Mystical Tradition: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Table of Contents
Professor Biography ....................................................................................i
0] Course Scope 1
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Judaism1]
Lecture One A Way into the Mystic Ways of the West 4
Lecture Two Family Resemblances and Differences 9
Lecture Three The Biblical Roots of Western Mysticism 14
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Judaism2]
Lecture Four Mysticism in Early Judaism 18
Lecture Five Merkabah Mysticism 22
Lecture Six The Hasidim of Medieval Germany 26
Lecture Seven The Beginnings of Kabbalah 30
Lecture Eight Mature Kabbalah—Zohar 34
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Judaism3]
Lecture Nine Isaac Luria and Safed Spirituality 38
Lecture Ten Sabbatai Zevi and Messianic Mysticism 42
Lecture Eleven The Ba’al Shem Tov and the New Hasidism 46
Lecture Twelve Mysticism in Contemporary Judaism 50
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Christian4]
Lecture Thirteen Mystical Elements in the New Testament 54
Lecture Fourteen Gnostic Christianity 58
Lecture Fifteen The Spirituality of the Desert 62
Lecture Sixteen Shaping Christian Mysticism in the East 66
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Christian5]
Lecture Seventeen Eastern Monks and the Hesychastic Tradition 70
Lecture Eighteen The Mysticism of Western Monasticism 74
Lecture Nineteen Medieval Female Mystics 78
Lecture Twenty Mendicants as Mystics 82
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Christian6]
Lecture Twenty-One English Mystics of the 14th Century 86
Lecture Twenty-Two 15th- and 16th- Century Spanish Mystics 89
Lecture Twenty-Three Mysticism among Protestant Reformers 93
Lecture Twenty-Four Mystical Expressions in Protestantism 96
Lecture Twenty-Five 20th-Century Mystics 100
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Islam7]
Lecture Twenty-Six Muhammad the Prophet as Mystic................. 104
Lecture Twenty-Seven The House of Islam........................................ 108
Lecture Twenty-Eight The Mystical Sect—Shi’a.............................. 112
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Islam8]
Lecture Twenty-Nine The Appearance of Sufism............................. 116
Lecture Thirty Early Sufi Masters.......................................... 120
Lecture Thirty-One The Limits of Mysticism—Al-Ghazzali ........ 123
Lecture Thirty-Two Two Masters, Two Streams............................ 127
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Islam9]
Lecture Thirty-Three Sufism in 12th–14th Century North Africa...... 131
Lecture Thirty-Four Sufi Saints of Persia and India....................... 134
Lecture Thirty-Five The Continuing Sufi Tradition....................... 137
Lecture Thirty-Six Mysticism in the West Today ........................ 141
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Timeline ................................................................................................... 145
Glossary ................................................................................................... 154
Bibliography............................................................................................ 163
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Lecture Four
Mysticism in Early Judaism
Scope: During the Hellenistic period (c.
300 B.C.E.–200 C.E.), Judaism had not yet reached its eventual normative form,
and Jews both in Palestine and in the Diaspora displayed a variety of ways of
maintaining fidelity to the covenant while negotiating with the prevailing
cultural influence of Greece and the political dominance of Rome. It is
possible to detect three forms of mystical expression among Jews in this
period. The first is found in apocalyptic literature, particularly in its
emphasis on the ascent of the seer to heaven. The second occurs among the
Essenes, the sectarian community at Qumran, where the form of community and
forms of worship and writing all point to a mystical sensibility. The third is
found among Hellenistic Jews, such as Philo of Alexandria, who interpret
Scripture allegorically and conceive of Judaism in terms of a mystery.
Outline
I.
With this lecture, we begin
consideration of mysticism in each of the three great monotheistic religions of
the West.
A.
For each of these units, it
is important to remember that a great deal more mystical experience was going
on than was written about, and a great deal more was written about than we’re
able to deal with.
B.
Mystics know their
precedents well, but critical scholars have been slower to connect all the dots
into a coherent historical picture.
II.
Judaism has roots in the
biblical religion of ancient Israel but took its classical shape between
roughly 350 B.C.E. and 200 C.E. Jews sought to define their religious and
cultural identity in a context of conflict and division: How could they best
observe Torah and obey God?
A.
Jews in Palestine—newly
committed to the covenant with the Lord and dedicated to Torah as the law of
the land—contended with the challenge of Greco-Roman culture and rule.
1.
Hellenism had been in
Palestine since Alexander the Great (d. 323 B.C.E.) and offered a sophisticated
culture and a more tolerant, polytheistic religion.
Rome had made Palestine a
part of the empire under Pompey in 63 B.C.E. and governed through prefects,
challenging Jewish sovereignty.
3.
Some Jews thought
assimilation possible, while others who had political, as well as religious,
convictions divided into sects.
4.
Jews who violently resisted
foreign influence helped generate the war against Rome that ended with the
destruction of the temple in 70 C.E.
B.
Jews in the Diaspora—more
than twice as many as lived in Palestine—were more directly affected by the
dominant culture.
1.
Already by the year 250
B.C.E., they had translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek (the Septuagint) and
used Hellenistic modes of interpretation.
2.
Their religious devotion
was that of an intentional community; loyalty to God was not identified with
specific political and social institutions.
C.
Literary evidence points to
a powerful religious spirit among Jews of the time, whether in Palestine or in
the Diaspora.
1.
In Palestine, crowds made
the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and gathered at great feasts, such as the Passover.
2.
In Palestine and in the
Diaspora, synagogues were centers for the study of Torah and prayer.
III. In Palestinian Judaism, at least two manifestations of mysticism
appear during this period of turmoil.
A.
Apocalyptic literature,
such as the book of Daniel, gives us a view of history according to which God
is in charge, will intervene, and will save his people so that they will be
triumphant in the future. The religious message is that adherents must endure
and God will prove faithful to the people.
1.
Among the earliest
apocalyptic writings is I Enoch,
ascribed to an ancient hero. Originally composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, it is
extant in Ethiopic, and Aramaic fragments have been found at Qumran.
2.
It is an extraordinarily
complex work, but at its heart are a series of visions experienced by Enoch. In
the first of these (I Enoch 14:8–25),
we find many elements drawn from the prophetic visions in the Bible.
3.
Why were such works
written? To teach, comfort, exhort? Do they report actual experiences or
imagine them? It is even possible that they were written as a means to induce
mystical experience.
B.
The sectarian community of
Essenes at Qumran reveals a Jewish commitment to God that anticipates many
later features of Monasticism: a community separate from the world, living a
common life that was dedicated to study and prayer, following a strict rule,
and practicing rituals of purity.
1.
An intense personal piety
is shown by the hymns (Hodayoth),
possibly composed by the Teacher of Righteousness, the community’s founder.
2.
In Hodayoth 5, the Teacher of Righteousness is well aware of his
loneliness before God, yet he retains the hope of standing among the holy ones.
3.
The Songs of Sabbath Sacrifice portrays community worship as
participating in that of the angels.
4.
The vision of the Qumran
community of itself as a replacement temple is a mystical construal of reality.
IV.
In the Diaspora, Philo of
Alexandria, who read the Greek version of Scripture in the Septuagint in the
style of Greek philosophers, had a thoroughly Platonic understanding of the
world—he made Plato’s distinction between the phenomenal and the noumenal.
A.
How representative was
Philo’s form of mysticism, what we might call biblical Platonism?
1.
An exaggerated position
argues that Hellenistic Judaism was a mystical version of Judaism in contrast
to that found in Palestine.
2.
Some say that Philo’s view
is completely anomalous, that there weren’t any Jews who read Scripture as he
did.
3.
But some evidence, such as
the writings of Pseudo-Orpheus, suggests that Philo was not alone.
B.
Three points in particular
point to Philo’s mystical tendencies.
1.
He describes Moses in terms
of a mystical ascent that can be followed by others (Life of Moses 1.158–159).
2.
He speaks of his own life
in terms that strongly suggest a mystical path (On the Creation 71; On the
Special Laws 3.6).
3.
Philo also speaks in
glowing terms of Jewish monks, both in
Palestine (probably the
Essenes) and some local Jews in
Egypt, whom he calls
the Therapeutae (Every Good Man is Free;
Hypothetica; On the Contemplative Life).
4.
What we see in Philo, the
seeking in the text of Torah deeper meanings that can reveal realities about
God, will be much more in evidence in the future of Jewish Mysticism.
Recommended Reading:
Goodenough, E. R. By Light, Light: The Mystic Gospel of
Hellenistic Judaism.
Questions to Consider:
1.
Discuss the ways that
mystical literature appropriates and reconfigures symbols learned from earlier
compositions.
2.
Consider the possible
relationships between the “experience” of mysticism and its “literary”
expression.
Lecture Five
Merkabah Mysticism
Scope: The Judaism that emerged from the
Mishnah of Judah the Prince and crystallized in the Babylonian Talmud and the
Talmud of the Land of Israel was centered on the observance and study of God’s
Law. Indeed, the study of the laws of sacrifice was regarded as the equivalent
of actually carrying out sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple after its
destruction in 70 C.E. Classical Judaism appears at first to be supremely legal
and intellectual, yet at the heart of the rabbinic circles was a powerful form
of mysticism centered in the spiritual “ascent” to the heavenly throne-chariot
(merkabah). This form of mysticism
had its dangers and was, therefore, restricted to the holiest and most learned
among the rabbis.
Outline
I.
The classical form of
Judaism that emerged from centuries of turbulence was firmly based on the
community’s observance of God’s Law.
A.
The convictions of the
Pharisees and the expertise of the scribes fused with a diaspora setting to
shape a tradition that endured for 1,800 years.
1.
The Pharisees began as one
of the first sects in Judaism, who made the observance of God’s Law, the Torah,
their central commitment.
2.
The ancient laws written in
Scripture (TaNaK) could be extended and contemporized through the use of
“midrash” (interpretation) applied to legal material (Halakah) or nonlegal material (Haggadah).
3.
This oral Torah (or second
Torah) allowed a highly flexible form of life for a people forced to live among
those not sharing their convictions.
4.
As it developed, this
Jewish tradition placed equal emphasis on carrying out the Commandments and
studying them; both equally honored God.
B.
The tradition expressed
itself in an incremental body of literature focused on the Law of God.
1.
The Mishnah of Judah ha-Nasi (c. 200 C.E.),
composed in classical Hebrew, codified an oral tradition based on
interpretation of Scripture and provided the basis for all subsequent
development.
2.
The Talmud of the Land of Israel (4th
century) and The Babylonian Talmud (5th
or 6th century) added commentary to the Mishnah in Aramaic (Gemara); the Babylonian version became the normative
text for Jews over the next centuries.
3.
The conversations among
these rabbis continued in collections of material that had not previously been
anthologized and in further commentaries on the Talmud itself.
C.
Classical Judaism was a way
of life shaped by the word of God as adapted to ever-changing circumstances.
1.
Obeying God’s Commandments
was not only a matter of individual but also of community obligation: Torah
showed adherents how to walk (Halakah).
2.
Community worship (for
example, on the Sabbath) also focused on Torah. The Sabbath offered freedom
from work to study Torah.
3.
The divine presence
(Shekinah) is particularly felt among those who study Torah.
II.
The Babylonian Talmud shows
us the early development of a mysticism centered on the heavenly throne-chariot
(merkabah) in the heart of the
rabbinic tradition.
A.
Under the rubric of
forbidden relations (Lev. 18:6), the Mishnah passage in the Babylonian Talmud
tractate Hagigah 11b shifts to
esoteric teaching.
1.
Speculation on “the work of
the creation and the work of the chariot” is restricted to sages.
2.
Speculation on “four things
… what is above, what is beneath, what before, what after” is strictly
forbidden.
B.
As the Talmud continues, we
find that by no means was the prohibition or careful qualification of these
subjects the only opinion. The Gemara discussion is much more open to the
presence of this kind of mystical speculation.
1.
The Gemara discusses the
meaning of the seventh heaven, the creatures around the throne, and the
chambers in heaven.
2.
It also speculates on the
size of the bodies of the heavenly creatures that appeared to Ezekiel.
3.
The Gemara notes, however,
that its speculation on the thronechariot can be undertaken only by those who
are most learned and most observant of the Torah.
4.
In the Talmud, speculation
of this sort seems to give rise to miracles.
C.
The two characteristics of
this mysticism as found in the Talmud, then, are that such speculation is
forbidden to the many and is restricted to the most learned and pious.
III. In the production of Hekaloth
literature (edited in the 5th through 6th centuries),
there is evidence for a vigorous practice of mysticism centered in ascent to
the divine presence.
A.
This literature (III Enoch, The Lesser Hekaloth, The
Greater Hekaloth) describes the heavenly halls or palaces through which the
visionary passes. In the seventh heaven is the throne-chariot on which God
sits.
1.
The mystical ascent is
always preceded by ascetical practices over a period of 12 to 40 days.
2.
Angelic gatekeepers seek to
prevent the ascent and must be placated by prayers, seals, or passwords, such
as proper verses from the Torah.
3.
The higher the ascent, the
greater the dangers grow. Of course, the ascent is an internal rather than an
external one.
4.
The dangers include gazing
on the waters, passing through fire, and experiencing suspension in bottomless
space.
B.
Certain recurrent elements
appear in the Hekaloth literature,
distinguishing it from the midrashic tradition.
1.
The visions of the
throne-chariot and heavenly chambers are imaginative expansions of the clues
given by Scripture.
2.
The emphasis on God’s
transcendence is mitigated by Shiur Koma (measure
of the body), speculation on the body of God (perhaps derived from the Song of
Songs).
3.
The “garment of light”
serves both to reveal and to conceal the presence of God.
4.
Heavenly hymns are low on
specific content but rhetorically rich and constitute the distinct prayer
component in this mysticism.
IV.
In a tradition that seems
totally exoteric—completely focused on keeping the Law—there appears an
esoteric teaching, a sod, a secret,
practiced by those who had the greatest stake and expertise in the external
forms.
A.
The literature and social
setting alike require us to think in terms of a school tradition.
B.
The spiritual (internal)
ascent of the mind and heart, together with the ascetical preparation, reveal
that the point of the Law is a relationship of the individual person with God.
C.
The emphasis in this
scholastic circle remains on the mind more than on the heart; the language is
speculative more than affective.
D.
There is a strong
possibility that the writing of this literature is itself a medium by which the
experience is sought.
Recommended Reading:
Scholem, G. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, pp.
40–79.
Questions to Consider:
1.
How does the rabbinic
practice of Merkabah Mysticism illustrate the relationship between the esoteric
and exoteric in religion?
2.
Discuss the theme of
“danger” posed by mystical ascent to those uninitiated or uninstructed.
Lecture Six The
Hasidim of Medieval Germany
Please be advised that parts of this lecture contain some explicit
discussion of sexual matters and may be unsuitable for children.
Scope: Life for Jews in the Christendom
of medieval Europe was not easy. For Jews in Germany from 1150–1250, dedication
to the keeping of Torah was particularly perilous, because Christian Crusade
fever could extend itself easily to Jewish neighbors. In these constrained
circumstances and under the threat of persecution, a form of mysticism
developed that appealed even to Jews who were not great scholars. The Sefer Hasidim (Book of the Devout) affirmed the centrality of Torah and had
connections with the earlier Merkabah tradition but was characterized by
commitment to a deep personal piety that eschewed messianic speculation and
emphasized altruistic love as the essence of obedience to God.
Outline
I.
This lecture explores a
form of Jewish Mysticism that is quieter, more grounded in common life, less
speculative, and more rooted in the heart than the Merkabah tradition—the
mysticism of the Hasidim in medieval Germany.
A.
In the period of the
ascendance of Christendom in Europe,
Christianity pervaded all
social and political structures, and various laws ensured that Jews remained
separate within society and, thus, at risk.
1.
Jews were not legally able
to own land, and in a feudal society based in landowning, this meant that their
livelihood was restricted to trade and finance.
2.
Economically, therefore,
Jews were both necessary (Christians were forbidden to practice usury) and
resented.
B.
Although there were moments
of cooperation (as between the biblical scholars Rashi and Hugh of St. Victor
in the 11th century), the dominant atmosphere was hostile and
oppressive.
1.
Popular anti-Semitism, fed
by Christian preaching, broke out in times of stress, as in the First Crusade
(1096–1099).
2.
States could expel Jews at
will, as France did in 1182 and Spain in 1492. Further, the church issued
controlling laws, as did the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, and sponsored the
burning of the Talmud on many occasions.
C.
Despite such external
pressures, life in the Jewish community remained faithful to its religious
roots.
1.
With the schools (yeshivah)
held in local synagogues, generations of scholars continued the reading of
Torah in Hebrew and Aramaic and passed on mystical traditions.
2.
In his last will and
testament, Eleazar of Mainz (d. 1357), an ordinary Jewish businessman,
testifies to the widespread practice of piety.
II.
In medieval Germany a
distinctive form of mysticism developed from
1150–1250 called the Hasidei Ashkenazi (the “Devout” or
“Pious of Germany”).
A.
This strain of mysticism
was shaped by three generations of teachers from the same family, the
Kalonymides.
1.
Samuel the Hasid was the
son of Kalonymus of Speyer and lived in the middle of the 12th
century; little of his writing remains.
2.
His son was Jehudah the
Hasid of Worms, who died in Regensburg in 1217; his many writings are now known
only through his disciples, although he was regarded virtually as a prophet.
3.
Eleazar ben Jehudah of
Worms (1160–1238) has left the greatest body of literature and is the main
source of our knowledge about this form of Jewish Mysticism.
B.
Among Eleazar ben Jehudah’s
works, the most influential is Sefer
Hasidim (the Book of the Devout,
or the Book of the Pious).
1.
Its teaching shows lines of
continuity with earlier Jewish traditions, including Merkabah and the writings
of the 10thcentury scholar Saadia Gaon, who stressed the analogy
between divine and human love.
2.
It is also possible to find
the influence of Christian Mysticism in Jehudah’s work, for example, in the
emphasis on penitence.
III. This German Mysticism was both more popular than Merkabah and less
speculative, focusing on the shaping of individuals as pious.
A.
Mysticism became a practice
for ordinary Jews, not only for those in small scholarly groups.
1.
The hasid need not be a
person of towering intellect or a scholar but simply a humble searcher after
holiness.
2.
The hasid can,
nevertheless, become a guide to others on the path of piety and can accomplish
astounding deeds, as in the creation of the golem.
3.
The pious person can even
receive by direct inspiration the solution to legal problems that confound
scholars.
B.
Mysticism is focused not on
the outer world of history but on the inner life of the devout individual.
1.
Messianic speculation is
discouraged if not forbidden; it is a distraction from personal transformation.
2.
Thinking about the end time
concerns not the Messiah but the personal destiny of the individual.
3.
There is a great focus on
prayer, which involves a concern for the motives of the Commandments and the
precise words (including their numerical values) used in prayer.
C.
Three aspects of such
personal piety in the Book of the Devout
resemble the stages of mystical progression in other traditions.
1.
The hasid practices
physical asceticism that takes the form of a renunciation of the pleasures
offered by the world. This can involve a pervasive commitment to penitence.
2.
The hasid practices
serenity of mind in all circumstances, even those of persecution.
3.
The hasid practices an
altruism—justice toward other humans—that goes beyond the demands of the Law.
IV.
The theosophy (speculation
about the divine realm) among the Hasidim is not systematically coherent but
emphasizes the human relationship to an immanent God.
A.
God remains the
transcendent one of the earlier tradition, but now, we see a development of
God’s attributes as aspects of divine immanence.
1.
The Pious Ones of Germany
interpret the traditional attributes of God—that he is wise, is holy, has
glory, and has a presence—as ways of bringing God closer to us.
2.
Heavenly archetypes exist
for all created things, including humans, who can work to realize their
heavenly ideal.
B.
Corresponding to the
closeness of the divine is an emphasis on love even more than knowledge.
1.
Human erotic love may be an
expression of the love between humans and God; there is no sexual asceticism in
this form of piety.
2.
This form of mysticism
affirms human erotic love, and it is an analogy to the love between God and
humans but only an analogy.
Recommended Reading:
Scholem, G. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, pp.
80–118.
Questions to Consider:
1.
How does German Hasidism
broaden our understanding of what mysticism can include?
2.
Discuss how a “spirit of
penitence” can be compatible with a robust and joyful celebration of human
sexuality.
Lecture
Seven The Beginnings of Kabbalah
Scope: In this lecture, we begin to
trace the development of Kabbalism, the form of mysticism that is most
identified with Judaism and has had a remarkable longevity, extending down to
the present.
Although the 13th-century
composition called the Zohar (Book of Splendor) is correctly regarded
as the normative text of this tradition, it was preceded by at least a century
of spectacular developments in mysticism. This lecture traces some of these
efforts and seeks the possible connections among them. The lecture concludes
with consideration of the work of Rabbi Abraham Abulafia, who represents a form
of mysticism that has been called Prophetic Kabbalism.
Outline
I.
The complexity and
creativity in medieval Judaism stemmed partly from external challenges and
partly from internal factors.
A.
As noted in the last
lecture, the mysticism of the Hasidei
Ashkenazi can be seen as both a response to the threat of Christian
oppression and as an integration of some Christian themes.
B.
Moses Maimonides (Moses ben
Maimon or Rambam, 1135–1204) sought
to preserve the truth, integrity, and vibrancy of Judaism in response to the
intellectual challenges of Muslim philosophy.
1.
Like the Christian thinker
Thomas Aquinas, Maimonides was controversial because of his rational engagement
with Arabic thought. Some attacked him, but others, including the scholar
Nachmonides (also called Moses ben Nachman Gerondi, c. 1194–1270), defended
him.
2.
The Guide of the Perplexed by Maimonides was an attempt to work out a
defense for Jewish belief and Jewish practice in light of Arabic intellectual
currents.
C.
The earliest stages of
Kabbalism reveal an intense desire to respect the past (Kabbalah means
“tradition”), together with an intense creativity generated by the
socio-religious context and the concentration of imagination in small groups of
Talmudic scholars in Provence and Spain.
1.
Although the 13th-century
Zohar is correctly regarded as the
normative text of this tradition, it was preceded by at least a century of
spectacular developments in mysticism.
2.
It is possible that some
cross-influence took place between Christian dualistic movements, such as those
found among the
Albigensians and the Cathars, and the development of
Jewish Kabbalism, but it’s not necessary to posit such influence. The elements
of Kabbalism were already present in such movements as Merkabah Mysticism.
II.
The assumptions and
antecedents to 12th-century developments in Kabbalism help us grasp
its many subsequent permutations.
A.
The fundamental assumptions
concern the way in which God is present in the world and the human means of
engaging that presence.
1.
For Talmudic scholars,
Torah is not only a text that speaks of God, but it is God speaking. It is not
simply a text that speaks of the world; the inspired word of God is the world.
2.
Scripture contains
something of God in every individual word and letter: Everything reveals God at
some level.
3.
Words and letters have
significance numerically, as well as semantically, through the practice of
gematria.
4.
A mystical connection
exists between the world of Scripture and the human person.
B.
The earlier mystical
tradition in Judaism anticipated later developments.
1.
In Merkabah, we saw the
practice of Shiur Koma, speculation
on God in all of his transcendence in terms of the human body.
2.
The Book of Creation (Sefer
Yesirah), a short work written before the 10th century, speaks
of the emanations of God as sefirot.
III. The first manifestations of Kabbalah in Provence and Spain reveal
the contributions of many scholars in a cooperative effort.
A.
The Sefer ha-Bahir (The Book of
Brilliance) is an anonymous work that has pivotal significance.
1.
It uses the ancient style
of midrash on Scripture to communicate new ideas.
2.
The book introduces the
notion of a female component in the divinity through the symbol of the
Shekinah.
3.
It speculates on the
workings of evil, connecting it especially to material reality.
4.
It organizes the 10 sefirot and studies them in great
detail.
B.
Other scholars also made
important contributions to this developing form of mysticism.
1.
Rabbi Isaac the Blind (c.
1160–1235) contributed further speculation on the sefirot, creating a panoramic understanding of God and world and
introducing the possibility of union (devequt)
through Kabbalistic study.
2.
The Gerona circle in
Catalonia included Moses ben Nachman and Rabbi Azriel, who expounded the
relationship between the sefirot
(emanations from the divine into the world) and Eyn Sof (God in God’s self).
3.
The pseudepigraphic work of
the Kohen brothers of Castile developed a connection of evil to demons and an
understanding of the Messiah in terms of a battle with evil.
IV.
Another form of Kabbalism,
associated with Rabbi Abraham Abulafia (1240–c.1291), is Prophetic Kabbalism.
A.
In contrast to the tight
circles of scholars who focused on the esoteric study of Torah, Abulafia lived
an active, itinerant life and produced both speculative and ecstatic
(prophetic) writings.
1.
Born in Saragossa, he
traveled to the Near East, Greece, and Spain.
2.
He had a strong messianic
consciousness and, in 1280, traveled to Rome and confronted Pope Nicholas III
in the hope of bringing on the Messianic Age.
3.
An admirer of Maimonides,
Rabbi Abulafia wrote a mystical supplement to that philosopher’s work and
considered his Kabbalism to be a combination of Maimonides and the Book of Creation.
B.
Rabbi Abulafia’s words of
encouragement to his followers reveal his form of Prophetic Mysticism.
1.
Prophesy, he says, is an
expression of the love of God. Objections his followers might raise to the
mystical path are representations of an “evil inclination” that will “seduce
you to die without wisdom, understanding, and the knowledge of God.”
2.
For Abulafia, this form of
mysticism is not optional. It is a way of participating in the life of the
world to come.
C.
Abulafia’s writings contain
practical directions for the achievement of ecstasy, what he called the
“loosening of the knots.”
1.
Without using the technical
language concerning sefirot, he
shared the perception of Scripture as a web of divine significance in every
letter and number.
2.
Psychic release is accomplished
through speaking, writing, and recombining words, letters, and numbers. The
mind is released through concentration and associative leaps.
Recommended Reading:
Dan, J., ed., The Early Kabbalah.
Questions to Consider:
1.
What logically follows from
the premise that the words of Torah form a world that one might inhabit?
2.
Discuss the implications of
the practice of gematria: assigning numerical values to letters of the
alphabet.
Lecture
Eight Mature Kabbalah—Zohar
Scope: For the Jewish practitioners of
Kabbalah, the Zohar (Book of Splendor) has a status next to
that held by Torah and Talmud. Presenting itself as “tradition” (Kabbalah) from
the period of the early rabbis, the Zohar
is actually the astonishing literary creation of a Spanish Jewish mystic, Moses
de León, between the years 1275–1286. This lecture takes up the fascinating
tale of the Zohar’s production,
describes the discrete parts of this massive composition, provides a sample of
its language (in translation), and offers a brief sketch of its vision of God
and the world and the place of humans within God’s creation.
Outline
I.
This lecture looks at
mature Kabbalah as expressed in the Book
of Splendor, the Zohar. Like some of its Kabbalistic
predecessors, the Zohar, the
canonical text of Jewish Mysticism, hides its origin in a specific time and
author.
A.
The Sefer ha-Bahir and the works of the Kohen brothers imitated the
style of ancient midrash and were ascribed to earlier authors.
B.
The Zohar presents itself as a work from the age of the Tannaim
(the first generation of
rabbinic teachers), especially Simeon ben Yohai; this attribution is still
accepted by many orthodox Kabbalists.
1.
In the Zohar, the sage Simeon ben Yohai wanders Palestine with his son and
his disciples, but it is a fictional Palestine.
2.
He discourses on Scripture
in the style of midrash in Aramaic, but it is an artificial Aramaic.
C.
Critical scholarship,
particularly that of Gershom Scholem, has established that the author of the Zohar was a Spanish Jew named Moses de
León (d. 1305).
1.
León studied Maimonides in
1264 but also immersed himself in classical sources (Torah, Talmud) and earlier
Kabbalistic literature.
2.
In the city of Guadalajara
from 1275–1280, he began to produce a mystical midrash concerning parts of
Torah and the book of Ruth. Then, he began to distribute his commentaries but
not as his own work.
3.
Between 1280 and 1286, León
wrote the remainder of the Zohar, a
commentary on Torah consisting of a number of discrete compositions.
4.
From 1286 to his death in
1305, he composed a rather large number of other writings in his own name while
continuing to distribute copies of the Zohar.
II.
Analysis of the Zohar reveals some of its complexity and
distinctive character.
A.
It is a work of great
length (in Aramaic, more than 2,400 printed pages), and only relatively small
portions have been translated into English.
B.
It is made up of 22
distinct compositions, plus a few scattered fragments.
1.
Several significant
compositions take the form of commentaries on Torah, such as the lengthy
untitled opening section, the Sifra
di-Tseniutha (Book of Conciliation),
and the Sithre Torah (Secrets of the Torah).
2.
Also included are romantic
tales, such as “The Old Man” and “The Child,” that contain mystical teachings
on Torah, the soul, and prayer.
3.
Treatises on traditional
subjects of mysticism, including the Hekhaloth,
“Palaces”; Raza de-Razin, “Secret of
Secrets”; and Sithre Othioth,
“Secrets of the Letters,” also find a place in the compilation.
4.
It’s important to note that
mystics find mysticism wherever they look; in other words, the mystical
character of texts is not determined by their subject matter but by the manner
in which they are read. The parts of the Zohar
that appear to be ordinary and down to earth can be as powerfully mystical to
their readers as those parts that seem to be strange.
C.
In contrast to the ecstatic
or Prophetic Kabbalism of Abraham Abulafia, the Zohar is scholarly rather than popular.
1.
The length and complexity
of the work resist easy or quick appropriation.
2.
The complex symbolic
language creates its own world and requires initiation.
3.
The doctrine (theosophy) of
the composition is indirect, clothed by simple-appearing tales, sayings, and
comments.
D.
Two passages from the Zohar provide a taste of its style and
sensibility, even in English translation.
1.
“How to Look at Torah”
offers a glimpse at the esoteric presuppositions of Kabbalistic reading.
2.
“Male and Female”
illustrates the Zohar’s strong sense
of gender and sexual complementarity.
III. The Zohar is not a
practical manual on how to practice mysticism but, rather, expresses a
theosophy, an understanding of God and world. This theosophy is expressed
indirectly, through the reading of Torah.
A.
In agreement with earlier
Kabbalah, the Zohar’s understanding
of God is at once transcendent and immanent.
1.
God in Godself (Eyn Sof) is utterly unknowable and can
be approached only through negation.
2.
God in the world, in Torah,
is in humans through these divine emanations.
B.
In the Zohar, the system of sefirot
is at once systematic and dynamic; each sefirah
can be diagrammed spatially.
1.
At the top is keter (“the crown”), which is equivalent
to Eyn Sof and is without
differentiation; through it comes hokhmah
(“wisdom”). The third of the sefirot
is binah (“womb”).
2.
In this triad—keter, hokhmah, and binah—hokhmah is male, and binah
is female. Binah receives the seed of
hokhmah, and they conceive the seven lower sefirot.
3.
Binah gives birth, first, to din (“judgment”), also called gevurah (“power”), and, then, to chesed (“mercy”); they are the left and
right arms or hands of God. Their balance is symbolized by the central siferah, namely, tif’eret (“balance”) or rachamim
(“compassion”). If din is
overemphasized, the results are imbalance and evil. Tif’eret is the trunk of the divine body.
4.
Nezah (“endurance”) and hod (“majesty”) are the right and left
legs of the body, corresponding to Moses and Aaron. Yesod (“foundation”) is the phallus, symbolizing the procreative
power of creation.
5.
The final sefirah is called most often Shekinah
(“presence”) or malkuth (“kingdom”).
Ideally, this is where Israel dwells.
C.
The flexibility of this
system is found in two factors: First, the sefirot
represent dynamic forces and enter into diverse combinations. Second, each of
the sefirah uses a biblical word, so
that when we read the Bible, we will constantly discover God’s self-revelation.
IV.
Corresponding to this
theosophy is a distinct understanding of the human situation and vocation.
A.
Humans are created in the
image of God, and ideally, the divine sefirot
are also found in humans.
B.
Just as imbalance among the
sefirot introduces evil into the
cosmos, so does an imbalance within humans, causing the separation of what
should be united. This understanding is found in the concept of tikkun ha-olam (“mending the world”).
1.
By keeping the Commandments
of God, each individual Jew and Israel as a whole work to mend the world.
2.
The constant study of Torah
as the body of God enables the mystical adherence to God (devequt) but also accomplishes in the life of the mystic what the
cosmos still lacks.
C.
Given the sexual symbolism
of the system, marriage is highly valued as a symbol of divine marriage;
Sabbath Eve is the weekly celebration of the sacred wedding and the ideal time
for mystics to make love.
Recommended Reading:
Scholem, G. Origins of the Kabbalah.
Questions to Consider:
1.
Discuss how the sefirot help mystics grasp the tension
between the otherness of God and God’s immanence.
2.
In what manner does
Kabbalah provide a sense of cosmic mission for the practice of mysticism?
