Shaanan Gelman & His Son: When a Child Becomes Addicted [Divergence VI 2/4]

What you'll learn

• 1 (04:31) **Introduction: Addiction, Pain, and the Need for a Home** - David Bashevkin introduces the theme of addiction as a response to the “pain of existence itself,” framing the conversation ahead.
• 2 (19:11) **Ziggy’s Early Realization: Falling Behind and Finding a Priority** - Ziggy describes the first moment he knew the “normal path” wasn’t working for him, and when substance use became a priority.
• 3 (22:34) **Father’s Perspective: The Medical Emergency That Masked the Addiction** - Rabbi Gelman recounts the timeline from his view, starting with Ziggy’s severe medical crisis that overshadowed early signs of substance use.
• 4 (26:36) **Ziggy’s Yeshiva Year: The Hidden Relapse and Escalation** - Ziggy reveals that his initial months in Israel were clean, but he relapsed before his parents’ visit, and explains how his drug use escalated to far more dangerous substances.
• 5 (35:09) **Parents in the Dark: The Discovery of a Deeper Problem** - Rabbi Gelman describes how he and his wife were mostly unaware of the severity of Ziggy’s addiction until a rabbi confided that it was far more serious than they thought.
• 6 (38:50) **First Rehab: The Seed of Honesty Planted by Peers** - Ziggy describes his first, outpatient rehab experience, where the most valuable lesson came not from the program, but from his peers.
• 7 (43:35) **The Rabbi’s Inner Struggle: Shame, Failure, and Public Persona** - Rabbi Gelman opens up about the painful contradiction between his public role as a communal leader and his private sense of failure as a parent.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app