fbpx

Fixing Misperceptions with Communities

[additional-authors]
January 9, 2013

By Ben Spielberg

I am very attracted to the idea of a community. It is not something that I had when I was growing up, and when I was thrown into Beit T'Shuvah as a dope-sick, existentially disturbed 20-year-old, communal living didn't exactly seem like the answer to any of my problems. In fact, after reading enough Sartre and Thoreau, I preferred being alone to being around large groups of people.

What I realized, however, is that communities are often a cognitive necessity. It is well known that our senses are generally unreliable: taste and olfactory become diminished after years of Marlboro Reds; our brains make up what we see in our periphery; a worldwide loss of hearing occurred after the introduction of the iPod. As a result, we are people whose words carry very little merit. Even memory is so malleable that the courtroom may not accept it as valid. I see this daily in my office: after reciting a sequence of digits, my clients will be asked to repeat the same sequence. Once they reach their capacity, they—unconsciously–guess the missing numbers. Just as there is a blind spot in our vision, there is a blind spot in our memory.

This trait is common among different aspects of human beings. C4N Y0U R34D TH1S? We are excellent at filling things in; in fact, I could probably write “C4N R34D Y0U TH1S,” and most people wouldn't notice the difference between the two alphanumeric phrases. While this is evolutionarily—and realistically—necessary, there are still problems. What if we misperceive something? What if a drug and alcohol counselor gives a set of directions, and they become discombobulated and nonsensical by the time they are understood? What if twelve-step programs are just too many steps for most individuals to comprehend in one sitting?

Communities fill the hole in the gap of our senses. As individuals, we understand very little of what goes on in the outside world. As community members, though, we fill in the gaps for each other. If a twelve-step program seems too daunting, overflowing your mental and emotional capacity, you get a sponsor. If you don't understand a passage in the Torah, or one of Rabbi Mark's sermons, you ask a member of the community. After all, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

‘Playmakers’: A Jewish Toyland

The entire toy industry in America was largely Jewish, from the company founders and executives to the designers and factory workers, from the wholesale distributors and the army of salesmen, to the retail outlets and the large department stores that sold them.

Batya’s Moment

NewsNation host Batya Ungar-Sargon talks about her new book, “The Jews and The Left,” her rift with Megyn Kelly and why antisemitism has spread like wildfire in America.

Jewish Power and Other Myths

Historically, Jews have been accused of controlling politics, the banks and the media. I haven’t read yet that they control the weather, but that wouldn’t be any more bizarre than the other charges.

To Love Israel Is to Demand More of It

When we fall short — as individuals, as a people, whether everyday Jews or the Prime Minister himself — we must have the courage to face it honestly, call it what it is, and do better.

Prayer in Times of Illness

How should we approach prayer for an end-stage dying patient, for whom medical professionals predict no chance of recovery?

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.