ABSTRACT
The readers of this journal will be familiar with Reik's earlier writings on the 'Couvade' and on 'puberty rites'. The author puts them together with two further hitherto unpublished papers called 'Kolnidre' and 'The Schophar', in a book which has been published under the name of Problems of the Psychology of Religion. This chapter draws attention to Reik's important researches. At the same time a number of additions to and criticisms of the author's findings will be made, as a contribution to the psycho-analytical understanding of the Jewish Day of Atonement and its rituals. The ritual of the Day of Atonement shows in the most striking manner the connection between the primitive ceremonial of the totem meal and the Kolnidre. The traditional conception of the Day of Atonement implies that as the day progresses the repentant sinner stands before his god with ever-increasing freedom from sin.
