A Doctor is Hashem’s Messenger
Trust in Hashem never means disregarding medical advice.
The Torah does not give a doctor permission to predict the future.
The Torah does not give a doctor permission to make assumptions or create despair.
The Torah gives a doctor permission to heal.
That’s why, when a doctor makes recommendations, those recommendations are invested with the authority of Torah itself! We must follow our doctor’s advice with the same stringency and acceptance with which we follow the Torah.
Follow your doctor’s recommendations!
…You write regarding the report from the doctors:
It is a known principle that Yidden conduct themselves in accordance with the guidance of the Torah. Since Chazal tell us that the Torah gives doctors permission to heal, it is clear that the doctor is merely a Shliach [of Hashem]. And though the Shliach, the doctor, does not always know the deeper intention, [even when he doesn’t know that he is Hashem’s messenger,] that which he says to do in practice is from the Meshaleyach (the One Who sent him, Hashem). In this sense, [the doctor’s instructions] are related to Torah.
Therefore, even if you don't understand completely, or if you have questions regarding what the doctor says, like you write in your letter, that should not have an effect on your doing what he advises you to do. I'm therefore certain that upon receiving this letter, you will start to follow what the doctor says, and may Hashem grant that the listening and following his advice, will be with much success in all areas.
It is also clear that the behavior of not eating on time, or eating only once a day, etc. is not in accordance with the teachings of the Bal Shem Tov about which we heard many times from our holy Rabe'im, that "Azov ta'azov imo", we must surely help the body, and not [put it] through fasts and self-inflicted pains.
I hope to receive a prompt response that you started to conduct yourself as stated above, and may it be Hashem’s will that this will be with much success.
(Igros Kodesh Vol 14/ P. 505)
Even when you don’t understand
[..] I was happy to receive your letter, in which you also write about your habits, including your eating habits. In matters that are connected with your health, our holy Torah - Hashem’s living Torah - instructs us to follow all that the doctor recommends, for the Torah gives the doctor permission to heal, and the doctor is the messenger.
Certainly, you could discuss with your doctor your different ideas and your reasoning, including the line of reasoning that you wrote to me. But after your doctor hears you out, you need to follow whatever he guides you to do, regardless of whether or not he agrees with your line of reasoning. Do this because the doctor is no more than Hashem’s Messenger, who does his work with the empowerment and permission given to him by the Torah. And since this [approach] is derived from Torah, it is good for your body and your soul alike.
If you don’t understand this, or you have a different opinion about this, it is no wonder, because Torah is Hashem’s wisdom and it is no wonder when a person does not understand everything in the Torah. Still, a person must fulfill everything that is stated in the Torah, even without understanding, and in the end, understanding will come.
I hope that you will do this completely and do it with simcha, with joy and gladness of heart.
With blessings for good news in all of the above,
(Igros Kodesh Vol 15/ P. 160)
Hashem holds your hand,
even when you are in the hospital
B”H, 16 Elul, 5710
[..] In response to his letter in which he writes that his wife was told by her doctor that she has to stay in the hospital for a few days in order to undergo an examination, and that she is afraid and frightened of the hospital for various reasons (that have no basis in facts).
It is his responsibility to explain to her with suitable words, according to her present emotional state, that:
Hashem created the world and He controls the world, both in the lower hemisphere where we are found and in the upper hemisphere where ... and his wife are found. [Hashem] “spoke and [existence] came into being. He commanded and it endured.” Everything that happens in the world does not happen without Hashem’s involvement, and everything that Hashem wants, happens. It is only that Hashem wants us to utilize natural mediums; meaning, to achieve things within the natural order.
When a Jew, whether man or woman, does not feel well and must call a doctor, that does not mean that the doctor will do whatever he wants to do. Instead, Hashem has chosen this doctor as His emissary to carry out the mission [of healing the individual; the patient].
When we have faith in Hashem, without any doubts, that He controls the world, we then merit to see with our physical eyes in every step of our way: How Hashem is holding us, each and every one of us, by the hand and is leading us in the way that is better for us in both material and spiritual things.
As such, if she enters the hospital according to the directives of the doctor, she is still in Hashem’s domain. Hashem will protect her and see that things will proceed in the way that is better for her, both for the health of her body and for the health of her soul.
She must only be strong in her faith and trust, that certainly the blessings which my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, כה"מ, blessed her with, and blesses her now, and will continue to bless her, will be fulfilled. May she have a recovery, and you and her should speedily be able to convey good news that she feels healthy.
(Igros Kodesh Vol 3 / P. 441)
More Collections of Letters from the Rebbe
