Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezritch (circa 1700-1772), the Maggid of Mezritch, once shared a Torah teaching beginning with V'shavta ad Havayeh Elokecha—“Return, O Israel, until the LORD your God [is your God].”
He described the worship and mitzvah of teshuva—repentance and returning to our pure spiritual state—in a deeper, spiritual, and mystical way. This occurs when we reach a level where Havayeh, the transcendent Divinity beyond the worlds, becomes Elokecha (Elokim)—being numerically equal to nature. Our worldly consciousness and physical nature become filled and infused with the superconsciousness of a higher, Godly awareness and identity.
The great Maggid, a leading disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, established core teachings in Jewish Chassidus that strongly connect with ideas that emerged many centuries later from modern psychology and quantum physics. He taught that God is not only omnipresent everywhere but also the fundamental energy that animates and links all of creation.
This teaching reveals that everything in existence is not separate or isolated, but are expressions of one unified divine energy. Our thoughts, words, and deeds can become conduits for Godly energy and fulfill God's purpose.
Carl Jung, the father of analytical psychology, famously recognized that the teachings of Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezritch had already foreseen his insights into the depths of the human psyche. This was evident in his teachings about an animalistic soul and the true self of every person — the Godly, selfless soul.
In an interview on his 80th birthday, Jung said, "But do you know who anticipated my entire psychology in the eighteenth century? The Hassidic Rabbi Ber from Mezritch, whom they called the Great Maggid. He was a most impressive man."
Jung considered the Maggid’s ideas a profound and forward-thinking foundation for the psychological and philosophical concepts he studied throughout his life, as well as in his research and personal experience.
The goal of my articles is always to highlight this point: that Torah has always been ahead of the intellectual curve.
It is only recently that modern science has been “discovering” principles that have long been known by those who study and gain wisdom from Torah.
Recent discoveries in quantum mechanics and its broader framework, quantum field theory, are beginning to scientifically confirm what has long been considered a mystical truth: that at its most fundamental level, the universe is an interconnected whole expressed through an unseen energy that underlies all matter and phenomena.
Chassidic philosophy teaches that God intentionally created humans with egos—an individual sense of separate self—not to trap us in illusion, but as the essential starting point for a personal transformative spiritual journey. This ego, with its fragmented sense of individuality, is meant to be transcended through spiritual realization and surrender, ultimately revealing that the self and God are not in opposition but one and the same.
The ego acts as both the starting point and the mechanism through which a person can experience the most profound unity with the Divine. This idea closely relates to Jung's psychological theories, especially his concept of individuation—the process of becoming whole by integrating the unconscious, deeper parts of the self that desire expression in every individual.
Jung saw human consciousness as a dynamic relationship between the ego and a larger Self, which goes beyond individual identity (the “Havaya” at the start of this article) and points toward a unified psychic whole. The ego must be dissolved or expanded to let the true Self emerge, similar to Chassidus’s call to go beyond the false separateness of the ego in favor of Neshama/Soul and Divine unity.
Jung said, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." He also uncovered something deeper: making the unconscious conscious isn't just something you do in life — IT IS LIFE ITSELF. You're not here just to be happy or prosperous. You're here to become aware. Everything else — all the drama, searching, suffering, and joy — is simply the process through which consciousness develops. You think you're living your life; you're not. Your life is a dialogue between who you believe you are and who you truly are at your core.
Jung found that every human life is organized as a dialogue between two centers of consciousness: the ego, which you believe you are, and the self, who you truly are in your entirety.
Life is a conversation between these two, and you experience that conversation as your existence. The ego is your conscious identity—your name, your story, your sense of being separate. It believes it's running the show, making plans, setting goals, and trying to control outcomes; it's the part that says, "I want, I think, I am."
The self, which in Hassidus is referred to as the Neshama or Soul—more accurately, God watching over each individual—encompasses your entire psyche—conscious and unconscious, personal and collective, human and beyond. It is infinitely greater and wiser than your ego and follows its own path for your life. The ego is false and narrow, overlaying the true self, which is the divine soul.
Your ego seeks comfort; your true self seeks growth. Your ego craves safety; your inner self yearns for truth. Your ego aims to fit in; your true self strives to individuate. Your ego wants to avoid suffering; your true self understands that suffering fosters consciousness and life. The experience of your life is the ongoing tension between these two forces. Every major event in your life is an opportunity for the genuine self to communicate with the ego.
Here's the harsh truth: these two are often in direct conflict with each other, and the one we feed the most is the one that grows strongest. The Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman, in his Holy Tanya, compares these two forces to two kings at odds.
Quantum mechanics, discovered in the early 20th century, challenged classical physics' mechanical view of the universe by revealing the fundamentally probabilistic and counterintuitive nature of reality at the smallest scales. Quantum entities, such as electrons, challenge traditional ideas of solid particles; they exhibit wave-particle duality, existing in superpositions of multiple states until an interaction causes a specific result. In the Holy of Holies, the Ark could be measured yet took up no space.
This discovery suggests that reality is a vast field of potentialities rather than a fixed, separate set of objects. Quantum mechanics reveals that when examining one solid and another, you are actually observing, at its core, an unseen energy that has solidified into the matter you see or touch. All matter shares the same underlying ONE truth. The universe is therefore not composed of isolated parts but is a unified energy manifesting as countless, interconnected expressions.
There is no genuine conflict in the world; it is all a reflection of one journey, one mission.
This scientific perspective challenges the traditional notion of a fragmented universe. Instead of countless separate particles, it describes a single, dynamic, indivisible energy field. Every galaxy, organism, atom, and quantum fluctuation is seen as a localized expression of this unified quantum ground state. The line between observer and observed begins to blur, as the same unified field both creates phenomena and observes them. This provides a deeply holistic view of existence: the separateness we perceive is mostly superficial and not an absolute truth.
The teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman, come alive. The reason it is possible to fulfill the Mitzvah of “Love your neighbor as - yourself” is because, in truth, he or she is simply an extension of ourselves, and loving or hurting another is an act upon ourselves.
These insights reflect the spiritual and psychological wisdom found in Chassidus and Jungian thought. Psychologically, if individual experience is a localized view of a single unified energetic field, then the feeling of isolated selfhood seems limited and conditional. At a deeper level, all beings are inherently connected and share an essential unity.
Recognizing this fundamental oneness can transform how one relates to self and others, fostering compassion, empathy, and a shared sense of destiny. The boundaries that separate “I” from “you" become less fixed when seen as dependent on perceptual limitations rather than actual realities. This view counters feelings of alienation and promotes harmonious social and interpersonal relationships.
Jung’s remarkable acknowledgment that Rabbi Ber of Mezritch foresaw much of his psychology highlights how ancient spiritual traditions and modern science come together to reveal the unity behind diversity. The Maggid taught that God is the omnipresent source behind all phenomena, a foundation that transcends apparent separation. The Godly soul deep down within is the authentic self, while the function of the animal soul is to deepen the ultimate goal of existence. Jung’s study of the unconscious and the collective unconscious uncovered layers of the psyche that reflect this same wholeness, actively manifesting in the spiritual human experience of God.
Jung observed this pattern in every life he studied. The first half involves the ego's rise, as it builds an identity, achieves goals, and establishes itself. In the second half, ideally, the individual moves toward more genuine and humble self-reflection. During this stage, the true self begins to assert itself—breaking down false and self-sabotaging ego structures, demanding authenticity, and seeking wholeness.
The midlife crisis isn't really a crisis—it's the Neshama/Soul saying, "Enough with the ego's agenda. Time for the real work." This dialogue isn't something to fix, something that’s broken—it's life. The tension between ego and self, the push and pull, the conflict and resolution—that's not an interruption of your life; that's what life is. As the Alter Rebbe explains in his Holy Tanya, “this ongoing (unresolvable) conflict might just be what you were created for.”
Quantum theory’s revelation of a single underlying energy field that creates all matter and life completes this picture as a universal scientific corroboration of metaphysical oneness.
Together, these insights call for a profound shift in how we understand identity, existence, and purpose. We are no longer isolated individuals competing in an indifferent universe. Instead, we are interconnected expressions originating from one source, consciously or unconsciously participating in a cosmic self-awareness. Our personal and collective growth depends on recognizing and embodying this unity, releasing the illusion of ego-bound separateness to realize our shared essence with God Almighty, the essential source behind the quantum field, and with one another.
By adopting this worldview, life’s challenges and joys become meaningful parts of our awareness as it develops. As Jung said, “Life isn’t what’s happening to you — it’s what’s happening through you.” God Almighty Himself works through each of us. We are God's partners! We need not be an obstacle to that Divine mission.
The ego’s fundamental starting point is transformed into true wholeness, as taught by Chassidus. This is achieved through sincere and profound prayer, which leads to self-nullification and attachment to God.
Quantum mechanics, psychology, and Chassidus converge: the universe is one, and our purpose is to rediscover, embody, and express this indivisible unity in experience, thought, and action. This vision has the potential not only to deepen individual spirituality and psychological wholeness but also to inspire practical responses that cultivate compassion, sustainability, and meaning in a fragmented world. It is the awakening to oneness that connects science, spirituality, and the human journey itself.
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