Freud's Moses: an imperceptible identity

Many definitions of identity have been proposed bur most leave a strong feeling of imperfection, as if the essential notion were beyond theory and discourse. For specific identities, for example the Jewish identity, definitions ai-e even more unsatisfactory and incomplete. Lived experience appears to be nit integral part of identity, a part beyond verbal expression. Identity is, at least in part, ineffable. We examined the intertwining meanders of Moses and monotheism looking for landmarks in Freud's definition of the Jewish identity and identity in general. We also studied cardinal Lustiger's definition of the Jewish and Christian identities in The Choice of God. Our aim was To better understand the Jewish identity and try to apprehend why it remains so evasive to discursive encircling.