March 12, 2013 | 1:50 pm

Goodbye Soda…..Hello Bloomberg

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

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By Michael Welch

This week, I began writing my blog earlier than usual. If I don’t say so myself, it was a wonderfully executed critique, demonizing Michael Bloomberg’s misguided radical soda reform.  As I finished typing the last word of my searing expose, my news ticker mooted my entire blog; a judge agrees with me, nixing Mike’s grandiose, obesity “eradicating” law. The regulation’s intention was to put 16-ounce limits on sugary drinks. The judge called the proposed legislation “arbitrary and capricious.” Judges tend to use this circuitous lingo instead of getting to the point and calling them moronic.     

Yesterday we issued a metaphorically premature goodbye to a “super” mogul who, since his inception as Mayor of New York City, has hogged the national municipal spotlight for his fascist reforms.  Today, we are vindicated. Your restaurants, movie theatres, sport venues, and street carts are safe and will continue to allow you to indulge in gluttony—the road to obesity is yours and mine for the taking.

I’m curious as to why Bloomberg’s focus seems to be a restrictive model of governing. Have you ever tried to take a candy bar from one who’s in desperate need of it? Do any of you remember what took place when your booze was taken away? I thought we had moved past taking things from people to teach them a lesson. Mr. Bloomberg; my mother doesn’t even agree with your grassroots behavioral modification method. As canonized by our Sunday countdown commentators, “Come on man!”

It’s not that I don’t agree that we could all use a quick tune-up, but clearly this decision is lacking in creativity. Sometimes our politicians tend to get lazy, grasping for meaningful change during the twilight of their terms. This appears to be a classic case of short-timers disease.

Let’s give a big round of applause to our judicial branch, checking what had become unbalanced! It feels good to be right. Most people would gloat or blog about a victory such as this. Me? Well, I’m just gonna chalk this up as another win and instead of physical exercise, I’ll exercise some humility.

March 11, 2013 | 2:06 pm

Doubting G-d’s Existence

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

By Yeshaia Blakeney

I want to share a story about this very difficult concept we call belief, or faith. These are tough concepts. I'm not going to get into them fully now, I just want to share a story to illuminate some of these ideas.  So there's a game called stump the rabbi.  It's when a bunch of people get together and try to get a rabbi to admit that he really doesn't believe in god.  With my keen philosophical mind, I'm pretty adept at this game.  So one day about a year ago, I cornered our Rabbi Mark Borovitz in front of a small crowd and said:

“Rabbi, do you BELIEVE in G-d?” “Yes,” he replied.

“Do you agree that inherent in belief is doubt?” “Yes,” he replied.

So, do you ever doubt the existence of God?

The room went silent, I felt I had done it, I was even afraid I might have pushed him too far, there was no way out.  The Rabbi was finally going to have to admit the truth of his own faith, I wanted to run and hide; morph into a fly on the wall even though I was already there.

And then he said this amazing thing.  “No.”

How can that be? He just admitted he had doubts! He then said, “I sometimes doubt G-d's intentions, but I never doubt the existence of G-d.”

It took a whole year since then to fully grasp that simple statement. That it was an elevated struggle, not struggling with belief in G-d but really wrestling with G-d's intentions inside of ourselves and in the world.  It was about his relationship to G-d not G-ds existence.

So my hope this week is that we all can elevate what we struggle with, so that we can struggle with higher and higher things!

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March 8, 2013 | 11:25 am

Technology as an Enslaver

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

By Rabbi Mark Borovitz

As I sit here trying to think of a blog topic, I realize that I have been on email and using my iPad, my iPhone, listening to bells and whistles of my wife's Blackberry for so long, that I take it for granted. Harriet complains that I don't look at her because I am checking the dings from my phone, computer, iPad, etc. I am driven to distraction by technology, tv, you name it. I have to be doing more than one thing at a time! I say I am multi-tasking, the Truth is, I can't concentrate on one thing for too long, unless it captivates me. I get bored easy and quickly.

I make a public T'Shuvah to anyone and everyone who has felt ignored by my "multi-tasking." I realize how much of a put off this is and, in my constant compulsion/addiction to Redemption, I cannot continue this way of being. I may have to be interrupted and/or called away for an emergency and I will not distract myself with my toys when we are meeting, etc.

I bring this up because we all have seen people talking out loud walking an the street and thought they were either nuts or talking to us only to find out he/she is talking to someone on their Bluetooth! We get to hear everyone's business when we want to or not! We all give in to our Narcissism by thinking we can talk as loud as we want and use our phones, answer emails, etc. no matter where we are and/or who we are with! This is not connection; it is distraction!!

I am one of those people. I do this and commit to do better about being present when I am with people. I am so into this aspect of my being that I am seeing Technology as Enslaver/Egypt and I need to get liberated from my obsession to distraction. I am so excited that on March 18, 2013 Cambria Gordon, an expert on distraction and technology will be speaking at a dinner and learning at Beit T'Shuvah 8831 Venice Blvd. Cambria and I will engage in a discussion on how to leave the Enslaver and Egypt.

One of the examples of the wisdom of the Haggadah is that we are told we are "obligated to see ourselves as if we left Egypt.” Technology can be our Egypt this year. Multi-Tasking may be our Egypt this year. Join us to find your Egypt this year so you can help us and allow us to help you to Freedom!

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March 7, 2013 | 2:24 pm

Why Knowledge Isn’t Power

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

By Gavi Applebaum

Ever since I was young, I knew that I was an intellectual. I loved to read. It gave me an outlet. As I progressed through school, I came to believe that knowledge could arm me, enable me to deal with the world. Somewhere along the lines, however, knowledge transformed from a noble protector into a prohibitive mask. I didn’t need anyone or anything as long as I had my mind.  I was smarter than you— therefore, you had nothing to offer.

I landed on the doorstep of Beit T’Shuvah in January of 2011. I continued to labor under the delusion that I could use my knowledge to power me through rehab.  Several months into treatment, I remember cracking open the Twelve and Twelve, the Alcoholics Anonymous book that discusses the 12 steps and 12 traditions. I read a paragraph that changed everything:

"Now we come to another kind of problem: the intellectually self-sufficient man or woman. To these, many A.A.'s can say, "Yes, we were like you - far too smart for our own good…The god of intellect displaced the God of our fathers. But again John Barleycorn had other ideas. We who had won so handsomely in a walk turned into all-time losers. We saw that we had to reconsider or die. We found many in A.A. who once thought as we did. They helped us to get down to our right size. By their example they showed us that humility and intellect could be compatible, provided we placed humility first. When we began to do that, we received the gift of faith, a faith which works.”

I had a moment of clarity. I realized that my best and brightest ideas brought me into rehab and they could easily take me out. I needed to alter my beliefs. Knowledge isn’t power. Humility is power. Humility enables me to seek help, to stay teachable and to absorb the keys to my recovery.

In January 2012, I went back to school. I was instantly drawn to neuroscience. I became fascinated with the brain.  I initiated a quest to understand the inner workings of my mind. I studied how cocaine, alcohol, amphetamines, opiates, etc. altered my neurochemistry.   I came to understand the way that prolonged usage of drugs and alcohol shaped my neuroanatomy and as a result my cerebral cortex, my limbic system and my brainstem. Invigorated with this new influx of knowledge, I began to feel as if I could conquer the world.

Slowly but surely an insidious idea crept back into my thoughts. “Maybe if I understand exactly how drugs and alcohol affect my brain, I can control them.  I lacked understanding, not control.” Back again was this idea that knowledge was power, an idea that I thought had disintegrated.
Luckily with a year sober and the tools of my recovery, I was able to dismiss this dangerous idea. But the question still persisted, why did a part of me still believe that knowledge was power?

Knowledge has been my coping tool for as long as I can remember. It enabled me to excel in academia, which is a realm that I so highly prized. Perfectionism tied my self-worth to academic excellence. Knowledge was the end-all for me. Of course, it all made sense. Back in school again, perfectionism managed to seep into my thinking and humility managed to escape. But with the tools I have gained in sobriety, I have kept myself in check.

Today, I have the ability to dismiss such thinking, to understand that it does not serve in my best interest. Today, I try to stay in a place of humility. I try to remain teachable. I use knowledge as an asset, not as a weapon. Today, I realize that I am not smarter than everyone— that’s why I had a friend (Michael Soter) edit this blog.
 

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March 6, 2013 | 2:35 pm

How to Write a Blog About Redemption

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

By Ben Spielberg

 

1. Sit down. Nobody writes blogs standing up.

2. Choose your writing instrument of choice. As I’ve grown up with computers, I prefer my laptop. Our elder writers are uncomfortable typing because they are reminded of the tiring berating of Mavis Beacon. They opt for pen and paper. Never disclose personal information in pencil.

3. Pretend to analyze the past blogs from the week, but get stuck on the “Popular” and “Recent comments” sections of the Jewish Journal. Become disheartened the other blogs which get thousands of hits per day, and then discover a fire inside of you that will blow all of their blogs away. Lose that fire within the first paragraph, and become disheartened until the blog’s completion.

4. Perform a brief 4th step. Think about the past transgressions you have performed this week. Where have you missed the mark? Cross out everything that you are not willing to discuss in public.

5. Ask yourself whether living righteously is “worth it,” in the end. Remind yourself that the questioning of vague concepts will get you nowhere. Your deadline is approaching rapidly.

6. Decide whether you want to write a standardized, four paragraph blog, or make some type of list. People love lists. Get distracted and create a to-do list for the day.

7. Congratulations, you have decided to write a list. You have now afforded yourself the opportunity to avoid complete sentences and appropriate transitions.

8. Realize that your blog has very little actual content, especially regarding redemption. Think of something that will tie in this theme.

9. Peer through the window of my office and gaze at Beit T’Shuvah’s Zen Garden. There are residents engaging in therapy--breaking through their traumas and learning to engage in a life of recovery. They are able to surround themselves with people of similar experiences in order to live a full life. Watch a few minutes of these metamorphoses from a distance.

10. Recognize my own gratitude, shrouded in the doubt of making a deadline. Thank yourself that you have enough faith to not be swayed by the impulsiveness of step #5.

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March 5, 2013 | 12:22 pm

Addicted to Myself

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

By Michael Welch

If you’ve read my past blogs (and I’m certain you have) it is evident that I consider myself quite the esteemed columnist. I am admitting the self-indulgent spin that exists within my frenetic blogging. And yes, I think very highly of myself, so much so that I’ll use “And” to start a sentence. When we are reminded of Tuesday we don’t think of Ruby’s or elections we think of “the dubious Irishman’s” blog. We think insight, wisdom, precious gems, and unnecessary information sprinkled about in 300-500 words. There’s not a better way to complete a Tuesday than to take a gander at JJ in hopes of finding brilliance and language embracing each other just as Tristan and Isolde beautifully managed to through the dark ages.

I confess I have elevated my writing. I have tried to dazzle you with pen and ink. I have spent more time and effort on the idea of blogging for myself than for redemption. I believe I may have lost my way in the quest for appearing intelligent, charismatic, and relevant, when in reality I sound as foolish and manufactured as a street vendor requiring a disclaimer, warning you that a less skilled man with even lesser skills of writing is begging you to give him attention and will blog about anything to do so.

Both of these paragraphs are true. It’s classic grass roots addiction. I’m not that much but I’m all I think about. It’s being righteous and pithy, while displaying humility and regard. I talk about my split often; I blog about it often. It’s important. It keeps me “in the game,” afloat, present, and true. When I first heard about “the split” I thought it referenced a personality disorder. I already find myself in many of the diagnoses of the DSM-IV but I never saw myself in the schizoid column. I knew I displayed behaviors that were polarized, but I was not willing to claim ownership of that being a part of who I am. It caused shame - I was bad, and couldn’t believe that I kept resorting to lying/stealing/cheating/hiding. I didn’t get it, I didn’t want to behave that way, I felt awful and my life slowly began to shift into a soulless non-existence of my own making.

Nevertheless I stayed curious; I gravitated towards the architects who taught me how to heal the split. Through conversation, failure, and accomplishment I can identify who’s running the show. Others too, can learn from this seemingly difficult concept. It’s a constant struggle. I still struggle with my split, that’s the point. The struggle keeps me fresh and engaged, for if I ever decide to give up it is evident who resides with the power in this multi-dimensional relationship. I’m not interested in letting go of my soul, I’ll be cocky cause it’s me; I’ll be worthless cause it’s also me.

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March 4, 2013 | 1:25 pm

A Poem for the Month

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

By Yeshaia Blakeney

This month has been full of loss.  I wrote this poem in response.

We dream of beginnings without endings, blessings without sorrow.  Life without time, a soft spiritual impression a divine secret dwelling in our hearts, a yearning for an eternity of returning to G-d.  And life feels it's opposite, temporal, sorrowful, anxious and mysterious, burying the eternal secret under layers of fossilized sediment.  We are in constant conflict, a battle being pitched on a razors edge between ultimate meaning, and complete absurdity.  Our knowledge ends at the beginning, at the birth of the universe in the realm of the created.  But what do we know of before the beginning?  The DNA of infinity plants its seed in our world of perpetual beginnings.  And what of endings you might ask.  We know nothing of them, we know only life and creation,  delineation between the is and the is not is the invention of creative imagination, and in reality there is no opposite to eternity, no opposite to oneness, only G-d, only creation, only expression.  The rhythms of beginnings and endings are harmonious movements in a song with no end and the crescendo is the accumulation of humanities hope for ultimate redemption.  Beginnings are echoes of significance, the bursting out of G-ds voice in reality the endings reminders, that there is much more.  Beginnings are that impossible uncontrolled laughter from a glimpse of too much truth, endings are endless tears because everything matters, (and it is too much to bare).  So we reach now... Tears at the endings for where we have been, laughter and hope for an unwritten new beginning.

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March 1, 2013 | 10:43 am

The “After-Oscar” Redemption Wrap Up

Posted by Beit T'shuvah

By Rabbi Mark Borovitz

Much has even said/written about Seth MacFarlane and his taste(?) in jokes. While it is easy to blame the host, the producers had the last word, so the anti-Semitic Ted and the tasteless way of making fun of others (there were no shanty Irish jokes were there) really fall on the producers of the show. Do they really believe that poor taste and humor stereotyping groups will keep the 18-45 demographic engaged? If this is true, we are in worse shape than any of us knew!

I want to talk about the redemptive quality to the Oscars, however. The top awards, most of them, went to 3 movies that I saw, Argo, Silver Linings and Lincoln. In contrast to Mr. Macfarlane and the producers, these 3 movies were all about Redemption and against stereotyping and scapegoating. Most of us know what these movies are about; I want to view them through a Redemption lens. Argo is the story of one man and the government working hard to save a few. One man risks his life, while a few others risk their reputations and livelihoods to save Americans trapped in Iran in 1979! The Canadian Ambassador risked it all to save people he did not know. This is a story of Redemption by people who had no connection to the people they redeemed except for their human connection.

Silver Linings Playbook is a much more personal and intimate story of Redemption. It is about a family trying to redeem each other and it takes another "outsider" to bring it all together. Jennifer Lawrence, in my opinion, won because she was so realistic in her desire to redeem herself and knew that only by helping someone else find Redemption, would she gain her own. She helps the whole family find themselves, their truth and each other in ways they only dreamt of. Here, Redemption happens because of a connection that is personal and intimate.

Lincoln seems to have both, to me. Abraham Lincoln knew Black people who had been slaves and were now free, he knew Black people who were free from birth. He did not have to pursue the 13th Amendment the way he did, except there was no choice for him. He was a man of faith and a man of Justice. He had a personal connection to Black people and he had a universal connection to Justice. These connections gave him no choice but to pursue the Emancipation of Black people in America and the Redemption of the White people who had enslaved them in the first place!

I am excited that Hollywood is seeing the power of Redemption, making films that tell the stories of different types of redemption—personal, human and global. I am praying that the "powers that be" hire producers and directors who are as Addicted to Redemption as I am.

PS: I hope the Academy redeems itself in who they choose for directors and hosts!

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