(א) וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע֙ בְּקוֹל֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֤ר לַעֲשׂוֹת֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֺתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם וּנְתָ֨נְךָ֜ יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ עֶלְי֔וֹן עַ֖ל כָּל־גּוֹיֵ֥י הָאָֽרֶץ׃
What is the source of this madness?
How do you interpret this punishment from God?
(34) so that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
Scholars suggest that these two verses indicate two types of madness, what is the source of these two examples of madness?
Does this verse change your interpretation of vs. 28?
What do we learn from this text about how Mental Illness was perceived in Biblical times?
(יח) וַיַּעַן֩ אֶחָ֨ד מֵהַנְּעָרִ֜ים וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֨ה רָאִ֜יתִי בֵּ֣ן לְיִשַׁי֮ בֵּ֣ית הַלַּחְמִי֒ יֹדֵ֣עַ נַ֠גֵּן וְגִבּ֨וֹר חַ֜יִל וְאִ֧ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֛ה וּנְב֥וֹן דָּבָ֖ר וְאִ֣ישׁ תֹּ֑אַר וַיהוָ֖ה עִמּֽוֹ׃
(18) Then answered one of the young men, and said: ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skillful in playing, and a mighty man of valour, and a man of war, and prudent in affairs, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.’
What type of state in Saul experiencing?
How does David support Saul through this experience?
How is Saul's mental state illustrated in this text?
Is Saul depicted in a positive or negative way?
How does the book of Samuel compare to the selection from Deuteronomy?
Our Rabbis have taught, What is a "shoteh" [translated until now as a mentally ill person]? He who goes out alone at night, and he who sleeps in a cemetery, and he who tears his clothes. It is stated: R. Hunna said, So long as they all take place at one time. R. Yochanan said, Even [only] one of them. What is this case? If he have done them in the way of folly, even one [is enough to declare him a mentally ill person]. If he have not done them in the way of folly, even [doing] all of them are not [enough to declare him a mentally ill person]. Really, [then] he had done them in the way of folly [and all three together]. [They can't be individually indicative of a mentally ill person, because they could have excuses for why they did it.] One who sleeps in a cemetery does so, it could be said, so that there may rest upon him a spirit of uncleanness. One who goes out alone at night does so, it could be said, so that that the Gandrippus has seized him. One who tears his clothes does so, it could be said, because he is a thinker [and he was lost in thought]. Once he does all of these.
According to the Talmud, a shoteh is incompetent to act as a legal agent in civil cases. This term is used to refer both to the mentally ill and to the developmentally disabled.
How does the Talmudic text above determine if an individual is a shoteh?
Does this determination refer to one's behavioral or mental state?
Several terms are used in the Rabbinic discussions referring to Mental Illness. These terms include:
marah shechorah, black bile: literal meaning of melancholy or depression
teiruf daat: tearing of one's mental state, indicating a temporary state of mental distress that could render one shoteh
The issue of threat of life sakanot nefesh is an important one in Rabbinic texts. Jewish law clearly indicates that mental illness could be a threat to life. Mental illness was treated like physical illness. In modern times Rabbis permit abortion and contraception when not only the woman's physical health was in danger, but her mental health as well.
-Mental Illness through the Prism of Jewish Texts
How do these terms deepen our understanding about how the Rabbi's perceived mental illness?
How could all of the texts above inform our modern Jewish communal response to Mental Illness in our communities?