Hasidism between ecstasy and magic moshe idel epub

Idels book has broken new ground in the study of the mystical judaism of. Rather than focusing on any one immediate aspect of jewish mysticism, idel proposes to understand hasidism as the aggregation of multiple streams, including magic, theosophic kabbalah, and ecstatic kabbalah. The founder of hasidism, israel ben eliezer 16981760, became known as the baal shem tov the master of the good name, abbreviated besht. 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. 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. My jewish learning is a notforprofit and relies on your help. Moshe idel hebrew university of jerusalem academia. While at first glance hasidim appear analogous to the amish or other groups in america who actively defend themselves against all encroachments of contemporary life, it. With tzadikism, it developed specific forms of cultivating a religious elite, apocalyptic expectations, and communal life. Idels book has broken new ground in the study of the mystical judaism of eastern europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

He accepts parts of ronit merozs articles that claim that the texts of the zohar originated between the 1114 th centuries. Reedsy is a community of top publishing professionals. Hasidism spread mystical ideas to the masses of easteuropean jewry. Hermeneutics, mysticism, and religion moshe idel on. Her mission was to document the lives of the victims.

Essential papers on hasidism by gershon david hundert. Moshe idel was centennial scholar in residence at the jewish theological seminary. Mystical union and monotheistic faith, an ecumenical dialogue, eds. As an adult, she dedicated herself to the study and memorialization of the holocaust and its victims. Ecstasy and magic stand at the opposite extremes of most modern religious modalities. The hagiography of oral stories about his life, that were posthumously. The snatches of scholarly comment on the baal shem tov and the early chassidim ive come across in moshe idel, especially between ecstasy and magic suny, i recall as having been on the money. This encyclopedia includes biographies of hasidic leaders of the past two hundred years. Moshe idel is max cooper professor of jewish thought at the hebrew university, jerusalem. The privileged divine feminine in kabbalah moshe idel. This approach implies a more active type of engagement with the letters than has been assumed in earlier hasidic scholarship, which emphasized. Studies in ecstatic kabbalah suny series in judaica. Moshe idel, hebrew university of jerusalem, jewish thought department, emeritus.

Best kabbalah lists kabbalah is a term meaning the mystical side of judaism. Ex hasidim and the besht the book of doctrines and. Gershom scholemmajor trends in jewish mysticismmajor trends in jewish mysticism gershom scholem. Hasidism has a long history of concurrently repelling and enchanting modern jews. This privileged status is part of a much broader vision of the female as stemming from a very high. In this book, the worlds foremost scholar of kabbalah explores the understanding of erotic love in jewish mystical thought. Lobel visiting scholar lecture moshe idel, the max cooper professor in jewish thought, department of jewish thought at.

Indeed, by the 20 th century most internal hasidic sources acknowledged moshes conversion while focusing on his apparent mental illness and. It is an authentic and ancient tradition passed down through the centuries by great sages both chassidic and other. A mystical movement within eastern european judaism. 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.

Today, its distinguishing featuresisolationism, religious fanaticism, and aggressive rejection of all things modern, including not only nonorthodox judaism but the very idea of secularityare inexplicable, if not abhorrent, to much of world jewry. 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. State university of new york press, 1995 dlc 92047504 ocolc27266192. Rabinowicz lays out the basic tenets of the movement, which from its. The hasidim, or pious ones in hebrew, belong to a special movement within orthodox judaism, a movement that, at its height in the first half of the nineteenth. Balakirskykatz, maya 2007 on the masterdisciple relationship in hasidic visual culture. Habad, messianism, and the phantom charisma of rabbi. Suny series in judaica includes bibliographical references and index. Ironically enough, this occurred even as modern judaism increasingly dovetailed with christianity with regard to its ethos, aesthetics, and attitude toward ritual and faith. Buy essential papers on hasidism by gershon david hundert online at alibris. His close study of ecstasy and magic will be essential for all those who are in any way interested in this area. Idel proposes to understand hasidism as the aggregation of multiple streams, including magic. He is emeritus max cooper professor in jewish thought at the hebrew university, jerusalem, and a senior researcher at the shalom hartman institute. New perspectives may be the greatest academic book on kabbalah that has yet been written in the english language.

Hasidism incarnate offers a unique exploration of sensitive subjects, stressing the affinities between two religions widely perceived as staunch adversaries. Moshe idel jewish magic from the renaissance period to early hasidism. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or. This work is incomparable to anything else and should be required reading for anyone who wants to seriously engage hasidism intellectually and historically. It was called into existence by the charismatic figure israel ben eliezer ca. Focusing on the hasidic strand of judaism, a strict orthodox sect, creates for magid the space to make provocative arguments without giving the impression that he is a proponent of the. Study of the jewish magical tradition open epub for prolegomena to the study of. Included are biographical entries on the great hasidic leaders of past and present generations and a wealth of information on hasidic principles, customs, and lore. While magid, drawing on idel, suggests that there is an ontic affinity 7 between hasidism and christian incarnational theology, he decides to spend much more time talking about the affinities and much less about the differences. When yaffa eliach was only four years old, she survived the nazi massacres of jews in her lithuanian hometown. Hasidism incarnate contends that much of modern judaism in the west developed in reaction to christianity and in defense of judaism as a unique tradition. The spiritualization of the contact with the divine in western mysticism, radically different from the more materialist propensities of magic, invites detachment from the bodyand from corporeality in generalin order to be able to enjoy communion with the divine.

It traces the movement from its eighteenthcentury beginnings in eastern europe and explores its development and evolution to the present day. Among academic scholars of kabbalah and chassidus, i think moshe idel is in. Project muse promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide. Hermeneutics, mysticism, and religion idel, moshe on. The zohar contains variety of styles and diverse literature, hence abrams is sympathetic to moshe idels reclamation of the theory of moses gaster, who considered the work a collection of diverse sources. The encyclopedia of hasidism is the first and only comprehensive englishlanguage reference work of its kind to cover all aspects of hasidism. His successor, rabbi dov ber, the preacher of mezritch, followed his example. Hasidism as a modern movement 3 serve its memory by ethnographic and archival research.

Jewish magical and mystical traditions on the artificial anthropoid. By applying idels orientation one can appreciate the complex fabric woven by the hasidic masters from previous mystical sources. Introduction when faced with a particularly weighty problem, the baal shem tov, founder of hasidic judaism, would go to a certain place in the woods, light a sacred. Prolegomena to the study of the jewish magical tradition gideon. A learned history of the hasidic movement from its origins in 18thcentury eastern europe to the present. Language, torah, and hermeneutics in abraham abulafia. Discover book depositorys huge selection of moshe idel books online.

Hasidism is a mystical religious revival movement within judaism, which draws from the kabbalist tradition. Between ecstasy and magic ebook written by moshe idel. The hasids broke with classicist judaism because they felt that it was intellectually elitist, substituting a form of judaism that emphasized bringing the joys of spirituality to the common man as well as to the scholar. Indeed, almost every ideological trend that has made itself felt among jews since that time from zionism and orthodoxy to contemporary jewish feminism and movements within the yeshiva world has claimed to have derived some inspiration from this. First, the book is both comprehensive and detailed. A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the bodleian library at oxford which have not hitherto been catalogued in the quarto series with references to the. Between ecstacy and magic is extremely compelling, rich in the vast erudition idels readers take for granted and full of insights on every page. A new history is the first comprehensive study of this important jewish spiritual religious movement. 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. P erhaps the most resonant chapter of this book is a detailed account of the sad story of moshe, the youngest son of schneur zalman of liadi, founder of lubavitch also known as chabad hasidism, who converted to christianity. 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.