Gilgul and Reincarnation in Zohar
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Moses Hayim Luzzatto's Quest for Providence
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 'Like Iron to a Magnet': Moses Hayim Luzzatto's Quest for Providence David Sclar Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/380 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] “Like Iron to a Magnet”: Moses Hayim Luzzatto’s Quest for Providence By David Sclar A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The City University of New York 2014 © 2014 David Sclar All Rights Reserved This Manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the Dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Prof. Jane S. Gerber _______________ ____________________________________ Date Chair of the Examining Committee Prof. Helena Rosenblatt _______________ ____________________________________ Date Executive Officer Prof. Francesca Bregoli _______________________________________ Prof. Elisheva Carlebach ________________________________________ Prof. Robert Seltzer ________________________________________ Prof. David Sorkin ________________________________________ Supervisory Committee iii Abstract “Like Iron to a Magnet”: Moses Hayim Luzzatto’s Quest for Providence by David Sclar Advisor: Prof. Jane S. Gerber This dissertation is a biographical study of Moses Hayim Luzzatto (1707–1746 or 1747). It presents the social and religious context in which Luzzatto was variously celebrated as the leader of a kabbalistic-messianic confraternity in Padua, condemned as a deviant threat by rabbis in Venice and central and eastern Europe, and accepted by the Portuguese Jewish community after relocating to Amsterdam. -
A Fresh Perspective on the History of Hasidic Judaism
eSharp Issue 20: New Horizons A Fresh Perspective on the History of Hasidic Judaism Eva van Loenen (University of Southampton) Introduction In this article, I shall examine the history of Hasidic Judaism, a mystical,1 ultra-orthodox2 branch of Judaism, which values joyfully worshipping God’s presence in nature as highly as the strict observance of the laws of Torah3 and Talmud.4 In spite of being understudied, the history of Hasidic Judaism has divided historians until today. Indeed, Hasidic Jewish history is not one monolithic, clear-cut, straightforward chronicle. Rather, each scholar has created his own narrative and each one is as different as its author. While a brief introduction such as this cannot enter into all the myriad divergences and similarities between these stories, what I will attempt to do here is to incorporate and compare an array of different views in order to summarise the history of Hasidism and provide a more objective analysis, which has not yet been undertaken. Furthermore, my historical introduction in Hasidic Judaism will exemplify how mystical branches of mainstream religions might develop and shed light on an under-researched division of Judaism. The main focus of 1 Mystical movements strive for a personal experience of God or of his presence and values intuitive, spiritual insight or revelationary knowledge. The knowledge gained is generally ‘esoteric’ (‘within’ or hidden), leading to the term ‘esotericism’ as opposed to exoteric, based on the external reality which can be attested by anyone. 2 Ultra-orthodox Jews adhere most strictly to Jewish law as the holy word of God, delivered perfectly and completely to Moses on Mount Sinai. -
The Soul of a Jew and the Soul of a Non-Jew an Inconvenient Truth and the Search for an Alternative
47 The Soul of a Jew and the Soul of a Non-Jew An Inconvenient Truth and the Search for an Alternative By: HANAN BALK Holiness is not found in the human being in essence unless he sanctifies himself. According to his preparation for holiness, so the fullness comes upon him from on High. A person does not acquire holiness while inside his mother. He is not holy from the womb, but has to labor from the very day he comes into the air of the world. 1 Introduction: The Soul of a Jew is Superior to that of a Non-Jew The view expressed in the above heading—as uncomfortable and racially charged as it may be in the minds of some—was undoubtedly, as we shall show, the prominent position maintained by authorities of Jewish thought throughout the ages, and continues to be so even today. While Jewish mysticism is the source and primary expositor of this theory, it has achieved a ubiquitous presence not only in the writings of Kabbalists,2 but also in the works of thinkers found in the libraries of most observant Jews, who hardly consider themselves followers of Kabbalah. Clearly, for one committed to the Torah and its principles, it is not tenable to presume that so long as he is not a Kabbalist, such a belief need not be a part of his religious worldview. Is there an alternative view that is an equally authentic representation of Jewish thought on the subject? In response to this question, we will 1 R. Simhạ Bunim of Przysukha, Kol Simha,̣ Parshat Miketz, p. -
Introduction
Introduction Early Jewish Mysticism Although this investigation will focus mainly on the roots of the Metatron lore, this Jewish tradition cannot be fully understood without addressing its broader theological and historical context, which includes a religious movement known as early Jewish mysticism. Research must therefore begin with clarifying some notions and positions pertaining to the investigation of this broader religious phenomenon. The roots of the current scholarly discussion on the origin, aim, and content of early Jewish mysticism can be traced to the writings of Gershom Scholem. His studies marked in many ways a profound breach with the previous paradigm of 19th and early 20th century scholarship solidified in the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement which viewed Jewish mystical developments as based on ideas late and external to Judaism.1 In his seminal research, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, as well as other publications,2 Scholem saw his main task as clarifying the origins of early Jewish mysticism on the basis of new methodological premises, which, in contrast to the scholars of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, approached early Jewish mysticism as a genuine Jewish movement with roots in biblical and pseudepigraphic traditions. Scholem’s project was not an easy one, and in ————— 1 One of the representatives of this movement, Heinrich Graetz, considered the Hekhalot writings as late compositions dated to the end of the Geonic period. He viewed the Hekhalot literature as “a compound of misunderstood Agadas, and of Jewish, Christian, and Mahometan fantastic notions, clothed in mystical obscurity, and pretended to be a revelation.” H. Graetz, History of the Jews (6 vols.; Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1894) 3.153. -
Gilgul/Reincarnation in Sefer Habahir, Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah
GILGUL/REINCARNATION IN SEFER HABAHIR, ZOHAR AND LURIANIC KABBALAH 1. GILGUL IN THE EVENING SHEMA PRAYER: Master of the Universe, I herby forgive anyone who angered or antagonized me or who sinned against me - whether against my body, my property, my honor or against anything anything of mine; whether he did so accidentally , willfully, carelessly, or purposely, whether through speech, deed, thought or notion, whether in this transmigration or another בגלגול זה בין גלגול אחר- transmigration GILGUL IN SEFER HA-BAHIR, Provence, c. 1170 CE: 2. BIBLICAL PROOF TEXT R. Meir said: What is the meaning of the verse “The Lord shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, from generation to generation?” [Ps. 146:10] What [does it mean] “from generation to generation”? R. Papias said: It is written, “A generation goes, and a generation comes” ([Ecc.1:4). And R. Akiba said: [The meaning of “A generation goes and a generation comes” is that] it has already come. (Sefer Ha-Bahir, 121) 3. PARABLE OF A KING To what is this similar? To a fable about a king who owned slaves, and he dressed them with embroidered silk garments according to his best ability. They disarranged them. He expelled them and drove his presence from them, and stripped them of his garments, and they went away. The king then took the garments, washed them thoroughly until there was no soiled spot left on them and placed them to be readily used. Then the king bought other slaves and dressed them with these garments. But he did not know whether or not these slaves were good. -
A Novel Look at Moshe Idel's East-West Problem
Access Provided by UCLA Library at 05/07/12 5:15PM GMT T HE J EWISH Q UARTERLY R EVIEW, Vol. 102, No. 2 (Spring 2012) 289–296 ANovelLookatMoshe Idel’s East-West Problem DAVID N. MYERS UCLA MOSHE IDEL. Old Worlds, New Mirrors: On Jewish Mysticism and Twentieth- Century Thought. Jewish Culture and Contexts. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. Pp. 336. FOR MANY OF US in the field of Jewish studies, but not in the field of Kabbalah studies, our first encounter with Moshe Idel came in 1988 with the publication of his major work in English, Kabbalah: New Perspectives. Although he had been working in the field for more than a decade, from the time of his 1976 dissertation at the Hebrew University on Avraham REVIEW FORUM Abulafia, it was Kabbalah: New Perspectives that brought Idel to wide public attention, announcing his own substantial methodological and substantive disagreements with the towering figure of modern Kabbalah studies, Ger- shom Scholem. Since then, Idel has gone on to attain a position of international distinc- tion, publishing at a staggering rate in Kabbalah studies, and many fields beyond. In the process, he—like Scholem before and Wolfson and others after him—has used the study of Kabbalah as a gateway of inquiry into important methodological, theoretical, hermeneutical, philosophical, and historical questions. This leads us to the book at hand, Old Worlds, New Mirrors: On Jewish Mysticism and Twentieth-Century Thought, which is indeed an inquiry into important methodological, theoretical, philosophical, and historical ques- tions. It reflects Idel’s brilliant, capacious, probing, and wildly imagina- tive mind, as it ranges over terrain somewhat less familiar to him and his usual readers, but of critical significance to his overarching intellectual and cultural Weltanschauung. -
Scanning of Gershom Scholem's Milon Hazohar Card Index Yehuda Liebes the Zohar Is Among the Preeminent Spiritual Works of All Time
1 Scanning of Gershom Scholem's Milon HaZohar Card Index Yehuda Liebes The Zohar is among the preeminent spiritual works of all time. Its history attests to its importance: within three hundred years of its creation (at the end of the 13th century) it had become the central text Kabbalistic text. The Kabbalists regarded it as an authoritative source, a model to be emulated, and an interpretive subject. One might venture to say that the most important Kabbalistic traditions, such as those of Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (the Ramak), Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari) and the Vilna Gaon, were nothing if not interpretations of the Zohar, from whence they derived their vitality. Gershom Scholem (1897-1982), the father of Kabbala scholarship, followed suit and made the Zohar the focus of his endeavors, both because of its critical importance in the history of Kabbala, and in deference to its essential attributes. This much is evident from Scholem's seminal work, his treatise in English on the major trends in Jewish mysticism.1 In this book Scholem describes seven major streams of Jewish mysticism, among them the Zohar. However, while the other six streams of mysticism each have a chapter devoted to them, the Zohar has two. The first of these deals with the Zohar and its authorship, the second with its theosophy. The titles of these chapters also indicate Scholem's primary interests as a researcher. On the one hand there is the book's theosophy, which he saw as the most important feature of the Zohar and of Kabbalistic doctrine in general.2 On the other -
Interpreting Diagrams from the Sefer Yetsirah and Its Commentaries 1
NOTES 1 Word and Image in Medieval Kabbalah: Interpreting Diagrams from the Sefer Yetsirah and Its Commentaries 1. The most notorious example of these practices is the popularizing work of Aryeh Kaplan. His critical editions of the SY and the Sefer ha Bahir are some of the most widely read in the field because they provide the texts in Hebrew and English with comprehensive and useful appendices. However, these works are deeply problematic because they dehistoricize the tradi- tion by adding later diagrams to earlier works. For example, in his edition of the SY he appends eighteenth-century diagrams to later versions of this tenth-century text. Popularizers of kabbalah such as Michael Berg of the Kabbalah Centre treat the Zohar as a second-century rabbinic tract without acknowledging textual evidence to the contrary. See his introduction to the Centre’s translation of the Zohar: P. S. Berg. The Essential Zohar. New York: Random House, 2002. 2. For a variety of reasons, kabbalistic works were transmitted in manuscript form long after other works, such as the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, and their commentaries were widely available in print. This is true in large part because kabbalistic treatises were “private” works, transmitted from teacher to student. Kabbalistic manuscripts were also traditionally transmitted in manuscript form because of their provenance. The Maghreb and other parts of North Africa were important centers of later mystical activity, and print technology came quite late to these regions, with manuscript culture persisting well into the nineteenth, and even into the mid- twentieth century in some regions. -
The Archetype of the Tzaddiq in Hasidic Tradition
THE ARCHETYPE OF THE TZADDIQ IN HASIDIC TRADITION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA IN CONJUNCTION wlTH THE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS BY YA'QUB IBN YUSUF August4, 1992 National Library B¡bliothèque nat¡onale E*E du Canada Acquisitions and D¡rection des acquisilions et B¡bliographic Services Branch des services bibliograPhiques 395 Wellinolon Slreêl 395, rue Wellington Oflawa. Oñlario Ottawa (Ontario) KlA ON4 K1A ON4 foùt t¡te vat¡e ¡élëte^ce Ou l¡te Nate élëtenæ The author has granted an L'auteur a accordé une licence irrevocable non-exclusive licence irrévocable et non exclusive allowing the National Library of permettant à la Bibliothèque Canada to reproduce, loan, nationale du Canada de distribute or sell cop¡es of reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou his/her thesis by any means and vendre des copies de sa thèse in any form or format, making de quelque manière et sous this thesis available to interested quelque forme que ce soit pour persons. mettre des exemplaires de cette thèse à la disposition des personnes intéressées. The author retains ownership of L'auteur conserve la propriété du the copyright in his/her thesis. droit d'auteur qui protège sa Neither the thesis nor substantial thèse. Ni la thèse ni des extraits extracts from it may be printed or substantiels de celle-ci ne otherwise reproduced without doivent être imprimés ou his/her permission. autrement reproduits sans son autorisation, ïsBN ø-315-7796Ø-S -
Kabbalah and the Subversion of Traditional Jewish Society in Early Modern Europe
Kabbalah and the Subversion of Traditional Jewish Society in Early Modern Europe David B. Ruderman Most discussions about notions of authority and dissent in early mod- em Europe usually imply those embedded in Christian traditions, whether Protestant or Catholic. To address these same issues from the perspective of Jewish culture in early modem Europe is to consider the subject from a relatively different vantage point. The small Jewish com- munities of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries were shaped in manifold ways by the norms and values of the Christian and Moslem host civilizations to which they belonged. Yet, they were also heirs to powerful rabbinic religious and political traditions that structured their social relationships and shaped their attitudes towards divine law, human responsibility, communal discipline, and authority. To examine their uni- verse of discourse in its proper context is to view it both in its own cul- tural terms and in its dialogue and negotiation with the non-Jewish world. No period in Jewish cultural history has undergone more radical refor- mulation and revision by recent scholarship than the early modem; though to what extent conventional schemes of periodization like "early modern," "Renaissance," or "baroque" can be meaningfully applied to the Jewish cultural experience is a question which still engenders much discussion and debate.' Equally problematic is a proper evaluation of the kabbalah, the traditions of Jewish mystical and esoteric experience, 1. For recent discussions of the meaning of the Renaissance and baroque when applied to Jewish culture, see D. B. Ruderman, "The Italian Renaissance and Jewish Thought," in Renaissance Humanism: Foundations and Forms, 3 vols., ed. -
A Whiteheadian Interpretation of the Zoharic Creation Story
A WHITEHEADIAN INTERPRETATION OF THE ZOHARIC CREATION STORY by Michael Gold A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida May 2016 Copyright 2016 by Michael Gold ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express sincere gratitude to his committee members, Professors Marina Banchetti, Frederick E. Greenspahn, Kristen Lindbeck, and Eitan Fishbane for their encouragement and support throughout this project. iv ABSTRACT Author: Michael Gold Title: A Whiteheadian Interpretation of the Zoharic Creation Story Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Marina P. Banchetti Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2016 This dissertation presents a Whiteheadian interpretation of the notions of mind, immanence and process as they are addressed in the Zohar. According to many scholars, this kabbalistic creation story as portrayed in the Zohar is a reaction to the earlier rabbinic concept of God qua creator, which emphasized divine transcendence over divine immanence. The medieval Jewish philosophers, particularly Maimonides influenced by Aristotle, placed particular emphasis on divine transcendence, seeing a radical separation between Creator and creation. With this in mind, these scholars claim that one of the goals of the Zohar’s creation story was to emphasize God’s immanence within creation. Similar to the Zohar, the process metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead and his followers was reacting to the substance metaphysics that had dominated Western philosophy as far back as ancient Greek thought. Whitehead adopts a very similar narrative to that of the Zohar. -
Kabbalah Kabbalah - by the Blessing of G-D H”B with the Knowledge of Heaven D”Sb Contents Everything Belongs to Hashem
Kabbalah Kabbalah - By the blessing of G-d h”b With the knowledge of heaven d”sb Contents Everything belongs to Hashem. }”hl Kabbalah - Title Page Kabbalah Meditation from Torah to Self-improvement to Prophecy ● I. Introduction hawbn la rswm la hrwt }m twnnwbth hlbq ● II. Torah Prophetic Truth and Version - 11/1/2001 Talmudic Dialectic Hermeneutical This work in progress is intended to train one to experience authentic Reality kabbalah. Study the manual by browsing the table of contents, links, ● III. The Written Law and footnotes. Let your spirit be your guide and Ribono Shel Olam (the ❍ A. Torah Master of the World) will reveal what you need to learn next. The work ■ 1. Bereshis -- In the focuses on learning kabbalah through character improvement through Beginning – Genesis the theoretical, meditative, and practical kabbalah. While I have written down some of my own kabbalistic journeys, in the final analysis one ■ a) Parsha Bereshsis must choose his own path and with the blessing of G-d reveal another truth path to the Infinite. ■ b) Parsha Noach This work uses a Hebrew true-type font that should be downloaded and ■ c) Parsha Lech installed on a PC to view the work correctly. To install the Hebrew true L’hah type font: ■ 2. Shemot - Names - Exodus ● Open location heb_tt.zip ● ■ a) Parsha Save the file to a location on your disc Terumah ● Double click on heb_tt.zip and extract files to a directory ● Double click on Install_Hebrew.ttf.vbs ■ 3. Vayikra - And Called - Leviticus ■ 4. Bamidbar - In the Your Hebrew fonts should now be installed.