In times of pain, we often struggle with what to say or do. And we all face such moments — loss, trauma, death, tragedy, setbacks.
We’d like to avoid suffering, but it is part of life. In our search for comfort, we may turn to denial, therapy, medication — even unhealthy escapes that numb rather than heal.
There is, however, a timeless path — a proven method of healing that goes back over 3,000 years. Let’s call it The Divine Art of Healing: Seven Steps to Comfort. More than words, more than actions — it is a blueprint for genuine consolation and resolution, hidden within the very word comfort itself:
C — Connect.
O — Open your heart.
M — Make space.
F — Feel.
O — Offer light.
R — Reassure.
T — Transform.
Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson over the next several weeks as we explore each of these steps — tools to bring solace not only to yourself, but to others. Because in this world, there is no one who does not need comfort — and no one who cannot give it.
This week we explore the first of these seven steps: Connect. How healthy connection and attachment is a powerful agent of healing.
Dear Rabbi Jacobsen,
I loved Part 1 of your C.O.M.F.O.R.T discussion and I am looking forward to Part 2 and beyond! I already follow your 60 days of Elul in prep for the High Holidays – so far I haven’t gotten through all 60 days, in past years, but I persevere! I’ve been a Jewish educator for over
30 years and had the life changing experience of attending Jewish sleep-away camp. Thanks so much again for your wonderful teaching. I know that it
will help me in communicating with, and hopefully resolving a current conflict
with an extended family member.
Elaine Contard