PETER SCHÄFER
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264744
- eISBN:
- 9780191734663
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264744.003.0016
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter examines the origins of Jewish mysticism and the Hekhalot liteature. The findings do not confirm the trend in modern scholarship which locates the origins of Jewish mysticism in the ...
More
This chapter examines the origins of Jewish mysticism and the Hekhalot liteature. The findings do not confirm the trend in modern scholarship which locates the origins of Jewish mysticism in the Qumran literature and wishes to see an unbroken chain of distinctly mystical ideas leading from Qumran through rabbinic Judaism to the Hekhalot literature. The result also suggests that the category of mysticism has proved to be a dubious one mainly because of scholars' tendency to insert the notion of unio mystica into the ancient texts.Less
This chapter examines the origins of Jewish mysticism and the Hekhalot liteature. The findings do not confirm the trend in modern scholarship which locates the origins of Jewish mysticism in the Qumran literature and wishes to see an unbroken chain of distinctly mystical ideas leading from Qumran through rabbinic Judaism to the Hekhalot literature. The result also suggests that the category of mysticism has proved to be a dubious one mainly because of scholars' tendency to insert the notion of unio mystica into the ancient texts.
Yehuda Liebes
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199206575
- eISBN:
- 9780191709678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206575.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
This chapter demonstrates that Philo of Alexandria considered the Work of the Chariot and the Work of Creation (i.e. Ezek 1 and 10, and Gen 1) to be domains of esoteric knowledge that must be ...
More
This chapter demonstrates that Philo of Alexandria considered the Work of the Chariot and the Work of Creation (i.e. Ezek 1 and 10, and Gen 1) to be domains of esoteric knowledge that must be concealed. This claim, if proven, has significance for two central areas of research in Jewish studies. First, in respect of research in Jewish mysticism, it is argued that the rabbinic statements concerning the esoteric nature of the Work of Creation and the Work of the Chariot rest upon an ancient tradition that preceded Philo of Alexandria. Second, this claim will help to substantiate research in which connections have been discovered between Philo, the most prominent representative of Hellenistic Judaism in Egypt, and rabbinic literature, and will even establish the teachings of Philo as continuous with Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.Less
This chapter demonstrates that Philo of Alexandria considered the Work of the Chariot and the Work of Creation (i.e. Ezek 1 and 10, and Gen 1) to be domains of esoteric knowledge that must be concealed. This claim, if proven, has significance for two central areas of research in Jewish studies. First, in respect of research in Jewish mysticism, it is argued that the rabbinic statements concerning the esoteric nature of the Work of Creation and the Work of the Chariot rest upon an ancient tradition that preceded Philo of Alexandria. Second, this claim will help to substantiate research in which connections have been discovered between Philo, the most prominent representative of Hellenistic Judaism in Egypt, and rabbinic literature, and will even establish the teachings of Philo as continuous with Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.
Moshe Idel
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195097030
- eISBN:
- 9780199848805
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195097030.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The Zohar is the canonic work of Jewish mysticism. The work represents one of the most elaborate and influential attempts in any tradition, to interpret the Bible, and certainly the most important ...
More
The Zohar is the canonic work of Jewish mysticism. The work represents one of the most elaborate and influential attempts in any tradition, to interpret the Bible, and certainly the most important effort among Jewish mystics. Like many other kabbalistic commentaries on the Bible, the Zohar surmises that what happens during the exegetical enterprise is the retrieval of the ancient truths that comprise the esoteric core of the Jewish tradition, as these are embodied in a paramount way in the Bible. That is, these “secrets” are not innovations contrived by a medieval group of Kabbalists. In fact, what seems to be unique about the status of the Zohar is that it is seen as having transformed a literature that is interpretive in a deep sense—in fact, a conglomerate of esoteric interpretations on various parts of the Bible—into a canonic literature. However, despite the very substantial resort of the various parts of the verses, its special status was not derived from its being printed together with the biblical text, or from the fact that, due to the more usual form that biblical commentaries take, the Zohar was studied as part of the weekly regimen of studying the Bible. Rather, biblical verses have been absorbed into the mystical text and recycled as part of a mythical parable and theosophical interpretations that only very rarely assume the form of a linear commentary. It is significant, for the understanding of the interpretive nature of Jewish traditional culture, that a commentary indeed became a canonic writing. This chapter attempts to discern the most important exegetical devices that were characteristics of the bulk of the Zohar and that informed the highly imaginative hermeneutics of this book.Less
The Zohar is the canonic work of Jewish mysticism. The work represents one of the most elaborate and influential attempts in any tradition, to interpret the Bible, and certainly the most important effort among Jewish mystics. Like many other kabbalistic commentaries on the Bible, the Zohar surmises that what happens during the exegetical enterprise is the retrieval of the ancient truths that comprise the esoteric core of the Jewish tradition, as these are embodied in a paramount way in the Bible. That is, these “secrets” are not innovations contrived by a medieval group of Kabbalists. In fact, what seems to be unique about the status of the Zohar is that it is seen as having transformed a literature that is interpretive in a deep sense—in fact, a conglomerate of esoteric interpretations on various parts of the Bible—into a canonic literature. However, despite the very substantial resort of the various parts of the verses, its special status was not derived from its being printed together with the biblical text, or from the fact that, due to the more usual form that biblical commentaries take, the Zohar was studied as part of the weekly regimen of studying the Bible. Rather, biblical verses have been absorbed into the mystical text and recycled as part of a mythical parable and theosophical interpretations that only very rarely assume the form of a linear commentary. It is significant, for the understanding of the interpretive nature of Jewish traditional culture, that a commentary indeed became a canonic writing. This chapter attempts to discern the most important exegetical devices that were characteristics of the bulk of the Zohar and that informed the highly imaginative hermeneutics of this book.
Mikhail Krutikov
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804770071
- eISBN:
- 9780804777254
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804770071.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
This book is an intellectual biography of Meir Wiener (1893–1941), an Austrian-Jewish intellectual and a student of Jewish mysticism who emigrated to the Soviet Union in 1926 and reinvented himself ...
More
This book is an intellectual biography of Meir Wiener (1893–1941), an Austrian-Jewish intellectual and a student of Jewish mysticism who emigrated to the Soviet Union in 1926 and reinvented himself as a Marxist scholar and Yiddish writer. Wiener's life story offers a glimpse into the complexities and controversies of Jewish intellectual and cultural history of pre-war Europe. Wiener made a remarkable career as a Yiddish scholar and writer in the Stalinist Soviet Union, and left an unfinished novel about Jewish intellectual bohemia of Weimar Berlin. He was a brilliant intellectual, a controversial thinker, a committed communist, and a great Yiddish scholar—who personally knew Lenin and Rabbi Kook, corresponded with Martin Buber and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and argued with Gershom Scholem and Georg Lukács. Wiener's intellectual biography brings Yiddish to the forefront of the intellectual discourse of interwar Europe.Less
This book is an intellectual biography of Meir Wiener (1893–1941), an Austrian-Jewish intellectual and a student of Jewish mysticism who emigrated to the Soviet Union in 1926 and reinvented himself as a Marxist scholar and Yiddish writer. Wiener's life story offers a glimpse into the complexities and controversies of Jewish intellectual and cultural history of pre-war Europe. Wiener made a remarkable career as a Yiddish scholar and writer in the Stalinist Soviet Union, and left an unfinished novel about Jewish intellectual bohemia of Weimar Berlin. He was a brilliant intellectual, a controversial thinker, a committed communist, and a great Yiddish scholar—who personally knew Lenin and Rabbi Kook, corresponded with Martin Buber and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and argued with Gershom Scholem and Georg Lukács. Wiener's intellectual biography brings Yiddish to the forefront of the intellectual discourse of interwar Europe.
Amir Engel
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226428635
- eISBN:
- 9780226428772
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226428772.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
This chapter explains the novelty of the book’s approach over and against the existing literature in the field. It does so by posing the fundamental question regarding Scholem, namely, why is Scholem ...
More
This chapter explains the novelty of the book’s approach over and against the existing literature in the field. It does so by posing the fundamental question regarding Scholem, namely, why is Scholem so well known, even as he was mostly a scholar of a decidedly narrow field of knowledge? And why is he still read today? This chapter suggests that in different ways, the scholarly literature on Scholem focused on the philosophical underpinnings of his work. Scholem, it is often argued, is important because his views on Jewish revival, Zionism, language or historiography. This chapter seeks to expose the fallacies and problems of this approach. And it discusses the justifications, the advantages and disadvantages, in reading Scholem, not philosophically, but rather as a story-teller. Scholem it is argued did not merely expose truth that lay hidden in the old manuscripts of Jewish esoteric tradition, but recreated this tradition for his audience and in response to many of the existential questions of his generation.Less
This chapter explains the novelty of the book’s approach over and against the existing literature in the field. It does so by posing the fundamental question regarding Scholem, namely, why is Scholem so well known, even as he was mostly a scholar of a decidedly narrow field of knowledge? And why is he still read today? This chapter suggests that in different ways, the scholarly literature on Scholem focused on the philosophical underpinnings of his work. Scholem, it is often argued, is important because his views on Jewish revival, Zionism, language or historiography. This chapter seeks to expose the fallacies and problems of this approach. And it discusses the justifications, the advantages and disadvantages, in reading Scholem, not philosophically, but rather as a story-teller. Scholem it is argued did not merely expose truth that lay hidden in the old manuscripts of Jewish esoteric tradition, but recreated this tradition for his audience and in response to many of the existential questions of his generation.
Jonathan Garb
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300123944
- eISBN:
- 9780300155044
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300123944.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter explores three processes in the development of Jewish mysticism from the start of the twenty-first century. These three processes are: the global process, changes taking place in Israel ...
More
This chapter explores three processes in the development of Jewish mysticism from the start of the twenty-first century. These three processes are: the global process, changes taking place in Israel and the Jewish world in general, and changes within Jewish religious society in Israel and the world. Despite distinctions in the processes, globalization and increasing ties between Israeli society and the Jewish Diaspora have managed to somewhat erase the distinctions, at least to some extent.Less
This chapter explores three processes in the development of Jewish mysticism from the start of the twenty-first century. These three processes are: the global process, changes taking place in Israel and the Jewish world in general, and changes within Jewish religious society in Israel and the world. Despite distinctions in the processes, globalization and increasing ties between Israeli society and the Jewish Diaspora have managed to somewhat erase the distinctions, at least to some extent.
Michael Fishbane
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195097030
- eISBN:
- 9780199848805
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195097030.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
The book of Zohar is the masterpiece of Jewish mysticism. Ostensibly a commentary on the Torah, it pulses with the desire for God on virtually every page. One may even say that the commentary is ...
More
The book of Zohar is the masterpiece of Jewish mysticism. Ostensibly a commentary on the Torah, it pulses with the desire for God on virtually every page. One may even say that the commentary is carried by this desire and that its protean creativity is primarily motivated by a longing to experience the divine realities uncovered by mystical interpretation. Toward this end the full range of tradition is activated, which runs from late antiquity to the 13th century, when the book of Zohar appeared in Castile. Recovering theosophical truths in the teachings of the Torah, the mystics ascend exegetically to God. This process invites attention. This chapter argues the exegetical spirituality made manifest in the Zohar is a complex fusion of myth and ritual. First, and most important, the seekers' quest for divine truth is bound up with the myths of God imagined through the work of exegesis—an achievement that puts him in mind of the hidden mysteries, and in connection with them. In turn, these esoteric myths are enacted in liturgical recitation and mystical contemplation for the sake of God and man. The circularity of this spirituality is as paradoxical as it is profound: a search for certainty through the theological myths of the exegetical imagination.Less
The book of Zohar is the masterpiece of Jewish mysticism. Ostensibly a commentary on the Torah, it pulses with the desire for God on virtually every page. One may even say that the commentary is carried by this desire and that its protean creativity is primarily motivated by a longing to experience the divine realities uncovered by mystical interpretation. Toward this end the full range of tradition is activated, which runs from late antiquity to the 13th century, when the book of Zohar appeared in Castile. Recovering theosophical truths in the teachings of the Torah, the mystics ascend exegetically to God. This process invites attention. This chapter argues the exegetical spirituality made manifest in the Zohar is a complex fusion of myth and ritual. First, and most important, the seekers' quest for divine truth is bound up with the myths of God imagined through the work of exegesis—an achievement that puts him in mind of the hidden mysteries, and in connection with them. In turn, these esoteric myths are enacted in liturgical recitation and mystical contemplation for the sake of God and man. The circularity of this spirituality is as paradoxical as it is profound: a search for certainty through the theological myths of the exegetical imagination.
Martina Urban
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226842707
- eISBN:
- 9780226842738
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226842738.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Martin Buber's embrace of Hasidism at the start of the twentieth century was instrumental to the revival of this popular form of Jewish mysticism. Hoping to instigate a Jewish cultural and spiritual ...
More
Martin Buber's embrace of Hasidism at the start of the twentieth century was instrumental to the revival of this popular form of Jewish mysticism. Hoping to instigate a Jewish cultural and spiritual renaissance, Buber published a series of anthologies of Hasidic teachings written in German to introduce the tradition to a wide audience. This book closely analyzes his writings and sources to explore his interpretation of Hasidic spirituality as a form of cultural criticism. For Buber, Hasidic legends and teachings were not a static, canonical body of knowledge, but were dynamic and open to continuous reinterpretation. The author argues that this representation of Hasidism was essential to the Zionist effort to restore a sense of unity across the Jewish diaspora as purely religious traditions weakened—and that Buber's anthologies in turn played a vital part in the broad movement to use cultural memory as a means to reconstruct a collective identity for Jews. As the author unravels the rich layers of Buber's vision of Hasidism, Buber emerges as one of the preeminent thinkers on the place of religion in modern culture.Less
Martin Buber's embrace of Hasidism at the start of the twentieth century was instrumental to the revival of this popular form of Jewish mysticism. Hoping to instigate a Jewish cultural and spiritual renaissance, Buber published a series of anthologies of Hasidic teachings written in German to introduce the tradition to a wide audience. This book closely analyzes his writings and sources to explore his interpretation of Hasidic spirituality as a form of cultural criticism. For Buber, Hasidic legends and teachings were not a static, canonical body of knowledge, but were dynamic and open to continuous reinterpretation. The author argues that this representation of Hasidism was essential to the Zionist effort to restore a sense of unity across the Jewish diaspora as purely religious traditions weakened—and that Buber's anthologies in turn played a vital part in the broad movement to use cultural memory as a means to reconstruct a collective identity for Jews. As the author unravels the rich layers of Buber's vision of Hasidism, Buber emerges as one of the preeminent thinkers on the place of religion in modern culture.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226282077
- eISBN:
- 9780226282060
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226282060.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter provides a definition of shamanism, and outlines the forms of movement from ordinary reality to altered reality, which are mythically described in terms of motion within imaginal ...
More
This chapter provides a definition of shamanism, and outlines the forms of movement from ordinary reality to altered reality, which are mythically described in terms of motion within imaginal geography. It also describes the shamanic transformation itself, which is often mythically imagined in terms related to fire, adopts the returning phase, and explores the ramifications of the return into social reality. The chapter then reviews the existing uses of the term “shamanism” in the study of Jewish mysticism. Soul retrieval is one of the major goals of travel into secret space. The examples that show the instances of soul retrieval in modern Jewish mysticism are reported. The nomian rite, accompanied by mystical intent, is a necessary prelude for the nocturnal anomian practice. It is interesting that descent into the underworld and fiery transformation hold some sway over the contemporary popular imagination.Less
This chapter provides a definition of shamanism, and outlines the forms of movement from ordinary reality to altered reality, which are mythically described in terms of motion within imaginal geography. It also describes the shamanic transformation itself, which is often mythically imagined in terms related to fire, adopts the returning phase, and explores the ramifications of the return into social reality. The chapter then reviews the existing uses of the term “shamanism” in the study of Jewish mysticism. Soul retrieval is one of the major goals of travel into secret space. The examples that show the instances of soul retrieval in modern Jewish mysticism are reported. The nomian rite, accompanied by mystical intent, is a necessary prelude for the nocturnal anomian practice. It is interesting that descent into the underworld and fiery transformation hold some sway over the contemporary popular imagination.
Moshe Idel
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300083798
- eISBN:
- 9780300135077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300083798.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter turns to the mystical aspects that are connected to a study of biblical text, although it focuses on interpretation. It reveals that secrets are considered as an important part of life ...
More
This chapter turns to the mystical aspects that are connected to a study of biblical text, although it focuses on interpretation. It reveals that secrets are considered as an important part of life and of numerous religious systems. The next section talks about the assumption that the discovery of secrets within a canonical text and the subsequent disclosure entail an experiential dimension of understanding the text. The connection between secrets and mystical experience is discussed, along with the exclusion of the divine from the interpretation process. The last two topics in this chapter address the hermeneutical aspects of Hasidism and Kabbalah, and the eroticism of the approach to the Torah.Less
This chapter turns to the mystical aspects that are connected to a study of biblical text, although it focuses on interpretation. It reveals that secrets are considered as an important part of life and of numerous religious systems. The next section talks about the assumption that the discovery of secrets within a canonical text and the subsequent disclosure entail an experiential dimension of understanding the text. The connection between secrets and mystical experience is discussed, along with the exclusion of the divine from the interpretation process. The last two topics in this chapter address the hermeneutical aspects of Hasidism and Kabbalah, and the eroticism of the approach to the Torah.
Jonathan Garb
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226282077
- eISBN:
- 9780226282060
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226282060.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book explores the shamanic dimensions of Jewish mysticism. The author integrates methods and models from the social sciences, comparative religion, and Jewish studies to offer a view of the ...
More
This book explores the shamanic dimensions of Jewish mysticism. The author integrates methods and models from the social sciences, comparative religion, and Jewish studies to offer a view of the early modern kabbalists and their social and psychological contexts. Through close readings of numerous texts—some translated here for the first time—he draws a picture of the kabbalists, showing them to be as concerned with deeper states of consciousness as they were with study and ritual. The kabbalists developed physical and mental methods to induce trance states, visions of heavenly mountains, and transformations into animals or bodies of light. To gain a deeper understanding of the kabbalists' shamanic practices, the book compares their experiences with those of mystics from other traditions as well as with those recorded by psychologists such as Milton Erickson and Carl Jung. Finally, the text examines the kabbalists' relations with the wider Jewish community, uncovering the role of kabbalistic shamanism in the renewal of Jewish tradition as it contended with modernity.Less
This book explores the shamanic dimensions of Jewish mysticism. The author integrates methods and models from the social sciences, comparative religion, and Jewish studies to offer a view of the early modern kabbalists and their social and psychological contexts. Through close readings of numerous texts—some translated here for the first time—he draws a picture of the kabbalists, showing them to be as concerned with deeper states of consciousness as they were with study and ritual. The kabbalists developed physical and mental methods to induce trance states, visions of heavenly mountains, and transformations into animals or bodies of light. To gain a deeper understanding of the kabbalists' shamanic practices, the book compares their experiences with those of mystics from other traditions as well as with those recorded by psychologists such as Milton Erickson and Carl Jung. Finally, the text examines the kabbalists' relations with the wider Jewish community, uncovering the role of kabbalistic shamanism in the renewal of Jewish tradition as it contended with modernity.
Moshe Idel
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300083798
- eISBN:
- 9780300135077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300083798.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This concluding chapter provides an overview of the entire book, starting with Hasidism and the different forms of Kabbalah. It then combines the topics on Greek and Jewish attitudes, before ...
More
This concluding chapter provides an overview of the entire book, starting with Hasidism and the different forms of Kabbalah. It then combines the topics on Greek and Jewish attitudes, before examining the modern implications of the hermeneutical concepts that are found in Kabbalah. Finally, the chapter ends with a look at the bibliocentric nature of both medieval and Jewish mysticism, using the elites' vision of religion as helpful to experiences of plenitude.Less
This concluding chapter provides an overview of the entire book, starting with Hasidism and the different forms of Kabbalah. It then combines the topics on Greek and Jewish attitudes, before examining the modern implications of the hermeneutical concepts that are found in Kabbalah. Finally, the chapter ends with a look at the bibliocentric nature of both medieval and Jewish mysticism, using the elites' vision of religion as helpful to experiences of plenitude.
Moshe Idel
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300083798
- eISBN:
- 9780300135077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300083798.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter discusses several views located in Jewish magical and Kabbalistic literatures. It looks at aspects that can be considered as magical, and addresses examples of a descending kind of ...
More
This chapter discusses several views located in Jewish magical and Kabbalistic literatures. It looks at aspects that can be considered as magical, and addresses examples of a descending kind of magic. Next, the chapter turns to the assumption of angels being assigned to the Torah and of being able to gain access to an angel using the Torah. The talismanic magic associated with the Bible and its historical route in relation to Jewish mysticism is summarized. The transformation of a theme found in Lurianic Kabbalah, two ways where the Zohar is thought to be a channel of secrets from above, and the practice of reading the Torah during early Hasidism are all the subject of the latter part of the chapter.Less
This chapter discusses several views located in Jewish magical and Kabbalistic literatures. It looks at aspects that can be considered as magical, and addresses examples of a descending kind of magic. Next, the chapter turns to the assumption of angels being assigned to the Torah and of being able to gain access to an angel using the Torah. The talismanic magic associated with the Bible and its historical route in relation to Jewish mysticism is summarized. The transformation of a theme found in Lurianic Kabbalah, two ways where the Zohar is thought to be a channel of secrets from above, and the practice of reading the Torah during early Hasidism are all the subject of the latter part of the chapter.
Grant Macaskill
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199684298
- eISBN:
- 9780191764943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199684298.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Theology
This chapter surveys the relevant backgrounds to union with Christ in the New Testament, and particularly the developments that have taken place in each area in recent decades. The problems ...
More
This chapter surveys the relevant backgrounds to union with Christ in the New Testament, and particularly the developments that have taken place in each area in recent decades. The problems associated with older concepts of ‘corporate personality’ are recognized, but a proper understanding of covenant is found to provide a more appropriate category by which the identification of a people with a representative may be considered. The assumption that apocalyptic and Jewish mysticism are disinterested in, or even hostile towards, covenant is demonstrated to be simplistic. The chapter also examines the theme of glory in the Old Testament, as a necessary background to the glorification of believers in the New Testament, finding this to be a distinctively divine property that is shared with God’s people by means of his presence. Finally, the changing currents in scholarship on messianism are surveyed, with a related examination of the Isaianic Servant.Less
This chapter surveys the relevant backgrounds to union with Christ in the New Testament, and particularly the developments that have taken place in each area in recent decades. The problems associated with older concepts of ‘corporate personality’ are recognized, but a proper understanding of covenant is found to provide a more appropriate category by which the identification of a people with a representative may be considered. The assumption that apocalyptic and Jewish mysticism are disinterested in, or even hostile towards, covenant is demonstrated to be simplistic. The chapter also examines the theme of glory in the Old Testament, as a necessary background to the glorification of believers in the New Testament, finding this to be a distinctively divine property that is shared with God’s people by means of his presence. Finally, the changing currents in scholarship on messianism are surveyed, with a related examination of the Isaianic Servant.
Moshe Idel
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300083798
- eISBN:
- 9780300135077
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300083798.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
In this wide-ranging discussion of Kabbalah—from the mystical trends of medieval Judaism to modern Hasidism—this book considers different visions of the nature of the sacred text and of the methods ...
More
In this wide-ranging discussion of Kabbalah—from the mystical trends of medieval Judaism to modern Hasidism—this book considers different visions of the nature of the sacred text and of the methods to interpret it. It takes as a starting point the fact that the postbiblical Jewish world lost its geographical center with the destruction of the temple and so was left with a textual center, the Holy Book. The author argues that a text-oriented religion produced language-centered forms of mysticism. Against this background, he demonstrates how various Jewish mystics amplified the content of the Scriptures so as to include everything: the world, or God, for example. Thus the text becomes a major realm for contemplation, and the interpretation of the text frequently becomes an encounter with the deepest realms of reality. The author delineates the particular hermeneutics belonging to Jewish mysticism, investigates the progressive filling of the text with secrets and hidden levels of meaning, and considers in detail the various interpretive strategies needed to decodify the arcane dimensions of the text.Less
In this wide-ranging discussion of Kabbalah—from the mystical trends of medieval Judaism to modern Hasidism—this book considers different visions of the nature of the sacred text and of the methods to interpret it. It takes as a starting point the fact that the postbiblical Jewish world lost its geographical center with the destruction of the temple and so was left with a textual center, the Holy Book. The author argues that a text-oriented religion produced language-centered forms of mysticism. Against this background, he demonstrates how various Jewish mystics amplified the content of the Scriptures so as to include everything: the world, or God, for example. Thus the text becomes a major realm for contemplation, and the interpretation of the text frequently becomes an encounter with the deepest realms of reality. The author delineates the particular hermeneutics belonging to Jewish mysticism, investigates the progressive filling of the text with secrets and hidden levels of meaning, and considers in detail the various interpretive strategies needed to decodify the arcane dimensions of the text.
Edward K. Kaplan
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300115406
- eISBN:
- 9780300137699
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300115406.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter discusses Heschel's new mission—to educate American Jews on two levels: theological and cultural. The foundation of both was what the author refers to as a sacred humanism, already ...
More
This chapter discusses Heschel's new mission—to educate American Jews on two levels: theological and cultural. The foundation of both was what the author refers to as a sacred humanism, already embedded in his essay “The Mystical Element in Judaism,” which was completed in 1945 but not published until 1949. Unlike Martin Buber, whose brief, memorable, and essentially secular notion of “I-Thou dialogue” could be grasped by a wide readership, Heschel sought to inculcate a more complex ethos that combined reverence for the living God, traditional observance, and universal ethics. For Heschel, Jewish mysticism sanctified human life and was intrinsically this-worldly. His interpretation of the Zohar, mysticism's basic text, emphasized the “exaltation of man” based on a reciprocal relationship or covenant with the divine.Less
This chapter discusses Heschel's new mission—to educate American Jews on two levels: theological and cultural. The foundation of both was what the author refers to as a sacred humanism, already embedded in his essay “The Mystical Element in Judaism,” which was completed in 1945 but not published until 1949. Unlike Martin Buber, whose brief, memorable, and essentially secular notion of “I-Thou dialogue” could be grasped by a wide readership, Heschel sought to inculcate a more complex ethos that combined reverence for the living God, traditional observance, and universal ethics. For Heschel, Jewish mysticism sanctified human life and was intrinsically this-worldly. His interpretation of the Zohar, mysticism's basic text, emphasized the “exaltation of man” based on a reciprocal relationship or covenant with the divine.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226282077
- eISBN:
- 9780226282060
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226282060.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
In the Middle Ages, Kabbalah perforce retained a strong connection to Neo-Aristotelean or Neo-Platonic philosophy and indeed was in many ways inseparable from these discourses. It is problematic to ...
More
In the Middle Ages, Kabbalah perforce retained a strong connection to Neo-Aristotelean or Neo-Platonic philosophy and indeed was in many ways inseparable from these discourses. It is problematic to view modern Kabbalah in a proximist manner as an elaboration of medieval Jewish mysticism. The evidence for the persistence of intense and somatic experiences of somatic transformation was drawn from a broad array of texts. While the underscoring of the shamanic elements in Jewish mystical culture certainly brings the study of modern Kabbalah closer to the general scholastic enterprise of religious studies, it should not be seen as a move that removes the body of texts studied here from its anchoring in the broader Jewish tradition. In future works, the exhibition of the continued relevance of the revitalizing forces of Jewish modernity to the broader question of the meaning of traditional Jewish practice in modern global culture is aimed at.Less
In the Middle Ages, Kabbalah perforce retained a strong connection to Neo-Aristotelean or Neo-Platonic philosophy and indeed was in many ways inseparable from these discourses. It is problematic to view modern Kabbalah in a proximist manner as an elaboration of medieval Jewish mysticism. The evidence for the persistence of intense and somatic experiences of somatic transformation was drawn from a broad array of texts. While the underscoring of the shamanic elements in Jewish mystical culture certainly brings the study of modern Kabbalah closer to the general scholastic enterprise of religious studies, it should not be seen as a move that removes the body of texts studied here from its anchoring in the broader Jewish tradition. In future works, the exhibition of the continued relevance of the revitalizing forces of Jewish modernity to the broader question of the meaning of traditional Jewish practice in modern global culture is aimed at.
Moshe Idel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814740620
- eISBN:
- 9780814724798
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814740620.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter talks about the Jewish mystical movements concerned with what is known as kabbalah. In these movements, a conception of God as Ein Sof—infinite, transcendent, yet related to the world ...
More
This chapter talks about the Jewish mystical movements concerned with what is known as kabbalah. In these movements, a conception of God as Ein Sof—infinite, transcendent, yet related to the world through several manifestations known as sefirot—emerges. Together with this understanding of God, a view of the Torah as infinite, transcendent, yet connected with the world emerges as well. Similarly, earlier mystical theologies of heikhalot literature, which refers to prekabbalistic Jewish mysticism of the Talmudic era, entails their own conceptions of Torah related to magical powers. The chapter illustrates the connections among these earlier and later conceptions of Torah in various types of Jewish mysticism. Particularly, these varied conceptions of Torah provide a lens through which one can study the development of Jewish concepts of God.Less
This chapter talks about the Jewish mystical movements concerned with what is known as kabbalah. In these movements, a conception of God as Ein Sof—infinite, transcendent, yet related to the world through several manifestations known as sefirot—emerges. Together with this understanding of God, a view of the Torah as infinite, transcendent, yet connected with the world emerges as well. Similarly, earlier mystical theologies of heikhalot literature, which refers to prekabbalistic Jewish mysticism of the Talmudic era, entails their own conceptions of Torah related to magical powers. The chapter illustrates the connections among these earlier and later conceptions of Torah in various types of Jewish mysticism. Particularly, these varied conceptions of Torah provide a lens through which one can study the development of Jewish concepts of God.
Amir Engel
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226428635
- eISBN:
- 9780226428772
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226428772.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Jewish Studies
This book discusses the life and work of the best-known Israeli scholar, the Kabbalah historian of German Jewish descent, Gershom Scholem (1897 – 1982). It offers a new perspective on this seminal ...
More
This book discusses the life and work of the best-known Israeli scholar, the Kabbalah historian of German Jewish descent, Gershom Scholem (1897 – 1982). It offers a new perspective on this seminal figure and on major historical events and ideological struggles that took place during the first part of the 20th century in Europe and the Middle East. The book also makes a certain claim about how new knowledge is created. Scholem, it is here argued, is known beyond the narrow confines of his academic because, beyond being a capable philologist, he was a story-teller of unique talent. The two stories that make up Scholem’s fame are the story he told of himself and the story of Jewish history, told through the lens of his historiography of the Kabbalah. The objective of this book is therefore to critically retell these two stories thus that each story would shed light on the other. Pitting Scholem’s biography over and against his historiography, the book is able to approach questions about nationalism, spiritual revival, and colonialism in the 20th century. The discussion thus reflects the geo-political transformations that took place in Germany and in Palestine during this period. It gives a new perspective on Scholem’s life and his historiographical undertaking. And finally it shows that new knowledge is often the result, not of discovery but of re-reading and invention. Scholem, it is here argued, recreated Jewish mysticism in light of the political, social and spiritual questions of his time.Less
This book discusses the life and work of the best-known Israeli scholar, the Kabbalah historian of German Jewish descent, Gershom Scholem (1897 – 1982). It offers a new perspective on this seminal figure and on major historical events and ideological struggles that took place during the first part of the 20th century in Europe and the Middle East. The book also makes a certain claim about how new knowledge is created. Scholem, it is here argued, is known beyond the narrow confines of his academic because, beyond being a capable philologist, he was a story-teller of unique talent. The two stories that make up Scholem’s fame are the story he told of himself and the story of Jewish history, told through the lens of his historiography of the Kabbalah. The objective of this book is therefore to critically retell these two stories thus that each story would shed light on the other. Pitting Scholem’s biography over and against his historiography, the book is able to approach questions about nationalism, spiritual revival, and colonialism in the 20th century. The discussion thus reflects the geo-political transformations that took place in Germany and in Palestine during this period. It gives a new perspective on Scholem’s life and his historiographical undertaking. And finally it shows that new knowledge is often the result, not of discovery but of re-reading and invention. Scholem, it is here argued, recreated Jewish mysticism in light of the political, social and spiritual questions of his time.
Pinchas Giller
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195118490
- eISBN:
- 9780199848874
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195118490.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Comprising well over a thousand pages of densely-written Aramaic, the compilation of texts known as the Zohar represents the collective wisdom of various strands of Jewish mysticism, or kabbalah, up ...
More
Comprising well over a thousand pages of densely-written Aramaic, the compilation of texts known as the Zohar represents the collective wisdom of various strands of Jewish mysticism, or kabbalah, up to the thirteenth century. This massive work continues to provide the foundation of much Jewish mystical thought and practice to the present day. This book examines certain sections of the Zohar and the ways in which the central doctrines of classical kabbalah took shape around them.Less
Comprising well over a thousand pages of densely-written Aramaic, the compilation of texts known as the Zohar represents the collective wisdom of various strands of Jewish mysticism, or kabbalah, up to the thirteenth century. This massive work continues to provide the foundation of much Jewish mystical thought and practice to the present day. This book examines certain sections of the Zohar and the ways in which the central doctrines of classical kabbalah took shape around them.
