As recently as 1915, when the legendary scholar of Jewish mysticism Gershom Scholem sought to find someone--anyone--to teach him Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah was largely neglected and treated with disdain. Today, this field has ripened to the point that it occupies a central place in the agenda of contemporary Judaic studies.
While there are many definitions of Kabbalah, this volume focuses on the discrete body of literature which developed between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. The basis for most of this kabbalistic literature is the concept of the...
As recently as 1915, when the legendary scholar of Jewish mysticism Gershom Scholem sought to find someone--anyone--to teach him Kabbalah, the stud...