ABSTRACT
The YHWH–earth tension in early Judaism is compared with Gnosticism, showing how the latter was hostile to the feminine and the natural world whereas Judaism was not, but moved further in this direction by developing the Halakha and Talmud, the laws and regulations of conduct and rational intellect, out of a need to focus on survival during the continuing exiles. Although Gnosticism focused on reclaiming sparks of knowledge that fell into the unconscious, Judaism focused on consciousness that was latent in the unconscious as an inherent part of it. Similarly, the mythological prototype of the relation of the Self to the ego presents differently, as do the issues of evil, the problem of the inferior function, opposites, and hell with all its symbolism. The Jews see the goodness of creation and YHWH representing wholeness, including evil, whereas the Gnostics do not. Due to masculinization, consciousness and unconsciousness moved further apart in the galut Jew, whereas the shadow of the repressed mother archetype seeped through to prevent the development of consciousness. With the introduction of Hasidism, which was an anti-Gnostic movement, the feminine as the Shekhinah, the bride of God, and the earth archetype returned to consciousness.
