EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Standing Up To Drugs

," ews are as prone to substance abuse as the general corn-
munity in America. Its something that American Jewry
must come to grips with.
The percentage of addictions is as high in the Jewish com-
munity as in any other cultural, religious or ethnic group.
Substance abuse indeed is an equal opportunity problem. Up
to 12 percent of the general population in the U.S. is addicted
to drugs or alcohol. And studies affirm a similar incidence
among Jews, reports the New York State Division of
Substance Abuse. The problem won't fade just because we
want it to. It will wilt only under the bright lights of Jewish
community resolve.
The Talmud elevates healing of the vulner-
able and sick to a mitzvah. People caught in
the vice of misusing alcohol, drugs or even
food clearly have a disease that yearns for
treatment, not ridicule.
The number of relatives and friends who
feel the sharp-edged effects of an addict is no
doubt high in the Jewish community, where
ROBERT A. relationships play such a crucial role. Kids
SKLAR
who have a dysfunctional parent may
Editor
become pawns in a game of deception. Or
they may take the blame for parental trans-
gression and cope by becoming a chemical abuser, too. Passage
of such self-destructive behavior from one generation to the
next is the antithesis of Jewish continuity.
Substance abuse is a clear-cut sin. Yet Jewish
kids do it. It could be because of parental exam-
ple, peer pressure or societal influences.

is a clinical psychologist. His rabbinic and clinical background
gives him keen insight.
The OU's multiple-front strategy is built on a foundation of
three task forces: safe schools, safe shuls and safe homes.
Whether this approach succeeds remains to be seen. Will it at
least equal the success of proven counseling programs in the
secular or Jewish worlds? The foresight and urgency that
spurred it should help.
Torah is at the heart of what Jewish kids learn, no matter
what level of religious education they receive. Still, outside
conditions either creep or flow in to each of their lives,
depending on how attentive their parents are.
Let's keep a perspective. Incidents aren't rampant in the
Orthodox world, but they're up enough to set off alarms.
"Rather than close our eyes to what's going on around us,"
Rabbi Moshe Krupka, OU executive director of program-
ming, told the Jewish Week, "we feel the most appropriate
approach is to educate our communities and empower them."

Echoes In Detroit

This national pattern of at-risk behavior among Jewish teens is
no different here in Metro Detroit. Rabbi Levi Shemtov,
director of the 11-year-old Friendship Circle based in West
Bloomfield, told me on Sunday that he fields calls from Jews
across the religious spectrum, from secular to Ultra Orthodox.
"What we as parents and as a community can do
is to try to keep our children from experimenting
with drugs and other self-defeating behavior," he
said. "In that, some families and communities are
more successful than others."
I looked to Rabbi Shemtov because I respect the
exceptional
work the Friendship Circle has done
The Right Response
since
1994
in
saving Jewish kids from the quick-
Against this stark backdrop, the Orthodox
sand
of
chemical
experimentation and dependency
Union stood tall in acknowledging a brewing
by
engaging
them
in wholesome and uplifting pro-
crisis in the Northeast. It announced plans to
grams.
He
knows
the
best defense is keeping kids
tackle a rising tide of such abuse among
from experimenting. For those who make the dive,
Orthodox Jewish teens, however surprising that
clinical addiction in all its shades becomes the great
may be.
ov
Rabbi
Shemt
enticer.
Sixty-five rabbis and other Orthodox educa-
"All we can do then," Rabbi Shemtov said, "is set
tors met because of this trend, but know the
up
a
support
system that will help them in the lifelong jour-
action plan they ultimately prepare will reverberate across the
ney
of
recovering
from their addiction."
streams of Judaism. Outreach and treatment professionals also
That's
where
outstanding
local support agencies like
took part. I hope the action plan taps into what kids and par-
Friendship Circle — or like Jewish Family Service and its pre-
ents, not just rabbis and professionals, think will work. I
eminent addiction recovery and referral program for people of
applaud the OU for recognizing that synagogues and schools
all races and ethnic backgrounds — come into play.
share a commitment to nurturing troubled youth.
Jews face the double denial of the Jewish community deny-
One triKer for the meeting was the late 2004 arrest of 42
ing
it has a substance abuse problem and Jewish addicts deny-
students, including many yeshivah teens, for allegedly possess-
ing
their abuse because they fear shame and guilt. The reality
ing drugs and consuming alcohol at an unsupervised house
is
that
Jewish teens right in your neighborhood may depend
New
York
Jewish
Week.
party in Livingston, NJ., reports the
on drugs.
The red flags of liquor, drugs, tobacco, promiscuity and eat-
"When I tell friends that I know kids as young as 18 who
ing disorders like anorexia fly everywhere, even in the shel-
are
addicted to heroin and live in their subdivision, be it in
tered world of Orthodoxy.
Southfield,
West Bloomfield or Oak Park, they just don't
No Jew is immune from the effects of drunken driving and
believe
me,"
said Rabbi Yisrael Pinson, who directs the
wild house parties. "Alcohol is the drug of choice for chemi-
Friendship
House,
a division of the Friendship Circle.
cally dependent Jews," Susan Lind Vex and Sheila B. Blume
Knowledge
pays.
It enables rabbis and clinicians trained in
report in the Journal ofAddictive Diseases.
•
combating addiction to work with kids as well as parents,
"We as a community can sweep this behavior under the
schools
and
synagogues.
The
key
is
to
do
so
in
a
way
that's
rug," said OU Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, "or we can
supportive, life changing and non-judgmental.
acknowledge it and respond to it. We have chosen to
Downplaying the impact of a deeply rooted communal ill
respond."
isn't
just dumb; it also can be deadly. ❑
Rabbi Weinreb, the OU's new executive vice president, also

dN

1/27
2005

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