Mysticism as a story of redefinition of trauma. Testimonies of Shoah survivors

Abstract

This article aims to read some writings and testimonies of survivors of the Shoah trauma, in which it can be recognized that the mystical question of God and Jewish spirituality constituted ways of redefining the trauma of this historical moment. In this way, the article intends to bring about a discussion about the meaning of what is understood by mysticism, which is not an intimate practice or detached from history and will seek to show that mysticism functions as a space from which subjects can read, understand and make explicit the ways through which they can give meaning to the events they have lived. This element proposes a renewed dialogue between theology and spirituality, with constitutive elements of the human sciences, testimonial literature and the contributions of the studies on Judaism after the Shoah. The article’s structure includes a first part that presents some general elements about the concept of mysticism and the category of trauma from psychoanalysis and specialized literature. Then, and from the reading of testimonial texts and theoretical reflections, three thematic axes will be discussed in which the attempts to redefine trauma are perceived. They are the question of theodicy, the Jewish funeral rituality and the centrality of the approaches of Hasidism. Finally, the conclusions of the study will be provided.