PTSD reactions by those who kill others, albeit inadvertently, are as debilitating as post-traumatic symptoms which befall victims of extreme trauma. Professor Juni analyses the very basic psychological and developmental origins of guilt and discomfort which non-psychopaths inevitably experience when they feel responsible for the death of another person. Rabbi KIvelelevitz expands the discussion into the existential and theological domains. Special attention is focused on Natural Developmental Morality Theory formulated by Dr. Lawrence Goldberg, particularly in elucidating the illogical stance of atheist secular humanists who are, nonetheless, staunch proponents of morality and human rights. Countering Juni’s stance that guilt engendered by taking the taking of a life is essentially non-ameliorable, Kivelevitz cites religious dicta, Biblical rituals, and narratives which are designed precisely to assuage the guilt of such individuals when they are inadvertently responsible for accidental deaths. 

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a board member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in cutting-edge research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed the NYU Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles; many are available online: Journal of Forensic Psychology; Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma; International Review of Victimology; The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease; International Forum of Psychoanalysis; Journal of Personality Assessment; J

Journal of Abnormal Psychology; Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology; Psychophysiology; Psychology and Human Development; Journal of Sex Research; Journal of Psychology and Judaism; Contemporary Family Therapy; American Journal on Addictions; Journal of Criminal Psychology; Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. 

 As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. 

Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected]  

The causes of the recent organized efforts promoting teen marriages in the Chassidic community are analyzed from different perspectives, Prof. Juni juxtaposes these arrangements to those in specific Islamic countries and cults, arguing that many of the travesties in arranged marriages of minors are to be found in Shidduch matches of young adults as well. Developmental, religious, and cultural features on intimate relationships, marriage, and sexuality are charted out by the discussants. Rabbi Glueck presents the Kabbalistic and Chassidic perspective on marriage and sexuality, while Rabbi Kivelevitz partials out the Halakhic factors from the mix. Based on his consults with Chassidic patients and religious gatekeepers, Dr. Juni shares revealing rationales which drive overall suppression of sexuality in these communities. He argues that they are antithetical to the mental health and relationship capacity potential of youth who are raised within this system and forced to live within such constraints. Glueck elaborates the classic non-draconian Breslov orientation toward sexuality, as he shows how it has been misrepresented by fringe groups. Possible ameliorative efforts to possible deleterious dynamics are explored by Glueck and Kivelevitz. 

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a board member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in cutting-edge research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed the NYU Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles; many are available online: Journal of Forensic Psychology; Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma; International Review of Victimology; The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease; International Forum of Psychoanalysis; Journal of Personality Assessment; Journal of Abnormal Psychology; Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology; Psychophysiology; Psychology and Human Development; Journal of Sex Research; Journal of Psychology and Judaism; Contemporary Family Therapy; American Journal on Addictions; Journal of Criminal Psychology; Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. 

As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America.

Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] 

Rabbi Kivelevitz begins by outlining cultural differences between the United States, Europe, and Israel regarding vacation policies for workers, maternity leave, and the afternoon siesta. The question is whether vacations and breaks are good for people and for the jobs they perform. Doctor Juni sees this question as dependent on how we see the role of work. He presents the prevalent tenets of Vocational Psychology, as formulated by Donald Super, which posits that work is an intrinsic aspect of human existence and self-esteem. This view is seen as consistent with descriptions in various cultures and settings, we are useless work is considered torturous. However, Juni summarized empirical studies indicating that although the physical health of workers is enhanced by vacations, positive psychological effects are fleeting in nature. Thus, if work is intrinsic to human functioning, then a break might be considered as negative, while a break is definitely positive if work is considered merely as a burden or a necessary evil – since it allows folks to engage on more important and “real” life experiences. 

Kivelevitz expands the discussion from work to relationships, where he poses the question whether breaks from relationships might be helpful to the relationships. Juni points out that even within couples who get along well, there is usually no more than 20% compatibility across various interests and commitments. Indeed, it is the very differences between partners that enrich the enjoyment of marital relationship. It is a fact that there is more to any person than spousal joint life. Having an “island” where one can relate to issues that are not shared with a partner may thus provide a safety valve while enabling the experience of a fuller spectrum of life. 

The discussants veer into the scandalous suggestions by some modern pundits who champion extra-marital relationships as a means of strengthening marriages. Juni opines that while such affairs may result in increased longevity of marriages (since there are built-in options for straying and fulfilling fantasied alternatives), the quality of the marital relationship definitely deteriorates as a result, especially in view of inevitable feelings of betrayal and profound guilt. Kivelevitz points out that a number of psychologists see much of the finer aspects human endeavors as being due to the very containment of maladaptive fantasies or “acting out” – motivations which are then sublimated toward goals which enrich individuals as well as general society.  

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] 

Rabbi Kivelevitz and Professor Juni analyze and critique a number of factors which lead many of us to become distracted during prayers. Dr. Juni explains that each person has physiologically optimal position on the dimension of input stimulation for perceptual and cognitive processing. This dimension ranges from some who need relative quiet to concentrate to those who can ONLY concentrate in the presence of significant additional sensory input (e.g. spinners, noise, swaying, swaying, music). Many with ADD fall into the latter half of this dimension. Every person has his own level of stimulation he or she needs to function. Shul, especially during the holidays, may not fir the bill. It may be too huge of a space, too crowded, too quiet, too loud, too eerie, too strange (especially when mouthing strange sentences in a not-so-familiar language). Small wonder that many become distracted. to some degree but not excessive for each person. 

 Psychodynamically, however, Juni points out that boredom is a cover-up word for defensive avoidal of thoughts and fears that we usually sweep under the rug. High Holiday prayers, in particular, arouse issues of our mortality, personal weakness, our role as helpless victims. More insidiously, it forces some to face their doubts in the area of faith in G-d and commitment to religion, and – in some – resentment toward G-d. Triggering the pseudo-mode of “boredom” give us the excuse to escape this crucible. 

Kivelevitz points out that there is a paradoxical aspect to the confessional of the High Holidays which are often rendered in a song which sounds almost triumphant and happy. He references Rabbinic authorities who address the fact that some mis-guided folks are actually paradoxically proud as they confess in bursts of unjustified hubris regarding their apparent piety. These commentators urge congregations not to dwell on the past and essentially speed through the confessional at what they considered a healthy pace. The problem, as they see it, is that when we have a list of sins that we recite pro forma, we tend not to realize that there are major dimensions and divisions among these sins instead of seeing them as one menu of equal transgressions.  

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] 

 This episode begins with Doctor Juni outlining his work with
psychiatric criminal populations and his efforts exploring their personal perspective about their
behavior.  

By in large ,most of these people realized that they were acting in a harmful
manner that would yield negative consequences. Juni relates this to actions and decisions of world leaders,
including the last two US presidents.  

To properly grasp why this phenomena persists ,Dr. Juni
points to two ingrained dynamics which originate in early child development
during a period where the child has little understanding of reality testing.
The first is a tendency to feel omnipotent and being convinced that one is
unable to do wrong. The second, in contrast, is a mode of self-flagellation
which entails a conviction that one is “bad”– –a perspective which engenders a
self a sense of futility and helplessness. Juni stresses that the latter is
always accompanied by a conviction that one “deserves” punishment, and that
this holds true even in adults who are overtly atheist or do not subscribe to
any particular system of right and wrong. The doctor stresses that it is
important here to understand that the ego administers a number of ambivalent
motives which are contradictory to each other  

Taking a more behavioral stance, Rabbi Kivelevitz suggests
that people may be motivated by the “comfortable old shoe“ phenomenon where
they revert to behavior they are used to simply because they are familiar with
it -- even if they know it is harmful.  

When pushed to formulate a strategy of what someone can do
to counter such nonfunctional behavior patterns. Juni suggests that by simply
understanding that one has a number of beneficial and harmful contradictory dynamics
which exist side-by-side -- – – that alone can give some people some mastery
over unacceptable impulses.  

Kivelevitz presents a prospective espoused by my Maimonides
which is consistent with Aristotelian philosophy, Franz Rosenzweig’s approach
to personality, and the teachings of Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler. The approach
entails being aware of harmful instincts and coming up with strategies to
oppose them consciously.  

Dr. Juni ventures to present his own personal perspective
(not at all related to his professional perspective) that there is a specific
moral component (as posited by Kohlberg) which may well include inborn
tendencies towards good and evil ,possibly along the lines of Yetzer Tov and
Yetzer Harah (good and evil inclinations). Juni stresses that despite his
absolute conviction about the truth of traditional Psychoanalytic Gospel of
unconscious repressed formative dynamics as the major determinants of adult
behavior, one need not rule out inborn moral components. Expanding on this idea
in light of the approaching high holidays, Kivelevitz elaborates the
understanding of the transcendental aspect of the soul which, according to
Jewish tradition, is accessible by human beings who seek to better themselves.  

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] 

As sports was the starting point of the conversation, Doctor Juni is spurred to outline the attitude toward sport competition which prevailed within the insular culture of his youth,where the notion of the body as a temple was viewed as a heretical feature of a Hellenic society , the antithesis of scholarship (in general) and Talmudic scholarship (specifically).  

 Rabbi Kivelevitz remarks that the supportive reaction to Simone Biles bowing out of the Olympic competition is an unusual phenomenon in the world of sports and its pundits. A bending-over-backwards forgiving perspective excusing an idealized icon, a larger-than-life hero, from owning up to our expectations,allowing people to put their mental health ahead of societal goals and prescriptions.

 Juni and Kivelevitz explore the implications of this paradigm shift in the attitudes of American society which has been rooted in the Protestant work ethic, especially as it pertains to sports heroes who symbolize the idealized identity of many Americans. The discussants snip at the grey divides between personal irresponsibility, social obligations, personal freedom of action, and dealing valiantly with challenges and hardships, addressing the question whether Western society has gone soft on the pursuit of social and common goals. 

Doctor Juni wonders whether this reaction heralds a stance which encourages our youth never to leave their comfort zones. Juni cites a recent report that 25% of the U.S. population is characterized by manifesting physical or psychiatric disabilities. The numbers suggest that the Mental Health red flag is now hoisted beyond debilitating disruptions to include what we in the past regarded as minor discomforts. 

Juni alternatively suggests that individuals functionally indentured to serve societal goals represents an inherent violation of human freedom and dignity that builds monstrously on the notion that many goals that average persons are comitted to are not really theirs, merely reflections of what others foisted upon them. 

The contextualization of Simone’s history within the multi-year deplorable molestation scandal of Dr. Nassar, the Women’s Olympic Team Physician, is analyzed. Prof. Juni explained that psychological/mental abuse is in fact a systematic feature of military indoctrination, designed to get recruits to block out and suppress any personal concerns as they keep their total attention on the singular goal of following orders. Based on Dr. Nassar’s psychopathic profile, the doctor conjectures that Nassar’s distorted rationalizations for his sexual abuses may have included a supposed effort to get his athletes to undergo psychiatric splitting as a self-protective effort against the abuse traumas which would then dovetail with a suspension of any personal, self-care concerns – all toward the goal of getting these hapless women to become singularly devoted to their Olympic goals. Juni suggests that this approach is poignantly reflected in the popular country song by Shel Silverstein (popularized by Johnny Cash) titled A Boy Named Sue, which recounts the travails of a derelict-absent father who gives his son a feminine name so that he learn to fight and stand up for himself from the very start, which will ensure that he prevail under adversity.

As a corollary to this approach as it may relate to the traditional Talmudic perspective on Child Development and Educational Programming, Kivelevitz posits that the prevalent effort among contemporary Jewish educators to track bright Yeshiva students into intense Talmudic scholarship tracks abrogates their normal psychological development and results often in personal dissonance which dogs them throughout life.

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] 

As the more colorful of Factitious Disorders, Munchausen’s Disease by Proxy is analyzed as a condition which entails difficulties in reality testing by patients who see themselves as trying to achieve good health by denying their underlying motivations and their harmful behavior, Prof. Juni explains that Munchausen family members also have a severe overidentification problem as they subsume the life of the sick family member into their identity and choose to live out their own emotionality of sickness through the sick experience of their loved ones. Dr. Juni cautions that Factitious Disorders can be a default diagnosis affixed by medical professionals who choose to blame the patient family for syndromes which are clinically inconsistent with pathological profiles. The similarities between such diagnoses and those of malingering (where the patients simply misrepresent themselves as ill in order to achieve secondary gain) are explained. The discussants explore the possibilities that many chronic help seekers may be part of this cohort, as Dr. Juni explains that the underlying character disorder renders these patients resistant to intervention and treatment. 

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] 

Spirit of Wiedergutmachung -Why many have difficulty apologizing and asking for absolution-and why others find it impossible to accept and forgive

Prof. Juni argues that apologizing is an elusive social phenomenon. Unless one was not aware of certain facts or consequences, it is likely that they would repeat the offensive behavior under similar circumstances. Thus, apologies typically indicate -- at most – sorrow that the victim suffered, but not regret about the offensive act. Reluctance to apologize is therefore quite truthful. R. Kivelevitz points out that there is a religious component to apology – namely a request that the victim absolve the perpetrator of divine punishment, but this, too, is not an apology per se. The discussants also explore the psychological impediments to apologizing and examine issues of dependency or being at the mercy of the victim. From the perspective of the victim, it is appropriate to view a refusal to accept an apology as a manifestation of retributive power over the aggressor. Here, too, Dr. Juni sees the acceptance of an apology as often entailing disingenuousness, since it would be untruthful for most victims to proclaim that they are no longer hurt by significant offenses – though, from a religious perspective, they can truly agree to exempt a perpetrator from divine retribution. It does seem ,opines the doctor,that the entire social phenomenon of apologizing is rather unelaborated, and represents a perfunctory rather than meaningful social transaction. 

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] 

An unrealistic optimistic stance is a common response to challenges and crises. R. Kivelevitz points to the general Israeli reaction to recent group accident tragedies among Israeli Haredim and the odd oblivious reaction in the victims’ cohorts. Prof. Juni adds to the mix the Israeli pattern of reckless driving and the fact that many are unfazed by the chronic threat from Gaza. He outlines the classic developmental understanding of positivity in people as based on the childhood experience of the omnipotent father who can do anything. As the child matures and realizes that he or she is not under comprehensive protection, this attitude of absolute trust in powerful others continues even when there are no concrete powerful others around. Indeed, Dr. Juni points out that this attitude becomes amalgamated into a religious perspective that G-d is in absolute control of everything around us. Rabbi K. points out that classic Theological thinkers in Judaism actually see childhood omnipotent beliefs as the basis of orthodox Jewish theology. The discussants explore other understandings of reckless practices among many cultures. One idea advanced is that in pre-scientific times, people have no idea of physical causality, and therefore evinced a general model of unrealistic positivity – – which was then incorporated into general culture and religion. In other strains of thought among certain groups, is that belief in good outcomes somehow causes those very outcomes, a notion evident in the “Think well, and it shall be good” bumper stickers throughout religious communities. A theological train of thought is explored based on religious belief in Divine micromanagement which can be seen either as absolute trust that G-d will bring only positivity, but it is also expressed as fatalism in some, implying that we might as well not do anything because we cannot change anything. Finally, the historical origins of Jewish life for hundreds of years is discussed, noting that the only possible defense Jews had in their experience with countless uncontrollable programs was the defense of denial, and that this stance has continued even when denial became necessary and non-functional. R. Kivelevitz concludes that constant focus on possible dangers and disasters would be paralyzing and incapacitating, so that some degree of optimism and ignoring potential dangers is crucial for “normal“ living, and that we must balance caution with optimism (even if the optimism is sometimes unwarranted) in order to maintain our daily lives. In this vein, certain risks are warranted and even required so that individuals and societies can exist and thrive. 

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected]