Question:
Our generation is filled with all kinds of mental problems, such as anxiety, irrational fears, etc., and all kinds of other emotional issues. What is the root of these issues, and what is their remedy?Answer:
Issues in the soul stem from impaired middos (character traits).
There are two layers to the middos – an inner layer and an external layer.
The inner layer of middos is impaired by medameh, imagination, and it is fixed through the power of daas.
The external layer of the middos is fixed through the various ways of how each particular character trait is fixed. (Whatever the sefarim describe about fixing certain middos, such as conceit, anger, lust, etc. are only addressing the external layer of the middos. In the external layer, it appears that there are all kinds of middos and issues in the soul, in a wide range of many different colors.
But at their root, there is only one problem [namely, the medameh, the impaired imagination].)
Editor’s Note: The Rav explains how to repair “medameh”/imagination in the series דע את דמיונך, (Getting to Know Your Imagination).
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