Capping a weekend of four lectures at Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park, Dr. Rona Novick addressed the topic of “Building Individual and Community Resilience” in a Motzei Shabbat talk. The titles of her two lectures on Shabbat were “After Oct. 7: Shared Responsibility and What We Get When We Give” and “Get Happy, It’s Good for You.”

The primary nexus of the talk after Shabbat was how people, as individuals and a community, are dealing with the stresses caused by the events of Oct. 7 in Israel. Novick expounded on the topics of stress management, community/connection, meaning/purpose and spirit, which she also referred to as spirituality.

Responding to the impact of the weekend, Rabbi Steven Miodownik stated, “Dr. Novick demonstrated again and again the intersection of positive psychology and the latest research with sources from the Torah and rabbinic luminaries.”

Novick is a licensed clinical psychologist and dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education & Administration of Yeshiva University.

Milton Erdfarb is a longtime resident of Highland Park with a history of activism on communal issues.