Jewish Mystical Autobiographies

Here are first-time English translations of the autobiographical works of two important and influential Jewish mystics. In The Book of Visions Rabbi Hayyim Vital (1542-1620), foremost disciple of R. Isaac Luria, describes his mystical experiences in great detail. In The Book of Secrets, Rabbi Yizhak Isaac Safrin of Komarno (1806-1874) recounts incidents in his life and visionary experiences.

"Paulist Press deserves credit for adding this new dimension to interfaith dialogue." The Jewish Spectator In this remarkable volume in the Classics of Western Spirituality(TM) are the mystical autobiographies-unusual in themselves for the Jewish tradition-of two influential Jewish thinkers, Rabbi Hayyim Vital and Rabbi Yizhak Isaac Safrin of Komarno. Now translated for the first time in English, these texts will capture the attention of historians, theologians, and anyone studying Judaism. Rabbi Hayyim Vital (1542-1620) was the foremost disciple of R. Isaac Luria, one of the most important mystics in 16th century Judaism and founder of the major school of mysticism known as Lurianic kabbalah. Vital was the most influential transmitter of Luria's teachings, and the author of a full-fledged mystical autobiography called The Book of Visions. Vital saw himself as the reincarnation of many of the important figures in Jewish history associated with messianic hopes and expectations. The second text in this volume, The Book of Secrets, is by Rabbi Yizak Isaac Safrim of Komarno (1806-1874), an important Hasidic master. Like Vital, he saw himself as a potential messianic figure who had direct access to the mysteries of heaven. The Book of Secrets is divided into two parts. The first part, The Book of Visions, modeled on Vital's work, consists of incidents in his life and visionary experiences. The second part, the Deeds of the Lord, contains stories about the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism. +

"A serene, lucid and stylish essay in intellectual autobiography that at the same time commemorates a vanished world."—Times Literary Supplement "An extraordinary life—one that itself takes on symbolic, if not mystical, significance." —Robert Coles From Berlin to Jerusalem portrays the dual dramas of the author's total break from his middle-class German Jewish family and his ever-increasing dedication to the study of Jewish thought. Played out during the momentous years just before, during, and after World War I, these experiences eventually led Scholem to immigrate to Palestine in 1923. "Gershom Scholem is historian who has remade the world…He is coming to be seen as one of the greatest shapers of contemporary thought, possibly the boldest mind-adventurer of our generation."—Cynthia Ozick, New York Times Book Review "A remarkable book."—Harold Bloom "[Scholem] vividly describes the spiritual and intellectual odyssey that drew him…to a rigorous immersion in the texts of Jewish tradition."—Library Journal

Taking his lead from his subject, Gershom Scholem—the 20th century thinker who cracked open Jewish theology and history with a radical reading of Kabbalah—Prochnik combines biography and memoir to counter our contemporary political crisis with an original and urgent reimagining of the future of Israel. In Stranger in a Strange Land, Prochnik revisits the life and work of Gershom Scholem, whose once prominent reputation, as a Freud-like interpreter of the inner world of the Cosmos, has been in eclipse in the United States. He vividly conjures Scholem’s upbringing in Berlin, and compellingly brings to life Scholem’s transformative friendship with Walter Benjamin, the critic and philosopher. In doing so, he reveals how Scholem’s frustration with the bourgeois ideology of Germany during the First World War led him to discover Judaism, Kabbalah, and finally Zionism, as potent counter-forces to Europe’s suicidal nationalism. Prochnik’s own years in the Holy Land in the 1990s brings him to question the stereotypical intellectual and theological constructs of Jerusalem, and to rediscover the city as a physical place, rife with the unruliness and fecundity of nature. Prochnik ultimately suggests that a new form of ecological pluralism must now inherit the historically energizing role once played by Kabbalah and Zionism in Jewish thought.

The corpus of Jewish mystical writings has developed over thousands of years in different parts of the world. Its creators sought to discover hidden realms that would shed light on existing reality. The literature they created, one of the central sources of inspiration of religious thought, comprises hundreds of volumes. This masterly investigation of the Jewish mystical phenomenon, from antiquity to the twentieth century, contextualizes it in the spiritual and historical circumstances in which it evolved.

An unprecedented annotated anthology of the most important Jewish mystical works, A Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism Reader is designed to facilitate teaching these works to all levels of learners in adult education and college classroom settings. Daniel M. Horwitz’s insightful introductions and commentary accompany readings in the Talmud and Zohar and writings by Ba'al Shem Tov, Rav Kook, Abraham Joshua Heschel, and others. Horwitz’s introduction describes five major types of Jewish mysticism and includes a brief chronology of their development, with a timeline. He begins with biblical prophecy and proceeds through the early mystical movements up through current beliefs. Chapters on key subjects characterize mystical expression through the ages, such as Creation and deveikut (“cleaving to God”); the role of Torah; the erotic; inclinations toward good and evil; magic; prayer and ritual; and more. Later chapters deal with Hasidism, the great mystical revival, and twentieth-century mystics, including Abraham Isaac Kook, Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, and Abraham Joshua Heschel. A final chapter addresses today’s controversies concerning mysticism’s place within Judaism and its potential for enriching the Jewish religion.

This title describes recent discoveries and insights into the various expressions of Jewish mysticism from antiquity to the modern day. From mystical outpourings in ancient Palestine to the Kabbalah Centre, this volume explores the various expressions of Jewish mysticism from antiquity to the present day.