EDUCATION COSTS, NATURAL HEALING & DRUGS

Beis Moshiach presents a selection of letters from the Rebbe on a variety of relevant subjects in today’s challenging world.

By the Grace of G-d

6th of Av, 5716

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

After such a long interval, I was pleased to receive your letter of the 8th of Tammuz, in which you write how you settled down in your new locality. I must express my surprise, as well as regret, that for financial reasons, as you write in your letter, there came about a change in the education of your children and not in the direction of strengthening their religious upbringing. You felt that this was justified because you felt you could not afford to do otherwise by reason of a decrease in your income.

Needless to say, that this reasoning has no basis. For apart from the fact that money matters can always be improved, and if a loan is necessary it can always be paid off, this is not so in the case of spiritual loss, and particularly in the matter of a Torah education of children. A spiritual loss of this kind leaves a lasting impression, and which is often difficult to rectify. Besides, all Jews, including yourself, are “believers, the children of believers”, in the saying of our Sages, that for the upbringing of children and expenses on Torah matters, G-d provides a special budget, which is not included in the general budget which G-d provides during the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. That is to say, that where one spends more on the Torah education of his children, he receives more, and if he spends less, he receives less (Talmud Bavli, Beitza 16A). Thus, if you were spending on your children even more than before, it would not in any way diminish your income. It is possible that my pointing out the above, may have some practical results in connection with your children’s education during the summer time, as for instance with regard to Day Camp etc., but I trust that it will definitely lead to your taking the necessary steps in connection with the new school term in the Fall. For I hope that you will carefully study the above Talmud quotation with its commentaries, and will act accordingly.

May G-d help you and your wife to have lots of nachas, Chassidic nachas, from all your children. As usually is the case in such matters, when you make a firm resolution in the right direction, you will very likely see a change for the better immediately.

With blessing,

•   •   •

By the Grace of G-d

26th of Tishrei, 5718

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Blessing and Greeting:

I received your letter of the beginning of September. My reply was delayed on account of the intervening Holy Days.

Inasmuch as you do not mention anything about your health, I trust that everything is in order, and I shall always be glad to hear good news from you.

In reference to what you write about the two schools of medical thought, namely, one that favors artificial means and external treatment, and the other favoring natural recovery, seeking to bring about an improvement in health through the internal strengthening of the natural powers of the organism itself; and for some reason you think that the Jewish religion prefers the first method —-

In general, you are mistaken in this view, inasmuch as our religion has expressed no specific preference for one or the other. On the other hand, one of the greatest adherent[s] of the naturalistic school was none other than the great Maimonides, who was both the outstanding Talmudist and Codifier, as well as one of the greatest physicians of his age, whose influence in medical science is felt to this day. At the same time, he is also one of the greatest authorities on Jewish law to this day. In his famous Code of Jewish Law, he strongly defends the naturalistic approach (cf. Hilechoth Deoth).

Your defense of the naturalistic school does not entirely hold good, as can also be seen from Maimonides, quoted above. Your arguments that there should be no interference with the course of nature and the Divine order, and to permit the organism itself to recover without outside interference, etc., would be valid if we were dealing with a perfect organism in its perfect natural state. Unfortunately, such a thing hardly exists, for there is no perfection in this physical world, largely due to the fact that extraneous factors come into play, such as accidents, war, and the like, or an unnatural way of life, such as over-indulgence in food and material pleasures. In a case of an organism thus affected, it cannot be argued that no extraneous methods be used to correct that which has been caused by extraneous forces, and that nature itself will do the job. Moreover, the maladies of present day are often the result of cumulative effect, not only of the individual himself, but of generations that sinned against the Divine order.

Needless to say, it is not my intention to convey the idea that I leave no room at all for the naturalistic method of treatment. My only intention is to exclude the extreme form of application of this method, as the best method is the combination of both, in the proper ratio, which depends in each case on its own merit.

Finally, I would also mention that here too we find an analogy between the physical and spiritual, especially in the life of the Jew. I mean to say that the spiritual health of the Jew is determined by his daily conduct, in accordance with the Torah and Mitzvoth, and, similarly, his physical health is dependent upon his spiritual health, which is the natural way of life for the Jew. Hence, the observant Jew, who has led as nearly perfect a life as possible, requires no special precautions to guard himself against temptation, etc., whereas the one who is not so well equipped, must take precaution upon precaution, and set a fence around a fence to protect himself through doing even a little better than the minimum required by the Torah. It is surely unnecessary to elaborate on this.

With prayerful wishes to hear good news from you, and

With blessing,

By

The enclosed message, which is of timely interest throughout the year will, I trust, be of interest to you, and you will make good use of it.

•   •   •

By the Grace of G-d

20th of Menachem Av, 5718

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

This is to acknowledge your letter of July 3rd.

I was very gratified to read of the great strides that have been made in your community towards strengthening true Torah Yiddishkeit. At all times, efforts to strengthen our traditional faith had a priority claim on public-minded individuals; in our times such efforts are simply a vital necessity, especially in communities where there is an inadequacy of Torah institutions.

Moreover, efforts in the field of Kosher education are truly rewarding, because the accomplishments are lasting and cumulative. For every influence during the receptive and formative years of growing children and youths has a decisive effect on adulthood, as in the example of a seed or seedling, where even a slight defect, if not corrected, might irreparably damage the grown tree and its fruit for generations.

I would also like to emphasize, what is indeed self-evident, that inasmuch as the Torah and Mitzvoth are the Truth, as the Torah is called “Tora[t]h Emeth,” and as our Rabbis have also said “There is no truth but the Torah (Jerusalmi Rosh Hashanah, ch. 3, Hal. 8), there can be no room here for compromise and half-truths. For compromise and truth are absolutely contradictory.

Moreover, experience has long disproved the fallacy, perhaps well-meant, but quite misguided, that if you tell youths and adolescents the whole truth about the Torah and Mitzvoth, they will be frightened away from Yiddishkeit. The contrary is true, for, give a lad or girl the whole truth about Yiddishkeit, they will accept it enthusiastically; dilute it - and you arouse their mistrust and antagonism. Similarly, in the case of adults who, for one reason or another, are as yet not straightened out on the question of the Torah and Mitzvoth, they, too, will be impressed only by the feeling of awareness of the whole truth, while they will view with suspicion and derision any effort to dish the truth out to them in “palatable” pills which they could swallow in the estimation of those who would be presumptuous to think for them and judge their capacities.

In education, above all, gaining the child’s confidence is the teacher’s primary objective. The child is quick to detect the teacher’s sincerity and sooner or later he will also find out whether or not he has been deceived by his teacher, no matter what the motivation was. Should the child lose confidence in the teacher for teaching him only half-truths, he will reject the whole.

On the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the New Year, may it bring true happiness to all our people, when we all pray “For Thou, O G-d art truth, and Thy Word, O our King is Truth and endureth forever,” may every one of us resolve to spread the Truth, through the dissemination of Torath-Emeth, and make it a living truth in every-day life.

In the merit of this the Almighty will surely inscribe each and every one of the workers for Torah-true Yiddishkeit, in the midst of all our people, to a truly happy and prosperous New Year, materially and spiritually.

       With blessing,  

•   •   •

By the Grace of G-d

20th of Marcheshvan, 5725

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Greeting and Blessing:

       I am in receipt of your letter of October 18th, which you write in the name of your friends and in your own behalf and ask my opinion regarding the new drug called L.S.D., which is said to have the property of mental stimulation, etc.

Biochemistry is not my field, and I cannot express an opinion on the drug you mention, especially as it is still new. However what I can say is that the claim that the said drug can stimulate mystical insight, etc., is not the proper way to attain mystical inspiration, even if it had such a property. The Jewish way is to go from strength to strength not by means of drugs and other artificial stimulants, which have a place only if they are necessary for the physical health, in accordance with the Mitzva to take care of one’s health. I hope that everyone will agree that before any drugs are taken one should first utilize all one’s natural capacities, and when this is done truly and fully, I do not think there will be a need to look for artificial stimulants. ולא יגעת ומצאת - 
אל תאמין. 

       I trust that you and your group, in view of your Yeshiva background, have regular appointed times for the study of Torah, and the inner aspects of the Torah, namely the teachings of Chassidus, and that such study is in accordance with the principle of our Sages, namely “The essential thing is the deed,” i.e. the actual conduct of the daily life in accordance with the Torah and Mitzvoth, prayer, Tefillin, Kashruth, etc., etc. This is only a matter of will and determination, for nothing stands in the way of the will. I trust that you are also using your good influence throughout your environment.

With blessing,

By