יום ראשון, כ״ו אב תשפ״וSunday, August 9, 2026
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, DHL maintains a practice in Brooklyn, Queens and Boca Raton, specializing in High Conflict Couples and Families. He writes a daily blog which focuses on Psychological Insights from the Daf Yomi with over 1.5 million lifetime hits, nefesh.org/blogs/SimchaFeuerman. He can be contacted at simchafeuerman@gmail.com.
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When one realizes he is sinning, there is a psychological urge to either rationalize the behavior, or deny obligation or connection to G-d.
Throughout history, cultures employed various forms of trial by ordeal in the hopes that either the person subjected to the test would be saved because of their stronger conviction of their innocence, or their guilt would lead to self-sabotage, or their innocence or guilt would be divinely orchestrated at that moment of intense danger or truth.
Before you call me an apikores, no proof is good if it isn’t subject to honest evaluation and criticism.
Many aspects of human nature have changed, and one cannot take pedagogical advice from the Gemara alone, any more than one can decide halacha from the Gemara alone.
Whether a person has self-esteem or is instead narcissistic will impact on his or her ability to embody intellectual humility.
This is the question that Turnus Rufus the wicked asked Rabbi Akiva: If your G-d loves the poor, for what reason does He not support them Himself?
As to why the Sages considered sin with the mouth as a precursor to sexual immorality, on a simple level we may say that lack of boundaries and respect will lead to also breaking barriers of dignity and body integrity.
On practical level, we must ask ourselves: Aren’t there halachot that are more serious than others? No legal or moral system can operate by treating everything with equal priority (see Tosafos Yom Tov on Avos 2:1).
G-d had grand plans for the world. There would be nothing wasted. Even the wood itself would be a part of the fruit. That’s potentially true, but in reality there will be losses. Not every part of the process will yield fruit.
It is interesting that the Gemara does not seem to have an issue with the borrower’s somewhat deceitful motives. This would seem to be a violation of geneivas da’as, misleading a person in order to achieve an inappropriate gain.
I lived (as a stranger) with Lavan…and I acquired oxen and donkeys. Rashi there elaborates that Yaakov was trying to placate Esav by telling him that the blessings of the first born were not fulfilled, so he need not be angry with him for having stolen them.
In plain English, there are people who are more comfortable with risk, and others with security. To succeed in most goals, ranging broadly from parenting to investing, there needs to be a balance of risk-taking and caution.
The seasons and cycles of the Torah force us to constantly face the passing of time.
There are specific prohibitions and damnations that befall one who mistreats an orphan. The verse (Shemos 22:21-23) states: You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans.
A person’s possession is not merely a thing, it is a means by which the world and he interact. Our possessions have an impact on us.
Presumably, the Yerushalmi calls the mice wicked because instead of merely eating what they need to survive, they also invite their friends over to party.
Halacha is not “fact.” It is not one decision, but is determined by the Rabbi or Sanhedrin with human intellect to understand how to apply the will of G-d, as expressed by that mitzvah or halacha in a particular circumstance and time.
There is some fascinating research that seems to show that there is a social function for sarcasm, which actually can aid learning and creativity, notwithstanding the more frequent toxic effects of hostility and passive aggressiveness.
How many times do we stick to our guns because we are too proud to admit we are wrong, doubling down and doubling the damage?
Some may feel that doing loving things is enough, even if not verbally expressed. While it is a generosity of sorts, it can be maddening to the receiver who wants to feel more acknowledgement.
If a deaf-mute and a fully rational person attempt to jointly acquire an object, neither ends up owning it. The deaf-mute cannot function as an agent for the rational person, so the rational person has no partner in acquisition.
Rabbi Yochanan was sitting upon seven cushions. When he could not answer Rav Kahana’s questions, he removed a cushion from under himself to demonstrate that he was lowering himself out of respect.
For example, if you would normally buy an esrog for $100 and one year there are no esrogim available, if you were to give that $100 to charity, it would count as if you performed mitzvah of taking the esrog!
What is the meaning of Man being made in G-d’s image? G-d has no body or form: You saw no form at Mount Sinai, only a voice (Devarim 4:12).
Love seems to be the ideal, but only on paper, as human nature also must operate from a degree of fear.
I would say that animals are perceptive enough to pick up on their master’s sense of distress and may well realize that some doom awaits them.
Should a child with moderate to severe depression be treated inpatient? Should a child with moderate learning disabilities stay in a mainstream school, or in a more supportive environment?
The Shalah says the world’s water was never fully connected at creation, because in potential they would ultimately be separated, while Maharal says they had a natural draw to be connected to each other.
Rabbi Akiva said: For what reason did the Torah say that a thief who slaughtered or sold a stolen animal pays the fourfold or fivefold payment? It is because he has become entrenched in sin by slaughtering or selling the animal he stole.
Regardless of the rationale for how the covenant would be originally binding, the Gemara relates that the Jews fully accepted the Torah after the miracle of Purim.
Often when a relationship heads into a downward spiral, each will feel the other somehow started, and they are only reacting. While this might be technically true, it also could be that the other may have unwittingly caused hurt or distance first.
The Hebrew word chamor stems from the root, chomer, which means material matter. The Egyptian is a slave to his desires and thus servitude and chomer are metaphysically equivalent.
The original psychology that began with Freud’s work came from a western medical model, focusing on the symptoms, disorder and pathology.
One excellent way to combat cognitive bias in relationship communication is to constantly work on not jumping to conclusions. No matter what we think we hear, or what we believe we know, we should be careful to ask for clarification before reacting.
One might wonder, why is it all worth it? Why work to attain a higher intellectual or spiritual level if it incurs greater liability.
Carl Jung once remarked that our ability to influence others correlates with their perception of our openness to being influenced by them.
August 7, 2026 
