September 27, 2005

‘Some Find God. Some Find Alcohol,’
OU’s Rabbi Dr. Weinreb, Spiritual Leader and Clinical Psychologist, Tells Conference on Religion/Medicine in Dealing with Substance Abuse

Quoting the great 12th century Spanish/Hebrew poet Ibn Ezra that the soul may be compared to a princess who is forced to live as a peasant and is therefore always looking to fill the void in her life, Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb declared at the recent conference, So Help Me God: Substance Abuse, Religion and Spirituality, “Some people who are searching to fill a void find God. Others find alcohol.”

It was to encourage the choice of God rather than alcohol that CASA – the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University – last week held its second annual So Help Me God conference for two primary audiences: religious leaders and health care professionals. Rabbi Dr. Weinreb, who is also a clinical psychologist, wears both hats.

The goal of the conference declared CASA Founder, Chairman and President, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Administration of President Jimmy Carter, is “to have the medical profession recognize the values of spirituality, and the spiritual community recognize that abuse is a disease.” He termed alcohol and substance abuse “the most debilitating problem facing the United States today,” given its repercussions on the federal and local budgets; on teen pregnancy; on the growth of the prison population; and on domestic violence and other ills of society. “Alchohol is a major, major factor in all of these problems,” Mr. Califano said.

He termed the professionals at the conference “the front line of soldiers in the most important battle our community is now facing. You are ones who are really doing the job. You are at the top of the medical professional. You are at the top of the spiritual professional. We admire you and love you.”

“Substance abuse is a growing problem in this country. It can be understood as a failed search for meaning and purpose,” Rabbi Weinreb declared prior to the conference. Our spiritual traditions are resources for individuals to find meaning and purpose. We must search for ways to bring this message to those who are tempted by, or who have already fallen sway, to substance abuse. It is from this perspective that I look forward to participating in the CASA Conference.”

Rabbi Weinreb participated in the panel Divine Protection? Religion, Spirituality and Substance Abuse Prevention, moderated by religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty, of National Public Radio. In his introduction, Mr. Califano described the purpose of the panel as exploring the “protective effects of religion and spirituality.” Rabbi Weinreb’s fellow panelists were Imam Samer Alraey, of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York; Dr. Wilma J. Calvert of the Department of Psychiatry of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; and Rev. Walter F. Modrys, SJ. Pastor of Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City.

Mr. Califano declared that 94 percent of American clergy recognizes the problem of substance abuse. Rabbi Weinreb, responded, however, that this awareness as yet does not exist in the Orthodox Jewish community.

“In our community, the reverse is true,” he said. “There is a state of denial – in the clergy and beyond – that does not realize that alcohol and substance abuse is a problem. Traditionally the image has been that Jews don’t drink, that alcohol is not a problem. If that was once true, it is not anymore.”

The Rabbi provided what was, in a sense, Judaism 101 on the role of wine in Jewish life, contrasting it with Islam, in which, as Imam Alraey pointed out, alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited.

“Our religion does not believe in total abstinence,” Rabbi Weinreb said, explaining that “wine plays a central role in the traditions of Judaism.” He cited the Sabbath and holiday kiddush, with its blessing over the wine; weddings, where wine is a part of the ceremony; the Passover seder with its four cups of wine; and Purim, in which drinking has always been part of the tradition. “In this world, material pleasures are not to be avoided, but are to be enjoyed in moderation,” Rabbi Weinreb said.

With the approach of the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Rabbi Weinreb emphasized the concept in both of sin and of God as judge, noting that the ten day period encompassing the holidays is called the “Days of Judgment.”

“There is the central image of God as a judge. Yom Kippur has a sense of sin, of mea culpa, of breast beating,” Rabbi Weinreb said, adding, “The notion of sin is central to Judaism and central to humanity.” Human accountability as well as God as judge are therefore key elements in the observance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

The role of judgment and sin is to “propel you into actions. We all know about Jewish guilt,” Rabbi Weinreb said. “There is the guilt that propels you into positive actions, and there is guilt that is paralyzing and self destructive.”

In response to a question from the moderator, “What works in your faith tradition?” Rabbi Weinreb cited human contact, declaring that “a smile, a word of encouragement, a handshake,” can have substantial impact. “It’s important to send a message that despite your problems you’re not bad, a part of you is good, noble and compassionate.”

He called on the community to reach out to people who need help, citing the Talmudic dictum, “More than the calf wishes to suck, the cow wishes to nurse.”

“The more you give, the fuller you feel. That’s a very important lesson,” he said.

This spiritual approach of giving and receiving does not require a synagogue, church or mosque, Rabbi Weinreb advised. When “traumatized people” are ready to deal with “their raw feelings, that’s where you have to get started. Meet them where they are.”

Once that message is heard, the abuser “gets the notion of faith, that ‘I can do it.’ The healing process is now underway.”

From Left: Imam Samer Alraey, Rabbi Weinreb, Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Rev. Walter F. Modrys, Dr. Wilma J. Calvert at CASA Conference

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