Aden Ratner-Stauber ‘The Battle When one thinks of war, images of blood, distant battlefields, soldiers, and artillery flood the mind, But there is a clandestine war occurring within us every day, a war between our impulses and morals. Freud and Jewish mystical thought believe and theorize on these internal battles in strikingly similar ways, but through ideologically distinct approaches. Although there has been research on the similarities between Kabbalah and Psychoanalysis, a direct comparison between Freud’s id, ego and superego and the Jewish mystical counterparts of the animal and divine soul, has not yet been analyzed. Therefore, this paper will examine the striking parallels between Freud’s id, ego, and superego and the Jewish Mystical book The Tanya’s (Aramaic for “The Teaching”) theory of the animal soul, divine soul, and the war between the two. We will investigate how the two seemingly disparate disciplines, Jewish Mystical Chassidus and Psychoanalysis, can overlap harmoniously in some areas. Freud’s Background ‘There has been debate on the origin of Freud’s brilliant and original theories of psychoanalysis. Some offer the "revelation" hypothesis, claiming that the insights of psychoanalysis simply "came" to Freud, while others argue he was working out his own early childhood experiences (Bakan, 1965). However, David Bakan believes that Freud’s ideas were heavily influenced by ancient Jewish Mysticism (Bakan, 1965). He goes so far as to say that Fi cud consciously or unconsciously secularized Jewish mysticism through psychoanalysis. To support this potent claim, Bakan describes Freud’s Jewish heritage. He was born in Freiberg, ‘Moravia, in 1856 but spent almost his entire life in Vienna. However, both his parents came from Galicia, a region of Poland that, as Bakan points out, was saturated with Jewish mysticism, 7especially Chassidut, Freud explicitly acknowledged that his father, Jakob, came from a Chassidic environment (Bakan, 1965). Moreover, Freud was familiar with mystical texts. He had read with great interest the work of Rabbi Chaim Vital, a renowned sixteenth-century Kabbalist, and had many books on Judaica, and specifi ally Kabbalah, in his library (Bakan, 1965). It is reported that his great grandfather, Ephraim, was a Chassid and that Freud was named Shlomo, Sigmund in German, after his paternal grandfather (Berke, 2008). Although, Freud candidly voiced his atheism and his repugnance toward religion (Mitchell & Black, 1995), he never renounced his identity as a Jew (Bakan, 1965). Perhaps this gives more credence that Freud based his theories on Jewish Mysticism. For if one were apathetic towards religion, ot to any subject for that matter, there would be no influence of said area in their mind or works. However, Freud passionately argued against Judaism, to the point that he wrote an essay, Moses and Monotheism, creating an entire theory disproving the story of the Bible and Judaism, and iming that Jews are driven towards religion to alleviate their guilt for murdering Moses (Freud, 1939). Thus Judaism played influential role of Freud’s career. Before we investigate the relationship between Judaism’s view of the soul and Freud’s theory of the psyche, we will explore the background of Chassidut and the author of the Tanya. What is a Rebbe, What is a Psychoanalyst? ‘The most important work of the Kabbalah, an ancient Jewish mystical tradition, is the book the Zohar (Book of Radiation), which emerged mysteriously at the end of the 13 century in Spain (Berke, 2008). It is essentially a creative commentary, a mystical reinterpretation of biblical and rabbinic literature, with a radical formulation of a metaphor of creation, the dynamics of the universe, and the human psyche, rooted in traditional Judaism and derived hermeneutically (Starr, 2008). Berke (2008) states that the point of studying Kabbalah is to help 18us understand our goal and generally our purpose in life, while Psychoanalysis “casts this same function in a modern cloak and can enable us to love and to live”. The Zohar was written in very esoteric form, leaving the study of Kabbalah to a select few of Jewish scholars. In the 18° century, however, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov started the movement of Chassidus in Eastern Europe, bringing the mystical Kabbalistics concepts into more graspable terms for the masses to Jean, Chassidus emphasized the immanent Divine presence within everything and gave new value to prayer and good deeds (Berke, 2008). Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812) founder of the Chassidic dynasty of Lubavitch called the “spiritual grandson” of the Baal Shem Tov, revolutionized Chassidic philosophy in 1796 through intellectually describing inner human struggles in the service of God in his magnum opus The Tanya (Berke, 2000). Berke explains that a Rebbe is far more than a Rabbi. The latter is a person who is knowledgeable about Jewish laws and practices. The Rebbe, on the other hand, not only possesses such revealed knowledge, but is also an expert on the inner essence of life, the concealed knowledge. The Rebbe is often described as a person touched by God, someone who possesses immense powers to sustain the lives of his followers, his Chassidim, on earthly and spiritual planes. The Chassidim, in tur, feel dependent on their Rebbe for guidance and help in accessing Divine grace about all matters, both spiritual and mundane (Berke, 2000). Berke (2000) posits that a Rebbe may share some qualities with a psychoanalyst. Both are experts about human nature as well as esoteric matters. For the Rebbe this includes spiritual or supraconscious realms, while for the psychoanalyst this includes inner reality, or the unconscious. And both encourage intense and transference relationships among their adherents. 19Indeed, Freud even treated the 5* Rebbe of the Lubavitch Chassidic dynasty, an encounter that may have contributed to Freud’s future theories. In the winter of 1902 Rabbi Shalom Dov-Ber Schneerson, the 5® Lubavitcher Rebbe sought treatment with Freud in Vienna to alleviate his depression. Freud inquired about his patient’s thoughts and philosophies through the following encounter: Rebbe: The discipline of Chassidut requires that "the head explains to the heart what the person should want, and that the heart implement in the person's life that which the head understands.” Freud: "How do you do this? Are not the head and heart two continents completely separated” Does not a great sea divide them?" Rebbe: "The task is to build a bridge that will span these two continents, or at least to ‘connect them with telephone lines and electric wires so that the light of the mind, the light of the brain, should reach the heart as well. I must point out that for Chassidim, from birth, the matter of the mind, and the matter of the heart, is fit for study and for the service of God." After further exchange Freud made the following diagnosis: "The head grasps what the heart is unable to contain, and the heart cannot tolerate it” (Berke, 2000). Thus Freud had direct contact with one of the Chassidic Rebbes of Lubavitch and had exposure to his theories and beliefs. We will view how the Freud’s model of the Psyche and Chassidic model of the soul are ‘comparable and how they differ. ‘The Animal Soul and Divine Soul ys. The Id, Ego, and Superego Freud portrayed humankind as only incompletely evolved, as “torn by a fundamental rift between bestial motives and civilized conduct and demeanor, between an animal nature and cultural aspirations” (Mitchell & Black, 20). The author of the Tanya, like Freud, viewed the inner psyche as divided between a bestial animal soul and holy divine soul In 1923 Freud recognized that the topographical model of the unconscious, with its inaccessible repressed wishes and impulses, in opposition to the more acceptable conscious, was 20insufficient as a map of conflict (Mitchell & Black, 19). With clinical experience, he realized that not just impulses and wishes were unconscious, but defenses were unconscious as well; guilt, prohibitions, and self-punishments all burrowed themselves in the depths of the unconscious. The basic conflict in the psyche was not between conscious and unconscious, but inside the unconscious itself. From there, in his essay The Ego and the Id Freud introduced the structural model of the psyche composed of the id, ego, and superego, all very distinct components within the unconscious. The id, “a cauldron of seething excitement and the greatest reservoir of libido,” is driven by instinct and raw impulsive energy, and is largely unconscious (Freud, 1923). The ego is a collection of regulatory functions that keep the impulses of the id under control and attempts to mediate between the id and reality, and the superego represents moral and self= critical values (Mitchell & Black). These divisions are similar to the Tanya’s divisions of the soul ‘The author of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe, posits that every person, whether wicked or righteous, has two souls. One soul, the animal soul, is the source of evil desires and impulses and originates from a place of impurity that conceals Godliness in the world (Tanya, 1796). The Alter Rebbe goes on to say that the second soul, the divine soul, is literally a part of God above, “And He (God) blew into his nostrils a soul of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis, 2:7). Thus, the Alter Rebbe believes the divine soul is inherently pure and cannot be tainted, while the animal soul is the source of evil (anya, 1796). The animal soul, like the id, represents the animalistic impulsive drives and desires, while the divine soul, like the superego, represents moralistic values. However, the id, ego and superego, as well as the animal sou! and divine soul, do not live in harmony but are in constant battle to dominate over the other. 21The Battle Freud regarded conflict as the central clinical problem underlying all psychopathology. His favorite metaphors for the mind were military. One part of the mind was at war with another part of the mind, and the symptoms were a direct, although masked, consequence of this hidden, underlying struggle (Mitchell & Black, 19) ‘The Alter Rebbe also believed that the animal and divine soul are engaged in a full on military war to dominate the person they inhabit, He offered the metaphor of the body as a “small city” and the two souls as two kings waging war, each hoping to capture and rule over the populace (Tanya, 1796). Thus even the pure divine soul has a militant facet to it. Freud too explicates that the superego is portrayed as cruel and harsh, “the more a man controls his aggressiveness, the more intense becomes his ideal’s inclination to aggressiveness against his ego” (Freud, 1923). The superego does not only fight for control, but takes out its anger and displaces it onto its own ego, acting as an enemy rather than an ally. ‘Thus the superego and id direct their battle for dominance towards the ego rather than directly towards each other. Asa result, “the ego is a poor creature owing service to three masters and consequently menaced by three dangers: from the external world, from the libido of the id, and from the severity of the super-ego” (Freud, 1923). Thus the ego of the Freudian psyche functions as a mediator, filled with anxiety and stress. It is interesting that the Tanya has a more extreme view of the souls, that the winner takes all, conquers the body, and eradicates the enemy completely. The person will either submit to his animal soul and fall to the hands of sin, or be uplifted by the divine soul and live a life of purity and holiness. Freud sees the psyche as more complex, as a constant struggle to find a balance between two extreme forces, as opposed to the sharp distinction of the id or superego dominating the psyche. This would lead to an overly moralistic rigid individual or a 22depraved impulsive bestial individual, Ultimately, the ego the mediator, finds an equilibrium, although the ego may face the brutal blows in the process. We will analyze the strategies ther detail. employed in this battle between the psyche and the souls in f Transformation vs. Mediation through Repression The Alter Rebbe describes how the divine soul’s mission is to pervade the entire body and that she alone rule over and direct the person. Consequently, the animal soul would exert no influence whatsoever. In order for the divine soul to prevail in this way, the Alter Rebbe suggests that a person understand God and ponder His unfathomable and infinite greatness. This contemplation will create such a burning love for God in the depth of his heart from the right ventricle, the seat of the divine soul, that it will overflow and thus inundate the left part of the soul as well, the seat of the animal soul, and thus transform the lust of the animal soul for physical pleasures to a love for God. That is what is meant in the famous Shema prayer “You shall serve God will all your hearts”, the plural is used to connote that you should serve God with both your natures, both your good inclination and evil inclination. Perhaps this was the problem the 5* Lubavitcher Rebbe was struggling with when he saw Freud, as described earlier, and Freud explained “The head grasps what the heart is unable to contain, and the heart cannot tolerate it” (Berke, 2000). The guilt in not being able to conquer his animal soul may have filled him with depression. Ultimately, the divine soul’s battle plan is to drown the animal soul in a love for God, resulting in the person's mind be filled exclusively with thoughts of God and His Bible, his speech be used exclusively for holy purposes, and that his body be engaged exclusively in the performance of God’s commandments (Tanya, 1796). Thus the Alter Rebbe believes that the animal soul will not be defeated or destroyed, but rather transformed from a deep burning desire to fill its bestial lusts and urges to a deep burning love and desire to cleave to 23God. Freud’s model of the psyche does not necessitate the id and superego transform or conquer each other, because the ego serves as a mediator to fuse desires of the two together in accordance with reality. Freud viewed people as driven to seek pleasure in a single minded f ravenous fashion. In order to become acceptable, both to others and to oneself, one has to conceal from oneself these purely hedonic motives. The ego, with the aid of the internalized parental morals in the superego, represses and regulates the “bestial” impulses in the id (Mitchell & Black, 1995). However, the result of the repressed id is a mind largely unknown to itself, filled with secrets and impulses, and the pressure creates neurotic symptoms (ibid, 1995). However, some mode of transformation does occur in the reaction formation defense, where the ego obscures unacceptable hostile impulses by transforming them into their opposite. For example, an angry person becomes overly nice to mask his natural impulses. Yet to unmask the defensive aspect of the unconscious and tell the patient that his niceness is a clever cover for his anger, is not just to release the id impulses from repression but to threaten his entire way of life (Mitchell & Black, 1995). Although great care must be taken in this matter, Freud advises the patient to partake in free association, to have the unconscious battle filled with desires and repressions to be voiced and brought to conscious awareness, in order to cure the neurosis through a healthy integration, Lear (2005) suggests that the aim of therapy should no longer be understood simply as making the unconscious conscious, but neurosis must be understood in terms of structural conflict: the parts of the psyche are at war with each other. Therapy should aim at overcoming the belligerent relations between the dynamic parts of the psyche, which would require a basic change in the structure of the psyche. But how a talking cure can bring about such a fundamental psychic change, he asks, Freud does not directly answer. And thus the inner battle prevails. 24While Freud suggests voicing inner thoughts aloud to make peace in the internal war, the Alter Rebbe believes that internal thoughts of God’s greatness enables man to transform the animal soul to a godly soul and achieve inner tranquility These different strategies of the internal battle, the divine soul’s transformation of the animal soul versus the superego’s mediation through repression of the id, may be explained by the origin of morality, or good vs. evil, underlying the divine soul and the superego. Godly Sins ys. Societal Norms A core distinction between the theory of the souls and theory of the psyche, is that the ‘Tanya's animal and divine soul are ethereal spiritual entities, the divine soul originating from God and the animal soul originating from sources of evil. Conversely, Freud’s id, ego and superego, although also intangible entities of the human psyche, are greatly influenced by human society. Freud suggests that the psyche is highly complex, layered with instinctual impulses, transformations of those impulses, and defenses against those impulses (Mitchell & Black, 1995), Freud elucidates that repression is not something imposed unnecessarily by a restrictive society, but is a form of social control that saves people from themselves and allows them to live with others without murder and exploitation. Ideal mental health does not mean the absence of repression, but rather an adapted repression that allows gratification while at the same time preventing primitive aggressive and sexual impulses from taking over. Thus Freud believes man requires culture for survival, but culture also suffocates many instincts creating constant dissatisfaction (ibid, 1995). Freud does not suggest that the superego conquer the id, but that the id be able to gratify its impulses while adhering to societal beliefs. 25Buchholz and Mandel (2000) beautifully explain the disparate nature of the soul compared to Freud’s view of the psyche. They clarify that the “ultimate issue in early Jewish thought is not in determining whether actions are good or evil, rather that goodness is found in obedience to God and by following the commandments Jewish thought proposes that it is the innate physical nature of man that leads him astray, and this innate aspect of humanity is continuously at work. Although it is inherent in man to commit sin and act in an evil manner, he ‘can overcome his nature by acting in accordance with God's will (Buchholz, & Mandel, 2000). According to the Bible, good is not just a value, it is the way of God and it is therefore divine. If we are able to act similar to God we will be able to overcome the innate desire to do evil. However, with social change came new understandings of good and evil. Li jing according to the ten commandments lost some of its awe-inspiring appeal. Psychology, therefore, may have stepped in to fill a gap in modemity’s grasp of virtue since society devotes less time to setting forth rules. Psychology offers symptoms in place of transgressions (Buchholz & Mandel, 2000). Indeed, Freud’s theory was that the lack of harmony between the id, ego, and superego results in psychopathological symptoms, as opposed to spiritual repercussions of distancing oneself from God if the animal soul dominates the divine soul leading to sin. In ancient times when accepting the covenant meant that responsibility was placed on the individual, it also meant that the individual was explicitly guided by well-defined rules (Buchholz & Mandel, 2000). Buchholz & Mandel (2000) conjecture that Judaic axioms are still hidden within the modern justice system, which make the ability to distinguish between good and evil a possibility for humankind. Freud shifted this position very little as he replaced evil with aggression, In his earliest theories on aggressive actions, he said they were the outcome of the pleasure principle. Evil gives pleasure because vices often offer us quick rewards, while 26Virtue tends to rely on self-restraint and self-denial. Freu s goal was to make the unconscious conscious and, in turn, help people become more aware of at least what is personally good and what is evil, as the decision is now in society and the individual’s hands (Buchholz, 2000). Thus, the main distinction between the souls and the psyche is that the soul must simply follow the divine laws of God in order to achieve goodness, while the superego must base morality on societal norms and the ego must express or repress inner desires based on the morals and standards of external reality. Ultimately, there are many parallels and differences between the animal soul and di ine soul of the Chassidic work the Tanya, and Freud’s id, ego, and superego. Both are in a constant internal battle, yet the divine soul prevails through transformation while the ego prevails through mediation and equilibrium of expressing urges while upholding moral standards. The divine soul finds inner peace through transforming the animal soul via contemplation of God and His greatness, while the unconscious psyche finds inner peace through expression of inner thoughts and bringing the battle between the id and superego into conscious awareness. Lastly, the souls are driven by the will of God and His commandments, while the unconscious psyche must create it’s own morals and values based on society. Pethaps because of Freud's staunch atheistic beliefs he altered the structure of the psyche to dispose of God and religion and the dichotomous thinking of right and wrong, good and evil. Whether Freud was truly influenced by Chassidus and Jewish Mysticism when creating his models, we may never know for certain, but it is clear that the unseen battle within individuals creates a harmonious overlap between the seemingly disparate theories of Psychoanalysis and Jewish Mysticism 27References: Bakan, D. (1965) Sigmund Freud and the Jewish mystical tradition, New York: Schocken, Books. Berke, J., Schneider, S. (2000) Sigmund Freud and the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Psychoanalytic Review, 87 (1). Berke, J., Schneider, S. (2008). Centers of Power: the Convergence of Psychoanalysis and Kabbalah, Lanham (Md.): J. Aronson. 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