Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

September 25th, 2020

Is Life Really Empty? – Parshat Haazinu We've gone through the past seven months of COVID-19 at times asking ourselves the question of meaning. Some people have lost their livelihood, some have suffered from lingering aftereffects while others have lost family and friends. Is there meaning behind all this? Is it perhaps all meaningless suffering? Throughout the LogoParsha blog, we talk about logotherapy (literally: healing through meaning) …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

September 22nd, 2020

A Truly Happy Year – Rosh Hashanah  What a year it has been. Sadness, anger, rioting, mourning, politics, division, wildfires and more. Oh, yes….and Corona. To be fair, there have also been weddings, births, promotions and other good things that have happened this year. Rosh Hashanah is considered the yearly Day of Judgment and we pray that the judgment for the coming year will be favorable based on the good things that we and o …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

September 11th, 2020

Responsible or "Response-able" – Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech I love word games. "Dad jokes" are funny – okay, maybe not, but at least witty. "How do you call a bee that can’t easily make up its mind? A maybe."1 (is that a groan I hear?) I'm lucky, as well, to be interested in a school of human ontology/psychology/existentialism/motivation whose founder liked word play as well. We can even use it in this week's parsha. There may b …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

September 7th, 2020

Happy by Choice – Parshat Ki Tavo We all want to be happy. You know how I know? From all the ads for programs on how to be happy. And many of them are quite successful. Even the American Declaration of Independence, proclaims the right to pursue happiness as an inalienable right of all humanity. I know I want to be happy. In a negative sense, the Torah describes the importance of happiness. This week's parsha, seems to say that "The Rebuke" …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

August 26th, 2020

Faithful to Yourself – Parshat Shofetim   I love reviewing the parsha. I would like to believe that even if there were no requirement to read it every week, I would still do it, but I can't believe that I would. So, I am thankful that Chazal expects us to review the parsha weekly. It also gives me a chance to notice new ways of looking at the content, some of which have quite opened my eyes. A few years back, I wrote about this verse f …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

July 31st, 2020

Frustration – Parshat Vaetchanan We all want to feel good all the time. We also know that stuff happens and our sense of stability is threatened. We often try to ignore this knowledge and live our lives "as if". We make plans, we invest time, energy and money based on dreams of how we wish to see our future. There are business plans and personal development programs that encourage us to see a few years down the line and build our present l …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

July 24th, 2020

Untitled – Parshat Devarim Just a short idea and can't decide on a title. What I've come up with so far, just isn’t quite right. (if you get any ideas, please let me know) The judges, whose appointment is discussed in this week's parsha, are reminded that they should be good, honest and fair judges for, after all, the judgment belongs to God.1 Well, isn’t that kind of obvious? If these judges are dealing with Jewish law, do they …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

July 18th, 2020

42 – Parshat Matot-Masei No, this is not a blog on "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".1 Imagine - there are other times that the number 42 appears. For instance, the only uniform number that is permanently retired in Major League Baseball is the number 42, the number that Jackie Robinson wore. It is also the atomic number of the element Molybdenum. Even so, with a tip of the hat to all Douglas Adams fans, I would like to touch on t …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

July 10th, 2020

Dilemmas – Parshat Pinchas Sometimes I just hate dilemmas. They force me to choose between different options. And some of them aren’t so pleasant. You must have heard of the phrase 'between a rock and a hard place'. Some options are really unpleasant. And when you have two unpleasant options, then you're really going to suffer the choice. Rashi in this week's parsha, Parshat Pinchas alludes to this. Back when the sun and moon were cr …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

June 26th, 2020

Search for Simple Answers – Parshat Chukat Wouldn’t it be great if life had simple answers to even the most complex questions? It would be easier to bear the burdens of suffering and anguish. After all, if Despair is, according to Doctor Viktor Frankl, Suffering without Meaning (D=S-M), then if we could assign meaning to our suffering, we would be spared all that despair and anguish.1 We know that stuff happens. Our question is always …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

June 5th, 2020

Feeling Ignored – Parshat Behaalotecha We all want to feel part. Even as a kid, I remember when we were choosing teams, I always wanted to be chosen. I also remember what it was like NOT to be on the team – either team. My parents tried to make sure that my needs weren’t ignored either. But sometimes certain groups are chosen. And others are left behind. Or it could even be being passed over for a promotion at work. It can be a …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

May 28th, 2020

Mindfulness and Mindful – Parshat Naso* Mindfulness is one of the big buzz words nowadays. Learning to hear our own selves and our own voices, emotions and wishes is an important part of growth. But has this direction pushed out the concept of being mindful? Has being aware of one's self cancelled the ability to be mindful of others and their needs? How sensitive do we need to be to others in the face of our own needs? The reading of t …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

March 27th, 2020

Corona's Creative Calling – Parshat Vayikra OR Yes I'm Writing About Corona When we want to start a conversation with someone, we usually call them first to get their attention. We call their name, we ring their telephone, we send an email or any other of a now-myriad of methods to contact someone. When we get the person's attention, then we can start talking whether to deliver a message, get some information or simply to connect with someo …
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Author: Dr. Avraham (Allan) Friedman, Psy. D., LMSW

October 25th, 2019

Cain's Choice in the Here and Now– Parshat Bereishit Omni-temporal Man - Part III Choice. An empowering word. An intimidating word. It can mean choosing between chocolate and vanilla ice cream or whether or not to marry. It gives us the ability to feel control over our lives yet it can also paralyze us. Cain had a choice.1 In Parshat Bereishit, we read that he was unhappy with God's reaction to his sacrifice but what could he do. Furtherm …
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