{"id":252,"date":"2013-09-01T21:56:50","date_gmt":"2013-09-01T21:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/growingupwithtorah.com\/?p=252"},"modified":"2020-08-20T22:55:45","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T22:55:45","slug":"torah-and-psychology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/growingupwithtorah.shmuelelbinger.com\/index.php\/2013\/09\/01\/torah-and-psychology\/","title":{"rendered":"Torah and Psychology?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do I hold of Torah psychology? First lets define terms. Does the concept of Torah psychology exist?
\nNowadays, people have issues. It\u2019s debatable whether they always had them, they only just started noticing they have them, or they always had them but now we have a lot more people having a lot more issues. But the bottom line is that lots of people have serious issues they need help with, and Jewish folk are not immune at all.<\/p>\n


\nUp until now, people could follow the advice of the Orchos Tzadikim<\/em> (Paths of the Righteous). If you had emotional or mental issues you would turn to the \u201cChacham<\/em>,\u201d the wise Rabbi, and he would direct you on the right path for the rectification of your middos<\/i>, your misaligned character traits.
\nBut now, there just ain\u2019t enough holy Rabbis to go around. And the problems aren\u2019t only middos<\/i> that prevent a person from being a righteous Torah yid<\/i> \u2013 today\u2019s problems prevent a person from acting as a normal, healthy human being.<\/p>\n

So is there Torah Psychology?<\/h2>\n

I don\u2019t buy it. I don\u2019t think in terms of Torah psychology.
\nWhat, aren\u2019t you frum <\/i>(religious)? Are you an apikores<\/i> (heretic), one of those evil therapists bent on taking our imbalanced, weak member\u2019s of the herd away from the fold?! No, I\u2019m not qualified to be one of those guys yet, chas v\u2019shalom<\/em>. Hear me out.
\nThe Zohar says that the Torah is analogous to a noble woman (matrinusa<\/i>), and the wisdom of the nations, the arts and sciences (chachmas umos ha\u2019olam<\/em>), are all compared to her maidservants.[1]<\/a> The maidservants\u2019 identity is part and parcel of their service to the matrinusa<\/i>, and they all serve as a unit, functioning as ancillary aspects of the matrinusa<\/i> \u2013 her and her entourage are as one.
\nBut if the palace household takes the focus off of the matrinusa<\/i> and directs its attention on the maidservant alone, then you have \u2013 well, a low-bred maidservant running amuck in the palace, and the lady of the house alone and despised.
\nIn the analogue: When you learn and invest time in sciences with the intent of helping you to understand the Torah, it raises them up, and brings them into her fold. But when you study them for their sake alone, they have the ability to lower you.
\nEverything is in the Torah \u2013 it is the blueprint of the world. Your whole life is in the Torah.\u00a0 A=\u03c0r\u00b2 (Hope I got that right.) – there\u2019s a famous gematria<\/em> hint to it where the prophet describes the dimensions of \u201cSolomon\u2019s Sea.\u201d E=MC\u00b2 – definitely in the Torah. The DNA molecule for every living being \u2013 yup, it\u2019s in there somewhere.
\nSo how does this mean I am now going to learn psychology from the Torah? To heal real pathologies, to get passed things like addiction, abuse, and mental illness? O.C.D, anxiety disorders, bi-polar, A.D.D? Should I learn Torah until I become a master Kabbalist who can rip this information out from under the veil \u2013 and become a Torah psychologist?
\nThis is why I think there is no such thing as Torah Psychology. There is Torah, and there is psychology. Just like any science, we must carefully remove false non-Torah ideology before we can use it. Just like in learning biology and quantum physics (plenty of kfirah<\/i> there) we must be careful to view the raw data through the lens of the Torah \u2013 not any outside philosophy.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t You Know about Chassidus<\/em> and Mussar<\/em>?<\/h2>\n

I know a little bit about them. I know that the main focus of the Torah is the soul, not the body. It is to help us learn to focus on the soul, the neshama<\/i>, and give it dominion over the guf<\/i>, the body. This means that one\u2019s da\u2019as<\/i> (aware consciousness) the interface between soul and body, what gives us bechirah<\/i> (free choice), must come into play – and the soul is experienced through the higher guf<\/em> faculties. So there is a type of psychology involved \u2013 and that\u2019s where chassidus<\/i> and mussar<\/i> come in.
\nChassidus<\/i>, mussar<\/i>, sifrei yirah<\/i>, teach us how a healthy individual can make himself more spiritual, more holy and kadosh<\/i>. It does not teach us directly (I say directly, remember, everything is in the Torah.) how to become normal. The Rambam in Hilchos Deos discusses character trait refinement, not extreme pathology, addiction or disfunction. The Kotzker said you have to be a mentch<\/i> before you can be a yid<\/i>. You might need different technology for that.
\nI have not yet spoken with HaRav Isamar Schwartz shlita, and I don\u2019t come up to his toes. I understand, however, that he comes down hard on psychology. He feels that all of the techniques are focused on strengthening the guf\u00a0<\/i>aspect of the mind and not on the neshamah <\/i>at all. I can hear that. But I also feel that without a healthy guf<\/i>, that we can be mevatel<\/i> (nullify to our neshama<\/i>), we\u2019re just plain broken. How can a person begin to learn to feel and experience our neshamah<\/i> when he is constantly living with a sick, pathological animal mind?<\/p>\n

Summing it Up<\/h2>\n

Why is psychology and sociology different from any other science? It\u2019s not Torah, but it can be used within the context of Torah to help people. If you have a slight problem with moodiness or anger, you tend to be a bit egotistical, by all means learn a sefer<\/i> about it, go to a shiur<\/i>, speak to your Rav.
\nThank God, our generation has been given many tools to help a person who is within the “normal” behavioral range. “How to” ruchniyus<\/em> guides are coming out more and more, that speak to us in our situation. (I personally love HaRav Issamar Schwartz shlita’s bilvavi sforim<\/em>… They are deceptively simple, but they must be worked through again and again. I’ve just went through “Da Es Atzmecha<\/em>,” and I’m going through the second Bilvavi<\/em>. I just wish there were summaries and bullet points, with the exercises bolded. \ud83d\ude42 )
\nBut if you sleep for sixteen hours out of every twenty-four, or your spouse is literally afraid of you if you she burns the soup, or you\u2019re on the internet six hours a day reading \u201cthe news,\u201d or you wash negel vasser<\/i> 32 times to make sure you got it right, or you\u2019ve never had a friend in your life, if you need a l’chayim<\/em> 7 times a day (to help you with your simcha<\/em>), or you take sponge baths instead of showers because you\u2019re afraid of being not tzinius<\/i>, or you won\u2019t stop putting quarters in the coke machine because you think you\u2019re on a winning streak, etc\u2026 Please, get some professional help by a therapist approved of by your Rav!! (Don\u2019t worry, he has a whole list. If you’re embarrassed to ask your shul<\/em>‘s Rav, go to your local kiruv<\/em> Rabbi.)<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n
\n
[1]<\/a> Heard from Rav Moshe Schatz, author of Ma\u2019yan Moshe<\/i>, and Sparks of the Hidden Light.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do I hold of Torah psychology? First lets define terms. Does the concept of Torah psychology exist? Nowadays, people have issues. It\u2019s debatable whether they always had them, they only just started noticing they have them, or they always had them but now we have a lot more people having a lot more issues. But … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Torah and Psychology?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":266,"url":"https:\/\/growingupwithtorah.shmuelelbinger.com\/index.php\/2013\/11\/06\/torah-and-psychology-ii-surprise\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":0},"title":"Torah and Psychology II? – Surprise!","date":"November 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Is this the prequel or the sequel to my Torah Psychology article? I\u2019ll let you be the judge, but I\u2019m definitely asking for your opinion about the topic covered. I hope to take you for a bit of a ride with this article. 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Maybe I'll update later with the comments and grade he gives... \u05d5\u05d0\u05ea\u05db\u05dd \u05dc\u05e7\u05d7 \u05d3' \u05d5\u05d9\u05d5\u05e6\u05d0 \u05d0\u05ea\u05db\u05dd \u05de\u05db\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d1\u05e8\u05d6\u05dc \u05de\u05de\u05e6\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u00a0\u00a0 \u05d3\u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd (\u05d3', \u05db') And God took you all, and led you out of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":125,"url":"https:\/\/growingupwithtorah.shmuelelbinger.com\/index.php\/2013\/05\/13\/wierd-tatty-and-the-holy-tounge-and-my-new-glasses\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":3},"title":"Weird Tatty and the Holy Tounge – and My New Glasses","date":"May 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"So today my new glasses were delivered to my door from www.israeloptical.com . I do know the owner, but they deliver for non-friends also. 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There is an interesting idea that a l'shmah (\"for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":277,"url":"https:\/\/growingupwithtorah.shmuelelbinger.com\/index.php\/2016\/10\/06\/my-new-site\/","url_meta":{"origin":252,"position":5},"title":"My New Site","date":"October 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello, been a long time since I've posted... I finished my degree, and I'm putting my energies into that... Here's my new site: ShmuelElbinger.com\u00a0You can sign up for the email list to that... the focus is more on therapy than Torah in the new blog.... 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