The wife of God.
The case was presented of an ultra-orthodox Jewish woman who believed that she is the wife of God. Such a belief may be normative in some religions, but not in Judaism, where closeness to God is understood as a metaphor. Although the patient's beliefs are not acceptable within ultra-orthodox beliefs, there are examples of such ideas within the history of religious Judaism. The deviance of her delusions from the religious norm would appear to be deceptively minor. The similarities in content and underlying factors with possession states such as dybbuk and maggid are considered. Being the wife of God may be understood in terms of her disappointments and represent gaining control over the uncontrollable in her life and society. The details of the case management are presented to demonstrate the importance of discussing her ideas with her and working with community authority figures while respecting their status and rulings.
a Herzog Hospital , POB 3900 , Jerusalem , Israel 91035.
David
D
Greenberg
beliefs; illness meaning: cultural psychiatry