In 1980, the Italian publisher Einaudi wanted to publish a series of personal anthologies of its authors. Primo Levi quickly arose to the challenge and submitted La ricerca delle radici ( The Search for Roots ): thirty excerpts from thirty masterpieces of world literature, accompanied by thirty short introductions he wrote. Every such introduction is a brilliant commentary on the work, and a reflection of Primo Levi himself - as a kind of self-portrait, in which the painter produces his collage from materials created by others. These excepts - published for the first time in Hebrew - reveal some of the important ethical and aesthetic influences on Primo Levi and his work. Levi quotes from Job, Lucretius, Rabelais‏, Babel, Shalom Aleichem, de Saint-Exupéry and more, but also from Darwin's On Origin of Species and even from Practical Organic Chemistry. Thus, it is possible to trace his extensive and diverse, humanistic and scientific education, the roots from which his unique literary work grew.

MA‘ARAG: The Israel Annual of Psychoanalysis is a democratic, refereed annual publication, evaluated and edited by academicians, intellectuals in related fields, and clinicians. The journal, dedicated to research in psychoanalytic theory, practice and criticism, is the fruit of the initiative and cooperation of the Sigmund Freud Center for the Study and Research in Psychoanalysis of the Hebrew University, the Israeli Association for Self Psychology and the Study of Subjectivity, Israel Society for Analytical Psychology, Israel Psychoanalytic Society, Clinical Division of the Israel Psychological Association, Israel Institute for Group Analysis, Israel Institute of Jungian Psychology, The Sigmund Freud Chair of Psychoanalysis of the Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University, Tel-Aviv Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, The Winnicott Center in Israel and the New Israeli Jungian Association. From this issue: Itamar Levi | REFLECTIONS ON THE DREAM DISCOURSE Yael Pilowsky Bankirer | THE MOTHER'S NAME OF THE FATHER: ON NAMES AND SUBJECTIVITY Ravit Raufman | SIDE BY SIDE: RELATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON WORKING WITH DREAMS USING EARLY PSYCHOLINGUISTIC FREUDIAN IDEAS Lital Pelleg | THE RAVAGE WREAKED BY LOVE: SEXUAL TRAUMA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LACANIAN JOUISSANCE Michael Sidi-Levi | FROM EARLY META-PSYCHOLOGY TO THE WIDENING OF THE LIBIDO CONCEPT: THOUGHTS ABOUT “ROBBING” AND BINDING Shani Samai-Moskovich | CROSSING THRESHOLDS OF INTENSITY IN THE AREA OF CREATION Shlomit Cohen | INTERIORITY AND INTERNALIZATION: A SKETCH OF A BASIC PROCESS

In his two masterworks, Mishneh Torah and The Guide for the Perplexed , Maimonides explicitly articulates a dual crisis: the disintegration of the Halakhic tradition and the erosion of the esoteric knowledge of the Torah. This study presents a novel interpretation of Maimonides’ crisis proclamations and the narratives linked to them. It primarily analyzes how Maimonides crafted a discourse of crisis, illuminating this through a comparison with earlier discourses in the Jewish canon and parallel crisis narratives in Islamic sources. The key question it seeks to answer is: why did Maimonides prominently employ this discourse in his works? The exploration of crisis discourse in Maimonides’ work reveals how he introduces a marked internal tension in each of his two major works. On the one hand, he declares his commitment to both the halakhic tradition and the esoteric knowledge tradition, even as he retrospectively reshapes them. On the other hand, he emphasizes the urgent need for reforming these traditions to confront the rupture they have undergone. This study demonstrates that in both Mishneh Torah and The Guide for the Perplexed , Maimonides portrays the process of breaking and refashioning tradition as an act of loyalty to these traditions during a time of crisis.

The "Possibility of Dialogue" issue was originally designed as a tribute to the dialogic philosophy of Martin Buber on the centenary of his groundbreaking book I and Thou ( Ich und Du 1923). Since the planning of the issue, Israeli society has gone through dramatic upheavals, and most recently, on October 7th, a brutal massacre of many Israeli citizens by Hamas, followed by a bitter war whose end is still not in sight. The 72 issue (Fall 2023) of Iyyun is now published in a painful, violent and bloody country. At a time when the possibilities of dialogue have collapsed and disappeared almost entirely from the public sphere, the necessity of philosophical discussion is essential and urgent. The title "Possibility of Dialogue" reminds us that the existence of dialogue is not a matter of course. Dialogue is a type of human possibility, a certain form of conduct - of speaking and listening, of living together - in the linguistic space, which can be realized in different contexts and in different ways; However, there is no necessity for its realization. The fact that through the common language we communicate with others, say things, convey messages, achieve achievements, is not a sufficient condition for the realization of the dialogical possibility. But, if communicative success is not the criterion for dialogue, what is its meaning? How do we approach this inquiry? A subscription can be purchesed through this link or use the online form .

Purchase of the subscription online includes domestic shipping via registered mail of the Israel Post. Other delivery options are available in the online form . International subscriptions are shipped via Fedex. The current subscription includes three volumes (72-74). Look inside volume 72 here . Iyyun was established in 1945 as a Hebrew philosophical periodical by Martin Buber, S. H. Bergman and Julius Guttmann and is published by the S. H. Bergman Center for Philosophical Studies of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Iyyun has been rebranded, and as part of this renewal a number of thematic issues are published, aiming to advance contemporary philosophical discourse, primarily in Hebrew, to indicate new paths of thought and lines of original research, and to build bridges between academia and the broader public.‍ Iyyun seeks to give expression to a wide spectrum of writers, and is committed to cultural and ideological pluralism, scholarly excellence, high quality writing, and vitality of thought. This in the belief that philosophical thought has a formative role in local culture, and could be influential in shaping the sociopolitical sphere.

This book presents a comprehensive selection, translated for the first time into Hebrew, of the Latin works of Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374), the "father of humanism" and a pivotal precursor to the Italian Renaissance. The compilation includes some of Petrarch's renowned personal letters, such as the pair he addressed to the Roman orator and philosopher Cicero. It features a therapeutic-autobiographical dialogue in which he engages with his spiritual father, Saint Augustine, challenging the latter's strict worldviews. The selection also encompasses an Invective against the dominant Aristotelian philosophy of his era, asserting the preeminence of classical rhetoric over philosophy; a novella presenting his interpretation of the closing story of the Decameron ; and a portion of his Latin poetry, through which he sought to revive the works of the great Roman poet Virgil. Through these writings, Petrarch fostered the emergence of a new secular culture on the cusp of the modern era—one that emphasizes humanity and life in this world—and set the stage for the remarkable creative surge of the Italian Renaissance.

This book offers a rich selection of literary dialogues and articles by Iris Murdoch (1919-1999). Murdoch offers a new literary and philosophical perspective on love, ethics, religion and art.

Letters can often be spontaneous expressions of their writer's search for meaning, redemption and identity. Such are the letters of Bruno Schulz, one of the most sensitive, and most tormented European-Jewish writers. In this collection of letters - published here for the first time in Hebrew, translated by Miriam Bornstein and edited by Jacob Golomb - Schulz expresses his most hidden thoughts in the most poignant way. These letters were a vital lifeline for him that connected his remote city of Drohowicz to the turbulent cultural and literary centers of Poland in the interwar period. Schulz's desperate need to gain public recognition resonates with them, along with a strong sense of loneliness and existential isolation. These letters can be read as works of art in their own right, and they have the potential to shed new light on Schulz's work, its mysteries and embarrassments. The book includes some of his spectacular paintings and a selection of the review notes he wrote and published. Schultz reveals himself as a sharp, attentive and sensitive critic. Oftentimes, his critical lists not only talk about the works, but reflect his own personality.

This book examines the essentiality of the component of enjoyment to a good life. John Kekes reflects upon historical episodes and literary works, and shows how literature is a better guide than the search for general theories and principles, which constitute a central part of contemporary deontological ethics, consequentialism, and concrete thought.

Empathy is often conceptualized as the experience of walking in someone else’s shoes. This experience comprises of a cognitive aspect – the ability to identify, understand and adopt the perspective of another, and an affective aspect – sharing the emotions of others, while remaining distinct. Empathy has been widely recognized as central to cognitive and social development, and a key to nurturing interpersonal relationships and encouraging pro-social action. But empathy has drawbacks as well: Its boundaries, limitations and even potential damage have also been recognized and investigated. The articles in this book take multiple perspectives to studying empathy. They discuss how empathy is developed and how it is bounded, and focus on both its positive and negative implications. The articles in the first part of the book take a social sciences perspective to empathy. They define empathy, describe its development from very early age and throughout the life-span, and examine how it affects intra-personal, interpersonal and social processes. The second part of the book discusses the role of empathy in the humanities. The articles in this part address empathy in history, literature and the arts. Together, the articles in this book point to the vast scope of empathy as a phenomenon in both the social sciences and the humanities.

Do physical trauma, illness and disability necessarily cause depression? Who is the audience applying to the field of medical psychology? What are the moral values and ethical issues that concern medical psychologists? What is unique about the medical psychologists working within the health systems? These questions and many more may be answered in this book, which deals with medical psychology: A field that specializes in psychology intended for those dealing with various diseases, with all the consequences that arise from them. This is the first book in Hebrew dedicated to this field, which forms a bridge between the professions of medicine and psychology and between academia and therapy. The book is intended for psychologists, mental health professionals and all those involved in the fields of health and medicine.

MA‘ARAG: The Israel Annual of Psychoanalysis is a democratic, refereed annual publication, evaluated and edited by academicians, intellectuals in related fields, and clinicians. The journal, dedicated to research in psychoanalytic theory, practice and criticism, is the fruit of the initiative and cooperation of the Sigmund Freud Center for the Study and Research in Psychoanalysis of the Hebrew University, the Israeli Association for Self Psychology and the Study of Subjectivity, Israel Society for Analytical Psychology, Israel Psychoanalytic Society, Clinical Division of the Israel Psychological Association, Israel Institute for Group Analysis, Israel Institute of Jungian Psychology, The Sigmund Freud Chair of Psychoanalysis of the Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University, Tel-Aviv Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis, The Winnicott Center in Israel and the New Israeli Jungian Association. From this issue: Gad Ben-Shefer | FINDING TRUTH IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD: BORGES, POST-MODERNISM, AND PSYCHOANALYTIC TREATMENT Ronit Lazar | A TALE OF TRAUMA AND HOPE Ruth Gat-Dubrov | FROM THE PAINS OF SELF-ESTEEM TO SELFHOOD AS COMPLETE EXISTENCE Elana Lakh | THE FACES OF EVIL: MANIFESTATIONS OF THE ARCHETYPAL SHADOW IN MYTH AND PSYCHOTHERAPY Ofrit Shapira-Berman and Doaa Ibrahim Batah | WHEN BODY MEETS LANGUAGE, CREATING THE SPIRIT: ARAB-ISRAELI WOMEN TALK ABOUT INCEST: A PSYCHOANALYTIC VIEW OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Tuvia Peri, Mitchel Becker and Boaz Shalgi | THE TOWER OF BABEL: FROM THE TRIBAL BONFIRE TO THE MELTING POT AND BACK Nurit Doron Bar | AS ENQUIST AND BACH MEET OGDEN: WORDS AND SOUNDS IN REVERIE’S WANDERING AS THE ART OF COPING WITH LOSS AND MOURNING