In 1934, Erich Neumann, considered by many to have been Carl Gustav Jung's foremost disciple,
sent Jung a handwritten note: "I will pursue your suggestion of elaborating on the 'Symbolic
Contributions' to the Jacob-Esau problem . . . The great difficulty is the rather depressing
impossibility of a publication." Now, eighty years later, in
Jacob and Esau: On the Collective
Symbolism of the Brother Motif, his important work is finally published.
In this newly discovered manuscript, Neumann sowed the seeds of his later works. It provides a
window into his original thinking and creative writing regarding the biblical subject of Jacob and
Esau and the application of the brother motif to analytical psychology.
Neumann elaborates on the central role of the principle of opposites in the human soul,
contrasting Jacob's introversion with Esau's extraversion, the sacred and the profane, the inner
and the outer aspects of the God-image, the shadow and its projection, and how the old ethic-
expressed, for example, in the expulsion of the scapegoat-perpetuates evil.
Mark Kyburz, translator of C. G. Jung's
The Red Book, has eloquently rendered Neumann's text
into English. Erel Shalit's editing and introduction provide an entrée into Neumann's work on
this subject, which will be of interest to a wide range of readers, from lay persons to
professionals interested in Jungian psychology and Jewish and religious studies.
Erich Neumann was born in Berlin in 1905. He emigrated to Israel in 1934 and lived in Tel Aviv
until his death in 1960. For many years he lectured and played a central role at Eranos, the
seminal conference series in analytical psychology. His writings include
Depth Psychology and a
New Ethic,
The Origins and History of Consciousness, and
The Great Mother. The
correspondence between C. G. Jung and Neumann was published in 2015.
Dr. Erel Shalit is a Jungian psychoanalyst in Israel and founding director of the Analytical
Psychotherapy Program at Bar Ilan University. He is the author of several books, including
The
Cycle of Life and
The Hero and His Shadow.
Dr. Mark Kyburz specializes in scholarly translation from German into English and is the co-
translator of C. G. Jung's
The Red Book (2009). He lives and works in Zürich, Switzerland.
Erich Neumann (1905-1960), a psychologist and philosopher, was born in Berlin and lived in Tel Aviv from 1934 until his death.
Dr. Erel Shalit was a Jungian psychoanalyst in Tel Aviv. He was a past president of the Israeli Society of Analytical Psychology and founder and past director of the Jungian Analytical Psychotherapy Program at Bar Ilan University. Earlier in his career he was the director of the Shamai Davidson Community Mental Health Clinic, Shalvata Regional Psychiatric Center and was an officer in the IDF Medical Corps. He served as honorary secretary of the Ethics Committee of the International Association of Analytical Psychology (IAAP) and was its liaison with the Bulgarian Jung Society. He lectured internationally and was a prolific writer. His books include, The Cycle of Life: Themes and Tales of the Journey; Requiem: A Tale of Exile and Return; Enemy, Cripple, and Beggar; The Hero and its Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel; The Complex: Paths of Transformation from Archetype to Ego. He edited, Jacob and Esau: On the Collective Symbolism of the Brother Motif by Erich Neumann and co-edited, The Dream and its Amplification, and Turbulent Times, Creative Minds.
Dr. Mark Kyburz specializes in scholarly translation from German into English. He is the co-translator of C. G. Jung 's The Red Book (2009) and has translated numerous books and articles in the humanities and social sciences, the arts and culture, analytical psychology, and psycho- analysis. His current projects include the translation of an unpublished two-volume manuscript by Erich Neumann on the roots of Jewish consciousness. He lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland.
