The holy thief
The holy thief
A con man, a mobster, and a rabbi walk into a Jewish halfway house. What do they all have in common you ask?
They’re all the same guy.
Over thirty years ago, while serving a lengthy prison sentence, the hard-headed Mark Borovitz was visited by an idealistic social worker named Harriet Rossetto, and it was hate at first sight. At the time, Harriet was starting up a half-way house for Jewish ex-convicts, and Mark of course thought he could do it better. Despite butting heads at first, they found common ground in their desire to help others.
After Mark’s release, the two would go on to get married and build a thriving recovery community grounded in Jewish principles. Rabbi Mark had written his own redemption story, and he would spend the next thirty years helping others write theirs.
Now, Rabbi Mark is taking his three decades of experience and no-bullshit approach to spiritual sobriety and making it available to everyone.
Services
Services
Are you ready to be challenged?
Unlock the power of your light to enhance everything you do in the world
Bringing my expertise in recovery, 12-Steps, Torah, and Rabbi Heschel to your organization or community
Helping your organization develop individuals in their roles
Helping relationships and families become more whole and recognize each other as individuals
Bringing joy to your weddings, pre-weddings, bar mitzvahs, and even spiritual divorces
Bringing years of experience with criminal justice and alternative sentencing to judges and parole boards.
what the people are saying
“He was able to captivate my attention and draw me in, spoke to me in a way that I was able to hear and connect with. Hierarchy didn’t exist - he was able to connect with me and see me in a way that no one has seen in a while.”
-Alyza Milrad, Executive Director at The Berman Center
“Rabbi Mark will challenge your community to think about addiction and recovery as a normal part of life that a lot of people experience, and he’ll really challenge you to think about how Judaism is a very personal way to traverse the stormy waters that we all find ourselves in even if we’re not struggling with addiction.”
-Rabbi Vered L. Harris, Spiritual Leader of Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City
“The Jewish world is very good at sending the message that you should bring your best self to the community, whatever that is, not your whole self. Rabbi Mark encourages people to bring their whole selves. When he says to a teenager, you bring your best self to whatever you do, but your best self on Wednesday might not be your best self on Thursday - that’s a very appealing message.”
-Lynn Lancaster, Jewish Educator at Sababa Beachaway
“Rabbi Mark is a guy who will get in your head and twist things around to help you understand how the problem you’re facing fits into the bigger picture. Whereas a clinical therapist will go deep within you, he’ll pull you out of that and help you understand from a broad spiritual, philosophical, historical sense where your problem fits into the mix, and how to get out of it by incorporating community. It is the inverse of clinical therapy in that sense.”
-Richie Kulchar, Owner at Junk Films
“His journey has made him who he is today and I’m so glad that he has that and that the knowledge of that has shaped his ability to connect with people.”
-Spiritual Counseling Client
“Rabbi Mark fills an incredible need for spirituality, which is different from just Judaism.”
-David Fried, President at Fried Asset Management, Inc.
Meet Harriet
Meet Harriet
Harriet Rossetto and Rabbi Mark met while Mark was incarcerated at the California Institute for Men—she, in a relatively new position as a social worker helping Jewish criminals, and Mark, a Jewish criminal. But they didn't recognize their fit as kismet at first: she thought he was loud and brash, and he thought she was cold and uptight. Their journey together is a testament to the power of giving people a second chance.
When Mark was released from prison in 1987, he found it difficult to find work due to his checkered background. He took Harriet up on a challenge to see if he knew how to help with rehabilitation and reentry any better than she did. Mark found himself knocking on the door of Beit T'Shuvah, which was at the time a small halfway house for men—it’s unclear who was more surprised.
Harriet Rossetto is a rebel spirit. A self-professed misfit, Harriet fiercely answered an urgent calling: helping broken souls and changing a broken system. Harriet’s belief that addiction is a malady of the soul, requiring spiritual healing, inspired her to create the Beit T’Shuvah community that, for nearly thirty years, has supported the process of recovery.
Since founding Beit T’Shuvah, which now boasts over 150 residents and 115 staff members, Harriet has become a model of authentic living, a heroic activist, an insightful friend, and a relationship “guru.” She mentors countless social workers and therapists across the nation, and, in 2015, was selected by the White House’s Office of National Drug Policy as one of seven honored “Advocates for Action” for her groundbreaking innovation and influence.
Harriet is an educator, a counselor, a consultant, and an advocate for the soul. Her book, Sacred Housekeeping: A Spiritual Memoir, which recounts her incredible personal and professional story, is part of the nationally recognized core curriculum of Beit T'Shuvah.
Harriet Rossetto is Rabbi Mark’s ezer k'negdo, his “help meet.” And he is honored beyond words to be hers.
My queen of the misfits.
are you in recovery, or In denial?
Rabbi Mark's Books
Rabbi Mark's Books
you matter: ten spiritual commitments for a richer and more meaningful life
This book can save your life. No one knows more about saving lives than Rabbi Mark Borovitz. For thirty years, Rabbi Mark has rescued hundreds of lives from addiction, alcoholism and criminality. Addiction, he teaches, is a disease of the soul. Recovery is a process of healing the soul. But the soul-wisdom of recovery is not restricted to those addicted to drugs or drink. The soul-wisdom of recovery is for all who are battered by loneliness and meaninglessness, all who are lost in this culture of materialism and superficiality. All who seek depth, authenticity, intimacy and purpose need to hear Rabbi Mark's powerful wisdom – You matter! This book will save your life.
FINDING RECOVERY AND YOURSELF IN TORAH: A daily spiritual path to wholeness (Jewish Lights)
Hundreds of thousands of people will die this year from drug abuse and yet, fewer than one in five people who need treatment will actually receive it. While this epidemic has only recently attracted the attention of the global population with newly published research and widespread news coverage; these problems are actually no different than those faced by our ancestors. The Torah is the first "Big Book" of recovery from addictive thinking and acting.
In this soul-restoring resource, Rabbi Mark Borovitz combines his knowledge of Judaism and his experience as a leader in the field of recovery to help you find in the Five Books of Moses the deeper meaning, wisdom and guidance for living well in the moment.
For each Torah portion, he provides seven days of teachings and reflection questions to help you reconnect with your sacred self, discover solutions to life’s challenges and to help you heal.
This book is for all people; those in recovery from substance and process addictions who yearn for resources that address addiction as a spiritual malady as well as a life-threatening disease and anyone looking for a deeper understanding of themselves and the Hebrew Bible. It is an ideal companion to 12-step programs.
TESTIMONIALS
“A valuable asset to the crucial role of spirituality in recovery.”
“Rabbi Mark’s new book will give you the right questions in order to enhance the way you live. His wisdom is both Spiritual and Street. I’ve worked with him in various ways over the last ten years and he has helped me in ways I never thought possible.”
“Mark Borovitz knows what is to hit rock bottom. More importantly he knows what it takes to climb back up again. Finding Recovery and Yourself in Torah is a climber’s manual for anyone whose lifeline includes the Five Books of Moses. Presenting Torah as a series of probing questions rather than moralistic answers, Rabbi Borovitz helps you find the in–sights you need to live the recovery you want. An important and compelling book”
THE HOLY THIEF: A Con man's journey from darkness to light (harper Collins Publishers)
Mark Borovitz was a mobster, gangster, con man, gambler, thief, and a drunk. He's seen it all. In this inspiring memoir, he takes you on a journey from the streets to discovering his soul in a prison cell.
When Mark was fourteen, his father died and his world came crashing down. He stole, gambled, and drank, beginning a twenty-year life of crime, all the while trying to be the good son, the good brother, the good boy, but his life only spun more out of control until the mob put a hit out on him.
After his release from prison, the drinking and thieving continued until, at the edge of oblivion, he experienced a moment of true divine intervention, a startling revelation that saved his life.
Mark Borovitz proved that you can change your life -- profoundly. He is now the rabbi at Beit T'Shuvah in Los Angeles, the House of Return, a rehabilitation facility for addicts of all kinds.
The Holy Thief is the remarkable memoir of an amazing man. It is a true-life gangster story, a passionate love story, and a case of study in redemption. Regardless of your faith, you will find his story tragic, funny, uplifting, and inspirational.
TESTIMONIALS
“Heart-wrenching but hilarious, raw but refreshing, this everyman tale reminds us that even nice Jewish boys can go bad, but they can also be redeemed.”
“Spine-tingling spiritual awakening.”
“A unique blend of soulful insight mixed with a does of street-smart profanity... Borovitz reveals what he calls the ‘sins’ of his past with the fast-paced punch of a crime novel.”