DOCSLIB.ORG

Conceptualizations of Tzimtzum in Baroque Italian Kabbalah

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Conceptualizations of Tzimtzum in Baroque Italian Kabbalah Conceptualizations of Tzimtzum in Baroque Italian Kabbalah Moshe Idel Abstract The paper will survey the ways in which three Kabbalists active in Italy at the end of the 16th and early 17th centuries transformed the Lurianic concept of divine contraction: Menahem Azariah of Fano, Joseph Shlomo of Candia, and Abraham Herrera. The main point of this essay is to analyze the contribution of philosophical concepts to the inter- pretion of Luria’s mythopoeic method. Tzimtzum: A Constellation of Ideas The concept of tzimtzum, understood as divine contraction, or alternatively, as divine withdrawal when it refers to the first act of the theogonic/cosmo- gonic process, has enjoyed a distinguished career in Kabbalistic texts and their scholarship.1 Earlier scholars believed tzimtzum was an original contribution 1 See, e.g., David Neumark, Toledot ha-Filosofiah be-Yisrael, vol. 1, 1921 (New York: A.Y. Shtibl, 1971), 179–80; Gershom Scholem, Origins of the Kabbalah, trans. Allan Arkush, ed. R.Z.J. Werblowsky, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987), 449–50; idem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, (New York: Schocken Books, 1960), 260–64, especially 411 n. 51, 412 n. 77; idem, Kabbalah ( Jerusalem: Keter, 1974), 129–35; Lawrence Fine, Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003), 128–31; Daphne Freedman, Man and the Theogony in the Lurianic Kabbalah (Pistakaway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2006), 27–42; Joseph Avivi, Kabbalah Luriana, vol. 3 ( Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute, 2008), 1184–88; Christoph Schulte, “Zimzum in the Works of Schelling,” Iyyun 41 (1992): 21–40; idem, “Zimzum in der Kabbala Denudata,” Morgen-Glantz 7 (1997): 127–40; idem, “Zimzum in European Philosophy, A Paradoxical Career,” in Jewish Studies in a New Europe: Proceedings of the Fifth Congress of Jewish Studies in Copenhagen 1994 under the Auspices of the European Association for Jewish Studies, ed. Ulf Haxen, Hanne Trautner-Kromann, Karen Lisa Goldschmidt Salamon, (Copenhagen: C.A. Reitzel A/S International, 1998), 745–56. For more general reflections see, e.g., David Novak, “Self-Contraction of the Godhead in Kabbalistic Theology,” in Neoplatonism and Jewish Thought, ed. Lenn E. Goodman (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1993), 299–318; Mordechai © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004�9�697_004 Conceptualizations of Tzimtzum in Baroque Italian Kabbalah 29 of the Safedian Kabbalist R. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi, but more recent studies have uncovered a series of sources that anteceded him. These most plausi- bly served as the foundation of his formulation2 within a wider web of con- cepts like the breaking of the vessels or the reparation, Tiqqun.3 Those sources span the 13th century Kabbalah through early 15th century Spain to the early 16th century Ottoman Empire and Safed4 although it is easy to assume much earlier, pre-Kabbalistic inspiration.5 Keeping in mind some Safedian Kabbalists’ growing interest in the concept of tzimtzum, it is interesting to note that the idea was never mentioned by any Kabbalist in Italy (Italian, Ashkenazi or Sefardi, Jew or Christian) before the last decades of the 16th century, despite the existence of several antecedent explo- rations of the concept in Spanish Kabbalah. The independent development of Kabbalah in Italy from that of Kabbalah in Spain may explain the absence of tzimtzum in Italian sources. It seems that the more philosophically oriented Italian Kabbalists were much less concerned with mythical events associated with the very beginning of emanation.6 Nevertheless, Italy became the site of a most interesting controversy over how this concept should be understood. Rotenberg, Hasidic Psychology: Making Space for Others (Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Books, 2003). See also notes. 91, 93. 2 Efraim Gottlieb, Studies in Kabbalah Literature, ed. Joseph Hacker, (Tel Aviv: The Chaim Rosenberg School, 1976), 91; Bracha Sack, The Kabbalah of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, (Beer Sheva, IL: Ben Gurion University Press, 1995), 57–82 (Hebrew); Boaz Huss, “Genizat Ha-Or in Simeon Lavi’s Ketem Paz and the Lurianic Doctrine of Zimzum,” in Lurianic Kabbalah, eds. Rachel Elior, Yehuda Liebes, ( Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1992), 341–62; Moshe Idel, “On the Concept of Zimzum in Kabbalah and Its Research,” in Lurianic Kabbalah, eds. Rachel Elior, Yehuda Liebes, ( Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1992), 59–112; and Moshe Idel, Primeval Evil in Kabbalah: Totality, Perfection and Perfectibility, “Chapter IV: 4, Chapter 5,” (forthcoming). 3 See Isaiah Tishby, The Doctrine of Evil and the Shells in the Lurianic Doctrine, ( Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1942). Tishby’s introduction, which posits the emergence of evil as the reason for divine withdrawal, failed to fully acknowledge David Neumark’s explicit linkage between withdrawal and the emergence of evil in a Kabbalistic treatise written in Spain. See note 1. 4 Cf. the studies in note 2. 5 Three sources that could inspire the Kabbalists include Gershom Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 411 n. 51; Yehuda Liebes, “The Kabbalistic Myth as Told by Orpheus,” in Studies in Jewish Myth and Jewish Messianism, trans. Batya Stein, ed. Yehuda Liebes (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1993), 86–92; and Dalia Hoshen, “The Doctrine of Tzimtzum and the Teaching of R. Akivah: Kabbalah and Midrash,” Daat 34 (1995): 34–60. 6 See Moshe Idel, Kabbalah in Italy, 1280–1510, a Survey (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010)..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Concept of Infinity (Eyn-Sof ) and the Rise of Theosophical Kabbalah
    T HE J EWISH Q UARTERLY R EVIEW, Vol. 102, No. 3 (Summer 2012) 405–430 The Concept of Infinity (Eyn-sof )andthe Rise of Theosophical Kabbalah SANDRA VALABREGUE-PERRY THIS ESSAY DISCUSSES the rise of theosophical Kabbalah in light of the development of the notion of infinity. Arguing that the origin of the theosophic notion of infinity goes back to Sefer yetsirah, I will analyze its applications in early sources and in Sefer yetsirah’s medieval philosophical commentaries up to its theosophical commentaries in Kabbalah. In these theosophical texts we encounter a concept of God as infinite dimension, where emanation is primarily understood as an infinite essence in expan- sion. This essay sets out to demonstrate how this theosophical infinite God has emerged from the multidirectional expansion of the sefirot in Sefer yetsirah. The very movement from the sefirot to God himself and from the cosmological to the theosophical was made possible by two major shifts. The first depends on the understanding of the sefirot as divine, thus as infinite; and the second, in the shift from the multidirectional expansion to a unidirectional and vertical one. This argument leads, therefore, to a new understanding of Eyn-sof and its role in theosophic Kabbalah. It will reflect, as well, upon the relation between Kabbalah and philosophy. After some short methodological remarks, I will examine the concept of Eyn-sof in early Jewish sources and notably in Sefer yetsirah. Then, in order to understand the novelty of theosophical Kabbalah, I will analyze the philosophical interpretations of Eyn-sof in the philosophical commen- taries of Sefer yetsirah.
    [Show full text]
  • Sichos of 5705
    Selections from Sefer HaSichos 5701-5705 Talks Delivered by RABBI YOSEF YITZCHAK SCHNEERSOHN OF LUBAVITCH Rosh HaShanah Selections from Sefer HaSichos 5701-5705 TALKS DELIVERED IN 5701-5705 (1941-1945) BY RABBI YOSEF YITZCHAK SCHNEERSOHN זצוקללה"ה נבג"מ זי"ע THE SIXTH LUBAVITCHER REBBE Translated and Annotated by Uri Kaploun ROSH HASHANAH Kehot Publication Society 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11213 5781 • 2020 edication D This Sefer is Dedicated in Honor of שיחיו Shmuel and Rosalynn Malamud by their childrenS and grandchildren, the Malamud Family, Crown Heights, NY Moshe and SElke Malamud Yisrael, Leba, Hadas and Rachel Alexandra Yossi and KayliS Malamud Yisroel, Shloime, Yechezkel, Menachem Mendel, Laivi Yitzchok and Eliyahu Chesky and ChanaS Malamud Hadas, Shaina Batya and Rachel David Eliezer HaLevi andS Sarah Rachel Popack Dov HaLevi, Nena Nechama, Hadas and Shlomo HaLevi A Prayer and a Wish The following unconnected selections are gleaned from Rosh HaShanah farbrengens of the Rebbe Rayatz, as translated in the eight-volume Sefer HaSichos series that includes: Sefer HaSichos 5701, Sefer HaSichos 5702, Sefer HaSichos 5704, and Sefer HaSichos 5705. After quoting a brief maamar of the Alter Rebbe, the Rebbe Rayatz concludes: “Elder chassidim used to relate that by delivering that maamar, the Alter Rebbe uncovered in his chassidim the light of the soul. Within all of them, even within the most ordinary chassidim, their souls stood revealed.” The prayer and the wish that we share with our readers is that in us, too, pondering over these selections will enable the soul within us, too, to stand revealed. 3 29 Elul, 5700 (1940):1 Erev Rosh HaShanah, 5701 (1940) 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Zohar and Iamblichus by Yehuda Liebes
    Zohar and Iamblichus By Yehuda Liebes Moshe Idel, my friend and colleague, has reshaped our understanding and image of Cabbala in many ways. One of the major themes of his research is the Hermetic and Neo-Platonic mystical-magical complex of praxis and ideas, dealing with drawing down spiritual forces from supernal entities. Idel dedicated to it much research, demonstrating the major role this theme played in Jewish mysticism and its development from Cabbala to Hasidism. 1 In the following article, dedicated to Idel and to our friendship, I'd like to make some contribution to this research, by establishing a possible literary connection between a paragraph dealing with this theme in the Zohar , the Cabbalistic 'Bible' (written in thirteenth century Spain), and a passage from Iamblichus, the Syrian philosopher of the third and fourth century of the Christian era, the foremost representative of Hermeticism and theurgy within the Neo-Platonic philosophical school. In propounding its lore about idolatry and magic, the Zohar does not pretend to be original. It refers explicitly to its sources, saying: Come and see: If a person is drawn toward the blessed Holy One – his desire pursuing Him in this world – then afterward, when he departs, he 1 Moshe Idel, Hasidism – Between Ecstasy and Magic , SUNY, Albany 1994. See also Moshe Idel, 'The Magical and Neoplatonic interpretations of the Kabbalah in the Renaissance', Jewish Thought in the sixteenth Century (ed. Bernard D. Coopermann), Harvard University Press 1983, pp. 186-242; Moshe Idel, 'Hermeticism and Judaism', Hermeticism and Renaissance (eds. Merkel & Debus), Associated University Presses, 1988, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Tanya Sources.Pdf
    The Way to the Tree of Life Jewish practice entails fulfilling many laws. Our diet is limited, our days to work are defined, and every aspect of life has governing directives. Is observance of all the laws easy? Is a perfectly righteous life close to our heart and near to our limbs? A righteous life seems to be an impossible goal! However, in the Torah, our great teacher Moshe, Moses, declared that perfect fulfillment of all religious law is very near and easy for each of us. Every word of the Torah rings true in every generation. Lesson one explores how the Tanya resolved these questions. It will shine a light on the infinite strength that is latent in each Jewish soul. When that unending holy desire emerges, observance becomes easy. Lesson One: The Infinite Strength of the Jewish Soul The title page of the Tanya states: A Collection of Teachings ספר PART ONE לקוטי אמרים חלק ראשון Titled הנקרא בשם The Book of the Beinonim ספר של בינונים Compiled from sacred books and Heavenly מלוקט מפי ספרים ומפי סופרים קדושי עליון נ״ע teachers, whose souls are in paradise; based מיוסד על פסוק כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו upon the verse, “For this matter is very near to לבאר היטב איך הוא קרוב מאד בדרך ארוכה וקצרה ”;you, it is in your mouth and heart to fulfill it בעזה״י and explaining clearly how, in both a long and short way, it is exceedingly near, with the aid of the Holy One, blessed be He. "1 of "393 The Way to the Tree of Life From the outset of his work therefore Rav Shneur Zalman made plain that the Tanya is a guide for those he called “beinonim.” Beinonim, derived from the Hebrew bein, which means “between,” are individuals who are in the middle, neither paragons of virtue, tzadikim, nor sinners, rishoim.
    [Show full text]
  • Metamorphoses of a Platonic Theme in Jewish Mysticism
    MOSHE IDEL METAMORPHOSES OF A PLATONIC THEME IN JEWISH MYSTICISM 1. KABBALAH AND NEOPLATONISM Both the early Jewish philosophers – Philo of Alexandria and R. Shlomo ibn Gabirol, for example – and the medieval Kabbalists were acquainted with and influenced by Platonic and Neoplatonic sources.1 However, while the medieval philosophers were much more systematic in their borrowing from Neoplatonic sources, especially via their transformations and transmissions from Arabic sources and also but more rarely from Christian sources, the Kabbalists were more sporadic and fragmentary in their appropriation of Neoplatonism. Though the emergence of Kabbalah has often been described by scholars as the synthesis of Neoplatonism and Gnosticism,2 I wonder not only about the role attributed to Gnosticism in the formation of early Kabbalah, but also about the possi- bly exaggerated role assigned to Neoplatonism. Not that I doubt the im- pact of Neoplatonism, but I tend to regard the Neoplatonic elements as somewhat less formative for the early Kabbalah than what is accepted by scholars.3 We may, however, assume a gradual accumulation of Neoplatonic 1 G. Scholem, ‘The Traces of ibn Gabirol in Kabbalah’, Me’assef Soferei Eretz Yisrael (Tel- Aviv, 1960), pp. 160–78 (Hebrew); M. Idel, ‘Jewish Kabbalah and Platonism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance’, in Neoplatonism and Jewish Thought, ed. L. E. Goodman (Albany: SUNY Press, 1993), pp. 319–52; M. Idel, ‘The Magical and Neoplatonic Interpretations of Kabbalah in the Renaissance’, Jewish Thought in the Sixteenth Century, ed. B. D. Cooperman (Cambridge, MA, 1983), pp. 186–242. 2 G. Scholem, Origins of the Kabbalah (tr.
    [Show full text]
  • 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
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • 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
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Jonathan Klawans, Ph.D. Professor of Religion, Boston University 145 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215 (617) 353-4432 [email protected]
    Jonathan Klawans, Ph.D. Professor of Religion, Boston University 145 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215 (617) 353-4432 [email protected] EDUCATION Columbia University, Department of Religion 1992-1997 Ph.D. with distinction, awarded May 1997 New York University, Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies 1991-1992 M.A. awarded September 1993 Jewish Theological Seminary of America, List College 1986-1991 B.A. with honors and distinction, awarded May 1991 Columbia University, School of General Studies 1986-1991 B.A. magna cum laude, awarded May 1991 Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1989-1990 Took graduate courses in Jewish History, Hebrew Bible, and Religion ACADEMIC POSITIONS Boston University, Professor of Religion: 2013- Introductory and Undergraduate Courses: Western Religion, Hebrew Bible, Judaism; Upper-level and Graduate Courses: Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple Judaism, Rabbinic Literature, and Theory and Method for the Study of Religion. Previous Positions at Boston University: • Associate Professor of Religion: 2003-2013 • Assistant Professor of Religion: 1997-2003 Hebrew College, Visiting Faculty: 2009-present Course offered Spring Semesters: Second Temple and Early Rabbinic Judaism Harvard Divinity School, Visiting Faculty: 2001, 2011 Course offered Fall 2011: Dead Sea Scrolls Course offered Spring 2001: Purity and Sacrifice in Ancient Jewish Literature PUBLICATIONS Books: Heresy, Forgery, Novelty: Condemning, Denying, and Asserting Innovation in Ancient Judaism. New York: Oxford University, Press [forthcoming, 2019]. Josephus and the Theologies of Ancient Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple: Symbolism and Supersessionism in the Study of Ancient Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
    [Show full text]