Torah Center for Spiritual Guidance

 

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A positive creative approach...

focusing on the higher human needs:

Jewish psychology is a perception of man as the point of creative intersection: Man is the force that shapes the encounter between heaven and earth.
What sort of being is man?  Is it a spiritual, a material, or a social being? Is each one of them alone a separate collection of individualistic needs? What is the proper place we can assign to the vectors mentioned above, when they are all packaged together into one creature? Every individual has to answer this question, for after all, that individual all alone is expected to conduct the entire orchestra.  He alone is expected to place his own personal stamp on it.  He alone bears the responsibility for shaping a new, independent and unprecedented existence. 

“Woman’s Place?” All of the vectors mentioned above, plus. Independent and unprecedented, her qualitative being does not need to resemble the man. This perception of the sexes as complementary is a bit of a departure from the beliefs that have recently prevailed in modern culture, in which the sexes were perceived as competitors. 
It is not a simple topic. Our research into the workings of the human creature, here at Sadnat Enosh, has become a world leader in its field.  Time and resources are poured into the search for real answers. Monitoring the influences of culture, religion and domestic life on human behavior, The Human Workshop is pioneering new and unexplored territory.

Some of the areas where we apply the Sadnat Enosh approach:

- The stress zones of spouse rivalry.
- The bloody zones of religious rivalry.

An understanding of the processes at work is critical. For example: East and West. Islam and Western culture. Most important, Islam and the State of Israel. Or - a warring couple...
At Sadnat Enosh we offer substantive solutions. The “why-don’t-we-compromise” approach is distasteful to us, simply because failure is a foregone conclusion.

 

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JEWISH PSYCHOLOGY

 

 

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OUR APPROACH TO JEWISH PSYCHOLOGY:

 

1.     Originality/creativity is found in everyone created in G-d’s image.  This premise is the basis for our entire methodology.

2.     Humanness - human intelligence - (not emotional intelligence) is the secret behind every manifestation of quality. (See “Glossary: Terminologies and Definitions” for further discussion of these terms.)
 

3.     Qualitative Intelligence: 

We investigate the nature and cause of such phenomena as: Intuition, originality, creativity, sensitivity, and the capacity to comprehend and identify with the other. These are our key concepts at Sadnat Enosh.

4.  We acknowledge the theoretical influences of Jean Piaget, founder of developmental psychology:

Sadnat Enosh director, Rav Chaim Lifshitz, studied under Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva for six years.  Piaget has influenced our orientation toward structuralism: This means aspiring to achieve balance between two opposing vectors.

 

The principle of finding balance between opposing vectors is dominant in Judaism and pervades the Jewish view of man and universe.  However, there is one significant difference.  Piaget follows Western perception, and seeks balance between the two opposing sides. Judaism proposes a third side, a three-dimensional structure.  The third dimension is height (spirituality) and it is the dominant dimension.  It determines the direction, the organizational patterns and the goals of the other vectors.  Organization/prioritization is critical in Jewish perception.  This is a guiding principle of Jewish psychology; prioritization is even more important than balance.

 

But these are theoretical formulations. We do not suffice with these. Gathering them all into a comprehensive methodology, Rav Lifshitz has developed a unique system of diagnostic and counseling techniques.

 

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JEWISH PHILOSOPHY 

The great questions of Jewish philosophy are examined from a human-existential point of view. Our point of departure is essentially human: We are serving old wine in new vessels by expressing the ancient Talmudic teachings in modern terminology.

 

Our focus is upon G-d’s servant: His service, his avodas Hashem, his avodas hamidos, his effort of self-refinement - and the problems he encounters: Destiny’s problem coping with existence, and spirit’s problem coping with physical matter. These existential difficulties we attempt to center around a value-oriented base, within the context of spirituality.

We examine Judaism as it differs from the religions of east and west.

Some research issues at Sadnat Enosh:

-The influence of belief upon believers: The influence of  believers upon belief. Fundamental inquiries for supplying basic data, these can shed light on the movements of political currents and the dynamics of power, as they have affected the course of history for better and for worse.

-An investigation into creativity:

Schools of artistic thought, currents of intellectual theory. All of these approaches are examined for their effect on human beings: Their effect on faith, on personal convictions, on human behavior in general. This approach is a departure from conventional philosophical research, which normally attempts to investigate a field of knowledge by focusing on the field itself, rather than on the human being who must cross this field, i.e., from the human perspective.

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About Us

The Gifted:

1.     Guidance and counseling center for gifted youth and adults:  The gifted are a population that encounters difficulty when expected to adjust to a social framework. Whether the framework is personal, academic or professional, the adjustment process may not go smoothly for the exceptionally talented individual.

Jewish Education:

2.     Teacher training and educational guidance for educators and educational institutions. Pedagogical and didactic technique development.  Group lectures and individual guidance for educators.

Jewish Philosophy:

3.     Developing an existential world view based on a human/spiritual paradigm:  This is particularly appropriate for the intellectual seeker.  There is a severe shortage of appropriate frameworks for the pure intellectual, for which reason only the tiniest minority of Jewish intellectuals find their way back home to Judaism.

Jewish Family:

4.     Jewish family counseling and guidance center. This division deals with marriage counseling: Pre-marital compatibility counseling, and conflict counseling.

 

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PROJECTS

-Jewish Home Center: An establishment that will gather experts from all walks of Jewish life, to address the issues of parent-child relationships, marital success, and counseling for gifted children who cannot adjust to the school environment.
 
-Creative educational frameworks for the gifted: Programs for adolescents and young adults.
 
Pairing
Developing the Science of Human Relationships:
 

-Couple compatibility computer project based on individual qualitative needs. Individualized software programs to discover the distinctly different compatibility application of each couple.

 

Applied Compatibility Theory.  Personalized compatibility formula; no two are alike. Compatibility assessment based on personal needs as a source of mutual expectations.  Pre- and marital counseling.  Conflict diagnosis.

Publications and Works in Process

 
The Paradox of Human Existence  (Now in new translation as Existence and Destiny): A commentary on the Book of Yonah. This is an overview of the “little man’s" confrontation with G-d through the forces of nature. It explores man’s struggle with the inner self, and the idea of inner quality as a determiner of one’s role in the universe.  

 

Glossary:

Terminology and Definitions - A Methodology

...essential to an understanding of Jewish psychology as we attempt to define it....

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Waters of Wealth:  Family purity is explored as a factor basic to the quest for universal harmony.

Books in Process:

Couples:  Couples, compatibility theory and applied compatibility therapy.

Parashas HaShavua

 

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Ongoing Research:
 

Jewish Psychology: A comprehensive analysis of fundamental principles.
 
Principles of Compatibility Theory
(In process: A work on couples, compatibility theory and applied compatibility therapy.)
 
A Philosophy of Positive Existentialism. This philosophy proposes individual man as the central role player between God and the universe.
 
Education

-Varieties of intelligence types, and techniques for promoting their thinking processes.

-Creativity in education: Educating for originality; fostering a creativity that reflects the uniqueness of every child and adult. 

-Linking a personal, value-based goal to every student’s creative expression.
 
Applied Compatibility Theory:

Marital Success No Longer a Mystery.

The cat is out of the bag. A personalized compatibility formula that is different for every couple. Compatibility assessment based on personality needs as a source of mutual expectations.  Pre- and marital counseling.  Conflict diagnosis.
 
Weekly Torah Portion.

This is an ongoing process based on the yearly cycle of parashos hashavua. We develop thematic principles around the parsha, based on our specific methodology. Some topics are: spirit, values, the human being... Avodas Hashem takes on a tangible, dynamic quality as we follow the parasha, as does the concept of dialogue and partnership – indeed, beyond partnership, to reciprocal covenant – between oneself and one's G-d.

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CONTRIBUTE

Sadnat Enosh Institute employs a staff of twenty professionals and assistants.  Serving the human community for over thirty five years, Sadnat Enosh has helped nearly thirty thousand couples find harmony in marriage. 

These days we counsel the second generation, children of the couples who first benefited from the services of Sadnat Enosh.  This provides a rare – indeed almost unheard of in the profession – opportunity for long-term, intensive case study follow-up, both longitudinally and latitudinally, as well as an unprecedentedly rich data base for methodological self-criticism.

 

Sadnat Enosh services are appropriate mainly for intellectuals of high caliber.  This is a population that finds it difficult to adjust to the existing frameworks available in Jewish society, both in Israel and in the Diaspora.

 

Important:

Political, social and spiritual autonomy is zealously guarded at Sadnat Enosh Institute.  This hallowed principle, however, disqualifies us from most standard funding sources, which are usually reserved for standardized educational and counseling approaches.  Our chronic budgetary distress obstructs the Sadnat Enosh dream, and many projects are simply shelved, despite their critical necessity.

 

 

 

Contributions to Sadnat Enosh Institute are tax-deductible.

 

In Israel:

Tax-exempt number: 580130821.

In the United States:

Tax-exempt number: 5266470-13.

 

Account number: 7691, Bank HaPoalim, branch 784.

 

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