Keeping our internal conversation loving is a gift and an obligation to ourselves
Sara Eisemann, LMSW, ACSW
“Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.” —Robert Holden
These days, self-compassion is all the rage. It’s the buzz word everyone is talking about.
But somehow, we resist. When this concept is presented to a frum crowd, inevitably one woman will ask, “Isn’t this selfish? What’s with all the focus on me, me, me? It’s so anti-Torah!”
And then the education begins. In truth, self-love is a necessary prerequisite to healthy relationships. Look at “v’ahavta lerei’acha kamocha.” Love your neighbor as yourself. Do you really think Hashem meant for us to engage in self-hatred and then pay it forward?! It sounds ludicrous when you say it out loud, but if we gave that mitzvah even one second of thought we’d realize that inherent in the mitzvah is the assumption that we love ourselves.
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