Journal of Religion and Theology
August 5, 2025
Julian Ungar-Sargon
1 citation
The concept of Or HaGanuz (Hidden Light) is a lasting esoteric theme in Jewish theology, originating in Genesis and evolving through Midrash, Talmud, Kabbalah, and Hasidism. This article traces its development, arguing that the hidden light shifts from a cosmic phenomenon reserved for future righteous individuals to an intimate dimension of spiritual consciousness accessible through Torah study, and finally to a universal potential in every human being through maternal transmission. A radical reinterpretation is proposed: the Talmudic angel Layla, who teaches Torah in the womb, represents the archetypal mother, and every fetus possesses inherent potential for righteousness through this primordial pedagogy in gestation's darkness, which paradoxically becomes the source of hidden light.
Journal of Religion and Theology
May 29, 2025
Julian Ungar-Sargon
1 citation
Divine revelation in Jewish textual traditions emerges not from the text alone but from the dialectic between immanence and transcendence, law and mystical yearning. This article examines how interpretive frameworks navigate this paradox by comparing the intellectual approach of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the hermeneutics of religious passion and restraint developed by the Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin), and the contemporary philosophical perspectives of Elliot Wolfson, alongside cross-cultural insights from Slavoj Žižek, Moshe Idel, Allan Nadler, and Simone Weil. The analysis illuminates tensions between transcendence and immanence, nomian structure and religious enthusiasm, and the limits of religious language in textual engagement.
New Advances in Brain & Critical Care
January 16, 2026
Julian Ungar-Sargon
Forgetting may be not only neurological decline but a form of sacred release, akin to the Kabbalistic principle of tzimtzum—divine contraction that creates space for new being. Drawing on fifty years of clinical neurology, Jewish mystical theology, phenomenological philosophy, and contemporary neuroscience, the article argues that the medicalization of memory loss has obscured spiritually significant dimensions of human experience. It proposes a framework in which the patient experiencing memory loss is approached not as a failing system requiring repair but as a sacred text requiring interpretation, with implications for clinical practice.
American Journal of Medical and Clinical Research & Reviews
January 1, 2026
Julian Ungar-Sargon
The article argues that the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) is understood in Zoharic Kabbalah and Hasidic thought as a mode of existence beyond ordinary, linear time. It traces how early Hasidic masters transformed this metaphysical idea into a lived, phenomenological experience of temporal transcendence. Drawing on scholarship by Arthur Green, Elliot Wolfson, and others, the analysis reconstructs a coherent Hasidic theology of Shabbat-time. The article then draws an analogical comparison to Richard Feynman's physics of time—specifically relativity and the path-integral formulation—to suggest that, in both mystical apprehension and modern physics, a single linear narrative is not the deepest description of reality.
American Journal of Medical and Clinical Research & Reviews
January 1, 2026
Julian Ungar-Sargon
Jewish theology contains an ongoing tension between viewing God as a personal 'Thou' and mystical experiences that dissolve the self into an infinite. This essay argues that Hasidism, particularly its existential and devotional streams, redirects mystical depth toward relational responsibility rather than self-loss. Drawing on scholarship in Jewish mysticism and Hasidic studies, it extends these insights into clinical ethics and addiction recovery, proposing that the I–Thou relation is an ethical discipline of presence. In therapy, this involves practices like tzimtzum (contraction), sacred not-knowing, and refusing premature explanations to preserve the patient's irreducibility.
Journal of Traditional Medicine & Applications
July 1, 2025
Julian Ungar-Sargon
Jewish mystical traditions, particularly Kabbalistic antinomianism and Sabbatian theology, reveal deeper dimensions of the heresy-orthodoxy dialectic in contemporary medical practice. The paradoxical necessity of heresy in these traditions provides insights for understanding resistance to medical orthodoxy. Concepts of divine concealment (tzimtzum), sacred transgression, and the redemptive function of apparent evil show how medical dissidents unconsciously echo ancient patterns of sacred rebellion against institutional authority. The antinomian principle that authentic spiritual realization sometimes requires violation of established law offers implications for medical practitioners seeking to transcend biomedical orthodoxy while honoring the sacred dimensions of healing.
Journal of Behavioral Health and Psychology
April 30, 2025
Julian Ungar-Sargon
The paper examines the concept of the dark side of the Schechina (Divine Presence) in Jewish mystical thought and its role in post-Holocaust theology. It traces this idea from rabbinic literature through medieval Kabbalah to Hasidic texts, noting parallels with the Hindu goddess Kali. The argument shows how modern theological discourse reimagines the relationship between human suffering and divine pathos, using the darker aspects of the feminine divine to address theodicy questions raised by the Holocaust. This reconceptualization departs from traditional theodicy by acknowledging both human and divine responsibility for evil while maintaining a monotheistic worldview.