israel, US ambassador to Israel James B. Cunningham told Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday.

"The president wants to visit and he will do so," Cunningham told Rivlin. Though he did not specify a date for the visit, Cunningham said it was on Obama's agenda.

Rivlin told Cunningham that "Israelis sense that the atmosphere in the White House has changed for the worse. The feeling is that Obama views Israel as a burden more than as a strategic asset."

Source: JPost

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a stone of burden for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it."    Zechariah 12:3

For the Sake of Heaven

 
"How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!" [Balak 24:5]

Rashi writes that Bilam was inspired by the Jewish tents "because he saw that the entrances were not opposite each other".

The arrangement of tents alludes to scholars convening together to discuss matters of Torah, each one offering his own interpretations.  Then, if their "entrances" - meaning their mouths - are "opposite each other" i.e. their intention is to show that their own ideas are superior than those of the others, then woe to them and their souls!  

But if their intentions are for the sake of Heaven, then they are certainly deserving that the Divine presence should rest with them.

Based on Ohr Torah of the Mezritcher Maggid

The End of the World According to the Torah

The World is changing rapidly - how will it end?

There is a Master Plan - Blueprint of Creation:

THE TORAH

An amazing site which is still under construction [there have been a lot of updates since the last time I linked to it], well worth a visit, as it explains in easy-to-understand language how the world will change in the days of Moshiach:  watch the video and then click onto About Moshiach to start reading. Maybe a lot of hits on the site will spur him on to finish it even faster.

The End of the World from itamar hatzvi on Vimeo.

Sparks

 

"A star will shoot forth from Jacob, and a staff will arise from Israel" [Balak 24:17]

Rambam understood the verse above as referring to King David and Moshiach.  The Jerusalem Talmud, however, uses the metaphor of a "star" in this verse to refer to even the ordinary Jew. 

At first glance, this appears to be a contradiction, for Moshiach represents the highest perfection possible in a human being, whereas the "ordinary" Jew includes every Jewish person, even the most simple.  However, the matter can be reconciled based on the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that every Jew contains within him a "spark" of the soul of Moshiach.  The verse therefore refers to both Moshiach himself and the "Moshiach" within us.

The presence of this "spark" of Moshiach has a twofold implication:

a) The verse states the star will "shoot forth" suggesting that one's personal spark of Moshiach should be revealed and "shoot out" into the world;

b) Every Jew is able to speed up and bring about the actual manifestation of Moshiach through revealing his own spark and adding in Torah and Mitzvot.

Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Alef and Elula

Two babies and two unique names.

Actress Isla Fisher and partner Sacha Baron Cohen have named their second baby girl Elula.  More here

Isla Fisher and baby Elula

Unconfirmed reports say that actress Natalie Portman and partner Benjamin Millepied have named their baby boy Alef. More here

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millipied

Gimel Tamuz and Why I Blog

 

Today is Gimel Tamuz, the 17th yarzheit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.   The only reason I continue to blog every day is because of a dream I had back in 2007, where the Lubavitcher Rebbe appeared.  It was the second time I'd dreamt of the Rebbe: the first dream was in 1996 and literally saved my life. And although I am not an official "lubavitcher", I obviously have a very strong connection to the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

In 2007 I'd gone to bed thinking about what I should do about a certain situation on the internet, where a non-Jew had a hugely successful website, teaching Torah laced with spiritualism, and in the process duping hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting Jews [me being one of them]...... 

In the dream I was about to light Shabbat candles, and the Rebbe came into the room and lit them for me.  I understood the message that was being sent to me - that once again the Rebbe would take care of the problems I would experience along the way..... and there were many problems - I was stalked, I had death threats, they hired lawyers to sue me...but in the end the blog I made at that time succeeded in shutting down the fake Jewish site - although the author of it has since returned to the web, he is now honest about who and what he is.

So while many people tell me I should "get off the internet", I'm afraid I can't.  This is what I'm meant to be doing, at least until I'm informed otherwise.  And sometimes it's very difficult, and sometimes I want to delete the whole site......and for those who remember, I did delete it last year.... and then had to put it back together :) - but ultimately I know the Rebbe is there in the background, giving me the strength I need to continue..... until Moshiach comes, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later.

More on the Rebbe and Gimel Tamuz at Rucho Shel Mashiach

Listen to your Body

The Talking Donkey by Rabbi Simon Jacobson

A mysterious event in this week’s Torah portion reveals a phenomenon new to modern psychology—that we must listen to our body’s voice, which carries messages, memories and potent power.

One of the strangest episodes in history takes place in this week’s Torah portion. The gentile prophet Balaam is commissioned by Moabite King Balak to curse the Jewish people. Balak felt threatened by the Jews. He wanted to defeat them in battle and drive them away.

Initially G-d does not allow Balaam to go. But after Balak’s emissaries beseech him G-d permits him to go, saying “But only do exactly as I instruct you.”

Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his female donkey and went on his way. G-d plants His angel in the road to oppose him.

When the donkey saw G-d’s angel standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, the donkey went aside from the road into the field. Balaam beat the donkey to get it back on the road. G-d’s angel then stood in a narrow path through the vineyard, where there was a fence on either side.

When the donkey saw G-d’s angel, it edged over to the side, crushing Balaam’s foot against the wall. [Balaam] beat it even more. G-d’s angel continued ahead, and he stood in a narrow place, where there was no room to turn right or left. When the donkey saw G-d’s angel, it lay down [refusing to budge] for Balaam. Balaam lost his temper and beat the donkey with a stick.

G-d then opened the donkey’s mouth and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you beat me these three times?” “You have embarrassed me [or: been playing games with me],” shouted Balaam at the donkey. “If I had a sword in my hand just now, I would have killed you!”

The donkey replied to Balaam, “Am I not your [faithful] donkey, upon which you have been riding from back when until this day. Have I ever been unmindful to you?” “No,” replied Balaam. G-d then opened Balaam’s eyes and he perceived the angel standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. [Balaam] kneeled and prostrated himself on his face.

G-d’s angel said to him, “Why did you beat your donkey these three times? I have come out to oppose you, because your errand is obnoxious to me. When the donkey saw me, it turned aside these three times. If it had not turned aside before me, as it did now, I would have killed you and spared [the donkey].”

Balaam said to G-d’s angel: “I have sinned! I did not know that you were standing on the road before me. If you consider it wrong [for me to go], I will return home.” G-d’s angel said to Balaam, “Go with the men. But do not say anything other than the exact words that I declare to you.

The narrative continues with G-d compelling Balaam to bless the Jews instead of cursing them, to the chagrin of Balak and his cronies.

This story with the talking donkey is puzzling from beginning to end. If G-d didn’t want Balaam to go to Balak, why didn’t he just stop him from going? If for whatever reason G-d wanted to block his way with an angel, why did he hide the fact from Balaam and allowed the donkey to see the angel – after all Balaam not the donkey was the prophet?!

A Torah axiom states that G-d does not perform miracles in vain. Why then was this miracle of miracles necessary, to have the donkey see the angel, resist moving on, until the donkey ends up speaking?! This miracle would have been totally unnecessary if Balaam had seen the angel himself. Why the need to open the donkey’s mouth?!

The plot thickens: the Mishne states (in the Ethics of our Fathers) that the “donkey’s mouth” was one of the ten unique things created at dusk on the sixth day of creation! In other words, G-d planted this episode from the beginning of time by creating the “donkey’s mouth” for the day when the donkey would speak to Balaam!

Why is the “donkey’s mouth” so significant?

Briefly:

Torah speaks in the language of man. Beneath the literal meaning in the Torah narrative lay layers upon layers of deeper dimensions. Within the “body” of the story lies it’s soul – profound spiritual and psychological insights that illuminate the nature of our psyches and provide direction how to deal with the challenges of life. Every character in Torah, every episode of its narrative, parallels a facet of our personalities.

The story of Balaam and his donkey is the story of our own lives, with a multitude of lessons.

The Hebrew word for donkey is “chamor.” [A female donkey (jennet) is called “osson.” “Pered” is the Hebrew name for a mule (or a hinny), a hybrid borne of a horse and a donkey. But the general name for donkey, male or female, is “chamor”].

The Baal Shem Tov explains that “chamor” also means matter. In Exodus the verse states: “When you see the donkey of your enemy being overburdened by its burdens, don’t ignore it. It’s incumbent upon you to help relieve its burden.” Interprets the Baal Shem Tov: You observe “chamor” – your physical body and the coarse materialism of life – and you see that it is your enemy, opposing all things spiritual, and feeling overburdened by the sublime responsibilities of the soul. You may then consider ignoring the body so that it does not distract you from fulfilling your calling. You may even want to punish your body through asceticism and self-affliction.

Says the Torah: No! You are responsible to support, refine and elevate the “chamor,” even if it is ostensibly your enemy.

Balaam the prophet represents the paradox of a spiritual man locked in a decadent lifestyle. Each of us has two dimensions: A sacred side and a profane one. A person may be deeply spiritual, yet also profoundly corrupt. Indeed, the Talmud says “the greater the person, the greater his evil inclination.”

An extraordinarily gifted person always has equally powerful unique challenges. Left without discipline these gifts can be abused. And when they are, it is very difficult to get through to the person. Because the smarter he is, the better are his excuses and his ability to cover his tracks. He can mask his subjectivity with brilliant smokescreens.

At it’s extreme, you have Balaam: A prophet willing and delighted to use his Divine power to curse an entire nation.

Spiritual corruption or distortion is worse than other forms of corruption, because it uses a very positive force for negative ends. In other instances of corruption, you can always hope that a person’s conscience and spirit can be aroused. But once the spirit has been corrupted, and the soul has been taken hostage by destructive forces, what recourse is left?

The same holds true for any abuse perpetrated by a person who is supposed to love you: A parent, a sibling, a spouse. With strangers we have our guard up. If a stranger is abusive, s/he cannot hurt you that much because you don’t necessarily expect much from a stranger. But abuse coming from a loved one hurts us in the deepest place: the place of love. A parent, for instance, is supposed to love you, and as a child you are vulnerable before your parent. Thus, when the parent is abusive, it touches the very core of our beings: our souls. The worst abuse is the one that scars our most vulnerable places. Nothing is worse then love itself – and the source of love – being (ab)used in a cruel way.

So what is the antidote to this epitome of distortion? If the gifted person, or the one who is supposed to be providing love, has become corrupt to the point that he cannot even listen, how then do you get through to him?

The dilemma is also from the perspective of the abusee (the survivor): Once someone has been hurt in a deep part of his spirit, he doesn’t allow anyone in. So how can he be reached?

Yet, G-d in His infinite wisdom precedes the cure before the illness. Even when the soul may be unable to hear the message, the body has its own voice that speaks to us.

In modern psychology there is a phenomenon, which we shall call “psychological hypothermia.” When a child suffers severe abuse from a loved one (especially if its ongoing), the child will go “out of body” to separate himself from the experience. One of the reasons for this is presumably because the child cannot tolerate the possibility of a loved one hurting him. He therefore disassociates from the experience, as if it didn’t happen to him.

Hypothermia is “a decrease in the core body temperature to a level at which normal muscular and cerebral functions are impaired.” When a child, for instance, falls into ice-cold water, and his temperature drops to dangerous levels, the child will go into a state of shock, which shuts down the primary life functions to the point that the child may appear dead, in order to preserve the bare minimum energy for the vital organs. In other words, in order to survive the conscious faculties have to temporarily stop functioning.

The same is true psychologically. For survival purpose, sometimes we have to detach from an experience, to the point that we may be unaware of it in our conscious minds.

Yet – and this is the big yet – even as our conscious spirits may be unaware of the experience, our bodies remember them. Every experience in our lives is etched into the memory of our bodies. That is why we talk about experiencing “knots” and “tightness” in our bodies. Psychological feelings do not remain in the mental domain; they seep into the body, causing all sorts of physical reactions (“knots in the stomach” is one mild example). Anxiety oozes toxins into your body. Strong traumatic experiences tie up your body in knots.

In severe cases, the personality shift that happens at the time of abuse remains long after the experience. A child may grow into an adult that has actually shifted his personality, and is living, in some ways, like another person, often having “out of body” experiences. So severe was the initial abuse.

But, even when the soul, for whatever reason, is unable to consciously acknowledge an experience, the body has stored it away, for the day when it will be safe to emerge.

And therein lies the true power of therapy and growth: To help an individual find safety and security, so that he or she can then work on “untying the knots,” and allowing himself to access the soul that he had to hide away so long ago.

By no means is this a simple process. It can even be torturous at times. Yet, in a strange way this phenomenon is a testimony to one of the greatest resiliencies of the human being: G-d allows a child to survive even the worst experiences, and then gives him the strength to reconnect with himself when the times is right and the situation safe.

Even when the soul is not conscious of the memory, because the abuse came from a soul connection – a loving person – the body is endowed with a wisdom that does remember. And it holds the secret till the day when the soul will be able to hear the message.

This is the inside story of Balaam and his donkey. G-d could not get through to Balaam on a fundamental level. He saw that Balaam was intent on going to Balak and helping him implement his malevolent plan. But even when the soul cannot be reached, the body can. So it is the “chamor” – the body – that sees the “angel,” and it is the body that cries out to the person prodding him to open his eyes.

What is most fascinating about this concept is that usually we associate awareness with the soul. Yet, Jewish mysticism teaches that the body too was created by G-d. It therefore contains unique Divine energy of its own. Indeed, the body carries enormous power stemming from the Essence of G-d, which in some ways is superior even to the energy of the soul!

But often when our bodies speak to us, beckoning us to act, we may ignore the voice. Or worse: We may “beat” the body, as Balaam beat his donkey, because it is becoming a nuisance and distracting us from our misguided plans.

So, we have many voices available to us. In healthy situations, and in many instances, it is the voice of our souls that we should be heeding. Yet, at times our bodies carry important messages for us.

The question is: Are we listening?