Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz
Since Hashem (God) created everything for a purpose, why did He create depression? What good can possibly come out of one who is down?
Rabbi Chaim Mintz responds:
Spiritual Doctors
Depression is an illness and was created for the same reason all ailments — physical or emotional — were created. The Talmud (Shabbat 55a) tells us that all diseases have spiritual roots, and when one endures pain or suffering, it is meant to be a wake-up call, a reminder to rectify his actions. In addition, an illness may be given to the person to help him rectify his misdeed. When one failed to do something when it was easier, Hashem will, at times, give the person an even greater challenge to rectify his failure.
In the days of the prophets, a person who was sick would not go to a doctor. Rather, he would go to a prophet, who would diagnose the spiritual flaw indicated by the ailment. He would then prescribe treatment, advising the person on how to improve himself. When the person followed those instructions, and rectified the problem at its source, the physical illness would simply disappear.
A Limb for a Limb
Today, we do not have prophets who are privy to this profound understanding of each ailment and how it relates to each particular sin. Nevertheless, illness is still a reminder to change our ways, and that is why Hashem often sends it in ways that we can understand the message. The Talmud (Berachot 5a) maintains that when suffering pain or illness in a particular limb, one should do some soul-searching and see if he sinned with that particular limb.
In a similar vein, if a tragedy happened in a synagogue, it may be a message to improve the decorum during davening at the synagogue. Or if a tragedy occurred on Shabbat, it is possible that Shabbat observance needs to be strengthened. Indeed, many years ago there was a fire in a synagogue on Shabbat and, tragically, a Torah Scroll was burned. After the fire, the rabbi of the synagogue asked me to approach the venerated sage, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, to guide them as to what the congregation should seek to rectify. His response was that since the tragedy occurred to a Torah Scroll on Shabbat, it would be appropriate to raise their awareness of the proper honor one should exhibit for both Shabbat and a Torah Scroll.
Which “Limb” is Depression
In any situation, a person should try to see if he detects a possible “middah k’neged middah” — a measure-for-measure connection. Therefore, in the case of depression, he should consider whether he may have hurt the feelings of others in some way. We all have many different relationships in this world — including spouses, children, employees, and friends — and we must be extremely careful not to hurt others in all situations. It might be a reminder for us to be extra vigilant in our interpersonal relationships.
Another possible cause the person might think about is whether he lacks joy in how he serves Hashem. Hashem may now be challenging the person to do mitzvos with greater joy and excitement, even in his condition of depression. Even a small amount of excitement in his present condition could make up for a great amount of joy that he was previously missing.
But even if these ideas might be the underlying spiritual components, as with any illness the person must also take medical steps to treat his condition. He must also be careful not to be too focused on his being at fault and blaming himself for his condition, since that can worsen his depression.
His Master Plan
Again, in this world we do not have the ability to understand exactly how Hashem is running the world. But we do know that everything Hashem does is good and is always for our ultimate benefit. That benefit may not become known to us in this world, but we can have complete faith that when we reach the Next World, the purpose of every affliction we suffered will become clear. We will see which earned us merit, which atoned for sins, which led us to new levels of strength and spirituality, and which challenges we might have failed to overcome. Our ability to have trust in Hashem during our sojourn in this world is all a part of the test. It is important to remember that all He does is part of the Master Plan, and is for our good.
In short: Depression was created for the same reason all ailments were created — as a wake-up call to repent. Two possible messages are for us to do mitzvos with greater joy and excitement, and to be more careful in our interpersonal relationships.
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