Tuesday, August 24, 2010

My students the heroes

Yesterday I had a talk with my students. I told them about my ventures in America and recounted my speeches and meetings. The one thing that was most obvious was that my students are heroes. They are changing the way the world looks at mental illness. They show the world that it is possible to live a productive life even after being diagnosed with bi-polarity, or schizophrenia. They give hope to those who thought mental illness was like a death sentence. They give people who were scared of mental illness and thought that "those people" should be locked up, a different perspective. The fact that they are not giving up, that they get up in the morning, get on the bus, go and learn for hours, then continue to have a full life, is a testament not only to their strength, but to the abilities of the human race to overcome difficulties.

Monday, August 23, 2010

The strength of community - in halacha

When I was in Los Angeles, back at the great community of Em Habanim congregation, it really dawned on me how important a community is. During those tough days, when I kept making phone calls and visits to donors to no avail, the thing that kept me strong was the community. And then I had an insight. When our great sages originally determined the times of prayer, they set them to be at dawn and dusk. Those two occasions are times of uncertainty, times of shadows and fears. They correspond to times in our lives when we are surrounded by uncertainty and are trepid of being overwhelmed with life. At those times, the sages told us we must cling to a community, a Minyan of our peers, to know that we are not alone in facing our fears. In fact, even when a person prays on their own, they should have in mind a connection to a minyan that takes place at the same time. This is to instill in us the knowledge that even though we may be alone, physically, we are always connected to our community in spirit. (same is true for Shiva, but that's for another post) Although we may have an instinct to become a virtual recluse and run away from everyone when facing challenging times, the wisdom of our fathers tell us we must seek company, supportive company. I see with my students, how unsure they are sometimes about opening up to others. I also see how, if they are able to overcome this initial instinct, the social interaction and bonding does wonders for their self esteem and functional abilities.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Back in Israel

My trip to the states taught me a lot. First, after telling people about our institute so many times, and getting a lot of feed back, I grew even more confident in our way. I saw that the need for a new vision is great, and that the job we do is truly amazing. Second, I saw how much the Jewish people care for each other. I met with dozens of people, who were very encouraging of our job. Even though not all could participate financially in the undertaking, all wanted to encourage us and felt good about the project. Actually, when I came back I told my students we must pray for those Jews in America who work so hard to pay for kosher food and a Jewish education. I told my students we should pray Hashem will give them strength and emunah that things are going to be better. Third, I learned about the strength of community. More on that in the next post.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

California... part 2

I'm finishing off my America trip these days. I had a wonderful Shabbat at Em Habanim, my dear friend Sidney chriqui really went out of his way to help us out. He presented our program beautifully and I was extremely touched by the response of the community and the pledges given. Later I was invited to speak to some friends from Shaarey Zedek and was very well recieved as well. It is a great feeling to be a shaliach for my students and a shalich for the community in North Hollywood.
Thank you!