Detoxification In The Scriptures
The description of the Biblical Nazirite is an example of detoxification.
A Nazirite is a person who decides to stop drinking wine completely because he is afraid that wine would cause him to disengage from himself and then from lif:
“A man or woman who sets himself apart by making a Nazirite vow to abstain for the sake of the Lord, he shall abstain from new wine and aged wine; he shall not drink [even] vinegar made from new wine or aged wine.” When the Nazirite has completed his period of abstinence, it is written, “On the day his period of naziriteship is completed, he shall bring him to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.” (Bamidbar 6:1-13)
Rabbi Simcha Meir of Dvinsk, author of Meshech Chochmah, writes,”He shall bring him.” This sounds as if other people bring him, but surely he brings himself. And this is to know that when his completeness and his elevation are complete (meaning, when he can return to life having cured his addiction), his inclination cannot lead him astray and his desires do not lead his intellect to err. He looks at anything related to himself in the same way as others, and his heart is not concerned with his own self-love. Then he can be sure that he can take from the world’s pleasures in the most appropriate way, not going to excess, because the Holy One did not intend that we should not enjoy this world, but it should be within the boundaries of health.”
These amazing words teach us two fundamental points. First of all, addiction is an illness and it therefore needs a cure. We are not talking about an educational problem. The individual addict cannot overcome his problems on his own because they are entrenched deeply within him, and he gives himself every reason and excuse as to why he should continue to be a user. Secondly, the author of the Meshech Chochmah says that in order to get out of the mud, a sideways glance is necessary. Therefore, it is written that at the end of his period as a Nazirite, he shall bring him, as if he is bringing someone else. He will take a sideways glance and guide himself as to where to go, who to associate with, and the things from which he should distance himself.
It is not easy to reach this level, or to cure oneself from this type of malady. Therefore, the Zohar writes, “For the one who miraculously makes an oath at a time when the person is coming to be purified, is purified. This same person who sanctifies himself will be sanctified, and holiness will be spread over him from above.”
There is no cure for this sickness. The way to save an addict from the mire of this malady is for him to understand that he needs help, to seek help, and to be strengthened by the rope that God throws him from above. For this reason it is written that he “miraculously makes an oath.” If he swears, meaning that he obligates himself, this is when the miracle occurs. Regular Torah study, spiritual life, and the mitzvot do not help here. There needs to be some kind of spiritual “surgical process” of naziriteship, healing, and the miracle, and only then can the person return to his spiritual routine.
King David wrote in Psalms, “Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity, and purify me of my sin.” (Psalms 51:4)
The Midrash says, “Reb Yassa said, ‘My son, open me an aperture like the eye of a needle, and I will open for you a doorway through which wagons and carriages can enter.'” (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 5:3)
When an addict reaches his lowest point, he only needs to disengage himself from his ego and ask for help in order to open an aperture the size of eye of a needle, and then the miracle will occur. This is the first of the Twelve Steps.
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
“And the children of Israel were armed when they went up out of Egypt.” (Exodus 13:18) One out of five left, and the other four died during the three days of darkness. (Rashi)
After a whole year of Plagues in Egypt, open miracles occurred, and God’s messengers Aaron and Moses brought down the mighty Egyptian empire. Yet not everyone was able to conquer their addiction to slavery.
In fact, only 20 percent were cured, and the rest died in Egypt. The success rate of Moses and Aaron’s “treatment center” was no more than one-fifth, according to our Sages.
To be a believer, one does not need to only pray and perform mitzvot. In fact, the Talmud tells us that a person can apparently observe the Torah and its commandments, but still end up in Hell. (Yoma 72b):
“Said Rabba to his disciples: ˜I pray you that you may not inherit two hells.” Rashi explains that this refers to one who “labors and toils in Torah in this world and does not fulfill it will go to Hell when he dies, and you will not enjoy life in your world.”
The Vilna Gaon explains that man can observe Torah and mitzvot, but if he has one bad character trait that he does not subdue, he does not believe in God.
We thought that we kept the commandments in a serious manner. But when we were honest with ourselves, we discovered that we either did them superficially or went to the opposite extreme and adopted the emotional side, which we considered to be true religious fervor. In both cases, we sought to receive a free gift. In fact, we never “put our house in order,” which would have been absolutely essential to enable God’s kindness to enter and banish the “demon drink.” We did not do any significant soul-searching, we did not make amends for the things that we did to those whom we harmed, and we never actually did anything for anyone else without expecting a reward. There was no “we will do Your Will” and we never understood the love of God or the love of other people. For this reason, we continued to numb ourselves and to remain impervious to the divine benevolence that would return us to sanity. (From Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, The Second Step)
God only dwells within the heart of the person who removes his ego, who gives in, and yields without hurting any others or himself, who does profound soul-searching, and seeks out his failings in order to correct them.
Only through action can we remove the stubbornness that always blocks God’s entry. Of course, faith is essential, but faith in itself is not enough. We are able to prevent God’s involvement in our lives, despite our belief in Him. (From Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, The Third Step)
Addiction is an illness, not merely a spiritual weakness. A person can practice the Torah and its mitzvot, but can also suffer from diabetes or pneumonia.
Addiction is the “diabetes” of the spiritual world. It is a cunning, progressive, dangerous disease. The Twelve Step Program is the cure, a cure that heals and immunizes the spiritual-emotional world of the person. Religious Jews who follow the program every day attest that the program has helped them to draw closer to God in a way that they were not familiar with previously.
The program causes them to disengage from anything that prevented them from experiencing the beauty of Judaism through Torah and mitzvot.
We began to understand that God is not only a “substitute player,” who joins the game only in emergency situations, as we had previously thought. The idea that we could live our lives by ourselves, with a little help from God here and there, began to evaporate. Many of us, who previously defined ourselves as religious, became conscious of the limitations of this approach. When we refused to make God our first priority, we denied ourselves His help. But now we have begun to understand the meaning and hope within the words, “I am essentially nothing on my own; our Father will do the work. (From The Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, The Seventh Step)
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