ASHER YATZAR: A BLESSING FOR EVERY BODY
The Zohar teaches that we are obligated to praise Hashem for the miracles and kindnesses He shows us. Yet we often reserve the word miracle for splitting seas and dramatic rescues, while [...]
BREATHWORK WITH DISCERNMENT A TORAH-INFORMED SERIES FOR WOMEN
Many of you know that I teach self-regulation tools such as meditation, breathwork, guided relaxation, imagery, and somatic practices. These methods can help the nervous system settle, organize, [...]
HELD INTO STILLNESS: OXYTOCIN, ATTACHMENT, AND A BABY WHO HELPED ME SLOW DOWN
Research tells us that babies regulate through relationship. Through gaze, touch, rhythm, tone, and steady presence, a caregiver’s nervous system helps shape the baby’s sense of safety. [...]
THE SCENT OF MEMORY: AROMA, PRESENCE, AND THE SMALL RITUALS THAT ANCHOR A DAY
Scent does not merely remind us of the past. Sometimes, for a few seconds, it reinstalls us there…There are doorways that do not look like doorways. A song can be one. A recipe can be one. A [...]
IF IT’S HOT, IT’S OLD! – The Present May Light The Match; The Past Built The Pyre
Why is it that a stranger can bump into us on the sidewalk and we exchange polite apologies, yet a spouse brushing past us in the kitchen can evoke a response wildly disproportionate to the moment?
Learning To Stay – Object Relations, Safety, And Slowing Down
This semester, I’m teaching courses in psychodynamic psychotherapy and social work ethics—subjects centered on safety, boundaries, and relational presence.
Thirty Seconds in the Cold: Hormesis, Resilience, and the Design of Growth
This morning, I lasted just thirty seconds in my cold contrast shower. If you know Buffalo, you know the cold here isn’t subtle. By January, it’s not novel, it’s elemental. The water doesn’t [...]
LETTING GO TO LET IT GROW: Torah, Neuroscience, and the Quiet Power of Not Cornering the Soul
This semester, I’ve been teaching Advanced Clinical Practice at Touro University. The course begins in an unusual way: the entire first quarter, what I call the “quadrester,” focuses not on [...]
PAS B’SALO: OVERFLOW THE CUP BEFORE IT’S EMPTY
Pas b’salo appears in the Talmud (Yoma 18a), which teaches that a person who has bread within reach is fundamentally more at ease than one without. This isn't just about food. It’s about mindset, [...]
Nature, Nurture & NOW: How Epigenetics is Rewriting Mental Health
When it comes to mental health and healing, we’re entering a new era—one where science affirms the soul’s wisdom: small, consistent behaviors can change not just our mindset, but our biology. [...]
