Eating disorders and Orthodox Jews

After hearing about this article and talking about genetics and how it relates to being Jewish, I wanted to read what it was all about. Some people believe that anorexia or bulimia is something genetic that is passed down from parent to child. Seeing a rise of eating disorders amongst Jews makes me wonder why people don't see this and think of it as a "Jewish" mental illness like the view other diseases like Tay Sachs disease.
I found the New York Times article to be very interesting. Confronting mental illness is hard enough in our liberal society as a whole, I can not imagine how frightening it must be for Orthodox women to admit they have a problem. This fear of voicing your problems is heightened for Orthodox women because it can negatively impact things that are important to them and their families. For example, the article talks about matchmaking and how having a mental illness can stand in the way of finding a perfect match. In order to avoid this, they keep it to themselves and stay away from treatment. It is sad that there has to be an element of fear and shame surrounding mental illness, because it causes people to hide it and allows it to grow and get worse.
I also thought it was fascinating to read about the Rabbis reaction with Naomi Feigenbaum. He made exceptions to religious rules and tradition in order to get her help, like driving in the car on Saturday or eating non Kosher food. I was a little surprised to see that her own health was placed before Orthodox Judaism by a very religious Rabbi. However, that just goes to show how extreme these situations can become. She discusses this later in the article quoting the Rabbi saying, "The Jewish laws are things God wanted us to live by, not die by, and that saving a life takes precedence over all of them." I found this to be an important quotation in the article and it was informative to see the standpoint of an Orthodox Rabbi on an issue such as this.
The article continues to talk about the reasons explaining this kind of phenomenon. The pressure to do things like marry early, start families and be a homemaker who prepares huge Friday night meals, is difficult to manage with other things we participate in that are demanding like a professional career. They also talk about the eating disorder emerging during a time when young women are supposed to be caring for siblings and have less time to take care of their own health. 
Lastly, it finishes talking about issues with days Orthodox Jews are supposed to fast. These days can be detrimental to someone with an eating disorder, and regardless of doctors orders, many women will still try and withstand from food or water for 24 hours. The Rabbis response to this was that in cases like this,  the woman must eat, not that she can eat but she must. This again goes back to the quote from above and gives a rational reason to breaking Jewish tradition.

IFCJ

I think that the topic of Jews in the Christian imagination is very interesting, although I wonder if it is naive to think that the tension between countries and people that have been happening for years can just disappear. Personally, I think the idea is great and I agree that religions, or established groups in general can work together and form friendships when they recognize the common concerns they share.


My mother is Christian and my father is Jewish, but that has never influenced what people I interact with. They never pressured me either way or discouraged me to learn about other cultures and religions. However, most of my friends and the families that lived in my neighborhood because being Jewish, was an important factor for people when choosing to live in Scarsdale, NY. There were non-Jews who lived and went to my high school also that were welcomed into the community, but the bond between the synagogues in our small town made it easy for Jews to associate more with Jews. Growing up in a neighborhood with people that were not all Jewish proved to me on a first hand level, that regardless of the identity that religion places on us, we can all live harmoniously if we look for our similarities,  not focus on our differences. 
I also enjoyed looking at the website. They made their mission very clear under "About IFCJ" and it did not seem to be biased towards one religion or another, but truly just an organization trying to promote peace. I also thought that it was interesting that they were based in Chicago, but also in Jerusalem because that shows how important Israel is to multiple people, religions and cultures. I also liked the trips they offer and would consider looking further into participating in one. However, this is the first time I have ever hear of a movement like this, and I think it would be beneficial to move it along if they advertised and promoted it more. They are involved with the popular social networks to try and spread the word, but I think if they could team up with another well known organization they would be able to reach out to more people. 


I could see where Jews would be turned off by something like this because of the past and I don't know how close two religions can really become. I do think that if they continue to try and do this and they focus on the more general idea of all people living with respect and cooperation more people would be able to understand the concept.