The Wound as Altar: Divine Absence and the Therapeutic Space of Healing

Abstract

This essay explores the theme of divine absence as a generative, rather than merely traumatic, space for healing. Building upon the poem "The Insanity of the Last Century," the discussion examines how the post-Holocaust theological landscape— marked by silence, rupture, and disillusionment—can also birth a radical ethic of sacred presence through human compassion. Drawing from Jewish mysticism, post-theodical theology, and insights from the clinical and therapeutic encounter, this essay argues that healing becomes most potent not despite the absence of God, but because of it. The therapeutic space emerges as a new sanctuary where divine withdrawal enables unprecedented human responsibility and compassionate presence.