Logotherapy offers solace for trauma and evil in post-Oct. 7 Israel

The enduring power of Viktor Frankl's philosophy, particularly his quote "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how," is resonating deeply in Israel amidst ongoing trauma and conflict. This aphorism, attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche, has found a prominent voice in Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. Goldberg-Polin, a vocal advocate for the hostages, shared that her son drew strength from Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning," a testament to survival in the Holocaust.

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He who has a why to live can bear almost any how

Intrigued by the quote's persistent influence, the Jerusalem Post Magazine met with two leading Israeli exponents of logotherapy, the meaning-centered approach to life and psychology pioneered by Frankl. Batya Yaniger, founder of the Viktor Frankl Institute in Israel, established the institute in 2009 to offer rigorous training and certification globally. She was joined by her mentor, Dr. Teria Shantall, a South African psychologist who made aliyah in 1999. Shantall, who studied directly with Frankl, dedicated her doctoral dissertation to the meaning of suffering among Holocaust survivors and has spent over five decades teaching and writing about logotherapy.

"We all want to make sense of life," Shantall explained. "We want to live for something. We want to feel that we can make a contribution to the world. Frankl called this the ‘will to meaning.’ It doesn’t make sense that we’ve been imbued with this desire for meaning if there is no meaning to be found."

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We all want to make sense of life. We want to live for something. We want to feel that we can make a contribution to the world. Frankl called this the ‘will to meaning.’ It doesn’t make sense that we’ve been imbued with this desire for meaning if there is no meaning to be found.

Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, developed logotherapy from his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. He witnessed both the best and worst of human behavior, leading him to explore how individuals can remain human in the face of extreme inhumanity. Yaniger elaborated on this, stating, "How do we remain human when confronted with inhumanity? We use the experience as an opportunity to grow more human ourselves." Shantall added a crucial nuance: "Despite the experience – not because of it."

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How do we remain human when confronted with inhumanity? We use the experience as an opportunity to grow more human ourselves.

The conversation also touched upon the report detailing sexual atrocities committed by Hamas, a topic that underscores the profound suffering and the search for meaning in its aftermath. Logotherapy offers a framework to confront such horrors, not by denying the pain, but by finding purpose and resilience even in the darkest of times.

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Despite the experience – not because of it.