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Judaism, Torah and Talmud

In order to understand and be able to assess the current conflicts, and in order to advance peace, let us try to understand Iran by focusing on oft-neglected aspects that are crucial to the Iran-Israel relationship.

In the confidence that normal relations will one day be resumed between us and Iran, I dedicate to all of us this poem by Rumi, the Iranians’ ancient official poet (Mawlana Jalal al-din Muhammad Rumi, 1207-1272; Rashi died in 1105) in which he writes of love, life and death.
I have sufficiently understood it to be able to write it in classical calligraphy:

1. dar echgh, ke djoz mei-e bagha, kordan nist
2. djoz djan dadan, dalil-e djane bordan nist.
3. Goftam ke: “to ra shenassam, anega miram.”
4. Gofta ke: shenassaye ma ra, mordan nist.”

Translation:
1. In love, nothing is of value unless one drinks the vital wine
2. and if the soul does not give life, nothing more is left.
3. I say: “you, I knew you and from this time I will die (of love).
4. He tells me in these ancient depths: “knowing me never causes death.”

Amen !

So it is of Jerusalem, of El Kuds, the holy city which is for EVERYONE.
No other missile is in our hearts between us.
Knowing one another never causes death.
We shall never renounce this.

After the second week of the war in Lebanon, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad declared (I cite his exact words but have retained only the parts relevant to our discussion): “To my mind, Lebanon is the arena of an historic struggle which will determine the future of humanity. Everyone, all over the world will be tested. Everyone.... You will see.. This is a mirror which will reveal the true essence of everyone. This is not an ordinary struggle. Not at all. It will reveal everything in broad daylight..”

True, but for the moment, as Rumi writes, the current partners in the conflict risk seeing the game of death instead of the dynamics of life for they forget the anthropological, historical, and religious aspects which unite them.
My approach, which echoes Rumi and is based on the Torah (“choose life”), aims to remind people of the best in them and of their common reality.
This is the human mission of Jews.

We must re-learn how to turn towards the Other with gentleness just like a hand respects the gentleness of the other hand.
We must re-learn how to see two sides simultaneously.
This cat is probably not Persian, I don’t know, but this hand is Jewish and its childhood was spent in Iran before the return of so many generations to Jerusalem. This is why I placed it here as a symbol of reconciliation between the Iranian leaders and Israel.
When that day comes, I promise, we shall honor in Jerusalem the Iranians of Iran as the descendants of the greatest “righteous man of the nations,” and of all time, to whom we did not express our gratitude as was due: King Cyrus (Kurash) of Persia.
We honor him at Purim and in our history books but we should celebrate his memory together, in the presence of his heirs, just as we are the heirs of Esther and Mordechai.

(photo by the author)

We shall welcome them warmly and will make a blessing in memory of this cup with which Iranian Jews celebrate the salvation given to us by Hashem.

We shall proclaim the blessings inscribed on this drawing of Iranian Jews in the Persian language with Hebrew letters, for it shows us how our destinies are united in one language, just as we adopted Arameic script without losing the Hebrew language.
Here is the beginning of the text in a mixture of Persian and Hebrew, but written in Hebrew script, a common custom of Iranian Jews:

Dea kardan Yaakov alav ha salam, mar Gad ra,
The blessing made by Yaakov, may peace be with him, towards Gad

The anger of the Iranians derives perhaps from our lack of appreciation and, in this, they are right for they pay homage to our holy figures.
You didn’t know this? Take a look at this picture:

• The tomb is in Hamadan It is an edifice of brick and stone, built in the 13th century in Islamic style on the previous edifice which dates to the time of Queen Esther. The interior is made of paneling and contains ancient Torah scrolls. Esther is there, inscribed as the wife of Khashayarch, the Persian name for the king in the story of Esther.

The town of Hamadan lies 330 km West of Teheran, on the Iraqi side, above Borujerd, towns which had Jewish communities from time immemorial, most of whom recently returned to Israel, to the land from which they had been expelled thousands of years ago.

Here is a map of Iran with Hamadan marked with a dove of peace, the peace which will come thanks to Esther and Mordechai.

Here are photos of the tomb







The tomb is one of the rare monuments in Iran on which Hebrew characters are inscribed.



Here are photos of the tomb of the prophet Daniel at Susa (Suze). They will help you to understand the importance of the relationship between Judaism and Persia (modern Iran). It is Cyrus who decreed the return of the Jews to Jerusalem in 539 BC to re-build their Temple. This shows us to what degree we are connected. After Israel gained its independence in 1948, Iran did not break off ties with Israel, but recognized the new state and began a relationship of close cooperation, which caused it a lot of trouble with the Arab world. The Shah wanted to revive the ancient glory of Persia (before it was conquered by the Muslims) and its ancient national religion. He failed for other, dictatorial, reasons.
One day, the honeymoon will be restored. It makes sense.










free image on Wikipedia

So why do Jews in the Diaspora and in Israel, and why do Israel’s professional diplomats ignore these common points which are the ABC of our relationship and our future? Our politicians should be trained to know these basic facts for, when they do not, respect is replaced by misunderstanding and things stupidly escalate into war.

Documentation

History of Iran

Iran was called Persia until March 21, 1935. Archaeological finds have shown the presence of human life in this area almost 100,000 years ago and the presence of human cultures 15,000 years ago. Evidence was also found of sophisticated agriculture and large urban centers dating back 6,000 years. Even though Persia was conquered by the Mongols, the Arabs and the Turks, it always preserved its own identity. And it preserved its own language until today, even though the Arabs imposed Arabic script on the Persian language. There are many Iranians who still prefer to use non-Arab Iranian script.
Persian (Farsi) was the paramount language in the region and, at various times, it constituted the administrative and diplomatic language of the area as far as the Far East. The Hindi language of India, the languages of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, among others, contain many Persian words.
The great Persian dynasties were: the Achaemenid Empire (559-330BC) founded by Cyrus who decreed the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the Temple. That’s how important he was! This was followed by the Hellenistic period (330-250 BC), the Parthian Empire (till 226AD), and the Sassanid dynasties (till 652 AD).
It is after this glorious past, always present in Iranian memory, that Persia was conquered by Islam, leading to the violent, unending tensions of today between Sunnis and Shiites.
The status of the Jews in the Persian Empire varied, depending on the era. With the coming of Islam, Jews were accorded the protected but denigrating dhimmi status and endured periods of persecution and forced conversion, interspersed with periods of calm when they could work as civil servants, merchants and advisors.
This summarizes the relationship between Iran and the Jews.

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The Iranian Language

1. Iranian is the language of a people who, like the Jews, have preserved their language for thousands of years and are able to read their ancient texts, for these are written in a language similar to modern Persian. This is rare among nations and creates a connection with the Jewish people who read and speak exactly the same Hebrew as 3,800 years ago, the language of Abraham.

2. Iranian, like Hebrew, expresses the age-old genius of its people. It is important to know the nuances of the language in order to understand Iranian psychology. Of note is the extreme courtesy found in its myriad forms of polite greetings and compliments all of which are considered normal; this is not alien to the classical culture of those who speak Biblical Hebrew and the language of Avram and Sarai (although the roughness of Israeli pioneers who thought they could assume a new identity by abandoning courtesy in favor of bluntness is certainly a problem in our relations). Iranian is a language that does not differentiate between masculine and feminine in its conjugations, it has no articles, and a sentence structure very different from that of Hebrew. But, like Hebrew, reading Iranian presupposes knowledge of the spoken language. It is a language in which the poems of the divan of Hafiz (14th century) are regularly evoked in order to obtain answers to practical issues (a tradition called fal). A few years ago, following the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, some of his followers adapted this Iranian custom to the writings of the Rebbe and use the latter to obtain answers to practical questions. It is therefore useful to know the origins of such customs in order to understand one another and in order to know which of our traditions are Jewish and which derive from other cultures.
Thus, to understand one another, it is not enough to speak of ideas, borders or politics. We need to understand the modes of thought, codes of practice, sensitivities, points in common and differences with the other party.

3. Just as the Jews of Judah were forced by their cruel Western occupiers (the Romans) to change the name of their nation to Palestine (a way of denigrating the Jews by giving them the name of their ancient enemies), the Persian language (the Persian word for language is zaban) was forced by the sword to bow to the Arab-Islam occupation and adopt Arabic script. But the script of its occupiers could not cater to the nuances and spelling of the Persian language. The desire to preserve Persian individuality is one of the many elements at play in the tense, often hostile relationship with Mecca – a relationship between ancient invaders and forced converts, even if today they share the same religion. But ancient Zoroastrian or Manichean traditions have survived and have infiltrated the poetry which is known to all Iranians, acting like a resistance movement to the forced change in the national identity.

4. For 14 centuries, like the Jews, the Iranians struggled fiercely to preserve their identity: with some, this took the form of resisting the dominating Arabic vocabulary which constitutes today almost 60% of the Persian language. It is true that, since the conquest by Islam, many great Persian poets used a maximum number of Arabic words. But the author who exemplified most the resistance to the Arab occupation by refusing to use Arabic, was Ferdowsi (10th century), author of the famous Book of Kings. In more than 50,000 distichs, Ferdowsi recounts, as in an epic poem, the entire ancient history of Persia before the Islamic conquest, in a language that eschews any word deriving from the Arab conquerors. This work is read by every Iranian and it remains a cornerstone of the national consciousness. Some Iranians tried to follow this approach (similar to what Eliezer ben Yehuda did for modern Hebrew) but remained a minority despite efforts by the Shah to revive ancient Persian culture (the Shah failed because of his political policies and neglect of social issues).
Persian, like Hebrew, but unlike English or French which use additional words to express interrogations, expresses interrogation through intonation and its syntax is simple, like Hebrew. Meaning is expressed primarily through intonation and manner of speech, rather than through grammatical forms. This creates an entirely different mentality, which must be taken into account if one wishes to understand and communicate with Iranians.

5. The Iranian people has been resolute in pursuing their resistance and have refused to adopt Arab pronunciation which logically followed the adoption of Arabic script. Iranians do not pay heed to the many different ways of pronouncing Arabic letters such as S, T and Z, even though they were forced to adopt these differences in spelling. Thus they write 4 types of Z but pronounce them identically. They similarly refuse to pronounce the guttural letters typical of Arabic and do not differentiate between the various forms of aspirated H. They do this with a stubbornness that echoes the stubbornness of Jews. Israelis who refuse to pronounce Semitic sounds demonstrate a similar resistance for they believe that if they keep this pronunciation they are submitting to Arabic or to the pronunciation of Jews who lived in Arab countries. They are mistaken for this is the authentic way of pronouncing Hebrew, which is a Semitic language and by rejecting this form of pronunciation, they are adopting that of Jews who lived in Poland and Russia – all of which is quite absurd and even more so when it is imposed by the educational system.

6. An important point should be noted: the presence of words of Persian origin in Hebrew; such as pardes, paradise, which derives from the ancient Farsi word pairi-daeza.

7. These anthropological and cultural aspects of Iranian identity should be studied further in order to gain an understanding of the other side. Grammatical rules in Iranian are not as strict as, for example, in French. In Iranian, everything is flexible and everything is possible enabling the expression of specific ideas. How can we understand the declarations of Iranian politicians if we do not understand the internal laws behind their thinking? The Iranian language is not like the obtuse language of diplomacy: its grammatical flexibility and myriad permutations enable a Machiavellian resistance to the adversary. Thus there is no single word that expresses “too much,” only sequences of words. To ignore these linguistic subtleties means to be unable to maintain a political dialogue, which is the case today. Iranian religious extremism should not be taken at face value: Iranians are simultaneously extreme Islamic fundamentalists and extreme anti-Islamists. It’s not for nothing that the village idiot in Iranian folk humor is called Nasreddine, meaning “victory of religion.”

8. In attempting to further understanding between Jewish and Iranian cultures, this essay does not aim to attack Arabic or the Arabs for great poets such as Hafez freely used Arabic in their vocabulary, and even the Rambam wrote major works in Arabic.
Judaism also recognizes the importance of other languages, notably Arabic. The Sages of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court in Jerusalem, spoke and understood the 70 main languages.
“Hear O Israel” – it is important to open your eyes and ears, to see and listen
to the Other in order to truly understand him.
t Iran has a quality that is unique among all the nations. Like the Jews, Iranians resisted, refused to succumb and succeeded in preserving their language. This is a unique experience, common to the two nations. Italy lost the Roman language, Greece lost ancient Greek and France lost medieval French. The US had nothing to lose in this respect.

Thus, in order to make it quite clear that this article is not against Iran or any other civilization, I quote an extract from research I carried out on the meaning of dreams in Arabic cultural sources (as I did with Latin, Greek and Spanish). The research was part of my 1982 doctoral thesis on psychotherapy. I use this approach, which combines understanding of the individual with the understanding of how a person’s internal structure is formed by the specific genius of his culture, when training Jewish and Arab psychotherapists. I call this approach ethno-psychology (preferring to use the non-pathological term instead of ethno-psychiatry which “psychiatrizes” patients) and I only use it with languages whose inner structure I understand.

It should be clear: fundamentally, there is no issue of rivalry between Israel and other civilizations

Conclusion

We must hope for peaceful relations with all peoples and have the same desire to share a common path.
At the time of the Temple, all the nations came to Jerusalem to bring sacrifices and presents. Many world leaders dreamt of owning a house in Jerusalem.
We are all made from the same Creation, we all derive from Adam and we are all unique creatures made in the image of God.
Each one of us possesses a complementary individuality. The Talmud lists a long list of qualities, which only one nation possesses exclusively, to the extent of 90%. We should not forget this and we should learn about others and respect them.

(picture by the author)

This is the basis for achieving peace. We must stop imposing our way of thinking and our philosophies on others.
The intoxication with politics is a form of tyrannical, totalitarian rule over the world (this includes the concept of human rights, which is typically Western and ignorant of other cultures) which only leads to war. It is a “dualistic” concept which divides parties into two irreconcilable poles.

We need to develop a more complex, anthropologically-based, respectful and un-dominating approach. Love the Other with respect as you love yourself. The Other (shoni in Hebrew) is not “anti,” he is different (shone).

There is no room for no arms dealers in this approach of learning about the Other in order to co-exist and respect the Other’s integrity. A true relationship is not the usual relationship of “commerce.” One wonders why this approach is not including in the training of diplomats, politicians and journalists.

How often have I seen the latter disembarking in the Middle East, totally ignorant of these dimensions, having written their articles from their desks in Paris or New York, and developed their theories at their local cafe. Then they have the audacity to explain to me what was going on here, even in psychoanalytical terms. The same phenomenon is found in Israel, where intellectuals propound their theories in total ignorance of the anthropological dimensions of Judaism its history, its religion and ancient sources, in order to be admired by the West. People die in this region as a result of this irresponsible approach.
For centuries men conducted themselves this way, with total lack of understanding, towards women and we continue to do so politically towards other nations.

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I conclude this essay with a passage in Persian.

The passage shows us that we possess everything in order to succeed and in order to have peace and life. It is up to us to apply it. I adapted the text from the Bible into Persian (Farsi):

Frame this text and put it in your house so you will not forget it.
May those, everywhere, who follow the precept of Kurash-Cyrus be blessed as may those who, many centuries after us, will finally hear the message.
Here is the exact translation, which you can verify on the last page of your Bible:

“Now in the first year of Kurash, Cyrus, King of Persia, that the word of Hashem spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Hashem stirred up the spirit of Cyrus King of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout his kingdom and put it also in writing, saying: Thus saith Cyrus, King of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Hashem, God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in JERUSALEM, WHICH IS IN JUDAH. Who is there among you of all his people? Hashem his God be with him and let him go up.”

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Here, links to papers in french language. Open these pages, they complement each other:

L'ESSENTIEL: l'alliance multimillénaire de base à l'époque de Qoréche et Esther L'union unique entre l'Iran et Israël va t'elle refleurir? Esther et le Roi. Le tombeau d'Esther vénéré en Iran. Le Roi Cyrus d'Iran, le seul ayant ordonné de reconstruire le Temple et a autorisé les Juifs à revenir à Jérusalem. Ce lien unique, antithèse de la rupture de la sortie d'Egypte, et tiqqoune de la Création par le dévoilement d'Esther (Israël) attend son épanouissement. Nous en suivons les péripéties anthropologiques et non politiques. Et les suivrons au jour le jour. Nous sommes sortis d'Egypte, avançons vers le don de la Torah. Le livre d'Esther et la fête de Pourim Indispensable pour comprendre cette relation Un Président d'Israël né en Iran	La connaissance du pays Iran : L'histoire, la géographie, la culture sous toutes forme L'orientation actuelle de l'Iran: tout sur Khomeini Connaître les principaux leaders actuels Les principales données statistiques actuelles Un résumé, tellement similaire à l'histoire juive pour la conscience de l'identité identique et plurimillénaire, avec les mêmes conquérants et occupants jusqu'à maintenant, est écrit à la fin de cette page-ci. Ainsi que la résistance et la fidélité à la langue antique dans les deux peuples.	Qui est l'auteur de ce dossier et son orientation humaine et scientifique: Secrétaire général de l'Association internationale d'échanges scientifique sur la violence et la coexistence. Calligraphies de l'auteur - en arabe et persan sur la Création - en persan sur le livre d'Esther Calligraphies de l'auteur - en hindi sur la le chant Insaf, chant de la libération de l'Inde expliquant aux enfants que c'est seulement en marchant que la lumière se dévoile. Calligraphie de l'auteur en persan sur un poème de Rumi affirmant la victoire de la vie sur les pensées de mort L'attention à toutes les cultures dans les épisodes de la vie quotidienne
CRISES Dans l'histoire ancienne: Les Juifs pris en étau entre les empires conquérants de la région Dans l'histoire contemporaine: Une crise violente et temporaire qui s'acheva pacifiquement : l'emprisonnement de leaders juifs Page 1 - page 2 - page 3 - page 4	La beauté des Juifs et de Jérusalem dans le plan de D.ieu, reconnues par le Qoran et les textes islamiques	La beauté du Roi Qoréch dans les textes juifs de la Bible
Suivre en direct l'actualité vue d'Iran Irna, l'Agence de presse de la République islamique Irib, la position officielle de la République islamique sur les questions internationales Les TV d'Iran Les radios d'Iran	Le lien du Hamas à l'Iran ce qu'est le Hamas	La place privilégiée d'Ispahan dans l'espace cosmique

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Qualifications
Positions held by the author

Yehoshua Ra'hamim (Roger) Dufour
Rav (rabbinical semisha by Rav Chalom Messas, Chief Rabbi of Marocco, and after Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, zal).
Psychologist, psychoanalyst, psychodrama therapist. Counseling. Psychotherapy.
State Doctorate in Clinical Human Sciences (with highest distinction), Paris 7.
Subject: a theoretical and critical study of the personal and cultural imagination in analytical daydreaming.

Previously held positions:
Professor, Department of Criminology, University of Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Co-founder and Secretary General of ASEVICO, International Association for Scientific Exchange on Violence and Human Coexistence.
Teacher with the IFEPP, the Institute of Training and Teaching in Psychological and Psychososiological studies.
Didactic psychoanalyst.
President of the International Association of Psychoanalytical Directed Daydreaming.
President of the International Psychoanalytical and Anthropological Association.

Awarded the Gabriel Tarde Prize in 1989 by the French Association of Criminology.

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Telephone: 972-2-563 41 37
from Israel: 02 - 563 41 37

Fax: 972-2-563 41 37
from Israel: 02-563 41 37

Address: Dufour-Modia 5 alef Rehov Alroi, Jerusalem 92108. Israel

E-mail: modia@bezeqint.net

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Three areas of expertise
Psychology, anthropology, Jewish tradition.

Domains of specialization:
1. Psychotherapy and counseling, with emphasis on ethnopsychology and the influence of psychological, cultural and Jewish backgrounds on self-development;
2. The psychological and psychopathological aspects of violence; Multicultural research on violence and human coexistence;
3. The cognitive processes involved in the study of the Torah and the Talmud.

In what way are these three areas linked?
Many readers want to understand the relationship between the study of epistemology of Jewish texts as described in my book "Lev Gompers" and my professional activities as a teacher of psychology and therapeutic counselor.
My answer is that I dwell and "live" in Jerusalem (may it become a truly holy city again!).
After having taught in Paris, I am now a professor at the University of Bar Ilan in the Department of Criminology, where I teach students about the psychology of violence. I also work as a counselor in self-development.
I devote considerable time to study, research and publication.

Approach
My approach in my research, publications, teaching, counseling and psychotherapy, is also based on the three areas listed above: psychology, anthropology and Jewish tradition.
I try to understand how each individual functions, thinks, communicates and what is the influence or tradition that has shaped him and given him the
means to develop, fulfill himself, maintain equilibrium and manage the personal or inter-personal crises which erupt in a person’s life.
In all of these areas, as in what links the three domains - psychology, anthropology and Jewish tradition, as in the "Lev Gompers," and as in meditation and Torah teaching, the central guiding force of man is the Jewish concept of "lev" - the heart.
My aim, when a Jew asks for help or enters psychotherapy, is to help him discover this holistic link and harmony which is the basis of self-development. (See my thesis of doctorate).
The papers and books I have written follow the same approach with regard to psychotherapy, dreams, the doctor/healer-patient relationship, personal, inter-personal crises or group crises, the relationship between psychology
and Jewish tradition, the fight against violence, and the struggle for human coexistence.
Thus these two areas (scientific and Jewish anthropology) are not treated as separate, for they are part and parcel of the same person; the person who seeks and the person who constructs are one and the same. Applying all one’s personal resources in order to help, study, act or pray, involves the same process, for it is written in Tractate Shabbat 75a: R. Shimon ben Pazi, in the name of R. Yehoshua ben Levi in the name of Bar Kappara said: "he who studied astronomy and does not practice this science is designated by this verse ‘they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands’ (Isaiah 5, 12)."

Studying, researching and teaching the Torah.
The preface of Lev Gompers (2nd edition) describes my background in Torah study and the Sages who influenced me. It also includes recommendations by rabbinical authorities on the book which is an introductory book to the study of the Talmud.
Here is a short extract from the recommendation of Rav Shalom Messas (Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Head of Rabbinical Courts of Jerusalem): "… an important work, not only because of its content but also because of its high standard.. It presents a wealth of knowledge, rules and introductions both for beginner students of the Talmud and for those who have already delved in it… even the most knowledgeable hakhamim (scholars)
of the Talmud and its commentaries will value and benefit from this work."

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Publications

The entire Modia Website is devoted to the epistemology of Judaism at an academic study, encompassing every aspect: cognitive, emotional, inter-personal,representation of man, time, space, etc. This knowledge is indispensable, particularly for those who work in counseling, psychotherapy, education. It is essential for people working in these fields to take into account the implicit or explicit ethnopsychology of those who seek help. (see below).

Books (as of 1989)

1 . L’image et le corps. [Psychotherapy in Prisons: Image and Body]
ESF publishers-Paris, 1989, 165 pages. (In all bookstores)
Abstract: The author has chosen to describe psychotherapy in extreme
conditions (prison, noise, the case of a murderer, risk of suicide,
mutilation, acting out, repressive institution) in order to illustrate the
essence of psychotherapy. He describes the therapeutic sessions, his
theoretical analysis of the cases, his interventions and the responses
which emerged. He shows how he takes into account the relationship between
body, image and language. Each step in the therapy warrants continued
analytical assessment and creativity. The book is accompanied by an
in-depth bibliography.
Target audience: the general public, students, psychotherapists and
psychoanalysts.
Key words: dream, daydreaming, motive, creativity, body image, acting,
executing an act, treatment of violent prisoners, personal space,
psychotherapy, prison.

2 . La relation avec le patient. [Patients’ Perception of Physicians
and Illness]. Privat-Dunod, Toulouse-Paris, 1992, 239 pages. (In all
bookstores)
Abstract: Illness is a difficult period both for the
physician/caregiver as for the sick person and his family. In addition to
physical pain, the sick person experiences great internal disruption and
this creates difficulties in the caregiver-patient relationship. Despite
good intentions on all sides, lack of understanding, dissatisfaction,
misunderstandings, anguish, violence, institutional scorn are common
occurrences. The scientific book is based on the author’s personal therapeutic
accompaniment of sick people during illnesses which lasted over ten years.
It describes numerous cases, offers advice, and constitutes an invaluable
illness guide, for sick people as well as for their families and
caregivers. It helps people deal with dissatisfaction, depression, failing
quality of life, conflicts, and loneliness during this period. Specific
chapters are devoted to serious illnesses and terminal phases, when
caregivers feel particularly helpless and are at a loss as to what to do
and say. The chapters are accompanied by short, specialized bibliographies
of titles offering a broader knowledge on the subject and suitable for
personal development and teaching purposes.
Target audience: researchers, therapists, the general public, medical students, caregivers and
relatives of patients.
Key words: illness, quality of life, cancer patient, doctor-patient relationship, coping.
therapists, the general public, medical students, caregivers and
relatives of patients.

3 . Ecouter le Reve (Psycholinguistics of daydreaming in psychoanalytic treatment).
Robert Laffont, 1992, revised 2nd edition. 350 pages. (in all
bookstores)
Abstract: The book describes the process of daydreaming, its rules and
linguistics, and how psychotherapy and psychoanalysis interpret it.
Therapeutic work with daydreams not only reveals important material for
interpretation but also creates a psychic reorganization which enables
patients to resolve problems and develop self-understanding and creativity.
The book describes these processes and teaches how to listen to oneself and
to others, for we are always astride between reality and the dreamworld. It
enables one to discover the great literary and mythical wealth which exists
in all daily discourse.
Target audience: the general public, students, psychotherapists and
psychoanalysts.
Key words: daydreaming, dream-work, listening, linguistics, psychotherapy,
poetry.

4 . Dictionnaire de la violence et du crime [Scientific Dictionary of Violence and Crime].
Eres. Toulouse, 1993. 458 pages. (in all bookstores)
Abstract: The book examines, subject by subject, current issues of violence
(theft, assault, terrorism, rape, crime, suicide, political and financial
violence, drugs, media, incest, war, etc.) and is based on the author’s own
research and that of international experts, particularly Anglo-Saxon
researchers, whose works are little known in France. It also describes the
different researchers, schools of thought and concepts, and lists the
bibliographies of the best works on each subject.
Target audience: this book addresses itself to all those who experience
violence and to professionals who deal with issues of violence. It is
therefore suitable for those who work in the social sector (psychologists
and psychotherapists, educators, social workers, journalists, lawyers and
judges, physicians and psychiatrists, police officers, teachers, those
working in drug rehabilitation programs, etc.); to those, in municipal,
regional and national offices, who are in charge of individual or group
violence and who require a solid grounding on the subject; to heads of
community organizations (cultural, educational, parents of schoolchildren,
aid to minorities and victims of violence); to the members of the public
who are exposed to violence in their daily lives and in the media and who
are concerned about the rise of violence in our society.
Key-words: violence, crime.

5 . Clinical Criminology. Subject headings: violence, deviance and human rights, scientific classification, computational linguistics, an indexing system and informational retrieval system.
[In English, French and Italian.]
Proxima, International Institute for Human Rights. Trieste, Italy. 1993. 251 pages.
Abstract: This book is addressed to academics and librarians. It describes
all the concepts relating to violence which are found in academic
literature and used in numerous disciplines and organizes them in a logical
hierarchy suitable for use in computerized library systems. The book is
entirely trilingual and enables the listing of French and Italian scientific concepts
and publications in international data-banks.

6 . Les dynamiques psychologiques et cliniques du crime contre
l’humanite [pychological and clinical processes of crimes against humanity]: chapter
in "Le Crime Contre l’Humanite."
Eres. Toulouse, 1996. pp. 135-154.
Abstract: This interdisciplinary book is devoted to the logic of mass
extermination which so painfully characterizes the 20th century in numerous
countries. The chapter presents a clinical and psychological study of
various mass murderers. It is based on interviews, diaries, memoirs,
psychotherapies, judicial proceedings, psychological and psychiatric
examinations, and personal testimonies of different types of criminals.
The author stresses the process of personality splits, multiple sets of
morals operating simultaneously, unequivocal monodependency on a third
party, and the presence of these mechanisms in collaborators who assisted
the mass murderers.
Target audience: the general public, students and teachers in social
sciences.
Key-words: Holocaust, Hitler, Nazism, genocide, war, criminals, Eichmann,
obedience, torture, survivors, mass-murder.

7 . Role de l’intellectuel face aux causes de la violence politique dans
la societie occidentale [The role of the intellectual and the causes of political
violence in Western society] in "Pour un monde responsable et solidare"
[towards a responsible and united world]. Editions Montmorency, Quebec,
Canada. 19997. Pp. 379-391.
Abstract: In addition to the classical theories, the author insists on the
need for intellectuals to know different cultures and to think in terms of
different anthropologies; not to limit themselves to theories on others but
to consider different concepts from the perspective of the "other."
Conflicts are based on implicit ideologies which simplify reality, dissect
it into the two categories of good and evil and demonize the enemy before
treating his disappearance as a logical event. The intellectual’s use of
ideologies, religion and ethics for the cause of violence is a process
which needs to be examined closely and competently.
Target audience: the general public, students and teachers of social
sciences.
Key words: collective violence, ideology, hate.

Other books

8 . Jerusalem et l’homme-Bible (poems - Jerusalem and man-Bible).
Paris. 1993.

9 . Lev Gompers: Comment etudier le Talmud avec les maitres de la
tradition. [How to study the Talmud with the masters of tradition). Ed.
Lev. Jerusalem, 1994. 521 pages. 2nd revised edition in press. Extracts on
the Modia site.

10 . L’Amour au dela de l’amour (poems - Love which is beyond love).
Extracts on the Modia site.

11 . L’Ami des aurores (poems - Friend of the dawn). Extracts on the
Modia site.

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Academic papers
Some papers (since 1992)
The author has published more than 50 papers in major academic journals.

1. Le suicide et la tradition Juive [Suicide in Jewish Tradition; Ethno-Suicidology].
Nouvelle Revue d’Ethnopsychiatrie, 19. 1992. Pp. 121-169.
Abstract: The paper presents numerous cases of suicide described in Jewish religious literature and analyzes them from a psychological perspective. It also describes the complex and nuanced attitude of Jewish law (halakha) to suicide.
Key words: suicide, halakha, Bible, Judaism.

2. Penser la violence
Revue Internationale des Sciences. PP 246-268.
Abstract: The paper describes the development of visual, progaganda techniques in contemporary warfare. It examines the psychological processes of this phenomenon and the role played by the military, the media and the spectator-public.
Key words: terrorism, violence, war, cinema, television.

3. Ver la violencia de la guerra o el teatro de operaciones. [in Spanish]
Revista International de Ciencias de Catalunya. Centre Unesco de Catalunya,
Barcelona, Juno 1992. PP 237-256.

4. Watching the violence of warfare in the theatre of operations.
International Social Science Journal. Blackwell Publishers. May 1993. Pp.
247-265.
Abstract: The comment that war is as good as watching a film and the phrase
‘ theater of operations’ aptly sum up contemporary attitudes to warfare and highlight the increasing importance of its visual aspects. The author describes the psychological mechanisms with which terrorism operates on the
general public, the public’s attitude to war, terrorism as a communication strategy, fantasy journalism, press reporting and dramatization, collective criminal thinking, terrorists and soldiers as actors, social conditions
conducive to terrorism, the regulatory role of journalists, daydreaming and reality.
Key words: terrorism, journalist, dream, crime, strategy, war-game.

5. Watching the violence of warfare in the theatre of operations [in Chinese].
International Social Science Journal. Peking. 1994. Pp. 83-102.

The above paper has also been published in Arabic and Russian academic
journals.

6. Les intellectuels et la violence [intellectuals and violence].
Hebrew University. Studies in Literature, 20. 1993. Pp. 27-49.
Abstract: The paper examines the phenomena of rivalry, aggression and violence in academic life and the part played by intellectuals in legitimizing collective violence.

7. Correspondance sur la lutte pour la vie dans les camps d’internement nazis
en France [Psychology of prisoners in Nazi transit camps in France].
Revue Perspectives. 1. 1994. Hebrew University Studies. Jerusalem. Pp. 100-164.
Abstract: The paper presents and analyzes from a psychological perspective 50 letters written by a woman prisoner in Drancy. The letters reveal the psychological evolution undergone by deportees, in particular, the processes of psychological resistance to the degradations which they experienced. The paper enabled the author to publish in 1994 official documents proving, contrary to the falsehoods disseminated in various quarters, that the French government had ordered that the monies sequestered from the deportees were to be placed individual accounts with the Caisse des Depots et Consignations, and not in one collective account which allegedly disappeared. Despite numerous attempts by the author to publicize this fact, the media remained silent until international pressure recently forced the French government to establish a committee of inquiry into the issue.
Key words: deportation, prisoners, French police, dormant accounts, Drancy,
frozen accounts, Auschwitz, Gompers, Chereau.

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Understanding Jewish Identity for Psychological and Educational Counselors

by Rav Professor Yehoshua Rahamim (Roger) Dufour

This page is directed at two types of professional counselors:
1 . Professionals who "counsel" in the broadest sense of the word. These are professionals to whom people turn to for help, through talk and through the relationship with the counselor, in order to understand themselves better or in order to deal with existential, professional, emotional, sexual or inter-personal difficulties.
The counseling process is not just a matter of understanding and resolving problems; it also involves the evolution of a person’s identity.
This category also includes psychologists who work in Jewish institutions and who counsel people who specifically wish to relate to their Jewish identity.
2 . This page is also directed at rabbis who, in their capacity as spiritual guides and leaders, are constantly consulted on personal matters but who have no specific psychological training.

Psychological counseling
When counselors try to understand the background and language of those who come to seek their help, they usually find themselves confronted with a world that is totally different to theirs. Words themselves have a different content. Moreover, the inner psychological structures which form the self are based on different cultures. This is not only due to the fact that people have different cultural and sociological affiliations. It is due to the ethnopsychology on which self-development is based. Thus,
- an individual’s relationship with his family, his mother, father, brothers and sisters has a different intrapsychic representation depending if the person is Jewish or non-Jewish.
- the same applies to the way an individual represents himself in terms of time, history, and national identity.
- and the same applies to everything that shapes and influences the development of a particular personality: happiness, inter-personal relationships, marriage, the family, faults, guilt, recompense, pleasure, future, life itself, death, the afterworld, violence, human coexistence, etc.

Every professional counselor knows that understanding, analysis and evolution is achieved through psychological work based on such representations: herein are the events, relationships, identifications and images which form the material a counselor works with. Nothing in this domain is objective reality, for everything is viewed through intrapsychic representation. Moreover, in a therapeutic, counseling or analytical situation, this material emerges in a relationship between two people who are different, both culturally and personally.

The need for a Jewish ethnopsychology
In view of the above, a professional who wishes to give help should possess:
- knowledge of the psychology of the development of personality and how it functions, knowledge of counseling or psychotherapy;
- knowledge of the world of intrapsychic representations, which are expressed in a common language but which have different inner meanings for a Jew and a non-Jew.
(This is the case for every person and his individual world. My doctoral thesis focused on the influence of cultural imagination in dreams and I analyzed this subject in relation to several cultures, taking into consideration the role of different languages.)

In the case of Judaism, certain facts should be known by all professionals working in the field of psychology:
- Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge on the development of cognitive processes in individuals: these processes are expressed in inter-personal relationships, group relations, discussions, conflicts and arbitration. My book, Lev Gompers, is entirely devoted to this corpus of knowledge and teaches how to study it.
- Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge for perfecting middot - the human and spiritual qualities which characterize men in their relationships with others. A Jew is thus given, through education, a number of parameters which guide his relationships with others, and he is also given a strict set of laws for the development and rectification of these middot. These are, for example, modesty, humility, sense of propriety, love, respect for others, joy, marital relations, relations with one’s parents, children, and neighbors. Jewish tradition transmits guidelines for reflection, self-awareness, acknowledgment of errors, and self-improvement.
- Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge and laws for mastering sexual and aggressive urges (towards others or towards oneself).
- Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge on the processes of self-awareness and projection. This is particularly strong in relation to the validity of judicial testimony.
- Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of tradition of inter-personal support, which is developed through study, prayer, meditation, daily, weekly and annual rituals.
- Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge on the different psychological processes of those who develop these qualities by sustaining family traditions, returning to tradition or through integrative study.
I would like to stress that, in a similar way, these dimensions concern everyone (non-Jews as well) who seek help.
Ethnopsychiatry and ethnopsychology take all these dimensions into account. Judaism presents a special problem because its educational and therapeutic systems of thought were formulated, put into practice and transmitted more than 3000 years ago and are practiced today in the same written and oral language.
These dimensions nearly always play a conscious or unconscious role, because of the fact that non-Jews also view Jews specifically as Jews.

Psychological counselors and the need for a basic knowledge of Jewish
ethnopsychology.
The reason why this corpus of knowledge is inaccessible today is because:
- it is not taught in modern institutions in this double context;
- it requires extensive knowledge of Judaism, rather than psychology, in order to understand it in depth and put it into practice.
Thus, the majority of counselors and psychologists (or associated professions) have no possibility of studying the subject in depth.
Certain rare psychologists or other professional counselors have some knowledge of this domain but they rarely study it systematically, nor do they apply it in practice.

Modia is an accessible scientific publication which answers this need.
In view of the needs of professional counselors and in view of the needs of the educated public for an integrative training in this domain, I have decided
- to use this new medium to cater to the needs of those who seek to know more about the anthropological basis of Judaism;
- to make accessible on this site academic papers of the highest standard which adhere to the criteria enumerated above;
- to use the possibilities offered by Internet links in order to create a truly integrative site, which covers the cognitive, existential, emotional and aesthetic dimensions of the subject.

The response of viewers has confirmed the need for such a site. Modia has been consistently popular with viewers.
Modia registered 1500 visitors by day on its various sections.

The choice of this method of teaching was wise.
Modia is both an effective university and a yeshiva and no other form of dissemination of my writings has reached so wide an audience: my books have been published in fewer than several thousand copies, acquired primarily by specialists.
And how many read them in their entirety?
In contrast, the continuity in the number of viewers and the number of letters which arrive every day on the site confirm the efficiency of this form of publication and dissemination.

LINK

Content
This site offers viewers the opportunity of learning about the anthropology of the Jewish people:
- knowledge of the "founding" texts of Judaism;
- Jewish methods of commentary and study;
- the different schools and masters of Torah;
- Jewish thought regarding mankind, God and morality;
- the Jewish view of time (the Jewish calendar, history, day, prayers, weeks, Shabbat, festivals and stages of life);
- the Jewish view of space (the centrality of Israel and Jerusalem, exile, places of study, the home, the community);
- the integration of all levels of human existence (cognitive, imaginary, aesthetic, emotional, active, interpersonal) in Judaism.

Style
These teachings are communicated not only through the content but also through the form and style of this site.
For this reason too, the entire site is written by the author himself.
I have chosen a style which transmits concepts and thoughts in a language that is comprehensible, and not in the jargon of any particular group. In keeping with Rashi’s commentaries, the style chosen aims to enable every level of viewer to learn from the site and find in it things that are relevant to him. Finally, nearly everything is based directly on written sources, for this is not journalism.

Recommendation by the rabbinical authorities of Israel.

Below is an extract from the foreword of my book "Lev Gompers" by Rav Shalom Messas, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Head of Rabbinical Courts of Jerusalem (the complete review takes up one page and is published in the introduction to" Lev Gompers"): "… an important work, not only because of its content but also because of its high standard… It presents a wealth of knowledge, rules and introductions both for beginner students of the Talmud and for those have already delved in it……even the most knowledgeable hakhamim - scholars - of the Talmud and its commentaries will appreciate and benefit from this work."