ABSTRACT
Wilfred Bion, a tank commander in World War I, brushed with death countless times, emerging from the war unscathed physically but emotionally distraught. Bion's beta-elements are remarkably similar to the shards or fragments caused by the shattering of the vessels of creation. This happens when the vessels cannot contain the powerful emotions inside themselves. Bion queried how one can contain the uncontainable, a puzzle which preoccupies Kabbalah, as well as his writings. This thought resonates with the work of Michael Eigen, a New York psychoanalyst and author, who has written a study of Kabbalah and Psychoanalysis. The quest for unification is the ultimate element which links Kabbalah and psychoanalysis. Bion pointed out that: Beta-elements are not amenable to use in dream thoughts but are suited for use in projective identification. Sigmund Freud's great accomplishment was to help the Rebbe rebuild bridges between himself and himself, between his emotions and his intellect and his will.
