BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

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Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.” - Bill Clinton Since the Virgina Tech Tragedy in April and this week's numerous shootings, I have been spending a lot of my online time searching for what the Torah and the Jewish Sages have to say about mental illness, depression and the treatment of trauma. For too long we have swept the problems of mental illness under the carpet... and hoped that they would go away. -- Richard J. Codey Some of what I read was oversimplification. Some of it assumes a level playing field with all the mentally ill. Some of it, unfortunately, posits that mental illness can be controlled by willpower - ignoring medical research that points to the fact that mental illness is caused by chemical changes in the brain that are often permanent and sometimes genetic in cause. Additionally, some say that depression from abuse can be overcome by sheer willpower, completely ignoring once again - that abuse and trauma can cause p...

As a convert, the rest of my family isn't Jewish so I did my rituals alone and joined everyone when I came back from temple. I look at the backyard and realized it had been crying for attention. I have been too ill to do much but I decided to go give the family's garden some TLC. I know, it was shabbat, I should have been resting - but something drew me outside. I had already reseeded my small lawn, put down soil, weed killer and then covered everything with compost. I put out all my delicate glass windchimes and left the metal ones in my collection out. I cleaned rakes, hoes, trowels, clippers and the weed wacker. I uncovered my table, chairs and cafe umbrella, swept up the pine needles and put away my numerous bird feeders. And I felt calm. I also put out a banner which hangs among the morning glories and peonies in my yard that says " Gardening is the best therapy. " Later on this afternoon, one of my family came to sit with me. She also loves to garden and we agr...

Friday Night Shabbat Service Rosemary Cunningham Spiritual explorer Rosemary Cunningham first learned about shabbat (the sabbath) by observing it with the children at the Jewish preschool where she was the only staff member who was not Jewish. Then her friend Rochelle invited her to the Friday services at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, which often fill a nearby Methodist church as well. Since that night three years ago, says Rosemary, Friday night services have become “a vital part of the patchwork quilt of practices, Christian and Jewish, which connect me with God.” After a recent service, she filed this report. The security guard at the door inspects my handbag, then smiles and wishes me shabbat shalom (a peaceful Sabbath). I walk through the narrow lobby to the sanctuary, where I exchange ”shabbat shalom” with an usher as he hands me a flyer. I take a seat in one of the comfortable blue metal chairs that fill the ground floor in a semicircle broken by several aisles. I save a seat for...

Hard to be a Jew? by Ben Goldfarb President, Paradigm Shift Communications Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (1895-1986), one of the greatest legal authorities of our generation, attributed part of the high assimilation rate of Jewish children in the United States to their parents' repeated usage of the phrase "It's hard to be a Jew." When children hear their parents use this phrase, they internalize this notion and it becomes their new mantra. Most people tend to avoid pain and choose pleasure, so it's no wonder that kids who grew up on the "It's hard to be a Jew" mantra have strayed from their tradition. Although any worthwhile pursuit will have its challenges, the mantra that our children should hear is "It's a pleasure to be a Jew." One of the problems facing the Jewish people in our generation is the inability to create a joyous atmosphere in our homes in general, and around our Shabbat (Sabbath) table in particular. Furthermore, there seems ...