Addiction

“Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.” — Abraham Joshua Heschel

Healing and recovery are journeys, not fixed destinations or binary modes of being. They are not linear, but neither is Jewish time—just as each year brings a new cycle of seasonality, so does the path of healing and recovery. We may go through times when it feels certain that the sun will never shine again on our bodies and spirits, but sometimes stars still sparkle across the veil of the dark. 

This book is for you, wherever you may be on that journey, so feel free to take what works and leave the rest. May it serve and support you in all the ways you need. 

• Dedicate some time to learning as much as you can about addiction and recovery. Knowing more about what your loved one is experiencing can ground you in a deeper sense of empathy and can help you to better support them. 
• Commit to becoming a dependable listener for your loved one when they need someone to talk to, but be careful about overcommitting yourself beyond your own capacity. Be clear about your own boundaries, and the kinds of support you are willing to offer. 
• Support and encourage your loved one to seek treatment. You might offer to help them find a program or attend recovery meetings with them. 
• Recognize that recovery is a challenging journey, and commit to practicing empathy and understanding for your loved one across a variety of circumstances. 
• Take time to celebrate big and small milestones with your loved one, from completing a treatment program to staying sober for a certain length of time. 
• Make sure to take time for yourself—supporting someone in recovery can be difficult. Think about ways you can practice self-care and get support from others if and when you need it.

Like other healing journeys, recovery from addiction is a process, not a straight line. The following prayers for folks in recovery are designed to give you some comfort and company on that journey out of mitzrayim, the narrow place akin to Egypt in which you might find yourself at present.

Master of the World, you have given us the blessings and challenges of life. Nourish us on our continued journeys of recovery. Help us grow closer to You, and help us live happy, joyous, and free, to the best of our abilities each day.

Give us the strength to persevere through our challenges, and to find support along the way. Be with us when our hearts break open. Walk with us as we travel the road of healing. Help us find meaning and blessings each and every day we are alive.

Holy One of Blessing, we ask You to hold us close, remind us that You are with us, that we are precious and loved, and that with Your help, we can stay clean and sober, happy, joyous, and free, one day at a time. May we do Your will, now and forever. 

May we all be blessed with happiness, holiness, healing, serenity, and peace. 

-by Rabbi Ilan Glazer

Your yadaim, or hands, hold stories, with every act of care written into their skin.

This ritual invites you to honor the sacredness of what your hands do each day: hold, soothe, feed, lift, clean, create. Take a small amount of oil or lotion and warm it between your palms. Close your eyes and feel the life pulsing beneath your skin. Whisper: Blessed are these hands for the tenderness they give, for the comfort they bring, for the love they carry.

Let your fingers trace one palm, then the other. Feel the ache, the warmth, the quiet energy. If you like, stretch or shake them gently, releasing tension.

Your hands are extensions of your heart, the bridge between intention and action.

What You Receive: A soft moment of appreciation for yourself and your body. The reminder that care is not only something you give, it’s something that flows through you.

Caregiving is sacred work. It asks more of your heart, your patience, and your spirit than almost any other calling. You hold, you comfort, you anticipate, you endure. And in giving so much, it’s easy to forget that you, too, deserve tenderness and care.

This collection of rituals was created as a gentle companion for those who care for others: parents, children, partners, professionals, friends. Each ritual is a doorway back to yourself: to breathe, rest, connect, and renew. These practices draw inspiration from Jewish rhythm and spirituality, not to teach or prescribe, but to offer an ancient language for your very modern heart.

You don’t need to be religious to use them. You just need a willingness to pause. To remember that tending to your own spirit is not selfish, it’s what allows you to keep showing up with love.

Take your time with these rituals. Try one each week, or move through them as you feel called. Let them build on each other, layer by layer, until they weave a tapestry of compassion for others, and for yourself.