Applied Jewish Values in Social Sciences and Psychology

Michael Ben-Avie, Ph.D. is a researcher with the Yale University Child Study Center and director of assessment at Southern Connecticut State University. He is a nationally-recognized expert on public education and co-editor of six books on educational change and youth development (with James. P. Comer, M.D., Associate Dean of the Yale School of Medicine and colleagues). In 2005, Dr Ben-Avie was accepted for inclusion in the U.S. Department of Education Registry of Evaluation Researchers. He conducted outcome evaluations of many federal and philanthropic grants on the learning and development of youth, emerging literacy and language development among preschool children, students and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders, the elderly and schools that serve low-income, minority students. He currently is on Connecticut’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Advisory Council’s subcommittee to improve and expand access to training, consultation and learning opportunities for providers, processionals, and families. Yossi Ives, Ph.D., is the Founder and Chairman of Tag International Development and Tag Institute for Social Development (www.tagdevelopment.org). He is the author of Goal-Focused Coaching (with Elaine Cox, 2012, Routledge), There Must be a Better Way; Seder Hishtalshelut (a Hebrew work on Kabbalistic cosmology); and the soon-to-be-published book Relationship Coaching.Kate Loewenthal Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, Professor of Abnormal Psychology at New York University in London and a Visiting Professor (in Psychology of Religion) at Glyndwr University, Wales and Heythrop College, University of London. Her research interests are in religion, culture and mental health, and she has published over 100 papers and several books, including Religion, Culture and Mental Health (Cambridge University Press, 2007). She is an editor of the journal Mental Health,Religion and Culture.

• Introduction: Making a Jewish contribution to the social sciences: What are Jewish Social Values and why does it matter? Rabbi Dr Yossi Ives.- Section 1: Education.- Chapter 1: Self-Regulation among Students: Sharpening the Questions Dr Michael Ben-Avie.- Chapter 2: Informing our Interventions with the Wisdom of the Sages: Biblical and Rabbinic Inspiration for Fostering Sensitivity towards Individuals with Disabilities Dr Nava Silton.- Epilogue by Yossi Ives.- Chapter 3: Addressing Social Exclusion in Schools and Youth Groups Rivkie Ives.- Chapter 4: Epistemology, Ethics, and Moral Education: A Methodological Justification for a Moral Curriculum Based on Jewish Social Values Rabbi Dr Ira Bedzow.- Chapter 5: Values-Based Parenting: A Methodology for the Internalisation of Values in Young Children Rabbi Dr Yossi Ives and Nechoma Cyprys.- Section 2: Psychological Wellbeing.- Introduction by Yossi Ives.- Chapter 6: Integrating Judaism into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Devorah Shabbtai, Dr Steven Pirutinsky and Dr David Rosmarin.-  Chapter 7: Religious Ritual and Wellbeing Prof Kate Miriam Lowenthal and Simon Dein.- Chapter 8: Addressing depression through purpose and happiness Dr Simon Dein and Rabbi Dr Yossi Ives.- Section 3: Society andBeyond.- Chapter 9: Passover rituals as model for parental transmission of values Rabbi Dr Yossi Ives.- Chapter 10: Valuing the Aged: Studies in Ageing Enrichment Rabbi Dr Yossi Ives and Lisa Levene.- Chapter 11: Solitary Confinement and Prison Reform: A Jewish paradigm Shlomo Bolts.- Introduction by Yossi Ives.- Chapter 12: Economic and ethical foundations of fair pricing and fair trading: Contemporary practices and Jewish tradition Prof Stephen King and Rabbi Dr Shimon Cowen.- Chapter 13: Role of Values for Motivation and Direction of International Development volunteers: A Case Study of Tevel b’Tzedek Rabbi Micha Odenheimer and Chen Levin-Schleider.- Introduction by Yossi Ives.- Chapter 14: Jewish Approaches to Social Change Rabbi Dr Shmuly Yanklowitz.