Health, physical and spiritual

Shalom and thank you for your question!. I’m sorry to hear about your problem, and before saying anything else, we wish you speedy recovery and that you find the right solution.

It is true what you say, that all things physical are manifestations of things spiritual, and that ailments that plague us are symptoms of spiritual flaws that need correcting. In our generation Rabbis and spiritual leaders usually recommend seeking medical care nevertheless, along with efforts in the spiritual realm.

Before discussing the spiritual, I would like to suggest that you don’t lose hope, and continue seeking a remedy. Perhaps good nutrition, guided by a recommended practitioner, can help. There are some natural sources of iron which can be well absorbed by the body. Stress factors can sometimes deplete the body of its resources as well, so it’s worthwhile persisting in seeking a solution.

Having said that, let’s look at the spiritual side. I don’t know exactly what the connection is between hair loss and your spiritual life, however there is a fascinating metaphor in the book of Tanya, which is a basic text of Chassidic teaching. The metaphor is that of a simple person who gets a chance to approach the King, and even touch his sleeve. It is explained that even though the King may be wearing several layers of clothing, nevertheless, when one has touched his sleeve, one has touched the King! This is analogous to learning Torah. When we learn Torah, whether a detail of Halacha, (Jewish law,) a discussion in the Talmud, a Chassidic teaching,or a sentence in the Chumash, we have touched the King! The Torah is G-d’s wisdom, and when we connect with any aspect of it, we are connecting with G-d Himself. In the same way, when we strengthen any aspect of keeping the mitzvot, we are strengthening ourselves spiritually, just as strengthening our immune system can help ward off disease, even if it is not a specific remedy.

It is possible to connect with the Lubavitcher Rebbe by writing a letter explaining the problem, and/or the request, and inserting the letter in one of the many volumes of letters that the Rebbe wrote in answer to people who turned to him over a period of many years. The letter is inserted randomly into one of the volumes, and then one reads the letter he opened out to, and often there will be some relevant reference there that will be helpful. These books are called Igrot Kodesh. If you wish we can open out a letter for you, it is a source of blessing.

In order for blessings to work, just as a field needs to be ploughed in order to receive seeds that will sprout and grow, so in a spiritual sense, we need to make a ‘vessel’ for the blessing by taking upon ourselves improvement in some area of learning Torah and/or keeping mitzvot. It is not necessary or desirable that this should be something that is hard to handle, but rather it should be something you are confident that you can do, whether saying a part of the daily prayer service, or a chapter of Tehllim, (psalms,) learning a section of the weekly Torah portion, or improving the kashrut of your diet. When this improvement becomes a natural part of your life, you can move on to another stage, and then another… In this way, slowly but surely, progress is made and  a lot is acheived.

It is important to have a spiritual mentor in your life. Someone you know and respect who is knowledgeable about Torah and mitzvot and to whom you can turn from time to time and assess your progress. In this way you can ensure that progress is balanced.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, the spiritual leader of the generation, emphasized this   idea of keeping up a connection with a spiritual mentor, as it is written in Pirkei Avot, (Ethics of the Fathers,) “Make for yourself a Rabbi and acquire for yourself a friend.” When you fulfill this idea, you are connecting with the head – the Rebbe, like the above-mentioned metaphor about connecting with the King.

Perhaps connecting with the head will have a good effect on the health of your head…

Hair is something that has less life-force than your skull and of course your brain. In fact most. people do not feel pain when their hair is cut. There was a great Torah scholar however, Rabbi Yosef Rozin, the Gaon of Rogatchov, who did feel pain when his hair was cut, because his mind was so connected to the Torah that he learned.

Certainly it is a very productive thing to increase your Torah learning!

Again, we wish you good health, and hope that this has been helpful.