The unchanging testament the wisdom of vedanta jnaneshvar. Fundamentals of jewish mysticism and kabbalah addresses both the historical sources and evolving tradition of kabbalah. Buy on the possibility of jewish mysticism in our time by gershom gerhard scholem, avraham shapira editor, jonathan chipman translator online at alibris. Early forms of jewish mysticism rachel elior i introduction the mysticalpoetical hebrew works of the first five centuries of the common era, known collectively as heikhalot heavenly sanctuaries and merkavah thronechariot literature remain on the whole a closed book to readers and students, although the first scholarly studies were published. Merkavah mystics attempted to achieve a vision of the divine throne, or chariot merkavah, described in. On the possibility of jewish mysticism in our time by. It flowered in th century spain with the writing of the zohar, which was originally attributed to the 2nd century sage shimon bar yohai. The zohar is a commentary on the torah, concerned primarily with understanding the divine world and its relation to our world. This book brings together the perspectives of apocalypticism and early jewish mysticism to illuminate aspects of new testament theology. Fundamentals of jewish mysticism and kabbalah by ron.
The bible, midrash, the jewish prayer book, and rabbinic literature teach us that mysticism is not something we do but is an attitude toward how we approach our daily lives, an important way of understanding, organizing, and enriching jewish religious life today and every day. To write profitably on jewish mysticism, it is necessary to have, not only a discriminating sympathy with the mystical standpoint, but also a firsthand knowledge of jewish religious literature, the peculiar genius of which, perhaps, no one. Jewish mysticism, which dates back thousands of years, has always been a response to that personal quest. Legend has it that god whispered the secrets of the kabbalah to moses who, in turn, passed it on to seventy elders. The early jewish mystics did not even have a concept such as mysticism and never thought their experiences so abnormal as to require a special term. Lawrence fine, irene kaplan leiwant professor of jewish studies at mount holyoke college, is author of physician of the soul, healer of the cosmos. Matt, the encyclopedia of jewish myth, magic and my.
Ancient jewish mysticism ezekiels vision of the chariot. The hebrew bible is a primary source of reflection and inspiration for virtually all branches of jewish mysticism and esotericism. Call longleaf services at 8008486224 or 9199667449. Honey from the rock an easy introduction to jewish mysticism. Jewish lights publishing, 1998, isbn 1580231489 readings indicated should be read for that session. Laenen takes us step by step through the centuries of development to the present day, explaining how the various currents of tradition are related. Notes on the study of merkabah mysticism and hekhalot.
Tales of a jewish mystic, the always provocative bishop john shelby spong takes on the gospel of john, opening new windows of insight and challenging the ways the. The primary texts of kabbalah were allegedly once part of an ongoing oral tradition. A volume in the series jewish culture and contexts view table of. Isaac luria and his kabbalistic fellowship, and other books eitan fishbane, phd, a frequent scholarinresidence and guest speaker at congregations across north america, is assistant professor of jewish thought at the jewish theological seminary. Mysticism is an integral part of chasidic judaism, for example, and passages from kabbalistic sources are routinely included in traditional prayer books. Academic study of jewish mysticism, especially since gershom scholems major trends in jewish mysticism 1941, distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of jewish history. She was a fascinating figure who built a monastery for her nuns and wrote hundreds of letters filled with warnings and prophecies.
Though traces of jewish mystical traditions can be found from the late second temple period 536 bce 70 ce, most scholars begin their histories of jewish mysticism around the first century of the first millennium merkavah mysticism was the main strand of early jewish mysticism. On the possibility of jewish mysticism in our time by gershom. Fundamentals of jewish mysticism and kabbalah by ron feldman. Click on read more and buy from any book page on this site. Old worlds, new mirrors moshe idel university of pennsylvania. Apr 21, 2010 he has a longstanding interest in the interface between mysticism, philosophy, and psychology and is the author of several books on jewish mysticism, the most recent of which are kabbalah and postmodernism. Interest in jewish mysticism is, in our generation, widespread and growing. Rachel elior, a professor of jewish studies at the hebrew university of jerusalem, explores what spirituality has meant in jewish mystical thought.
There is a nice online introductory kabbalah course available from at kabbalah 101. He offers a balanced vision of the variety of mystical phenomena in judaism in an accessible and precise language. There are 3 books of enoch, each part was written in a different place and time. Oct 05, 2008 historical periods of jewish mysticism. In a thorough historical overview of the movements and trends in jewish mysticism, dutch scholar j. Jul, 2009 the study and practice of jewish mysticism known to be uniquely powerful was originally forbidden unless a jewish male was at least 40 years old. Books, magazines, journals, and classes are rapidly growing in number.
Academichistorical research into jewish mysticism is a modern multidiscipline university branch of jewish studies. Gershom scholem stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. This was considered an age where he would have had enough y ears of torah study upon which to be firmly grounded in faith since mysticism has a both the potential for the development of good. He explains how neoplatonism, gnosticism, christianity and other currents influenced and were in turn impacted by jewish mysticism. Joshua abelson is the author of jewish mysticism 4.
Apr 10, 20 the breaking of the vessels is a concept, not an event, hence it cannot be regarded as a mistake or even an act or a decision. From hebrew schools to hollywood, people of all backgrounds and levels of knowledge are pursuing the subject. Other traditional jews take mysticism with a grain of salt. In the jewish view this indicates more, that the teaching of the sod in the book of the zohar was not invented in the tannaic period, but rather it is a tradition from ancient times that rashbi and his chevraya kadisha used and upon which they built and founded their kabbalah, and also that its roots are in the torah that was given by hashem to moshe on sinai. Academic study of jewish mysticism, especially since gershom scholems major trends in. Jan, 2015 rachel elior, a professor of jewish studies at the hebrew university of jerusalem, explores what spirituality has meant in jewish mystical thought. They, in turn, passed it to their successors, and so it continued as an oral tradition. Jewish mysticism in america today today being june 7, 1978 an openended conversation about jewish mysticism today, in 1978, with younger reb zalman, art green and charles rosen. Welcome to my show, jewish mysticism, where the entirety of jewish knowledge is freely dispensed. What gershom scholems take on jewish mysticism can teach. Jewish mysticism differs radically from all other mystic schools. This is a bibliograpy of basic works in english on jewish mysticism. Instructive for the study of the development of jewish mysticism is the book of jubilees written around the time of king john hyrcanus.
Jul 01, 2001 jewish mysticism can be quite a puzzle to the uninitiated. Explains jewish mysticisms relationships to parallel streams of thought, both within and outside judaism. The kabbalah because judaism accepted and incorporated seemingly heterodox belief systems rather than strain a community under fire from outside forces, the mystical practice and study known as kabbalah was allowed to grow alongside mainstream judaism. However, kabbalists also believe that true knowledge and understanding of that inner. The origins of jewish mysticism offers the first indepth look at the history of jewish mysticism from the book of ezekiel to the merkavah mysticism of late antiquity. A part of israels broadcast university series, each book is written by leading experts and authors in their respective fields. You will be redirected to jpss publishing partner, the university of nebraska press. Here at we have over 30,000 jewish books on our website, with over 2,000 added monthly. Laenen takes us step by step through the centuries of development to the present day.
In addition, a great many more explanatory notes are needed. Dating back to the talmudic era and thoroughly multifarious, kabbalah is a mystical complement to jewish religious life, driven by linguistic and. Kabbalah is the most famous form of jewish mysticism. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Dan, a professor at the hebrew university of jerusalem and a leading expert in jewish mysticism and kabbalah, presents a fundamental work on the history of jewish mysticism, the first written on such a large scale and one that represents 30 years of work. The study and practice of jewish mysticism known to be uniquely powerful was originally forbidden unless a jewish male was at least 40 years old. The first part begins with a consideration of the mystical character of apocalypticism and then uses the book of revelation and the development of views about the heavenly mediator figure of enoch to explore the importance of apocalypticism in the gospels and. Indeed hebrew has no word for the mystical experience. The breaking of the vessels is a concept, not an event, hence it cannot be regarded as a mistake or even an act or a decision. He has a longstanding interest in the interface between mysticism, philosophy, and psychology and is the author of several books on jewish mysticism, the most recent of which are kabbalah and postmodernism. Jewish mysticism can be quite a puzzle to the uninitiated. Buy major trends in jewish mysticism revised edition by gershom gerhard. The jewish thought series from israel s mod books, now distributed exclusively by jewish lights.
The origin of western mysticism mysticism and science. Raphael talmudic references to the work of the chariot hebrew. A mixed bag of 23 essays, most previously unpublished in english, by the passionate germanborn zionist and master scholar of jewish mysticism. Buy quality secondhand kabbalah and mysticism books, at 5075% off retail. Major trends in jewish mysticism by scholem, gershom and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. It includes only works that we consider reliable and authoritative although even many of these books have some shortcomings. The historical event of sinai attests to the divine source and nature of the torah and jewish mysticism.
The name means knowledge received through tradition. Jewish mysticism kabbalah, is based on the public revelation at sinai, when the torah was given to israel. Kabbalah religion, spiritualism, and occult a jewish system of theosophy, magic, philosophy, science, and mysticism. The earliest stages of postbiblical jewish mysticism and esotericism begin in the ancient near east with a number of important texts that draw upon biblical images, such as ezekiels vision of the divine chariot or merkavah, and the ascension of enoch. Jewish knowledged has been accumulating for 3500 years, like a fine crafted and aged wine.
In contemporary judaism, the only main forms of jewish mysticism followed are esoteric lurianic kabbalah and its later commentaries, the variety of schools in hasidic judaism, and neohasidism incorporating neokabbalah in nonorthodox jewish denominations. Jewish mysticism article about jewish mysticism by the. We have new and used copies available, in 0 edition starting at. It includes only works that we consider reliable and authoritative although even.
Like most subjects of jewish belief, the area of mysticism is wide open to personal interpretation. Topics covered include shamanic healing, the divine feminine, amulets, sacred sex, dimensions of the soul, time, numerology, the treeoflife, the hebrew alphabet, and the role of sacred texts and torah. Dan expounds on the most essential issues of each period from ancient to recent times. Sonship and jewish mysticism is a tourdeforce of intellectual history, important for both the story of jewish mysticism and for interreligious dialogue. Abelson puts the kabbalah into context as the outgrowth of a longterm evolution of jewish mystical thought, starting with the essenes and the merkabah chariot mysticism of the talmundic era. Whether it entails a sacred text, an experience, or the way things work, kabbalists believe that god moves in mysterious ways. The fourth gospel calls on the faithful to believe that jesus achieved the mystical oneness with the god who is the source of life. Kabbalah and jewish mysticism torah 101 mechon mamre. Bernard mcginn, naomi shenstone donnelley professor emeritus, divinity school, university of chicago, usa. Further reading on jewish mysticism and esotericsm.
Jul, 2017 working in jerusalem at the national library and, eventually, as a professor of jewish mysticism at the hebrew university, he revitalized interest in kabbalah, an esoteric tradition within judaism. Merkavah mysticism was the main strand of early jewish mysticism. Of these, kabbalah, which emerged in 12thcentury europe, is the most well known, but not the only typologic form, or the earliest to emerge. On the possibility of jewish mysticism in our time the. Jewish mysticism ebook by joseph dan 9781461629191. Some traditional jews take mysticism very seriously. Sherwins introduction to jewish mysticism is the most lucid, insightful and comprehensive treatment in its genre in any language. Rather than provide an historical approach, this introduction to jewish.
What gershom scholems take on jewish mysticism can teach us now. Visions of angels praising god, described as a king enthroned on a chariot made up of angels. It studies the texts and historical contexts of judaic mysticism using objective historicalcritical methods of religious studies, such as philology, history of ideas, social history and phenomenology. By the th century, jewish culture was ripe for a new breed of mysticism to flourish. For an academic and scholarly information about jewish mysticism and kabbalah, check out the works of professor gershom scholem. Moshe idel, professor, hebrew university of jerusalem. Though traces of jewish mystical traditions can be found from the late second temple period 536 bce 70 ce, most scholars begin their histories of jewish mysticism around the first century of the first millennium. He was a prolific writer on the subject, and his writings are widely available and wellrespected by both jews and nonjews. An introduction to jewish mysticism is a clear, accessible primer and introduction to the major teachings of the jewish mystics, to various dominant forms of jewish mystical experiences, as well as to many of the significant texts that constitute classical jewish mystical literature, and to their authors.
The origins of jewish mysticism princeton university press. A comprehensive survey of the jewish mystical tradition an indispensable guide to thousands of years of spiritual inquiry, the kabbalistic tradition features writings from a variety of literary formsfrom the earliest biblical sources through twentiethcentury studiesas well as practical information and practices for the modern reader. It flourished in many countries during hildegards lifetime, including her own germany. Kabbalah in general and lurianic kabbalah in particular, espouse the idea of gds perhaps total immanence. Kabbalah also spelled kabalah, cabala, qabalasometimes translated as mysticism or occult knowledgeis a part of jewish tradition that deals with the essence of god. Jewish scholars, and reinforced by his own wide acquaintance with talmudic and rabbinical literature. The second book is a text on the lives of enoch and his descendants.
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