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Dear Editors,
Fred Busch (2009) chooses an interesting metaphor for the beginning part of the title of his recent paper: ‘Can you push a camel through the eye of a needle?’ We feel that the latter part of the title: Reflections on how the unconscious speaks to us and its clinical implications, tells us a bit about why this particular metaphor was chosen.
The metaphor is found in writings of three major religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with a slight variation.
In Judaism, the metaphor is found in the Talmud Tractate Brachot 55b:
A person does not [spontaneously] dream a palm tree of gold nor an elephant entering the eye of a needle.
This follows on the heels of the Talmudic statement:
A person only dreams [at night] what is on his mind [during the day]
In Christianity, the metaphor is found in the New Testament (Matthew 19: 24; Mark 10: 25; Luke 18: 25):
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
In Islam, the Koran (Al Araf, chapter 7), we find: