BELIEF WATCH
Lisa Miller
Pass the Manischewitz, Please
'They were drinking not only kiddush wine, but fine single-malt whiskey with a sumptuous smorgasbord.'
It was a Saturday afternoon in July, and according to the police report, the young man was driving drunk. So drunk, in fact, that he drove into the oncoming lane, rolled his car, crashed into a cottage and then tried to flee the scene on foot. It's a sad but not surprising story—except for the details: the driver was an Orthodox Jew, vacationing in the Catskills. It was Sabbath, and he was wasted. Milton Berle was echoing the generations-old conventional wisdom when he quipped that "Jews don't drink much because it interferes with their suffering." Except, of course, they do. Orthodox Jews especially have started to wrestle with what some say is a growing problem of alcohol abuse in their communities. Editorialists in Jewish papers and blogs wring their hands over the college students who wind up in the emergency room after over-imbibing on Purim or the men who leave Saturday services en masse to tipple in the cloakroom before returning, rowdy and indecorous, to the sanctuary in time for the sermon. In 2005, the Orthodox Union (which oversees the nation's Orthodox synagogues) issued a strong statement against these "kiddush clubs." "They were drinking not only the [ceremonial] kiddush wine, but fine single-malt whiskey with a sumptuous smorgasbord," says Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union. "It's not only drinking, it's idealized drinking, which is a very, very bad message for the kids." Many synagogues have since curtailed the clubs, he says.
Alcohol problems always carry a stigma, but in Orthodox circles that stigma is particularly constraining. "Everybody's looking at each other and thinking, 'Is this a family I want my son or daughter to marry into?' " explains Jonathan Katz, director of a New York City-based group for Jewish alcoholics and addicts called JACS. That's why, Rabbi Weinreb says, some Orthodox drinkers go to Alcoholics Anonymous groups in church basements, where they won't see anyone they know. But other Jewish drinkers like to deal with their problem among their own. JACS offers 12-step groups, and a Jewish-only rehab center in Los Angeles called Beit T'shuva includes Jewish spirituality in its recovery program. Young men in rabbinical training at the Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and elsewhere take alcohol-awareness seminars, and in November, JACS published a book of confessional essays about alcohol by Jewish women.
The truth is, though, that Jews don't drink—much. Historically, Jews have not had alcohol problems to the extent as some other religious groups—only 11 percent of Jewish men have problems with alcohol abuse and dependence, compared with 28 percent of non-Jewish men. Researchers aren't sure why, but point to a possible combination of factors. It could be that Jews, who for generations have lived as guests in a host country, feel pressure to be "on our best behavior," as Katz puts it. It could be that rigorous religious observance inoculates people against drunkenness—shown to be true across religions. Or it could be genetic: some Jews do have a form of a gene, also common in Asians, which can protect against alcohol abuse.
Weinreb says he sees drunkenness much more often these days, especially among younger people who think nothing of bringing a six-pack to a party. New research is beginning to support the rabbi's worries: young Jews do seem to be more vulnerable to alcohol than their parents. A 2007 study showed that Israelis younger than 33, especially those without the protective gene, are much more likely to engage in excessive drinking than those who are older. Small studies on recent Russian immigrants in Israel and Jewish college students in the United States show that under the right kind of environmental circumstances, some Jews do engage in heavy drinking. For anyone who's ever been to a bar or a college campus, that's hardly a headline.
With Grace Wyler
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: ATUD @ 08/08/2008 12:58:21 PM
Comment: As a 30 year old member of the Modern Orthodox community, I can attest to this behavior firsthand. During my days in college, I saw as many irresponsible drinking incidents as my non-Jewish classmates. However, in my experience, most of these incidents actually did occur under the guise of a religious acitvity - binge drinking on Purim, for example. Or even on a normal Friday night, when no one is operating a car. In high school, I saw kids get drunk when their parents werent home so then they wouldnt feel guilty turning on the TV (prohibited on the Sabbath). And as far as I could tell, much of this stemmed from mixed messages in the community. From a young age, kids are given alcohol at religious events. We were all instructed strictly never to drink and drive, but not to drink on a day when we aren't driving? What's the harm in that? It is easy to see how the distinction between times where alcohol is appropriate and times where it is not can be blurred. Parents will tell you they never encouraged their kids to drink, but it is all too common to see a parent offer their teenage son or daughter a shot of whiskey at a holiday meal, or a family celebration - as a way of bringing them into the adult world. The messages in the community with regard to alcohol are definitely murky, and its not surprising at all that these problems develop. The Orthodox community has a long history of being in denial about its social afflictions (drinking, substance abuse, spousal abuse, neglect, etc) and Rabbi Weinreb has done a lot of work in his career thus far to see to it that these problems do not get swept under the rug, as they have been in the past.
Posted By: C. MacLean @ 08/08/2008 10:53:39 AM
Comment: If they are discussing it in synagogues that is wonderful, but I'm sure, it is also very recent. And yes, society as a whole is still in denial about many aspects of addiction. But your reference to Otis is part of my point - non-Jewish society in America has always acknowedged that there were drunks in their midst - until very recently Jewish Americans have not; drunks were Gentiles, but not Jews.
In the professional recovery community - those that work in the recovery business as counselors and therapists - we have always been aware that American Jews have believed there are no Jewish alcoholics. We have always recognized this as a myth - its good to hear that the Jewish community is finally starting to recognize it, too.
That myth can makeit harder for many Jews to accept their addiction, and the Christian slant of Alcoholics Anonymous doesn't always help, either. Yes, AA touts itself as a spiritual program, and it is, but many AA meetings still close with the Lord's Prayer, and there are other New Testament prayers in the AA literature. There are certainly no prayers from the Torah in the Big Book.
Faced with a largely Christian-oriented recovery lay community, and given the myths about alcoholism and addiction they may hear at home, Jews have some extra hurdles to overcome in early recovery.
This article, JACS, and talking openly about the subject in synagogues are welcome and wonderful changes.
Posted By: ewas @ 08/08/2008 9:14:46 AM
Comment: The Orthodox Jewish community, as a whole, sees itself as an example of morality. I am sure that among the orthodox there exists the same struggles with substance abuse. as the rest of the world. Like every other insular community they are not immune from normative developmental challenges. They simply have an elitist attitude and believe that if they follow the tenets of the Torah, everything will be ok. The movie "Trembling Before G-d" is a good example of the way in which the orthodox community deals with its own members' honest acknowledgement of sexual identity that does not conform with what they believe to be acceptable. Denial is not a river!!
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