When Moshiach Comes by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

Dr. Deb When Moshiach Comes

By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

Recently, I realized I actually need a vacation. Not want, but need. It was the first time in a long time that I felt that way. See, I had been so pleased to take so many couples under my wing that I didn’t realize how crowded my schedule was getting until someone said that there was no room to make appointments and I had to start giving up lunch.

Pretty soon it was lunch and supper and gym because my program offers people individual visits for a while but then, like the harmony joining the melody, there are individual and joint visits when people are ready to hold honest but compassionate conversations.

So there was no time left for me.

Not only that, but my program, which is 13 weeks long got stretched to 6 months when I offered the last set of couples “extra time” as a bonus. It seemed to me a great idea because not every couple could finish in 13 weeks; some did, some didn’t. Like music or basketball, learning to honor one’s own body and be aware of the feelings that are generated, so as to soothe and assure our feelings (parts) that “we” can handle things, can take longer for unpracticed people.

So it was kind of a test for me, too, to see exactly how long it would take if those extra 13 weeks were provided, basically, for free. I was happy to do it and enjoyed every minute of it.

Until I ached for an extra hour in my day just to go to the store because I’d run out of vegetables.

So I told nearly everyone that had

come into my program that I would wrap up at the end of July but that they could opt for a month-by-month extension with one of the new therapists working with me. That worked out fine; they were all appreciative of the miles that they’d come in understanding the inner recesses of their souls –and those of their partners.

Then I started getting ready for my next trip to Eretz Yisroel after two years. Thinking about going on tiulim and perhaps taking a conversational Hebrew course, as well as seeing my family and old friends, seemed incredible.

Which got me thinking: Suppose Moshiach were to come tomorrow morning what, exactly, would I do with my life? How would I spend my time?

I knew immediately that for rest and relaxation I would probably want to plant flowers. For fun, I would cook and invite

How would I spend my time?

friends over; I love food, I have to say. And, of course, go back to the amazing shiurim I have been missing as I got so busy. But…

Picturing all this, I realized that something would be missing in my life. Something thrilling, wonderful, breathtaking, something I’m passionate about. And that would be doing exactly what I’ve been doing all these years: being a therapist.

Not only that, when I hear the heart-wrenching stories people tell me, do I even have a right to turn away? Suppose I were a medical doctor enjoying a nice walk on a beautiful day, tired from weeks and weeks of hard work and just taking time to relax, when suddenly someone collapses on the sidewalk. Would I have the right, ethically, to go on my way when I know what to do to help? I don’t think so.

If G-d gave me the ability to help, that is exactly what my life is for – service, avodah to Hashem. So why would it be different during times of Moshiach?

Then again, maybe there wouldn’t be any emotional pain in that tekufah, I don’t know. The only thing I do know is that if there were emotional pain, I’d want to roll up my sleeves and keep helping people heal.

That is the essence of what I want to leave you with on this, my last article in this wonderful paper. I’m still here, and you can still reach me by getting on my email list at drdeb.com.