Hagaon Hacham Mordechai Eliyahu z.s.l.

By: Rabbi Moshe Raphael

Studies show that most of our choices are made from fear. It is human nature to fear crime, war, financial difficulties, marital problems and loss. However, fear from worldly occurrences results from a misunderstanding of the spiritual root behind them, or, as our holy sages said, “It’s not the snake that kills, but the sin that kills” (Brachot 34a). The cause of what happens in our physical world is based in the spiritual realm, and in order to understand it, we need to strip away our superficial perspective and recognize that everything that happens is from Gd. Judaism teaches us that although a person’s nature is to fear earthly things, our spiritual challenge is to correct this tendency by elevating our earthly fears and converting them to awe for our Creator.

For some, however, coping with fear can be easier said than done, especially after a prolonged period of stress, tension and confusion that leads to fear that may increase panic and depression. Getting stuck in this cycle may be detrimental to our physical and emotional health and make our spiritual development impossible. Chemical drugs conventionally used to treat symptoms of depression may have side effects and are best reserved only for acute or chronic cases.

Hypericum Perforatum, also known as St. John’s Wort, has a 2,400-year history of safe and effective usage in folk, herbal, and ancient medicine and was prescribed as medicine by Hippocrates (whose works Rambam studied extensively).

In Germany, more than fifty percent of depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders are treated with Hypericum. In 1994, German doctors wrote over 66 million prescriptions for it.

The prestigious British Journal of Medicine surveyed all existing research on Hypericum Perforatum and confirmed it was as effective as prescription antidepressants and yet lack their negative side effects. This fact can help the millions of people who seek medical help for depression but are apprehensive about taking prescription drugs.

In the US, there has been a lot of press coverage about Hypericum, and the National Institute of Health allocated millions of dollars for research into its effectiveness in treating depression. Research is also being done at the Weitzman Institute in Israel.

If you are feeling stuck in the difficult cycle of depression, ask your medical doctor if Hypericum can be beneficial for you.

Rabbi Moshe Rafael is the founder and director of the Rambam Institute and College of Jewish Medicine in Safed, Israel, and a doctor of natural medicine.

For more information, visit www.rambam.co.il, or email moshe@rambam.co.il or call 011-972-4-6923450.