Jung and His Relationship to Judaism

Abstract

Jung’s relationship to Judaism and to Jewish psychology has been a subject of great controversy. In the last two years, four books have been published that have brought to light new primary documents on Jung’s relationship to Judaism, showing a change in his view from the 1930s to one more sympathetic to the mystical traditions within Judaism. This paper discusses the four books—Kabbalistic Visions, The Red Book, Carl Gustav Jung: Avant-Garde Conservative, and The Jung-Kirsch Letters—with special reference to the correspondence between the author’s father, James Kirsch, and Jung.

Key Words:

• anti-Semitism
• Carl Gustav Jung: Avant-Garde Conservative
• Judaism
• C. G. Jung
• The Jung-Kirsch Letters
• Kabbalah
• Kabbalistic Visions
• James Kirsch
• Nazis
• The Red Book
• Zionism