Torah

Finally, torah study, in its broadest sense, is an excellent spiritual resource for those who are ill. Study of traditional Jewish texts and commentary is, of course, a fundamental pillar of Jewish religious life. Through Torah study we attempt to understand God's will for us. Through study we can connect with God.

Thinking about what God has to do with illness, suffering and healing is an essential cognitive resource. Cognitive resources are just as important as non-cognitive resources (such as prayer, or having another person to be present to us). The reason for this importance is perhaps best explained by analogy. It is well-known that experiencing physical pain without knowing the cause often magnifies the experience of the pain itself. Once we get a diagnosis, particularly if the diagnosis is not life-threatening, it often happens that the physical sensations of pain are more bearable.

It is similar with emotional and spiritual suffering. If we can find or develop a framework with which to understand our suffering, then sometimes the suffering itself becomes more bearable.

Therefore, one may search the tradition and find comfort from any of a number of perspectives: the perspective of Torah that states that good is requited with good, and bad with bad: the perspective of the Wisdom literature which underscores the grand mystery underlying creation; early rabbinic suggestions that justice is meted out in the world to come or that suffering may come to offer us an opportunity to do teshuvah; contemporary rabbinic theologies which do not hold God responsible for suffering but rather see God's roles as the source of hope, etc. At any one time, we may resonate with one or another perspective. Studying the tradition equips us with knowledge that can help us thinking about our suffering and search for healing.