JACS Library - Articles

JACS: Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others

JACS LIBRARY - ARTICLES

Finding Our Spiritual Heritage

From the Slavery of Addiction To the Redemption of Recovery

By Rabbi Joel Dinnerstein, MSW, NCAC II, CA

Rabbi Joel Dinnerstein is founder and director of OHR KI TOV Center for Growth and Transformation - Jewish Institute on Alcoholism and Addiction located in Seagate, Brooklyn. Rabbi Dinnerstein has the distinction of becoming the first rabbi in the United States to be a Nationally Certified Addiction Counselor. He has been a New York State Credentialed Alcoholism Counselor since 1983.

Judaism is best experienced by the reliving of Jewish holy days and Passover is the quintessential celebration which helps Jews to crystallize their values, understand their collective history and use their struggle, pain and growth as a vehicle for applying these spiritual lessons to daily life. The central meaning of Passover is liberation. In Hebrew, it is called Z'man Cheiruseinu, the season of our liberation. Another name for Passover is Chag ha-Aviv, the holiday of spring, symbolizing rebirth, renewal and new beginnings. A third name for Passover is Chag ha-matzohs, the holiday of the unleavened bread.

For addicted Jews in recovery these ideas have the familiar ring of tradition not just our Jewish tradition, but a twelve-step tradition. It is often this tradition that first liberates an addict, an alcoholic, or a family member from the slavery of habit or from a life of obsessive-compulsive behavior.

It is within the framework of the fellowship that renewal and new beginnings become possible. As Jews in recovery take moral inventory, we more clearly understand that last year's matzoh becomes this year's chometz. The task of looking inward is unending. Moses, our greatest prophet, brought the Jewish people out of Egypt, Mitzrayim (from the Hebrew metzar-"a narrow, tight place of being"). He underwent the same struggle as did every other Jew. There was no human help available from outside. Moses and the people first had to turn inward and help themselves. Moses became the original self-help leader.

In essence, the Passover story is really about Moses and the people learning to trust and follow their Higher Power. Biblical Images and Personalities On the way to Egyptian bondage, we meet our spiritual ancestors in the Torah. Our heritage is filled with Biblical images of our forefathers and mothers and their spiritual tests. When properly understood and interpreted, their experience can provide strength, hope and encouragement to the Jews of today. The Biblical personalities of the past serve as role models, each with a specific attribute that reflects one of the seven primary emanations of God, as found in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

Abraham is the symbol of Chesed kindness, because of his unconditional love for all humanity and his concern for their welfare. Next comes Issac, whose character is rooted in geverrah, strength of conviction, possessing the willingness to sacrifice himself for God. Jacob represents tiferat, the beauty of truth of balance, of depth of study. It was Jacob's son, Joseph who brought us to Egypt. Joseph symbolizes yesod, foundation. His feet were firmly planted on the ground of tradition, and from this tradition, he drew the strength to resist all temptation. Joseph also needed to draw on forgiveness for what his brothers did to him. He needed to become a source of strength, a power of example, someone who could live in an alien culture and not give into its seductive powers. Entering Into Golus (Exile)

The bondage of slavery represents the lowest level to which the Jews can sink. In Egypt, they "bottomed out". Their descent with Joseph brought them their most bitter experience. Yet, it is in this process of exile, amid the pain of golus, that redemption and recovery can be attained. Just as the Jews in Egypt became alienated from their Jewishness and then, finally enslaved because of it, the nature of addiction is first to alienate and them, ultimately, to enslave its victims. It is in this story of Passover that we learn how to find light in the darkness of slavery. We do this by sharing, by telling the story and by carrying the message. The Midrash tells us that God saw that the Jews would need time to lift themselves up so that they could become a spiritual people.... a nation of priests..... a light unto the nations. Time; process; steps. The Promises

Our tradition refers to us as the people of "the Book." The Twelve-Step Tradition also has a book, the "Big Book." In both traditions, the Books speak, each in its own way, of the "Promises." Regardless of where we begin our spiritual practice, we must take personal action in order to activate these promises. We must "work the program." Judaism is not a spectator sport, not an intellectual exercise.

The process of redemption includes the acts of surrender, acceptance and compliance. These are the ingredients which lead to purification, to wholeness, to integration of body, mind and spirit. The Torah tells of the Four Promises which God made. "I will take you out." This promise refers to liberation on the physical plane. "I will save you." This alludes to the moral dimension. "I will redeem you." This is the spiritual element. "I will take you to me to be a nation." This reflects the awareness of communal empowerment. We need others, and we need our Higher Power.

Today, Jews in recovery are challenged, as were their ancestors, to struggle with the forces which keep us captive in our personal lives. Recovery is finding one's personal redemption. Action - The Garme

Forty-nine days after leaving Egypt, the Jewish people stood together at the wilderness of Mount Sinai. There they accepted the Torah. They said, "Naaseh V'nishma" (We will do and we will learn"). The Jews learned by doing. They "acted as if" andnt of Transformation their faith grew. The people "came to believe." Changes come in small incremental steps. Although people can be spiritually awakened in an instant as a result of a life situation or deep experience, most change comes about little by little, with the reinforcement of positive experience, the warmth of a shared experience, the support and understanding of "like-minded people."

Growth occurs more through action than through thought. Thought is important and may lead to changes in behavior. But action creates experience and so it is in the experience that most change takes place. For Jews, action is the garment of transformation, be it through Torah Mitzvahs or the Twelve Steps. The Passover Seder The Zohar, the Holy Book of Kabbalah, tells us that God, the Torah, and the Jewish people are all one.

When you are truly attuned to your inner self, the spiritual essence which is your soul, your neshama, you are also connected to your Higher Power. When you make or attend a Passover seder, you are participating in the celebration of an act of gratitude, giving recognition to the fact that there is a Master of the Universe, and that you want to share the experience of how his kindness touched your life. As Nobel Laureate, Elie Weisel once said, "I don't want my past to become someone else's future."

This is one reason why keep telling the story. As we bless the four cups of wine (grape juice) we attach ourselves to the primary elements of the universe, which are reflected in God's name spelled, Yud, Hay, Vav, Hay. Each letter represents an element, earth, air, fire and water.

Each year as we go through the 15 steps of the seder, we are "keeping it green" by developing a deeper understanding of ourselves and our tradition. With this renewed sense of spiritual liberation and consciousness of our Higher Power, we carry the message of freedom to all and spread the light of redemption.