Here are some strategies that allow us to experience a Simchah of enjoyment without the risks of consumption or overconsumption of alcohol.

Dry January is a global movement where individuals and communities choose to abstain from alcohol for one month. Synagogues and communal organizations can participate in Dry January and send a message of support to those who wish to take a break from alcohol during this month in several meaningful ways.

Dry January is a global movement in which individuals and communities abstain from alcohol for one month. Dry January supports the many individuals who question the role alcohol plays in their lives or who seek to reduce the harm of their alcohol use.

In 1989, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) established National Recovery Month as a national observance to promote and support new evidence-based substance use treatment and recovery practices.

Addiction and addiction recovery are realities in our community; they always have been and likely will be into the near future.  Until recently many people in the Jewish community denied that addiction was a Jewish issue.  Now there is a much greater recognition of how addiction challenges our own.  However, many Jewish families still express deep feelings of isolation when confronting addiction in themselves or their loved ones.

There are so many ways, large and small, that each of us can support Jewish families struggling with active addiction or in recovery, to bring them out of isolation and into the loving support our community offers.  Here are some ideas: