Events

Visiting Scholars Lecture Series: 2002

Fall 2002

Steven Joseph, M.D. Kabbalah and Psyche: Reading the Zohar

The Zohar, a mystical book first published in Spain near the end of the 13th century, presents the root teaching of the Jewish mystical tradition known as the Kabbalah. Among its many profound doctrines, Sefer ha-Zohar (the Book of Radiance / Illumination) teaches about the essential role of human activity and psychical consciousness in sustaining the inner life of Deity.

In this brief introduction to the wisdom of the Zohar, we will look at two short passages about the flow of light (consciousness), vitality and abundance from the infinite depths of Divinity to the finite human world, and the reverse flow from the human psyche to the Divine. My intention is to illustrate the Zohar’s understanding of how God sustains the world and how the world (human beings) sustains God.

Steven Joseph, M.D., is a Jungian analyst and board-certified psychiatrist practicing in Albany, CA and Tucson, AZ. He is a member and training analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, as well as editor of The San Francisco Jung Institute Library Journal. He has been a student and teacher of the Jewish mystical tradition for many years.