Hermeneutics, mysticism, and religion moshe idel on. Lobel visiting scholar lecture moshe idel, the max cooper professor in jewish thought, department of jewish thought at. He received the israel prize for excellence in the field of jewish philosophy in 1999. Download a general theory of magic pdf books pdfbooks. Check out other translated books in french, spanish languages.
Hasidism, sometimes spelled chassidism and also known as hasidic judaism hebrew. Whereas idel explores the phenomenology of the mystical experience and theurgical endeavors of the zaddikim the righteous leaders of the hasidic dynasties against the background of the jewish mystical. Download a general theory of magic pdf books pdfbooks a general theory of magic wed, 29 apr 2020 15. Pdf hasidism between ecstasy and magic by moshe idel. This approach implies a more active type of engagement with the letters than has been assumed in earlier hasidic scholarship, which emphasized. State university of new york press, 1995, messianic mystics.
In old worlds, new mirrors idel turns his gaze on figures as diverse as walter benjamin and jacques derrida, franz kafka and franz rosenzweig, arnaldo momigliano and paul celan, abraham heschel and george steiner to reflect on their relationships to judaism in a cosmopolitan, mostly european, context. Pdf moshe idels contribution to the study of religion. In this book, the worlds foremost scholar of kabbalah explores the understanding of erotic love in jewish mystical thought. Project muse promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide. Far more than in other fields, we encounter references to the view of the kabbalah that. Download or read hasidism book by clicking button below to visit the book download website. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads in more than a.
Hermeneutics, mysticism, and religion and read hasidism. Moshe idel calls upon his profound knowledge of ancient and medieval texts and of jewish, christian, islamic, and eastern sources to uncover new perspectives on the nature and development of jewish messianism. His close study of ecstasy and magic will be essential for all those who are in any way interested in this area. To the englishreading world, these contributions have included monographs such as hasidism.
Between ecstasy and magic suny press, albany, 1994. The mystical experience in abraham abulafia download pdf. Moshe idel this volume addresses the complex topic of the preeminent status of the divine feminine power, to be referred also as female, within the theosophical structures of many important kabbalists, sabbatean believers, and hasidic masters. Magic and kabbalah in the book of the responding entity, the solomon. A mystical movement within eastern european judaism. For information, address state university of new york press, state university plaza, albany, ny 12246 production by christine lynch marketing by theresa abad swierzowski library of congress cataloginginpublication data idel, moshe, 1947hasidism. Idels book has broken new ground in the study of the mystical judaism of eastern europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The usual cau tion associated with scholarly research seems to be absent here. Lobel visiting scholar lecture moshe idel, the max cooper professor in jewish thought, department of jewish thought at hebrew university, jerusalem, unravels some of the. Moshe idel is professor of jewish thought at the hebrew university of jerusalem. Moshe idel, hebrew university of jerusalem, jewish thought department, emeritus. Moshe idel hebrew university of jerusalem academia.
From its beginnings, hasidism was far more than an intellectual movement. This work is incomparable to anything else and should be required reading for anyone who wants to seriously engage hasidism intellectually and historically. Dennis, the encyclopedia of jewish myth, magic and mysticism 2007, p. By applying what he calls the panoramic approach, in contrast to the existentialist approach of buber and the historicist approach of scholem, idel has been able to illuminate the phenomenon of hasidism in all its complexity and diversity. Between ecstacy and magic is extremely compelling, rich in the vast erudition idel s readers take for granted and full of insights on every page. The privileged divine feminine in kabbalah moshe idel. This might then suggest that a jewish approach to faith, tradition, and history. It was also a set of bodily practices, including praying, storytelling, singing, dancing, and eating, all performed within the frame of the reciprocal relationship between rebbe and hasid. Along these lines, moshe idel called for the replacement of the historical and socioeconomic analysis of the hasidic movement with a panoramic approach, which should attempt to understand the various manifestations of hasidism and the other mystical tendencies within judaism in relation to a common spectrum of sources. Historicism andor phenomenology in the study of jewish. The very physicality of hasidism played an enormous role in transforming. Kabbalah maasit in historical judaism, is a branch of the jewish mystical tradition that concerns the use of magic.
Israel baal shem tovs approach to cleaving as dealing predominantly with the oral dimension of the letters, namely, with their sounds while they are articulated in recitation of prayer or torah study. National jewish book award in scholarship for kabbalah. Between ecstasy and magic s u n y series in judaica. While it is heavily used by some denominations, it is not a religious denomination in itself. Gershom scholem, jewish gnosticism, merkabah mysticism and talmudic tradition jewish. Old worlds, new mirrors moshe idel university of pennsylvania. Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal, and mysterious ein sof infinity and the mortal and finite universe gods creation. This privileged status is part of a much broader vision of the female as stemming from a very high root. He is emeritus max cooper professor in jewish thought at the hebrew university, jerusalem, and a senior researcher at the shalom hartman institute. Kabbalah and interpretation, and kabbalah and eros. In recent years, the phenomenological and comparative approaches to the study of jewish mysticism have come under criticism.
In this stimulating book, one of the worlds leading scholars of jewish thought examines the long tradition of jewish messianism and mystical experience. Jewish magic and superstition joshua trachtenberg, moshe idel. It was considered permitted white magic by its practitioners, reserved for. There are multiple format available for you to choose pdf, epub, doc.
Hermeneutics, mysticism, and religion online books in format pdf. Between ecstasy and magic 1995, idel rejected scholems claim that hasidism is a popularization of kabbalistic ideas, and reiterated his own position that kabbalah should not be approached from the perspective of western philosophy. By applying what he calls the panoramic approach, in contrast to the existentialist approach of buber and the historicist approach of scholem, idel has been able to illuminate the phenomenon of hasidism in all. The book is full of brilliant insights concerning the meaning of key concepts and practices in early hasidism. Forged from a partnership between a university press and a library, project muse is a trusted part of the academic and scholarly community it serves. Encompassing jewish mystical literatures from those of late antiquity to works of polish hasidism, moshe idel highlights the diversity of kabbalistic views on eros and distinguishes between the major forms of eroticism. For other kabbalistic traditions see kabbalah, christian kabbalah, and hermetic qabalah. It is very easy to distinguish between a hasid and a. Idels book has broken new ground in the study of the mystical judaism of eastern europe in the eighteenth. Moshe idels contribution to the study of religion 55 see p.