Group-Analytic Contexts, Issue 78, December 2017

32 Group-Analytic Society International - Contexts
almost identical in their opposite connotations. As we know, opposites
and oppositions can unconsciously convey identity and identifications,
which are really a version of the juxtaposition of a sense of me and
me-ness with a sense of not-me and not me-ness. I have in mind the
two words “Kiddush” and “Kaddish”. (I do not speak Hebrew, so I
hope that you will tolerate my arrogance in talking about a language
in which I can pray but cannot order a meal. When I once tried to order
breakfast in Tel Aviv, I completely confused a waitress as to whether
I wanted a dog from my backyard or fish and chips).
A “Kiddush” is a blessing, especially with respect to bread
and wine, which are regarded as holy gifts from God. It is associated
with the end of a week of labour and the beginning of a sacred day of
rest. A Kiddush sanctifies a boundary between two separate
phenomena. However, the related word “Kiddushin”, meaning
marriage, implies bringing a male and a female together, which it is
hoped will lead to the birth of a child. This can be seen in the ritual
blessing of bread on the Sabbath involving holding two loaves
together. Although this might be an example of the power of opposites
which can be inherent in language, it would seem that the meaning of
bringing objects together is connected with the need to keep them
separate, and vice versa. The key implication of a Kiddush is the
transition from darkness into light, which is yet another kind of
“opposition”.
In contradistinction to a Kiddush, a “Kaddish” is a prayer and
blessing for the dead, through which and by which they will be
remembered. Saying the Kaddish is a way of connecting the living and
the dead. Although their mortal bodies will disappear from sight, their
immortal souls will continue to live in us and through us in our
children, and our children’s children. If a Kiddush is a sanctification
of keeping separate that which should be separate, a Kaddish is the
sanctification of bringing together that which will be together
throughout all time. The Kaddish celebrates the return of a soul to God,
and a body to the Great Mother. Whereas the Kiddush implies a
transition from darkness into light, the Kaddish implies a transition
from light into darkness.
It is worth noting that although the words Kiddush and
Kaddish share the root Kadosh, meaning holy, they differ from each
other by only two letters: the “i” of Kiddush is changed into the “a”
of Kaddish; and the “u” of Kiddush is changed into the “i” of the
Kaddish. This transformation is “located” in the Hebrew language. I
use the term “located” in the group analytical sense: the
communication is “contextualised” in time and space, with respect to