Redefining Judaism’s relationship with mental health

Can a religious man living with severe depression listen to music on Shabbat? Can a woman suffering from an eating disorder eat chametz on Pesach, when not doing so would harm her recovery? And does an adult have a religious obligation to respect parents who were physically or emotionally abusive?

These are some of the hundreds of questions that can face a religious person suffering from a mental health challenge.

“The message that one’s mental health is more important than religious practice may sound simple, but to many it is groundbreaking”, Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig told The AJN.

“When religious people suffer from mental health disorders, the fabric of their daily life is affected, often resulting in a conflict between mental health needs and halachic practice. This can be devastating, forcing people to choose between their religious identity and their mental health. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Rabbi Rosensweig, an ex-Mizrachi Beit Midrash shaliach in Melbourne, recently finished writing a groundbreaking comprehensive halachic book on mental health, Nafshi b’She’elati, together with Dr Shmuel (Dean) Harris, a psychiatrist who made aliyah from Melbourne 14 years ago.

Rabbi Rosensweig began receiving dozens of calls from around the world from religious people with mental health challenges.

“Before reaching me, many of these individuals had suffered for years. I asked one woman who relied on music during the week to cope with anxiety, what she typically did on Shabbat. ‘I often cut myself to cope,’ she told me.”

Knowing that the book was just a first step, Rabbi Rosensweig joined forces with Nadav Ellinson to launch Maaglei Nefesh, the Institute for Mental Health and Halachah.

Ellinson, a graduate of Leibler Yavneh College and Bnei Akiva merakez, made aliyah in 2013 and was until recently co-founder and COO of Intelligo Group, a successful hi-tech startup.

“I saw around me the suffering and stigma of those who are struggling with mental illness,” Ellinson explained.

“I approached Rabbi Rosensweig and together we decided to embark on this journey. We created this institute to educate and empower rabbis with the knowledge and skills to support people with mental illness, but also to eventually create support networks for those who are suffering.”

In partnership with Kav L’Noar, a leading mental health nonprofit in Israel, Maaglei Nefesh recently launched its first 50-hour rabbinic training course in Israel, training rabbis and community religious leaders, with plans to expand to Australia and America.

The course not only educates rabbis in how to correctly apply Jewish law in mental health cases, but crucially teaches how to provide pastoral and communal care, and how to work in partnership with clinical professionals and refer into the mental health system.

“Communal leaders such as rabbis can sometimes make all the difference between recovery and a lifetime of pain. Rabbis are a trusted and respected resource on the front lines and when trained, they are uniquely placed to both remove religious barriers to recovery, and connect congregants with the professional help they need”, says Harris, a member of Maaglei Nefesh’s advisory board and a lecturer in the organisation’s rabbinic training course.

“When a rabbi tells a congregant that their mental health disorder is important enough to affect halachah, the congregant feels validation and hears that they belong. This is where recovery begins.”

Unfortunately, untrained religious leaders can cause harm. “When a Rabbi tells a women suffering from anorexia that rather than fast on Yom Kippur she can drink halachically acceptable sips, he is essentially telling the woman to exhibit anorexic behaviours, causing untold harm”, says Rabbi Rosensweig.

“A holistic, cross-functional approach is the only way to connect the clinical and religious worlds and provide solutions.”

According to the founders, the new institute will also help overcome stigma in religious communities. When a rabbi speaks openly in his sermons about mental health, it becomes normalised. When congregants know that the rabbi is trained and has a team of clinical professionals supporting him, they are more likely to reach out and seek help.

And when people are willing to share their stories, the prevalence is made public and the community as a whole begins to understand the need and seek solutions.

To find out how more about Maaglei Nefesh or to support its work, please visit mnefesh.org. Nadav Prawer is a partner at Mann lawyers currently living in Gush Etzion.