The Purpose of Disease
A few weeks ago I was afflicted with terrible tooth pain accompanied by severe headaches. I who haven't been to a dentist or a doctor in 8 years went to get an x-ray. It indicated the need for a root canal. Imagine my devastation. The cavity had been developing for a year, and I chose to ignore it. I knew it was my love of coffee that caused the tooth to decay (as coffee is a very strong acid to the teeth, especially if you already have a cavity). Since I went organic 9 years ago, I cut out all processed junk foods, but coffee was just too hard to quit. The dentist also prescribed an antibiotic for the infection. Of course, I refused to take it.
I decided not to give up on my tooth and get the root canal. The root canal procedure kills the tooth. I figured that if a tooth can be hurt , it can also be repaired. So I embarked on a mission to "heal" both the root, nerve and tooth. I'm taking loads of herbs and supplements. So far, the headaches are down 95% and the toothache is down about 90%. (I will update everyone on my progress in a few weeks.)
However, can I attribute the healing to my own efforts? Absolutely not, in fact, I experienced the greatest healing on Shabbat, when I didn't take any supplements at all. On Sabbath I leave everything up to G-d. I don't do any Hishtadlut (effort). Literally from the moment I lit the Sabbath candles and said a special prayer for my tooth, I felt the difference, the pain virtually disappeared.
So you may ask why do I bother taking any herbs and supplements? For me, its basic hishtadlut (Effort). G-d put special healing powers in various herbs that can help the body. In fact, many Rabbis, such as the Baal Shem Tov, used to use herbs to heal people. The Kli Yakar talks about the healing powers of bitter herbs as well. So I take herbs and I'm eating even healthier than before. For me this is basic minimum effort, like going to work. But it's important to recognize who heals us, who provides us with food and sustenance. G-d.
Bottom Line: Hashem heals.
The pharmaceuitcal industry will have us believe that we will all drop dead any minute from this disease or that illness. They work on our fears to compel us to run to the doctor or the psychologist for every minor problem. Where does G-d fit into all this?
Doesn't G-d allow us to become sick to begin with? Do people really believe that they were randomly struck with an illness? In my case, the root canal was a clear indication that I have to kick my coffee addiction and eat even healthier. In fact, I've decided to cut out all hot drinks entirely and I've taken upon myself to eat lots more greens and alkalizing foods. Maybe there was also a spiritual reason for my toothache.
When you or your child is sick and in pain, its easy to panic, its easy to lose sight of what caused this to happen. Its easy to forget that G-d is in this picture. The fear blocks out all logic. Nothing in life is random. Even "bad" things that happen are all for the good. This is the foundation of Breslev teachings. This lesson is one of the basic tenets of Judaism. In fact there is a famous story in the Gemara (the Talmud) illustrating this point.
Rabbi Akiva would say, “Kal d’avid Rachmana letav avid—Whatever G‑d does, must be for the good.” Rabbi Akiva was on the road travelling. He traveled with a candle, a rooster, and a donkey: the candle so he could study Torah at night, the rooster —to wake him up to study Torah, and the donkey to carry his belongings. Rabbi Akiva stopped at a city. He tried to get a hotel room, to no avail. In addition, no one in the city agreed to let him stay the night. So he had no choice but to sleep in the fields outside the city.
All of a sudden, a strong wind began to blow and extinguished the candle. A few moments later, a lion appeared and killed his donkey. Then a cat appeared and devoured the rooster. Rabbi Akiva seemed to be in a predicament. Nonetheless, what was his response to these disasters? “Whatever G‑d does, must be for the good.”
The next morning, Rabbi Akiva learned that a band of thieves had attacked the town during the night, killing the people and stealing their money. Then the robbers escaped into the forest. If they had seen the candle, or heard the noise of the rooster and donkey, Rabbi Akiva would have been killed as well. G‑d had saved his life by taking his animals, and extinguishing the candle.
WE CANNOT TAKE G-D OUT OF THE EQUATION
G-d created bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, yeast, everything.
The Torah teaches us that all sicknesses, other than colds, are caused by a spiritual blemish or sin that relates to the organ in question. In fact unhealthy eating is a sin in and of itself. We know that our bodies are made up of 248 organs & limbs and 365 sinews and vessels, each corresponding to one of the 248 positive and 365 negative commandments. We have to understand that sickness in general is a result of our spiritual state. Young children suffer from the sins of their parents. The Torah also teaches us that bad diet and weather change can cause illness. Unhealthy eating is a sin. In that case, illness can be a wake up call from G-d to change our diet.
There is no way that we can obliterate disease in this world. Doctors attempt to do this by prescribing antibiotics for infections. When antibiotics are administered certain bacterial strains will morph into stronger strains. Today these antibiotic resistant strains are called superbugs that kill millions of people per year. Why do some bacteria morph? Because There is a need for disease in the world at this time. This is the way G-d created the world. The western medical approach of treating the symptoms is illogical and is the antithesis to Torah teachings.
Illness can be scary. The worse the symptoms are, the more terrified we become, until our fear obliterates all logic, and we opt for that vaccine, or that surgery, or that procedure. Vaccines contain dangerous ingredients like mercury, aluminum, antibiotics, and loads of human DNA fragments from unkown sources. Even worse, many vaccines contain ABORTED BABY FETAL CELLS. The Aborted babies in vaccines are actually babies that were born alive and then dissected (while alive). Aborted is just another name for MURDER.
The aborted baby fetal cells in vaccines is just cause for religious exemption. I am pro-choice. I believe all parents have the right to choose whether or not vaccinate their children. My close relative was hurt by vaccines, which prompted me to research more about vaccine ingredients. Imagine my shock when I saw aborted baby fetal cells as a vaccine ingredient.
There is no quick fix for anything. The most we can do is safeguard our health by eating only healthy food and constantly examining our spiritual state. If sickness strikes, we must pray to G-d to reveal the reason why we became ill. Then, we can beseech G-d to heal us. We have to put our lives in G-d's hand. Accept what happens with Faith, even joy, and Pray.
Parents should demand the removal of aborted baby cells and mercury from vaccines. Alternatives to vaccines include homeopathic "vaccines".
