Allergy of the Body, Obsession of the Mind, Part II

Well, it's Feb 28 and my month is almost up here.

Here's my answer to the question which I asked in my last post.

The question is not whether or not G-d CAN cure an alcoholic's body and make it like a normal person's body so that the ex-problem drinker can now drink in moderation like other people. Of course G-d CAN do that. He can also split the sea and rain down bread from heaven. These acts are called miracles and they flout the laws of nature. G-d made up the laws of nature and He can suspend them as He sees fit.

And yet it seems that G-d doesn't perform these kinds of miracles too often. Not just in our age, but even in the "olden days," nature was always more common than miracles (that's sort of what defines it as nature.)

The Jewish mystical tradition explains that G-d actually dislikes performing miracles that circumvent the natural order. The reason? Because G-d wants THIS world to become a heavenly place and it's only by working WITHIN the natural order that the natural order itself can be elevated to something holy.

When G-d works within the natural order, this is also a miracle. In fact, it's an even more powerful miracle than the obvious type of miracle.

The spiritual experience one has "as a result of these steps" is a miracle. Not a miracle that breaks nature or circumvents nature but a miracle that actually uplifts nature. In other words, there is nothing identifiably supernatural involved in the process of having the obsession for alcohol removed. It looks normal from the outside. One doesn't levitate or learn how to move objects with his mind. And yet, it is nothing less than the Power of G-d at work and it is an
even more amazing display of His Power than were He to step in and simply override nature by removing the allergy of the body.

Simply put, the miracle that has the greatest effect on this world is the miracle that stays within this world.

--
Shais Taub
Chasidic Thought

God of Our Understanding

Hello, IOCC Friends,

I wanted to share with you some exciting developments that have already come along in this brand new year.

Back in the Spring of '09, the work I was doing in Milwaukee was covered on NPR. At the end of the interview, I mentioned that I was writing a book on Jewish spirituality and the Twelve Steps which I really was. I just hadn't started actually writing it yet.

So, I emailed our very own IOCC Blog editor, Gwen R., and asked her if I could use the blog as a forum to start pounding out some of my ideas. Here's a post from this blog from 3.23.09.

This post actually became part of a central part of my book which contains several chapters explaining the implicit theology of the Twelve Steps.

Anyway, I just received the proofs for the cover. This is not necessarily a final draft but it's cool to see.

Thank you all so much for reading and literally PULLING the creativity out of me. Writing this book has been a tremendous opportunity to be of service and I have already benefitted so much, thank G-d, from it all.

Rabbi Shais Taub
http://www.chasidicthought.com

A NEW YEAR

It's September, and it's my turn to contribute to IOCC. On the Jewish calender, we happen to be just eight days away from a new year. Rosh Hashanah (which this year begins at sunset on September 8, 2010) is the anniversary of Creation. It is a time for renewal and a time for taking stock.

In recovery, we are familiar with the major inventory of the Fourth Step and the continued "mini-inventory" of the Tenth Step. It is interesting that in the Big Book, the way it describes the Eleventh Step meditation is also as an inventory of what's to be done during the day ahead upon arising and of how the day was actually spent upon retiring.

In the days leading up to the New Year, we Jews have a custom of doing a yearly inventory.

When I look back at last year, I see a lot of changes. Notably, our family moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (where we had lived for six years) and relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Soon after that, we were blessed with the birth of -- thank G-d -- our fourth child, a daughter named, Chaya Mushka (which literally means "the spice of life.") Professionally, the nature of my work has changed quite a bit and I am now more focussed on writing and speaking all over the world as opposed to staying in one place and building a community. On a very exciting note, my book entitled G-d of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction is due to be released next month. (I will, G-d willing, post more about the book later.)

All of these changes are blessings. Change is life. But change can be scary. And that's why we rely so much on G-d so that we may have the "courage to change." When we remember to let G-d do His thing, and we just focus on doing our thing, then change becomes much more fluid, much more peaceful. In other words, life's gonna change regardless. How I deal with change is all in my head.

Indeed, the Hebrew word Rosh Hashanah which literally means "Head of the Year" also means "Head of the Change" since the words for "year" and "change" in Hebrew are so closely related. This Rosh Hashanah, I ask G-d to help me have a "head of change" -- a head that is able to deal with the movement of life and not get entrenched in what makes me comfortable now or how I want things to be. Having a head of change also means being able to quickly let go of opinions that I fought so hard to hold on to. I ask G-d to give me the maturity to realize when my outlook has been wrong and to quickly, gracefully move way from old ideas and thoughts.

And I ask to be able to see what it is that I can change in the world around me. Although "fixing" has gotten us into so much trouble in the past, there's a whole lot that we can fix, too. I can be of use to others. I can make someone's life better. Not because I have the power to change things for other people but because G-d who has all power sometimes chooses me as His agent to bring help to a fellow human being.

May your new year be full of new things and may you enjoy every minute of it.


Rabbi Shais Taub
http://www.chasidicthought.com