By:REBECCA SHALOMOFF
Moe had his first taste of alcohol at a bar mitzvah when he was 12 years old. "It was the most freeing thing. It gave me what I never had," he said.
A few years later, the taste of freedom in that one sip eventually led him to become a full-blown alcoholic. He stopped showering, didn't go to school and, as he put it, almost drank himself to death.
What sets Moe's story apart from other teenagers' tales of drug and alcohol abuse is that he is a religious Jew, and stories of addiction among the Orthodox community have not been told publicly.
Moe, now 16, his mother, identified only as Mrs. K, and Orin, 22, who was hooked on marijuana for a couple of years, sat behind a white screen to shield their identities, as they told their painful stories about drug addiction to an audience of about 200 people gathered in the sanctuary of Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence last week.
But what members of the Torah-observant community did see from the testimonies is that substance abuse is a serious problem that can touch anyone.
"We can't say those things don't happen to us, or ask how did we get here," said Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum of Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst. "We got here because these things do happen to us."
The Feb. 21 public forum, sponsored by the Orthodox Caucus in Cedarhurst, was aimed at raising awareness about alcohol and drug use among young adults in the Orthodox community. While no statistics were available about how many strictly-religious youths turn to mind-altering substances, what was emphasized was that there are students of strict religious upbringing using drugs and something needs to be done about it.
"The problem is not new," said David Mandel, a member of the Jewish social services organization OHEL and the moderator of the event. "The extent to which the community is allowing itself to be aware and respond to it is relatively new."
The Orthodox Caucus, a non-profit organization founded in 1992 by Rabbi Basil Herring of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, has dedicated this year to dealing with substance issues in Jewish neighborhoods all over Long Island. The group brings together more than 100 Orthodox rabbis and lay leaders to address critical issues in the Orthodox Jewish community. Last year, the caucus dealt with disabilities, resulting in the creation of the Cedarhurst-based Kulanu organization.
Last week's event was one of the first community-wide efforts in the Five Towns to look at the problem of substance abuse. In the coming weeks, the 10 local yeshivas and 15 local synagogues participating in the project will feature teen testimonials, parent/child workshops, discussion groups, sermons and lectures. The next event is scheduled to take place at the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County's Early Childhood Center in West Hempstead at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 4.
"Since the first program, we've had a number of calls from people who want to talk to professionals," Herring said. "I think people were shocked, especially adults who didn't expect to hear what they heard."
And what they heard is how many parents are unaware that their children smoke pot or drink too much alcohol, said Mrs. K, who admitted she had no knowledge of her son's addiction.
"I had no idea that I missed the boat emotionally with my son," she said. "I couldn't see the signs."
Herring said these programs are just the first step to bring the problem to the fore and understand why it exists. The goal is to envision and ultimately institute possible solutions, like setting up places where people can go for help, either for those who suffer from substance abuse or for parents who want to learn how to communicate with their children.
As part of the organization's efforts, Ari Pearl, a junior at Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, and Judy Rosenblum, a junior at Hebrew Academy of Nassau County, spoke to the Young Israel of Woodmere congregation about alcohol and drug use in their schools. They are part of a task force composed of administrators, teachers and students from local yeshivas in the Orthodox Caucus' campaign.
The growing population in the Jewish schools makes it possible for some students with emotional and drug-related problems to go unnoticed, but Pearl said in a telephone interview that the rabbis try their best to help prevent kids from slipping through cracks, and that many students do seek out their help.
Students at the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway have already been involved in their own fight against substance abuse. A few years ago, a club called "Choices" was formed by a small group who sign a pledge not to drink alcohol or use drugs. This year, the club has expanded to 100 students. A couple of times a year, a group of 30 members go to HAFTR Middle School to talk to the younger students about the dangers of drugs and let them know they can still be considered cool if they "just say no."
"The problem isn't a bigger problem at HAFTR than any other yeshiva," said Lisa Weiner, Choices adviser and HAFTR health and physical education teacher. "I think it's less of a problem because we talk about it."
