Stop saying NO to drugs!
Lets talk about Mark, he’s your average Jewish teenager and he is STRESSED OUT!
For heavens sake he has to impress his parents at home,
his teachers at school, keep up with the latest buzz on Facebook, constantly refresh his Instagram, remember to dress fresh so he’s considered cool and not bullied in school.
Study for exams, lose weight, eat, sleep, apply for college, and have a clear goal for how he’s going to support himself and his future family starting at 17 years old! (and i didn’t mention coming to synagogue because that doesn’t add to stress ;).
With all this stress building up it can be really tough to say no to drugs, and sadly many of our teens and even adults turn to them for that temporary escape to “stress-less freedom”.
Sorry to all the moms and dads out there who think i’m gonna now end off by demanding people go cold turkey and quit drugs. I have just the opposite to say.
Say Yes to drugs! — Yes today, Yes tomorrow, and Yes forever!
Let me explain.
When someone G-d forbid is not feeling well, and they are forced to go to the hospital, there are two steps to getting healthy again.
1. Go to a Doctor and get prescribed a medication.
Yes many of us over the years have done a pretty good job taking care of our health, and may even have experience with over the counter medication. But it is integral for the patient to be cured that a specialist prescribe the medication needed. For the wrong medication not only won’t help, but can cause even greater damage.
2. Actually taking the medication as prescribed. (daily/weekly).
What good does medicine do for you in your cabinet if you don’t use it!
If you follow the directions of the doctor and take the drugs as prescribed, you'll be feeling fine in no time.
so say YES to drugs just make sure they are the right ones.
Just like there are physical drugs, so to there are spiritual drugs.
There is this stereotype for Jews today “the wandering nation”.
So many of us have the money, family, the big home, the American dream! yet still feel spiritually empty and restless inside.
So we wonder as if alone in a drug store, trying everything we can get our hands on, grasping at every guru and quick fix to heal our spiritual dullness.
My friends to save us from overdose and hang overs, G-d gave us a prescription, a guide on how to live a balanced life to the fullest.
The name of the guide — The Torah.
A teacher needs students, an athlete needs protein, Jews need Torah and Mitzvot in order to be at our full health. This is who we are, its natural, its healthy and its AWESOME.
So today I will say YES to drugs,
Yes to Tefillen, Yes to Torah, Yes to Kosher, Yes to lighting Shabbos candles, Yes to charity, Yes to respecting my elders, Yes to being there for every Jew in need no matter the circumstance.
These are our drugs, prescribed by the greatest doctor, and you know what, when taken as prescribed,
Life feels GREAT.
-Mendy
(Based on a talk from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Parshas Mishpotim volume 28 page 298)
