Wednesday, December 27, 2017

The first psychotherapist (Vayigash, Covenant & Conversation 5778)




The phrase “Jewish thinker” may mean two very different things. It may mean a thinker who just happens to be Jewish by birth or descent — a Jewish physicist, for example — or it may refer to someone who has contributed specifically to Jewish thought: like Judah Halevi or Maimonides.
The interesting question is: is there a third kind of Jewish thinker, one who contributes to the universe of knowledge, but does so in a recognizably Jewish way? The answer to this is never straightforward, yet we instinctively feel that there is such a thing. To give an analogy: there is often something recognizably Jewish about a certain kind of humor. Ruth Wisse has interesting things to say about it in her book, No Joke.[1] So does Peter Berger in his Redeeming Laughter.[2]Humor is universal, but it speaks in different accents in different cultures.
I believe that something similar applies to psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. So many of the early practitioners of psychoanalysis, with the marked exception of Jung, were Jewish that it became known in Nazi Germany as the “Jewish science.” I have argued — though my views on this have been challenged — to the contrary, that by taking the Greek myth of Oedipus as one of his key models, Freud developed a tragic view of the human condition that is more Hellenistic than Jewish.[3

Amshinover Rebbe - aveira lishma todayrKaminetsy defense?!

http://forum.otzar.org/download/file.php?id=40551

he starts out that their is נבואה לעקור דבר מן התורה today. by the tzadik feeling that it's the right thing to do even if it's asour. and the amshinov doesn't agree that it's נבואה. it's just that he is אנוס. and also בא מן הדרך פטור מתפילה.
then morgenstern asked about the famous מי שילוח על זמרי and he explanes that since he felt he needed to do it he was supposed to do even that it's asour. and the amshinov says that it's not muter just their is no issue of kanus if he did it for that reason 

and then the amshinov adds 






בביקור אצל הגה"צ רבי יצחק מאיר מארגנשטערן שליט"א
לרגל אירוסי בנו עם בת כ"ק אדמו"ר מקאזמיר שליט"א
ערב שבת בהעלותך ט"ו סיון תשע"ג
א[ כשנכנס אדמו"ר שליט"א כיבדו הגה"צ הרי"ם
שליט"א לשבת על כסא מכובד, ונמנע אדמו"ר שליט"א
ונטל כסא פשוט ואמר אדמו"ר שליט"א "ס'איז גוט,
ס'איז גוט", ]זה טוב, זה טוב[, וכששוב הפציר, חזר אמר
אדמו"ר שליט"א "ס'איז גוט, ס'איז גוט", והתיישב על
הכסא הפשוט.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

כשמרן הגראי"ל העניק לילד את סידורו הישן

bhol



כשמרן הגראי"ל העניק לילד את סידורו הישן

כשרבי שלום בער סורוצקין ביקש ממרן הגראי"ל שטיינמן את סידורו הישן עבור נגיד המוכן לתרום רבע מליון דולר עבור הכוללים, הגיב הגראי"ל בחריפות "למה הוא צריך את הסידור שלי?! - זה עבודה זרה!" • אלא ששבוע לאחמ"כ העניק הגראי"ל את סידורו תמורת סידור אחר, ליהודי שחפץ בו עבור ילדו

Thursday, December 21, 2017

After #MeToo, some congregations weigh changing their tune on Shlomo Carlebach

times of israel


Every day brings a new revelation. For the first time, in a massive, communal movement, hundreds of victims of sexual abuse are finding their voices to accuse perpetrators, even when the abuse happened decades ago. Formerly infallible icons have been falling like dominoes, and abuse previously written off as “just the way things are” is now being reexamined in a completely different light. The dramatic events of the past two months are also forcing the Jewish community to examine its own icons, including Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Every day brings a new revelation. For the first time, in a massive, communal movement, hundreds of victims of sexual abuse are finding their voices to accuse perpetrators, even when the abuse happened decades ago. Formerly infallible icons have been falling like dominoes, and abuse previously written off as “just the way things are” is now being reexamined in a completely different light. The dramatic events of the past two months are also forcing the Jewish community to examine its own icons, including Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. In the 23 years since his death, at least eight women have publicly accused the “rock star rabbi,” who inspired millions with his dramatically different and inclusive Jewish music, of sexual misconduct in the 1960s and ’70s. One researcher said he had spoken to 15 different women claiming to be victims.

Monday, December 18, 2017

The invisibility of the handicapped

Their wait for service was unusually long, and later, as she used the wheelchair more and more, she understood why. In the chair she became invisible. In the chair she turned radioactive. People looked over her, around her, through her. They withdrew. It was the craziest thing. She had the same keen mind, the same quick wit. But most new acquaintances didn’t notice, because most no longer bothered to.
She told me all of this recently not in anger but in bafflement. Could I explain why her infirmity and her age — she’s 82 — erase her? She has her own theories. Maybe strangers worry that she’ll need something from them. Maybe they see in her their worst fears about their own futures.
Probably they extrapolate from her physical diminishment. “They think I’m mentally incapacitated,” she said. “I’m sure of that. I’d stake my life on it.”

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

BORUCH DAYAN HA’EMMES: THE GADOL HADOR, MARAN HAGAON HARAV SHTEINMAN ZATZAL [UPDATED 11:11AM IL]

yeshiva world news


arutz7

Read: Tzavaas Maran Shteinman ZT”L, In Hebrew And In English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGjvkHonBn8





Hundreds of thousands expected at Rabbi Shteinman's funeral

Funeral procession to depart at 12 pm from the rabbi's home in Bnei Brak.



Hundreds of thousands of Jews are expected to attend the funeral of Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, one of the foremost decisors of Jewish law in the Lithuanian haredi community, who passed away this morning.

The funeral procession will leave Rabbi Shteinman's home on 5 Chazon Ish Street in Bnei Brak on its way to the Ponevezh cemetery, where he will be buried next to his wife.

Rabbi Shteinman requested in his will that the funeral procession end within six hours of his death.

Many Haredi educational institutions from all over the country, from the Lithuanian and Hasidic communities, canceled the school day and instructed their students to attend the funeral.
Israel Police is preparing to secure the funeral. Police announced that starting at 10 am, the entry of vehicles in both directions leading to Bnei Brak from the following roads will be regulated and limited: Route 4 from the Ra'anana Junction to Mishmar Hashiva; Route 1 from the Ben Shemen Interchange towards Kibbutz Galuyot; Route 5 from the Kesem interchange towards Morasha Junction; Route 20 from the Glilot interchange towards Dov Hoz interchange; the entirety of Route 471 in both directions.

It was also clarified that private vehicles would not be allowed to arrive at the funeral. "The public is asked to make

Monday, December 11, 2017

Sexual Harassment Training Doesn’t Work. But Some Things Do.

ny times



Many people are familiar with typical corporate sexual harassment training: clicking through a PowerPoint, checking a box that you read the employee handbook or attending a mandatory seminar at which someone lectures about harassment while attendees glance at their phones.
At best, research has found, that type of training succeeds in teaching people basic information, like the definition of harassment and how to report violations. At worst, it can make them uncomfortable, prompting defensive jokes, or reinforce gender stereotypes, potentially making harassment worse. Either way, it usually fails to address the root problem: preventing sexual harassment from happening in the first place.
That’s because much of the training exists for a different reason altogether. Two 1998 Supreme Court cases determined that for a company to avoid liability in a sexual harassment case, it had to show that it had trained employees on its anti-harassment policies.


But while training protects companies from lawsuits, it can also backfire by reinforcing gender stereotypes, at least in the short term, according toresearch by Justine Tinkler, a sociologist at the University of Georgia. That’s because it tends to portray men as powerful and sexually insatiable and women as vulnerable. Her research has shown this effect no matter how minimal the training. “It puts women in a difficult position in terms of feeling confident and empowered in the workplace,” she said.
Other research found that training that described people in a legal context, as harassers or victims, led those being trained to reject it as a waste of time because they didn’t think the labels applied to them, known as an “identity threat reaction,” said Shannon Rawski, a professor of business at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Training was least effective with people who equated masculinity with power. “In other words, the men who were probably more likely to be harassers were the ones who were least likely to benefit,” said Eden King, a psychologist at Rice University.


Training is essential but not enough, researchers say. To actually prevent harassment, companies need to create a culture in which women are treated as equals and employees treat one another with respect.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

I Use a Wheelchair. And Yes, I’m Your Doctor.

ny times



When I was in the third year of my medical residency, I was asked to evaluate a new state-of-the-art, fully accessible exam table that would be used in doctors’ offices to better provide care for patients with mobility-related disabilities. The table could go as low as 18 inches off the ground to enable easier transfers for wheelchair users and had extra rails and grips to provide support for patients with impaired balance.
I was to assess this equipment as a “user expert.” Although the table was designed to accommodate patients with disabilities, I rolled up to it to evaluate it from the perspective of a physician. “Do you want my opinion as a patient, or as a doctor?” I asked the surprised representatives from the medical equipment company.
I have been a wheelchair user since