Parshas Vayeshev: Admitting a Wrong

Parshas Vayeshev: Admitting a Wrong Yehuda does an amazing thing by admitting the wrong he committed with Tamar. To have the ability to admit a wrong must come from somewhere. Perhaps his external strength was a reflection of his internal strength. We see many children who have a difficult time admitting to stealing the proverbial […]

ParshasVayishlach – Who is your current enemy?

Parshas Vayishlach – Who is your current enemy? A client, who I had not seen in about 4 years recently called me to schedule another session. The client originally came to me because he was having relationship issues that we had resolved in therapy. On the phone I asked him why he would like to […]

Parshas Vayeitzei The Good Envy!

Parshas Vayeitzei The Good Envy! There is a saying that goes “If others are jealous, you’re doing something right.” It is human nature to be jealous. We all experience envy to some degree at some point in our lives. We do social comparisons and decide that our friends have more and better than we have. […]

Parshas Toldos – The Truth Is…Sometimes!

Parshas Toldos – The Truth Is…Sometimes! “To be honest with you” and “The truth is” are statements people make that force me to think about how truthful these people really are. I am an observer of human behavior and have also been drawn to the word choice people use to preface their statements. If someone […]

Parshas Chayei Sarah – Yisrael Kristal-The Oldest Living Man

Parshas Chayei Sarah – Yisrael Kristal-The Oldest Living Man אברהם אבינו was considered an old man by most standards. Towards the end of the Parsha prior to his death, אברהם married for a third time to a woman named קטורה because her deeds were as sweet as the incense known as theקטורת. רש”י says that […]

Parshas Vayeira – Lot Missed the Boat!

Parshas Vayeira – Lot Missed the Boat! Fear of G-d is central to Torah Judaism. Those who do not fear Hashem cannot fully appreciate what it means to be an עבד ה’ who will repudiate anything antithetical to a monotheistic approach, certainly when it comes to idolatry. In fact, when לוי was given his ברכות, […]

Parshas Noach Lessons from the Mabul: Don’t Water Down My Torah!

Parshas Noach Lessons from the Mabul: Don’t Water Down My Torah! Consider the following experiment which was conducted by Dutch psychologists in 2005. In the experiment, researchers had participants sit in a cubicle and fill out a survey. Hidden somewhere in the room was a bucket of water with a citrus-scented cleaning agent. After completing […]

Parshas Bereishis

Parshas Bereishis Let’s start from the very beginning. What a very good place to start! This Shabbos, notably called Shabbos Bereishis is about new beginnings. Philosophers may have argued that if there are new beginnings (plural), there must have been a beginning before this new beginning. If so who created the first beginning? I prefer […]

Torah Psych101 Parshas Shelach-Cicadas and grasshoppers-It’s a matter of perspective!

Torah Psych101 Parshas Shelach-Cicadas and grasshoppers-It’s a matter of perspective! אברהם אבינו was considered an old man by most standards. Towards the end of the Parsha prior to his death, אברהם married for a third time to a woman named קטורה because her deeds were as sweet as the incense known as theקטורת. רש”י says […]