Ruth Herzka Bollinger

The Essential is Wordless

[German]

For a Swiss, I am
only a Jew.

For the Jews, I am
only a Communist.

For the Communists, I am
only an artist.

For the artists, I am
only a woman.

For the women, I am
an single woman with a child.

Alis Guggenheim (1896-1958)

The sculptor Alis Guggenheim writes in an impressive way of the stratified complexity of her identity. At the same time, she expresses the danger of the splintering of that identity by her surroundings. It is a situation that is likely to be familiar to most people.

Questions of identity are first and foremost psychological questions. But even Freud, who founded psychology, had only vague comments to make about his Jewish identity. In the foreword of the Hebrew edition of “Totem and Taboo”, he wrote in 1930 that “No one who reads this book will be able to empathise better with the feelings of the author than those who do not understand the sacred language of their fatherly religion, which, like all others, is completely alien; and who cannot adopt nationalistic ideals but do not deny belonging to his people; and who feel their character is Jewish and do not wish it to be otherwise...” Had he been asked, “What is still Jewish about you, if you have given up all these things you share with your cultural counterparts,” it is likely he would have answered, “There is still a great deal, perhaps the essence.” But he would have been unable to find clear words for this essential at the moment.

As far as it is known, Freud only used the term identity once and that was in a psychosocial context. It was during his attempt to formulate his connection to Judaism. The concept of identity in reference to Freud indicates a volume that connects individuals with the values of his people, who were uniquely shaped by history.

We all have our own personal history that sometimes limits our objectivity. Intergenerational influences are factors in all families. Art as a form of non-verbal communication can be a means to show consciousness and integration of experience that cannot otherwise be expressed. Art is the medium of exploration.

Ruth Herzka Bollinger

Ruth Herzka Bollinger founded the "Wyber-Shabbes" (Women's-Shabbes) in Zurich. She is at present working as a psychologist and psychotherapist in Basel, where she was a founding member of Ofek, Association for Pluralistic Judaism.