Abraham Joshua Twerski (hebraisk: אֲבְרָהָם יְהוֹשֻׁע טווערסקי ; født 6. oktober 1930 i Milwaukee i Wisconsin i USA, død 31. januar 2021 i Bnei Brak i Israel) var en amerikansk hasidisk rabbiner, en av de høyest aktede innen det hasidiske Chernobyl-dynastiet, og en psykiater som spesialiserte seg på stoffmisbruk.
Liv og virke Bakgrunn, utdannelse, tidlig virke Abraham J. Twerski ble født i Milwaukee, moren var Devorah Leah neé Halberstam (1900–1995), dtatter av den andre rebben av Bobov, og faren var rabbi Jacob Israel Twerski (1898–1973), som var rabbi for Beth Jehudah- synagogen i Milwaukee. Denne eldre rabbi Twerski immigrerte til USA i 1927, og nedstammet fra rabbi Menachem Nachum Twerski, grunnlegger av det hasidiske Chernobyl-dynastiet, og disippel av Baal Shem Tov. Twerski var den tredje av fem brødre. Flere av brødrene skulle få betydningsfulle karrierer.
Abraham Twerski tok High School i Milwaukee, med slutteksamen som 16-åring. Han begynte på Hebrew Theological College i Chicago (som senere flyttet ut til Skokie) og ble ordinert til rabbi i 1951.
Han virket som assisterende rabbi med sin far. I 1952 giftet han seg med Goldie Flusberg. I 1953 begynte han på Milwaukees Marquette University, og tok slutteksamen fra dens medisinske fakultet i 1960. Han fikk sin psykiatriske spesialisering ved University of Pittsburgh, og virket ytterligere to år ved det statlige hospital i Pennsylvania. Han ble så hentet inn til leder for den psykiatriske avdeling ved Pittsburghs St. Francis Hospital.
Karriere Innen medisinen Twerskis medisinske karriere omfatter Gateway Rehabilitation Center i Pittsburgh, som han grunnla og virket ved, virke som klinisk leder ved Department of Psychiatry ved St. Francis Hospital i Pittsburgh, associate professor i psykiatri ved University of Pittsburghs medisinske fakultet, og grunnleggelsen av Shaar Hatikvah rehabiliteringssenter for fanger i Israel.
Rabbinerkarriere Som rabbiner forfattet Twerski en mengde bøker om jødedom og især shiurim (Torah-baserte forelesninger). Han var også medvirkende åndelig leder for menigheten Beth Jehudah sammen med sin far til 1959. Han komponerte i denne tiden en melodi for salme 28,9 «Hoshea es Amecha», som slo an i jødiske kretser.https://collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=34031
Senere liv og virke Twerski trakk seg fra fulltidsarbeid i 1995 og flyttet til Monsey i New York, som hans andre hustru Gail var fra. Etter rundt ti år der flyttet de til Teaneck i New Jersey. Twerski flyttet til sist til Israel med sin hustru, og oppfordret andre jøder å gjøre det samme.
Han døde på Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center i Bnei Brak i Israel den 31. januar 2021 av covid-19.
Verker Han forfattet over 60 bøker, del som jødedommen og dels selvhjelpslitteratur - blant hans forfatterskap inngikk et samarbeid med Charles M. Schulz som lot ham benytte illustrasjoner fra tegneserien Knøttene for å kaste lys over menneskelig samskvem og adferd.
Addictive Thinking and the Addictive Personality: two books in one, with Craig Nakken (M.J.F., 1999) Addictive Thinking: Why Do We Lie to Ourselves? : Why Do Others Believe Us? (Hazelden Foundation, 1990) Addictive Thinking: Understanding Self-deception, with foreword by John Wallace (Harper & Row, 1990; 2nd Ed. Hazelden Foundation, 1997) Alive! : A 10-step Guide to a Vibrant life, with Mordechai Weinberger (Shaar Press, 2015) Angels Don't Leave Footprints: Discovering What's Right With Yourself (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2001) Caution: "Kindness" Can Be Dangerous to the Alcoholic (Prentice-Hall, 1981, 1987) The Clergy and Chemical Dependency (Edgehill, 1990) Compulsive Gambling: More Than Dreidel (Mirkov Publications, 2006) Coping With Stress: The 9/11 Generation (Gateway Rehabilitation Center, 2002, 35 pp.) Dear Rabbi, Dear Doctor: The Renowned Rabbi-Psychiatrist Gives Straight Answers to Tough Questions (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2005) Dear Rabbi, Dear Doctor Volume 2: The Renowned Rabbi-Psychiatrist Gives Straight Answers to Tough Questions (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2007) Dearer Than Life: Making Your Life More Meaningful (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1997) Do Unto Others: How Good Deeds Can Change Your Life (Andrews McMeel, 1997) Effective Living : An Upbeat and Uplifting Life Can be Yours (Shaar Press / Mesorah Publications, 2014) The Enemy Within: Confronting your Challenges in the 21st Century (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2001) The First Year of Marriage: Enhancing the Success of Your Marriage Right from the Start—and Even Before it Begins (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2004) Forgiveness : Don't Let Resentment Keep You Captive (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2012) A Formula for Proper Living : Practical Lessons from Life and Torah (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2009) Four Chassidic Masters: the Heart, the Mind, the Eye, and the Tongue—History, Stories, Teachings (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2008) From Bondage to Freedom : the Passover Haggadah with a Commentary Illuminating the Liberation of the Spirit, with Hirsh Michel Chinn and Benzion Twerski (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1995, 2001) From Pulpit to Couch (Mirkov publications, 2005) Generation to Generation: Personal Recollections of a Chassidic Legacy (Traditional Press, 1986. Excerpted edition pub. by C.I.S., 2003) Getting Up When You're Down: A Mature Discussion of an Adult Malady - Depression and Related Conditions (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1997) Gevurah : My Life, Our World, and the Adventure of Reaching 80, (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2010) Growing Each Day (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2004) Happiness and the Human Spirit: The Spirituality of Becoming the Best You Can Be (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2007) Healing from Despair : Choosing Wholeness in a Broken World, with Elie Kaplan Spitz and Erica Shapiro Taylor (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2010) I Am I: a Jewish Perspective From the Case Files of an Eminent Psychiatrist (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1993) I'd Like to Call for Help, but I Don't Know the Number: The Search for Spirituality in Everyday Life (Pharos Books, 1991; Henry Holt, 1996) I Didn't Ask to Be in This Family: Sibling Relationships and How They Shape Adult Behavior and Relationships, with Charles M. Schulz (Henry Holt, 1996) I Didn't Ask to Be in This Family: Sibling Relationships and How They Shape Adult Relationships (Topper Books, 1992) In-Laws: It's All Relative, with Leah Shifrin Averick (The Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2009) I've Gotta Get Out of My Way! : Eliminating the Obstacles to Success (Mekor Press / Menucha Publishers, 2017) It Happens to Doctors, Too (Hazelden Foundation, 1982) It's Not As Tough As You Think: How to Smooth Out Life's Bumps (The Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1999) It's Not As Tough At Home As You Think: Making Family Life at Home Smoother and Better (The Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1999) Let Us Make Man: Self-esteem Through Jewishness (C.I.S, 1991) Letters to my Children (Shaar Press / Mesorah Publications, 2015) Life's Blessings : The Meaning and Significance of our Berachos (The Shaar Press, 2015) Life's Too Short: Pull the Plug on Self-defeating Behavior and Turn On the Power of Self-esteem (St. Martin's Press, 1995)
Light At the End of the Tunnel: An Inspirational Story Fiction. (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2003) Lights Along the Way: Timeless Lessons for Today from Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's Mesillas Yesharim (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1995) Like Yourself: And Others Will, Too (Prentice-Hall, 1978, 1986) Living Each Day (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1988, 5th ed. 2003) Living Each Week (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1992) Messages From The Mishnah (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2013) Not Just Stories: The Chassidic Spirit Through Its Classic Stories (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1997) Overcoming Burnout: Recognizing, Addressing and Preventing Burnout - in Yeshivah, the Workplace, and Beyond, with Alon Gul (Lakewood NJ: Israel Bookshop Publications, 2013) Positive Parenting: Developing Your Child's Potential, with Ursula Verena Schwartz (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1996) A Practical Guide to Rabbinic Counseling, with Yisrael N Levitz (Feldheim, 2005; Jewish Lights Publishing, 2012) Prayerfully Yours: Creating the Bond Between Man and His Maker (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2001) The Problem Was Me : How to End Negative Self-talk and Take Your Life to a New Level, with Thomas Gagliano (Gentle Path Press, 2011) The Rabbi & the Nuns : The Inside Story of a Rabbi's Therapeutic Work With the Sisters of St. Francis, (Mekor Press / Menucha Publishers, 2013)http://www.menuchapublishers.com/the-rabbi-and-the-nuns.html?acc=aab3238922bcc25a6f606eb525ffdc56 Rebbes and Chassidim: What They Said - What They Meant (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2000) Recognizing a Loved One's Addiction, and Providing Help (Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004) Seek Sobriety, Find Serenity: Thoughts for Every Day (Pharos Books, 1993; Feldheim Publishers 2014) Seize the Moments: Captivating Nuggets of Torah Wisdom (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2011) Self-Discovery in Recovery (Hazelden Foundation, 1984; Harper & Row, 1989) Self-improvement? I'm Jewish! : Overcoming Self-defeating Behavior (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1995) The Shabbos Companion: Customs, Prayers, Stories, Zemiros : Shabbos Day (The Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2008) The Shabbos Companion: Customs, Prayers, Stories, Zemiros : Shabbos Eve (The Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2007) The Shame Borne in Silence: Spouse Abuse in the Jewish Community (Mirkov Publications, 1996; 2nd ed. Urim Publications, 2014) Simchah: It's Not Just Happiness (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2006) Smiling Each Day (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1993, 4th ed. 2003) The Spiritual Self: Reflections on Recovery and God (Hazelden Foundation, 2000) Stepping Out of the Abyss : a Jewish Guide to the 12 Steps, Menachem Poznanski, Aryeh Buchsbayew, and Abraham J Twerski (Mosaica Press, 2017) Substance-Abusing High Achievers: Addiction as an Equal Opportunity Destroyer (J. Aronson, 1998) Successful Relationships at Home, at Work and with Friends: Bringing Control Issues under Control (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2003) The Sun will Shine Again : Coping, Persevering, and Winning in Troubled Economic Times (The Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2009) A Taste of Nostalgia : Tales and Recipes to Nourish Body and Soul, with Judi Dick (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2006) Ten Steps To Being Your Best: a Practical Handbook to Enhance Your Life in Every Way (The Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2004) Teshuvah Through Recovery : Experience the Transformative Power of the Twelve Steps (Mekor Press, 2016) That's Not a Fault...It's a Character Trait (St. Martin's Press, 1999) The Thin You Within You: Winning the Weight Game with Self-Esteem (St. Martin's Press, 1997) Twerski on Chumash (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2003) Twerski on Machzor : Rosh Hashanah (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2011) Twerski on Machzor : Yom Kippur (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2012) Twerski on Prayer: Creating the Bond Between Man and His Maker, a re-issue of Prayerfully Yours (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 2004) Twerski On Spirituality (Shaar Press / Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1998) Visions of the Fathers Pirkei Avos (Artscroll Mesorah Publications, 1999, 2005) Waking Up Just In Time : A Therapist Shows How to Use The Twelve-Steps Approach to Life's Ups And Downs, with Charles M. Schulz (Topper Books, 1990; St. Martins Press, 1995)