The Best Anti-Depressant Ever!

“All the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you, for I, the Lord, heal you. (Shemos 15:26)”  
  
 

Emuna Dispels Depression 

Whenever someone faces a challenge or hardship that appears to be out of his control, he will turn to doctors, psychologist, or other professionals to try and alleviate the pain, physically or mentally.  
 

However, that process can be fruitless and discouraging, especially when they can’t seem to find a solution, despite their expertise. They can become anxious and depressed. They can feel helpless and lost without any answers.  
 

However, a Jew lives with a different reality. A Jew understands and knows that everything that happens in this world and in our lives, is with an exacting Diving Providence, a hashgachah pratit. That faith that is deeply woven into the spiritual DNA of every single Jew motivates and drives us to do everything within our abilities to serve Hashem through learning His Torah and performing His mitzvot. We are constantly striving to connect to Hashem. Through this faith, we live without fear or anxiety; we don’t feel helpless when facing a challenge that we can’t seem to overcome because everything is from a Heavenly decree.  
 

Emunah and bitachon – our faith in Hashem – creates a sense of serenity in our lives and is the secret to obtaining true happiness in this world. Emuna dispels all doubts and insecurities which are the root of any fear, sadness, anxiety, and depression. Emuna empowers us to believe that everything is in Hashem’s hands and that everything that occurs in our lives and everything we experience is for our benefit; the outcome will inevitably be good. Through emuna, a Jew can live a truly happy life as it says in Chabakuk (2:4) “…but the righteous in his faith will live (through his faith, the righteous are rewarded with life)”.  
 

Those Jews who train themselves to live a life rooted in emunat Hashem, faith in Hashem, accept everything that happens to them as the Will of Hashem. When they face financial hardships or an illness, God forbid, they don’t worry or fall into despair and depression. They know that Hashem loves them like a parent loves his child, that Hashem cares for every Jew. And, when the time comes, Hashem will alleviate that suffering and remove that hardship from their life.  
 

However, when someone lacks this level of emuna, they are missing that sense of security that comes with knowing that everything is from Hashem and is for the best. Such a person mistakenly believes that everything is in his control. When he faces the reality that despite his efforts he cannot overcome this particular hardship, he is consumed by despair. When someone feels helpless, they can become depressed and despondent.  
 

This lack of emuna is at the root of every negative feeling and causes depression. Nowadays, we see so many teenagers struggling with depression. What do school administrators and parents try to do to help these children? They hire more professionals, guidance counselors, and psychologists. However, the root of the problem is that these children are not being taught the fundamentals of emuna in Hashem. They are raised thinking that everything in this world is happenstance. They are constantly seeking meaning and purpose and are not given the tools of emuna that are required to succeed in that pursuit. They become misguided and struggle to find happiness.  
  
 

The Challenge of Depression  

This is one of the greatest spiritual struggles every Jew faces. The Satan and yetzer hara are constantly trying to weaken and challenge our emuna, to cause us to forget the reality that Hashem controls everything in this world. By doing so, the yetzer hara wants our lives to be consumed with sadness, doubt, and depression – emotions that hinder our ability to feel connect to our avodat Hashem. It is our responsibility to focus on strengthening our faith and to find a true happiness that is born from living a life rooted in emunah and bitachon.  
 

Depression and sadness are a prison that leads a person to a life that is distant from Hashem and his Torah. We need to do everything in our power to avoid these emotions. The Degel Macheneh Efraim (Parsha Eikev) teaches that his grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, said that every hardship and challenge in one’s life is coming only after falling in depression and sadness.  
  
 

Emuna: A Cure

A plaque was spreading throughout the town of Munkatch and the Jews who lived there were seeking help and guidance to alleviate this illness from their population. In response, the great Tzadik Reb Zvi Hirsch of Ziditsov, z”l, sent them a letter in which he wrote that they needed to focus and work on living a happy life rooted in emuna, and avoid depression and sadness at all costs, because the illness that they were facing was the result of these negative emotions.  
 

The joy and happiness that comes from emuna also helps medically. The Slonimer Rebbe, the Yesod Havodah, once wrote a letter to someone who was sick telling him that cure would come from happiness and emuna. He quoted his Rebbe, Reb Moshe from Kavrin z”l, who was critically ill as a teenager. He went to the hospital in Vilna to seek medical treatment from a specialist. As he started getting better, the asked the doctor what was the main thing he should focus on to continuing healing. The doctor replies: “There is one rule, a patient needs to have a happy and optimistic to outlook. A positive and happy attitude does more for a patient than any medicine can.”  
 

Maimonides – the Rambam – was one of the greatest Torah scholars in Jewish history. He was also a well-known and respected doctor. In his book titled “Hanagos Habriyos”, the Rambam wrote that whoever wants to help the patient heal should focus on telling him things that will make the patient happy because happiness is the first necessary step for any recovery.  
 

King Solomon, who was the wisest of all men, wrote in Mishlei (18:14), “A man’s spirit can sustain him through illness; but low spirits—who can bear them?” The happiness of a person can sustain him and remove any illness.   
 

Depression in Egypt 

The Degel Macheneh Efraim quotes his brother, Reb Baruch from Mezibuz, who asked on the Pasok “All the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you”: what “sickness” is the Torah referring to? Egypt suffered through plagues. The Torah should have written “all the plagues that I have visited upon Egypt…” Why does the Torah use the word “sicknesses”?  
 

The Degel Machneh Efraim offers to answer his brother’s question. Every disease comes into the world, into a person’s life, as a result of depression. The plagues caused the Egyptians to become depressed and despondent. They felt a sense of despair. They saw all the suffering in their lives, all the plagues, and without emuna, they felt helpless and lost. And, those feelings created a sense of depression, which is the root of all diseases and illnesses.  

Emuna Cures the Disease 

We can now understand the pasuk we began with. The Torah teaches us a critical lesson for each Jew: if you have true emuna, then you will not be deterred or distracted by the negative events in your life. If you are steadfast in your faith that everything is in the hands of Hashem, you can avoid the negativity of sadness and depression and cling to a true happiness. And, that in turn, will protect you from any illness.  
 

Hashem said: “All the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you”. You can avoid the illnesses and sicknesses that came as a result of the depression in Egypt. How can you avoid? As the Torah continues, by believing “for I, the Lord, heal you”. If you live a live that is infused with this emuna, that everything comes from Hashem who is the Lord, when you believe in His Divine Providence, then you not only accept everything in your life, but you can face those challenges with confidence and serenity. Find peace in your faith, in believing that everything comes from Hashem and that He, too, can bring the cure. You are not helpless when you realize all of the help you need comes from Hashem.  
 

Every Jew needs to focus on strengthening his emuna, to work on solidifying his believe in Hashem and in His Hasgachah Pratit. By doing so, you can find true happiness. 

***  

The Kalever Rebbe is the seventh Rebbe of the Kaalov Chasidic dynasty, begun by his ancestor who was born to his previously childless parents after receiving a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov zy”a, and later learned under the Maggid of Mezeritch zt”l. The Rebbe has been involved in outreach for more than 30 years, and writes weekly emails on understanding current issues through the Torah. You can sign up at www.kaalov.org.