Orthodox union Community Engagement During these very difficult days, when the Orthodox community is suffering the losses of so many of our Torah luminaries, the Orthodox Union joins Klal Yisrael in mourning the passing of Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski. The scion of multiple Chassidic dynasties, Rabbi Twerski was a psychiatrist and leading expert on drug addiction, in addition to being a renowned scholar, lecturer and author of more than 60 books on Judaism and self-help topics. In much of his writing, he combines the teachings of Chassidut and musar with concepts from clinical psychology. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rabbi Twerski attended the Hebrew Theological College of Chicago (now located in Skokie, Illinois) and received semichah in 1951. In 1953 he enrolled at Milwaukee’s Marquette University, and subsequently graduated from its medical school in 1960. He completed his psychiatric residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Western Psychiatric Institute, where he developed an interest in treating alcoholism. Rabbi Twerski spent two decades as the clinical director of the Department of Psychiatry at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh. In 1972, he founded the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, one of the country’s leading alcohol and drug treatment centers, where he served as medical director emeritus.