Amudim Awareness Event, May 1, 2017 Harav Elya Brudny Shlit"a Part 2 of 5

har [Applause] bisho thank you very much Josh thank you very much T thank you to the organizers and to those who came it's not easy to come because as we heard before why you here what's your connection to addiction does it mean that it's a family member does it mean it's someone you know does it mean yourself of course it doesn't have to mean anything came because it's a Torah in CL and if awareness is available maybe I can make a difference there's many ways subtle ways we could make a difference if we make AIM now we don't break New York state law by allowing miners who are under 21 to partake in alcohol at the Sim that we make we're making a difference because addiction is what kazal says and a person finds himself helpless against the compulsion that when he began it wasn't a compulsion it was recreational K you feel good take a it's a kiddish okay so I'm 15 I'm 16 is below the age that you're allowed to but it's fine had a hard week socially didn't do so well in youch it this week last night I had a little bit of a flare up with my mom my dad take it's recreational and sometimes stays that way sometimes but too many times the individual finds self helpless against this compulsion and other compulsions and as we all in this room know addiction takes many many different forms many many different compulsions but the the CLW is that it comes a point where human being becomes helpless against compulsion he's lost his b the greatest gift AEM endowed a human being is with the gift of writes the that were given over the very first of those mil greatest levels of human nobility is the mil of like it says in the you have the ability to choose path of life so you could live a meaningful life and not only that and you should be able to have perpetuate Generations that live meaningful lives that's all based on the ramban when he wants to establish the axom that is a reality and he says not like the tip of the Nations say Ra's expression and he says when he wants to describe those that are not from the other nations those that are from from who deny the ra writes that expression that maybe when you were a child and you re spoke yish and he got upset with you he called you a gum so the ram says are not accepting of the fact that is what a person is endowed with and the PK that the ran brings is thek in speaks with the and says Behold a human being is he's like one of us an addiction when does a person know he's suffering from addiction when he wakes up one day and he's helpless against compulsion he doesn't have the resources to say no to a compulsion he's lost his he's not anymore he's not the same Adam of which expected when he created him the tragedies of addiction that we're going to be addressing tonight clinically and both in the preventive sense and in the treatment sense and in the supportive sense are the tragedies the the the the products of that disease called addiction but the disease itself is a tragedy helplessness against compulsion what a tragedy about Not a Human Being is are beings that don't have the ability to choose and to make cerebral decisions but Hashem created a human being and that is in the deepest sense of Salim to be able to make decisions to be able to choose to choose well so it's so painful to allow little tiny mistakes to develop and to mushroom into a situation where one finds themselves helpless against compulsion and lose their and we must address all of us together must address the enablers who think it's a sport I tonight asked someone to read me out some of the penal code I'm not a lawyer I don't understand some of these things well enough but it seems to me that it's in New York state is even not from the most harsh Penal codes about alcohol for younger than 21 but it seems that if I make a kiddish and there are teenagers at the kides and they partake in the alcohol because I serve it and make it available to them I think if everything goes over B I think it's a a it's called a first class MISD demeanor I hope there are no lawyers here because I might be misquoting but it is a against the law when the malus is out to protect us when the malus is out for our safety so it's what we call we dodge a bullet the children go home the teenagers they're a little tipsy they take their shabas nap and in most cases they even show up for but what does that lead to like to in the future could we say with certainty that serving liquor to youngsters at a Shalom to serving liquor to youngsters at a Sim didn't contribute to that youngster evolving into into into substance abuse an addiction has such a blur one addiction the other addiction and other addictions also from little things that we take and we look at it as harmless fun as cute teenagers come to a collect urum and a wealthy man it's his day of Glory he's able to give and give and give and give so when the person that blessed him with resources to be able to give on Pur wants to have some fun so he offers a to a 15y old to a 16y old it's for him it's a crime and even if everything goes over B and p b but who knows what seeds were just planted what destructive seeds were planted look at our community how much pains are taken to ensure the safety of our community all the moas whether it's Lifeline all the all the all the of Rel what kind of a gloriously beautiful Community we are how much resources of volunt voluntary resources are expended both monetarily and physical how many of our brothers are up Friday nights and every night of the week in atalah to be able to address emergencies because we care about we know what means this week we're going to lay in the greatah that's that's except for the three and in the explaining why we make such a to-do about one preserving his physical safety because that's the Simon that we believe that we're here for a purpose we're not here just for frivolous existence if we would be here only for frivolous existence soar could come to us and tell us it's a it's a better enjoy at least enjoy the today and the now but if we're here to accomplish if we're here to make a difference if we're here to live a life of a life of kid and to bring to our name and honor to's name how important life is how important quality of life is how important physical welfare is why do we take risks both within with ourselves and with our youth with ourselves it's with our youth this these are the harshest another point is like we just heard describe it eloquently the choices when a family member recognizes the bit truth that someone very dear and respected has crossed the line into addiction then there's this tremendous battle the battle of denial the Battle of Wishful Thinking can't be and how could I acknowledge it how could I do anything about it what could we do who knows where the treatment is going to take us but the earlier we address it the more painless the treatment is going to be you're going to hear from the experts when you start early it doesn't mean there are no tens of thousands of people out there in the rehabilitation centers out of town that's a last resort if you address it early enough there's so much Outpatient Care available so many different levels of Outpatient Care the worst thing is to bury our heads in the sand and ignore because the ramifications the very reasons that are compelling us to deny are going to come back to haunt us an addict is an addict people notice Behavior just like they notice absence if we're so terrified of the concept of a family member disappearing for a few months why because people talk they shouldn't talk but they do talk it's human nature so what do they think addictive behavioral addictive behavior of a family member isn't going to make it the rounds of Gossip people talk that can't that can't guide us in life and death decisions and you're going to hear that the ramifications and the consequences of ignoring are life and death allowing addiction to continue that's dark it's and what's about the you're you're at a this is painful and you find friends of a coming to be and you notice in the coat room unfortunately many I have to sit in the room or in some other room and I have meetings sometimes and you find B Friends of the taking a paper bag and in the paper bag there's a bottle of of vodka these are youngsters so they're over 21 so what maybe they are over 21 what's with so it's a it's okay with the law of the state what about with's law let's all remember what the mishna says in when the Cen is trying to soothe the woman that's on trial in the B mikdash and he's trying trying to coax her not to deny the transgression the mishna quotes an ression be my daughter you must have done what you did because of intoxication of liquor it's so many behavioral lapses can be directly attributed the people who shouldn't be drinking drinking how could we sit quietly if we would notice when we notice it we say such a nice boy what are you doing I hate to break people's hearts it didn't take long before it's cross gender it's not only boys anymore who would have believed that this plague of drinking has also made inroads into Pima so we're going to be hearing tonight from ex top experts in the field that are Ben to with to everything they're going to be saying sound clinically and sound asically and they're going to walk us through this painful para and we could only and this undertaking should make a tremendous difference in our community and we should be able to overcome the inroad that this disease is making Among Us and to go back to being in the fullest sense and that the should be able to say about all of us young and old male and female you're my servant that I take so much pride in you thank you [Applause]