Mental Health in the Sources

(14) Now the spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD began to terrify him. (15) Saul’s courtiers said to him, “An evil spirit of God is terrifying you. (16) Let our lord give the order [and] the courtiers in attendance on you will look for someone who is skilled at playing the lyre; whenever the evil spirit of God comes over you, he will play itbMeaning of Heb. uncertain. and you will feel better.” (17) So Saul said to his courtiers, “Find me someone who can play well and bring him to me.” (18) One of the attendants spoke up, “I have observed a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilled in music; he is a stalwart fellow and a warrior, sensible in speech, and handsome in appearance, and the LORD is with him.” (19) Whereupon Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the flock.” (20) Jesse took bMeaning of Heb. uncertain.an ass [laden with]-b bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them to Saul by his son David. (21) So David came to Saul and entered his service; [Saul] took a strong liking to him and made him one of his arms-bearers. (22) Saul sent word to Jesse, “Let David remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.” (23) Whenever the [evil] spirit of God came upon Saul, David would take the lyre and play it;bMeaning of Heb. uncertain. Saul would find relief and feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

MISHNA: With regard to one whom gentiles forcibly took out beyond the Shabbat limit, or if an evil spirit took one out, i.e., one was temporarily insane, and found one's self outside the Shabbat limit, one has only four cubits that they may walk from where they are standing. If the gentiles returned one, or if one came back while still under the influence of the evil spirit, it is as though they had never left the Shabbat limit, and they may move about within their original limit as before... GEMARA: Since the Gemara discussed one who stepped beyond the Shabbat limit due to an evil spirit, the Gemara cites a related baraita, in which the Sages taught: Three matters cause a person to act against their own will and the will of their Maker, and they are: Gentiles, and an evil spirit, and the depths of extreme poverty. The Gemara asks: What is the practical halakhic difference that emerges from this statement? The Gemara answers: It is significant as it teaches one to request mercy for people who suffer from those problems.

§ The Sages taught: Who is considered an imbecile? One who goes out alone at night, and one who sleeps in a cemetery, and one who rends their garment. It was stated that Rav Huna said: One does not have the halakhic status of an imbecile until there are all of these signs present in them at the same time. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: One is considered an imbecile even due to the appearance of one of these signs. The Gemara asks: What are the circumstances of the case under discussion? If one performs them in a deranged manner, then even the appearance of one sign should be enough to classify one as an imbecile. If one does not perform these actions in a deranged manner, but has a reason to act this way, then even if one performs all of them they should not be deemed an imbecile. The Gemara answers: Actually, the baraita is referring to one who performs these actions in a deranged manner, but each action on its own could be explained rationally. With regard to one who sleeps in the cemetery, one could say that one is doing so in order that an impure spirit should settle upon them. Although it is inappropriate to do this, as there is a reason for this behavior it is not a sign of madness. And with regard to one who goes out alone at night, one could say that perhaps a fever took hold of them and they are trying to cool themselves down. And as for one who tears their garments, one could say that they are a man engaged in thought, and out of anxiety one tears their clothing unintentionally. Despite these possible explanations, since one performed all of these together they are considered like the actions of a forewarned ox that gored an ox, a donkey, and a camel. Since this ox gored three different animals on three separate occasions, it is considered predisposed to gore and becomes forewarned for every type of animal. Likewise, if someone performs three different deranged actions, it is assumed that there is no logical reason for their behavior and they are classified as an imbecile. Rav Pappa said: If Rav Huna had heard that which is taught in a baraita: Who is an imbecile? This is one who destroys whatever is given to them, he would have retracted his statement that one is an imbecile only if he performs three deranged actions.

MISHNA: With regard to a deaf-mute who married a halakhically competent woman, and a halakhically competent man who married a deaf-mute: If either man wants to divorce his wife, he may divorce her, and if he wants to maintain her as his wife, he may maintain her. The reason why a deaf-mute man can divorce his wife is that just as he marries her by intimation, i.e., his marriage is not performed by explicit speech, as deaf-mutes rely on gestures, so too, he divorces her by intimation. Likewise, in the case of a halakhically competent man who married a halakhically competent woman, and she later became a deaf-mute: If he wants to divorce his wife, he may divorce her, as a wife does not have to have intellectual capacity to receive a bill of divorce, and if he wants to maintain her as his wife, he may maintain her. If she became an imbecile, he may not divorce her, i.e., a bill of divorce is ineffective in this case. If he became a deaf-mute or an imbecile after they were married, he may never divorce her, as he does not have the legal competence to give a bill of divorce.

(9)A shoteh's testimony is invalid on a biblical [level] because they are not eligible [to perform] Mitzvot. This [does not refer to] only to a shoteh who goes naked, breaks things, and throws stones, rather anyone whose sanity is impaired and finds their intellect constantly confused on some point even if they can ask [questions] and converse on topics regarding other things. An epileptic is considered a "shoteh" during a seizure, and considered healthy at all other times, whether they are someone who gets seizures at predictable periods or the seizures happen randomly. This is only [true] if they are not always confused for there are epileptics who are mentally impaired even when not experiencing seizures. And one must consider the testimony of someone who has lots of seizures [on a case by case basis].

Another one of the factors that detract from zerizut is excessive anxiety, and great fear of the changing periods of time of what they may bring. For if one does not free themselves from these weaknesses, then sometimes they will be afraid of the cold and heat, sometimes of the threat of accidents, sometimes of possible illnesses, sometimes of the wind and so forth, of every factor like these; and such fears will deter them from moving with alacrity to seize the opportunity to perform a mitzvah. This is the from Shlomo Hamelech, "A lazy person says, "There is a young lion on the path amongst the streets."

Rabbi Moshe Hayyim ‎Luzzatto (1707–1746).