“A bashful person cannot learn, nor can a kapdan teach.”
– Pirke Avot 2:6
A wise psychiatrist pal once told me, “The only people I can’t treat are the hyper-defensives.”
Everyone knows a “hyper-defensive.” They’re easily offended, ready to be outraged at the slightest hint of personal affront so you walk on eggshells around them. They think your most innocent comment or suggestion is a critique aimed at them, and you never know what’s going to set them off. They are too busy protecting themselves or scanning the environment for attack to be sensitive to others. And if you do set them off, get ready to be attacked.
Remarkably, Elijah, one of the most revered Jewish figures, was one. At least, that’s the way the Talmud presents him in the very last page of Sanhedrin.
Continue reading “Elijah the Thin-Skinned”
Telepathy 