Epistemology versus Ontology in Therapeutic Practice: The Tzimtzum Model and Doctor-Patient Relationships

Abstract

This paper examines how the philosophical tension between epistemology and ontology shapes the discourse on pantheism versus transcendence in Jewish mystical thought. By analyzing the works of contemporary scholars including Elliot Wolfson, Jonathan Garb, Amos Funkenstein, Rachel Elior, Ada Rapoport-Albert, Immanuel Etkes, Moshe Idel, and Eli Rubin, this study positions their interpretations within broader philosophical frameworks established by Kant and Hegel. The paper argues that Jewish mystical approaches to divine immanence and transcendence represent a unique philosophical contribution that navigates between Kantian epistemological limitations and Hegelian dialectical ontology.