Memory manipulations Elizabeth Loftus

Slate

Elizabeth Loftus warmed to the idea of memory tampering for the best of reasons. She wanted to help people.

In her official career, as she described it in books, she studied the art of mental manipulation only to dissect, expose, and defeat it. Occasionally, she lent her psychological expertise to lawyers or advertisers for their self-interested purposes. But these purposes weren't hers, so she never turned them into a career.

To embrace memory tampering, she needed a purpose of her own. Something she could believe in and care about. Something that could put her skills to good use.

The story of how Loftus found that purpose—the story of her shadow career—began 30 years ago with a metaphor. "Imagine a world in which people could go to a special kind of psychologist or psychiatrist—a memory doctor—and have their memories modified," she mused in her 1980 book, Memory. This was no fantasy, she argued. The doctor was memory itself. "Every day, we do this to ourselves and others," she explained. "Our memories of past events change in helpful ways, leading us to be happier than we might otherwise be." Indeed, this was nature's design: [...]

Geirus Daas Torah against MK Amsalem

Rav Sternbuch: Holding on to Shavuos

Dina dmalhusa - viiolating laws of the land

Businesshalacha.com

Dina Dmalchusa Dina, the law of the land, has become a much-talked about topic of late. For painfully obvious reasons, people have been doing much soul searching as to their responsibilities’ with respect to the government. There is much to be said about the practical aspects of illegal behavior; we are all painfully aware of the severe consequences of breaking the law, and the tremendous Chillul Hashem it may cause. Nevertheless, these issues will not be the focus of this presentation. This article will explore the Halachic ramifications of civil law.

Throughout our collective history, there has often been a true conflict between Halachah and civil law. During the Spanish Inquisition, one could not be both a good Spanish citizen and an observant Jew. Under communist rule, one could not be a good Russian comrade while retaining his belief in Hashem. Many of our ancestors literally sacrificed their lives to keep Halachah in the face of religious discrimination from fanatical governments. Clearly, our behavior is guided by Halachah, and if a civil government outlaws Judaism, we would reject such discriminatory laws, and continue to engage in Torah and Mitzvos. This may lead a person to conclude that a Frum Jew need not be concerned about civil law, and can act as they please as long as they are not caught.

 

What may add to this misperception is the fact that there is no mention throughout the torah of any prohibition against money laundering, check kiting, speeding, or similar types of behavior. If it is not outlawed by the Torah, what could possibly be wrong with such behaviors? If our sense of values and justice is derived from Halachah, which is silent on these matters, why should we consider such behaviors unethical? The following will present a (brief) synopsis of some relevant Halachos.

 

There is a well known but little understood concept of Dina Dmalchusa Dina, the law of the land is law. This concept is accepted without question by all Halachic opinions. It states a simple Halachic fact. Torah recognizes the right of a sovereign government to create laws for its citizens, and such laws are Halachicaly binding. Dina Dmalchusa is not a Mitzvah per say; one does not fulfill any particular positive commandment when obeying civil laws. Nor does one violate any prohibition when one violates a law. Rather, it is a simple statement of Halachic fact, that a government’s civil laws are Halachically binding on its citizens. [...]

Catholic couple ordered to comply with halacha to see husband's son

YNET

It has been centuries since the divide between church and state has been in place but recently it seems that religion has been taking center stage in divorce courts across the United States. This time, the state has ruled that ultra-Orthodox Judaism must be followed by a pair of Catholics.

 

Laura Derbigney, a Hispanic Catholic woman, has been placed under court order to keep Shabbat, keep kosher and live as a Hasidic Jew. This court order was carried out in Chicago and the woman is now being told she must live an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle due to her new husband’s ex-wife who is a Hasidic Jew.

 

Derbigney’s husband Nelson, also a Catholic, has a son by his first wife, a seven-year old who must carry out ultra-Orthodox restrictions with his Catholic father as he has with his biological mother, and this is the reasoning behind the court’s order to have the boy’s father and new step-mother live in the ways of a Hasidic Jew.

Private schools failing to run fingerprint checks

New York Post

Fewer than 1 percent of the state's 1,900 private schools run fingerprint checks on job applicants to screen for sex offenses and other criminal behavior, The Post has learned.

Statewide, only 17 private schools have submitted fingerprints since a 2007 law granted them the right, says the state Education Department.

Unlike public schools, private schools are not required by law to do extensive background checks. The 2007 law stopped short of making it mandatory. [...]

Racial controversy over claims of African relic

Haaretz

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Tudor Parfitt has spent years chasing a theory that a lost tribe of Jews wound up in Southern Africa. But his latest leap has landed him in a minefield.

The subject at hand is this British scholar's contention that the remains of a 700-year-old bowl-shaped relic which he tracked down in a Zimbabwe museum storeroom in 2007 could be a replica of the Ark of the Covenant that carried the Ten Commandments.

According to African legend, white lions of God and a two-headed snake guarded the "drum that thunders" in a cave in southwestern Zimbabwe's sacred Dumbwe mountains. Parfitt's theory has sparked fierce reactions from some Zimbabwean scholars, who suspect a plot to superimpose foreign origins on what is purely a product of African culture.

Having long disappeared from public view since its discovery in the 1940s, the artifact is now on display at the Harare Museum of Human Sciences. It is about 45 inches by 24 inches in diameter and 27 inches tall with a pattern of shallow engraving on the outside that could have held gold threads. Scorch marks on the base inside were possibly left by primitive gun powder.

R' Vaya : A Middle position on worms in fish

In a video-taped interview given this past Wednesday night to the Five
Towns Jewish Times, Rabbi Moshe Vaya, clarified his position in regard
to worms in fish. It seems to this author that Rav Vaya holds to a
middle ground position in between those that absolutely forbid
consumption of fish with Anisakis worms and those that permit it
completely. Rav Vaya stated at the end of the video-taped interview
that certainly one should not eat fish that have the Anisakis worm
lechatchilah and stated that this was the position of the Eida Chareidis
in Jerusalem.

In the middle of the interview, Rav Vaya said that the lower section
adjacent to the viscera should be removed for those fish that have the
problem. The reader is encouraged to listen to the tape to hear for
himself or herself. The link is here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMtQLb1YmLo&feature=youtube_gdata
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMtQLb1YmLo&feature=youtube_gdata>

Rav Vaya also stated that if one clearly observed the worm migrate from
the viscera to the flesh then the worm is certainly forbidden. He
stated, however, that one need not be concerned for this.

Forgiving abuse - is this desirable?

Aish.Com by Sarah Rigler

THE GATE OF FORGIVENESS

From the time she was three years old and until she reached puberty, Cindy was sexually molested by her uncle, with the knowledge of her alcoholic mother.

When Cindy grew up, she converted to Judaism. Eventually she married a man who was also a sexual abuser, and had two children with him. She would later say, "I married my mother in drag."

The only contact Cindy had with her mother as an adult was the time her mother telephoned and asked for a meeting. Was she finally repentant? Cindy wondered on the way to the meeting. Did she finally regret all the damage she had done her daughter?

Chofetz Chaim on repentance & lashon harah

While the following seems to indicate that a person can be assumed to repent from serious crimes such as sexual transgressions, the Chofetz Chaim doesn't address the need to get forgiveness from those the sinner hurt.

Chofetz Chaim(Lashon Harah 4:4): However if it seems to them that the sinner knew that what he did was wrong and he deliberated sinned e.g., prohibited sexual relations or eating unkosher food where the knowledge that the deed is prohibited is widespread – then it depends on the following. If he is an average person in other matters and he normally guards himself from sin and in this matter he was observed transgressing only this time and he did it secretly – then it is prohibited to reveal his sin to others even not in his presence. The one who does in fact reveal his sin has done a severe transgression because it is possible that the sinner has repented from his evil way and is upset for sinning and has been forgiven by G‑d. That is because the essence of repentance is the upset the sinner feels in his heart. Therefore when the sin is told to the public, he will be despised and degraded in their eyes – even though his sin has been forgiven. Therefore the one who reports it has done a terrible transgression. He should not reveal it even to the judges of the city, - even if he has a second witness to establish the veracity of the report. (That is because if he doesn’t have a second witness it would be forbidden to report it because it is prohibited for the judges to believe the report of a single witness. The single witness who reports it will be considered as simply saying lashon harah as we discuss later.) Thus he can’t report it because there is no benefit in doing so. However he must chastise in private the person who he saw sinning because the sin is a rebellion against G‑d. The sinner must be told that he must take extra care in the future not to sin again by avoiding the circumstances which encouraged him to sin. It is also important that the chastiser rebuke the sinner gently in order not to embarrass him…. All of this care not to publicly reveal his sin is even if the person is only average in his observance of other matters. So surely if he is a talmid chachom and G‑d fearing man who was temporarily overcome by his lust, it would definitely be a great sin to publicize his sin and it is prohibited to even suspect that he is continuing to sin because he certainly has repented. This is true even if his lust overcame him on one occasion because he is surely greatly upset at the sin. This is stated by our Sages (Berachos 19a), If you see a talmid chachom sin at night – do not suspect him of repeating that sin in the day because he definitely has repented.

Child abuse: Understanding the perpetrators

Review of Abby Stein's book "Prologue to Violence:Child Abuse" -

               [also known as the Vampire Theory of crime]

Abby Stein's important book sings in many keys at the same time. In one key, she challenges the wish that serial killers, pedophiles and other heinous criminals were "bad seeds," a very different species from us "decent folk." Her book opens with this telling quotation:

"Pedophiles are other people; rapists are other people; murderers are other people. It is hard for the mind to know itself as wicked. It tells itself a different story, keeping the darkness at bay" (Nikki Gerard p. 1).

Stein show us convincingly that criminal acts are the expression of dissociated alters spawned during childhood torture at the hands of family members. Her insights are crucial and neglected. An illustration of just how badly Stein's theories are needed is a recent New York Times book review of a sensationally smart serial killer. The review regales us with tales of this crafty killer without ever mentioning his childhood. [...]

Rabbi bans women from public office

YNET

Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, chief rabbi of the Elon Moreh settlement in Samaria, has prohibited female residents from running for the office of community secretary. The elections for the position are scheduled for Wednesday, but so far not a single woman of the 750 eligible adult residents of the settlement has announced candidacy. One woman, who remains anonymous, sent a letter to Rabbi Levanon asking whether she could run for the position. "I am a young woman and I think I have the desire and energy to do things. I also believe there is a benefit to making a woman secretary, because it's not right for men to be the only ones deciding how to run the community," she wrote to the rabbi, asking his opinion. But in his weekly column in the settlement's newspaper Levanon wrote that the position of secretary was not fit for a woman, according to the teachings of the Rav Kook. He said women could participate in various councils, but not as secretaries. "The first problem is giving women authority, and being a secretary means having authority," he wrote. "The second problem is mixing men and women. Secretary meetings are held at night and sometimes end very late. It is not proper to be in mixed company in such situations." The rabbi added that women who desired to affect public opinion should do so through their husbands. "Within the family certain debates are held and when opinions are united the husband presents the family's opinion," he wrote. "This is the proper way to prevent a situation in which the woman votes one way and her husband votes another."

Child molesting & being the Chosen People

by Rav Pinchos Yehoshua HaCohain [The is one of the essays being published in my book on abuse] He discuses the underlying issues which are unique to the Orthodox community concerning abuse]

The author has served as the Rabbi for 3 major frum Eastern seaboard communities, He has paskened Shaalos re: Shabbos, Taharas Hamishpocho, Kashrus, etc.) for 25 years. Received s’micha from Rav Yosef Breuer, ZTvK’L, Rav Shimon Schwab, ZTvK’L and L’Havdil Bain Chaim l’Chaim the Novominsker Rebbe, Shlita. Over the past 15 years, he has become heavily involved with the following issues in the Frum community: Substance abuse, Kids-at-Risk, domestic abuse and violence, and treatment of trauma and molestation . He receives shaalos and requests for guidance from all segments of the Chareidi community from around the globe.

We are the Chosen People! Our relationship with Hashem and the world about us is unique. The Torah tells us this again and again. We also affirm and reaffirm this reality daily in the traditional prayers that we recite in the synagogue.

Our “choseness” is manifest in the uniqueness of our spiritual mission. The Rambam (Yesodei HaTorah 5:1) writes that every Jew is commanded to be a source of sanctification of God’s name in this world and to avoid profaning it. We fervently pray and proclaim many times daily that we should merit this achievement. When we adhere carefully to our mandate and live in accordance with the Torah, then the beauty of our lifestyle is manifest and is the envy of all nations (Devarim 4:6). Consequently, it is extremely painful and unpleasant for me to have to point out and highlight some flaws and failings of Hashem’s special children - the Torah community. I believe that I speak for all the contributors to this compendium when I state that it distresses us when we discuss the topic of abuse in our communities. We are overwhelmed by pain as we criticize our holy brothers and sisters, and this pain is twofold. Simultaneously, we feel intense shame and embarrassment at the tarnishing of the Jewish people’s image as a holy people, and we feel pain for the torment of the victims and their families who are suffering because of our collective neglect. This cacophony of pain torments us and prompts us to speak out. Our goal is to raise the awareness of our people and hopefully encourage actions that will rectify the situation and end the disgrace to G‑d from this colossal misrepresentation of Torah values.

In shocking disbelief we hear and read the reports about the depravity of pedophilia occurring in our midst.Every fiber of our beings mightily protests, “THIS CANNOT BE SO!” It is inconceivable that perpetrators of such heinous behavior could live among us – and could even be our friends, parents, teachers and rabbis.” We instinctively think, “And could it be so prevalent? Impossible! Surely, it must only be an isolated incident!” However, sadly, to our great dismay, this is not the case.

In our discomfort, we can recall reading and hearing about distressing reports even in our Orthodox Jewish publications which contradicted the notion that only very few isolated incidents occur or that there are no significant societal problems. The following was printed 10 years ago in the Jewish Observer: [the rest of the article is in my book on abuse]

Rav Moshe Sternbuch: No Hespedim for molesters

Rav Sternbuch said someone that is known with certainty to be a molester should not have hespedim and he can be quoted on this psak.

I had asked him this question several months ago and he confirmed today that this is his view and added that it can be publicized.