Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

May 2nd, 2019

When Torah and Your Emotional Needs Don’t Feel Compatible   Persons who go through therapy and find access to their deeper feelings can become aware of conflicts that others may not be consciously aware of. For example, unfortunately there are a number of people who habitually talk in Shul. Some may get serious, develop self control, begin to appreciate the value of prayer and solemnity, and stop this behavior. Others may continue for …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

April 28th, 2019

Carl Jung was a student of Sigmund Freud.  Unlike Freud, he had a deep and positive interest in spirituality, religion, and mysticism.  His psychological theories were still what we would call psychodynamic, in a sense that they involve understanding the ways that unconscious conflicts affect and determine functional or dysfunctional behavior.  However, his understanding of the inner drives and conflicts were more universal and rel …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

March 24th, 2019

There are some people in the course of their 12 step work who find connecting to G-d via kneeling to be an important part of their recovery.  There is a degree of cultural inhibition regarding kneeling for Jewish people, as this is not our customary form of worship. Below is an analysis of the pertinent halachic issues. The verse states in Vayikra 26:1 “…and a Maskis stone shall not be placed in your land to bow upon it.” …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

February 17th, 2019

  In Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye exclaims in frustration to his daughter who is considering a marriage outside of the faith, “A bird and a fish can fall in love, but where would they build their home?” Today, many couples find themselves in a position of religious disparity. Whether they started out in the same religious position and one turned more religious and the other less, or they married under this circumstance, it challeng …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

February 10th, 2019

This year is a Jewish leap year.  The Jewish calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar inputs; specifically, the months follow the Moon, however the seasons follow the Sun. Since 12 lunar months only add up to 354 days, it is approximately 11 days short of a solar year.  The rabbis understood from the Biblical directive to guard the month of spring, that they needed to add in a leap month (Adar II) approximately every 3 year …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

November 4th, 2018

Curiosity is a powerful relationship tool. We think we know someone else, we think we understand their motives, and we would like to believe we are right and know better. Yet, if we maintain a more curious attitude, especially when we feel frustrated or angry instead of becoming judgmental and indignant, we can turn difficult moments into learning and growth.   After Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, the scripture tells us they hi …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

October 24th, 2018

Ideally, there never should be an instance of Halakha versus common sense. As we shall soon see, while the Torah may not always be provable through deductive reasoning alone, it should never ask us to believe something that is patently unreasonable. I feel compelled to a write this in response to fundamentalist trends that seem to make virtue out of blind acceptance. Granted there is a certain logic to such a position, perhaps considering that G- …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

August 15th, 2018

As a son of a community Rabbi and Principal, one of my earliest memories is DREADING the High Holy Days. I used to literally count how many days it was until next Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur like most kids would count how many days before school starts. Being a child of a public role model, I was expected at an early age to sit quietly and attentively during prayers. To make matters worse, in my childhood there was no genre of English Judaica. W …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

June 4th, 2018

In a discussion with colleagues it was noted that there was not enough focus in the religious community on the normal developmental and sexual needs of women.  One might draw a conclusion that there was no legitimate focus on female sexual empowerment within traditional Jewish thought.  While the standards of modesty, as well as concepts of female roles were quite different in the times of the Talmud, it is important to note that there …
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Author: Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R

January 1st, 2018

  Reprinted from the Jewish Press     Sometimes we can be most cruel to ourselves.  The inner voice can be filled with condemnation and hate.  There are people that are barely aware of how harsh they treat themselves on the inside.  If they would take a moment of mindfulness to actually hear their inner dialogue it might be something like, “You are a bad person”, “You are lazy”, and best of al …
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