Jewish Mysticism
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Jewish mysticism This page lists the main trends and events in Jewish mys- belief, and its diverging occultist offshoot Hermetic Qa- ticism. Further explanation is given at Kabbalah#History balah (c.1400s - today) which became a main element in of Jewish mysticism in the context of traditional vs. esoteric and magical societies and teachings. As sepa- academic views on the antiquity of Kabbalah. rate traditions of development outside Judaism, drawing from, syncretically adapting, and different in nature and Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since aims from Judaic mysticism, they are not listed on this page. Gershom Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysti- cism (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in 12th-century Eu- 1 Three aims in Jewish mysticism rope, is the most well known, but not the only typologic form, or the earliest to emerge. Among previous forms The Kabbalistic form of Jewish mysticism itself divides were Merkabah mysticism (c.100 BCE–1000 CE), and into three general streams: the Theosophical/Speculative Chassidei Ashkenaz (early 1200s CE) around the time of Kabbalah (seeking to understand and describe the di- Kabbalistic emergence. vine realm), the Meditative/Ecstatic Kabbalah (seek- Kabbalah means “received tradition”, a term previously ing to achieve a mystical union with God), and the used in other Judaic contexts, but which the Medieval Practical/Magical Kabbalah (seeking to theurgically alter Kabbalists adopted for their own doctrine to express the the divine realms and the World). These three different, belief that they were not innovating, but merely revealing but inter-relating, methods or aims of mystical involve- the ancient hidden esoteric tradition of the Torah. This is- ment are also found throughout the other pre-Kabbalistic sue is crystallised until today by alternative views on the and post-Kabbalistic stages in Jewish mystical develop- origin of the Zohar, the main text of Kabbalah. Tradi- ment, as three general typologies. As in Kabbalah, the tional Kabbalists regard it as originating in Tannaic times, same text can contain aspects of all three approaches, redacting the Oral Torah, so do not make a sharp distinc- though the three streams often distill into three separate tion between Kabbalah and early Rabbinic Jewish mys- literatures under the influence of particular exponents or ticism. Academic scholars regard it as a synthesis from eras. Medieval times, but assimilating and incorporating into Within Kabbalah, the theosophical tradition is distin- itself earlier forms of Jewish mystical tradition, as well guished from many forms of mysticism in other religions as other philosophical elements. by its doctrinal form as a mystical “philosophy” of Gnosis The theosophical aspect of Kabbalah itself developed esoteric knowledge. Instead, the tradition of Medita- through two historical forms: "Medieval/Classic/Zoharic tive Kabbalah has similarity of aim, if not form, with Kabbalah" (c.1175 - 1492 - 1570), and Lurianic Kab- usual traditions of general mysticism; to unite the indi- balah (1569 CE - today) which assimilated Medieval vidual intuitively with God. The tradition of theurgic Kabbalah into its wider system and became the basis for Practical Kabbalah in Judaism, censored and restricted by modern Jewish Kabbalah. After Luria, two new mysti- mainstream Jewish Kabbalists, has similarities with non- cal forms popularised Kabbalah in Judaism: antinomian- Jewish Hermetic Qabalah magical Western Esotericism. heretical Sabbatean movements (1666 - 1700s CE), and However, as understood by Jewish Kabbalists, it is cen- Hasidic Judaism (1734 CE - today). In contemporary sored and forgotten in contemporary times because with- Judaism, the only main forms of Jewish mysticism fol- out the requisite purity and holy motive, it would degen- lowed are esoteric Lurianic Kabbalah and its later com- erate into impure and forbidden magic. Consequently, it mentaries, the variety of schools in Hasidic Judaism, has formed a minor tradition in Jewish mystical history. and Neo-Hasidism (incorporating Neo-Kabbalah) in non- Orthodox Jewish denominations. Two non-Jewish syncretic traditions also popularised Ju- 2 Historical forms of Jewish mysti- daic Kabbalah through its incorporation as part of gen- eral Western esoteric culture from the Renaissance on- cism timeline wards: theological Christian Cabala (c.1400s - 1700s) which adapted Judaic Kabbalistic doctrine to Christian For a fuller list of Kabbalistic mystics and texts, see List of Jewish Kabbalists. This timeline shows general 1 2 5 REFERENCES developments: though not its greatest exponent Abulafia in his esoteric system. In turn, the 1500s Safed culmination of theosophy by Cordovero, Luria and Vital dominated and subsumed the previous divergent Kabbalistic streams into their med- itative methods, drawing from the earlier schools. After 3 See also Luria, Meditative Kabbalah followed his new system of Yichudim. In Kabbalah: New Perspectives, Yale Univer- • Jewish mystical exegesis sity Press 1988, chapter 5 Mystical Techniques, Moshe Idel reinstates the meditative and experiential dimensions • Kabbalah: Primary texts of Kabbalah as an inherent companion to the theosophical in academic historiography. Kabbalists often attributed • List of Jewish Kabbalists their theosophical doctrines to new meditative revelations. • List of Jewish mysticism scholars [8] Torah Lishmah-Torah for Torah’s Sake, Norman Lamm, Ktav 1989; summarised in Faith and Doubt, Norman Lamm, chapter “Monism for Moderns”. Identifies Chaim 4 Notes of Volozhin as the main kabbalistic-theological theorist of Mitnagdism, and Schneur Zalman of Liadi as the main [1] Structure of the table based on an expanded version of the theorist of Hasidism, based on interpretation of Lurianic table in Kabbalistic Metaphors: Jewish Mystical Themes Tzimtzum. For Chaim Volozhin, Divine immanence is in Ancient and Modern Thought, Sanford L. Drob, Jason monistic (the acosmic way God looks at the world, re- Aronson, 2000; “The Historical Context” p.2-4 served for man only in elite kabbalistic prayer) and Divine transcendence is pluralistic (man relates to God through [2] There is academic debate whether Prophetic Judaism is pluralistic Jewish law), leading to Mitnagdic transcendent phenomenologically a mysticism. While the prophets dif- Theism and popular ideological Talmudic study focus. fered from many (not Hasidic) Jewish mystics in their For Shneur Zalman, Immanence is pluralistic (man re- social role, there are mystical passages in the prophetic lates to mystical Divine immanence in pluralist Nature) books; eg. Ezekiel 1 became the basis of Merkabah mys- and Transcendence is monistic (Habad Hasidic medita- ticism. The Talmud says that there were hundreds of tion on acosmic nullification of world from God’s perspec- thousands of prophets among Israel: twice as many as tive), leading to Hasidic Panentheism and popular mysti- the 600,000 Israelites who left Egypt; but most conveyed cism Deveikut fervour amidst materiality messages solely for their own generation, so were not re- ported in scripture (Judaism 101-Prophets and Prophecy). [9] Reasoning After Revelation: Dialogues in Postmodern Jew- Scripture identifies only 55 prophets of Israel. In Medita- ish Philosophy, Steven Kepnes - Peter Ochs - Robert tion and the Bible, Aryeh Kaplan reconstructs meditative- Gibbs, Westview Press 2000. “Postmodern Jewish mystical methods of the Jewish prophetic schools. thinkers understand their Jewishness differently, but they all share a fidelity to what they call the Torah and to com- [3] There is academic debate about how the mystical refer- munal practices of reading and social action that have their ences in early exoteric Rabbinic literature relate to, or the bases in rabbinic interpretations of biblical narrative, law, degree it can be identified with, the mysticism and meth- and belief. Thus, postmodern Jewish thinking is think- ods of subsequent esoteric Merkabah-Hekhalot texts. ing about God, Jews, and the world—with the texts of the Torah—in the company of fellow seekers and believers. [4] Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism, Menachem It utilizes the tools of philosophy, but without their mod- Kellner, Littman Library: describes Judah Halevi as ern premises.” Commentaries in later chapters describe “Proto-Kabbalistic” in his conception of prophecy and the contribution of Kabbalistic mythological thinking to Jewish chosenness in the Kuzari this project. [5] While Menachem Kellner reads Maimonides as anti- [10] newkabbalah.com "Proto-Kabbalah” (Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mys- ticism, Littman Library), David R. Blumenthal (Philo- sophic Mysticism and anthologies) reads Maimonides as a rationalist mystic: “The thesis of the book is that me- 5 References dieval philosophers had a type of religious mysticism that was rooted in, yet grew out of, their rationalist thinking. The religious experience of “philosophic mysticism” was • Heschel, Abraham Joshua Heavenly Torah: As Re- the result of this intellectualist and post-intellectualist ef- fracted through the Generations, edited and trans- fort.” () lated by Gordon Tucker, Bloomsbury Academic 2006 [6] The shemitot and the age of the universe, 3 part video class from inner.org • Jacobs, Louis Jewish Mystical Testimonies, [7] Traditionalist historiography Meditation and Kabbalah, Schocken Aryeh Kaplan, Samuel Weiser publishers; overview of the Meditative schools in Kabbalah.