blogs/rabbi-ed-feinstein

“In everything there is a living point from the Root of Life.  But that inwardness lies hidden in this world.  The Jew has to arouse and reveal this inwardness that lies within all things”  (Sefat Emet)

I first met Mark Borovitz in 1990. Someone told me there was remarkable man who had just come out of jail and had a message to share with Jewish young people. I was the director of Camp Ramah. I took a chance and invited Mark to come speak to our campers. As I watched, he captivated a room of 110 16-year olds for more than two hours. His message was simple, but so very powerful -- “You matter.” That message was delivered by a man who had experienced life as few of us do.

Mark grew up in Cleveland in a warm Jewish family. But when his father died, he slipped into crime, fencing stolen goods and working for the mob. Relocating to Los Angeles, he was a professional con man, crook, gambler, and alcoholic. As he tells in his autobiography, The Holy Thief, it was only when he was busted (for the second time) and sat alone and bereft on the cold concrete floor of a prison cell that it dawned on him what he'd done with his life. So he wrote his brother and asked for a Humash and a prayer book, and slowly found his way back home.

Upon release from prison, Mark joined Harriet Rossetto, whom he later married, to build Beit T'shuvah, a Jewish center of recovery, renewal and repentance. Over the past 28 years, Mark and Harriet have rescued thousands from slavery to drugs, alcohol, gambling and criminality. Their tool is the 12-step program bolstered by Jewish learning and practice. Addiction, they teach, is a spiritual problem. Only by healing the spirit can it be defeated. Taught Abraham Joshua Heschel: “The gravest sin for a Jew is to forget what he  represents.” By recovering a sense of who we really are can a soul be healed. This has been Rabbi Mark's sacred task.

This week, Beit T'shuvah and the entire community rises to celebrate the powerful Torah and remarkable achievements of Rabbi Mark Borovitz. For the past 25 years, Rabbi Mark and Harriet have been members of Valley Beth Shalom, and have generously shared their wisdom and spirit with our community. We wish them both all our blessings for continued strength, inspiration as they share their blessings with us all.