April 12th, 2016
4 Nisan 5776
Dear Friends,
How do we prepare to celebrate Passover?
Beyond the cooking and cleaning, Passover reminds us of the need to tell the stories of our people, and the Haggadah tells us that in every generation we must see ourselves as if we personally experienced freedom from slavery.
The only way to do that is to be willing to examine our lives and identify where we are enslaved, and by that I don't just mean physical slavery. In America and throughout the world, more and more people are addicted to technology, drugs, sex, love, spending, alcohol, food, gambling, and other unhealthy addictions. This is an issue which touches almost everyone in our country, including in our Jewish community, and here at Beth Sholom.
As part of my rabbinical school training, i took a number of courses on pastoral counseling and clinical pastoral education. I have sat with addicts and their loved ones, examining the carnage these diseases do to so many. Too many lives have been lost.
And yet, there is hope, and the movement to provide resources for healing from addiction is growing in our country. Beit Teshuvah in Los Angeles is the only in-patient Jewish recovery center in the U.S. and we are thrilled to host their production of FreedomSong this Sunday night at 6:30 at Beth Sholom. The rabbis and counselors who work at Beit Teshuvah are doing incredibly holy work. I haven't yet seen FreedomSong in action, but I've heard nothing but glowing reviews from those who have. It is real, it is powerful, and it helps us understand Passover (and addiction, and healing) in a whole new light. Kudos to Penina for making their visit to Beth Sholom happen.Our thanks to Memphis Jewish Federation for allowing us o make this free and open to the public.
I do hope you will make every effort to attend. Even if you yourselves haven't been touched by addiction, undoubtedly people you know have been, and it's long past time that the Jewish community address this and other challenges in our midst.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday night for FreedomSong.
Blessings,
Rabbi Ilan
