An example of a disease that originates from the immune system and can be linked to the fear of rape (the fear of the wolf), is Lupus. The name "Lupus" in Latin means "wolf." The French physician Cazenave named the disease Lupus in 1851 because he thought that the rash that often develops on the skin in this disease resembled a wolf's bite. According to Kabbalah, the very fact that by Divine providence the name "wolf" was attributed to the disease can be seen as evidence of its relation to a problem originating in the immune system. The problem with Lupus (or any autoimmune disease) arises from a misconstrued fear of the body that what are in truth healthy elements are those of a foreign intruder. This fear of being attacked can be likened to the rape phenomenon.
Lupus is found about 90% of the time in women, a clear indication that Lupus is primarily a feminine disease. In Kabbalah, femininity in general is related to the sefirah of hod (the immune system)–"she is in hod."
A further indication of the relation of Lupus to the "rape syndrome" is that medical findings have noted that for many Lupus patients the sun will either spark an episode of the disease if it is in remission or intensify the existing manifestation. Psychologically, such a person prefers being hidden, being in the dark, in order to remain private or outside all involvement with things. The spiritual root of this condition is an underlying fear that exposure to the sun allows the sun to enter into you and tan you. This psychophysical aversion to tanning–similar to the fear of rape–places the sun in the position of the wolf.
