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Dear Readers,
This week, in order for me to reiterate the
fact that addiction is an "equal opportunity
disease," I have borrowed heavily from an article
by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.; written in response
to a letter he received from a Jewish mother who
bemoaned the fact that her daughter, while undergoing
treatment for alcoholism, had been advised by her
counselor to consult her rabbi after she had expressed
feelings of 'spiritual emptiness.' Following this
advice, she consulted her rabbi He admonished her
to 'control' her drinking, telling her that it was
a 'disgrace' for a Jew to drink excessively; meanwhile,
offering no response to her spiritual needs.
Rabbi Twersky is a nationally acknowledged
expert in the field of addictive illnesses. An Associate
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh
Medical School, he is Medical Director of the Gateway
Rehabilitation Center and author of many books and
scientific papers on the subject of addictive illnesses
As a long-time admirer of the rabbi's work, I sought
and received permission from , JACS (Jewish Alcoholics,
Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others)
to quote his article ("The Truth About Chemical
Dependency and Jews") on their web-site: <www.jacsweb.org>:
Dr. Twersky noted that"this
is a serious indictment, but one which I believe
has great validity. Nowhere in the years of my training
to become a rabbi was I taught anything about alcoholism,
nor do I recall any attention given to the problem
either in rabbinic journals or at conventions.
"It may be convenient to adhere
to the myth that Jews cannot be alcoholics, but
this denial constitutes a serious dereliction of
duty. To dispel this myth, one need only ask proprietors
of country clubs, who once shunned Jewish affairs
because they made little profits on the sale of
alcoholic beverages....this is no longer true.
"Whereas the incidence of alcoholism
among Jews, while no longer negligible, may be less
than in the non-Jewish population, the same cannot
be said of (addiction to) other mood altering drugs.
Among the older Jews, addiction to tranquilizers,
sedatives, and pain pills is quite common; and among
the younger set, marijuana dependency as well as
abuse of other street drugs is rampant. The recent
epidemic spread of cocaine has deeply affected Jews,
surpassing even heroin in its total devastation
of mind, body, and family.
"What can be done? The first
step is awareness. As long as we believe the problem
is not ours we will do nothing. Recognition....
is of paramount importance, and must be faced squarely
by the clerical and lay leadership, as well as the
Jewish community at large.
"Yeshivas and seminaries must
begin to introduce courses dealing with chemical
dependency; Jewish communal professionals must become
knowledgeable in the field; Community education
programs must begin to feature programs of substance
abuse; All individuals involved in Jewish communal
life must learn to recognize the problem and become
familiar with the resources so essential to treatment
recovery be they detoxification, rehabilitation,
counseling or self-help programs.
"However great the stigma attached
to chemical addiction, it can no longer be allowed
to interfere with getting help. Jews tend to be
most secretive about emotional disturbances within
their families, often avoiding help, for fear of
exposure and shame. Furthermore, since family participation
is crucial in the recovery process, parents may
have concerns that they will meet other members
of their community at a treatment facility, and
that their private nightmare will be "known
to others."
"It must be understood that
dependency on any addictive chemical is a malignant
condition. Unless arrested, it is like a cancer:
progressive, destructive and lethal. It claims as
its victims not only the user, but the family members
as well. Its consequences are far-reaching and devastating....a
problem so severe that, we can no longer afford
to deny or hide the need for help.
"Whatever the initial approach
to treatment, long-term recovery invariably requires
participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics
Anonymous (NA), or Pills Anonymous (PA). Psychological
therapy (Such as we offer at the Van Ost Institute)
can be adjunctive to involvement in these programs,
but cannot be relied upon to be the sole treatment
modality. Some people mistakenly believe that these
programs have a Christian orientation and are "off
limits" to Jews. But anyone familiar with them
knows that this is simply not true. The Twelve Steps
of the "anonymous" fellowships are very
compatible with Judaism, and those Jews familiar
with the concepts of musar (Jewish ethics) will
recognize the similarities."
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