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JCH » Politics » Orthodox Conundrum

Mental Illness, Halachic Analysis, and Pastoral Counseling: Are Some Rabbis in the Dark? (76)

August 23, 2021 9:07 am

There is, thankfully, much greater awareness of mental illness today than there was in the past. This naturally leads to the question of how much mental health should affect halacha, or Jewish law. Is someone with an eating disorder permitted to eat on Yom Kippur – or perhaps the question should be, is that person is allowed to fast? If a person suffering from PTSD needs to smoke on Shabbat, is there room to be lenient? If the key question is how mental illness is related to sakanat nefashot – a danger to life – how can a determination like that be made that is both medically reasonable and halachically proper?

Many rabbis, though well meaning, are simply not aware of how mental health concerns intersect with halacha. And when it comes to pastoral counseling and giving non-halachic advice, rabbis might be even more in the dark, and can unwittingly cause serious damage.

Rav Yoni Rosensweig is at the forefront of bringing awareness of mental illness into the rabbinic community. He has written a book on the subject, and is starting an institute so that rabbis acquire the knowledge necessary in order to more appropriately confront these issues. In this episode of the Orthodox Conundrum, Scott speaks with Rav Yoni about these very pressing issues.

Please listen to and share the podcast, and let us know what you think on the Orthodox Conundrum Discussion Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/432020081498108).

Thanks to all of our Patreon subscribers, who have access to bonus JCH podcasts, merch, and more – we appreciate your help, and hope you really enjoy the extras! Visit the JCH Patreon site at https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Music: “Happy Rock” by bensound.com

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#talkaboutmentalhealth anorexia eating disorder halacha judaism mental health mental illness mentalhealthawareness orthodox Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism Orthodoxy torah
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jewishcoffeeh Scott Kahn of JCH @jewishcoffeeh ·
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CCR is just fantastic. 54 years ago today and it more than holds up.

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jewishcoffeeh Scott Kahn of JCH @jewishcoffeeh ·
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I will be speaking with a rav about Hilchot Pesach on the next Orthodox Conundrum Podcast. If you have specific questions you'd like me to ask, please tweet a reply below or DM me.

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jewishcoffeeh Scott Kahn of JCH @jewishcoffeeh ·
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I never stop being amazed that 25 years ago, Ramat Beit Shemesh didn't exist. Today it goes on and on and on; RBS A alone has over 100 synagogues - and there's also RBS B,C, D, and E - with more on the way.

I witness the Ingathering of the Exiles every time I walk outside.

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Smotrich is a fool who speaks like a teenager, but this is rich coming from Jordan, where selling land to Jews is illegal and was punishable by death up to 1995.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-seeks-to-calm-waters-with-jordan-after-racist-extremist-speech-by-smotrich/

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jewishcoffeeh Scott Kahn of JCH @jewishcoffeeh ·
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Incredible, ברוך רופא חולים.

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