The Genius of Genesis: A Psychoanalyst and Rabbi Examines the First Book of the Bible

As the first man and woman leave the Garden I am with them. I feel their longing to return, their guilt and shame, and their fears about the future. I feel their anxiety about their Creator: Is He still with them? Does He still love them? I feel their rising panic as they realize that this no-longer-so-cozy world might make life impossible for them.

As Abraham walks silently up the mountain to sacrifice his son I ask the questions he asks. Should I obey the dictates of my God, or is there a higher good involving the sanctity of human life? Can I be Abraham if I refuse to listen to the God I revere? Can I be Abraham if my beloved God demands human blood for His adoration?

As Jacob wrestles throughout the long dark night I am with him. Like Jacob, I sweat as he faces his betrayal of father and brother; as he witnesses, full-face, his character, naked and base. Then, the next morning, I weep as he and his brother weep.

Join me on this pilgrimage into the wisdom that is Genesis. For this journey, it is Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even God who serve as guides. It is my fervent hope that by journey's end we will find ourselves.

Rabbi Dennis Shulman, Ph.D. has been a clinical psychologist-psychoanalyst for twenty-eight years. He practices psychotherapy in Manhattan and New Jersey. Rabbi Shulman is a popular teacher of religious and mental health professionals at the Reform Jewish seminary in NYC and at psychoanalytic institutes throughout the United States.