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The Rebbe often spoke to us about physicians and medicine, denouncing them in the strongest terms. 70 Rebbe Nachman's polemic was directed primarily against the primitive medicine of Eastern Europe in his time. Yet even in our day, physicians cannot do everything, and ultimately a person must depend on God. The title of doctor does not make one a superman, and physicians still make mistakes. Controversial and experimental treatments are still used. Modern-day followers of Breslov avoid doctors except in serious cases, and then are careful to obtain only the best possible medical care (see Alim LeTerufah #176). He advised us to avoid them, if we had pity on our own life and the lives of our families, even in the case of serious illness. We should cast our burden upon God (Psalms 55:23) , and rely on Him alone (Isaiah 50:10) . We should not place our life in the hands of even the most outstanding of the physicians, for they are closer to death than to life ( Shabbat 129b) .

The precise remedy depends on each individual’s nature as well as the exact time, season and other variable. Doctors themselves admit that even the greatest physician cannot take all these into account without error. Therefore, they can very easily do irreparable damage.

This is true of even the greatest physicians. The charlatans in our vicinity do not know their right from their left (Jonah 4:11) and are literally murderers, killing people with their own hands ( Alim LeTerufah #366) . One should flee from them as a bowshot, not putting his life on the line with them. It is a great danger even to depend on the greatest physicians, for one who falls into their hands distances himself from life.

The Rebbe spoke at great length, but it is impossible to record everything he said regarding this.

He told us that while he was in Lemberg, 71 The Rebbe was in Lemberg (Lvov) for his tuberculosis treatments between Cheshvan and Tamuz 5568 (November 1807 to June 1808) ( Tzaddik #64-81; Yemey Moharnat #26). To put matters in perspective, this was fifty-seven years before Pasteur's discovery of infectious disease and fifty-nine years before Lister's application of this discovery to the field of medicine. It was eleven years before the invention of the stethoscope. home to many great physicians, one of the physicians there told him to keep as far as possible from medicines and people in his profession. This physician said that research into medicine had shown that it is impossible fully undersatand its subject matter.

There are also many disputes in the field of medicine. In Lemberg, there were two groups disputing the treatment of a serious disease. One group recommended a bland diet, saying that anything spicy was highly dangerous. The other group had the exact opposite opinion. It said that only spicy foods should be eaten, because sweet and bland foods were detrimental. Each group cited cases, claiming the other’s treatment was a death sentence.

These were among the world’s greatest experts, and even they could not determine the truth. Experimental evidence is useless, for sometimes it supports one opinion and sometimes the other.

Since even physicians are not sure of the truth, they are not at all dependable. When a person’s life is hanging by a hairsbreadth, how can he place it in their hands? The slightest mistake can destroy one’s life, as we see in many cases.

The art of healing has many fine points, and these are concealed from the physician. “Like the nature of the foetus in a pregnant stomach” (Ecclesiastes 11:5) . It has many intricacies and details that the physician cannot perceive.

One who is ill, or is caring for someone who is ill, God forbid, shouldn’t say, “On whom should I rely? Certainly I have to do something. I can’t just abandon the patient and not try to save him!” (see Tzaddik #194) . This is a foolish conclusion, since a doctor is far from life and closer to its opposite! In the end, one must still rely on God, so why not do so from the beginning? Why place the patient in the hands of doctors, most of whom are the messengers of the Angel of Death?

A person should imagine that he is in a forest or a wilderness ( Alim LeTerufah #366) . He would have no other choice but to depend on God. He should do the same when doctors are available.

A physician may use many hazardous treatments and still be totally ignorant of their effect. It is not surprising that they often do more damage than good. Why depend on a worldly cure when it is most likely to cause harm? (ibid., #187) .

The Rebbe often spoke with many great authorities and understood the art of healing very well. Still, he warned us to keep away from doctors. He once told us of a king who killed all the physicians in his kingdom merely because of the great damage they caused.

The Rebbe once said in jest that the Angel of Death oversees the entire world and therefore cannot do all the killing himself. Because he needs help, he appoints agents in each locality. These agents are physicians. Doctors are agents of death, and do little more. Happy is the man who avoids them and depends on God alone.

Some of what the Rebbe said is alluded to in his published works. 72 Likutey Moharan I, 27:7, 57:1, 268, 277; ibid., II, 1:9, 3, 5:1; Tzaddik #119; Yemey Moharnat #52; Likutey Halakhot , Shabbat 6:8; ibid., Rosh Chodesh 7:3; ibid., Peru u-Revu 3:34; Alim LeTerufah #3, #4, #54, #62, #176, #215, #302. But beyond this, the Rebbe often told us to avoid doctors. He said that no matter what happens, we should lift our eyes to Heaven and depend on God alone.

The Rebbe himself traveled to Lemberg and accepted medical treatment, but this involved deep mysteries. It was not for remedies that he made this trip, but for mystical reasons known only to him. His intentions were as hidden and mysterious as they were on his journeys to Kaminetz, 73 Pilgrimage #1, Tzaddik #26-28. Novoritch 74 Around Purim 5567 (March 1807). Tzaddik #15; see Tzaddik , Section III; Yemey Moharnat #17-24). and Sharograd. 75 Between Pesach and Shavuot 5565 (April 1805) ( Tzaddik #18; Yemey Moharnat #6). It was after this trip that the Rebbe revealed the secret of the Ten Psalms (see “ His Wisdom ” #141). All the Rebbe’s travels involved awesome mysteries, hidden from all human eyes.

Upon returning from one journey, he told one of the wondrous stories brought in his Sipurey Ma'asiot . 76 "The Spider and the Fly,” Rabbi Nachman’s Stories #7. This was told after the Rebbe's return from Novoritch ( Tzaddik #57, # 59; Yemey Moharnat #24). He said that it explained the reason for his trip, but the meaning of the story itself is very cryptic. Who can fathom the depth of his tales or unravel the mystery of his travels? Everything the Rebbe did involved impalpable secrets. The same is true of his journey to Lemberg.

Once he was there, he was compelled from on High to accept medicines, for reasons known only to him. 77 Cf. Tzaddik #78; Avenehah Barzel , p. 27, #21.

But when the Rebbe returned from Lemberg, he spoke all the more strongly against medicine. He strongly cautioned us to avoid doctors, devoting many lessons to this. He may have spoken about this earlier, but after Lemberg, he stressed it all the more.