“God will strike you with madness, blindness, and bewilderment of the heart” (Deut. 28:28)
Sixth Reading: Faith versus Boredom
Up until a hundred years ago, it was believed that mental health issues were primarily a women's disease, known as hysteria. One of the innovations of modern psychology is the understanding that this is not just a women's disease.
There is a teaching of the sages in the tractate Ketubot that discusses the conditions of the ketubah (marriage contract), the obligations of the husband toward his wife and vice versa. One of the points mentioned there is that if a woman is wealthy and brings maidservants into the marriage, this reduces (according to their number) her obligations to her husband in terms of certain tasks. However, the Mishnah concludes that even if she brings a hundred maidservants, she must still engage in some form of work.
Even the wealthiest and most pampered lady must not reach a state of boredom and idleness. Rabbi Yehudah explains there that idleness leads to boredom. Boredom is synonymous with madness. This statement is the basis for a fundamental lesson in psychology that warrants deep consideration. Another opinion in the Mishnah states that a woman's idleness might lead her to licentiousness.
What is the Difference Between the Two Opinions? The commentators explain that if a woman has an unproductive occupation, such as doing nothing and only playing cards, she will not go mad but may come to licentiousness. However, if she doesn't even play cards, then she may go mad. Psychologically, boredom is worse.
The root of the word for “madeness” (שגע), which is ש.ג.ע, appears only twice in the Five Books of the Torah, both times in the rebuke section of our parashah. The first verse says, "God will strike you with madness, blindness, and bewilderment of the heart." The second instance is in the verse, "You will go mad from the sight your eyes will see."
In the first verse, there is a clear gradual order between madness, blindness, and bewilderment of the heart. Onkelos translates "bewilderment of the heart" as "boredom." From this we can conclude that boredom is worse than madness! "Blindness," which is in-between madness and bewilderment of the heart, is related to the second verse—"You will go mad from the sight your eyes will see."
Why Is There Blindness in the First Verse and Vision Causing Madness in the Second? Initially, a person encounters experiences that they are unable to grasp or cope with, which confuses their mind. The simple meaning of madness is confusion of the mind. Another synonym for “madness” (טרוף) comes from the root meaning confusion. The confusion of the mind stems from experiences that a person does not know how to 'digest' and 'process.' If they had been properly educated, they would be able to digest even the difficult things they have experienced.
What then is at the heart of this process that leads one from madness to blindness to bewilderment of the heart? Sensory confusion leads to sensory numbing. Initially, the person becomes confused. Then, they realize they can no longer bear it, so they decide not to see anything. From madness, they reach blindness, meaning blurring and numbing of the senses. However, it is possible that internally, they still have an inner experience; their heart still beats. The eyes are external compared to the heart. The person has closed their eyes and cannot relate to external reality. Still, the state of blindness is not the worst. It is possible that the “blind” person still has an inner life that no one knows about. If even this state fades to the point of death, it is already "bewilderment of the heart,” or boredom, as we use the term "boredom" in the sense of "I have nothing to do," "I have no satisfaction from anything," and in short, "I have no life." A bored person is numb both to the outside and to the inside. They have nothing more to do.
The state of boredom is what opposes our balancing force, which is the faith within humility, which provides a solution to the static state of boredom. If a person is not expending effort and nothing enters their mind, they are in a state of faith. For example, God “waited” for an infinite amount of time before finally deciding to create the world. One could say, in an extreme sense, that if a person is sitting motionless for an infinite amount of time, they are bored—they have nothing to do.
The Maggid of Mezritch taught that there are three things to learn from a child, one of which is that a child is always active. If there is even one moment when they have nothing to do, they immediately call for their mother. A child is incapable of being in a state of doing nothing.
Another example is the beinoni (the intermediate person) who is relatively “gray” and static. Nothing happens or develops with them. A banal life borders on boredom, which is the worst of all psychological issues. The unique quality of a Jew is their ability to remain restrained and wait for a long time without going mad or falling into boredom because for a Jew, faith resides within their lowliness. They are constantly in a mental state that, "I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Mashiach." We can apply this directly to our current situation. It seems that nothing is happening in terms of the true and complete redemption; things even seem to be deteriorating. But the Jews’ faith keeps them sane.
King David said, "If Your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction." The meaning of "I would have perished in my affliction" refers to boredom. The sage, Rav Yosef especially honored the festival of Shavu’ot and said, "If it were not for that day [the Giving of the Torah], how many Yosefs are there in the marketplace?" This means that without the day the Torah was given, he would be just an ordinary person, and his end would be to become bored with life. This day maintains his unique essence, and without it, he would have no drive to live.
There is a person who is idle, and this idleness leads to boredom. On the other hand, there is another person who has a job, but the job itself bores them. They are engaged in activity, but they have fallen into routine. Routine ultimately bores the Jew.
This is one of the psychological differences between a Jew and a non-Jew. Regarding a non-Jew, it is written, "Day and night shall not cease." Routine is good and healthy for them. If a person is dealing with non-Jews, there is nothing better to help them out of their problems than to introduce them to a routine activity. Temporarily, it is also good to involve a Jew in a routine activity, but ultimately, a Jew cannot tolerate routine. Even a good routine eventually becomes a Mitzrayim (literally an Egypt, meaning a limited existence) for them. Even boundaries and limits of holiness are called Mitzrayim. A Jew constantly needs something new—something interesting.
In the first stage, as mentioned, one must subdue the soul. The attribute of lowliness is constantly nurtured by faith that sustains interest. This is the most important thing to balance the life of a person in distress and to introduce them to a life routine that is good for them. When a person comes in confused, they are afflicted with a certain madness. One of the grammarians writes that the root of “madness” (שגע) can be permuted to spell “tumult” (שגע). To be mad is simply to be in a tumultuous state within the soul, to be overly excited and enthusiastic out of confusion. The volcanic eruption itself can confuse them. When the enthusiasm is so great, the mountain erupts, and from all its tumult, it turns into madness, as it says, "for he drives madly." This verse is about Yehu, who drove his chariot madly. Even today, we see this expression among drivers who drive in a reckless, mad manner.
A prophet is also called "mad." The prophet experiences a form of confusion, a certain transition from the vision of this world to a higher vision—the vision of prophecy. During this transition, the vision confuses him. It is an intermediate state between perceiving this world and perceiving the vision.
Madness, blindness, and bewilderment of the heart stem from a defect in one’s intellectual faculties: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Madness is a derangement of the mind, an unsettled mind. A mad person is someone who is not settled, not calm, tumultuous. Blindness is like being struck with dazzling lights, receiving a spiritual blow. Blindness is the complete numbing of the senses. The root of blindness is in wisdom, which represents vision, and the wise are called "the eyes of the congregation." Bewilderment of the heart is a defect in the faculty of understanding.
We can find a corresponding verse in a positive sense. At the end of the forty years in the desert, when the people of Israel merit to grasp the understanding of Moses, it is written, "A heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear." This follows the same order, with "ears to hear" corresponding to understanding according to Kabbalah.
