A Four Part Series
Led by author Dr. Shoshana Fershtman
Psychologist and Jungian Analyst
We explore the story of Passover and the Exodus from mitzrayim as a guide to our own psychological healing and rebirth. We find that this timeless story is also the story of our own time, showing us how to heal from the losses engendered by both personal and intergenerational trauma. The Exodus story is a vessel into which Jewish sages over millennia distilled mystical wisdom hewn from maintaining connection to the sacred in the face of cataclysmic historical events. We will reflect on what this myth has to offer for our current moment and the opportunities for transformation of personal, cultural and collective trauma.
The mythic figures in the Exodus story show us how to reconnect with the wellsprings of our ancestral memory (Search bat Asher), discover the light hidden in the darkness (Joseph), soften our defenses and open to our own deep wisdom (Miriam), reclaim our aliveness by making room for our grief (Lilith), and connect with the depths of our souls to guide us on our life’s path (Moses). The Shekhinah and other aspects of the Sacred Feminine will be highlighted.
The Mystical Exodus in Jungian Perspective: Transforming Trauma and the Wellsprings of Renewal is based on original research with individuals from Ner Shalom and other Bay Area Jewish Renewal communities, whose lives were transformed through engagement with Jewish Renewal, Reconstructing Judaism and Jewish mysticism. The class will draw on midrash and kabbalistic teachings from ancient and contemporary sages, feminist spirituality, and Jungian psychology. Each class will offer an opportunity for experiential engagement with the texts and group reflection.
This series is on Tuesdays March 28, April 11, April 18, and April 25
Shoshana Fershtman, JD, PhD, is a Jungian analyst and clinical psychologist in Sonoma County, California. She is a member analyst and teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. She served as core faculty at Sonoma State University’s graduate program in Depth Psychology, and at Meridian University, and currently teaches at Pacifica Graduate School’s doctoral program in Mythological Studies. Dr. Fershtman also serves on the Spiritual Leadership Team here at Ner Shalom.
Rabbi Marcia Prager writes, “The Mystical Exodus in Jungian Perspective is a feast! With lucid and engaging prose that at times reads like poetry, Fershtman explores how the contemporary movement called Jewish Renewal revitalizes Jewish ancestral wisdom, elevating the mystical dimension and the Divine Feminine in Judaism. Fershtman weaves moving personal stories of engagement with Jewish Renewal teachings and practices seen through the archetypal lens of the Exodus story. Here we discover layers of insight―brilliant midrashic and mystical wisdom that enabled Jews to overcome millennia of collective trauma, and offers us a pathway to reconnect with the sacred in our own time.”
Rabbi Shefa Gold writes, “Dr. Fershtman has gifted us with an extraordinary book that is both vast in scope and deep in personal passion. By telling the stories of our personal passages from dislocation and trauma to belonging and wholeness, we can know ourselves as unique and precious expressions of the significant social and religious movements that are awakening our world. The Mystical Exodus in Jungian Perspective is a guide for consciously stepping onto the path of liberation by shining a light on the mythic and mystical dimensions of our inheritance. This book gave me a profound sense of pride, pleasure, and comfort in understanding the Jewish Renewal Movement as a vital force of healing in a world that yearns for wholeness.”
Available for Purchase here