Divine Instruments: Bach’s Partitas, Mystical Theodicy, and the Suffering Physician

This paper explores the profound synthesis between Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partitas for solo keyboard, Jewish mystical concepts of divine attributes (middot), and the therapeutic model of the physician as tzaddik who bears patient suffering. Through analysis of the interplay between midat hadin (divine judgment) and rachamim (divine mercy) in Bach’s compositional architecture, alongside Zoharic imagery of the righteous as instruments played by the Shechinah, this study proposes that Bach’s Partitas embody a mystical theodicy that parallels the healing process wherein the physician-tzaddik serves as a divine conduit for transforming suffering into redemption.

Keywords: Bach Partitas, Jewish Mysticism, Zohar, Theodicy, Healing, Tzaddik, Midat Hadin, Rachamim.