By Moshe Idel
During this prizewinning new interpretation of Jewish mysticism, Moshe Idel emphasizes the necessity for a comparative and phenomenological method of Kabbalah and its place within the historical past of faith. Idel offers clean insights into the origins of Jewish mysticism, the relation among mystical and ancient adventure, and the influence of Jewish mysticism on western civilization. "Idel's ebook is studded with significant insights, and cutting edge techniques to the total heritage of Judaism, and mastery of it will likely be crucial for all critical scholars of Jewish thought."-Arthur eco-friendly, manhattan occasions ebook assessment "Moshe Idel's unique, scholarly, and stimulating examine of Kabbalah includes the promise of a masterwork."-Elie Wiesel "Moshe Idel's booklet may help the nonspecialized reader to re-evaluate the entire of Kabbalistic culture compared to many elements of up to date thought."-Umberto Eco "There might be no dispute concerning the value and originality of Idel's paintings. delivering a wealth of complementary insights to Gershom Scholem and his university, it's going to command loads of realization and critical discussion."-Alexander Altmann
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Extra resources for Kabbalah: New Perspectives
Sample text
We are in complete darkness < previous page page_17 next page > < previous page page_18 next page > Page 18 as to the number of the thousands of Kabbalistic works and fragments, most of which are still in manuscripts and a great number of which are anonymous or unidentified; furthermore, even a list of the names of the Kabbalists is still unavailable. Great efforts to peruse this literature were made by Scholem, who, from the 1930s, roamed tirelessly through the libraries of Europe to this end.
In a document discovered and published by Scholem, R. 11 Moreover, such masters of Ashkenazic esotericism as R. 12 The people I just mentionedR. Abraham ben David, father of R. Isaac the Blind; Nahmanides; and the Ashkenazic Hasidim*exemplify what I suppose to be the conservative mind of medieval rabbinism. It hardly seems likely that these persons would < previous page page_20 next page > < previous page page_21 next page > Page 21 formulate new ideas that they would later present as the esoteric meaning of Judaism.
Textual and comparative approaches to unitive imagery, rather than tentative discussions on the ''nature" of the unitive experience, are more than a literary exercise. These approaches, although intentionally refraining from defining the psychic processes themselves, transcend mere literary interpretation by focusing attention upon the selfunderstanding of the mystic, on the one hand, and on the religious-sociological categories accepted by both the mystic and his intellectual milieu, on the other hand.