Columnist Eli Federman regrets singling out Mendel Morosow of Crown Heights in an article critical of "focused energy."

by Eliyahu Federman for COLlive

Jewish law requires that one publicly apologize if one may have been publicly insensitive to someone. On May 5, 2012, the New York Post published a column of mine which was critical of "focused energy," "human energy fields" and other psychic healing claims.

The psychic industry is a 2 billion dollar a year industry that encompasses a broad spectrum of society. These practices prey on the gullible with cold reading, placebos, and the forer effect and are not unique to any specific individual or religion.

In the piece, I highlighted Rabbi Mendel Morsow as an example, based on an interview about his work published on COLlive.com in which he says to have physically healed people through "focused energy" – in an effort to foster critical discussion around such healing practices.

My intention was to create an academic discussion around a practice that the medical community is critical of, not to point fingers at anyone specific. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and other independent medical journals have debunked "energy healing" practices.

Healing through "auras” and "energy fields" are scientific/medical claims in nature. Such claims have zero peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support them and a plethora of evidence disproving them. It is a claim about medicine within the natural order, not prayer and spirituality which transcend nature. That is why I feel it is only fair to critique and question "energy healing" practices from a scientific perspective.

But it was unfair to single out Rabbi Marosow and thus, connect him to the questionable practices of others. I'm positive that Rabbi Morosow has done good work for people in the area of counseling and emotional therapy.

I recognize my mistake in highlighting only one particular aspect of his practice, when in realty he engages in more than just "focused energy" healing of physical ailments. His practice encompasses conventional therapy, which I'm sure he has helped people with.

In retrospect, I should have also mentioned the positives of the conventional counseling work of Rabbi Morosow, but editorial guidelines are unfortunately constricting. I apologize.

The article may have also come across as critical of spirituality in general, chas veshalom. That was not my intention at all, which is why the article specifically mentioned the efficacy of the Rebbe's blessings. I recognize that the Torah embraces healing that transcends the natural order.


--Eliyahu --Federman resides with his wife and daughter in Miami, FL. A proud alumnus of Mayanot Yeshiva in Jerusalem, he is an executive at an e-commerce firm and enjoys writing in his spare time