"An excellent overview of the history of Jewish mysticism from its early beginnings to contemporary Hasidism...scholarly and complex." —Library Journal "An excellent work, clear and solidly documented by Joseph Dan on Gershom Scholem and on his work." —Notes Bibliographiques "An excellent guide to Scholem's work." —Christian Century
In the early part of the twentieth century, Gershom Scholem (1897-1982) founded the academic discipline of the study of Jewish Mysticism. In so doing, he not only broke new scholarly ground; but he also revolutionized the field of Judaic Studies as a whole and left an indelible mark on the study of religion. This book presents essays by several of Israel's eminent scholars, reflecting on Scholem's impact on the academic and Jewish worlds, and his life as a scholar, a Jewish thinker, and an activist. The editor has provided an intellectual and spiritual biography of Scholem, which complements the papers by Ephraim Urbach, Joseph Ben-Shlomo, Isaiah Tishby, Rivka Schatz, Malachi Beit-Arié, Nathan Rotenstreich, and Joseph Dan. Together, they highlight the enduring signficance of Scholem's work, which has remained the touchstone for all further scholarship on Jewish Mysticism and Kabbala. This volume thus sets the context for the current debate conducted by a new generation of scholars, who have introduced fresh ideas, new methodologies—and radical critique of the man they still revere as their master.
With the publication of The Origins of the Kabbalah in 1950, one of the most important scholars of our century brought the obscure world of Jewish mysticism to a wider audience for the first time. A crucial work in the oeuvre of Gershom Scholem, this book details the beginnings of the Kabbalah in twelfth- and thirteenth-century southern France and Spain, showing its rich tradition of repeated attempts to achieve and portray direct experiences of God. The Origins of the Kabbalah is a contribution not only to the history of Jewish medieval mysticism, but also to the study of medieval mysticism in general. Now with a new foreword by David Biale, this book remains essential reading for students of the history of religion.
The Father of Jewish Mysticism offers an incisive look at the early life and writings of Gershom Scholem (1897–1982), the father of modern Jewish mysticism and a major 20th-century Jewish intellectual. Daniel Weidner offers the first full-length study, published in English, of Scholem's thought. Scholem, a historian ofthe Kabbalah and sharp critic of Jewish assimilation, played a major role in the study and popularization of Jewish mysticism. Through his work on the Kabbalah, Scholem turned the closed world of mystical texts into a force for Jewish identity. Skillfully drawing on Scholem's early diaries and writings, The Father of Jewish Mysticism introduces a young, soon-to-be legendary intellectual in search of himself and Judaism.