The Hero’s Journey Within: Confronting the Shadow During Times of War

As people of faith, it is natural for us to search for meaning during times of war and suffering.

The destruction of the Temple was attributed to baseless hatred among our own people. Such hatred often grows out of self hatred and inner disconnection from parts of our own soul that we struggle to accept. It can stem from a person’s difficulty in coming to terms with personal limitations and respecting the boundaries of others.

War Outside and Sometimes Inside the Home

I would like to offer another perspective for reflection, particularly for those who live in homes or families where relationships are strained. For some people, there is war outside and war inside the home at the same time. This is an incredibly painful and stressful situation.

I will approach this topic from a psychological perspective because knowledge is often the first step toward healing, recovery, and the personal growth that life demands from us.

The concept of the Hero’s Journey in psychology is connected to the teachings of the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961). To understand this journey, we must first become familiar with the concept of the shadow.

The Archetype of the Shadow

The shadow archetype represents parts of a person’s personality that do not fit society’s expectations or collective moral standards. Because of this, people often try to hide or disguise these aspects of themselves.

The shadow is sometimes described as the dark half of the human personality. It includes our selfish impulses, fears, and traits we would rather deny. Yet the shadow also contains our creativity and uniqueness, powerful energies that exist within each of us.

The shadow is the place in the psyche where we store our fears, the things that disgust or frighten us, and the qualities within ourselves that we avoid confronting. These parts of ourselves may feel foreign, almost like others. Because of this, we may react to them with anger, hatred, or rejection.

Every person has such a shadow. For some people, large portions of their personality are pushed into the shadow. This is often seen, for example, in individuals with narcissistic tendencies. Others are willing to do the work of self awareness and process these hidden aspects, so fewer parts of themselves remain buried there.

When Identity Creates Inner Conflict

A person often identifies strongly with certain values or character traits such as humility, kindness, patience, independence, or assertiveness. When this happens, aspects of the personality that contradict those values may be pushed into the shadow and denied.

To strengthen their identity, a person may actively fight behaviors or opinions that oppose the traits they identify with. For example, someone who sees themselves as a very kind person may behave with extreme politeness yet react with intense emotional turmoil when encountering behavior that appears impolite, even if it is not truly inappropriate.

Unconsciously, such a person may long to occasionally set aside the burden of constant politeness and behave differently. This does not necessarily mean becoming rude or aggressive. It may simply mean expressing a small moment of firmness or impatience.

Sometimes a person’s resentment toward others is connected to their inability to accept similar traits within themselves.

The shadow is an integral part of every human being, just like a physical shadow.

When a person begins to confront their shadow and become aware of these hidden aspects of their personality, they may gradually learn to accept them. They can begin to make space within themselves for traits and feelings that were previously repressed or denied.

The Hero’s Journey and Integrating the Self

The hero’s journey is, in many ways, the journey of encountering the shadow, accepting it as authentic life energy, and integrating it back into the whole personality.

The shadow is actually a secret source of strength. The more responsibility we take for the shadow aspects within us, the stronger we become.

This is a journey of initiation and maturation, a movement away from a rigid division of good versus bad toward a more integrated place that can hold tension between opposites. It is the ability to live with paradoxes.

A Time for Personal and National Growth

It is not difficult to see that we are living in a very important time in our spiritual development, both as individuals and as a people.

Each person is being asked to reflect. What is hidden in my own shadow? What am I avoiding confronting within myself so much that it turns into burning hatred toward others?

Working with the shadow creates greater inner peace. This does not necessarily mean you will suddenly love or agree with everything you previously rejected. But you may find that you no longer need to hate so intensely.

You will be able to set boundaries more easily and respect the boundaries of others without feeling that your ego has been wounded.

The Courage of the True Hero

This is called the hero’s journey because the true hero is the one who conquers his inner impulses through effort and self confrontation.

Such work is difficult to do alone. Some aspects of the shadow feel deeply threatening, and working with them often requires a process and guidance. But we can certainly begin by having the courage to examine ourselves before judging others.

The freedom and joy that emerge from such inner spiritual work are profound. They bring blessing not only to the individual but also shine light within the wider community and within Israel.