ANXIETY, DREAD, AND WORRY
In Issue 139, we introduced the three existential anxieties people, and one might argue, entire cultures suffer from. We can translate “anxiety” into Hebrew as either הָדָרֲח, which we will translate as “dread,” or הָגָאְּד, which we will translate back to English as “worry.” The first refers to a sudden onset of acute anxiety. The second is a more permanent state.
Dread is related to the World of Chaos that shattered and broke, according to Kabbalah since it can bring about a similar shattering in the psyche. Worry, on the other hand, does not. On the contrary, worrying can be a positive force in our lives. The sages state that “the secrets of the Torah are only revealed to one whose heart worries within.” The Mittler Rebbe even says that existential worry can be instrumental in the revelation of the Torah’s secrets. There could be all kinds of reasons to worry. One might be worried about why Mashiach has not yet come, following the gematria we like to mention that “worry in a man’s heart” (ׁישִב אֵלְּה בָגָאְּד) equals “Mashiach” (ַיחִׁשָמ). There can be many different subjects for worry. Other questions might be, why is there evil in the world, why do the wicked prosper, etc.
ENTER EXISTENTIAL ANXIETY AND COLLECTIVE NEUROSES
In issue 139, we also mentioned that the three existential worries, that appeared historically in order are: death or non-being, guilt, and the meaninglessness of life. We then corresponded these three existential anxieties to the intellectual, emotional, and habitual parts of the psyche (see chart at end of article).
The most important discussion though was of how these three existential anxieties play out in contemporary Jewish life. When applying these anxieties to a collective such as the Jewish people, we might prefer to use the term neurosis, as there are collective states of neurosis. These neuroses that we suffer from as a people, particularly in the Land of Israel, are what prevent us, as a collective, from being able to fully win wars against our enemies. Let’s review these and continue from there.
THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND NON-BEING
In our generation, we established a state despite the opposition of our neighbors. But we are plagued by a deep-rooted fear that everything we have built might cease to exist. The more weight and importance an individual gives to Zionism, the more they feel that the existence of our people depends on the State of Israel, or like the religious Zionist community, that the State represents the beginning of the Redemption (ּנוֵתָּלֻּת גַיחִׁאשֵר), the more precious it is in their eyes. But regardless, pretty much all the Jews that live in the Land of Israel have an existential fear that everything might be destroyed. Some even describe this possibility as the “destruction of the Third Temple” (יִׁישִלְׁת שִיַּן בַּבְרֻח), where the word for “Temple” is the same as the word for “home.” This is not without foundation. Our collective memory, whether conscious or subconscious, is filled with the destruction of the first Temple and the second. These national traumas have left us with the dread that whatever we build is ultimately destroyed. Even if it takes 400 years, or more, in the end it does not last, and in the history of our people, 400 years is not very long. The fact that this already happened twice is like a chazakah—a default state that we are always destined to return to.
JEWISH GUILT
Regarding guilt, there is something even deeper. The main source of personal guilt in the West is Christianity, which uses the burden of guilt to control its followers. For Jews, the main guilt is not so much personal guilt, but the guilt described in the liturgy as, “because of our sins we were exiled from our land.” This is not about personal sins but about our collective sins. Thus, we suffer from collective guilt; we have anxiety that we are "a guilty nation." Essentially, this anxiety mirrors what the nations say about us.
This collective neurosis reached its peak during the Holocaust, when many of the victims justified their oppressors by blaming themselves, by blaming us as Jews, our people. This is a well-known syndrome found in victims of severe abuse.
Just these two neuroses together already prevent us from acting as we should against our enemies; they neutralize and cancel our ability to destroy them and decisively win against them.
THE UNBEARABLE EMPTINESS OF LIFE
The third factor, the main existential anxiety of our generation, emptiness makes us feel that the effort to win is not worth it, since nothing in life is really worth it. We sense that reality is empty of meaning. This is a worry, which neutralizes the strength to go all the way, because the effort is not worth it. This is just an example of how to understand our lack of ability to win our wars because of these three existential neuroses.
FAITH, LOVE, AND RESPONSIBILITY
If we look more carefully at the two words offered as a translation for anxiety, which were dread (הָדָרֲח) and worry (הָגָאְּד), we notice that their initials in Hebrew spell חד. It comes to mind that if we would add the letter alef (א) before them, we would get the word for “one” (דָחֶא). What word might this letter alef be the initial of. Moreover, since the alef precedes the dread and the worry, we can surmise that whatever word it is the initial of could provide the remedy or sweetening of these existential anxieties.
But first we need to understand the difference between these two translations of anxiety: dread (הָדָרֲח) and worry (הָגָאְּד). Fear is mentioned with respect to Isaac: “Isaac dreaded a very great dread” (הָדָרֲח דֹאְד מַה עָלֹדְּג). There is no such phrase describing dread anywhere else in the Tanach (there is a “great dread,” but no “very great dread”). Since Isaac had dread, who had worry? It was Jacob who worried his entire life. He worried about Esau, worried about Joseph. He spends his entire life worrying. After a while it became an existential worry, what would be the next calamity that would befall him. Completing the correspondence, Abraham is connected with the alef. As a form of worry or dread, the alef would be a “terror” (הָימֵא). Thus, the word “one” (דָחֶא) spells the initials of “terror, dread, and worry” (הָגָאְּד הָדָרֲח הָימֵא).
But the alef does not have to follow the same pattern. It does not have to be a type of dread or worry. On the contrary, it can also be the remedy. As explained in the secret of the word "truth" (תֶמֱא), where the alef revives the next two letters, תֵמ, which mean “dead.” Here too, we need to find an alef that will revive and heal the dread and the worry.
In truth, it is written that Abraham is the force of healing for everyone, both for the body and for the soul. He carries a precious stone around his neck that heals anyone who looks at it. Therefore, let us think about a quality in the alef in Abraham that will sweeten and heal the anxieties and worries.
We have three such candidates: Abraham is known as "the father of all believers," as it says, "He believed in God, and He counted it as righteousness." The first quality that can be proposed is faith (הָנּמוֱא), which begins with an alef. The fundamental trait of "Abraham, My beloved" is love (הָבֲהַא), which also begins with an alef. The third candidate for a word that can be a remedy and begins with an alef is related to how psychologists say that a person who has gone through a crisis can rise and recover if they take on new responsibility. As long as they are helpless, broken, and hopeless, they cannot recover. To recover, they need to feel that they have a role in life, a role that depends on them and is placed upon them, and this is called responsibility (תּיוָרְחַא). The concept of responsibility has always existed, of course, but the word "responsibility" is new. Responsibility stems from the root "acher" (another) and “achar” (after). We might say that responsibility is standing behind someone, taking responsibility for the other.
RESPONSIBILITY AND FREEDOM
Viktor Frankl strongly emphasized the role of responsibility. He said that for human freedom not to deteriorate into aimlessness—with all the dangers of emptiness involved—freedom must be transformed into responsibility. Now in English, these two words—freedom (תּרוֵח) and responsibility (תּיוָרְחַא)—have no connection, but in Hebrew, both relate to the two-letter root, or gate, חר). Frankl even suggested that just as the Statue of Liberty stands on the east coast of the United States, so a Statue of Responsibility should be constructed on the West Coast (in Torah terms, the west represents the back – thus, the western sea is called "the last sea," which can be interpreted as the language of responsibility, as mentioned). There are those today promoting this initiative, and indeed, the hippie movement in the United States, which the Rebbe called "a kingdom of kindness" symbolizes not only the freedom of man as a human being (while encouraging personal initiative, with all the responsibility and choices that accompany it), but also taking responsibility for the entire world.
The source for the connection between freedom and responsibility is in our tradition. The purpose of the Exodus from Egypt, "the time of our freedom," is the acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which means taking responsibility before God ("they are My servants"), before all of Israel ("all of Israel are guarantors for one another," a hint also to the west, the back, as mentioned), and for the entire world. In this last capacity, we the Jewish people are described as “a kingdom of priests” whose role is to bring all of humanity to fulfill the mission of "then I will turn to the nations a pure language, so that they all call upon the name of the God to serve Him as one.”
The value of “responsibility” (תּיוָרְחַא) is 625, 25 squared or 5 to the 4th power. 625 is the value of the filling of Adam (אלף דלת מם). There is something in the word "responsibility" that points to the completeness of a human being. A human is someone who takes responsibility, feels responsible for someone else, for something else. Concerning Adam, the sages interpreted the verse, "You have formed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me" (יִנָּתְרַם צֶדֶקָר וֹחוָא) and for our purposes, it can be explained as: "Behind and before," first of all, in order to progress in life, a person must take responsibility for his friend, responsibility to advance his friend in all matters, both material and spiritual. And for this, it is said, "You have formed me” (יִנָּתְרַצ), which is cognate with “troubles” (תֹרוָצ), meaning that all the troubles a person faces in the world are meant for this purpose (you take a step backward to take a step forward). This is the purpose of his life. For this purpose, God has also given man the power of gentle coercion, "And You have laid Your hand upon me," the power of the one who is responsible to gently push, to stand behind his friend, and to help him move forward.
ABRAHAM AND RESPONSIBILITY
Just as our forefather Abraham is faith and love, he is also the pillar of responsibility. Abraham, "the man, the greatest among giants," takes upon himself the unfulfilled responsibility of Adam. Abraham the Hebrew stands against the entire world—the entire world is on one side, and he is on the other—but he does not isolate himself. Being "the father of many nations," from the covenant of circumcision onward, he takes responsibility for all the inhabitants of the world. He proclaims God before the whole world and knows that he is responsible for bringing everyone to their purpose. Therefore, we say that the primary figure associated with the Mashiach in the Torah, even more than Moses our teacher, is Abraham. Moses is the redeemer of all Jews, but Abraham is the redeemer of all of humanity. He excels in this with his partner, Sarah—"Abraham converts the men, and Sarah converts the women”—and together they bring the Messiah to the whole world. Abraham is the Messiah about whom it is said, “the burden was upon his shoulders”—the clearest expression of responsibility in the Tanach.
FAITH, LOVE, AND RESPONSIBILITY
Therefore, we have three qualities of our forefather Abraham – faith, love, and responsibility. He encompasses them all. Abraham also includes Isaac and Jacob. It is written that Abraham (םָהָרְבַא) begins as alef beit (בָא) – the alef stands for Abraham himself, and the beit, whose value is 2, represents Isaac and Jacob. "We do not refer to as 'father' except for three," Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore, it is appropriate to say that faith, love, and responsibility also correspond to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all of whom are included within Abraham himself.
The two main and well-known pillars of Abraham’s life are love and faith. These are his two essential character traits, and one might consider which is superior. We would like to argue that Abraham’s essence is his faith—he is the first believer—and faith carries even more weight in him than his love. Abraham underwent ten trials, and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, author of Pri Haaretz, says that every trial was a trial of faith. Likewise, every challenge a person faces in life is meant to strengthen their faith. The word "love" first appears in the Torah at the climax of Abraham’s ten trials, the binding of Isaac, where it is written, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac... and offer him there as a burnt offering." God only intended that Abraham bring Isaac up and take him down, but He knew how Abraham would interpret His words, and that he should offer him up as a sacrifice. What is the trial? His faith needs to overcome his love; the trial is meant to strengthen Abraham's faith so that it becomes so strong that it overpowers his natural and good love. Abraham’s heart is his love, but his crown is his faith – and that is his most intrinsic quality, the Abraham in Abraham.
ABRAHAM’S MULTI-DIMENSIONALITY
If faith is Abraham’s essence, which we can describe as the “Abraham” within Abraham, who characterizes the love in Abraham? That would be Jacob. The second love mentioned in the Torah is the love of Isaac for Rebeccah. The Torah continues to describe many more connections with love, but the person who loves the most is Jacob; he loves his wife Rachel, he loves his son Joseph, and he loves all his sons (as expressed in his words "When I am bereaved [over Joseph], I will be completely bereaved [over Benjamin and all of you]"). The greatest “love for Israel” (Ahavat Yisrael) is exhibited by Jacob-Israel himself. Jacob’s great love is so powerful that it redeems Abraham, as the verse states, "Jacob, who redeemed Abraham." This means (as explained in chapter 32 of Tanya), that when love (the attribute of Abraham) for someone weakens for some reason, it is Jacob who redeems and restores it, revitalizing it. There is someone who comes to a tzaddik and says, "I have lost my sense of love for someone," and the love needs to be restored. What can the tzaddik do? He needs to awaken feelings of compassion (Jacob’s attribute, the inner experience of beauty/tiferet) for that person. In Aramaic, love is rachimu (ּימוִחַר), which in Hebrew means compassion (יםִמֲחַר). There is even once in the Bible where the root רחם literally means to love, even in Hebrew, “I will love You Havayah, strengthen me" (יֵקָזֲה חָהוְ יְךָמֲחְרֶא), meaning, "strengthen my love." So when the love is lost, it is compassion that can redeem it. Compassion for someone restores and revitalizes the love for them. In the Torah’s stories about Jacob, we see that the Abraham within him is his love, and consequently, the Jacob within Abraham is his love as well.
We are left with Responsibility. Responsibility is the attribute of Isaac. It is he that stands behind, supports, but does not interfere. We explained once with regard to business management that a good manager is involved and interested in everything, but does not interference. On the contrary, he encourages independence; he does not want you to be dependent. Dependency is a very bad thing. In therapy too, the worst thing is for the patient to become dependent on the therapist. Dependency of that nature represents a state of utter small mindedness—the contraction of one’s soul. A good responsible person stands behind you but does not interfere; he wants you to walk on your own two feet and grow with your own strength. This characteristic of responsibility is the Isaac within Abraham – Abraham takes responsibility for the entire world, but he does not convert masses like a herd of sheep; he converts each individual, personally, taking care of each individual—this is what we call a faithful shepherd.
REMEDIES FOR EXISTENTIAL ANXIETY
What we have done is seen that each of the existential anxieties—non-being, guilt, and meaninglessness—is remedied by one of the three aspects of Abraham just described: faith, love, and responsibility. They all emerged from the letter alef that serves as a remedy for anxiety and worry.
According to psychologists, especially Viktor Frankl, the main remedy is to give a person responsibility—thus they all emerge from responsibility. Many people think that the most important thing is to restore their love, and for those who are inclined toward faith, it is clear that the main thing is to strengthen their faith. Faith, love, and responsibility can completely sweeten anxiety and worry and even transform them into positive qualities, with God's help.
In particular, faith is the power that overcomes the first existential anxiety. Faith in God—from whom reality emerges—is the antidote to the worry of non-being. Love is the antidote for guilt. Feeling God's unlimited love and goodness and feeling love for Him and from Him to all creatures, sweetens and neutralizes the guilt complex, which as we said was introduced in order to subjugate people and make them feel dependent, even enslaved, to whomever promises redemption and freedom from sin. Finally, the sense of responsibility addresses the third deep anxiety of life being meaningless. Responsibility fills life with meaning, and not aimless emptiness.
part of psycheexistential anxietyremedyintellectual (לָכְּׂשֻמ)anxiety of meaninglessnessresponsibilityemotional (ׁשָּגְרֻמ)anxiety because of guiltlovehabitual/innate (עָּבְטֻמ)anxiety of non-being (death)faith