Emuna Therapy

Childhood Trauma

photo by the bop

Research has shown that there's a strong connection between severe childhood trauma and the development of psychosis later on.

Are children who are being raised by parents who live in accordance with emuna principles  less likely to become psychotic? 

Yes they are.

Even more so, adverse or traumatic events during childhood can predispose children who were raised with emuna to even greater levels of emotional and spiritual development than their peers.

How is this so?

There are many examples from the Torah of children who grew up under circumstances that would be considered traumatic by today's standards and they rose to incredible spiritual heights,  for example King David and Rabbi Akiva.

G-d willing, I'll be speaking about this subject in much greater depth tomorrow, in my live broadcast.  The simple explanation for now is that Divine Providence looks upon every soul and knows exactly what it needs to be maximally happy and to fulfill it's purpose in the world.

If, G-d forbid, a traumatic event does take place in childhood, it offers the child of parents who have faith the opportunity to turn to Hashem with their pain, and in so doing Hashem will lead them to find their true purpose in this world. Since fulfilling their true purpose is the only way that they can live lives of true happiness, these kids can end up better off than their peers who never find themselves.

Today, the first day of the month of Nissan (the month of miracles) is Rebbe Nachman's birthday and the first day that we can make a blessing on the trees. To learn about the amazing connection between these two events read this!

With blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

 

Why Murder?

By Dr. Zev Ballen

We live in a generation of senseless hatred and violence. With Tisha B'Av coming on Sunday, join me for a discussion of the causes and the solution to our current dilemma according to the holy teachings of my beloved Rebbe - Rabbi Shalom Arush. This isn't for children.

 

Holy Woman

A pregnant widow with six orphaned boys becomes holier and holier with each test: violence, betrayal, her husband's suicide and ultimately a fire that left her with nothing but Hashem.  

- Dr. Zev Ballen

 

The Appeal

By Dr. Zev Ballen

My Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Arush says that one of the most important things that we need to do is to cleanse our hearts from anger. It is easier to hate than to love, so what can we do? Shaindy is someone who feels caught in this dilemma right now. 

She grew up in a religious home where nothing was real. Her father's constant yelling sapped the beauty from their lives, and left only the veneer of Judaism in their home and in their hearts. Nothing that Shaindy did was good enough or fast enough for her father, despite how hard she tried to please him. When she got married, Shaindy felt free for the first time in her life - but now due to circumstances beyond her control, she is once again living in her father's house - only this time with a husband and two children. Why is G-d doing this? What good will come from opening the wounds of her childhood?

Dear Father,

I want to introduce myself. I am your daughter, Shaindel. I have come back, maybe for the last time to be with you in the house of my youth. It is very painful for me here, but I'm learning that everything that Hashem does is for my absolute good. So I've asked myself. What possible good is there to hearing you yell and criticize everyone in this house? What good is it that I am acting like you toward my own children? What good is it for me to be feeling so angry and so frightened?

I want to share with you what I have learned from speaking to Hashem. It's very important for me to be here now. There are lots of skeletons in my closet. Of all your children, I was the most worried about not hurting you. We were all off the derech (not observant) but I hid it well. Now I'm the angriest of your children. Father, I'm just like you. I want to destroy. I want to ruin. I didn't realize this until recently. I was hiding it from myself - but that's not what Hashem wants. I need to stop hiding. Hashem doesn't want me to make aliyah now and continue to hide from my problems in Israel. Hashem knows that without you in my life, I would not work on myself. I would not uproot my anger and fix it once and for all.

Father, why do you hate for no reason? My husband's a good man. He believed in me when I didn't believe in myself and married me. He's helped me re-connect to being Jewish. Continue reading...

Have a great week!

Dr. Zev Ballen

Holy Woman

 

A 38 week pregnant widow with six orphaned boys becomes holier and holier with each successful test that she passes:  domestic violence, marital betrayal, her husband's suicide and ultimately a fire that has left  her with nothing but Rabbi Shalom Arush and Hashem. Don't miss this one!

With Hashem's Loving Mercy, we will be broadcasting live today, Wednesday at 5:00pm Israel time from the Chut Shel Chessed Yeshiva, 13 Shmuel Hanavi Street, Jerusalem. The broadcast, as well as our lessons posted from now on - are Mac and iPod compatible. If you tune in too early to the live broadcast link, you'll be sent to the main page of the Breslev Israel website, so try to tune in on time as follows:

10:AM in NY, 7:00 AM in LA and the West Coast, 8:00 AM Denver, 9:00 AM in Mexico and Central Daylight, 3:00 PM in the UK, and 5:00 PM Israel time. If you are not able to watch the lesson live, we will, G-d willing be posting a link to it soon. If you can't see the broadcast, you might need to download a new version of Flash Media player, which you can do here. We hope you enjoy the broadcast.

Wishing you Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Call For Help

There is a remarkable young woman here in Israel, Lets call her Chavi. She is truly an inspiration. About two years ago, her first husband became very violent with Chavi and her children and later took his own life. Last summer, in an attempt to re-build her shattered life, Chavi made Aliyah with her children. Soon afterwards, she met a young man who was happy to marry her and help her raise her 6 boys. That was then.

A few weeks ago, this young man publicly announced that he found a new girlfriend and left Chavi 38 weeks pregnant. Chavi was at the end of her rope. The depression she felt was deepening by the day. She felt so broken and publicly humiliated. Then, someone took her to hear Rabbi Lazer Brody speak in the Golan. The speech revived her, and gave her new life. They brought her to Rabbi Brody, after the speech, and he spoke to her and Blessed her. Ever since, she has been clinging to Rav Brody's words and her new-found emuna. The Garden of Gratitude has not left her hands. It is her life now. She is thanking Hashem for it all! She draws her life from it night and day.

This past Shabbos disaster struck again. There was a terrible fire in Chavi's apartment. She lost everything - except her children, Baruch Hashem! The landlord is blaming her for the fire and wants her to pay for the damages, but it was not her fault at all. She has been staying in a temporary dwelling with her children and was told this morning that she must be out in another week! She is due to have a baby in two weeks!! Hashem have Mercy! Her children are beyond traumatized. They have not received any help. One is already showing signs of a serious mental disturbance since the fire. Yet, with all of this, Chavi does not complain. She is not bitter. She has accepted all of this and continues to pray. Chavi does not want to be a burden to anyone although she already feels like she is a burden.

This woman needs immediate assistance. Please give generously to our holy sister. Help her to put a roof over her head and to feed her children. She has no family to help her. She is pregnant and cannot run around looking for shelter. Please! give generously to this tender neshoma and her children, and in the merit of your generosity, may Hashem protect you and yours from all severe judgments.

Wishing you Blessing and Success,

 Dr. Zev Ballen

You can send your tax-refundable check made out to Dr. Zev Ballen to: 4 Ariel Street, Jerusalem Israel, 94386. Or if you want to use a credit card, you can either email me at: zevballen@yahoo.com or call me at: (02) 650-2936 with the credit card information (card number, expiration date, security code). Thank you.

Stop The Insanity

By Dr. Zev Ballen

 

Miriam was born into a very difficult life. Now at age 24, and married for the second time, (circumstances changed for confidentiality) Miriam is fighting to stay married and to be a loving mother to her children. Hashem, in his loving kindness, has led Miriam to the well of my Rebbe's teachings and she has began to drink from the sweet, healing waters of the holy tzaddik, Rabbi Shalom Arush, Shlita.

May Hashem help us to learn from our holy sister, Miriam.

Dr. Ballen,

I watched one of your videos today and decided to contact you. I desperately need help. My life feels like its falling apart. I am in my second marriage which is extremely tough and my husband keeps threatening to leave. I can't let it happen again. I have personal issues and issues with my kids. I have been surviving on the Garden of Gratitude, Women's Wisdom and listening to CD's - but lately it doesn't seem to be working.

I want to know if you can guide me about an issue that I'm having that is getting worse every day and I hate myself for it. My daughter used to have her times that she misbehaved but it has gotten really bad the last few weeks. She doesn't listen to a thing that I say. I can say things over and over again and she just won't do it. I'm finding myself doing things that my mother used to do to me as a kid - yelling and screaming and saying crazy things.I know that it is wrong I just can't stop myself. I love my daughter dearly and I'm sure there is a reason that she is acting this way - I just don't know what it is. I don't know how to get her to listen or to stop my insane behavior. I don't want to damage my daughter the way my mother damaged me. I hate myself for what I'm doing and it needs to change. I can't go on like this. I want to be the nice normal caring mother that she needs and deserves. I'm jumping out of my skin. Please help me! You can see the rest right here...

 

Peace First!

by Dr. Zev Ballen

 

Peace really comes before everything - literally everything! Hear real-life examples based on the teachings of Rabbi Shalom Arush.

 

 

Dear Nachlaot

by Dr. Zev Ballen

There is an on-going crisis in the once quiet community of Nachlaot. The residents of this Jerusalem community were recently shocked to discover that hidden amongst their trusted neighbors -- was an organized band of child-molesters who have been praying on their children.

In more than three decades of clinical practice as a psychotherapist, I worked with approximately 1000 people who suffered some type of abuse -- mostly sexual. Hashem decreed that I spend these decades of my life wandering hopelessly in the midbar (the wasteland) of psychotherapeutic heresy - so that I could expose the truth about it now; and lead those, who still care about their souls, to something infinitely better - the teachings of my Rebbe - Rabbi Shalom Arush who I trust with my life and the lives of my children. You should recoil from secular treatments for child sexual abuse like you would recoil from a blazing inferno.

Dear Parents of Nachlaot,

The following is the message of hope that I think that Rabbi Shalom Arush would want you to have now: Read more right here...

Sexual Promiscuity and Suicide

by Dr. Zev Ballen

One million people killed themselves, this year, with weapons, poisoning or jumping from high places. By the year 2020 it is predicted that this number will rise to a million and a half deaths per year. That’s not just a statistic - its millions and millions of tragic deaths – about 1 every 40 seconds. What’s more, between 10 and 20 million people are trying to kill themselves every year but haven’t succeeded yet. That’s far more death than we are losing to war. Can you calculate the amount of pain and anguish there is in the world? We’re being flooded by a tidal wave of depression and mental torment that is beyond our ability to absorb, comprehend and stop. Why? What’s causing all of this?  Keep reading...

Wishing you Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen