The first institute of its kind will train rabbis to work with the mentally handicapped Israel today

Is a tradition-obsessed woman allowed to listen to music on Saturday?

Is there a permit for a person dealing with eating disorders to eat chametz on Passover on the grounds that the holiday foods impair his recovery process?

And what about a person whose mind in prayer is distracted due to suicidal thoughts?

A new center has recently been established that will deal with such questions and for the first time will combine the world of mental health and Jewish law.

"The classic concept," says Rabbi Eternal Menashe of Beit Shemesh, Rabbi Yoni Rosenzweig, "is that rabbis should focus only on mental health issues on the assumption that they already know the world of halakhah, but this is not true - a rabbi who does not know how to combine halakhic rulings with mental health, despite "His good intentions are likely to cause harm."

Rabbi Rosenzweig, who authored books on the worlds of mental health and halakhah and also serves as a rabbi at the Lindenbaum College, was joined by Nadav Allinson, founder and until recently COO, of the start-up company "Intigo Group", and together they founded the "Circles of Mental" Institute.

This is with the intention of training hundreds of rabbis in this integrated field so that they can properly guide the soul contestants from among their communities.

Founders of the Maagali Nefesh Institute with MK Michal Waldinger, Photo: Courtesy of those photographed

Allinson immigrated from Australia eight years ago and now lives in Modi'in.

He built a successful high-tech company in Israel but felt he was missing something in life, "I saw around me the suffering and stigma that accompanies those dealing with mental disorders and after market research I realized that there is something to do in this context in the religious world. I turned to him and together we decided it was time to act. "

Every mental contender encounters various barriers like mental difficulties, shame and the like.

According to the institute's founders, religious soul contestants, and there are an estimated 360,000 of them, encounter another checkpoint, which is the religious checkpoint.

"In many cases," says Rabbi Rosenzweig, "mental contenders are torn between their mental health needs and what they see as their religious commitment. A knowledgeable rabbi is able to mend the rift and aid in the recovery process."

According to him, a rabbi who is unfamiliar with the combined field may cause harm to those who turn to him, Of the halakhic tools in the mirror of the world of mental health. "

According to him, many soul mates are afraid to turn to rabbis and consult with them and are afraid of risking exposure that will include prejudices and wrong advice, "therefore the rabbi must be familiar with the issue. "After all, a person in a wheelchair knows that people around him understand his condition and therefore help him and make it accessible to him in the synagogue. Even mental contestants need to understand them and make the path into the life of the religious community accessible to them."