Dentistry, life experiences and searching for the truth: A personal view

My name is Baruch Davidoff a.k.a. Bradley Davidoff.

I was born in Johannesburg South Africa in 1950 and qualified with a BDS at Witwatersrand University in 1973.  I did one year compulsory army service, where I worked as a dentist, and then came to London in August 74, initially to spend one year, but I am still here 50 years later!

Central to my message that I would like to share, is that, simultaneous to my years of study, there was, working within me, a drive to search for the truth. This was at first completely hidden, but over the years it became more and more revealed.

This reflected at the end of second year dentistry, after a gruelling year of full anatomy and physiology 1 with the medics, I wanted to divert for a year to do a medical BSc comprising of physiology 2 (which I loved) plus philosophy (which intrigued me). My parents did not want me to divert, and so I went on to 3rd year dentistry, and I found an evening school to study philosophy.

My Judaism background was traditional, in sunny, secular South Africa, and even although I attended a full-time Jewish day school (King David), I had no idea that Judaism had any part in my search for the truth. And so I happily embarked on my philosophy journey. (plus dentistry). This played a large role in my coming to London where the centre of the philosophy school was based. Besides, in those days it was very popular for South African and Australian dentists to come to the UK for one or two years, do dentistry, and visit Europe.

The rest is a long story, but with much help from Above and Chabad, I eventually found my way back to Judaism, after 11 years of searching, which made me realise that this had been my driving inner desire over all of those years.

It is now the principles derived from Judaism, that I always try to apply to my life and dentistry, and I can tell you that this is an ongoing lifetime work, - refining oneself and one’s character traits etc

I started out as an associate at various practices, then bought a practice in Leyton, and then squatted at a previous medical practice in Stamford Hill. Eventually I sold the Leyton practice, and currently still have the Stamford Hill one, for the past 40 years. Stamford Hill houses a large and important Chassidic community, among others.

And so, how does this relate to the current circumstances which Jews, and in our case Jewish dentists, are facing, all over the world, and how do we act and respond?:

• My view is that our core being and principles have to be expressed, in our relationship and portrayal to the world. Dentistry is an integral part of this portrayal, but it is subordinate.

• We have a rich and real Jewish heritage which should be expressed. This does not need to be in a manner of superiority or aggression, but it should definitely not be hidden.

• We should be proud of who we are and express this in our dress and behaviour, but with humility. Of course this does carry with it responsibility about how we should behave, which is really a good thing. And it implies that we need to keep on learning.

• Besides ourselves, we need to share what we know with other Jews, and others. As a nation, our role is to bring light to the world. Even if we only know about the letter aleph, we should share that with others. How much more so if we know about Kashrut, Shabbos, Family Purity, Loving Kindness, Tefillin, and the many other Mitzvot and Teachings.

• One of my principles throughout my years of dentistry, besides trying to be honest and doing the best for my patients, was to always try to ensure that the patients are happy when they exit my room.

• In relation to staff and colleagues, especially ones whose people are caught up in political conflict, we should let the relationships be business-like and cordial. I think that it is best to minimise excessive talk, joking, and arguments about politics, etc. We should also not be over kind. But we need to treat everyone with respect.

• At the end of the day light will overcome the darkness. All we need to do is connect ourselves to that Truth. Avoid arguments, but defend ourselves if there is no alternative.

Dentistry is a difficult, but rewarding profession with many facets where we can express many talents, Baruch Hashem.

Wishing everyone much success and many happy years of dentistry, to grow, with much achievement in both the material and Spiritual!