✍ Scribed by Idel, Moshe
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
This relatively compact book covers the spectrum of Jewish mystic tradition, from pre-Kabbalistic messianism to some of its modern reverberations. After Gershom Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (Schocken, 1995. reprint), this is the next all-embracing critical compendium. The author does not repeat Scholem's work but rather gives his own approach to every period and teaching. The book is highly innovative, reworking the structure of Jewish mysticism in its relations to history and philosophy. Idel (Jewish thought, Hebrew Univ.; Kabbalah: New Perspectives, LJ 3/1/88) shows the steps in the development of mystic traditions, sometimes completely overturning Scholem's ideas. Though writing at a high academic level, Idel uses clear and popular language; he doesn't overload the book with technicalities in describing the essence and meaning of the teachings. Highly recommended for both general and specialized collections; suitable for beginners in Jewish studies as well as readers already familiar with Jewish mysticism.AHayim Y. Sheynin, Gratz Coll. Lib., Melrose Park, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A running controversy with fellow Judaic scholar Gershom Scholem drives Idel's wide-ranging argument about the relationship between messianism and mysticism. Scholem sees the two as incompatible, but Idel offers substantial evidence that they can coexist and, for a number of important thinkers, have coexisted. Idel is particularly interested in opening investigation of cabala (esoteric Judaism) to a rainbow of messianic models. One effect of that interest is the shifting of messianic ideas from a distant, apocalyptic future to a transformative present. Moreover, discussion of tikkun (cosmic repair) as completion of the deity is relevant not only to Jewish messianism, Idel notes, but also to a range of mystical traditions in Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism. The conception of every moment as a gate that may admit messianic transformation of the world imparts a seriousness to everyday action that belies popular perception of mysticism as otherworldly. Idel's treatment of a most intriguing subject will stretch nonspecialist readers but richly reward them, and his thorough documentation points out excellent avenues for further exploration. Steven Schroeder
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