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In the olden days, if you had a question, you wrote it down and gave it to your local spiritual leader. He answered the question and the paper was returned to you — with your 'prescription'; sometimes a spiritual solution, sometimes a physical assignment to transform the situation.

The great kabbalists like the Baal Shem Tov never looked at a piece of paper. He could look at a paper and tell you everything about the person who wrote it down. He saw into their soul, into the root of their problem, and didn't diagnose and treat that problem. He treated the person.

In the medical world, symptoms present themselves, are diagnosed and treated. In homeopathy, there's often a deeper investigation, but the concept is similar.

In our own lives, and in the lives of those around us, we cannot treat people like pieces of paper and we cannot simply address questions.

We cannot treat the question. We must treat the person.

My mother and teacher, Karen Berg, often says that when a person comes to you with a problem, you cannot help them if you are coming from your perspective. You have to erase yourself — put yourself completely in their shoes and feel where they are coming from, regardless of where you are coming from.

If someone calls you and tells you what they are going through, you cannot listen to the issue. You must listen to the person. If someone says, "I'm angry", the simplest thing is to tell them to meditate or pray on it and let it go. But the question we must ask is, "Why are you angry, and who at?" The line of questions continues and we get to the real problem.

Unfortunately, the way that the world is right now, where there's a problem we look for a bandage. As long as we can stop the bleeding for now, we're good with that.

We need to realize the nature of the problem and make sure the solutions work long term.

If a person has a kidney problem and you give them Vicodin without knowing that they have addictive tendencies, you aren't solving any problems — you're adding to them.

We have to look at the big picture and make the effort to go at the solutions. That's what we are here to do — for ourselves and the world. This week, think about — perhaps even face — the people you're treating as problems, the problems you're not dealing with, and the solutions you know might take more effort, but will create a lasting change.

All the best,

Yehuda

72 Name of the Week