Larry Rothwachs, at The Blogs

Larry Rothwachs

Feb 16, 2026, 3:07 PM

The Newest Addiction: From Silence to Conversation

From Quiet Spread to Open Conversation: The New Addiction Everyone Is Talking About Several months ago, I wrote two articles about what appeared to be a steadily growing pattern of sports betting and gambling among teens, here and here. At...

Dec 8, 2025, 2:05 PM

Our Community’s Growing Betting Crisis, II

Over the past several weeks, the communal conversation around sports betting has intensified, reflecting both concern and broader recognition of the issue. Educators, parents, clinicians, and community members have begun speaking more openly about this issue. Some have shared...

Dec 2, 2025, 6:35 PM

Protecting Rabbis, Protecting Us

What happens when the emotional needs people bring to their rabbi far exceed what any rabbi is meant or trained to carry? What are the risks when personal struggle, trauma, anxiety, or crisis becomes directed toward a figure whose...

Nov 9, 2025, 4:45 PM

The Newest Addiction No One Is Talking About

We have a serious problem and, as far as I can tell, nobody is talking about it. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been hearing from rabbinic colleagues, mental health professionals, educators, and families about a growing pattern that...

Oct 26, 2025, 9:48 AM

A Private Shiva? When Comfort Isn’t Ours to Give

Private shiva? Whoever heard of such a thing? Isn’t that almost an oxymoron? Shiva, by its very definition, is public. The mourners open their homes, welcoming visitors who allow others to step into their grief and share the burden...

Nov 22, 2023, 2:29 PM

What’s with those stubborn Israelis?

Parents, siblings and friends of IDF lone soldier Max Steinberg, killed in Gaza, follow his coffin to the burial on Mount Herzl on Wednesday morning, July 23, 2014. (Miriam Alster/Flash 90) What makes Israelis so stubbornly resilient in...

Aug 20, 2019, 2:14 PM

Featured Post

Surviving and thriving without screens

We dared to take electronic devices away from all 1300 of our campers and staff members -- what happened next was remarkable

May 2, 2019, 8:18 PM

Mental Illness, Stigma, and the Jewish Community: Achieving Lasting Change

Do you or someone you know suffer from mental illness? If you answered yes, you are correct. If you answered no, guess again. Tens of millions of Americans suffer from a mental disorder and, just as with cancer or...

Mar 11, 2019, 6:57 AM

Purim, Alcohol, and the Messages We Send

It’s hard to believe but Purim is just around the corner. In less than two weeks, Jews all over the world will gather and celebrate a day endowed with meaning and infused with joy. Purim provides adults and children...

About Me

Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, LCSW serves as senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Aaron in Teaneck, NJ, and Director of Professional Rabbinics at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He is a licensed clinical therapist and the founding rabbi of Meromei Shemesh, a new community in Ramat Bet Shemesh that is nearing completion. Additional writings appear at www.larryrothwachs.com.

Contact Me