Healing With Jewish Tradition
by Velvel "Wally" Spiegler

In my search for the roots of Jewish healing I used to think that the esoteric wisdom of healing could only have only originated in the Kabbalah. I had long suspected that Jewish tradition itself contained the seeds of healing. So, I decided to investigate the connection between Jewish tradition with respect to healing. I started by scanning through pages of Tanach (the Jewish bible) hoping it would shed some light; I eventually came across no less than 200 entries, based on the verb “to heal”; “heal”, “healer”, “healing”, “healed”, etc. Among the better-known verses, I found such items as: “And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee (Numbers 12:13). It’s no secret that the reason for my search was to illustrate Judaism‘s deep concern for healing. Some of the verses, I located, are not totally related to healing of mind and body, many referred to healing of soul or spirit. However this research made it abundantly clear that if anyone wishes to be healed or to heal others, a background of Jewish tradition is essential.

Judaism is built of a foundation of korbonnot (nearness to God), as exemplified in the notion of the Shviti, a line from Psalm 16 that declares : "I have set God always before me". The Shviti was once inscribed on plaques, which adorned the bima’s of old, traditional synagogues; they served as an object of contemplation and meditation before prayer. Korbonnot was the ritual (described in the Torah) once fulfilled by animal sacrifice, but replaced by prayer after the destruction of the Second Temple. Korban (singular of korbannot) is the Jewish ideal, and in this light all of tradition is calculated to bring one to this destination. Every bit of Jewish tradition—Torah and prayer—is an opportunity, an opening in the veil that separates the light of God from the rest of us. Each and every aspect of Jewish tradition holds the potential for divine energy to penetrate our lives and bring healing. Judaism is not about bountiful food, fund-raising projects, political platforms or bestowing kavod, honor to deserving contributors, but about serious spiritual learning.

And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee (Deuteronomy 7:15).
Within the domain of Torah, we are exposed to two directions of learning: Halachah (commonly thought of as Law) and Aggadah (the narrative aspect). Both enable windows of opportunity for spiritual connection to open. Somehow, perhaps as a result of poor Hebrew school education, we’ve gotten stuck on the insignificance of Torah to living a good and healthy life. What we were never taught was that Judaism interprets Torah on four different levels that correspond to the stages of the Four Worlds. The symbolism for interpreting Torah is bound up in the Hebrew term, “Pardes”, meaning orchard; it is also an acronym for the four levels: Peshat-the simple explanation, Remez-the hint, Derash –the homilitical explanation and Sod, the mystery that can only be understood contemplatively.  We can turn pages endlessly, but in the final analysis we must approach the mystery. In other words, we can study text continually and conscientiously and eventually the words lose their meaning. In order to heal we must get down to the unknowable

Can Shabbat be celebrated in some manner that would bring about healing? Celebration implies joy and jubilation, however I have yet to see it happen. The peace that Shabbat promises is seldom seen, instead it becomes a day of restriction—from driving, shopping, TV, etc,.  So what could it mean when someone greets you with, Shabbat Shalom? The so-called joy of the day can only appear once we are freed from weekday burdens and worries. So how can we enter Shabbat with a clear mind, leaving behind the hurts, worries, anxiety and problems of the weekday? At first it’s not easy, but in time the tranquility emerges. Judaism never had psychotherapy or psychiatry; it has Shabbat. Only a mind that is totally at rest could find the joy of the Shabbat. Such a mind is capable of bringing about healing. As healers we can only teach the healing power of Shabbat when we have experienced it for ourselves.

We have to truly understand the meaning of T’shuvah. It is—as the Hebrew meaning suggests—turning: to turn from our earthly mundane existence to the deep within where the soul directs our lives. T’shuvah is not as we have been taught, the vow, not a disavowal from further sins. In the process of turning, we encounter the healing light of the Holy One that brings with it the virtues of love, compassion, and forgiveness. Sins are forgiven, not because we vow not to sin again, but because of the divine light. Healing happens, not because of therapeutic intervention, but because of the divine light. A healer can direct his clients to that light.

The Jewish holidays can be looked upon as a source of healing for those battling illnesses. We must all pay particular attention to ourselves during these auspicious moments.  The major festivals—Pesach, Shavuot and Succot were originally agricultural festivals following the changes of the seasons, and each of these holy moments in time run in parallel cadences to the movement of the soul. The soul, like all of nature, follows the seasons expanding in summer and contracting in winter. We have to learn to gauge our lives by the cycles of the year. Healing starts at the level of soul. The Kabbalah teaches that energetic movement originates from the highest spiritual realms journeying downward toward the mundane world. On the way down, healing light touches each one of our levels of existence—the mental, the emotional and the physical, and fixes whatever has gone wrong.