Ever since the beginning of psychological research, the subject of parenthood, its aspects and effect on the child, has occupied many scientists. Subjects such as parental beneficence, parental communication, parental authority, punishment, parental compensation, and their effect on aspects of the child’s personality, such as self-assurance, ability to cope, psychological health and development, have been analyzed in their various forms and varieties as they appear in all stages of the child’s development. Many studies formed the basis of well-known theories, such as Bowlby’s theory of communication (1970), Melanie Klein’s theory of object relation (1960), Winnicott (1971), Mahler (1990), Erikson’s socio-analytical theory (1970), and others. In all these theories one can discern similar claims expressed in different forms, such as: the mother that feeds, nurtures, and provides for her children will thereby construct for them the basis for a healthy life and for the ability to cope with different stages in life. In addition, she will help them construct a positive self-image, which will provide them with feelings of existential self-confidence.
Freud (1940) added dimensions related to the father. He claimed that the father provides the child with the basis for ethical values, which form an indispensable part of the formation and basis of the child’s personality. In other studies, which focused on questions related to the relationship between the parents, claims returned regarding the damage done to children as a result of their parents’ long-term arguments or divorce. Leibovitz claimed that the intra-family conflict is more significant a cause of the child’s psychological sickness than divorce itself. According to Rotter (1994) as well, “the most significant cause of long-term mental disturbances is not the separation itself, but the intra-family conflict that characterizes most separations.” He adds, “When the child is confronted with a conflict between his parents, his chances of extricating himself from it with a minimum of damage depends on the positive relationship he maintains with one of his parents, and it does not matter which.”
The claims so far presented with regard to the parent-child bond are based on research, observations, questionnaires, interviews, and other methodologies that helped researchers reach the said conclusions. The common denominator of all the research is that they look from without (i.e., from the evidence) inward (i.e., to the theory). The attempt to form hypotheses concerning the existence of motivations or inner personality structures is based largely on observations of the behavioral, external dimension of the subjects. The subject of parenthood is discussed at great breadth and depth in the works of Kabbalah and Chassidut. As stated, whereas science and research is performed by examining empirical data, which is then used to form theories, in Kabbalah and Chassidut the subject of parenthood exists as part of the inner dimension of the Torah, anchored in Kabbalistic structures that describe the structure of the spiritual world, and in parallel, the structure of the psychological realm. Chassidut is a fleshing out and abstraction of the Kabbalistic “codes” and its translation into the psychological realm of the soul.