Medicine
A gift from G-d, your body is a vehicle for your soul. Thus, while one must exercise the body, one should never worship it.
Does the Torah put more emphasis on a healthy soul than it does a healthy body? Can one be healthy while the other isn’t? Why are so many doctors Jewish? Does medicine come from G-d? It definitely seems like the Torah puts more emphasis on jogging one’s memory than it does on jogging period. Maybe it’s because we are created in the Divine image, and we don’t want to Photoshop that image by editing it too much? Does prayer have medicinal properties?
Emor: Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
Even as we invalidate the method (LSD) used to reach G-d, we can never invalidate the person and his needs that led him to go there in the first place.
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Bechukotei: LSD Part 2
Last week’s article, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, elicited quite a number of responses, most positive, some critical, many of them posted online in the comments section on the article.
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Vaetchanan: Comfort My People
Many tears indeed can be shed for our children whose lives are prematurely “hijacked” by the demons of abuse and drugs; bright futures suddenly aborted; robbed of their possibilities; injured psyches.
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Ki Teitzei: Religion and Dysfunctionality
Our calling is to marginalize (and possibly eliminate) so-called “religious” behavior that feeds the stereotype of close-minded, unevolved and condescending religiosity. And more importantly, reintroduce the alternative – faith and religion that allows man to actualize and shine in his full glory.
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How the Alter Rebbe Changed the World
Over two centuries ago Rabbi Schneur Zalman presented us with an invaluable model of life that can be appreciated now more than ever. Freud and his colleagues may be the fathers of psychology today. But the Alter Rebbe is the true father of the psychology of tomorrow.
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Medicine, Psychology and Spirituality
How much of a role do religious practices, faith and trust in G-d play in the healing process?
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Are You Damaged Goods?
So there you have the psychology of Chassidus: There is no such thing as damaged goods.
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Is Psychology Good For Us? Are Therapists Necessary?
We should be striving to a psychology imbued with the confidence in the resilience and fortitude of the soul, and one that follows a higher moral calling.
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Shemini Atzeret: Breakthrough
Go deeper into your experience of concluding this year’s Torah reading cycle and beginning anew with ideas and stories from The Meaningful Life Center.
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Vayeishev: Psychology Today
The Alter Rebbe’s take on popular psychological opinion- tackling Freud and Darwin from a Torah perspective.
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Assisted Suicide & Dr. Kevorkian
Is assisted suicide morally right? Simon Jacobson, author of the best-seller Toward a Meaningful Life, had an open discussion on the topic. Join the debate.
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Healing & Spirituality
Mind, spirit and healing, and how faith plays a role in healing. An open discussion with best-selling author Simon Jacobson on healing and spirituality.
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Medical License: The Responsibility of a Doctor
According to Talmud and other Jewish sources, what is the responsibility of a doctor? This Chassidic story illustrates the responsibility of a doctor.
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Spiritual Vaccination
The spiritual approach to overcoming initial difficulties: See each hindrance as a spiritual vaccination that will make your soul stronger. A letter from the Rebbe.
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Sound & Fury: Issues in the Deaf Community
Rabbi Simon Jacobson, best-selling author of Toward a Meaningful Life, hosted an open discussion on issues in the deaf community in light of Jewish thought. Join this fascinating discussion on issues in the deaf community.
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Organ Donation: Is it Permitted?
Rabbi Jacobson’s response to the topic of organ donation from a Torah perspective.
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Soul to Soul
An excerpt from a paper by Rabbi Simon Jacobson titled “The Basic Principles of Therapy, from a Torah Perspective”.
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Learning From Your Body’s Sensations
Feeling pain or other sensations in your body are opportunities to challenge the way you look at life. They can bring you to the edges of life, allowing you to view it from a new, revealing angle.
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Can Drugs Help You To Lead A Meaningful Life?
Can drugs help you to lead a meaningful life? Do they offer true transcendence or momentary sensation?
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Drugs – Strange Fire
A soul burning with fiery passion is an incredible asset, but lack of self-control coupled with the pursuit of selfish desires lead to disaster.
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Special Children
An email exchange between Rabbi Jacobson and the mother of a bi-polar son illuminates the concept of special children and their unique strengths.
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Adrenalin Rush
Having a passion, a purpose with a sense of urgency, is healthy not just for the soul but for one’s physical body as well.
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The Value of Adrenaline
One of adrenaline’s positive effects is an enhanced ability to focus, while suppressing annoying bodily functions like sneezing and coughing. It enables you to be so in-the-moment that you are able to accomplish what you otherwise could not, without distraction by your own body.
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The Spiritual Antidote to the Coronavirus: A Call to Action – Part II
With coronavirus gripping the world, what deeper lessons can we learn from this global epidemic and what is the spiritual antidote to the disease?
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The Spiritual Antidote to the Coronavirus – Part I
With coronavirus gripping the world, what deeper lessons can we learn from this global epidemic? The story of Purim teaches us the antidote to the “coronavirus” of Haman and Amalek — the crown of toxicity — back then, as well as today.
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Building Inner Strength as You Help Others | Message to First Responders
A message to first responders and healthcare workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic by Rabbi Simon Jacobson
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The Kabbalah of Health
Physical fitness is not arbitrary or optional; it is part of your responsibility to yourself. On the other hand, worshipping the body is destructive. The body is a vehicle for the soul; its value lies there, not as an end unto itself.
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What Is Health?
Spiritual wellness goes hand in hand with properly-practiced medicine and preventative self-care. Your body’s health is optimal only when you also are nurturing your spirit — your purpose, your values, your vision.
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