Drob on Jung’s Red Book

Sanford Lewis Drob has a blog devoted to the study of Jung‘s “The Red Book“; that was published in October 2009. Drob is the author of four books on Kabbalah, including “Kabbalah and Postmodernism“, “Symbols of the Kabbalah: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives“, Kabbalistic Metaphors: Jewish Mystical Themes in Ancient and Modern Thought” and his his latest, “Kabbalistic Visions: C. G. Jung and Jewish Mysticism“. (you can read about these on his site at NewKabbalah.com.

His latest entry on the Jung blog is about shadows. Here is an example how Drob connects Jung’s words to the teachings of Judaism:

While in the Red Book Jung does not make explicit reference to the shadow archetype, his struggle with his own shadow as well as the ideas behind the shadow archetype are evident throughout this work:

“I have to recognize that I must submit to what I fear; yes, even more, that I must even love what horrifies me” (233).

“You are entirely unable to live without evil” (287).

Jung’s thinking here is partly covered by the rabbinic dictum that “were it not for the yetzer hara (the “evil impulse”) people would not build houses, take wives, have children, or engage in business.” The idea here is that while one may reject and at times be horrified by one’s baser or animal instincts and desires (and indeed if such desires go completely unchecked they can be destructive and evil) without them one would not have the drive for life at all.