When someone is not yet well, we say the Mi Shebeirach blessing at the Torah.
We say it on Shabbat, and we also say it during the week.
But when we look closely at this blessing, we notice something interesting.
During the week, the Mi Shebeirach is much
longer.
We talk about the pain a person is going through. We describe the struggle. We cry out and ask for mercy.
On Shabbat, however, the blessing is very different.
On Shabbat, we don’t talk about the pain. We simply say that the person is not yet well.
And then we say the words:
“Shabbat hi miliz’ok.”
On Shabbat, you don’t cry.
On Shabbat, you don’t scream.
This idea that on Shabbat we don’t cry and we don’t scream is not only a halacha, it’s an outlook on life.
There are two stages in life.
Sometimes a person has to fight. He needs to work on himself. He needs to push through a hard challenge.
And sometimes a person needs to do the opposite.
A person needs to let go.
Shabbat teaches us that sometimes stopping, and not doing anything, is the biggest form of doing something.
In this week’s parasha, we learn many laws about relationships between people responsibility, damage, and how one person affects another.
The Torah speaks about a case where one person hurts another.
The Torah says:
“Rak shivto yiten.”
He must pay for the loss of work.
The Rebbe’s father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, explains something very deep.
The word “shivto”, if read without vowels, can also be read as Shabbat.
In other words, the healing comes from Shabbat.
The verse then continues:
“V’rapo yerape.”
He shall surely be healed.
Why does the Torah repeat the word healing twice?
The Rebbe’s father explains that there are two types of healing.
There is emotional healing.
And there is physical healing.
Kabbalah teaches us (and today’s medicine agrees) that when a person heals emotionally, the physical healing follows.
Often the body is not well because emotionally something is not well.
There is a type of healing that requires work.
Talking.
Processing.
Crying.
Sometimes even screaming.
But there is another type of healing.
That healing is called Shabbat.
Not talking.
Not crying.
Not screaming.
*Just being.*
Letting go.
That is why on Shabbat, during the Mi Shebeirach, we don’t describe the problem.
Not because there is no problem,
but because *sometimes the solution is not to deal with the problem.*
Shabbat itself has two stages.
The first stage is Erev Shabbat.
Slowly, Friday afternoon, a person stops working.
Less pressure.
Less pushing.
Then comes Shabbat itself.
A deeper stage.
A time to connect with Hashem.
A time to connect with holiness.
A time to connect with yourself.
The Rebbe’s father explains that sometimes true healing comes when a person completely stops working on the problem.
He doesn’t even talk about it.
Because sometimes not dealing with the problem is the solution.
In relationships, sometimes the strongest thing a person can do is step back.
Not because he doesn’t care,
but because he cares enough to stop forcing.
There are situations where talking more only creates more tension.
At a certain point, the Torah tells us:
Stop pushing.
Stop explaining.
Live life.
And allow space for things to heal on their own.
The same is true within ourselves.
Chassidus teaches us to work on ourselves.
But it also teaches that sometimes the greatest work is to let Hashem do His work.
During the week, we try to fix everything.
Shabbat comes and tells us:
You tried.
Now let go.
Let Hashem do His part.
⸻
Exercise of the Week
Think of one situation in your life that you are working on very hard.
It could be with another person.
It could be within yourself.
You’ve tried to fix it.
You’ve thought about it again and again.
And the more you work on it, the heavier it feels.
For this week, try something different.
For one week, don’t deal with it.
Don’t analyze it.
Don’t talk about it.
Don’t push it.
Live your life.
*Give that situation to Hashem.*
Not out of weakness,
but out of trust.
And notice what happens
when you stop pushing
and allow the healing to come.
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Based on the Rebbe’s teachings and on the Kabbalistic insights of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson (the Rebbe’s father).
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