 FEBRUARY 11 • 2021 | 7

bluntly honest. His answer 
was, “Whoever said life was 
going to be easy.” We might 
not have signed up for it, but 
this is what life is, and we have 
to make peace with that and 
do the hard work.
The third lesson is that Rabbi 
Twerski did not function within 
the usual conventions of his 
Hasidic origins. He stood up 
for what is right no matter what 
other people thought or said. 
The fact that he worked in a 
Catholic medical institution 
and wrote a book about it, The 
Rabbi and the Nuns, attests to this. 
So does the fact that he spoke 
out about serious mental health 
issues that no one else wanted 
to talk about, and that many did 
not want him to talk about.

COURAGE TO BREAK TABOOS
For me, the most impressive 
dimension of who Rabbi 
Twerski was is his courage. If 
we take a step back and look 
at his impact, his courage to 
“break the taboos” around 
mental issues in the Jewish 

community have impacted the 
entire fabric of the Jewish and 
the Orthodox Jewish commu-
nity and will continue to do so 
for decades to come.
It is easy to forget how up 
until the 1980s, maybe even the 
1990s there was a very strong 
stigma around therapy, psychol-
ogists and mental health issues 
(not to say it has disappeared 
today). Rabbi Dr. Abraham 
Twerski, just by the symbolic 
message of his distinguished 
Hasidic background merged 
with being a practicing psychia-
trist dispelled those stigmas. But 
that was not enough for him. 
He spoke out over the decades 
about mental health/social 
issues that no one else would 

talk about.
From therapy and mental 
illness, itself, to addiction 
(substance abuse, pornography 
and gambling), to domestic 
abuse and violence and to the 
most difficult of all to bring to 
light, sexual abuse, he fearlessly 
pushed the Jewish, Orthodox 
and ultra-Orthodox commu-
nities to deal with these issues. 
The silent victims would no 
longer be alone without protec-
tion, and those suffering from 
their own struggles would no 
longer be without resources.
Rabbi Twerski was not just 
an author and a public figure, 
he personally got involved in 
organizations, attended events 
and conferences to help and 

encourage people with his 
personal warmth and caring. 
We now live in a world with 
Orthodox therapists and 
nonprofits to help those who 
are struggling. There are still 
obstacles to overcome, there 
is still stigma around mental 
health issues, there are still 
those who are protecting abus-
ers, and there still needs to be 
more awareness and resources 
devoted to mental health prob-
lems.
Rabbi Twerski was a brave 
voice who spoke out despite 
criticism, opposition and even 
fallout for his family. He left 
us a legacy of standing up for 
those who cannot stand up 
for themselves, it is up to us to 
carry on that legacy. 

Rabbi Jonathan Feldman is community 

educator for Am Yisrael Foundation, an 

organization that runs programming for 

young olim and expats from all over the 

world in Tel Aviv. After attending Cornell 

University, he received his Rabbinic ordi-

nation from Yeshiva University and his 

Ph.D. in Jewish Studies from New York 

University. He has lectured widely as a 

guest speaker on Jewish topics.

TEACH LITERACY continued from page 4

Of great significance is the 
fact that literacy is vital for 
comprehension and the inter-
nalization of values. Modeling 
of helping behaviors will 
be effective when children 
understand the importance 
of being supportive of others. 
Reading stories with a moral 
and that teach a lesson will 
only transfer the idea of virtu-
ous behavior, if messages are 
understood. 
Most schools today provide 
human relations programs for 
children (HRPC). The goals 
of HRPC include furthering 
self-esteem, supporting virtues 

and avoiding vices, control of 
emotions, awareness of human 
similarities and respect for 
individual differences. Content 
of HRPC will clearly go “in 
one ear and out the other” if 
the lessons are not understood 
because of impaired compre-
hension.
To facilitate the early devel-
opment of literacy, the role 
of parents can be crucial. It is 
the sharing of thoughts and 
feelings between parent and 
child that evolves into a trust-
ing relationship. The child 
knows that parents can be 
relied upon for support and to 

model desired behaviors. As a 
result, mentors such as teach-
ers, clergy, pediatricians and 
other community members 
may also come to be trusted as 
they transmit values and the 
development of higher levels 
of literacy through learning. 
There are practical pro-
grams that can be instituted 
to promote early learning 
and literacy in children. Both 
physically and psychologically 
non-abusive parenting edu-
cation can be incorporated 
into prenatal classes. Universal 
preschool is a must. Ongoing 
quality education is a require-

ment as a child matures. Such 
needed initiatives have been 
known for decades. Their 
institution clearly has the 
potential to result in a more 
productive and peaceful soci-
ety. Unfortunately, with the 
present economic downturn, 
new vitally needed programs 
may be especially difficult to 
establish. 

Dr. Katzman of Farmington Hills is 

a retired pediatrician who has been 

focusing on understanding and pro-

moting initiatives that are most helpful 

in optimizing the psychosocial and 

academic development of children.

RABBI TWERSKI SPOKE OUT 
OVER THE DECADES ABOUT 
MENTAL HEALTH/SOCIAL ISSUES 
THAT NO ONE ELSE WOULD 
TALK ABOUT.

