The ultra-Orthodox used to prefer to ignore mental difficulties at times and now they are attacking the hotspots • Experts tell how the change took place in the US • Judaism in the shadow of the Corona
Medical man in New York
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Here is an issue for halakhic discussion: How to promote discourse according to Orthodox / halakhic halakhah regarding the importance of preserving the soul? The past year has been accompanied by a series of challenges in relation to changing living conditions including family life, prayer leaders, assembly and more. , Because sometimes even a small step gives rise to the possibility of displacement and broader changes.
Here, for example, is Orthodox Rabbi David Kahn, a world-renowned arbitrator and rabbi of the Geval Yavitz community in Brooklyn, New York.
Rabbi Kahn relies on the words of Rabbi Chaim Halevi Soloveitchik.
"As Rabbi Chaim of Brisk used to say: I do not stick on Shabbat, I tighten with mental supervision."
And yet, the very liberation to engage in the field of mental health is not a trivial matter, to say the least, in a conservative environment in a nature whose manifestations are often closure and segregation.
The constitutive change was due to the fact that these words were widely disseminated and from the moment the possibility was expressed to the ultra-Orthodox public, the data were unequivocal: " New York psychologist Dr. Shlomi Zimmerman, who conducts multidisciplinary group exercises in the city.
Zimmerman is a volunteer member of the board of directors of the local Amudim organization, which is currently working to correct the fight against addictions of all kinds in the ultra-Orthodox sector.
"Two hours before the beginning of Passover, a flood of inquiries began and I asked for the rapid recruitment of all our volunteers. I have never seen anything like this, especially on the three days of" Yom Tov "(two days of holiday are practiced abroad, followed by Shabbat).
The talks were from everywhere - from California, New York, New Jersey, through an ultra-Orthodox community in Britain and also from Israel itself.
The consequences of "opening the dam" have been reflected so far. "
Zimmerman, a Yiddish speaker, is accustomed to working with the ultra-Orthodox community in New York (Flatbush, Borough Park and Queens) and New Jersey.
"The timing of his remarks - especially during Passover, when many people were helpless and terrified by their lack of control over the situation - 'helped' many in the community internalize that mental health is just as important as physical. "Fear that you will hurt yourself or suffer from an anxiety attack with accelerated heartbeats and physical symptoms for the first time and you are not even aware of it - you will not get a big sign of it and without the specific timing it is doubtful if they would internalize it."
With a smile, he adds, "those who find it more difficult to open up personally, share their experiences virtually virtually so that anyone in the community who feels isolated about their psychological affairs now feels closer to the world."
"Over the past year, the Haredi sector's wider communication with the scientific community has stood out. At the field level, the centrality of the Rescue Union in New York has stood out. When you think about these data now, in relation to the community based on family value, 'togetherness' "Emphasizes the need to expand the range of discourse, especially in the sectoral media and emphasizes its importance in the family and community cell. Cautiously says that the reality forced in the past year will probably form the basis for changing the nature of discourse on personal and mental things in the sector.