Customer Reviews

Spiritual Intimacy: A Study of Counseling in Hasidism

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is essentially a re-working of Schachter's doctoral thesis (which I also have). The original thesis was an academic study of the dynamics of the "Yehidut" (yechidus in Yiddish), which is the intimate one-to-one spiritual encounter between a Hasid and his Rebbe. It's not exactly "counseling" in the modern sense, because the Rebbe is regarded as a saint, not a therapist.

Most of the modern psychobabble in this book was added later, apparently as an attempt to make the book more marketable in the therapy and New Age communities. The problem is, a "yechidus" is not a therapy session. It's more like a darshan between a guru and his disciple. By trying to "secularize" our understanding of this dynamic, the book cheapens the Yechidus, while failing to give a comprehensive model for psychological counseling. For this I am docking it a star -- but, if you are interested in the dynamics of pre-Holocaust Hasidic counseling, the book is still a treasure trove of first-hand source material.

Although another reviewer here has objected to Schachter's heavy reliance on personal experiences and oral traditions that he heard in the Hasidic community, one must keep in mind that the thesis was done shortly after the Holocaust. As such, it was a major ground-breaking work, written long before the current revival of Hasidism. In many cases, this book is the ONLY source of Hasidic anecdotes that would have otherwise been lost forever. (Schachter himself is a Holocaust survivor.) I therefore do not fault Schachter for drawing upon his own memory rather than personal interviews. In many cases, such interviews would have been impossible, because the people in question were already murdered by the Nazis by the time Schachter got into his doctoral studies.

I've read this volume, including the fascinating footnotes at least four times through over the years. A fascinating report of the inner world of the rebbe's preparation to serve, of how to work spiritually with constituents, and of how psycho-spiritual professionals including clergy might think about our own work. Fascinating, learned a lot!

I am interested in the material of this book. The reason for the three stars is that in the words of the author, "this book is not based on interviews, questionnaires, or other instruments of social research...but for the purposes of this work [Schachter-Shalomi] relied on anecdotes that came to [him] by word of mouth or that were found in the literature concerning the counselor (the rebbe) and his client (the hasid)." My opionion is that the field would benefit from some of the "other instruments of social research". That aside, this is a very informative book which combines psychological counseling with a spiritual relationship. The yehidut (interview) is not identical with psychotherapy, though. The author defines it "as a spiritual treatment whereby a trained rebe, who stands in a deliberate contractual relationship with his hasid, listens to his problems and advises him to engage in actions which are designed not only to relieve his suffering, but also to align him with GOD's will for him." On this topic, Zalman Meshullam Schachter-Shalomi writes with authority as he was ordained as a Lubavitch-trained rabbi and has counseled men and women for more than 35 years. For me, so much of psychotherapy attempts to solve problems in isolation of their spiritual significance. If you are looking for a psychotherapeutic approach which includes a spritual relationship, this book will be interesting to you.