Mental health and Jewish law

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The Rabbinical Council of Victoria this week held a professional development session on Mental Health and Jewish Law.

Rabbi Yaakov Glasman and Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig

RCV President Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn said that “The RCV is committed to educating rabbis and rebbetzins in this area, and we look forward to more training in the future” as the RCV continues to provide relevant professional development opportunities to its members.

RCV Co-Vice President Rabbi Yaakov Glasman, who will be completing his Master of Counselling at Monash University next month, highlighted the importance of mental health as he introduced Rabbi Rosensweig and noted the positive impact his work had made on members of the Jewish community.

“Rabbi Rosensweig has invested considerable time, effort and resources in applying his extensive knowledge of Jewish Law to the issues associated with mental illness” Rabbi Glasman said. “We have seen as a community just how important mental wellbeing is, especially in the aftermath of Covid lockdowns and the ongoing challenges the global pandemic has created”.

Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig is a leading expert on Mental Health and Halacha. He is the Founder of the Ma’aglei Nefesh Center for Mental Health, Community & Halacha, the Rabbi of Netzach Menashe Community in Israel, and teacher in Midreshet Lindenbaum. He has authored several books, including the recently published and ground-breaking work on the interplay between Mental Health and Halacha, titled “Nafshi Beshe’elati”.

RCV Immediate Past President Rabbi Daniel Rabin said that “Caulfield Shule was honoured to host the Rabbinical Council of Victoria’s Mental Health and Halacha workshop with Rav Yoni Rosensweig. He provided great insight into navigating mental health challenges in conjunction with Halachic observance and how the rabbi can play a significant role here”.

A number of other RCV members have completed degrees in the area of mental health including:

• Rabbi Ralph Genende – Honours degree majoring in Psychology at the University of South Africa and a Master of Counselling at Auckland University

• Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann – Master of Social Work at Deakin University

• Rabbi Benjamin Kessly – Bachelor of Science (Psychology) at the University of New South Wales

• Rabbi Daniel Rabin – Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy at the Cairnmillar Institute.

• Numerous RCV members have also completed the Mental Health First Aid course to familiarise themselves with some of the core issues affecting people suffering from mental illness.