Between Rationality and Irrationality: The Jewish Psychotherapeutic System

Jewish Scriptural interpretation entails a potential therapeutic bridge between the rational-material and the irrational-mystic in the world of psychotherapy. PaRDeS, as this system is known, is derived from the following concepts. "P" denotes peshat, the plain interpretation of the text, which translates into a rational interpretation of life. "R" symbolizes remez, hinting at a related religious concept, which becomes a symbolic view of life. "D" stands for derash, the homiletic way of interpreting a text, or a narrative reading of life. And "S" represents sod, or the mystery behind an idea, which in psychological terms becomes a mystic understanding of life. Mordechai Rotenberg believes that it is by engaging readings in a "dialogue" with each other, as in the Jewish hermeneutic tradition, the psychology underlying one's existence may be more readily understood.While Rotenberg acknowledges that it is legitimate to focus on one cognitive-rational or one narrative-storytelling therapeutic method in the course of therapy, he argues that a comprehensive theory of psychotherapy should include treatment possibilities for both rational and irrational manifestations of behavior, thereby engulfing all aspects of human behavior. For Rotenberg, a person's life becomes the "text," subject to being read and interpreted. If that person wishes to change his or her behavior via psychotherapy, then a hermeneutic system must be employed to understand that person's life. However, many systems interpret a person's life according to the particular theory espoused by the therapist. Rotenberg, in contrast, introduces a balanced theory bridging the rational and the irrational.Between Rationality and Irrationality emphasizes that it is more important for a therapist to learn his client's own "language" than to impose his own doctrinaire interpretation. This edition includes a new introduction by the author, as well as an appendix explicating an original psychological interpretation of PaRDeS

About the Author

Mordechai Rotenberg