Read complete books and articles on: Kabbalah

Kabbalah - or cabalaboth: kăbˈələ [Heb.,=reception], esoteric system of interpretation of the Scriptures based upon a tradition claimed to have been handed down orally from Abraham. Despite that claimed antiquity, the system appears to have been given its earliest formulation in the 11th cent. in France, and from there spread most notably to Spain. There were undoubtedly precedents, however; kabbalistic elements are discernible in the literature of earlier Merkavah mysticism (fl. after c.a.d. 100) inspired by the vision of the chariot-throne ("merkavah") in the Book of Ezekiel. Beyond the specifically Jewish notions contained within the kabbalah, some scholars believe that it reflects a strong Neoplatonic influence, especially in its doctrines of emanation and the transmigration of souls (see Neoplatonism). In the late 15th and 16th cent., Christian thinkers found support in the kabbalah for their own doctrines, out of which they developed a Christian version. Kabbalistic interpretation of Scripture was based on the belief that every word, letter, number, and even accent contained mysteries interpretable by those who knew the secret. The names for God were believed to contain miraculous power and each letter of the divine name was considered potent; kabbalistic signs and writings were used as amulets and in magical practices.

The two principal sources of the kabbalists are the Sefer Yezirah (tr. Book of Creation, 1894) and the Zohar (tr. 1949; The Book of Enlightenment, 1985; The Book of Splendor, 1995). The first develops, in a series of monologues supposedly delivered by Abraham, the doctrine of the Sefirot (the powers emanating from God, through which the world is created and its order sustained), using the primordial numbers of the later Pythagoreans in a system of numerical interpretation. It was probably written in the 3d cent. The Zohar consists of mystical commentaries and homilies on the Pentateuch. It was written by Moses de León (13th cent.) but attributed by him to Simon ben Yohai, the great scholar of the 2d cent. a.d. Following the expulsion (1492) of the Jews from Spain, kabbalah became more messianic in its emphasis, as developed by the Lurianic school of mystics at Safed, Palestine. Kabbalah in this form was widely adopted and created fertile gound for the movement of the pseudo-Messiah Sabbatai Zevi. It was also a major influence in the development of Hasidism. Kabbalah still has adherents, especially among Hasidic Jews.

See G. Scholem, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism (1965) and Kabbalah (1974); H. Weiner, Nine and One Half Mystics: The Kabbalah Today (1969); J. Dan and F. Talmage, ed., Studies in Jewish Mysticism (1982); D. Rosenberg, Dreams of Being Eaten Alive: The Literary Core of the Kabbalah (2000).

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10 of the Best Books and Articles on: Kabbalah

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Origins of the Kabbalah » Read Now
by Gershom Scholem, R. J. Zwi Werblowsky, Allan Arkush. 484 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

About Gershom Scholem: [Scholem's] work on Jewish mysticism, messianism, and sectarianism, spanning now half a century, constitutes . . . one of the major achievements of the historical imagination in our time. I would contend that it is of vital interest not only to anyone concerned with the...
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About Gershom Scholem: [Scholem's] work on Jewish mysticism, messianism, and sectarianism, spanning now half a century, constitutes . . . one of the major achievements of the historical imagination in our time. I would contend that it is of vital interest not only to anyone concerned with the history of religion but to anyone struggling to understand the underlying problematics of the human predicament.--Robert Alter, Commentary He [Scholem] labors the wealth, even the scandal, of the past in order to multiply options of survival. No great textual scholar, no master of philology and historical criticism commands a technique at once more scrupulously attentive to its object and more instinct with the writer's voice. That voice reaches out and grabs the layman.--George Steiner, The New Yorker One of the most important scholars of our century, Gershom Scholem (1897- 1982) opened up a once esoteric world of Jewish mysticism, the Kabbalah, to concerned students of religion. The Kabbalah is a rich tradition of repeated attempts to achieve and portray direct experiences of God: its twelfth- and thirteenth-century beginnings in southern France and Spain are probed in Origins of the Kabbalah, a work crucial in Scholem's oeuvre. The book is a contribution not only to the history of Jewish medieval mysticism but also to the study of medieval mysticism in general and will be of interest to historians and psychologists, as well as to students of the history of religion.
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2.

Modern Esoteric Spirituality (includes "Renaissance Kabbalah") » Read Now
by Antoine Faivre, Jacob Needleman, Karen Voss. 418 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...Engelhardt 101 4 Renaissance Kabbalah G. Mallary Masters 132...seeking common denominators. Thus, Jewish Kabbalah penetrated into the Christian milieu...influence one...
3.

Jews at the Time of the Renaissance, in Renaissance Quarterly » Read Now
by Arthur M. Lesley. 11 pgs.

Collections: History, Literature, Entire Library

...of the distinct traditions of Jewish Kabbalah that developed over several centuries...contrast, invoked the prestige of Jewish Kabbalah as an ancient esoteric discipline...
4.

Gershom Scholem: Between Mysticism and Scholarship, in Germanic Review » Read Now
by Joseph Dan. 19 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...Scholem devoted to the beginnings of the Kabbalah in the Middle Ages was not employed...movement, 8 and studies of the early Kabbalah and the age of the Zohar in the...
5.

The Real and Symbolic in Lacan, Zen, and Kabbalah, in International Journal for the Psychology of Religion » Read Now
by Raul Moncayo. 18 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Psychology, Entire Library

...Real and Symbolic in Lacan, Zen, and Kabbalah Raul Moncayo California School...symbolic order, but in Zen and perhaps in Kabbalah as well, there is a leaping forth...
6.

Spirits, Blood, and Drums: The Orisha Religion in Trinidad (includes "Hinduism and the Kabbalah") » Read Now
by James T. Houk. 240 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...71 Seven Hinduism and the Kabbalah 86 PART III...Baptist church 99 Photo 7. Kabbalah banquet table 100 Photo 8. Kabbalah medium and conjuror 100...
7.

The Jewish Religion: A Companion » Read Now
by Louis Jacobs. 641 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

How do Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism differ? Is caviar kosher? Who was Maimonides? What is current Jewish thought on Jesus, sex, abortion, feminism, and capital punishment? Spanning from biblical times to the present, The Jewish Religion offers a goldmine of information on Jewish belief...
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How do Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism differ? Is caviar kosher? Who was Maimonides? What is current Jewish thought on Jesus, sex, abortion, feminism, and capital punishment? Spanning from biblical times to the present, The Jewish Religion offers a goldmine of information on Jewish belief and practice, wisdom and culture, history and tradition. Sweeping in scope and based on impeccable scholarship, this volume's 750 alphabetical entries range from Aaron to Zweifel to illuminate virtually every facet of the Jewish heritage. For example, the book explains Halakhah and Aggadah, the legal and non-legal sides of Jewish thought; traces the development of the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Movements; discusses Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment) and Hasidism; and explores the differences between the Spanish traditions of the Sephardim and the German traditions of the Ashkenazim. It examines the great philosophical questions underlying the Jewish faith; carefully examines Zionism, with its tension between religion and nationalism and its profound implications for the present and the future of Israel; and serves as a marvelous companion to Jewish religious and philosophical literature. Readers will find entries on all the books of the Old Testament--with compelling descriptions of the patriarchs, prophets, and law givers--on the oral and written Torah, on the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud, and on the Kabbalah. Jacobs examines all the great Jewish thinkers--from Rashi, Akiba, and Judah the Prince, to Maimonides, Spinoza, and Martin Buber--and he describes the thought of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, father of the Reform movement, and Theodore Herzl, the originator of modern Zionism. Finally, the book is filled with information on popular customs, rituals, and religious services, covering all the major holidays, providing guidance on prayer and liturgy, and explaining the dietary laws in detail. It even offers step-by-step instructions for conducting the Passover Seder, preparing matzoh, kindling the Hannukah lights, building a sukkah, and much, much more. Here then is a matchless guide to Jewish religion, history, culture, and thought and a valuable repository of knowledge for both Jews and non-Jews alike.
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8.

Nature in the Sources of Judaism, in Daedalus » Read Now
by Hava Tirosh-Samuelson. 26 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...ASSUMPTIONS: RATIONALIST PHILOSOPHY AND KABBALAH Rabbinic Judaism was developed after...rationalist philosophy and theosophic Kabbalah--theorized about nature in an...
9.

An Encyclopedia of Religion » Read Now
by Vergilius Ferm. 846 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
10.

The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age » Read Now
by Frances Yates. 260 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

It is hard to overestimate the importance of the contribution made by Dame Frances Yates to the serious study of esotericism and the occult sciences. To her work can be attributed the contemporary understanding of the occult origins of much of Western scientific thinking, indeed of Western...
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It is hard to overestimate the importance of the contribution made by Dame Frances Yates to the serious study of esotericism and the occult sciences. To her work can be attributed the contemporary understanding of the occult origins of much of Western scientific thinking, indeed of Western civilization itself. The Occult Philosophy of the Elizabethan Age was her last book, and in it she condensed many aspects of her wide learning to present a clear, penetrating, and, above all, accessible survey of the occult movements of the Renaissance, highlighting the work of John Dee, Giordano Bruno, and other key esoteric figures. The book is invaluable in illuminating the relationship between occultism and Renaissance thought, which in turn had a profound impact on the rise of science in the seventeenth century. Stunningly written and highly engaging, Yates' masterpiece is a must-read for anyone interested in the occult tradition.
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