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Advice and Guidance from Sefer Karaina

D’igarta

In the sefer Karaina D’igarta are letters from Rav Yaakov Yisrael
Kanievsky zt”l, the author of Kehilos Yaakov in which he offers advice
and guidance for encouraging people who have fallen into depression,
to rekindle their vitality and their desire to lead normal life. He writes
(1, 367): “Regarding a Torah student learning in yeshiva who says he
finds no purpose in his life. Apparently, if he had one loyal friend,
to whom he would respond in kind and become bound in love, the
feeling of love would be strengthened within him and his feelings in
general would develop. However, it does not lie within his power to
acquire a really genuine friend.

“It is logical that if were he to attain the position of maggid shiur
(lecturer in Talmud) the responsibility would spark an interest in
study of the topic in depth etc. [in order to teach it] and this too
would arouse his feelings in all areas, for when his feelings are stim-
ulated in one area, he will become a feeling, developing person [all
round] and it will be helpful in all areas.

“If he is exceptionally gifted he should be advised to author a book,
not of his own novel Torah insights [which in his present state he
is probably incapable of developing], rather a collection of anything
that seems to show straight thinking and has the ring of truth. He
should be in no rush to write hastily – only [putting pen to paper]
after proper deliberation and once the subject has become very clear
to him. Little by little he should gather many such items and in time
he will find much interest and derive great enjoyment from this work
and this arousal of his feelings in one area will affect everything, as
noted above.

“It should be looked into, for if he desires to marry and live married
life, it is logical that this too will benefit him. [But we must judge
that he will treat her like any normal person would, otherwise I don’t
think we are entitled to make any efforts in this direction.]”

222 1 Medical-Halachic Responsa of Rav Zilberstein