By Menios Constantinou, Wentworth Courier
A dramatic increase in the suicide rate among Jewish youth has prompted a Bondi rabbi to organize a seminar on suicide prevention.
Rabbi Mendel Kastel said he was concerned about an “alarming number of cases” of suicide in the past six months and has set out to educate the Jewish community on how to recognize when someone is at risk.
He said many people were not aware they could have a positive impact on someone contemplating suicide.
“A lot of the time it’s only afterwards that you realize the signs, and it’s very important to be able to read these signs,” he said.
“If someone repeatedly says things like, ‘I just want out, I can’t take it anymore’, or if they’re generally not interacting with others, they could be signs that they are thinking of taking their life.”
As the chief executive officer of The Jewish House, Rabbi Kastel was recently trained in suicide prevention by Linda McGregor of Lifeline NSW, who will speak at the seminar.
“Everything you say to them is crucial, but it’s very important to let them talk you through it and travel the journey with them,” Rabbi Kastel said.
The free seminar will be held at the Hakoah Club, at 7.30pm on May 13. Visit http://www.jewishhouse.com.au
thank you
Nice explanation
He quoted the Rebbe MHM saying that: A person contemplating such a thing should know: G-d forbid s/he would follow through on such a thing… s/he will be confronted with the following: 1. as soon as s/he goes ‘up’ s/he will be sent back down straight away – pronto 2. when s/he comes back s/he will have to go through all the same challenges again 3. and finally will have to come to a point in time whereby they will consider doing it again – this time however finding a way to avoid such a choice. There are ways –… Read more »