fbpx

Resource Category: Substance Use Disorder and Addiction

Substance use disorders, colloquially called addiction, is a complex disease that affects the functioning of the brain and body. It involves craving something intensely, losing control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences. Recovery from addiction is very challenging, but it is possible.

Written in Partnership with In the City Camps | One of the biggest factors in maintaining good physical and mental health is avoiding drug abuse. This is especially important for tweens and teens, whose brains are still developing. While any young person could give in to social pressure and start experimenting with drugs or alcohol, the Mayo Clinic has outlined some risk factors.
Leaving Egypt is not just about our story and journey on the road to freedom. It is a foundational roadmap to liberation, both for a community and individuals and offers us a story of recovery. Each year, we retell it as a reminder to leave behind constrictions and slavery, and instead choose freedom and sovereignty. Jewish tradition commands us, as we are telling the story, to see ourselves as if we have left Egypt. Egypt is not just a country, an ancient place, or a space. It is not just the setting of the enslavement that we’ve endured. It is also an edict about how we leave Egypt internally.
In this resource, we seek to address how we can talk about Purim and Purim celebrations in an inclusive way that allows everyone to celebrate safely and doesn’t call anyone out for how they choose to celebrate? Included are an alternative reading of the Mitzvah of Intoxication on Purim, a guide to how to promote your event, and a guide to how to make your spaces safer for those experiencing alcohol and substance addiction.
From Arielle Krule and the T’shuvah Center Team | There is an oft-used statement from the Talmud on Purim that “a person is obligated to become intoxicated on Purim until they do not know the difference between the curse of Haman and righteousness of Mordechai.” This statement has been used as the guiding principle for what Purim celebrations have comprised in the Jewish community, but that statement contains a deeper meaning, hidden right beneath the surface.
The Young Leadership Cabinet of the Orthodox Union developed a documentary, "Hungry to be Heard", focusing on the rising rates of anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders in our community. It aims at providing educational awareness, prevention, and approaches to eating disorders and is available for guided screenings as part of a conference, communal program, or as a stand-alone presentation.