We’re Here For You!

This past week we lost another beautiful soul to the addiction epidemic. Another pointless loss. Another possibly avoidable loss.

What struck me was how many of us didn’t know that our friend Jeff/Moshe was in recovery for over two years – the same two years he had been coming to Chabad Intown. Yet at the same time, he had a world of people who had influenced him and whom he had influenced that we didn’t know existed.

We’ve speculated about his reasons for not sharing his other world with us at Chabad Intown. Perhaps he wanted a place where his baggage was left at the door. Perhaps he was looking for a pristine space that he could embrace his new self fully. We’ll never really know. That’s not the tragedy.

The tragedy is that the definition of addiction is such that the addict never ceases to be an addict. That’s why people who are in recovery will call themselves an addict even if they’ve been sober for many years.

The tragedy is that the part of the brain of the addict that reverts to addiction is in many ways uncontrollable without the support of the Higher Power and community. But when the addict needs the support, the Higher Power and the community can oftentimes be the difference between life and death.

Who knows what could have been? Who knows what might have been? Who knows where we would be today if 30 or 40 more people or even 2 or 3 knew what he struggled with?!

Jeff/Moshe was a special soul. All addicts are (see my eulogy here). All addicts face struggles that are beyond the struggles that regular people deal with. The battles they fight, the victories they win are superhuman. But we as a community must help eliminate the stigma associated with this struggle.

Removing the stigma allows for so many to “come out” and broaden their support network and possibly provide the anchoring in the time that the addict needs it most.

Moshe, rest in peace, may your memory be a blessing.

I hope that someone out there reading this who is in recovery will broaden your support base in case that support is ever needed.

I hope that someone out there who doesn’t relate to addiction, will learn more, experience more, understand more and help diminish the stigma. Together we can help more people into recovery and literally save lives.

As our sages, say, one who saves one life is as if they’ve saved an entire world.

Good Shabbos.