The Serpent's Bite
This article develops a theological framework for understanding divine presence and concealment within therapeutic practice, drawing upon the kabbalistic myth of the ayalta (doe) and serpent as a paradigm for divine complicity in suffering and healing. Through integration of tzimtzum theology, post-Holocaust anti-theological perspectives, and contemporary therapeutic spirituality, we propose that authentic healing requires acknowledging the necessary role of apparent evil—the "serpentine" dimensions of therapeutic work—in facilitating transformation. The therapeutic encounter emerges as a contemporary manifestation of divine indwelling where presence and absence, concealment and revelation, complicity and compassion converge in the sacred work of accompanying human suffering.