Colette Béatrice Aboulker-Muscat (28 January 1909 – 25 November 2003) was a French teacher, writer, natural healer, and kabbalist whose focus was on the healing power of dream imagery. As a young woman, she took part in the Resistance movement in

Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...

Algeria with her father Dr. Henri Samuel Aboulker and brother Jose Aboulker and, as a result, was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

in January 1948.La résistance juive en Algérie, 1940-1942, Gitta Amipaz-Silber, r. Mass, 1986 p 178 She studied philosophy at the Sorbonne as well as psychology with French psychotherapist Robert Desoille, becoming interested in mental imagery and dream imagery, which would become her life's work.Francoise Coriat, February 200
A Family Tradition: Colette and her family during World War II
geocities.ws. Accessed 5 March 2024. A practitioner of The

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

of Light, in 1954 she moved to Jerusalem where she was honored with the

Yakir Yerushalayim Yakir Yerushalayim (; ) is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, inaugurated in 1967. The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to one or more residents of the city who have contributed to the cultural an ...

(Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award in 1995, and authored five books about the healing power of mental and dream imagery.

Early life and education

Colette Béatrice Aboulker was born on 28 January 1909, in the city of Algiers in

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

. She was a member of the prominent Jewish-Algerian Aboulker family: her father, Henri Samuel Aboulker (1876–1957), was a noted neurosurgeon and Jewish community leader, her mother,

Berthe Bénichou-Aboulker Berthe-Sultana Bénichou-Aboulker (l; 16 May 1888 – 19 August 1942) was a Jewish-Algerian poet and playwright who wrote in French. Her play ''La Kahena, reine berbière'' (1933) was the "first work published by a Jewish woman in Algeria". Li ...

, was a poet and playwright, and her brother Jose Aboulker was a surgeon, a leading figure of the anti-Nazi resistance in Algeria during World War II, and the representative of the Resistance in Vichy Algeria at the

French Committee of National Liberation French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...

in Paris from 1944 to 1945. As members of the French resistance movement, she and her family were instrumental in helping American naval forces land in Algiers and she worked tirelessly for the release of her father, brother, and other members of the Jewish resistance who were rounded up and imprisoned after the assassination of the Vichy viceroy of North Africa, Admiral

François Darlan Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan (; 7 August 1881 – 24 December 1942) was a French admiral and political figure. Born in Nérac, Darlan graduated from the ''École navale'' in 1902 and quickly advanced through the ranks following his servic ...

. She also volunteered in a military hospital in Algiers and, as a result of both her heroism and service, was awarded the

in January 1948. After the war, she studied psychology in Paris at the Sorbonne, where she met French psychotherapist Robert Desoille and first became interested in mental imagery and dream imagery, which would become her life's work, going on to get a doctorate in philosophy as well. She served as President of the North African chapter of the Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO). In 1954, she moved to Israel with her second husband, Aryeh Muscat, formerly an emissary of the Jewish Agency in Algeria. Along with her own work, she was active in helping assimilate immigrants from North Africa, for which she was honored in 1995 with the title

("Beloved of Jerusalem").

The Kabbalah of Light

Aboulker-Muscat was a spiritual teacher in the tradition of the "Kabbalah of Light," tradition, also known as

Merkavah Merkabah () or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism (), centered on visions such as those found in Ezekiel 1 or in the hekhalot literature ("palaces" literature), concerning stories of ascents to th ...

or Chariot mysticism, described in the first 28 lines of the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Nevi'im#Latter Prophets, Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and one of the Major Prophets, major prophetic books in the Christian Bible, where it follows Book of Isaiah, Isaiah and ...

. She was considered by her students and followers to be the 20th century representative of a lineage that had as practitioners Rabbis

Isaac the Blind Isaac the Blind ( ''Rabbī Yīṣḥaq Saggī Nəhōr'', literally "Rabbi Isaac, of much light"; c. 1160–1235 in Provence, France), was a French rabbi and a famous writer on Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). The Aramaic epithet "Saggi Nehor" means " ...

of Provence, France, and Jacob Ben Sheshet of Gerona, Spain in the 13th century. Her legacy was continued by a broad range of practitioners including psychiatrist

Gerald Epstein Gerald N. Epstein (November 6, 1935 – February 18, 2019) was an American psychiatrist who used mental imagery and other mental techniques to treat physical and emotional problems. An author and a researcher, he was the founder and director of ...

, founder of The Colette Aboulker-Muscat Center for Waking Dream Therapy (now The American Institute for Mental Imagery; Catherine Shainberg, founder of the School of Images; Canadian poet Carol Rose; Louise von Dardel (niece of

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

) and Eve Ilsen, Rabbinic Pastor of the Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal, which her late husband

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Meshullam Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (August 28, 1924 – July 3, 2014), commonly called "Reb Zalman" (full Hebrew name: ), was an American Rabbi, writer, and activist, and one of the founders of the Jewish Renewal movement and an innovator in ecu ...

was instrumental in founding.

Personal life

She had two children with her first husband, Samuel Danan. Her second husband was Aryeh Muscat, a Russian-born lawyer who held the post of The Municipality Comptroller of the city of Jerusalem.

Written works

*''Life is not a Novel'' (2003, Black Jasmine, ) *''Mea Culpa: Tales of Resurrection'' (1997, ACMI Press, ) *''Alone With the One: Poetry'' (2000, ACMI Press, ) *''Reversing Cancer through Mental Imagery'' Simcha H. Benyosef (Author), Colette Aboulker-Muscat (Contributor), Gerald N. Epstein (Foreword) (2017, ACMI Press, ) * The Encyclopedia of Mental Imagery: Colette Aboulker-Muscat's 2,100 Visualization Exercises for Personal Development, Healing, and Self-Knowledge, by Barbarah L. Fedoroff, Gerald Epstein (2012, ACMI Press,)

References

External links

Le Rêve éveillé Portrait of Colette Aboulker Muscat, therapist, 2003 Patrick Bokanowski

Video Interview Jewish Historical Society

Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Brill Online

An Interview with Colette Aboulker-Muscat, Jewish Historical Society of Western Massachusetts, Oral Histories Recorded by Jane Trigère in Israel 2001
* The School of Images {{DEFAULTSORT:Aboulker-Muscat, Colette Jews in the French resistance Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Kabbalists Spiritual teachers Algerian writers 20th-century Algerian women writers Algerian Jews People from Algiers 1909 births 2003 deaths French psychotherapists Women mystics Lists of Israeli award winners Paris-Sorbonne University alumni 20th-century Algerian Jews 21st-century Algerian Jews