ABSTRACT

The Mystical Exodus in Jungian Perspective explores the soul loss that results from personal, collective, and transgenerational trauma and the healing that unfolds through reconnection with the sacred. Personal narratives of disconnection from and reconnection to Jewish collective memory are illuminated by millennia of Jewish mystical wisdom, contemporary Jewish Renewal and feminist theology, and Jungian and trauma theory.

The archetypal resonance of the Exodus story guides our exploration. Understanding exile as disconnection from the Divine Self, we follow Moses, keeper of the spiritual fire, and Serach bat Asher, preserver of ancestral memory. We encounter the depths with Joseph, touch collective grief with Lilith, experience the Red Sea crossing and Miriam’s well as psychological rebirth and Sinai as the repatterning of traumatized consciousness.

Tracing the reawakening of the qualities of eros and relatedness on the journey out of exile, the book demonstrates how restoring and deepening relationship with the Sacred Feminine helps us to transform collective trauma.

This text will be key reading for scholars of Jewish studies, Jungian and post-Jungian studies, feminist spirituality, trauma studies, Jungian analysts and psychotherapists, and those interested in healing from personal and collective trauma.

Cover art: 'Radiance' by Elaine Greenwood

chapter

Introduction

chapter Chapter 1|6 pages

The beloved, knocking

part I|50 pages

An historical overview of Jewish mysticism and psychology

chapter Chapter 2|28 pages

Renewing Jewish mysticism

chapter Chapter 3|20 pages

Judaism and psychology

part II|18 pages

The rupture

chapter Chapter 4|16 pages

Exile

part III|62 pages

The awakening

chapter Chapter 6|15 pages

Moses and awakening the spiritual fire

chapter Chapter 7|28 pages

Shattered vessels, scattered seeds

part IV|58 pages

The healing

chapter Chapter 9|22 pages

Joseph—light out of darkness

part V|36 pages

The promise