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May 4, 2001/Iyar 11, 5761, Vol. 53, No.31
Looking for Mr. Write?
Using graphology to assess personality
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Jewish Renaissance Media
Baruch Lazewnik: learning the "Torah" of handwriting analysis.
Photo by Krista Husa |
Part of what made Baruch Lazewnik uneasy was the "s" and the "h."
First, the two letters found in the word "shortly" are slanted quite differently. The writer's "s" is markedly vertical; the "h" goes to the right. Also, the two letters are spaced unusually far apart.
Then there were the odd margins, the way the writer dotted his "i" and the strange breaks among letters in a single word.
To most, it would simply look like a page of handwriting.
To Lazewnik, however, it revealed a man who had a problem telling the truth, a man "without a clear sense of identity," an impatient person skilled at creating a seemingly charming character even as troubles brew underneath.
The writing sample belongs to Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, who was convicted of murdering his wife and two young daughters in a widely publicized case. MacDonald insists he is innocent and that his family's killers were four mysterious strangers who broke into his home.
The author of "Handwriting Analysis: A Guide To Understanding Personalities" (1990, Whitford Press), Lazewnik, 45, has been interested in handwriting analysis since his teen years in Brooklyn.
In 1978, he moved to Jerusalem to become a self-employed personnel consultant and a student of Haim Lifshitz, one of the world's leading graphologists, handwriting experts, whose knowledge also included interpreting drawings and stories.
Lazewnik, who also holds a Ph.D. in education and psychology, studied the "Torah of handwriting" with Lifshitz for almost five years before he went out on his own.
Finding work in Israel was relatively easy. Though a number of leading U.S. businesses take handwriting analysis seriously - and even hire consultants to check out the character traits of potential employees - Americans have yet to become especially passionate about the subject. This is not the case in Israel, where newspaper ads often invite those interested in a job to "send in a handwritten resume."
Graphology should not be confused with documentation analysis, which makes no assessment of character but rather seeks to confirm validity of certain texts. Documentation analysis would include, for example, comparing handwriting samples for compatibility. The most famous recent case involved the ransom note found in the home of JonBenet Ramsey, a child beauty-contest winner killed in Denver in 1996. Experts testified in court, at length, as to whether this note was written by JonBenet's parents - but never considered whether the writer was extroverted, deceitful or sincere.
Graphology, on the other hand, is often in the eye of the beholder. While most handwriting analysts concur on major points, there is plenty of room for disagreement. Consequently it is not without its critics, who say it is more a product of interpretation than scientific study.
Lazewnik, who returned from Israel and now teaches Jewish studies at a Jewish day school in suburban Detroit, describes graphology as an art and a science - an a tool to help someone better know himself or a significant other.
He often advises couples considering marriage.
He recalls one woman - a quiet, unassuming, not especially strong-willed type - who was set to marry a man whom Lazewnik, after seeing a handwriting sample, described as "an extremely original, unique personality." Lazewnik told the woman, "he's a great guy, but you'll have a handful."
The engagement was eventually broken.
"I don't know if it was because of our session," Lazewnik says. "But I was glad. She didn't have the strength to put up with him."
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