- Dealing With Illness
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- Moshe Ben-Chaim
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- Reader: I am on a the bboard on the net . It is a support
group for people who have Cushing's Syndrome. This terrible thing
makes the body to produce to much of its normal steroid. Then the body
begins to attack it self. Beautiful women begin to get weaken and sick
with all kinds of horrible strange maladies. Their hair is lost, bone
damage, skin becomes all broken down and thin, hurtful pain all over
their bodies! As A. Jew, what can you please share with me about the
promises of God about healing Isa.65:24 "Before they call I will
answer;while they are still speaking I will hear." We need a
miracle to be healthy. As God parted the Red Sea,we also need to know
that He will make us whole again! The same miracles that we read about
in past of times. Thank you, Please answer soon!
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- Mesora: I
am sorry it took so long to respond...How are you feeling?
- You should understand that while God has
performed and can perform miracles, we do not look to them as a method
of dealing with our problems. Yes, we must pray, but we must also seek
the finest care, doctors, diet and cover all bases to insure our
health. Our patriarch Jacob prayed to God, prepared a bribe and
readied for battle when his brother Esav was chasing him to kill him.
He covered all the bases, and did not simply wait for miracles.
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- It is essential that one live the correct life
according to the Torah. By doing so, we are recognized by God all the
more as deservant of His intervention. Additionally, seeking ideas in
Torah cause us to focus on what is truly important, allowing other
issues to subside from the center of our focus. Thereby, we diminish
the importance and expected happiness we previously sought from those
areas. Health is extremely important, but focusing in on God's
creation and wisdom actually helps us de-emphasize our own
egocentricity, while we also realize what is amazing about the world.
A Rabbi once told a woman stricken with Parkinson's , "we live in
our mind". Meaning, although she is bound to a wheelchair, this
does not prevent her from enjoying wisdom, appreciation of nature and
other pleasures not requiring physical exertion. Our perception and
happiness are in our minds. She recently wrote me a letter thanking me
for some very small favor I did, but how it changed her stay and made
her happy. The recognition shown to her elevated her spirits, and the
personal one on one made her completely forget about her ailments.
This happiness she experienced displayed just how much more important
friendship is than health. Laughter together made her realize that she
could deal well even with Parkinson's, provided she had her priorities
correct, - that there is more to life. How she is coping with her
ailment is truly inspirational.
- That means maybe we can too!
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