Meaningful Life Skills with Rabbi Simon Jacobson24 Mar 2022

Kabbalah and Addiction: A 12 Step Program

Addiction is one of the greatest plagues of our time. It impacts tens of millions of people - according to official statistics there are over 20 million addicts in the USA alone. And how many more are there who are not accounted for, due to denial and other factors? Addiction's impact on life is devastating - polluting virtually every facet of life: work, relationships, personal growth. How much of our potential remains trapped as we escape into our various addictions?

The very word addiction sends a shudder down our spines. Whether it's behavioral, psychological or physical, addiction reflects one of the saddest states of the human spirit: the loss of control over one’s own decisions. Becoming enslaved to a substance or behavior is the ultimate desecration and betrayal of human dignity.

But what is the root of addiction? What causes a person to allow themselves to become a slave to another entity - defying the very nature of human autonomy?! Aside from addressing its symptoms, is there anything we can do to uproot addiction at its core?

When we look back at the etymology of addiction, we find it has other meanings as well - and surprisingly! - they are not all negative. Addiction also means devotion, attachment and connection. Indeed, this can actually provide insight into what lies at the root and heart of addiction.

Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this eye-opening program to discover a new, fascinating way of looking at addiction. Addiction is essentially a form of attachment disorder. The “soul” of an addict has a powerful searching energy - seeking, aspiring, yearning for love, connection and transcendence - but this force has become misdirected for various reasons. The problem is not the drive, but the objective of the drive. This class will lay out the 12-step Kabbalistic system and formula of how to deal with addiction in any form. Learn how to recognize the enormous power hidden in addiction; examine how to harness and direct it to literally change your life and the world around you.

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