Concentrating on the theosophical/theurgical trend of Kabbalah, 15 essays, reprinted from academic journals and often translated from Hebrew, examine the body of literature that grew up between the 12th and 18th centuries from several approaches. They cover mystical motifs and theological ideas, mystical leadership and personalities, and devotional practices and mystical experience. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It is Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God–the mysterious Ein Sof ("The Infinite")–and the mortal, finite universe (God's creation). It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. Historically, Kabbalah emerged from earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th- to 13th-century Spain and Southern France, and was reinterpreted during the Jewish mystical renaissance in 16th-century Ottoman Palestine. Jewish Kabbalists originally developed their own transmission of sacred texts within the realm of Jewish tradition. For kabbalists, ten utterances in Genesis with which God created the world are linked to the ten sefirot—the divine structure of all being. According to the Zohar and the Sefer ha-Yihud, the Torah is synonymous with God._x000D_ Table of Contents:_x000D_ "The Cabala" by Bernhard Pick is a brief critical introduction to the Kabbalah._x000D_ "Sefer Yetzirah" or, The Book of Creation" is one of primary sources of Kabbalistic teaching._x000D_ "The Sepher Ha-Zohar" or, The Book of Light – Zohar, or Splendor is the most important text of Kabbalah, at times achieving even canonical status as part of Oral Torah. It is a mystical commentary on the Torah._x000D_ "Jewish Mysticism" by J. Abelson gives Kabbalah the historical context and presents it as a product of the development of Jewish mystical thought._x000D_ "The Kabbalah Unveiled" by S. L. MacGregor Mathers presents the translations and commentaries of the books of Zohar: The Book of Concealed Mystery; The Greater Holy Assembly; and The Lesser Holy Assembly.
The symbolism of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life is explained, and its connections to astrology, numerology, angel lore, tarot, and the meaning of colors are shown. The Tree of Life is a potent tool for self-discovery and profound inner knowing, as the author shared in her popular workshops.
Some four hundred years before Albert Einstein proposed his theory of relativity of the outer universe to the scientific community, a rabbi named Isaac Luria (1534–1572) passed his theory of the inner universe and its evolution to his students. With vision given only to the most gifted of kabbalistic mystics, Luria explained the inner worlds of the spirit and of the evolution that led to the ultimate birth of our cosmos. In a selection of passages from Luria’s Kabbalah that is both universal and stand-alone in transcendental value, Professor James Dunn presents, for the very first time, the essence of the great rabbi’s teachings. According to Luria, the ultimate calling in this lifetime or in future lifetimes is to reharmonize (and hence remove) inherent imperfections through proper heart, and the teachings presented here have just this aim: to help “heal the broken vessel of the world” (tikkun olam). We all long to be healed and whole, and here scholars and lay people alike will find the wisdom they seek.
In this book, the world's foremost scholar of Kabbalah explores the understanding of erotic love in Jewish mystical thought. Encompassing Jewish mystical literatures from those of late antiquity to works of Polish Hasidism, Moshe Idel highlights the diversity of Kabbalistic views on eros and distinguishes between the major forms of eroticism. The author traces the main developments of a religious formula that reflects the union between a masculine divine attribute and a feminine divine attribute, and he asks why such an "erotic formula" was incorporated into the Jewish prayer book. Idel shows how Kabbalistic literature was influenced not only by rabbinic literature but also by Greek thought that helped introduce a wider understanding of eros. Addressing topics ranging from cosmic eros and androgyneity to the affinity between C. J. Jung and Kabbalah to feminist thought, Idel's deeply learned study will be of consuming interest to scholars of religion, Judaism, and feminism.
"With origins extending back in time beyond the Dead Sea Scrolls, the body of writings and beliefs known as the Kabbalah has come to be increasingly recognized not only as one of the most intriguing aspects of Judaism but also as an important part of a broader mystical tradition. Here is one of the most enlightening studies ever to plumb its complex depths and range over its rich history, written by the late Gershom Scholem, the world's leading authority on the Kabbalah. Illuminated in this fascinating work are the centuries of efforts by Kabbalists to discover the secrets of God and the universe through the symbols of the physical world and the mysteries of language—a mammoth search set against a background of Jewish life in Spain, Poland, Germany and the rest of Europe. brought to life are such remarkable personalities as Shabbetai Zevi, the 17th-century pseudo-Messiah who raised the Jewish world to near ecstasy before plunging it into disillusion; and the charismatic Jacob Frank, who threatened to disastrously divide the Jewish religion. We learn the connection between the Kabbalah and such haunting legends as the Dybbuk, the Goel, and Lilith, as well as its relationship to the practice of white magic, palm reading and Satanism. Long cloaked in obscurity, the Kabbalah is revealed by this book to contain suggestive power which still entrances both the intellect and the imagination."-Publisher.
In this wide-ranging discussion of Kabbalah—from the mystical trends of medieval Judaism to modern Hasidism—one of the world’s foremost scholars considers different visions of the nature of the sacred text and of the methods to interpret it. Moshe Idel 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. Idel argues that a text-oriented religion produced language-centered forms of mysticism. Against this background, the author 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. Idel 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.
This is the first translation with commentary of selections from The Zohar, the major text of the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. This work was written in 13th-century Spain by Moses de Leon, a Spanish scholar.
Beautiful hardback edition of essential texts from the Zohar (the Book of Splendour) - the key work of the Kabbalah. Part of Watkins' popular Sacred Texts series and with an illuminating foreword by Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, this is perfect gift or self-purchase for those interested in mysticism and spirituality. Includes a foreword by Kabbalah scholar Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, whose life and work is now being assessed following his death in September 2020. A highly attractive yet very accessibly priced gift edition containing the essential doctrines of Jewish mysticism. Kabbalah or Jewish esoteric wisdom continues to be much discussed and referenced by well-known figures such as Madonna, Demi Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Through a lifetime of passionate scholarship, Gershom Scholem (1897-1982) uncovered the "domains of tradition hidden under the debris of centuries" and made the history of Jewish mysticism and messianism comprehensible and relevant to current Jewish thought. In this paperback edition of his definitive book on Scholem's work, David Biale has shortened and rearranged his study for the benefit of the general reader and the student. A new introduction and new passages in the main text highlight the pluralistic character of Jewish theology as seen by Scholem, the place of the Kabbalah in debates over Zionism versus assimilation, and the interpretation of Kafka as a Jewish writer.
