Psychoanalytic Teachings of the Talmud

As a psychoanalyst, I use many tools to help patients unlock and untangle the numerous emotional and psychological knots binding them to self-destructive patterns of behavior. At times, psychoanalytic interpretation is enough to provide the insight and understanding needed to help resolve these conflicts. In some cases, however, other sources may be needed to reinforce or better explain either the problem or the solution.

Recently, I have been using as a therapeutic tool the Talmud, a collection of interpretations and commentaries on the Torah, which includes the Old Testament and the Oral Law of Judaism. Grossman (1992) has noted that the renewal that is occurring in Judaism is because the challenges of modern life demand a response to real impasses. Spero (1992) suggests that the Talmudic rabbis anticipated modern psychological insights in forms particular to their worldview. To illustrate the effective interweaving of Talmudic study with psychoanalytically informed psychotherapy, I will provide examples from my practice.

Kelly (not her real name), is a 32-year-old woman with a history of dating detached, womanizing men. The daughter of an alcoholic and adulterous father, she often complains that all men are untrustworthy and bad to women. Her most recent involvement is with a married man. Meanwhile, she shrugs off interest expressed by a single man whom she disdainfully describes as “nice.”

Kelly's greatest fear is that she will make the same mistake as her mother and settle down with a faithless, alcoholic man who will desert her. By never risking a trusting relationship, she never needs to deal with her fear. Ironically and sadly, with this approach, fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.

To help Kelly understand that she could only change her destructive patterns by facing and experiencing the very feelings she had spent her whole life avoiding, I turned to two passuks from the Talmud: