Arie Morgenstern
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305784
- eISBN:
- 9780199784820
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305787.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Various End-reckonings, based on both the Talmud and the Zohar, led to the conclusion that the Messiah would appear in 5600 A.M. (the six-hundredth year of the sixth millennium), corresponding to ...
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Various End-reckonings, based on both the Talmud and the Zohar, led to the conclusion that the Messiah would appear in 5600 A.M. (the six-hundredth year of the sixth millennium), corresponding to 1840 C.E. The firmly entrenched belief appears in documents from throughout the Jewish world: Persia and Kurdistan, Morocco, the Land of Israel, Eastern Europe (Hasidic and non-Hasidic alike), and Western Europe. The documents are relatively few, given the Jews’ reluctance to discuss such matters in writing, but it appears as well in accounts by Christian missionaries of their conversations with Jews in most of those areas.Less
Various End-reckonings, based on both the Talmud and the Zohar, led to the conclusion that the Messiah would appear in 5600 A.M. (the six-hundredth year of the sixth millennium), corresponding to 1840 C.E. The firmly entrenched belief appears in documents from throughout the Jewish world: Persia and Kurdistan, Morocco, the Land of Israel, Eastern Europe (Hasidic and non-Hasidic alike), and Western Europe. The documents are relatively few, given the Jews’ reluctance to discuss such matters in writing, but it appears as well in accounts by Christian missionaries of their conversations with Jews in most of those areas.
Pinchas Giller
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328806
- eISBN:
- 9780199870196
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328806.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Beit El kabbalists root their practice in Sharʾabi's theoretical writings, which are uneven and call for much interpretation. Sharʾabi produced a number of mystical prayers and also formalized ...
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The Beit El kabbalists root their practice in Sharʾabi's theoretical writings, which are uneven and call for much interpretation. Sharʾabi produced a number of mystical prayers and also formalized penitential rituals of self‐mortification. Much of the literary activity of the Beit El kabbalists is devoted to resolving the desiderata and discrepancies remaining in Sharʾabi's writings, The most widely known evidence of Sharʾabi's activity is “his” prayer book, the Siddur ha‐RaShaSh, which was compiled posthumously by many hands. As a result of these factors, there are many versions and editions of the prayer book. In order to reinforce Sharʾabi's authority and spiritual hegemony, the Beit El kabbalists continued the Lurianic limitations of the kabbalistic canon.Less
The Beit El kabbalists root their practice in Sharʾabi's theoretical writings, which are uneven and call for much interpretation. Sharʾabi produced a number of mystical prayers and also formalized penitential rituals of self‐mortification. Much of the literary activity of the Beit El kabbalists is devoted to resolving the desiderata and discrepancies remaining in Sharʾabi's writings, The most widely known evidence of Sharʾabi's activity is “his” prayer book, the Siddur ha‐RaShaSh, which was compiled posthumously by many hands. As a result of these factors, there are many versions and editions of the prayer book. In order to reinforce Sharʾabi's authority and spiritual hegemony, the Beit El kabbalists continued the Lurianic limitations of the kabbalistic canon.
Yaacob Dweck
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691145082
- eISBN:
- 9781400840007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691145082.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter argues that Modena's criticism of the Zohar's origins had little to do with its theological contents. It emerged as a reaction to the elevated status of the work among his Jewish ...
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This chapter argues that Modena's criticism of the Zohar's origins had little to do with its theological contents. It emerged as a reaction to the elevated status of the work among his Jewish contemporaries and immediate predecessors; Jews had begun to treat the Zohar as a source of legal authority rather than a collection of stories and biblical glosses. Modena's critique constituted a denunciation of these larger trends in contemporary Jewish life rather than a rejection of the Zohar as a work of exegesis. As such, Ari Nohem offers a case study of how an early modern intellectual worked to prove that a text was pseudepigraphic. It also presents a wealth of information on attitudes toward the Zohar among Jews in Italy, Poland, and elsewhere. Ultimately, Modena rejected the status ascribed to the Zohar in contemporary Jewish life, denied the work's ostensible antiquity, and reflected on the deleterious impact of its packaging as a printed book.Less
This chapter argues that Modena's criticism of the Zohar's origins had little to do with its theological contents. It emerged as a reaction to the elevated status of the work among his Jewish contemporaries and immediate predecessors; Jews had begun to treat the Zohar as a source of legal authority rather than a collection of stories and biblical glosses. Modena's critique constituted a denunciation of these larger trends in contemporary Jewish life rather than a rejection of the Zohar as a work of exegesis. As such, Ari Nohem offers a case study of how an early modern intellectual worked to prove that a text was pseudepigraphic. It also presents a wealth of information on attitudes toward the Zohar among Jews in Italy, Poland, and elsewhere. Ultimately, Modena rejected the status ascribed to the Zohar in contemporary Jewish life, denied the work's ostensible antiquity, and reflected on the deleterious impact of its packaging as a printed book.
Boaz Huss
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781904113966
- eISBN:
- 9781800340251
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781904113966.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
From its first appearance, the Zohar has been one of the most sacred, authoritative, and influential books in Jewish culture. Many scholarly works have been dedicated to its mystical content, its ...
More
From its first appearance, the Zohar has been one of the most sacred, authoritative, and influential books in Jewish culture. Many scholarly works have been dedicated to its mystical content, its literary style, and the question of its authorship. This book focuses on different issues: it examines the various ways in which the Zohar has been received by its readers and the impact it has had on Jewish culture, including the fluctuations in its status and value and the various cultural practices linked to these changes. This dynamic and multi-layered history throws important new light on many aspects of Jewish cultural history over the last seven centuries. The book examines the reception and canonization of the Zohar as well as its criticism and rejection from its inception to the present day. The underlying assumption is that the different values attributed to the Zohar are not inherent qualities of the zoharic texts, but rather represent the way it has been perceived by its readers in different cultural contexts. The book considers not only the attribution of different qualities to the Zohar through time but also the people who were engaged in attributing such qualities and the social and cultural functions associated with their creation, re-creation, and rejection. For each historical period from the beginning of Zohar scholarship to the present, the book considers the social conditions that stimulated the veneration of the Zohar as well as the factors that contributed to its rejection, alongside the cultural functions and consequences of each approach.Less
From its first appearance, the Zohar has been one of the most sacred, authoritative, and influential books in Jewish culture. Many scholarly works have been dedicated to its mystical content, its literary style, and the question of its authorship. This book focuses on different issues: it examines the various ways in which the Zohar has been received by its readers and the impact it has had on Jewish culture, including the fluctuations in its status and value and the various cultural practices linked to these changes. This dynamic and multi-layered history throws important new light on many aspects of Jewish cultural history over the last seven centuries. The book examines the reception and canonization of the Zohar as well as its criticism and rejection from its inception to the present day. The underlying assumption is that the different values attributed to the Zohar are not inherent qualities of the zoharic texts, but rather represent the way it has been perceived by its readers in different cultural contexts. The book considers not only the attribution of different qualities to the Zohar through time but also the people who were engaged in attributing such qualities and the social and cultural functions associated with their creation, re-creation, and rejection. For each historical period from the beginning of Zohar scholarship to the present, the book considers the social conditions that stimulated the veneration of the Zohar as well as the factors that contributed to its rejection, alongside the cultural functions and consequences of each approach.
Elliot R. Wolfson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199206575
- eISBN:
- 9780191709678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206575.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
This chapter begins with Fishbane's understanding of ‘inspired exegesis’, that is, the thread found in rabbinic literature itself that considers rabbinic exegesis not only reliant on Torah study but ...
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This chapter begins with Fishbane's understanding of ‘inspired exegesis’, that is, the thread found in rabbinic literature itself that considers rabbinic exegesis not only reliant on Torah study but also deeply revelatory. It then turns to the mystical text of the Zohar and demonstrates that its authors take this idea a step further, viewing their interpretive work and experience not only as participating in revelation but also as exceeding the normal range of prophetic experience. The chapter demonstrates that these medieval mystics are really practising an intellectual mysticism, strongly reminiscent of Fishbane's concept of exegetical illumination.Less
This chapter begins with Fishbane's understanding of ‘inspired exegesis’, that is, the thread found in rabbinic literature itself that considers rabbinic exegesis not only reliant on Torah study but also deeply revelatory. It then turns to the mystical text of the Zohar and demonstrates that its authors take this idea a step further, viewing their interpretive work and experience not only as participating in revelation but also as exceeding the normal range of prophetic experience. The chapter demonstrates that these medieval mystics are really practising an intellectual mysticism, strongly reminiscent of Fishbane's concept of exegetical illumination.
MICHAEL FISHBANE
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198267331
- eISBN:
- 9780191602078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198267339.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter begins with an exploration of the diverse sources that carried rabbinic myths to the Middle Ages. Three patterns are noted: a defence of the straightforward sense of Scripture and the ...
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This chapter begins with an exploration of the diverse sources that carried rabbinic myths to the Middle Ages. Three patterns are noted: a defence of the straightforward sense of Scripture and the Midrash, where they speak in bold imagery about God, a denunciation or denial of the apparent, straightforward sense of these and other passages, and an affirmation of the religious language and depictions in these corpora as sacred code of higher mysteries. The manifestation and mystery of the book of Zohar is discussed.Less
This chapter begins with an exploration of the diverse sources that carried rabbinic myths to the Middle Ages. Three patterns are noted: a defence of the straightforward sense of Scripture and the Midrash, where they speak in bold imagery about God, a denunciation or denial of the apparent, straightforward sense of these and other passages, and an affirmation of the religious language and depictions in these corpora as sacred code of higher mysteries. The manifestation and mystery of the book of Zohar is discussed.
MICHAEL FISHBANE
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198267331
- eISBN:
- 9780191602078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198267339.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter presents a synthesis of the studies in the preceding Chapters (10-12), focusing on a number of mystical tracts, particularly the book of Zohar — an heir of these prior layers of ...
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This chapter presents a synthesis of the studies in the preceding Chapters (10-12), focusing on a number of mystical tracts, particularly the book of Zohar — an heir of these prior layers of tradition and their transformation. The book of Zohar attempts to read and disclose the hidden myth in the words of the Torah and other passages of the sacred canon. Myth is considered an inward and spiritual reality of the divine being, is unsayable and unknowable on its own terms, and only becomes knowable and sayable in the terminology of Scripture.Less
This chapter presents a synthesis of the studies in the preceding Chapters (10-12), focusing on a number of mystical tracts, particularly the book of Zohar — an heir of these prior layers of tradition and their transformation. The book of Zohar attempts to read and disclose the hidden myth in the words of the Torah and other passages of the sacred canon. Myth is considered an inward and spiritual reality of the divine being, is unsayable and unknowable on its own terms, and only becomes knowable and sayable in the terminology of Scripture.
MICHAEL FISHBANE
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198267331
- eISBN:
- 9780191602078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198267339.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
This chapter presents a synthesis of all chapters discussed in this book. Three specific concepts are emphasized. The first is that this book is an exploration of the morphologies of myth and ...
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This chapter presents a synthesis of all chapters discussed in this book. Three specific concepts are emphasized. The first is that this book is an exploration of the morphologies of myth and mythmaking found in three distinct bodies of literature: the Hebrew Bible; clusters or anthologies of Midrash; and the book of Zohar. Second is that the myths studied are cultural forms and the concrete expressions of a vital mythic imagination found in classical texts of the Jewish monotheistic tradition. Finally, that the three literary corpora investigated provide different accounts of perceptions of what is called the theosphere and its relation to the biosphere.Less
This chapter presents a synthesis of all chapters discussed in this book. Three specific concepts are emphasized. The first is that this book is an exploration of the morphologies of myth and mythmaking found in three distinct bodies of literature: the Hebrew Bible; clusters or anthologies of Midrash; and the book of Zohar. Second is that the myths studied are cultural forms and the concrete expressions of a vital mythic imagination found in classical texts of the Jewish monotheistic tradition. Finally, that the three literary corpora investigated provide different accounts of perceptions of what is called the theosphere and its relation to the biosphere.
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 ...
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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.
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 ...
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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.
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 ...
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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.
Pinchas Giller
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195118490
- eISBN:
- 9780199848874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195118490.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The first chapter provides an overview of some general methodological questions regarding the Zohar's structure and archaeology. The author argues that schools of Zohar interpretation divide, ...
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The first chapter provides an overview of some general methodological questions regarding the Zohar's structure and archaeology. The author argues that schools of Zohar interpretation divide, ideologically, between scholastic approaches and approaches based on mystical revelation and transmission. These two points of origin reflect two views of the kabbalistic experience.Less
The first chapter provides an overview of some general methodological questions regarding the Zohar's structure and archaeology. The author argues that schools of Zohar interpretation divide, ideologically, between scholastic approaches and approaches based on mystical revelation and transmission. These two points of origin reflect two views of the kabbalistic experience.
Pinchas Giller
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195118490
- eISBN:
- 9780199848874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195118490.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The Idrot is one of the boldest presentations in the Zohar literature, expressing a mystical premise that God is a force that continually fills the world with divine energy which is universal in ...
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The Idrot is one of the boldest presentations in the Zohar literature, expressing a mystical premise that God is a force that continually fills the world with divine energy which is universal in theosophical Kabbalah, just as it permeates most Western mysticism. This chapter presents the Idra texts known as the Idrot, or “convocations.” The texts include the Idra Rabbah and the Idra Zuta. A third Idra, the Idra de—Bei Mashkena, “the Idra of the Tabernacle,” is also referred to at the beginning of the Idra Rabbah.Less
The Idrot is one of the boldest presentations in the Zohar literature, expressing a mystical premise that God is a force that continually fills the world with divine energy which is universal in theosophical Kabbalah, just as it permeates most Western mysticism. This chapter presents the Idra texts known as the Idrot, or “convocations.” The texts include the Idra Rabbah and the Idra Zuta. A third Idra, the Idra de—Bei Mashkena, “the Idra of the Tabernacle,” is also referred to at the beginning of the Idra Rabbah.
Pinchas Giller
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195118490
- eISBN:
- 9780199848874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195118490.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The author describes the most influential texts of the Zohar, the dramatic Idrot, in this chapter. These texts describe convocations in which various members of the Zohar's pietistic circle perish in ...
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The author describes the most influential texts of the Zohar, the dramatic Idrot, in this chapter. These texts describe convocations in which various members of the Zohar's pietistic circle perish in mystical ecstasy while beholding the wonders of the Godhead. The chapter examines some central themes in the Idrot and their related literature.Less
The author describes the most influential texts of the Zohar, the dramatic Idrot, in this chapter. These texts describe convocations in which various members of the Zohar's pietistic circle perish in mystical ecstasy while beholding the wonders of the Godhead. The chapter examines some central themes in the Idrot and their related literature.
Boaz Huss
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781904113966
- eISBN:
- 9781800340251
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781904113966.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter addresses how the value of the Zohar as a form of cultural capital was further reflected in the intensive engagement in its interpretation, which became a central practice of kabbalists ...
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This chapter addresses how the value of the Zohar as a form of cultural capital was further reflected in the intensive engagement in its interpretation, which became a central practice of kabbalists in the second half of the sixteenth century. Following the rise of Zohar commentary, a struggle ensued in later generations to obtain primacy in this field. Before the formulation of the Zohar in its printed form, the possession of zoharic manuscripts, control over the collection and editing process, and the ability to quote zoharic texts were all a part of the cultural capital of the elite circles of the Iberian exiles. However, following its finalization, printing, and wide dissemination, the Zohar ceased to be a rare commodity; the value of manuscript collections diminished and one could no longer benefit from possessing or quoting the texts. The new way to derive cultural power from the work was to control its meaning. This was achieved through the commentator's ability to establish his interpretation as the authoritative one. Thus, when commentary became the principal genre of kabbalistic literature, the struggle for dominance shifted to the field of hermeneutics.Less
This chapter addresses how the value of the Zohar as a form of cultural capital was further reflected in the intensive engagement in its interpretation, which became a central practice of kabbalists in the second half of the sixteenth century. Following the rise of Zohar commentary, a struggle ensued in later generations to obtain primacy in this field. Before the formulation of the Zohar in its printed form, the possession of zoharic manuscripts, control over the collection and editing process, and the ability to quote zoharic texts were all a part of the cultural capital of the elite circles of the Iberian exiles. However, following its finalization, printing, and wide dissemination, the Zohar ceased to be a rare commodity; the value of manuscript collections diminished and one could no longer benefit from possessing or quoting the texts. The new way to derive cultural power from the work was to control its meaning. This was achieved through the commentator's ability to establish his interpretation as the authoritative one. Thus, when commentary became the principal genre of kabbalistic literature, the struggle for dominance shifted to the field of hermeneutics.
Ronald C. Kiener
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036496
- eISBN:
- 9780813041810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036496.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter is an attempt to rewrite the history of Jewish mysticism by examining its geographical origins and focusing on its medieval and premodern manifestations. It is also an effort to wrest ...
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This chapter is an attempt to rewrite the history of Jewish mysticism by examining its geographical origins and focusing on its medieval and premodern manifestations. It is also an effort to wrest the account of Jewish mysticism from its Eurocentric focus and place it instead in the context of Islamic culture. The chapter elaborates at length on the ways in which Islamic culture helped shape mysticism among the Jews beginning in ninth-century Baghdad and continuing with such currents as the Sufi-tinged Jewish pietist movement of thirteenth-century medieval Egypt, the ecstatic Kabbalah movement founded by Abraham Abulafia, and the origins of the so-called Spanish Kabbalah. The main thesis here is that based on recent research the centrality of Islamic culture cannot be ignored in developing a historical account of the evolution of Jewish mysticism.Less
This chapter is an attempt to rewrite the history of Jewish mysticism by examining its geographical origins and focusing on its medieval and premodern manifestations. It is also an effort to wrest the account of Jewish mysticism from its Eurocentric focus and place it instead in the context of Islamic culture. The chapter elaborates at length on the ways in which Islamic culture helped shape mysticism among the Jews beginning in ninth-century Baghdad and continuing with such currents as the Sufi-tinged Jewish pietist movement of thirteenth-century medieval Egypt, the ecstatic Kabbalah movement founded by Abraham Abulafia, and the origins of the so-called Spanish Kabbalah. The main thesis here is that based on recent research the centrality of Islamic culture cannot be ignored in developing a historical account of the evolution of Jewish mysticism.
Boaz Huss
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781904113966
- eISBN:
- 9781800340251
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781904113966.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines the strategy of the Zohar to present itself to readers through a juxtaposition of the figures of R. Shimon bar Yohai and Moses. By means of this contrast, the compilers of the ...
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This chapter examines the strategy of the Zohar to present itself to readers through a juxtaposition of the figures of R. Shimon bar Yohai and Moses. By means of this contrast, the compilers of the work sought to create a canonical literature which was not only comparable to the Torah of Moses but was, they claimed, superior to it. The context for the comparison between R. Shimon and Moses, and for the portrayal of the rabbinic sage as greater than the biblical prophet, is the struggle between competing schools of kabbalah on the Iberian peninsula in the thirteenth century. The dominant school of kabbalah at the time was that of the followers of Nahmanides and R. Solomon ben Adret (Rashba). This competition was the framework in which the zoharic texts were created and in which their distribution and reception began.Less
This chapter examines the strategy of the Zohar to present itself to readers through a juxtaposition of the figures of R. Shimon bar Yohai and Moses. By means of this contrast, the compilers of the work sought to create a canonical literature which was not only comparable to the Torah of Moses but was, they claimed, superior to it. The context for the comparison between R. Shimon and Moses, and for the portrayal of the rabbinic sage as greater than the biblical prophet, is the struggle between competing schools of kabbalah on the Iberian peninsula in the thirteenth century. The dominant school of kabbalah at the time was that of the followers of Nahmanides and R. Solomon ben Adret (Rashba). This competition was the framework in which the zoharic texts were created and in which their distribution and reception began.
Eitan P. Fishbane
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199948635
- eISBN:
- 9780190885489
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199948635.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This book studies the Zohar as a work of literature. While the Zohar has long been recognized as a signal achievement of mystical theology, myth, and exegesis, this monograph presents a poetics of ...
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This book studies the Zohar as a work of literature. While the Zohar has long been recognized as a signal achievement of mystical theology, myth, and exegesis, this monograph presents a poetics of zoharic narrative, a morphology of mystical storytelling. Topics examined include mysticism and literature; fiction and pseudepigraphy; diaspora and exile; dramatic monologue and the representation of emotion; voice, gesture, and the theatrics of the zoharic tale; the wandering quest for wisdom; anagnorisis and the poetics of recognition; encounters with the natural world as stimuli for mystical creativity; the dynamic relationship between narrative and exegesis; magical realism and the fantastic in the representation of experience and Being; narrative ethics and the exemplum of virtuous piety in the Zohar; the place of the zoharic frame-tale in the comparative context of medieval Iberian literature, both Jewish and non-Jewish.Less
This book studies the Zohar as a work of literature. While the Zohar has long been recognized as a signal achievement of mystical theology, myth, and exegesis, this monograph presents a poetics of zoharic narrative, a morphology of mystical storytelling. Topics examined include mysticism and literature; fiction and pseudepigraphy; diaspora and exile; dramatic monologue and the representation of emotion; voice, gesture, and the theatrics of the zoharic tale; the wandering quest for wisdom; anagnorisis and the poetics of recognition; encounters with the natural world as stimuli for mystical creativity; the dynamic relationship between narrative and exegesis; magical realism and the fantastic in the representation of experience and Being; narrative ethics and the exemplum of virtuous piety in the Zohar; the place of the zoharic frame-tale in the comparative context of medieval Iberian literature, both Jewish and non-Jewish.
Arthur Green
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823225712
- eISBN:
- 9780823237067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823225712.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The Zohar is the great medieval Jewish compendium of mysticism, myth, and esoteric teaching. It may be considered the greatest work of Jewish literary imagination in the Middle Ages. ...
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The Zohar is the great medieval Jewish compendium of mysticism, myth, and esoteric teaching. It may be considered the greatest work of Jewish literary imagination in the Middle Ages. Without doubt, it constitutes one of the most important bodies of religious texts of all times and places. It is also a lush garden of sacred eros, filled to overflowing with luxurious plantings of love between master and disciples, among the mystical companions themselves, between the souls of Israel and the shekhinah, God's lovely bride, but most of all between the male and female elements that together make up the Godhead. Revered and canonized by generations of faithful devotees, the secret universe described by the Zohar's authors serves as the basis of Kabbalistic faith.Less
The Zohar is the great medieval Jewish compendium of mysticism, myth, and esoteric teaching. It may be considered the greatest work of Jewish literary imagination in the Middle Ages. Without doubt, it constitutes one of the most important bodies of religious texts of all times and places. It is also a lush garden of sacred eros, filled to overflowing with luxurious plantings of love between master and disciples, among the mystical companions themselves, between the souls of Israel and the shekhinah, God's lovely bride, but most of all between the male and female elements that together make up the Godhead. Revered and canonized by generations of faithful devotees, the secret universe described by the Zohar's authors serves as the basis of Kabbalistic faith.
Ellen D. Haskell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190600433
- eISBN:
- 9780190600457
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190600433.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
The thirteenth-century Jewish mystical classic Sefer ha-Zohar (The Book of Splendor) took shape against a backdrop of rising anti-Judaism in Spain. Mystical Resistance reveals that in addition to the ...
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The thirteenth-century Jewish mystical classic Sefer ha-Zohar (The Book of Splendor) took shape against a backdrop of rising anti-Judaism in Spain. Mystical Resistance reveals that in addition to the Zohar’s role as a theological masterpiece, its Kabbalistic teachings offer passionate and knowledgeable critiques of Christian majority culture. During the Zohar’s development, Christian friars implemented new missionizing strategies, forced Jewish attendance at religious disputations, and seized and censored Jewish books. In response, the Kabbalists who composed the Zohar crafted strategically subversive narratives aimed at diminishing Christian authority. Hidden between the lines of its fascinating stories, the Zohar makes daring assertions that challenge themes important to medieval Christianity, including Christ’s Passion and ascension, the mendicant friars’ new missionizing strategies, and Gothic art’s claims of Christian dominion. These assertions rely on an intimate and complex knowledge of Christianity gleaned from rabbinic sources, polemic literature, public Church art, and encounters between Christians and Jews. Much of the Kabbalists’ subversive discourse reflects language employed by writers under oppressive political regimes, treading a delicate line between public and private, power and powerlessness, subservience and defiance. Placing the Zohar in its thirteenth-century context opens this text as a rich and fruitful source of Jewish cultural testimony produced at the epicenter of sweeping changes in the relationship between medieval Western Europe’s Christian majority and its Jewish minority.Less
The thirteenth-century Jewish mystical classic Sefer ha-Zohar (The Book of Splendor) took shape against a backdrop of rising anti-Judaism in Spain. Mystical Resistance reveals that in addition to the Zohar’s role as a theological masterpiece, its Kabbalistic teachings offer passionate and knowledgeable critiques of Christian majority culture. During the Zohar’s development, Christian friars implemented new missionizing strategies, forced Jewish attendance at religious disputations, and seized and censored Jewish books. In response, the Kabbalists who composed the Zohar crafted strategically subversive narratives aimed at diminishing Christian authority. Hidden between the lines of its fascinating stories, the Zohar makes daring assertions that challenge themes important to medieval Christianity, including Christ’s Passion and ascension, the mendicant friars’ new missionizing strategies, and Gothic art’s claims of Christian dominion. These assertions rely on an intimate and complex knowledge of Christianity gleaned from rabbinic sources, polemic literature, public Church art, and encounters between Christians and Jews. Much of the Kabbalists’ subversive discourse reflects language employed by writers under oppressive political regimes, treading a delicate line between public and private, power and powerlessness, subservience and defiance. Placing the Zohar in its thirteenth-century context opens this text as a rich and fruitful source of Jewish cultural testimony produced at the epicenter of sweeping changes in the relationship between medieval Western Europe’s Christian majority and its Jewish minority.