By Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Krohn, Psy. D
Let’s try a brief experiment. I’m going to share a word or two with you. As you read the word, I want you to pay attention to any emotions that may arise within you. Then, I want you to rate your experience on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 representing almost no emotion and 10 signaling emotions that are so intense they’re “off the charts.” Ready?
Here’s the first word: Health. Does the word “health” bring out any emotions in you? What might they be? Use the 1 to 10 Feelings Scale to measure them. Hang on to that number.
Now I’m going to share a second word: Healing. Does the word “healing” bring out any feelings in you? What might they be? Again, use the scale to rate the strength of your feelings.
Many people assign a higher rating to the word “healing” than to the word “health.” Why is that? After all, aren’t the two words closely related? Wouldn’t you expect them to evoke a similar response?
I believe there is more than one answer to these questions. For starters, health is a static term. It’s a position in which you find yourself, whether through your own efforts or by the grace of G-d.
Healing, on the other hand, is a dynamic word. It’s about a journey from being “broken” to being repaired, from being “less than” to being whole again. Journeys tend to evoke deeper emotions than fixed states of being.
There’s more to it. Healing is typically the conclusion of a 3-stage progression. The starting point is a state of being okay. This is followed by an injury or loss, which disables and/or diminishes. The concluding stage, healing, is what restores a person to their initial, satisfactory state.
Healing is about return, recovery, and restoration. These are powerful words to read; they are even more powerful, when we experience them. We might say that they border on the spiritual.
The themes of return, recovery and restoration wind their way through Jewish tradition, on both a personal and a communal level. One who studies Torah is, among other things, restoring the knowledge that they were taught in the womb but had forgotten at the moment of birth. The holiday of Shavuos, represents the culmination of the Shechinah/Divine Presence’s return to earth. The Shechinah had originally retreated, following a series of humankind’s spiritual failures stretching from Adam in the Garden of Eden to the people of Sodom.
Each one of the articles in this edition of Mind Body & Soul touches on the theme of healing:
One article, by David Rosemarin, approaches the paradoxical interconnectedness of religion, healing, and trauma. Trauma may shatter the religious identity of some, even as religious experience can serve as a foundation for trauma recovery.
Two of the articles encourage parents to dig deeper, when healing the relationship with their children. Sara Teichman invites us to consider our children’s hidden “gains,” when they act less than perfectly. Rachel Rosenholtz invites parents who love their children to ask themselves whether they also like their children.
Another two articles broaden our understanding of healing. Pam Siller reminds us that healing is a process that unfolds over time. Marlene Greenspan enlarges our vocabulary of healing modalities to include, mind-body, spirit, and transcendence.
Two articles talk about sound, silence, and healing. Leah Rokeach introduces a form of group therapy that specifically addresses the needs of those who hear voices. Dvora Entin reminds us to be respectfully silent in making space for those who mourn.
Healing can be a deeply meaningful part of human experience, whether we are healing ourselves, others, or the relationships that connect us to each other. I trust that you, our readers, will find something in this issue that can enrich your lives.
Rabbi Yehuda Krohn, Psy.D, a licensed clinical psychologist, provides individual and couples therapy in his Chicago-area private practice. He also provides therapy to an inpatient psychiatric population. Rabbi Dr. Krohn, writes and presents on Torah, Psychology and the intersection of the two. He is a board member of Nefesh International.
Rabbi Dr. Krohn can be reached, by phone, at 847-763-1184 and, by email, at yemekrohn@gmail.com.