Spirituality and healing are deeply intertwined. Modern medicine recognizes the power of the mind to help heal the body, and the impact of a patient’s spiritual state on the healing process. Any attempt to improve our physical health should be coupled with an upgrade in our spiritual health. On many levels, the body and soul are in parallel.
A medical treatment will only be effective if it is compatible with the patient. Factors such as blood type, genetic make-up and family history will determine whether a particular treatment is appropriate for a particular person. A practitioner would be derelict in their duty if they did not first investigate the patient’s background before deciding how to treat them.
The same applies to spiritual remedies. Your soul’s family history must be taken into account before embarking on any spiritual path. If your soul make up is Jewish, it needs Jewish spirituality to be healthy.
Healing practices can be borrowed from any culture. Stretches and exercises, breathing and relaxation techniques, herbal remedies and natural medicines, if they have been tried and tested and pose no danger, may be helpful, no matter where in the world they come from. These practices don’t need to come from a Jewish source in order to heal a Jewish body.
But once a remedy crosses over into the realm of the soul, your family history must be taken into account before we can determine if it is appropriate for you.
A healthy organism is one connected to its roots. Study Torah and plug in to your soul’s source. You need it for your health. Your doctor doesn’t have to be Jewish. Your spirituality does.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Bluming, Rabbi Moss based on Igros Kodesh Volume 10 p38