Kabbalah in a Surprising Place: Joseph Smith’S Engagement with Jewish Mysticism

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The Sally & Ralph Duchin Campus Lecture Series Kabbalah in a Surprising Place: Joseph Smith’s Engagement with Jewish Mysticism Thursday*, November 9, 2017 | 4 pm | U of A Hillel 1245 E. 2nd St. | Free & Open to the Public For more information call (520) 626-5758 or visit us at us at www.judaic.arizona.edu Photo-illustration: Joseph Smith and the Angel - LDS.org; Kabbalist - Cover from Pardes Rimonim, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero 1548, Tzfat, Israel; close up of kabbalistic text - The Kabbalah Centre, multiple sources; close up of golden plates - Deseret News. Used in compliance with 17 U.S.C. § 106. A surprising feature of the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah is the degree to which it came to influence 19th century religious thinkers in Europe and North America. This talk will describe one important example of this phenomenon - the impact of Kabbal- ah on Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Dr. Hartley Lachter is an Associate Professor at Lehigh University, where he is the chair of the Religion Studies Department and director of the Berman Center for Jewish Studies. His research focuses on the relationship between medieval Kabbalah, Jewish historical ex- perience, and Jewish-Christian relations. He also works on the role of medieval Kabbalah Prof. Hartley in some modern and contemporary religious thinkers. He is the author of, Kabbalistic Rev- Lachter olution: Reimagining Judaism in Medieval Spain, published by Rutgers University Press. Director, Berman Center for Jewish *Please note: Sally & Ralph Duchin Campus Lecture Series events are Studies , Lehigh University typically held on Monday afternoons. This lecture will take place on Thursday, November 9. The Sally & Ralph Duchin Campus Lecture Series is made possible by the generous support of Sally and Ralph Duchin..

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