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Jewish Contributions to Humanity

#7 in a series

Long before Dr. Phil,
these Jewish
psychologists were
unmasking the
human mind.

SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939). b. Vienna, Austria. Modern psychology’s father.

Gabe Slabosky, Aaron Mondry, Valeriya Epshteyn, Dana Kornberg, Geulah Finman and Eleanor
Gamalski at work on the Purim spiel earlier this year

Social Justice
Purim Celebration

Detroit Jews for Justice and partners raise
awareness about Detroit’s housing crisis.

D

etroit Jews for Justice (DJJ), in
partnership with the Coalition
to End Unconstitutional
Tax Foreclosures and Repair the
World, will present its third annual
Purim Extravaganza at Ant Hall in
Hamtramck (2320 Caniff) from 11
a.m-1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 4.
Tickets to this event are free and guar-
anteed only before March 1.
Detroit Jews for Justice employs
the tools of community organizing to
make life in Michigan more sustain-
able, equitable and joyous for all,
with an emphasis on people of color,
low-income workers, the unemployed,
women, GLBTIQ folks, immigrants
and others struggling against systemic
bias. The group draws on the richness
of Jewish traditions, history, beliefs
and culture to deepen and sustain its
work.
The DJJ Purim spiel is a punchy,
progressive and passionate short play
written and put on by members of
DJJ’s grassroots community. This year,
DJJ is applying the Purim story to the
unconstitutional tax foreclosure and
housing displacement crisis in Detroit.
As Purim party guests dance, wear
costumes to amp up the absurdity,
nosh hamentashen and get educated
on the illegal, systemic and pernicious
forces displacing Detroiters from their
homes, they will DJJ — “Do Justice
Jewishly.”
The 2018 shpiel is written by Geulah
Finman, comedian and performance
artist, and Aaron Mondry, journalist

A revolutionary neurologist, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Sigmund Freud was one of
the most influential thinkers in terms of how we understand
human nature. He’s known as the father of modern psycho-
analysis, a field that mines the mind and how it’s shaped by
childhood experiences, parental relationships, repression,
and the subconscious. Born in what is now the Czech Re-
public, Freud lived most of his life in Vienna before fleeing to
London in 1938, dying one year later of cancer. He left us with
a treasure of insights into the mind, including his remarkable
theory that the human psyche is composed of base nature
(the id), ego (the “I”) and super-ego (moral conscience), and
also the discovery that unresolved or repressed mental con-
flicts enter our subconscious, where they still impact us but
in ways that could be difficult to pinpoint or understand. It’s
no understatement to say he was one of the most influential people of the 20th century.

THEODOR REIK (1888-1969).

and editor of Model D Media, and sup-
ported by DJJ housing justice liaisons
Dana Kornberg and Gabe Slabosky.
Jews and non-Jews of all back-
grounds and ages are welcome and
celebrated. The planning team is
committed to food sustainability
and accessibility and thanks Hazon-
Detroit for supporting their zero waste
goals as a Hazon Seal of Sustainability
Site. DJJ aims to divert as much waste
as possible from Detroit’s incinerator.
While tickets are free before March
1, it takes a shtetl to pull off an event
of this scale. Guests are encouraged
to donate food for the spread and
bring a small donation to the event
itself. Volunteers are also needed for
the day of the event. Sign up online to
volunteer at detroitjewsforjustice.org/
purim18_volunteer.
Come in a costume, as there will be
a costume contest. For more informa-
tion or to get your ticket, visit www.
detroitjewsforjustice.org/purim2018,
or email Valeriya Epshteyn at
valeriya@detroitjewsforjustice.org. If
you need particular kashrus or other
dietary needs met, email her before
Feb. 28. •

b. Vienna, Austria. Freud’s protégé.
One of Freud’s first students, Reik, upon his immigration
to America, was rejected at that time by the psychoanalytic
community because he didn’t possess a degree in medicine.
Soon thereafter he created the National Psychological Asso-
ciation for Psychoanalysis – which exists to this day in New
York City – and participated in one of the first lawsuits that
helped establish that non-physicians may practice psycho-
analysis. His most impactful and lasting contributions came
in the fields of the therapist-patient relationship and criminol-
ogy. In the former, he elucidated how a psychotherapist can
plum the depths of his or her own subconscious to better
understand and treat patients and how therapists can become emotionally entangled with
their patients. Reik also theorized that psychologically profiling criminals can help authorities
identify and locate them, in part because out of an unconscious guilt criminals will sometimes
leave clues that lead to their own capture.

ERICH FROMM (1900-1980). b. Frankfurt, Germany. The political psychologist.

Heavily influenced by the Torah and Talmud in his early years but eventually becoming
an atheist, Fromm was one of the 20th century’s
most influential psychologists and sociologists—
someone whose political thinking was deeply
impacted by Marx and who was one of the unof-
ficial founders of the field of political psychology.
One of Fromm’s greatest insights, described in his
seminal book, “Escape From Freedom”, is that
humans will either embrace free will or run from it.
Running from freedom, he believed, was a source
of many psychological pathologies. Those who eschew free will, he believed, either conform
to what they believe is society’s preferred personality, give over their free will to others, or en-
gage in destructive behaviors towards others, effectively taking away other peoples’ freedom.
In “Man for Himself”, Fromm put forward his belief that one of the core paradoxes of human
existence is that we look for closeness and unity with others and an independent identity at the
same time. The solution to this paradox, Fromm wrote, is to be oriented productively; that is, to
have a purpose-driven life and to channel one’s talents into productive ends.

Original Research by Walter L. Field Sponsored by Irwin S. Field Written by Jared Sichel

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February 22 • 2018

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