Jewish Mysticism - The Infinite Expression of Freedom
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Jewish Mysticism - The Infinite Expression of Freedom
This study is a lyrical exposition of the Jewish mystical phenomenon. It is based on a close reading of the hundreds of volumes written by Jewish mystics and incorporates mystical testimonies drawn from the different countries and cultural environments in which Jews have lived. Rachel Elior’s purpose is to present, as accurately as possible, the meanings of the mystical works as they were perceived by their creators and readers. At the same time, she contextualizes them within the boundaries of the religion, culture, language, and spiritual and historical circumstances in which the destiny of the Jewish people has evolved..
The author succeeds in drawing the reader into a mystical world. With great intensity, she conveys the richness of the mystical experience in discovering the infinity of meaning embedded in the sacred text; teasing out the recurring themes, she explains the multivalent symbols. Using copious extracts from Jewish mystical sources, she illustrates the varieties of the mystical experience from antiquity to the twentieth century. She succeeds in eloquently conveying how mystics try to decipher reality by penetrating beyond its apparent boundaries: how they experience spiritual powers symbolically, imaginatively, or visually; how hidden truths are revealed in visions or dreams, in an epiphany or as ‘lightning’; how they are ‘engraved’ in the mind or illuminate in the soul. Most of the texts she draws on are written in very obscure language, but the skilful translations communicate the mystical experiences vividly and make it easy for the reader to understand how Elior uses them to explain the relationship between the revealed world and the hidden world and between the mystical world and the traditional religious world, with all the social and religious tensions this has caused.
Contents:
Note on Transliteration
1 The Jewish Mystical Library and the New Vision of Reality
2 The Infinity of Meaning Embedded in the Sacred Text
3 The Mystical Figure: Life without Limits
4 Mystical Language and Magical Language: `Had I been using tongues of men and angels`
Appendix: Historical and Literary Figures, Kabbalists, and Mystics Mentioned in Jewish Mystical Literature
Bibliography
Index
"A useful overview of Jewish mystical thought, overflowing with interesting insights." (James R. Davila, Journal of Jewish Studies)
"Will greatly reward the non-specialist reader who is willing to put in some effort in order to receive a taste of this amazing Jewish literary tradition." (Aaron Howard, Jewish Herald-Voice)
A szerzőről:
Rachel Elior is John and Golda Cohen Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Jewish Mystical Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has been a research fellow and visiting professor at University College London, the University of Amsterdam, Oberlin College, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Case Western University, Yeshiva University, Tokyo University, and Princeton University. She is the author of numerous works on Jewish mysticism and hasidism.
Publisher: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
Translator: Nave, Yudith, Millman, Arthur
Category: Történelem / kultúrtörténet, Vallás / judaisztika, Irodalomtudomány, Kultúra, Ezoterika
Translator: Nave, Yudith, Millman, Arthur
Category: Történelem / kultúrtörténet, Vallás / judaisztika, Irodalomtudomány, Kultúra, Ezoterika