NEW HAVEN — Dr. Andres Martin, associate professor of child psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and medical director of the Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital, credits his mentor, the late Dr. Donald Cohen, with his own decision to become a child psychiatrist.

Now Dr. Martin — along with his colleague, Dr. Robert A. King – have edited “Life is With Others: Selected Writings on Child Psychiatry” by Donald J. Cohen. The book is a sampling of important papers by Cohen, a pioneer in the fields of child psychiatry, autism, and Tourette’s syndrome.

Dr. Martin grew up in Mexico City in a Conservative Jewish family. He completed his medical training in Mexico City, a year of training in internal medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami and then a general psychiatry residency at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center in Boston.

Dr. Martin is an associate professor of child psychiatry and psychiatry at Yale, associate training director of the child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program, and the director of medical studies for the Yale Child Study Center

He lives in the Westville section of New Haven with his wife, Rebecca, and their four young children. He recently spoke to the Ledger about his mentor, Dr. Cohen, and the field of child psychiatry.

Q: You and your colleague Robert A. King have edited a book on Dr. Donald Cohen’s selected writings. Who was Donald Cohen and what were some of his contributions to the field of child psychiatry?

A: Donald was the late director of the Yale Child Study Center. He was a larger than life figure in child psychiatry – not only in New Haven, but around the world. He was one of the towering figures in child psychiatry in the 20th century, and he sadly died at the relatively young age of 61. Robert King and I have been trying to capture Donald’s essence through some of his writings, and to make his teachings and approach known to a new generation of clinicians and scholars.

Donald was a peerless mentor. He had a strong commitment to Israel and was very comfortable with his Jewish self: Judaism marinated all of his life. He dealt with patients in the best Maimonidean tradition of caring deeply for their lives. Like the Rambam, he too was a globe-trotter, equally at ease with princes and paupers, and someone who approached the written text in a profound and loving way – be they holy or technical writings. Donald’s memory lives on, and he remains my main source of inspiration as a physician, an educator, and a father.

Q: Why did you decide to become a child psychiatrist?

A: Actually, I never planned to become a child psychiatrist. I planned to return to Mexico and open a private psychiatry practice serving everyone. I wanted to be well-rounded, so I participated in child psychiatry rotations. During my residency, I met Dr. Donald Cohen and that was the clincher. Now, 95 percent of the patients I see are children.

Q: In what ways is or should the Jewish community be involved in mental health issues?

A: Attention to mental health is as old as we are — Jacob and Sigmund Freud as dream interpreters provide readily recognizable signposts to this passion of ours. At some level, it makes perfect sense for the Jewish community to be very active in mental health initiatives in general, and in those focused on children in particular — We are the People of the Book and have historically been educators. While current psychiatric treatment sometimes involves medication and psychotherapy, the bulk of interventions for such conditions as autism are largely school-based. The school becomes the source of the treatment. While part of the role of psychiatry is to deal with issues of genes, brain imaging and traditional medical approaches, the role of the child psychiatrist and other mental health professionals has a lot to do with education and prevention as well, as exemplified by our routine involvement with parents, with families and communities, or by dealing with neglect, abuse and trauma.

Q: What are some of the “hot” issues and developments in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry?

A: As your readers know from a recent cover story in the Jewish Ledger, autism and Asperger’s are “hot” topics. Juvenile bipolar disorder and suicide are also important issues. There are a large number of children given the diagnosis of juvenile bipolar disorder these days, and all of them no doubt often have serious impairments. One issue we are studying is how to differentiate cases of “true” bipolar disorder (with very specific illness course, genetic loading, brain anatomy, or treatment response profiles), from other forms of serious psychopathology that may represent very different conditions (and entail, for example, a different prognosis or treatment approach).

There has been a lot of attention recently to the safety and risks of antidepressants and questions of whether these medications could contribute to increased suicidality in children. While data show that they may increase suicidal thoughts ever so slightly, the more important public health concern is the effects of having depression go untreated. Untreated depression is a deadly disorder, with significantly associated mortality across the world – especially among young people in their prime (suicide is one of three leading causes of mortality for individuals in their 20’s and 30’s). And so, our primary focus should be on the risks of having depression go undiagnosed, untreated, or insufficiently treated.

Q: You have followed in your mentor, Donald Cohen’s footsteps through your interest and involvement in Israel. Tell us about the field of child psychiatry in Israel.

A: Israel is a country with a very strong group of child psychiatrists and, for a country its size, one that produces a disproportionate amount of research in all areas. Some in Israel are focusing on very narrow fields of psychiatric research (i.e. in an attempt to find certain genes), others are developing interventions, while yet others are taking innovative policy and large-scale public health interventions. In the case of autism and mental retardation, Israel has more of a “cradle to grave” approach than we do: individuals get better coordinated care throughout their lives (including, for example, expensive school placements, adequate living and social support services, etc.

Q: You have been serving as a consultant to Camp Ramah in New England and have been in contact with colleagues serving in this role in other camps. What issues are consultants seeing these days in our overnight campers?

A: We tend to think of the child psychiatrist seeing patients in hospital or office settings. But children tend to spend much larger chunks of time in settings such as school, home and areas that we don’t usually think about-like camp. Camp is a more naturalistic, non-artificial setting for seeing kids, where kids can be themselves-away from their primary caregivers and families. Kids are also testing out their peers, dealing with being away from families, etc. This is growth-promoting, but it can come with speed bumps. Parents may find it reassuring to know that people are watching out for the mental health of their children – just as they know their physical health is being attended to. In a few cases, we do see children at camp with frank psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or eating disorders. However, most of the times, such campers are able to receive the necessary help to make for a successful camp experience.

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NEW HAVEN — Thanks to the construction of a new eruv (fence), life just got better for Jews at Yale.

The eruv, which is attached to the eruv which already serves Westville and several other New Haven neighborhoods, will enable Sabbath observers on the Yale undergraduate and graduate campuses and in surrounding neighborhoods to push strollers to synagogue, carry food to friends’ homes, and otherwise enjoy Shabbat with children and friends.

Rachel Novick, a Yale PhD student in ecology and evolutionary biology, said there were “a lot of kids and a very festive atmosphere” at the Slifka Center on Feb. 3, the first Shabbat the eruv was in place. Novick, husband Tzvi (also a Yale graduate student) and six month old son, Aiden, residents of the East Rock neighborhood, were able to be, in Rachel’s words, “part of a social community again.”

“For the last six months, we had been taking turns going to shul – this was our first Shabbat at shul together, as a family – and we went out to lunch at a friends’ house.”

After the second Shabbat of the eruv being in place, Rabbi Jason Rappoport, associate rabbi of the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, co-director (with wife, Meira) of the Jewish Learning Initiative at Yale, and himself a Yale PhD student in philosophy, received a letter of praise from a community member: “For the first time since we arrived in New Haven the whole family went to shul and went out to a Friday night meal. Thank you so much for your hard work getting the eruv up.” Sabbath observers will now be able to bring food to people in the hospital, and they can enjoy a picnic on the Yale campus.

Rappoport is also the Rav MaMachsir for the eruv’s halachic committee. In this capacity, he coordinates such halachic matters as arranging consultations and visits with rabbinic eruv experts, training and hiring weekly eruv checkers and contractors (who can fix problems, even at the last minute), and he notifies the community (via hotline and website) of the eruv’s status.

Rachel Novick hopes that having an eruv will encourage people to remain in the community even after their graduate training. Many have left the Yale/New Haven community, or moved to the Westville neighborhood.

Joseph Bartel, a Yale Law School graduate who now lives in Florida but wanted to be a member of the eruv committee and contributor, cautioned, “Now that the eruv is up, and the task of construction is completed, there is still plenty of work to be done raising money to ensure that the eruv is self-sustaining.” Rappoport added, “We need to raise $250,000 to endow the eruv.”

To learn more, view the eruv map, and check on eruv status each week, visit http://www.jli.co.il To contribute to the eruv and to learn about naming/sponsorship opportunities, contact Rabbi Rappoport at jason.rappoport@yale.edu

To check if the eruv is up each week, call 203-387-3897.

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Sundays may never be the same for Florence Katz or Andy Bedford — unless Rabbi Yossi Hodakov of New Haven finds another station to host his weekly radio program.

Rabbi Hodakov’s Jewish Radio Hour, broadcast on WYBC AM for four years on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11 a.m, has come to an end.

“The station is meant to be a training ground for broadcasters,” reports Hodakov, who explained that by law, the station’s broadcasters are given just a four-year, non-renewable contract.

But many listeners from around the state are disappointed that Rabbi Hodakov’s show will no longer be on the airwaves.

Florence Katz, an elderly resident of New Haven’s Tower One, remembers the 50 years when Beryl Howard had a Jewish radio program in New Haven. And she remembers the years when there was no Jewish radio program.

“Then Rabbi Hodakov came,” reports Katz. “Every week he would play beautiful Jewish music, tell us what the Torah portion was about on Saturday, and play the news directly from Israel.”

Katz found his voice to be “smooth and delightful. I’m legally blind-it was good for me! You get used to it. Now, it is not on. It is very unpleasant.”

Dr. Andy Bedford, a Woodbridge gastroenterologist and father of two, also enjoyed “The Jewish Hour,” broadcast.

“What a natural he was on the air,” reports Bedford, who particularly enjoyed the way Rabbi Hodakov, would teach, using examples from the Torah portion, Jewish history and real life. “It is one of his gifts-like a good attorney giving closing arguments and pulling it all together.” Bedford enjoyed the format of the show, with its musical opening, Hodakov’s talk about the weekly Torah portion, his interesting guest, and his sharing “something on his mind.”

Bedford said he looked forward to hearing the news from Israel, and Hodakov’s discussions of such topics as the war in Lebanon.

Hodakov, a Jewish educator and currently a teacher of Jewish Studies and Chasidism at the Southern Connecticut Hebrew Academy and at the Beit Chana Academy, always wanted to host a radio program. He called many stations and was delighted to find the non-profit WYBC.

“To get a program, you have to apply to be a member, undergo training to know how to work all the machinery, and submit a demo show,” reports Hodakov, who notes that WYBC, which mostly features shows by Yale students, is a station where you “come in, and turn the lights on and off yourself.”

Hodakov publicized his shows by emails, word of mouth, and via ads in Jewish publications.

Hodakov talks with great enthusiasm about his loyal listeners.

“There is such a wide range-in age, observance, everything.”

What were Hodakov’s favorite moments?

“The most enjoyable moments were when we had live contact with a fellow in the Old City of Jerusalem on Purim-he was deep in his Purim Seudah (meal) and was talking to our listeners,” Hodakov recalled nostalgically. “And when we had a rabbi who was a New York City police chaplain.” Hodakov was particularly fond of the show’s variety-from music, to interviews, to talk about the Torah portion and upcoming holidays, and the Arutz Sheva hookup from Israel.

“If you listened long enough, you would hear something you liked,” he said.

Hodakov’s fans hope he will be back on the air soon.

“I never missed his show,” said Hayden Leventhal of New Haven. “He spoke a normal person’s language-he spoke my language.”

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Two young men from Connecticut recently celebrated their b’nai mitzvah in a special way – dedicated to Righteous Gentiles who saved Jews during the Holocaust.

Joshua Genn of Greenwich, and Adam Ehrman-Shapiro of Litchfield, chose to participate in the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous’ (JFR) Bar/Bat Mitzvah Twinning Program.

When Joshua was preparing for his Oct. 9, 2006, bar mitzvah during Sukkot at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, he began investigating ways to make his bar mitzvah more meaningful.

Joshua, a seventh-grade student at the Westchester/Fairfield Hebrew Academy, read through descriptions of many Righteous Gentiles on the JFR Web site and found them to be fascinating.

“I liked Irena Sendler,” he said. “Even though she was not Jewish, she got people out of the Warsaw Ghetto and smuggled weapons to people.”

The entry for Sendler on the JFR Web site notes that she was a health worker who had access to the Warsaw Ghetto and led hundreds of Jewish children out of the ghetto to safe hiding places. Sendler, a member of the Polish underground, helped smuggle children (sometimes sedated) in potato sacks and coffins. She was eventually arrested, imprisoned and sentenced to death in October 1943 – but she was saved when members of the Polish underground bribed one of the Germans to stop the execution. She is currently in her 90s, lives in Warsaw, Poland, and reportedly doesn’t think of herself as a hero: “I want the Jewish community to know that there was a resistance and a spirit among the Jews in the ghetto.” 
Joshua reported that friends came up to him to say, “We think we’ll do a twinning bar mitzvah as well!”

Joshua’s parents, Ireland-born Alan and England-born Michelle, were pleased with Joshua’s decision to support JFR.

“Even ‘Schindler’s List’ didn’t highlight how many Righteous Gentiles saved Jews. It is a bit of a forgotten cause, and the organization [which supports people who, by definition, are in their 80s and 90s] has a limited time frame and needs immediate help,” said Alan Genn.

Saving One Life
One month after Joshua’s bar mitzvah, Adam Ehrman-Shapiro shared the story of another Righteous Gentile, Vladimir Chernovol, at his Nov. 11, 2006 bar mitzvah at the Chabad of Northwest Connecticut-LitchfieldJewish Community Center. Adam’s mother, Judith, began searching online for organizations so that Adam could “do some type of community service and give back to the community.”

“I was deeply touched by the work and mission of JFR. It is a very Jewish idea – to save one life is to save the whole world,” she said.

This phrase appears on the cover of the personalized invitations that many families participating in the twinning program, including the Ehrman-Shapiro family, choose for their children’s b’nai mitzvah.

The Ehrman-Shapiros have celebrated the b’nai mitzvah of two sons in two years, and both have participated in the JFR twinning program.

“These Righteous Gentiles risked life and limb to save our people in Europe with full knowledge that they were risking their lives and the lives of their families,” Judith said.

Chernovol was a Ukrainian teacher out for a walk in 1942 when he encountered Gregory Lantsman, a Jewish pilot in the Soviet Army whose plane was shot down over the Ukraine. Chernovol learned that Lantsman was Jewish and that the Germans had already killed his family. Chernovol quickly realized that Lantsman would surely be caught and killed. He immediately offered to take him in. Chernovol worked hard to obtain Ukrainian identity papers for Lantsman, but the Germans soon began forcibly taking young Ukrainian men for hard labor. Though Lantsman was selected, he managed to escape and return to Chernovol’s home, where he hid until liberation in May 1944. Chernovol is in his 80s and still lives in the Ukraine.

Adam was pleased with his bar mitzvah and with the twinning program.

Said Adam, an eighth-grader who is home-schooled, “I thought it was a nice thing to do, and my friends came up to me and told me they thought it was cool.”

Following a dinner party and an evening of sports, Adam was back at shul early the next morning to put on his tefillin.

“Adam participates in the Tefilin Bank, where you received a free set of tefillin if you agree to put them on daily,” said his mother.

Both young men and their families agree that participating in the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program of the JFR enhanced and gave meaning to their b’nai mitzvah.

JFR was created in 1986 to provide financial assistance to non-Jews who risked their lives and often the lives of family members to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust. Today, the JFR supports more than 1,600 aged and needy rescuers in 28 countries, and they run a Holocaust teacher education program for middle and high school teachers and Holocaust center personnel.

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