Selected Passages
Selected passages
Joseph Wolpe, the famous psychiatrist of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, said, “Any communication with people is therapeutic.” And by implication, any isolation paves the way to neurosis. The form of communication is of little importance. Synagogue, Temple or Store-front make no difference. The accent is on togetherness. “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,” Exodus 25:8 Let them designate a place to assemble, to communicate and God will be there.
And so, I feel a great urgency to mobilize friends for people recovering from mental illness. Not therapists - just friends. Friends with common sense, who are ready to make a long-term commitment to someone struggling with recovery. In fact, perhaps it’s better if they’re not psychologists. (Should I hand back my B.A. in Psychology?) What they need is not professional training, but presence, patience, and devotion. I believe there are many people out there who are capable - and even have an inner need - to be that kind of friend.
Teshuva restores a person to their original state, making the past no longer determinative
Again, I turn to my Jewish tradition. It may sound strange, but this was the way of the ancient Jewish logic. In capital cases, judgment had to be passed by a court of 23 judges. After deliberation, each judge would vote. If, once the votes were conted, all 23 voted guilty, the accused was acquitted. Strange, very strange. But here’s the reasoning, as I understand it in my Western thinking. My ancient forebears assumed that when 23 judges could not find any defense for the accused, then something must be wrong with the court.
And here is one of the truths my father taught me: In the Bible, it says that Abraham and Abimelech resolved their dispute and “the two of them made a covenant” (Genesis 21:27). Why doesn’t it simply say, “they made a covenant”? Why does it say, “the two of them made a covenant”? The interpretation for the wordiness is to let us know the moral of the covenant, namely: the covenant was only so that they could herd their sheep peacefully, but they would still remain “two” - each with his own individual identity.
I look around at the residents of Paradise Cove and it’s as if I see it stamped on every forehead: “Fragile, Handle With Care.” But honestly, I sometimes feel that “handling with care” turns into no handling at all. It’s just avoidance. I feel that no benefit will come out of over-caution.
I’ve realized a person can’t live on truth alone. A little fantasy is needed to spice life. As it says, “In all thy ways, acknowledge Him…” (Proverbs 3:6).