

Memory: External and Internal
Next Shabbos is another special Shabbos, “ZACHOR” and naturally I turn to the Pesikta deRav Kahana for inspiration. The Midrash turns our attention to the intimate relationship between good and


How to Count
Next Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh Adar and therefore Shabbos Shekolim. As you know, all the special parshios are noted by special collections of midrashim in the Pesikta de Rav Kahana.


Chanukah in Time and Space
I want to share with you my thoughts that were inspired by the Pesikta deRav Kahana, which begins with the Torah parsha for Chanukah. I suggest that the Midrash is relating


Adult Presence and Absence for Adolescents
I had the occasion to lecture recently on adolescents in Corona Times. I thought people at the Institute might find a summary interesting. The common twentieth century fantasy that adolescents


Getting Through the Doldrums
I hope that the people who need face to face treatment have returned to treatment. Let me again emphasize that if you cannot find some way to create flexibility for


Responding to Human Behavior
Perhaps the first move we make towards becoming therapists is when we relinquish our expectations about how people SHOULD behave and learn to accept and understand how people DO behave.


Uncertainty, Thinking and Communicating
Uncertainty has not left us. Many people have found the news, the “facts” and the decisions supposedly based on the facts to be inscrutable. And the timing of decisions has

Interpersonal Processes in Homogeneous Group Therapy with Orthodox Jewish Men in Israel: Case Example and Clinical Application


Yisroel in the (Viral) World
The Pesikta deRav Kahana that we have been following commences with the general lesson that when Yisroel rejoices there is healing for all mankind. When Sarah gave birth to Yitschok,


Light is a Mutual Affair
Moving along with the Peskita deRav Kahana, we are encouraged that after we recover from our own pain and are comforted, it is time to get back to work. In


Transformations
We have commenced our clinical program and welcomed a new group of trainees. It is time to reflect upon the ways in which our work has been transformed. I am following


A Time of Many Times
When we read the third chapter of Koheles, we are brought to a profound understanding of the human experience of time. Time is temporary, no time lasts. When we are


Time to Part
Many of our clinic staff and trainees will be making decisions about ending treatments. For some it will be a first experience with “termination” – I prefer “parting.” Now is a


Prolonged Uncertainty
The clinic has been open for a week. Some clients and therapists met there. Our staff – Rivkah, Naama, Chavi and Deena were exceedingly successful in creating a safe and


Moving Together
We are entering a new phase, a challenging but hopefully a rewarding one. We will be paying careful attention to small behaviors that are usually taken for granted. No big


Defaults… Dancing in the Dark
So… how come we are not opening the clinic as planned? We are learning a process of decision making that your clients are also facing: Dancing in the Dark. As


A “New Normal”?
The most striking ecological effect of the Corona crisis created is clean air. We are now forced to contemplate whether we want to return to the “old” normal of pollution.


A Time to Collect and Reflect
Our clients have all passed through an unusual and unanticipated period. While we are thankful that this period has not been characterized by extensive mortality in Israel, this has not


Crisis and Violence
As the closure wears on, the collective nerves of many families will be increasingly frayed. Part of our role as therapists is to approach the possibility that there may be


Viral Time
Time has brought order into space since Creation. We mark time three times daily, every week, every month, several times a year and now during Sefirah every day. Marking time


Chag of Presence
Ever since Rashi preferred to translate Pesach as Passover (Parshas Bo, Revii), nearly a millennium ago, Ashkenazi Jews have assumed that that was the only meaning for the name of the


The Closure of Low Differentiated Families
The role of “opening” what Corona has closed places a great strain on the differentiation level of family relations. Corona and its management has “closed” the world, restricted most informal


Remote Therapy
Let’s try to describe how a remote (skype, zoom, whatever) session differs from a regular session. You see much less body language The normal on and off of face to


Opening What Should Be Closed
The corona crisis has closed what should be open and opened what should be closed. A healthy family is an open system with vibrant intercommunications with society. In order to