presented by Avraham Hoffmann at 1998

What right does the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority (PRA, Israel) have to turn to the members of society, and ask that they absorb those who have offended and committed crimes against that society?

The Torah recognises that society is responsible for those of its members who have broken the law. As we see in the biblical story of an unknown person who was found dead outside a city, the city elders must declare: “Our hands have not shed this blood” (Deut.) Rashi, a well known biblical commentator asks: “could it possibly be that we suspect the wise men and elders of having shed the blood?” No. Rather, the continuation helps us understand – they must admit that their “eyes did not foresee” – they did not prepare a preventative system, they did not reach out and create a network of services for those in need.

The concept of the state’s responsibility for prisoner rehabilitation appears also in the Midrash (story of the sages) about King David, in the book of Samuel. “And David carried out justice and charity for all his people.” Our sages say that this means that David condemned the guilty and set the innocent free, and if the condemned had no money to pay the required fine, David paid it for him from the national budget. Thus, justice and charity come together.

WHAT IS REHABILITATION?

The term “rehabilitation of the prisoner” is an outmoded expression, the use of which is misleading, and inadequate. Rehabilitation is not a condition achieved after completion of a process, but the start of a struggle, with no end and no limits. It says in Genesis: “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the break of day.” This is a true description of the rehabilitation process. Rehabilitation is a constant struggle in which man stands alone in a struggle with himself, and others, until the dawn, and this dawn can be distant, depending from which point in time the struggle began. For those who believe, and I am among them, there is no person who cannot be rehabilitated.

Rehabilitation occurs when a retarded 20 year-old youth arrives at home for the disabled and crawls on all fours. Through super-human efforts, he is brought to walk on two feet with the help of crutches. Then his mother arrives at home, and for the first time in her life she sees him look directly into her eyes. Even if he cannot sustain and help himself, or read and write, no one would deny that this is a wonderful rehabilitation achievement, relative to his abilities and the jumping-off point from which he begun the rehabilitation process.

This is an example of a case in which all of us admit to the success of the rehabilitation, despite the fact that it is a relative success. On the other hand, with regard to the former criminal, “the freed inmate”, we are asked to judge the success or failure of his rehabilitation in absolute terms, thus causing a feeling of intolerable failure, which leads the inmate back to crime, and those treating him, to giving up on him. Many people do not believe that a prisoner can be rehabilitated. Others, however, believe that far-reaching changes in the struggle for the very soul of man can be achieved.

We have a duty to open gates — the gates to the hearts wanting to be rehabilitated, to believe that “there is no person who cannot be rehabilitate.” It is a Jewish principle that society is responsible for its members, including offenders within that society. This responsibility is mutual — as it is written: “All the Children of Israel are responsible for one another.” The idea that an individual can change and must be given the right to repent, and start over again, is the basis of the creation of the world – it is written “repentance preceded Creation.”

To fulfil this duty, the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) established the Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority (PRA) by law, in 1983, to treat any inmate who voluntarily turns to it for help. The Authority was created to put an end to negative attitudes and hopelessness, and to demonstrate our faith in rehabilitation, based on the struggler’s ability to cope with the difficult uphill climb.

Few will reach the top of the mountain. But, it should not be said that he who has not reached the top has not been rehabilitated. We define the rehabilitated person as the one who has chosen to follow the path toward rehabilitation. And, it should be recognised that not everyone has the power and the ability to achieve the same heights, and the jumping-off point of each person differs from that of his neighbour, although many others do not see it this way.

WHEN DOES THE PRISONER BEGIN HIS REHABILITATION JOURNEY?

In accordance with the PRA law, the responsibility for rehabilitation lies with the inmate, who turns of his own will to the PRA for help. Participation in PRA programs is absolutely voluntary, it is not forced upon him, and it is not a condition of early release, or something which he uses to manipulate the system. As such, the rehabilitation journey begins the moment the inmate contacts the PRA for help with his release. According to the law, the PRA begins contact with the inmate between 6 to 3 months prior to his release. This approach looks to encourage those who seek help – “from the depths I cry to Thee, oh Lord.”

RELIGION AND REHABILITATION

We must ask ourselves – at what stage of the process should we make the issue of strict religious observance the most important goal of the rehabilitation? There are basically two differing views:

I. Some see religious rehabilitation as a necessity, and the only way to rehabilitate is to continue the religious classes begun in prison, on the outside in Yeshivot (religious seminaries) or in similar programs on religious Kibbutzim or Moshavim (co-operation settlements).

II. The other approach is rehabilitation effort which is not carried out in a framework which demands strict religious observance, but rather, which represents a Jewish world view, based on what we are taught in our sources. There is a well-known paradigm which tells us that: Respect for others and human dignity come before religious observance.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

The Jewish answer to the obstacles which the former inmate faces, and which those who wish to help him must overcome:

There are obviously many such difficulties, including many physical ones such as family problems and homelessness, but I wish to deal here with the more social-psychological problems – those which the former inmate sees as hindering his or her progress. Some of these are: stigma, lack of self-esteem and a feeling of marginalisation or lack of belonging, and a fear of the demands of society – a feeling that the jump from being an offender to living a normative life is too great a jump.

When an offender, especially a recovering drug addicted offender is released from prison, society sees him as a “leper”, an “outcast” – he is dangerous and cannot change his ways. This is even more true with the released female offender. And as a result, society refuses to help the offender, to employ him, or even to let him live among them.

Our sages smash the notion of stigma with a Midrash taken from the book of Joshua. Before Joshua conquered Jerico, he sent two men to report on the city’s security. They were met and taken in by Rahav, a prostitute in the city who wished to help them. Our sages tell us that in later generations, 8 prophets, including Jeremiah, were descended from her. Rahav the lowly prostitute became a matriarch in Jewish lore. This, indeed is a true example of someone overcoming stigma, and society accepting a person despite their background.

The typical offender suffers from a lack of self-esteem. Very often social programs deal with the prisoner for a limited time, and then, when the program is “over” leaving him to cope alone. PRA programs attempt to change this pattern by offering follow-up and after care, and by trying to improve the former inmate’s self-esteem by giving him a role model – usually in the form of an adoptive family on the Kibbutz, a volunteer, or students with whom he lives. This is critical, because due to a lack of self-esteem, the former inmate internalises the “fact” that he is worthless, and if so, why leave crime? Why go straight – what’s the point of changing? Also, he thinks to himself, “if no one values me, and I have no reason to go straight, and most important, I have no one to be embarrassed in front of – (lack of self respect and lack of shame go together), why not carry on my criminal activities?” Self respect, and respect for others strengthens each other, and this is a key point in the rehabilitative process.

The story of innocent Joseph being tempted by Potiphar’s wife in Egypt, is a well-known one. But Joseph was not a naive as we would like to think. Many biblical commentaries say that he knew what she planned, and he specifically looked for opportunities to be alone with her. What then, caused him to react the way he did – running away and protesting? Rashi claims that what stopped him from sleeping with her was “the image of his father” which suddenly appeared before him. What does this mean? This was not a Freudian guilt. Rather, he saw in front of him a role model, an image of someone he cared about. Not someone he feared, but a person whom he did not want to disappoint. This love and respect is stronger than any threat of arrest or punishment.

The rehabilitated inmate receives a new identity – he undergoes both internal and external changes. The external change shows itself much quicker than the more difficult process of internalising new values and behaviours. But the external change is crucial, because it speeds up and influences the internal process.

The PRA once helped a robber reform his ways. His rehabilitation plan included learning Jewish studies and becoming more religious through a Yeshiva. This was a very intensive religious environment. Slowly, this one-time thief became religion observant. And he begun to look like the religious Jews we see in pictures – he grew a beard, wore black suits, a hat, etc. But these changes were just external, and not so difficult. Had he internalised any of these changes?  At one point, he reached a crisis with money, and if he did not solve it quickly he would be evicted from his home. At the end of his rope, he turned to prayer and begged G-D: “please give me just one opportunity to steal, because if I cannot get the money, all the rehabilitation efforts will be wasted, and my wife and two children who depend on me, and who finally have a chance at a normal life, will be forced to return with me to the slums and to a life of crime.” During his criminal career, he had robbed many jewellery stores, and that night, walking in the street, he passed one. The jewels were shining in their black velvet stands in the display window. Almost automatically, he picked up a rock, and raised his hand to smash the glass. Just then, he saw his reflection in the window, threw the stone on the ground, and run away. When I asked him why, he said “would a Yesiva student do this sort of thing?

It is important to add that he did not give objective reasons – that stealing is forbidden in the Ten Commandments, or that it is not moral. Rather, he was proud of his new external identity, and saw himself in this role, and did not want to lose it or risk it.

With regards to the offender’s fear that he will not be able to live up to society’s demands, the PRA stresses that rehabilitation is not a one-time thing, nor is it achieved at once. Rather, it is an ongoing process involving many stages, including transitional phases. And thus, we recommend that he be integrated back into society gradually. Our hostel (halfway house) programs offer such an opportunity. After the former inmate goes through physical detoxification, he comes to one of our hostel programs, where he participates in group sessions, therapy, and vocational training which enable him to return to society. There, he also learns how to live with other people, take care of the house, and budget his money.

This system, too, has its sources in Jewish thought. The Midrash tells us that the Children of Israel, after being released from slavery in Egypt, could not receive the Torah immediately. Rather, they needed time to prepare themselves. The Midrash compares them to a child who has been very ill, and his father does not want him to go back to school right away. Instead, he recommends that the boy stay at home and recover. So too, former inmates need a gradual transition from prison life to normative society, which the PRA hostels provide.

Approximately two hundred years ago, one of the founders of the Hassidic movement, Rabbi Nachman of Breslav, wrote: “The whole world is like a very narrow bridge; and the main thing to recall is to have no fear at all.” The bridge to rehabilitation is also a very narrow one, and many suffer from a fear of heights. This fear is shared by the rehabilitators and the prisoners alike. The PRA’s answer is to climb onto the bridge, and not to be afraid of failure. In this way, we can promise to try to cross the bridge successfully, together.