The following passage reflects the sentiments of thousands of residents who have had their lives saved at Beit T’Shuvah, specifically by the Founder and CEO Harriet Rossetto and the COO and Head Rabbi Mark Borovitz. As the upcoming release of Rossetto’s book Sacred Housekeeping, A Spiritual Memoir nears, this honest testimonial gives insight into why her work and profound mission are extraordinary.
Arriving at the doorposts of Beit T’Shuvah at 39, I was homeless, broke, unemployable and spiritually bankrupt. How that happened to a Jewish boy from Beverly Hills is just another story of a lost soul fumbling through life. BTS was my last home after many emergency rooms, detoxes and treatment centers. I remember so many events, stories and moments during my early sobriety that impacted me, but a visiting rabbi’s story was the moment hope for me… A single missing brushstroke is the writing of a Torah made the entire torah ‘pasul’ or invalid. He went on to talk about each of us being a brushstroke. Unique. Important. And part of making something bigger than ourselves, whole. That we each had a place in the world that was ours alone to take, and that without each of us, the world would not be whole. For whatever reason, that story, that moment, woke me up to the possibility that I might have a place in the world.
Jon E.
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