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Unfortunately, stories like hers are not unusual in Long Island's Jewish communities, said Rabbi Arthur Schwartz of Kehillath Shalom Synagogue in Cold Spring Harbor. Which is what led to the recent formation of the Long Island Task Force on Substance Abuse in the Jewish Community.
''For too long the Jewish community has been in collective denial about drug and alcohol abuse among our own,'' Rabbi Schwartz said. ''Our grandparents passed on a comforting myth, a self-aggrandizing belief in Jewish immunity and moral superiority, with this saying: 'Shiker is a goy!' Which means, only gentiles become drunks. This is not the case.''
In 1992, the New York Division of Substance Abuse and Alcoholism released the results of a random sampling of 6,000 households, finding the same incidence of addiction among Jews as in the general population: 12 percent. And so Rabbi Schwartz, who represents Reconstructionist Jews, has set out on a mission to debunk myths about substance abuse and raise the level of awareness about the problem among Jews and non-Jews. The task force currently has two other members: Steven Rosenberg, a Conservative rabbi from Bay Shore, and Nancy Perlstein, a certified social worker from Centerport. An Orthodox and a Reform rabbi are expected to join the group in the fall.
HER voice was strained and cigarette-raspy, filled with anguish and despair as she recounted a past ruined by heroin addiction, homelessness and domestic abuse. The tears came when she spoke of her 5-year-old daughter, a pawn in a custody battle. She's not proud of her drug-filled past, littered with memories like the time she vandalized her parents' home or the time she bailed out of life and became a Deadhead, following the Grateful Dead around the country with a motorcycle gang.
She swears she has cleaned up her act since she was diagnosed with manic-depression and received treatment. Her methadone-recovery program is working great, she's holding down two jobs and she has a dog. But she won't be happy until she gets her daughter back, she said, breaking down in tears.
''Hard to believe a nice Jewish girl from Long Island could have such a story, right?'' she asked.
Unfortunately, stories like hers are not unusual in Long Island's Jewish communities, said Rabbi Arthur Schwartz of Kehillath Shalom Synagogue in Cold Spring Harbor. Which is what led to the recent formation of the Long Island Task Force on Substance Abuse in the Jewish Community.
''For too long the Jewish community has been in collective denial about drug and alcohol abuse among our own,'' Rabbi Schwartz said. ''Our grandparents passed on a comforting myth, a self-aggrandizing belief in Jewish immunity and moral superiority, with this saying: 'Shiker is a goy!' Which means, only gentiles become drunks. This is not the case.''
In 1992, the New York Division of Substance Abuse and Alcoholism released the results of a random sampling of 6,000 households, finding the same incidence of addiction among Jews as in the general population: 12 percent. And so Rabbi Schwartz, who represents Reconstructionist Jews, has set out on a mission to debunk myths about substance abuse and raise the level of awareness about the problem among Jews and non-Jews. The task force currently has two other members: Steven Rosenberg, a Conservative rabbi from Bay Shore, and Nancy Perlstein, a certified social worker from Centerport. An Orthodox and a Reform rabbi are expected to join the group in the fall.
Rabbi Rosenberg, who has worked with teen-age substance abusers while a chaplain in New Haven Hospital in Connecticut, said, ''If this task force can help save one life, then we will have performed one of the highest commandments.''
One of the task force's first goals is to start a Long Island chapter of JACS (Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others), a group founded in 1979 by the New York Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. Modeled on ) the 12-step recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous, JACS provides an alternative for those reluctant to join A.A. for religious reasons.
''Many people misguidedly think that A.A. is only for gentiles,'' said Rabbi Schwartz. ''This is not the case, but try explaining that to an observant Jew who has to meet in a church basement. It's not always going to work.''
Other short-term goals of the task force include establishing a speakers' bureau and publishing a directory of resources for families in crisis. For now, Ms. Perlstein has made arrangements for the task force to operateout of the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack, using some of its office space and support.
Rabbi Schwartz is also planning an interfaith meeting for clergy and lay people this fall at Kehillath Shalom Synagogue.
''Our goal is to create a supportive ambience for our spiritual leaders and lay people who are struggling with questions of values and ethics,'' he said. ''What do we do with parents who hold pre-prom cocktail parties for their teen-agers and then leave so as not to embarrass the kids? We want to create a community where parents will sign a pledge that their home will be clean and sober and they will not condone underage drinking.''
The importance of reaching young people with messages about drug and alcohol dependency was emphasized by Maxine Uttal, director of the Manhattan-based JACS. The group has a Teen Network, just a year old, of outreach and educational programs that have already helped save lives, she said, referring to a 16-year-old Long Island teen-ager who says he was ready to commit suicide when, by chance, a JACS workshop was held in his school.
''I started drinking when I was 12 and progressed to marijuana, acid and my rock bottom was coke,'' said the teen-ager, who asked not to be identified other than saying that he was raised in an Orthodox family in a mostly Jewish community.
''I was mainly a drinker and by the time I was 14, all my friends were, too,'' he said. ''My parents didn't have a clue because I was a 'good' drinker, meaning I did it during school, was sober by the time I got home, and got loaded at night when they were sleeping.''
He continued to experiment with LSD and alcohol, ''to drown myself out of life,'' he said, and entered rehab after a bad experience with acid. ''I broke down, told my Mom and the next day I was admitted to a rehab.'' His substance abuse didn't end when he was through with treatment. ''When I came back to school I was into dealing, heavily into 'Johnnie' (Johnny Walker scotch) and I just didn't care about anything anymore,'' he recounted. ''September 15 was the day JACS came. I remember that day because I had four acid tabs in my pocket and was going to do them all in school because I just couldn't take the pressure anymore. For some reason, I listened to the speaker and it moved me to the point where I flushed the acid and got help. I know JACS saved my life.'
The teen-ager, now back in school, is a speaker for JACS teen-age programs, and ''simply an amazing human being,'' said Ms. Uttal.
Other Jewish Long Islanders agreed to be interviewed on the condition of anonymity. One physician, in recovery from substance abuse, said his abuse of prescription drugs was common in the medical profession. During his rehabilitation, he discovered that half of the recovering physicians with whom he had contact, were Jewish.
''There's an old theory that Jews are unlike gentiles when it comes to common social problems like alcoholism,'' he said. ''This is where synagogues and community centers can help parents get resources they need. Most 12-step programs have a religious overtone, and it's difficult for people who were raised Jewish to feel initially comfortable with mainstream ideology that is Christian-oriented.'',
Rabbi Moshe Berger, of the Malverne Jewish Center Conservative Synagogue, has been aware of JACS programs since 1983, and has made it is business to help as many people as possible. In particular, he is concerned about educating the Orthodox about addiction. He has set up a phone line -- 599-3309 -- in his office to provide information about drug treatment programs, support groups and other sources of help.
''We have to stop looking at this disease as a moral weakness and start taking some responsible action,'' he said. ''It's a lot easier for a secular Jew to seek and get help than an Orthodox Jew, and this is a community that is not immune from this disease We have to get the door open, even if it's just a crack.''
Information on JACS is available by calling: (212) 397-4197 or by visiting its website at www.jacs.org. For information on the Long Island Task Force on Substance Abuse in the Jewish Community, call Rabbi Schwartz 271-1037 or Rabbi Rosenberg 441-7957.
At Kehillath Shalom Synagogue in Cold Spring Harbor, Rabbi Arthur Schwartz, above, holds a discussion about substance abuse. (Photographs by Richard Lee for The New York TImes)
Copyright New York Times Company Jun 13, 1999