Kabbalah and Psych Tpsy3

7/29/2019 Kabbalah and Psych Tpsy3

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Kabbalah and PsychologyPart 3

The Torahs Tranquilizer

Stress is one of the most commonly treated psychological ailments. Today,

between 15-30% of all Americans make regular use of tranquilizers. Yet, these drugs

are addictive, and if abused, can cause serious harm. Because of the dangers involved

in long-term use of such medications, psychologists have investigated other possible

methods of stress management.

The general attitude of the therapist must be to try to maximize healing and to

help the patient spiritually and cognitively. Sometimes this is impossible, as when the

patient is completely out-of-touch. If an inceptive level of communication with the

patients psyche is impossible, medication that has been verified scientifically under

such conditions can be administered. Nonetheless, chemical medication should

preferably only be used as a temporary measure to establish healthy communication

that will enable the cognitive healing process to take effect. The current trend in

psychiatry concludes that there are people who, after thorough cognitive treatment,

need to take medication for their entire lives. This trend is questionable. It is our belief

that the majority of people who need psychiatric medication will be able to reduce the

dosage and even completely stop taking medication once they are treated correctly,

according to the ideas outlined in this text and elsewhere in Torah literature.


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The Body and Soul of the Torah

When considering the Torah as an analogy for the human, we can say that the

laws of the Torah represent the body, while Kabbalah represents the psyche. Indeed,

Kabbalah and Chassidut, the mysteries of the Torah, are often referred to as the inner

soul of the Torah.

The Alter Rebbe (the first Rabbi of Chabad) states in the introduction to his

classic chassidic text, Tanya that the purpose of this book is to bring tranquility to the

soul. The Alter Rebbe teaches that until a person delves into the inner depths and

mysteries of the Torah, he cannot be authentically tranquil. Yet, in order to enter into the

inner chambers of the Torah, one must reach a state of profound peace of mind, or

tranquility, referred to in Hebrew as margoa, .

J ust a Minute, Take a Deep Breath

The root of the word tranquility, is, , rega, which means an instant, or a

split second. In Jewish law, as Maimonides explains, a rega is much less than what we

call a second. The Torah divides an hour into 1,080 chalakim, parts, meaning that a

chelek, a part, is actually 31/3 seconds, and there are 18 chalakim in what we call a

minute.

A rega, instant, is an even smaller component of time than a chelek. There are

76 regaim, instants, in every chelekof an hour.

No measurement in the Torah is arbitrary. Each one is based on a natural

phenomenon, and time measurements are no exception to the rule. On average, a


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person breathes eighteen times in one minute; thus the average length of each breath is

one chelekof time.

In addition to breath referring to life (18= ) and health, it also represents the

deep connection between man and God, because the initial breath with which Adam

was created was blown into his nostrils by God Himself, as the verse states, and He

blew into his nostrils the breath of life.

Breathing is the classic phenomenon enabling us to experience the presence of

the Creator within us. The last verse of Psalms reads, every soul shall praise Kah,

hallelukah. However, our sages interpret the word , soul, to refer to , breath.

Every breath shall praise Kah, hallelukah. With every breath that a human being

breathes, he should realize that God is blowing of His breath, as it were.

To review: a chelekis 1/18th of a minute, representing the fusion of soul (breath)

within the body. A persons response ought to be praise ofthe Creator.

Since there are 76 regaim in every chelek, each rega is approximately1/23

rdof a

second.

A synonym for a rega is heref ayin, which means a blink of an eye. Indeed, in

order for the human brain to register the projection of frames in a movie as a moving

continuum, the frames must be projected at a higher rate than 23 frames per second.

So, from the phenomenological point of view our experience, a rega is the smallest

quantum of time. Just as a chelekrelates to breathing, a rega is related to our ability to

visualize a moment in the time-continuum.

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Kabbalah and Psych Tpsy3