Standing in Two Worlds with Doctor Sam Juni-Episode 45- Rosh HaShana Mindset-No excuses on Judgement Day-Why we continue to act in ways that we know will have negative repercussions

Yeshiva of Newark Podcast

This episode begins with Doctor Juni outlining his work with
psychiatric criminal populations and his efforts exploring their personal perspective about their
behavior.

By in large ,most of these people realized that they were acting in a harmful
manner that would yield negative consequences. Juni relates this to actions and decisions of world leaders,
including the last two US presidents.

To properly grasp why this phenomena persists ,Dr. Juni
points to two ingrained dynamics which originate in early child development
during a period where the child has little understanding of reality testing.
The first is a tendency to feel omnipotent and being convinced that one is
unable to do wrong. The second, in contrast, is a mode of self-flagellation
which entails a conviction that one is “bad”– –a perspective which engenders a
self a sense of futility and helplessness. Juni stresses that the latter is
always accompanied by a conviction that one “deserves” punishment, and that
this holds true even in adults who are overtly atheist or do not subscribe to
any particular system of right and wrong. The doctor stresses that it is
important here to understand that the ego administers a number of ambivalent
motives which are contradictory to each other

Taking a more behavioral stance, Rabbi Kivelevitz suggests
that people may be motivated by the “comfortable old shoe“ phenomenon where
they revert to behavior they are used to simply because they are familiar with
it -- even if they know it is harmful.

When pushed to formulate a strategy of what someone can do
to counter such nonfunctional behavior patterns. Juni suggests that by simply
understanding that one has a number of beneficial and harmful contradictory dynamics
which exist side-by-side -- – – that alone can give some people some mastery
over unacceptable impulses.

Kivelevitz presents a prospective espoused by my Maimonides
which is consistent with Aristotelian philosophy, Franz Rosenzweig’s approach
to personality, and the teachings of Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler. The approach
entails being aware of harmful instincts and coming up with strategies to
oppose them consciously.

Dr. Juni ventures to present his own personal perspective
(not at all related to his professional perspective) that there is a specific
moral component (as posited by Kohlberg) which may well include inborn
tendencies towards good and evil ,possibly along the lines of Yetzer Tov and
Yetzer Harah (good and evil inclinations). Juni stresses that despite his
absolute conviction about the truth of traditional Psychoanalytic Gospel of
unconscious repressed formative dynamics as the major determinants of adult
behavior, one need not rule out inborn moral components. Expanding on this idea
in light of the approaching high holidays, Kivelevitz elaborates the
understanding of the transcendental aspect of the soul which, according to
Jewish tradition, is accessible by human beings who seek to better themselves.

Doctor Samuel Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations. Samuel Juni studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick. Professor Juni is a prominent member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psycho-dynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations. Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors. Below is a partial list of the journals to which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles. Many are available on line Journal of Forensic Psychology Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma. International Review of Victimology The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease International Forum of Psychoanalysis Journal of Personality Assessment Journal of Abnormal Psychology Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology Psychophysiology Psychology and Human Development Journal of Sex Research Journal of Psychology and Judaism Contemporary Family Therapy American Journal on Addictions Journal of Criminal Psychology Mental Health, Religion & Culture As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim. Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America. Please leave us a review or email us at [e-mail]

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