How to Deal with Burnout?
Sooner or later we all experience burnout. We begin with enthusiasm, excited about an idea, a project, starting a business, or raising a family. We set out to achieve our goal with passion, dedication, and a sense of meaning and purpose. Inevitably, however, we lose some of the excitement. At times we feel burnout, drained of energy, and frustrated by the many details and specific tasks that seem to overwhelm us.
Chassidic philosophy describes this phenomenon as the disconnect between “Chochmah” (wisdom), the general idea, the flash of inspiration, and “Binah” (understanding), when the general idea is applied in detail. The “light” which is present in the general idea, is not felt in the detail.
[To illustrate: a student enrolls in medical school because he is passionate about helping people. He is filled with excitement and charged with energy. Three years down the road, studying for an exam at midnight on a Wednesday night, the excitement has evaporated. Because it is difficult to feel that this specific detail, this exam, is part of the larger process of becoming a healer and helping people.]
The solution to the problem is to connect the general idea with the detail, or, in Chassidic parlance, to connect the details of “Binah” with the light of “Chochmah”. While one is engaged in a mundane task, he must focus on the goal of this detail. If one can see the larger picture, then the enthusiasm which is present in the general will energize the specific as well. [For example, I may be frustrated that I have to stand on line in the market to buy vegetables for dinner, but, I can look at the task of waiting on line as a critical step which will allow me to enjoy dinner with my loves ones. This is the way the detail is connected to the general experience.]
All this applies to our relationship with G-d.
In this week’s portion the Torah tells us that the laws of the Sabbatical year were related to the Jewish people at Sinai. Two great sages, Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva debate what the precise meaning of the words “at Sinai” is. Rabbi Yishmael asserts that only the general principles of the commandments were taught at Sinai, while the details of the laws were taught in the Tent of Meeting (the temple constructed in the desert). Rabbi Akiva disagrees and says that both the general rules of the commandments as well as their particular details were taught at Sinai.
What are the implications of their disagreement?
Sinai, where the Jewish people experienced the Divine revelation in all its intensity, represents the intense feeling of connection and devotion to G-d. Rabbi Yishmael explains that only the general ideas of the commandments are “from Sinai”, meaning only the general idea of the commandments can elicit within us the same excitement as we experienced at Sinai. Each morning, during prayer, we experience a general devotion to G-d that is reminiscent of the experience at Sinai. Once we are engaged in the specifics of the commandments, however, once we are engaged in the specific tasks of the day, it is impossible to feel the excitement of Sinai. The details of the laws, therefore, were taught at the Tent of Meeting.
In contrast to Rabbi Yishmael, who was a high priest whose life experiences kept him within the realm of the holy and tranquil, Rabbi Akiva’s spiritual journey was far more challenging. Rabbi Akiva was a descendant of converts, he began to study Torah at the age of forty, and is the embodiment of one who must overcome difficulty in order to serve G-d.
Rabbi Akiva’s life experiences taught him that in order to persevere one must be able to experience the full intensity of inspiration every moment. Rabbi Akiva told his students that every day of his life he was yearning to sacrifice his life in total commitment to G-d.
Rabbi Akiva argues, and exemplifies, that one can indeed have the passion of Sinai not only in the general, not only when one makes general life decisions, but also every moment of every day. Rabbi Akiva shows us that the general ideas as well as the details were both said at Sinai.
(Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutei Sichos 17 Behar 1.)