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June 2008
By Jonathan Katz, LCSW, Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, Susan J. Rosenthal, LCSW
Spiritual Warning Signs of Addiction
The below is excerpted from the upcoming Outstretched Arm: Addiction, Recovery and Jewish Healing, a publication of the National Center for Jewish Healing. For more information about this publication, contact us at .
Appreciating spiritual warning signs of addiction helps us be aware, resourceful, and effective in helping ourselves and others reach for recovery. On the JACS and NCJH websites, www.jacsweb.org and www.ncjh.org, one can access lists of psychosocial warning signs. Here are [some] spiritual warning signs.
"Zeh Hayom Asah Adonai: This is the day Adonai has made; let us exult and rejoice in it" (Psalm 118:24-29)
On Emptiness and Depletion
If we lack or lose the capacity to experience joy in life, our risk increases for turning to addictive, compulsive behavior to fill this void.
"HaKovesh Eht-Yitzro: One who controls one’s passions."
On Unfettered Urges
Equating "strength" with doing whatever we feel like doing at any given moment is a sure recipe for excess and a potentially lethal approach to life, for ourselves and for those around us. Another of Ben Zoma’s teachings (Pirke Avot 4:1) is that real strength comes from being able to control our passions and utilize them constructively.
"Pikuah/Hatzalat Nefesh: Recognizing and Repairing Health Risks."
On Risking One’s Health
When we act in ways that consistently jeopardize our own health and/or that of others, we have opened the door to addictive behaviors. The protection of life is such a major value in Jewish tradition that it may override almost any other commandment.
"B’tzelem Elokim: In the image of G-d" (Genesis 1:27)
On Disrespecting Our Bodies.
One of the Torah’s first teachings is that we humans are created "in the image of G-d." When we lose the awareness, we become vulnerable to treating our bodies as disposable objects — "Trash it, it’s a rental" — not as vessels that carry a spark of the divine.
These "Spirituality Notes" are excerpts from our monthly E-newsletter. Articles are © JBFCS Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs and may be reprinted free of charge as long as this credit line is included.
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