Valley Village : Jews Invited to Recovery Meeting

Temple Beth Hillel and Jewish Family Service tonight will offer a special Hanukkah meeting for Jews in recovery and their loved ones at the Valley Village synagogue.

The meeting is intended to help fill a need for religious direction that is not provided by Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon and other 12-step programs, according to Jane Ulman, the temple’s director of community service. Hanukkah can be an opportunity for Jews in recovery to rededicate themselves to Judaism, which can be a spiritual path to overcoming alcoholism, drugs, compulsive overeating and other problems, Ulman said.

The meeting will be led by Rabbi Paul Kipnes of Temple Beth Hillel and Barbara Teller of the Jewish Family Service’s Alcohol Drug Action Program, who developed the concept. It will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of the synagogue, 12326 Riverside Drive and is open to all Jews in recovery.

The Hanukkah meeting will mark the second of three recovery meetings--one at Yom Kippur and another at Purim--that will focus on the potential of Jewish holidays to aid in spiritual recovery, Ulman said. The synagogue and the Jewish Family Service will sponsor a three-day spiritual retreat from April 26 to 28 next year.