כ״ח ניסן ה׳תשפ״ו | April 15, 2026
Chassidus Is Not Your Therapy
Every few years, a new modality comes along. It has its proponents and its detractors. The proponents say it’s needed. The detractors say we have something better — the Rebbe, Chassidus, a mashpia, a sefer — and we don’t need to look elsewhere. And the wheel spins, the pundits write, and the world is in turmoil.
By Yehuda Ringler
Every few years, a new modality comes along. It has its proponents and its detractors. The proponents say it’s needed. The detractors say we have something better — the Rebbe, Chassidus, a mashpia, a sefer — and we don’t need to look elsewhere.
And the wheel spins, and the pundits write, and the world is in turmoil.
Until it isn’t.
Then everything is quiet for a while, and the cycle repeats. We need it. We have Chassidus. Chassidus isn’t enough for everyone. It should be. It quickly gets tiresome.
One thing that strikes me as strange in these discussions are the assertions about what Chassidus can or can’t or should be able to do for a person.
Chassidus doesn’t get its value from what it does for a person.
The Alter Rebbe didn’t write Tanya as a self-help book, for mental wellness, or anything else. He writes about what it means to be a Jew, how to live like a Jew and die (ch”v) like a Jew, how to love Hashem and how to fear Him, how to stop doing aveiros, how to be more careful with mitzvos, how to love every Jew. If those aren’t priorities for someone, or if someone is learning for the wrong reasons — we are taught that hamaor shebah machaziro lemutav. But in the meantime, such a person has missed the point.
Chassidus doesn’t have to heal trauma or stress or whatever else to be valuable.
In the title page to Shaar HaYichud, the Mitteler Rebbe quotes Dovid HaMelech: “כִּי כָל־לְבָבוֹת דּוֹרֵשׁ ה’…אִם־תִּדְרְשֶׁנּוּ יִמָּצֵא לָךְ ” — G-d seeks all hearts… if you seek Him, He will be found to you.” That is the gift of Chassidus.
In Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, the Alter Rebbe explains at length how G-d is everything, tracing creation from G-d to His speech and to us. G-d is the only true existence, and our awareness of ourselves is itself a revelation of His power to conceal, which is one with Him. And as he writes in Tanya, this is something every Jew believes, something he inherits from the Avos.
In Ranat, the Rebbe Rashab takes you on a journey from the other direction. He explains at length how it is an obvious thing that the physical things we see are insignificant, and their true value is the Divine life force which vitalizes them.
A person naturally considers himself — his feelings, his experiences, his struggles — to be a massive deal. And of course these things are important, and people should be healthy. But when well-meaning people try to advertise Chassidus as an answer to people’s problems, they’re underselling it. The strength of Chassidus is to show us a world where we are not at the center. “The whole world was created for me”? The Alter Rebbe explains that as a call to action — that every person has to refine his portion in the world.
Chassidus teaches a person to have true bittul to Hashem. Chassidus is a Getliche Oyftu. We should all be sweating over a hemshech, a sefer, a maamar — not to find inner peace, or whatever the latest critically important thing is, but because we’re thirsty. “הוי כל צמא לכו למים” — all who thirst, go to water. It is a normal and healthy thing for a person to thirst and yearn for G-d. The Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya that a tzaddik doesn’t serve G-d just to quench his thirst; rather, like a son who serves his father, he treasures his father more than his own life. But if you’re not there yet, that’s okay.
As soon as someone demeans Chassidus to the point where it’s in a contest or contrast with whatever movement du jour — he already lost.
It’s like asking: if Chassidus has so much to offer — and it does — why do people play tennis?
Why are we taking the precious stone of the King’s crown and putting it in the ring with mundane things? G-d isn’t good enough — He also has to make me calm and deal with my childhood trauma to be worth my time?
Toil in Chassidus and avodah. G-d is worth our time.
COMMENTS
I’d just add that people’s health IS important, and unbiased research finds time and time again that people’s focus on positive relationship with our concept of Higher Power is extremely beneficial for emotional and physical health— and there is a mind-body-spirit connection. Also, they find better outcomes in patients who are prayed for. At the same time, we know as the article implies, there is a bigger picture that we can’t know and so chassidus is not to ne “used” as a healing modality.
לא זהו עיקר האלוקות מה שמתהווים ממנו עולמות
While the Tanya is not a psychology book, mental health is not quite as separate from spiritual health as some might believe. Bitachon has an actual physical impact on anxiety and depression. Pokeiach Ivrim was written for an alcohol addict. If you daven with Avodah then your mental health will be in a much better place (was told this by a psychologist).
The Rebbe referred mental health issues to mental health professionals. But if you aren’t also taking steps towards incorporating more Yiddishkeit and more Chassidus into your life, don’t fool yourself that you are following the Rebbe’s guidelines. If you look at the Rebbe’s letters, you will always see a two-pronged approach.
Pokeiach Ivrim was written for an alcohol addict-would be interested if you would be able to write here a source.
Thanks!
Get practical: Join kolel daach, they don’t stop driving this point. Rabbis Farkash, Klein, Paltiel, Kaufman. The best.
The Chabad Rabbonim in ch are very into people going to therapists for mental health concerns. This is not a contradiction to Tanya. When someone has cancer we don’t tell him to just learn chassidus. We get him chemo. Please don’t mix a chassidishe way of life which is holy to mental health that needs a dr. As someone who suffered tons because of parents who were anti therapy i see first hand the damage caused by insensitivity of ignorance. Please get your facts straight. Daas torah doesn’t agree with u. In all communities they send out people. Including ch. Your ignorance is not somi would be proud of. Shame on you
The article is not about whether you should do therapy or not (that’s a separate discussion and it’s case by case).
The point of this article is that Chassidus is much more than a self-serving therapy. We have many needs, but Chassidus is not here to serve us.
Of course, when you rise higher, you will need less. But that’s a side effect, not what Chassidus is about.
Idk man . People are struggling. I don’t think people understand the depth of the pain and internal galus that we are experiencing.
Yes , chassidus is not limited to being another “self help book” . Or limited to my trauma.
BUT, if chassidus can’t be applied to these parts of our lives , our emotions, our internal struggles (which probably most people if not all people deal with ) then we are failing ourselves and our people. And we’re also not appreciating chassidus entirely.
We should remember, g-d is not too holy for our struggles. Chassidus is not too lofty to address my pain. The rebbe isn’t too righteous for our more personal intimate lives. This is the Beauty of Hashem, chassidus and the rebbe. Yes , they are not limited to anything, they’re infinite. But they’re also not limited to infinity. They also extend to the lowest depths of reality.
People need chassidus to be applied to their personal lives.
Otherwise we are not bringing them closer to god or judiasm and god forbid we are pushing them further away.
This is something I’ve seen and experienced.
Thank you for reading.
There’s no doubt that Chassidus can uplift you in a way that nothing else can. And the warm energy of Chassidus can heal in a way that nothing else can.
But… It must be Chassidus. If you turn into another therapy modality, it’s no longer Chassidus – and it won’t accomplish those things. Chassidus is inherently a G-dly understanding and it must remain that.
If your argument for breathwork, or DBT, or emotion code, or 12 steps, or any other modality is “look it’s in Chassidus!” then you don’t have Chassidus and you don’t recognize the limitations of the chosen modality.
If you’re using therapy for physical healing, and Chassidus to strengthen your mind and heart, you’re good. When you claim you have Chassidus because you have the therapy du jour, you stop recognizing its limitations and develop a hashkafa that is antithetical to Yiddishkeit and Chassidus.
I don’t think that the argument is so much about whether chassidus can or cannot achieve what those modalities can, but rather quite the contrary:
If it was some yuppy neighbor raving about one of those modalities, it’s one thing,
However when a fellow lubavitcher gets all caught up in a fad, it’s a sad thing.
We all have expectations from someone growing up in the wings of the Rebbe,
And when it seems that they are caught up in narishkeit, it brakes our heart
Heres a letter of the Rebbe to a Dr. who was working on kosher meditation: (אגרות קודש חל”ד ע’ רסא)
אין הכוונה שילמדו קבלה או חסידות או תורה בכלל, כ”א אך ורק שילמדו איך שע”י התבוננות ומח’ חזקה וכיו”ב — הכשרים ומותרים ע”פ שו”ע — אפשר לבוא למנוחת הנפש וכיו”ב.
ובעיקר למנוחת הנפש דהא נפש דאלה חשסר זה אצלם באופן חריף, ע”י דאגות במסחר, בשלום בית, בבריאות וכיו”ב.
ולכן לא ילמדו קבלה וסודות התורה וזוהר וכיו”ב בסעאנסן שלהם,
ז. א. מטרתם כרופאים (ולא כמלמדי תורה) — ותפקיד עיקרי
Preventive.
_______________
My understanding:
There’s torah, and there’s medicine. Therapy and self help etc. would fit into the category of medicine – not Torah.
Disagree strongly. This maaneh was to specific people regarding a very specific context, and not the Rebbe’s “shitah on therapy” overall.
This article is a breath of fresh air.
There is so much opposition to healing because people feel like if one accepts the value of healing that insinuates that chassidus is not good enough, when they are two entirely different things.
There was a time not too long ago when holy, well-meaning chassidim were pained by the fact that the Alter Rebbe disseminated chassidus and “cheapened” it by putting the loftiest ideas onto simple paper. It was seen as a disgrace to chassidus. Yet the Alter Rebbe gave the moshol of the king’s son whose life needed to be saved. And the Alter Rebbe insisted on grinding down that precious stone to the simplest ideas that all of us can learn and benefit from. And now, people continue to do that. People continue to distill the ideas of chassidus and make them available in the lowest places — even (gasp!) Self help. And other holy chassidim sigh and scream and cry out in pain. But if we follow the path of the Alter Rebbe, we will keep grinding the stone so that there is no inch in the world, and no inch in our lives, in which chassidus is too high, too holy, and thus not relevant. So the question is: will you be one of those people standing on the side and crying when you see the teachings of chassidus written in such “mundane” terms? Or will you be one of the people thinking, “How can this mundane area of my life be different because of chassidus?”
Since we should spread the awareness of Hashem everywhere we should also use Chassidus to serve ourself?!
There is a simple distinction here between serving Hashem and serving your own needs (even if those needs are indeed valid). Why is that so difficult to understand?
Chassidus is about Hashem. If you are using Chassidus for your own needs, it’s a nice chochmo, but it’s not Chassidus.
The letter quoted is for a very specific issue when the Rebbe ask for Jewish meditation which is not to be a method of teaching Chasidus.
In a totally different discussion there are many practicing psychiatrists and doctors who found chasidus to be very capable where psychiatry and psychology hit a wall.
Obviously Chasidus is way more however it is not incapable when the alter Rebbe clearly says it is meant for those who are confused
To clarify:
I am not chas v’sholom saying that therapy and chassidus are the same thing.
I’m also not saying that we could take a random modality made for goyim and call it holy. Secular therapy is NOT chassidus. No matter what.
And —
Could we find more simcha, chayus. Menuchas hanefesh and healthier relationships by learning chassidus?
Yes.
Because that’s part of avodas Hashem.
There is a very big difference between spreading and teaching Chassidus and, due to the immense flow, it unfortunately “spills out” onto the streets – versus praising and being happy that it spilled out into those low places.
Why do you say unfortunately? G-d created the world to have a dirah b’tachtonim. Tachton she’in tachton l’mattah mimenu. Rav Pinchos Koritzer saw it as unfortunate that pages of chassidus were blowing in the streets. That isn’t the approach of the Alter Rebbe who is focused on a drop of lifesaving medication penetrating the lips of the comatose prince. It is not unfortunate. It is the purpose of everything.
How do you know whether you’re lifting up the prince or burying the king’s head in filth (as the Alter Rebbe himself writes)?
Not every intersection of Torah and lowliness is good. It depends who is serving who…
Check carefully and be honest!
I’ll forgo questioning the urge some people have to make it their responsibility to strip Torah of any relevance or personal applicability, and get triggered when they see people fortunate enough to have learned Chassidus as something that’s actually relevant to their lives.
What I will point out is how the author blatantly jumps to Shaar Hayichud V’haEmunah for his opening source, while completely ignoring the beginning of Tanya itself which starts off with the very question of self-identity (A question that doesn’t belong in Chassidus altogether, let alone for it to be the opening discussion of Tanya).
“אם יהי’ בעיניו כרשע ירע לבבו ויהי’ עצב ולא יוכל לעבוד ה’ בשמחה ובטוב לבב”
Who cares about what you’re feeling, You think Hashem has to deal with your anxiety or feelings of inadequacy? Let me tell you about Achdus Hashem, pull out a Samach Vav and start learning!
The Alter Rebbe clearly rejected this approach.
Learn Samach Vav, learn Ranat, learn Tanya, but if you’re going to learn Tanya again please start from the beginning this time.
I wish everyone who reads this, the ability to recognize the relevance Chassidus can have to your life, and if you haven’t merited this gift yet, don’t be deterred, don’t stop learning as we are taught that “Hamaor Sheba Machziro Lemutav” learning Chassidus will put you in a better place in every sense of the matter; spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally.
No one is saying that being happy is not important. Just like you need to eat and sleep well. But Chassidus is much more than that. It’s about connecting to Hashem.
Of course that too will uplift you, but it’s not about you – it’s about Hashem!
Thank you for your insightful comment.
There are many things the Rambam and the Alter Rebbe have in common, as noted by the Rebbe, but there are also differences.
The Rambam was a skilled and well known doctor, whose medical works are still read today. In his Mishneh Torah, as a doctor, he writes at length how to be a healthy person, covering a myriad of areas of a person’s life, both physically and emotionally. The Alter Rebbe in Tanya focuses on one: happiness. Or, the absence of depression.
Why?
The Alter is not writing Tanya as a doctor. He is presenting a path in Divine service. Emotional problems are relevant vis-à-vis they disturb that singular goal.
It is noteworthy that the Alter Rebbe doesn’t stop with “ירע לבבו ויהיה עצב”. He adds “ולא יוכל לעבוד ה’ בשמחה ובטוב לבב”. Why?
Serving Hashem with joy is a clear requirement. מקרא מלא דיבר הכתוב. The only reason the Alter Rebbe mentions depression is because it interferes with the singular goal of serving G-d.
Later, the Alter Rebbe emphasizes this further, with the moshul of the two people who are wrestling. The only way to be victorious in the struggle against the nefesh habehamis is with zrizus, which comes from joy. Sadness stands in direct opposition to avoda, and therefore must be targeted.
A critical mental health point that the Alter Rebbe is careful to point out is that it’s okay to be human. A person can be sincerely and earnestly pursing the path in Divine service that the Alter Rebbe prescribes, and still be troubled by distracting thoughts during davening. The Alter Rebbe writes that a person can’t let himself be discouraged by this. It is not a sign of failure, it is just a fact of life for anyone who is not a tzaddik. It shouldn’t be dwelled on, it should be pushed away.
Again, the reason why the Alter Rebbe clarifies a point of identity is so that it doesn’t disturb a person from his avoda, or make him abandon it entirely ch”v.
This is not a cold, intellectual reading of Tanya. Many people suffer from health challenges. Many people struggle to put food on their shabbos table. A person is not supposed to put his hand into the Tanya and take out cholent. This is not because the Alter Rebbe doesn’t care about you; in the introduction, as explained by the Rebbe, he wrote Tanya with you in mind. It’s just that that is not the problem that he’s solving with this sefer.
I encourage you, and everyone, to continue studying Tanya deeply. It is a never ending wellspring.
All the best,
— Yehuda Ringler
According to your reasoning:
1. If its not the Tanya’s business to serve you cholent, why does it suddenly become busy with solving your depression?
2. You explain why sadness is addressed because it stands in the way of serving Hashem with joy. Can you name me one mental health challenge that doesnt stand in the way of Avodas Hashem?
Beautifully expressed, thank you!
It’s not filth. It’s excrement. Feces. There are better words to use, but they’re not fit to print.
Lessons in Tanya translates it into “a privy of filth”. No one knows what a privy is. And filth takes away the whole punch of the moshol.
It hits home better when you translate it correctly. Also, imagine the smell.
I read the article twice. Slowly. Read through the comments. Beautiful article. Thank you.