Arts & Entertainment

Looking For Mr. Write?

Graphologist says check out the penmanship before hiring a worker or choosing a mate.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Special to the Jewish News

character but rather seeks to confirm validity of
certain texts. Documentation analysis would
include, for example, comparing handwriting sam-
ples for compatibility.
The most famous recent case using documenta-
tion analysis involved the ransom note found in
the home of JonBenet Ramsey; experts testified in
court, at length, as to whether this note was writ-
ten 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 ana-
lysts concur on major points, there is plenty of
room for disagreement. Consequently it is not
without its critics, who say it is much more a
product of interpretation than scientific study.
In Israel, Lazewnik found daunting the idea of
analyzing writing in Hebrew rather than English.
But he soon learned that every kind of handwrit-
ing, regardless of language, offers similar revela-
tions.
Lazewnik went on to author Handwriting

li p

art of what made Baruch Lazewnik
uneasy was the "s" and the "h."
First, the two letters found in the
word "shortly" are slanted quite differ-
ently. The writer's "s" is markedly vertical; the "h"
goes to the right. Also, the two letters are spaced
unusually far apart.
Finally, there's the matter of the letter location.
Were an imaginary line to be drawn directly under
the writing, the "s" would fall much lower than
the "h."
And this is just the start.
There are 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, not particularly distinct except for its
obvious display of lightness and speed, as though
the writer were in a hurry.
To Lazewnik, it revealed a man who had a prob-
lem 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, convicted of murdering his wife and
two young daughters. To this day MacDonald, the
subject of the best-seller Fatal Vision, insists he is
innocent and that his family's killers were four
mysterious strangers who broke into his home.
Lazewnik teaches Jewish studies at the Jewish
Academy of Metro Detroit in West Bloomfield. He
holds a doctoral degree, has studied education and
psychology, and also is the author of a book about
handwriting analysis.
A native of Brooklyn, Lazewnik, 45, has been
interested in handwriting analysis since his teens.
He first met one of the world's leading grapholo-
gists, or handwriting experts, Haim Lifshitz, while
visiting Israel in 1974.
In 1978, Lazewnik settled permanently in
Jerusalem, where he worked as a self-employed
personnel consultant. There, Lazewnik became a
student of Lifshitz, whose knowledge included not
only handwriting analysis but also how to interpret
drawings and stories.
He would ask clients to complete, in writing,
this story: "I went walking in the forest one fine
day when suddenly ..." Then Lifshitz would give
his interpretation.
Lifshitz taught Lazewnik the "Torah of hand-
writing" 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,
including some in metro Detroit, take handwriting

analysis seriously — and even
Baruch Lazewnik
hire consultants to check out
describes graphology
the character traits of poten-
as both an art
tial employees — Americans
and a science.
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."
Lazewnik managed to link up with one of Israel's
leading firms, Koor Industries; the head of person-
nel offered him work after handing Lazewnik three
writing samples for analysis. AlMost everything
Lazewnik said, the manager noted, was right on
target.
Specifically, Koor was looking for high-level
managers who would work overseas in such fields
as agriculture and food production. They wanted
men and women with top-notch organizational
and interpersonal skills.
Could Lazewnik see these personality traits in
the way the employees crossed their "t"s, how
much space they left between lines of writing and
how much pressure they used when making lower-
case letters?
Lazewnik says he could.
Graphology should not be confused with docu-
mentation analysis, which makes no assessment of

Analysis: A Guide To Understanding Personalities
(1990; Whitford Press). He wrote a popular col-
umn in the Jerusalem Post called "Reading Between
the Lines," in which readers sent in samples of
their handwriting for analysis. In his private prac-
tice, he added "psychometric testing," in which he
also would interpret simple drawings, such as a
person, a house and a tree.
After Lazewnik's 20 years in Israel, it was his son
who brought him back to the United States.
Lazewnik was friendly with a Detroit family who
encouraged him to consider a position with a new
Jewish high school being opened here. Lazewnik's
son was eager to come to school in the United
States and now attends Hillel Day School.
Lazewnik took the job and now lives in West
Bloomfield.
Lazewnik, who often advises couples considering
marriage, describes graphology as an art and a sci-
ence. He views it as another tool to help someone
better know himself or a significant other.
Consequently, in sessions he does not tell one
partner, "don't marry her," but rather focuses on,
"do we agree on the type of person you're consid-
ering marrying?"
He recalls one woman = a quiet, unassuming,
not especially strong-willed type — who was set to
marry a man whom Lazewnik, after seeing a hand-
writing sample, described as "an extremely origi-
nal, 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." ❑