Monday, May 12, 2014

Rav Sternbuch will speak tonight at 6 p.m. in Netivot


Tamar Epstein's marriage "annulment", Rabbinical Council of Washington and the degradation of Orthodox values and authority


Guest Post  by Joe Orlow

See - Tamar Epstein claims she is free even without a Get

[update added questions from Friedman supporters]

================
The Aharon Friedman-Tamar Epstein divorce process is an issue that has led to a split in the Jewish community. I am directly aware of a number of people, including people who are learned, who were initially supporters of Tamar Epstein and subsequently have become strong supporters of Aharon Friedman after they discovered more about the case and studied in more depth the Halacha which has a bearing on this case.

The Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington (RCW) relying on a letter from the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (Agudath HaRabonim), made a bizarre statement that "Mr. Aharon Friedman has been adjudged in violation of an order of a Beis Din and accordingly is now considered halachically to have made his wife an agunah."

Subsequent to the Agudath HaRabonim letter being issued, one of the Rabbis who signed the letter was arrested by the FBI in a sting operation for allegedly offering to free a woman from her husband -- even though the "husband" in question did not exist, since the woman had lied to him as part of the sting. One of the staff members of the Agudath Harabonim was also arrested as part of the sting.

Another Rabbi who signed the letter has allegedly been involved in a similar case, in which an actual husband was beaten and apparently almost killed.

Another Rabbi who signed the letter has a longstanding and close connection with Tamar Epstein's family.

Another Rabbi who did not actually sign the letter but added his signature to a copy of the letter has apparently called for beating husbands who don't give a Get to their wives after the husband and wife have been separated for an extended period, apparently without regard to the circumstances of the separation.

In this context, the statement by the RCW that "We urge those who have contact with or influence over Mr. Aharon Friedman to persuade Mr. Friedman, through proper [emphasis added] means only, to promptly comply with the order of the Beis Din and to promptly give his wife the required Get." would seem to indicate that violence is in order. Indeed, after the RCW's letter was issued, Aharon was attacked in the driveway of his wife's residence as he dropped off his daughter.

Lately, Tamar Epstein denies she's married to Aharon Friedman.

I have three initial questions:

(1) Are we allowed to take under consideration the published reports about Rabbi Mordechai Wolmark and Rabbi Yisroel Belsky and their alleged involvement in beating husbands, and if yes, how does this impact the letter they wrote about Aharon Friedman?

(2) How should we treat the RCW which apparently has allied itself with these men?

(3) How should we treat the RCW in light of their silence in regard to Tamar Epstein's disregard of her marriage to Aharon Friedman and her making herself available for marriage to another man?

[added questions from Friedman's supporters:
Following the assault on Aharon, the DC Vaad, and the rabbis who are its members, have refused to answer the following two questions (sent to them by email and postal mail):

Do you and the Washington Vaad consider beating Aharon to be "proper means" of "persuading" Aharon to give a get as called for in the Vaad's letter?

Would you or the Washington Vaad recognize as valid a get that was obtained through beating Aharon?

Furthermore, the RCW has an affiliated Congregation whose Rabbi is a graduate of a Yeshiva with a Bais Medrash
(a) where the students discuss the New Testament with Catholic clergy,
(b) whose current president welcomes intermarried couples,
(c) whose Rosh Yeshiva is embarrassed by the Torah as it has been received (and who seems to be advocating for a way to end a marriage in general without a legitimate Get), while
(d) the coordinator of conversions for the Rabbinic organization associated with the Yeshiva denies that any Jews are descended from Abraham.

Is a Jew allowed to step into that RCW affiliated Shul? If yes, can one eat from the kitchen in that Shul (the kitchen is certified Kosher by the RCW)?

One of the Rabbis of the RCW co-authored a Sefer with a number of Rabbis closely connected to this Yeshiva. Can a Jew Daven in this RCW Rabbi's Shul and eat from the kitchen there?

If food from the kitchens at these Shuls are off-limits, may one still eat at and/or buy food from other RCW certified Kosher establishments such as butcher shops?

There is an Orthodox school here whose Rav ha-Kehilla is a Musmach of this Yeshiva. May a student attend this school?

Furthermore, there's an international Orthodox organization that has some member congregations that have Rabbis who are graduates of this Yeshiva. This organization has not categorically stated that these Rabbis cannot participate as members of the Kashrus branch of the organization. May a Jew eat food which has been certified as Kosher by this organization?

There's another international Kashrus organization whose Rabbinic leader has given a letter of support to the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA). ORA is the group that broke the news that Tamar Epstein, a married woman, is "free" and which took credit for facilitating this married woman's being granted the freedom to marry another man. May a Jew eat food certified Kosher by this Kashrus organization?

Lastly, it is my understanding that the entire Jewish Nation accepted upon itself to follow the Shulchan Aruch, and that when a Rav decides not to follow the Shulchan Aruch in a given case that it is not improper to request of him that he explain why we do not follow the Shulchan in that case.

Yet, reportedly, there's a Rav of the RCW that said that when a great scholar says to go against the Shulchan Aruch that the great scholar must be followed unquestioningly. Is one allowed to Daven in this Rav's shul, or to ask Halachic questions of him?

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Psychology: A Jewish alternative through Torah Eitzah and Mussar - Rabbi Yosef Epstein

בדורותינו
בדורות שלפנים, היתה חכמת העצה נדרשת מפי חכמי תורה ויראה, מפי זקנים שבעי הרפתקאות ונסיון ׁ(עי' שמו"ר ג:י כל מי שנוטל עצה מן הזקנים וכו': ודר"א זוטא פ"ז), וזיוה הי' נאצל מזיו עינים הבהירה של גדולי הדורות מנהיגי האומה.
אולם בדורותינו אנו, הלכה חכמת העצה ופשטה צורה ולבשה צורה - מעט מעט עברה מרשותם של חכמים וזקנים לרשותם של מדענים, עולי ימים, מקצוענים, מהם גם כאלה שלא פתחו בה אלא כקרדום לחפור בה.
רמה הוא המעין הימנו שואב הייעוץ בימינו, הן אין זה אלא חכמת הפסיכולוגיא של ימינו - הפסיכולוגיא של "פסיכואנליטיקה" ר"בהייביוריזם" אשר פיררתי· הארסיים אנו אוכלים.
אף המדען או היועץ הדתי, למרות כשרות אישיותו, סוף סוף מקורו המדעי נובע משם. אם בכח העיון והמחשבה שלו לא די עצמאי הוא, ואם הכרתו לא די עמוק ברקע התורה והאמונה היא נעוצה, קל לו לגרעין פורה רוש ולענה להיות תוסס וצומח תחת סף הכרתו, ולהעביר גם טעם וריח אל מוחו של הנוטל עצתו.
יותר מזה, לאור מחקרי הערכה ו"דיררחים" בשדה הפעולה המדעית של הייעוץ  המקצועי והעבודה הסוציאלית, לא רק שהתחילו רבים וחכמים לפקפק ביעילותם של אי-אלה מהם, אלא גם להודות, באיזה ענפים, על קלקול העולה על התיקון ועל הפסד העןלה על השכר, וטוב שלא נבראו משנבראו. (כל זה הוא מהפרסומים המדעיים של אלה, ואכהמ"ל.(
הרואה את הנולד
למרות המבוכה בשדה המחקר של הפסיכולוגיא - יום יום ושיטותיו הסותרות אשה את רעותה, למרות הטלת הספק בעצם האפשריות של קביעת שיטות וכללים כלל-אנושיים בחכמת הנפש, למרות האכזבה בהישגי הייעוץ המקצועי והעבודה הסוציאלית, ולמרות המשבר המוסרי המאיים בעולם המעשה האוכל את פירותיהם, של איזה מהשטות, הולכים ממסדים אלה הלוך והתבסס, הלוך ופרוש את מצודתם על החיים.
והמצודה פרושה גם על מחננו אנו. מחנה שומרי התורה והמצוה. גם אנו מתרגלים לפנות אל ה"כתובת" של ה"פוסקים" ה"מומחים" בבעיות נפש, יועצים מקצועיים ועובדים סוציאליים. להסתייע על ידם בענינים חברתיים, משפחתיים, חינוכיים.
ומה הפלא?
היכן לא נגעה יד הפסיכולוגיא המודרנית. הייעוץ המקצועי והעובד הסוציאלי?
בחינוך - האם יש לך בית ספר, גבוה אר תיכוני, בעל חשיבות שאין על משמרת מוריו ופקידיו, פסיכולוג, יועץ ועובד סוציאלי?
בחברה - האם יש לך מוסד חברתי פילנטררפי מקובל על הרבים שאין מתקיימת על ידו שירות פסיכולוגית. ייעוציה וסוציאלית?
במשפחה - היש לך כתב-עת די נפרץ שאין על עמודיו טור לייעוץ בחיי אישות ומשפחה?
גלגל חוזר הוא בעולם - הפסיכולוגיא, הייעוץ המקצועי והעבודה הסוציאלית מפתחים את הרגישות לבעיות. לעשותנו "מפונקים" לאותו דבר. מה ששוב מגדיל את הזיקה לפסיכולוגיא. לייעוץ ולשירות, וחוזר חלילה.
עלתה דעה בין החוקרים הסוציאליים כי גברה ועצמה בימינו "שכבת הבוגרים" המתרכזת על דרישות עצמיות תוך צמאון לחידוש ותמורה. שורש פורה בעיות נפש ומשברים. אמנם רבה בזה השפעת פיזור הנפש של החיים המודרניים אבל האם אין בזה חלק גם להשפעת הפינוק של הממסדים האמורים?
ובזה עלינו לעמוד על המשמר ולהיות רואים את הנולד!
הנה נוסף על הגורם החברתי של ימינו נוסף גם הגורם של המשטר הממשלתי המודרני ההולך ומתערב ונעשה פעיל ביותר בממסדים החברתיים, פילנטרופיים, וחינוכיים, וממילא גם מרבה לפתח את ממסדי הייעוץ המקצועי והשירות של העבודה הסוציאלית, תומך בהם כספית, ומקרב ומושך את הלבבות להנאתן.
בתהליך זה לא ימלט כי בהמשך הזמן ימסר לממסדי הפסיכולוגיא, הייעוץ המקצועי והשירות של העבודה הסוציאלית גם כח רשמי של כפי'!
כבר הגיע לידי זה שמדברים על תנועה להנהיג חוק על ידו יהא על זוג העומד להנשא להציג לא דק אישור על בריאות הגוף אלא גם על מצבו הפסיכי!
דברים אך למותר לבאר מה המה ה"סיכויים" הצפונים בזה להשפעתם של הפסיכולוגיא השימושית, הייעוץ והשירות הסוציאלית, ומה משמעותה השלילית של השפעה זו ליהדות!
האם מתבוננים אנו בזה? האם אנו עושים מה בזה בעוד מועד?
האם רואים אנו את הנולד?

Friday, May 9, 2014

Chanufa - why flattering the rich is not only permitted but required

 Pele Yoetz (Chanufa): The great evil of chanifa (flattery) is explicitly expressed in the Talmud and medrashim. A pure man – Rav Chaim Vital – has collected the relevant material in his holy sefer Sha’arei Kedusha. A G-d fearing man who studies his sefer will strongly oppose chanifa and this will be firmly implanted in his mind. Nevertheless it is necessary to clarify precisely what chanifa is. That is because there are types of flattery which are not prohibited as chanifa but those who lack proper halachic understanding insist that they are prohibited. For example they mistakenly consider a person who honors a wealthy man as being a flatterer while someone who protests against and ridicules the rich takes pride in his disparagement and claims that he does not know how to flatter. However he greatly errs in what he says because it is in fact proper and fitting to show respect to the wealthy – as we see that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Rabbi Akiva honored the rich (Eiruvin 86a). The reason is that because G-d desires that this man be valued and He therefore has bestowed upon him an abundance of blessings from Above – we are also obligated to honor him. This is especially true for any person who has been the beneficiary of the rich person that he is clearly obligated to honor him. Furthermore the rich person since he has more possessions he is more likely to increase the amount of mitzvos and good deed that he does – compared to the less wealthy and this in turn reverses the spiritual damage done by his sins. Therefore it is appropriate to show him some respect - even if he has done something inappropriate and has deviated slightly from the correct path - and consequently he shouldn't demean the rich man as much as a poor man. We learn this from Pesachim (53a) where the Sages say, "If it were not that you are Todus we would excommunicate you." It is explained that they moderated their criticism because he provide food for Torah scholars.

In fact the prohibition of chanifa (flattery) applies only in two situations – the first is difficult while the second is even more so. The first situation is when someone who looks friendly and acts in a very loving manner – and yet his mouth and his heart are not the same. With his mouth he speaks words of peace while inside himself he is plotting to trap the other person. And even if he in fact is not the enemy and has no interest in harming the other in anyway - nonetheless every instance in which he appears to have greater love and greater respect for the other person then he actually feels – he has transgressed the sin of chanifa.

Nevertheless there is an exception to the first type chanifa of prohibiting acting and speaking differently then you feel. Our Sages have permitted this type of hypocrisy in dealing with one's spouse in order to have shalom bayis, one's teacher in order to learn Torah, and even with evil men in order to have peace and minimize disputes (darchei shalom).

However the second type of chanifa is evil and bitter and involves saying to an evil person that he is good and not chastising him or protesting against his evil act - even when he is capable of doing so. Not only will he be held accountable for the sinful transgression of the evil person – as if he had done it himself - but in addition he will be surely be punished for the major sin of chanifa. A pure person who fears G d should not show favoritism to the poor nor the wealthy or powerful nor should he act out of concern that he will lose honor or benefit. His sole concern should be to trust in G d that He will not withhold good from those who conduct themselves with pure faith. In fact all those who increase the honor of Heaven will find that their own honor increases and he will not lack what he needs. In fact he should roar like a lion and raise his voice like a shofar to protest against those sinners who might listen to him...

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Lakewood rabbi admits to plot to kidnap Orthodox Jewish man to force religious divorce

Asbury Park Press    David Wax, the rabbi accused of plotting to kidnap an Orthodox Jewish man to force him to give his wife a religious divorce, and whose case led to similar charges against other rabbis, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday, officials said.

David Wax, 51, of Lakewood pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping in a case that dates back to 2010, authorities said. David and his wife, Judy Wax, were arrested and charged with paying to have an Israeli national — Yisrael Meir Briskman — kidnapped and beaten in order to force him to give his estranged wife a religious divorce.

During his plea Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, David Wax implicated Mendel Epstein, a Brooklyn rabbi who has a home in Lakewood, along with several other men who were charged last fall in a similar conspiracy.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the charges against Judy Wax still are pending. [...]

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

For Orthodox Parents, Time To Talk Sex by Rabbi Mendel Horowitz

Forward   Recent articles in the Forward have raised the issue of Orthodox Judaism’s so-called repression of sexuality. Although I thought the articles were not particularly respectful of Orthodoxy’s moral codes, they do indeed raise a point. Arguably bad mannered, they are undoubtedly on to something.

This past summer, an article in The New York Times, presumably overlooked by many Orthodox Jews, examined the propriety of allowing teenage children to be sexually active at home. The author, who admits to being childless, suggests that the ideal attitude of parents be a “well-mixed cocktail of caution and tolerance.”

Continuing the conversation, the online magazine Slate lent support for a suggestive approach by reporting how Dutch parents enjoy more open dialogue with their children about sex than American parents do, all while “demonstrating acceptance and respect for their kids’ relationships.” Such parental candor is proposed as grounds for the low rates of teenage pregnancy in the Netherlands.

The discussion is not irrelevant to Orthodox Jews. While they will probably not consider in-house licentiousness — and I am not suggesting they should — having more open dialogue with children about their personal lives may help to promote more fruitful relationships. When it comes to sex, acceptance and respect are said to correlate with safer, healthier lifestyles.

Showing young people that we trust them to act responsibly seems to increase the likelihood of their responsible behavior. Allowing sex at home need not be a green light for promiscuity but can be a red light for undeclared, unpredictable, unsafe activity. Permission sometimes helps to prevent.

For Orthodox Jews for whom premarital sex (and even masturbation) is forbidden, the mere mention of sexuality is almost equally taboo. While some secular counterparts, too, may be prudish, devout parents’ inhibitions are complicated by immovable religious mores. With procreation a positive religious act, explicit regulations govern its procedure. The line between inappropriate words and less appropriate deeds is thin. Seeing themselves as Jews first and parents second, some Orthodox fathers and mothers propagate ignorance and insecurity by avoiding the conversation entirely. With no consent for action, many Orthodox teenagers have no vocabulary even for talking about sex. [...]

Monday, May 5, 2014

Nicholas Winton: Saved 669 Jewish children from the Nazis

Wikipedia   Winton was born in Hampstead, London, the son of German Jewish parents who had moved to London in 1907.[5] Their family name was Wertheim, but they subsequently changed it to Winton in an effort at integration.[6] The family eventually converted to Christianity, and Winton was baptised.[7]

Just before Christmas 1938, Winton was about to travel to Switzerland for a skiing holiday, when he decided instead to travel to Prague to help his friend Martin Blake, who was involved in Jewish refugee work,[5] and had called him asking for his help.[9] There he single-handedly established an organization to aid children from Jewish families at risk from the Nazis. He set up an office at a dining room table in his hotel in Wenceslas Square.[10] In November 1938, shortly after Kristallnacht, the House of Commons approved a measure that would permit the entry of refugees younger than 17 years old into Britain, if they had a place to stay and a warranty of £50 was deposited for a ticket for their eventual return to their country of origin.[11][...]

Winton kept quiet about his humanitarian exploits for many years, until his wife Grete found a detailed scrapbook in their attic in 1988.[20] It contained lists of the children, including their parents' names, and the names and addresses of the families that took them in. By sending letters to these addresses, 80 of "Winton's children" were found in Britain.[20] The world found out about his work in 1988 during an episode of the BBC television programme That's Life! [21] when he was invited as a member of the audience. At one point Winton's scrapbook was shown, and his achievements explained. The host of the programme, Esther Rantzen, asked whether any in the audience owed their lives to Winton, and, if so, to stand – more than two dozen people surrounding Winton rose and applauded.[22] 



Sunday, May 4, 2014

Schlesinger Twins: Paul Kendall of The Telegraph describes the injustice to Beth and her sons

The Telegraph ....Thanks to an Austrian family court judge, who has awarded full custody of the children to Mrs Schlesinger’s estranged husband, the petite Cambridge graduate has not put her boys to bed at night-time for almost three years. And yet her former partner, Michael, was deemed so violent and unpredictable at the time of their separation that social workers recommended not only that Mrs Schlesinger be granted sole custody, but also that, on the occasions the father had access to the twins, he never be left alone with them.

The alteration to that original decision has been described by one British MP as “one of the worst miscarriages of justice” he has experienced in nearly 25 years as a politician, and by another as a “blight on the Austrian judicial system”. It has raised serious questions about the impartiality of the judge on the case and hints at a sinister conspiracy that spans both the Austrian Landesgericht (Court of Appeal) and the social services.

More worrying still, it appears that the twins’ development is suffering in their father’s care. Only recently out of nappies, the boys, Samuel and Benjamin, are still unable to talk, three weeks shy of their fifth birthdays.

“It’s like a living grief,” says Mrs Schlesinger, sitting on the edge of a couch in her front room, opposite shelves stacked with puzzles, soft toys and sticker books. “I’m mourning my children, but it’s kind of a perverse mourning because they’re still alive. I know they’re alive and I’m so close to them – I’m just down the road – and yet I can’t see them or play any meaningful role in their lives.”[...]

In normal circumstances, Mr Schlesinger’s abuse of his doctor’s credentials and attempt to have his wife committed under false pretences – thus separating her from her children – would have excluded all possibility of him ever gaining custody. And, in fact, the case judge, Susanne Göttlicher, rejected an application by Mr Schlesinger for custody in April 2011.

But, just three months later, Judge Göttlicher reversed her decision and placed the children into his full-time care.[...]
The decision is regarded as so inexplicable, in fact, that Mr Stringer and others suspect the judge has been unduly influenced. It is a matter of record that, very soon after Mr Schlesinger was evicted from the flat, he sought the help of a judge from the Court of Appeal, Konstanze Thau, who is a friend of the family. Judge Göttlicher has admitted that she has discussed the case with Judge Thau.

“At the very minimum, there appears to have been irregular and unprofessional behaviour,” says Mr Stringer.

Ivan Lewis, MP for Bury South, the neighbouring constituency to Mr Stringer, who has taken a close interest in the case, goes further.

“There is no doubt that there has been inappropriate intervention in this case by another judge who is a personal friend of the father,” he says. “It’s following that intervention that the judge on the case started making decisions that were incredibly supportive of the father.[...]

Friday, May 2, 2014

Brooklyn District Attorney. - Is selling out to Satmar part of the job?

Verdict Justia by Prof. Marci Hamilton Here we are at the end of Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and let’s just say that the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community as a whole is not going to receive any justice awards soon, though two brave individuals should.

First, there is the specter in Brooklyn of a sweetheart plea deal for the criminal who threw bleach on the face of the bravest advocate of sex abuse survivors in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Second, at the end of last month, there was a veritable celebration in honor of the prison release of the criminal who tried to bribe a young woman and her boyfriend with $500,000 to drop charges against ultra-Orthodox molester Rabbi Nechemya Weberman.

The Sweetheart Plea Deal for a Vicious Assault

Former Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes repeatedly let down the victims of child sex abuse in the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. He actually lost his job because of it. The man who replaced him, Ken Thompson, ran on a platform of protecting the children who were abandoned by the Hynes administration. He started off strong by dropping the charges against Sam Kellner, who was unfairly charged with extortion when in fact he was trying to obtain justice for his son, who was sexually abused. He made many points then. Earlier this week, he backtracked.

The fight to protect victims of abuse in religious communities is difficult and daunting, and those inside the community can pay the steepest price. One of those men in the ultra-Orthodox universe is Rabbi Nuchum Rosenberg, who has persistently ministered to the abused in his community, forced the issue into the public square through a call-in show and blog, and proudly stood in support of legislative reform in Albany for them. His dogged persistence has created a wedge in the community for justice, and survivors sorely in need of support have started to speak up.

Tempers were running high December of 2012 following the trial and guilty verdict of sick molester and esteemed counselor Rabbi Nechemya Weberman.

Rosenberg had been a victim of violence before, but the day after the Weberman verdict, Meilech Schnitzler approached Rosenberg and threw bleach in his face. But for the quick action of a person who threw a cup of water on Rosenberg’s face, he might be blind today.

In a move that has sent chills through the ultra-Orthodox survivor community, Thompson cut a deal with Schnitzler that will hardly deter future violence against the survivors’ advocates. Instead of serving the years in prison the crime should have earned, Schnitzler confessed to throwing the bleach on Rosenberg and received nothing but unsupervised probation. To quote Rosenberg, “Probation in our circles is a joke.” [...]

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Schlesinger Twins: Is Dr. Schlesinger a psychiatrist? The errors (lies) of his supporters

The discussion concerning the Schlesinger twins has settled into a routine. I will post documents or material from court documents - and Dr. Schlesinger's supporters will respond either by making clearly false attacks on Beth or myself or they will present information which turns out to be inaccurate or false. One example from this week.

 On April 29 8:52 p.m. franzklammer one of Dr. Schlesinger supporters left a comment to the post "Schlesinger Twins: Does Michael's tragic family history...":
Indeed he [Dr. Schlesinger] is a psychaitrist now and opened a doctors office together with a colleague in the 4.th district. He has lots of patients which is easy here in vienna. Everyone has problems
 ==================
I received the following information about Dr Schlesinger's status as a psychiatrist in the 4th district. [If franzklammer has proof that he is in fact a psychiatrist - I will be glad to post it.]
Dr. Schlesinger is employed by the Otto Wagner Spital ("Steinhof"), the same as Dr. Földes, only Dr. Földes is responsible for liason with the Wilhelminensital down the road, where Dr. Schlesinger did at least part of his internship.

The General Medical Council does not have a record of his having a practice at all but they suggest that he might occasionally do a locum in a practice. His listed phone number is apparently where he can be reached at the hospital. The Otto Wagner Spital has only 3 depts: psychiatry, orthopaedics and pulmonology.

Psychiatrist are listed on this sitehttp://www.praxisplan.at  (HE'S NOT LISTED HERE!)

List of psychiatrists in Vienna's 4th district

Dr. Oswin Wagner

Verhovnik Ulrike Dr

Aust Irene Dr

Butterfield-Meissl Christine Prim DDr

Gross Rainer Dr

Hein-Walcher Renate Dr

Kaiser Gerda Mag Dr

Kösten Michael OA Dr

Leitner Adelheid Dr

Meissl Christine DDr

Reisz Gerhard Dr

Schindler Shird-Dieter Prim Dr

Wörgötter Gabriele DDr

Ziegler Heidrun Dr

Leopold-Messer Günter Dr

Allan Katz: Collaborative talking and learning

 Allan Katz wrote:  Here is a short blog I did for a parenting site

I am sure most of you are familiar with these words of desperation. I agree that talking does not help, but because the wrong people are doing the talking and listening. Kids should be doing the talking and reflecting and we the listening, guiding and challenging them with our questions.

 The CPS - Collaborative Problem Solving approach   process promotes relationship and many cognitive skills. But what happens if you try to gather information about his concerns and perspectives and the kid answers – I don't know. Here we need 'Drilling down techniques' to help us get a clear understanding of the kid's concerns. And what happens if the kid tells you to shut up or he does not want to talk about it, and then the CPS process would begin with ' I have noticed that when I want to talk to you about 'homework' you are not keen to talk to me about it- what's up? And if the kid still does not want to talk, we can focus on non-emotive general chatting. Here we can build trust and connection and also introduce the CPS language of concerns, perspective taking, mutually satisfactory solutions, family and individual goals. Kids don't talk because it may be a trust issue, they see the process as another way of parents imposing their will or find it difficult to articulate or even define their concerns.

Some parents complained to Barbara Coloroso that their son used to listen to them, but know he is involved in a bad crowd and he now listens to them. She answered – nothing has changed – he used to listen to you, now he is listens to them. When kids do the talking and reflecting they develop their own values. So let's listen to them so that they will talk to us.
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the ILC interdisciplinary learning collaborative shares what is happening in some progressive school , rather different than teaching focused on improving test scores



Suspected contamination of drinking water in southern, eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem

Jerusalem Post     Residents of several neighborhoods in the southern and eastern part of Jerusalem must boil their drinking and cooking water for two minutes before use until further notice, the Health Ministry said at noon on Wednesday.

The reason is “a suspicion of contamination” of water supplies in Baka, Abu Tor, Talpiot, Tsur Baher, Silwan, Ras el-Amud, the Old City, Mamilla and Morasha (Musrara), the ministry said.

Do not use tap water for drinking, brushing teeth or “dealing with food” without first boiling the water for two minutes, the ministry said. The Gihon water consortium and the ministry are conducting checks to ensure the safety of the water, it added.

For more information, call the Gihon information number *2070.