Standing in Two Worlds with Doctor Sam Juni-Episode 47-Beneficial Diminution-Vacation from work and relationships

Yeshiva of Newark Podcast

Rabbi Kivelevitz begins by outlining cultural differences between the United States, Europe, and Israel regarding vacation policies for workers, maternity leave, and the afternoon siesta. The question is whether vacations and breaks are good for people and for the jobs they perform. Doctor Juni sees this question as dependent on how we see the role of work. He presents the prevalent tenets of Vocational Psychology, as formulated by Donald Super, which posits that work is an intrinsic aspect of human existence and self-esteem. This view is seen as consistent with descriptions in various cultures and settings, we are useless work is considered torturous. However, Juni summarized empirical studies indicating that although the physical health of workers is enhanced by vacations, positive psychological effects are fleeting in nature. Thus, if work is intrinsic to human functioning, then a break might be considered as negative, while a break is definitely positive if work is considered merely as a burden or a necessary evil – since it allows folks to engage on more important and “real” life experiences.

Kivelevitz expands the discussion from work to relationships, where he poses the question whether breaks from relationships might be helpful to the relationships. Juni points out that even within couples who get along well, there is usually no more than 20% compatibility across various interests and commitments. Indeed, it is the very differences between partners that enrich the enjoyment of marital relationship. It is a fact that there is more to any person than spousal joint life. Having an “island” where one can relate to issues that are not shared with a partner may thus provide a safety valve while enabling the experience of a fuller spectrum of life.

The discussants veer into the scandalous suggestions by some modern pundits who champion extra-marital relationships as a means of strengthening marriages. Juni opines that while such affairs may result in increased longevity of marriages (since there are built-in options for straying and fulfilling fantasied alternatives), the quality of the marital relationship definitely deteriorates as a result, especially in view of inevitable feelings of betrayal and profound guilt. Kivelevitz points out that a number of psychologists see much of the finer aspects human endeavors as being due to the very containment of maladaptive fantasies or “acting out” – motivations which are then sublimated toward goals which enrich individuals as well as general society.

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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