The Rotenberg Center for Jewish Psychology was established to promote the dissemination of the Jewish Psychology model as a powerful therapeutic tool and as a compelling community-centric worldview of society. This is to be achieved through the creation of special courses, seminars, publications, and professional workshops. The Center was established in  2006 in memory of Professor and Mrs. Rotenberg’s son Boaz who fell in the line of active duty in the Israel Defense Forces.

Judaism and its message of ethical monotheism have had a profound and far-reaching impact on the entire western world. On the assumption that behind every psychology and theory of society, lays a theology, and that the culture and religion of societies and there resulting educational system are embedded in implicit psychological doctrine, Professor Mordechai Rotenberg has created a model of Jewish psychology bringing into the public arena Judaism's rich and multi-faceted culture.   

Today’s language of western psychology is based on a severely egocentric, individualistic, and self-assertive approach which pervades western society today. The symptoms in society that reflect this approach are loneliness, alienation, adversarial relationships, and power-struggles. The lifework of Professor Mordechai Rotenberg offers an alternative approach that potentially can bring about a radical change to the psychological language of western society and contribute towards curing these symptoms.

After over thirty years of research, ten books and numerous articles, Professor Mordechai Rotenberg, the world’s leading expert in this field has articulated a coherent theory of Jewish Psychology.

Based on the Jewish tradition of mutual-aid and the rabbinic system of multiple-interpretation of the Torah, Professor Rotenberg has identified the psychological principles that are found in Midrashic literature; and specifically within the Kabbalic-Hasidic Contraction - tzimtzum paradigm. According to this paradigm God's self-contraction to vacate space for the world (creation) serves as a model for human behavior and interaction.

The tzimtzum model promotes a unique community-centric approach that mirrors the rabbinic dictum “Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh BaZeh” – all of Israel are guarantors one for another. The “Arevim Zeh BaZeh” approach is in stark contradistinction to the current language of western psychology. This Tzimzum-Arevim approach has significant implications for the world of clinical therapy as well as for the overall language of western society.

The Rotenberg Center runs, in conjunction with Bet Morasha in Jerusalem, a two-year diploma course for social science professionals. This course is succeeding to recruit high-level practitioners and is providing them with the necessary theoretical and practical tools to apply Jewish psychology in their clinical and educational work.

In addition to these professional programs and in recognition of the need to advance the cause of Rotenberg’s Tzimzum-Arevim psychology model in the academic arena, the Hebrew University's School of Social Welfare recently decided to establish a unique specialization track in Jewish Psychology for the 2008/9 academic year.

This ground-breaking decision ensures not only the provision of graduate and doctoral level degree programs in Jewish Psychology, but also positions the Hebrew University, a world-renowned academic institution, at the forefront of the effort to revolutionize current psychological language towards Rotenberg’s Tzimzum-Arevim worldview.

The youngest son of Naomi and Mordechai Rotenberg, brother to Michal, Yael and Ami, was born in San Francisco, U.S.A. who at the age of 9 months returned to Israel with his family after his father Professor Rotenberg completed his post doctoral studies.

Boaz was known as an individualist who did not follow the crowd. He immersed himself in everything that he undertook and stuck to his truth. He volunteered to serve in an elite paratrooper unit and in 1988, at the age of 18, was the first victim of the first intifada who was killed in action when his unit was involved in a dangerous mission in Jericho.

Boaz deeply impressed his family, friends, subordinates and army commanders with his inquisitive curiosity, his questions concerning motivations and faith and with his strong relations to his family.

To perpetuate his memory his peers planted a garden at the Bnei Akiva (Youth movement) headquarters in Jerusalem with 18 trees to commemorate his 18 years. Today the trees flourish and stand as firm and as beautiful as was Boaz.

Boaz's commander described him as having absolute discipline derived from his inherent humbleness and tolerance in relations to his fellow soldiers.

According to the "theory of contraction" Boaz condensed his thoughts and feelings into the short 18 years of his life. Therefore his family chose to perpetuate his memory by establishing the Center for Jewish Psychology where the teachings of his father Professor Mordechai Rotenberg are studied.

As a founding partner of the Center for Jewish Psychology named after my dear brother Boaz, I join with a personal statement symbolizing my self contraction towards my younger brother by adding the following words that I wrote after he parted from us.

Boaz, my little brother, how could you dare to educate your older sister?
To change from a good little boy into Gd's court jester?
To live with daring and courage, with hutzpa towards heaven and towards friends
To teach me that life and death are inseparable
How did you dare to be killed and nothing happened to you?

As the bush is firmly planted and speaks with himself and with all who stand around him. I find myself speaking with myself and with you Boaz. Like the strong bark of the tree, I search for stableness, and find myself collecting unlimited branches of impressions and memories, your tree nourishes fruits. And I believe that as a tree's fruits and leaves fall off and grow again year after year, so will your fruits continue to reap forever.