How to Find Peace in Suffering: The Baal Shem Tov’s Teachings on Faith and Inner Healing

It says in the Torah (Deuteronomy 31:17–18): “And on that day he will say, ‘Is it not because my G-d is not within me that these troubles have come upon me?’ And I will surely hide My face on that day, because of all the evil they have done.”

The Baal Shem Tov famously remarked: “I fear this curse”—the one destined for the generation of the End of Days—“that they will suffer a darkness of double concealment,” as it says: “I will surely hide My face”—a phrase which implies a double hiding.

The Shomer Emunim (a classic work of Jewish faith) explains the idea: There are two levels of divine concealment. The first is when G-d hides His face—meaning His providence—from individuals or communities. In such times, suffering and hardship arise. However, if a person understands that even behind these difficulties stands the compassionate hand of G-d, then the pain is part of a single concealment: the suffering is real, but its source is still recognized as meaningful, purposeful, and rooted in mercy.

When however the light of faith is itself hidden—when one no longer sees any connection between their pain and a higher reality, and instead perceives suffering as random, accidental, or part of “how the world works”—this is the greater misfortune: a double concealment. The first concealment is the suffering itself; the second is not seeing who is behind it.

The Power of Perspective

Imagine two people being pricked by a needle: One is randomly attacked by a stranger and left bleeding. He will surely rise up angry and seek revenge. The second goes to a doctor for treatment. The doctor inserts a large, painful needle. And what does the patient say? “Thank you, doctor! How much do I owe you? Should I return for another shot?” The pain is the same—but the awareness of its purpose changes everything. One is meaningless suffering; the other is painful, yes, but known to be for healing, growth, and care.

The same applies to emotional suffering, especially mental anguish from obsessive or intrusive thoughts. You may not be able to stop the first level of concealment—the arrival of distress—but you do have the power to avoid falling into the second level: the belief that everything is random and meaningless.

Instead, you can choose to reflect: behind this whirlwind of distressing thoughts, there is the hidden and compassionate hand of G-d, who in His great wisdom chose precisely this path to cleanse your soul. Not as punishment, but as a mysterious form of refinement and healing.

What To Do During an Attack

When you feel overwhelmed by an attack of racing, anxious thoughts, or irrational fears, lie down or sit quietly in a calm place, and concentrate on this idea: “Master of the Universe, I know these turbulent, spinning thoughts inside me are messengers from You. And You, the Compassionate One, are behind them. There is no randomness here—no nature, no coincidence. Nothing in this world has power apart from You. You alone control all things.”

Even if you do not speak the words aloud, simply thinking them deeply can bring quick relief—at least temporarily—from the inner storm.

This teaching comes from the Baal Shem Tov and was passed down through his students. He taught that if a person is in distress and cannot escape it, even if they cannot pray or speak aloud, simply focusing their mind on the truth of “There is nothing but Him”—this alone can cause all dark forces to dissolve.

“The Whole Earth is Full of His Glory”

The Toldot Adam (Parashat Vayigash) brings in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: When a harsh judgment is hovering over a person, they should not even pray out loud to cancel it, but rather focus in pure thought, so that no spiritual force of accusation can interfere.

The Midrash Pinchas (section 157) also quotes the Baal Shem Tov:
If a person falls into great distress, their only hope is to fully trust in divine mercy. At that moment, they should not take action—not even go to the ritual bath or recite special prayers. Just trust. Completely. That alone is their healing.

The Shomer Emunim testifies about himself (Essay on Divine Providence, Ch. 4): “I personally have tested this many times and found it truly wondrous. This advice from the Baal Shem Tov is astonishingly powerful for anyone who is able to strengthen themselves in such a moment with trust in G-d.”

Similarly, in Porat Yosef (Parashat Miketz): “I heard from my teacher the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, that if a person knows clearly that G-d fills the whole world and that every movement and thought comes only from Him—then this knowledge alone will scatter all negative spiritual forces.”

Nefesh HaChaim (Gate 3, Ch. 12) explains this further: This is a profound and wondrous method for canceling all negative energies or harmful intentions from affecting a person: If someone sets in their heart to say, “G-d is the one and only true power; there is none besides Him. All worlds are filled only with His simple unity,” and if they completely detach from any belief in other powers and cleave their consciousness only to G-d alone—then, without needing to do anything else, all harmful energies will automatically fall away and have no effect.

I, the one writing these lines, have shared this method with several people who were suffering deeply. They later told me how much it helped—how astonishingly effective it was.

Faith is Beyond Intellect

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin writes (in Machshevot Charutz 7b): Through faith, all false fears and illusions are dissolved.

This idea is echoed by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Schechter in his book V’Nikhtav BaSefer: “Faith is above the intellect, while illusions and fears are beneath it. So the intellect cannot respond to irrational fears, because they lie beneath its reach. The only way to dissolve them is to activate something higher than intellect, which is faith.

Logic won’t be effective in these moments. The only tool is simple faith, that ‘there is nothing besides Him,’ and that even in the midst of disturbing thoughts, G-d is present and surrounding you. And as soon as you attach your mind to Him, all forces of confusion and fear begin to fade.”