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| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Light of the Intellect Abraham Abulafia, 2018-01-17 Manuscript facsimile of Abraham Abulafia's Kabbalah meditation manual 'Light of the Intellect' (composed in 1285 in Messina, Sicily) VAT. EBR. 597 133 ff. (ff. 130v-133v blank). Parchment. 134 91 (74 52) mm. Quaternions., mid-late 15th century. Italian semi-cursive script. ספר אור השכל Or ha-Sekhel, kabbalistic work about the mysteries of the tetragrammaton by Abraham Abulafia. First edition Jerusalem 1999. On f. 3v, one of three parchment leaves added to the manuscript, another hand added the title and a poem beginning הנשמות מענג ספר קרא. On f. 130v another poem beginning אור השכל חלקי עינות. On f. 133v another hand added שמירת הדרך, a prayer for wayfarers. On f. 3r a note in a late Italian hand about the author. On f. 113r a full page portrait of a man facing a pair of candles and holding a book in which the letters aleph and yod are inscribed. The man is dressed in a white robe and is wearing a prayer shawl with blue fringes (zizzit) and phylacteries (tefillin). The inscription above the picture reads (in translation): Be prepared for thy G-d, Israel. Apparently, the portrait illustrates the text on the facing page that includes instructions for meditation: Wrap thyself in white garments cover thyself with thy prayer shawl and crown thy head with phylacteries and face the east. A quote from Abulafia's Sefer Hayye Olam ha-Ba provides an even more precise commentary to this illumination: Be prepared for thy G-d, Israel. Cover thyself with thy prayer shawl and put phylacteries on thy head and hands let all thy garments be white. Kindle many lights then take ink, pen and a table to thy hand now begin to combine a few letters (G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, New York 1954, p. 136). The original manuscript is on ff. 4-133. Ff. 1-3 were added later. Censor (f. 130v): Camillo Jaghel, 1611. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Light of the Intellect Abraham Abulafia, 2018-05-03 Manuscript facsimile of Abraham Abulafia's treatise on Kabbalah meditation |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia Moshe Idel, 2012-02-01 This book represents the first wide-scale presentation of a major Jewish mystic, the founder of the ecstatic Kabbalah. It includes a description of the techniques employed by his master, including the role of music. There is a discussion of the characteristics of his mystical experience and the erotic imagery by which it was expressed. Based on all the extant manuscript material of Abulafia, this book opens the way to a new understanding of Jewish mysticism. It points to the importance of the ecstatic Kabbalah for the later developments in mystical Judaism. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Abraham Abulafia’s Esotericism Moshe Idel, 2020-10-12 This book focuses on Abraham Abulafia's esoteric thought in relation to Maimonides, Maimonideans, and Islamic thought in the line of Leo Strauss' theory of the history of philosophy. A survey of Abulafia's sources leads into an analysis of the esoteric meaning on the famous parable of the three rings, considering also the possible connection between this parable, which Abdulafia inserted into a book dedicated to his student, the 13th century rabbi Nathan the wise, and the Lessing's Play Nathan the Wise. The book also examines Abulafia's universalistic understanding of the nature of the Bible, the Hebrew language, and the people of Israel (or the Sinaic revelation). The universal aspects of Abulafia’s thought have been put in relief against the more widespread Kabbalistic views which are predominantly particularistic. A number of texts have also been identified here for the first time as authored by Abulafia. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Like Angels on Jacob's Ladder Harvey J. Hames, 2012-02-01 This book explores the career of Abraham Abulafia (ca. 1240–1291), self-proclaimed Messiah and founder of the school of ecstatic Kabbalah. Active in southern Italy and Sicily where Franciscans had adopted the apocalyptic teachings of Joachim of Fiore, Abulafia believed the end of days was approaching and saw himself as chosen by God to reveal the Divine truth. He appropriated Joachite ideas, fusing them with his own revelations, to create an apocalyptic and messianic scenario that he was certain would attract his Jewish contemporaries and hoped would also convince Christians. From his focus on the centrality of the Tetragrammaton (the four letter ineffable Divine name) to the date of the expected redemption in 1290 and the coming together of Jews and Gentiles in the inclusiveness of the new age, Abulafia's engagement with the apocalyptic teachings of some of his Franciscan contemporaries enriched his own worldview. Though his messianic claims were a result of his revelatory experiences and hermeneutical reading of the Torah, they were, to no small extent, dependent on his historical circumstances and acculturation. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Meditation and Kabbalah Aryeh Kaplan, 1986-01-15 A lucid in-depth presentation of the meditative techniques and practices used by the ancient Kabbalists. The Kabbalah is divided into three branches—the theoretical, the meditative, and the magical. While many books, both in Hebrew and English, have explored the theoretical Kabbalah, very little has been published regarding the meditative methods of the various schools of Kabbalah. Aryeh Kaplan’s landmark work, reveals the methodology of the ancient Kabbalists and stresses the meditative techniques that were essential to their discipline, including: the use of pictures or letter designs as objects of meditation the repetition of specific words or phrases, such as the divine names, to produce profound meditative state In addition, Meditation and Kabbalah presents relevant portions of such meditative texts as: The Grellier Hekhalot, Textbook of the Merkava School The works of Abraham Abulafia Joseph Gikatalia's Gales of Light The Glltes of Holiness Gale of The Holy Spirit, Textbook of the Lurianic School |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Suffering Time: Philosophical, Kabbalistic, and Ḥasidic Reflections on Temporality Elliot R. Wolfson, 2021-05-25 No one theory of time is pursued in these essays, but a major theme that threads them together is Wolfson’s signature idea of the timeswerve as a linear circularity or a circular linearity, expressions that are meant to avoid the conventional split between the two temporal modalities of the line and the circle. The conception of time elicited by Wolfson from a host of philosophical and mystical sources—both Jewish and non-Jewish—buttresses the contention that it is precisely structural invariability that engenders interpretive variation. This hermeneutical axiom is justified, in turn, by the presumption regarding the cadence of time as the constant return of what has always been what is yet to be. The telling of time wells forth from the time of telling. One cannot speak of the being of time, consequently, except from the standpoint of the time of being, nor of the time of being except from the standpoint of the being of time. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Worship of the Heart Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, 2003 The Rav here explores the crucial interface between living religious experience and halakhic norms. He analyzes the Amidah, the Shema and other liturgical texts, and considers the tension between human dependence and exaltation. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Parable of the Three Rings and the Idea of Religious Toleration in European Culture Iris Shagrir, 2019-11-27 This book examines the premodern encounter between the three monotheistic religions through the unique prism of a premodern literary work—The Parable of the Three Rings—a poignant and charming tale of a father who had three sons and one precious ring. By tradition he was to bequeath the ring to his heir, but he loved his three sons equally — so he had two new rings made, crafted to be indistinguishable from the original, and on his deathbed gave a ring to each son. The narrator explains that the father is God, and his sons are the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims, each believing themselves to be the sole upholders of the true religion. A historical and literary study, the book offers a comprehensive discussion of the various guises of the Parable, from the early Middle Ages onwards, and highlights its capacity to reflect openness and pluralism in the interfaith encounter. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Ecstatic Kabbalah David A. Cooper, 2010-10-29 Kabbalah the secret is out! From Madonna's controversial conversion to the Dalai Lama's acknowledgment and support, this mystical tradition is gaining unprecedented recognition. But how do we put this powerful and esoteric worldview into practice? With The Ecstatic Kabbalah, Rabbi David Cooperauthor of God Is a Verb (100, 000 copies sold, Riverhead, 1958), and a renowned leader of the Jewish meditation movementprovides practical exercises on the path toward mending the soul, the fundamental Jewish experience that brings union with the Divine. With meditation techniques for both beginning and advanced practitioners, The Ecstatic Kabbalah guides listeners into awareness of the presence of light with experiential practices for touching the four worlds of mystical Judaism: |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah Moshe Idel, 1988-07-08 This book presents important topics regarding the more mystical trend of Kabbalah—the ecstatic Kabbalah. It includes the mystical union, the world of imagination, and concentration as a spiritual technique. The emphasis in the text is on the interaction between the “original” Spanish stage of Kabbalah and Muslim mysticism in the East, mainly in the Galilee. The influence of the Kabbalistic-Sufic synthesis on the later developments of Jewish mysticism is traced, thereby providing a more precise understanding of the history of Kabbalah as an interplay between the theosophical and ecstatic mystical experiences. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Maimonides Moshe Halbertal, 2015-06-02 A comprehensive and accessible account of the life and thought of Judaism's most celebrated philosopher Maimonides was the greatest Jewish philosopher and legal scholar of the medieval period, a towering figure who has had a profound and lasting influence on Jewish law, philosophy, and religious consciousness. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to his life and work, revealing how his philosophical sensibility and outlook informed his interpretation of Jewish tradition. Moshe Halbertal vividly describes Maimonides's childhood in Muslim Spain, his family's flight to North Africa to escape persecution, and their eventual resettling in Egypt. He draws on Maimonides's letters and the testimonies of his contemporaries, both Muslims and Jews, to offer new insights into his personality and the circumstances that shaped his thinking. Halbertal then turns to Maimonides's legal and philosophical work, analyzing his three great books—Commentary on the Mishnah, the Mishneh Torah, and the Guide of the Perplexed. He discusses Maimonides's battle against all attempts to personify God, his conviction that God's presence in the world is mediated through the natural order rather than through miracles, and his locating of philosophy and science at the summit of the religious life of Torah. Halbertal examines Maimonides's philosophical positions on fundamental questions such as the nature and limits of religious language, creation and nature, prophecy, providence, the problem of evil, and the meaning of the commandments. A stunning achievement, Maimonides offers an unparalleled look at the life and thought of this important Jewish philosopher, scholar, and theologian. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Mystery of the Seven Vowels Joscelyn Godwin, 1991-01-01 The seven vowels which we use every day in speech depend on the phenomenon of harmonics which is at the very basis of music. When we hear vowels we are hearing the laws of harmony which are ultimately the laws of number that are said to govern the universe. This is the first book on the subject to appear in English and brings together the fields of linguistics harmony, mythology, history of religions, and occult philosophy. Scholarly, yet practical, this book gives instructions for discovering one's own healing, centering, and uplifting tones. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Hasidism Moshe Idel, 2012-02-01 Approaches Hasidism as an important stage in Jewish mysticism, rather than as a mere reaction to or result of historical and social forces. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Spinoza and Medieval Jewish Philosophy Steven M. Nadler, Steven Nadler, 2014-12-04 The first of its kind, this essay collection offers an extensive examination of Spinoza's relationship to medieval Jewish philosophy. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Green Serpent and the Tree James N. Judd, MS.D.,D.D., N. James, 1999-11-04 Within the human system there are certain archetypes, centers, or vortexes of energy. As this energy or power exists at a different level than our conscious awareness it remains essentially dormant with most people, but when activated usually through meditation this force has a most profound influence upon our psychological, spiritual and physical nature. As this inner, subtle energy plays such a vital role in our overall being there is much to be gained from understanding this force, and how to benefit from its power. This information can be found in the ancient spiritual teachings of the Jewish Kabbala and the Hindu Kundalini Yoga, but the complexity of these teachings, particularly with Kabbala, makes it difficult to find useful answers as to how this inner power can be utilized. In The Green Serpent and the Tree, Dr. Judd cuts through the confusing terminology of these teachings and, in an easy-to-read style using practical examples and illustrations, logically explains:The inner nature of man and structure of the soul.How Kabbala and Kundalini Yoga can be reconciled, and how they augment each other.The difference between the symbols of The Tree of Life, and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.Why the seven inner centers (Chakras) of Kundalini Yoga are the same as the ten centers (Sefirot) of Kabbala.The significance of the Green Serpent (Kundalini) and the functions of the various channels that connect the inner centers.The different centers, with a detailed description of their psychological and spiritual influence.Relationship of meditation with releasing the power from the inner centers.The practical value of meditation, its four stages, and the physical, psychological, psychic and spiritual effects.The risks involved in releasing these inner powers, and how to avoid them. The reason for the inter-relationship between Kabbala and Kundalini Yoga, and their original source. Although this book is written in an explanatory style which guides the layman through the intricacies of these two teachings as they relate to our inner powers, the material content contains much that will interest the more advanced student. Based upon thorough research, Dr. Judd outlines in logical steps why,The Tree symbol that is frequently referred to as the Tree of Life is misnamed.Any attempt to reconcile the Chakras with the Sefirot using the wrong Tree symbol will lead to inaccurate conclusions.The position of the Sefirot changes depending upon which Tree symbol is used. There are three central channels that connect the Chakras, rather than the one that is usually shown, and Kabbala supports this fact.This explains the different levels of power released from the same Chakra.Why some of the practices used to open the Chakras involve considerable risks Anyone who wishes to expand their knowledge of Kabbala, Kundalini Yoga, the inner nature and powers of man, meditation, and the safe way to travel on the journey within, will greatly benefit from the information in this book. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Degrees of Freedom Simon Morden, 2011-06-01 The Six Degrees of Petrovitch Michael is an AI of incalculable complexity trapped under the remains of Oshicora tower. Petrovitch will free him one day, he just has to trust Michael will still be sane by the time he does. Maddy and Petrovitch have trust issues. She's left him, but Petrovitch is pretty sure she still loves him. Sonja Oshicora loves Petrovitch too. But she's playing a complicated game and it's not clear that she means to save him from what's coming. The CIA wants to save the world. Well, just America, but they'll call it what they like. The New Machine Jihad is calling. But Petrovitch killed it. Didn't he? And the Armageddonists tried to kill pretty much everyone by blowing the world up. Now, they want to do it again. Once again, all roads lead back to Petrovitch. Everyone wants something from him, but all he wants is to be free. . . |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Ohr Ha-Sechel - Light of the Intellect Abraham Abulafia, 2018 Amidst the rich panoply of Jewish Kabbalah, Abraham Abulafia (1240-c.1291) resonates the most with modern, philosophically minded seekers of direct mystical experience. In this Jewish handbook for meditation, Abulafia creatively combines ideas from Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed (Moreh Nevuchim), the ancient Book of Creation (Sefer Yetzira) and Eleazar of Worms' Book of the Name (Sefer Ha-Shem) into an integrated method of concentrating on the Divine Name that opens the path to fulfilling the soul's deepest spiritual longings. Intense practice of Abulafia's methods of meditation propels the attentive soul into a state of awakened receptivity where the active divine influence can reach down to meet and illuminate the human intellect |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Beginning of the World in Renaissance Jewish Thought Brian Ogren, 2016-08-22 In The Beginning of the World in Renaissance Jewish Thought, Brian Ogren offers a deep analysis of late fifteenth century Italian Jewish thought concerning the creation of the world and the beginning of time. Ogren’s book is the very first to seriously juxtapose the thought of the great Jewish thinker Yohanan Alemanno, Alemanno’s famed Christian interlocutor, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, the important Iberian exegete active in Italy, Isaac Abravanel, and Abravanel’s renowned philosopher son Judah, known as Leone Ebreo. By bringing these thinkers together, this book presents a new understanding of early modern uses of Jewish texts and hermeneutics. Ogren successfully demonstrates that the syntheses of philosophy and Kabbalah carried out by these four intellectuals in their quests to understand the beginning itself marked a new beginning in Western thought, characterized by simultaneous continuity and rupture. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Sea in the Middle Thomas E Burman, Brian A. Catlos, Mark D. Meyerson, 2022-08-23 The Sea in the Middle presents an original and revisionist narrative of the development of the medieval west from late antiquity to the dawn of modernity. This textbook is uniquely centered on the Mediterranean and emphasizes the role played by peoples and cultures of Africa, Asia, and Europe in an age when Christians, Muslims, and Jews of various denominations engaged with each other in both conflict and collaboration. Key features: Fifteen-chapter structure to aid classroom use Sections in each chapter that feature key artifacts relevant to chapter themes Dynamic visuals, including 190 photos and 20 maps The Sea in the Middle and its sourcebook companion, Texts from the Middle, pair together to provide a framework and materials that guide students through this complex but essential history—one that will appeal to the diverse student bodies of today. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Mage's Images: Heinrich Khunrath in His Oratory and Laboratory, Volume 2 Peter J. Forshaw, 2025-01-20 This is the 2nd volume in a 4-volume work entitled The Mage’s Images. The work provides the first in-depth examination of the life and works of Heinrich Khunrath (1560-1605), ‘one of the great Hermetic philosophers’, whose Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom (1595/1609) has been described as ‘one of the most important books in the whole literature of theosophical alchemy and the occult sciences’. Khunrath is best known for his novel combination of ‘scripture and picture’ in the complex engravings in his Amphitheatre. In this richly illustrated monograph, Forshaw analyses occult symbolism, with previously unpublished material, offering insight into Khunrath’s insistence on the necessary combination of alchemy, magic, and cabala in ‘Oratory and Laboratory’. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Moshe Idel: Representing God Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Aaron W. Hughes, 2015-01-08 Moshe Idel, the Max Cooper Professor Emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Senior Researcher at the Shalom Hartman Institute, is a world-renowned scholar of the Jewish mystical tradition. His historical and phenomenological studies of rabbinic, philosophic, kabbalistic, and Hasidic texts have transformed modern understanding of Jewish intellectual history and highlighted the close relationship between magic, mysticism, and liturgy. A recipient of two of the most prestigious awards in Israel, the Israel Prize for Jewish Thought (1999) and the Emmet Prize for Jewish Thought (2002), Idel’s numerous studies have uncovered persistent patterns of Jewish religious thought that challenge conventional interpretations of Jewish monotheism, while offering a pluralistic understanding of Judaism. His explorations of the mythical, theurgical, mystical, and messianic dimensions of Judaism have been attentive to history, sociology, and anthropology, while rejecting a naïve historicist approach to Judaism. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Pray Without Ceasing Patrick Laude, 2006-03-08 Drawn from the world's religions, this work takes the reader on a pilgrimage to the heart of prayer and reveals why prayer is the essence of the human condition. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Jewish Mysticism Marvin A. Sweeney, 2020-03-26 Questions of how the divine presence is understood and interacts within the world have been around since the time of the biblical prophets. The Jewish mystical tradition conceives God as active, just, powerful, and present while allowing for divine limitation so as to understand the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people in their history. Jewish Mysticism surveys Jewish visionary and mystical experience from biblical and ancient Near Eastern times through the modern period and the emergence of modern Hasidism. Marvin Sweeney provides a comprehensive treatment of one of the most dynamic fields of Jewish studies in the twenty-first century, providing an accessible overview of texts and interpretative issues. Sweeney begins with the biblical period, which most treatments of Jewish mysticism avoid, and includes chapters on the ancient Near East, the Pentateuch, the Former Prophets and Psalms, the Latter Prophets, Jewish Apocalyptic, the Heikhalot Literature, the Sefer Yetzirah and early Kabbalistic Literature, the Zohar, Lurianic Kabbalah and the Shabbetean Movement, and the Hasidic Movement. Placing Jewish apocalyptic literature into the larger development of ancient Jewish visionary and mystical experience, Sweeney fills gaps left by the important but outdated work of others in the field. Ideal for the scholar, student, or general reader, Jewish Mysticism provides readers with a fresh understanding of the particular challenges, problems, needs, and perspectives of Judaism throughout its history. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: History of the Jews Heinrich Graetz, 1893 A landmark work of Jewish history and a worldwide phenomenon when it was first published, this masterpiece of Jewish history was translated in multiple languages and instantly become the de facto standard in the field. German academic HEINRICH GRAETZ (1817-1891) brings a sympathetic Jewish perspective to the story of his own people, offering readers today an affectionate, passionate history, not a detached, clinical one. Backed by impeccable scholarship and originally published in German across 11 volumes between 1853 and 1875, this six-volume English-language edition was abridged under the direction of the author, and brought to American readers by the Jewish Publication Society of America in 1891. It remains an important work of the study of the Jewish religion and people to this day. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: “And They Shall Be One Flesh”: On The Language of Mystical Union in Judaism Adam Afterman, 2016-08-29 In “And They Shall Be One Flesh”: On the Language of Mystical Union in Judaism, Adam Afterman offers an extensive study of mystical union and embodiment in Judaism. Afterman argues that Philo was the first to articulate the notion of unio mystica in Judaism and is the source of the henōsis mysticism in the later Neoplatonic tradition. The study provides a detailed analysis of the Jewish medieval trends that developed different forms of mystical union and mystical embodiment through the divine name and spirit. The book argues that the development of unitive mysticism in Judaism is the fruit of the creative synthesis of rabbinic Judaism and Hellenistic and Arab philosophy, and a natural outcome of the theological articulation of the idea of monotheism itself. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Rediscovering Enoch? The Antediluvian Past from the Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries , 2023-02-13 The books of Enoch are famed for having been “lost” in the Middle Ages but “rediscovered” by modern scholars. But was this really the case? This volume is the first to explore the reception of Enochic texts and traditions between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Bringing specialists in antiquity into conversation with specialists in early modernity, it reveals a much richer story with a more global scope. Contributors show how Enoch and the era before the Flood were newly reimagined, not just by scholars, but also by European artists and adventurers, Kabbalists, Sufis, Mormons, and Ethiopian and Slavonic Christians. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Bloomsbury Handbook of Spinoza Wiep van Bunge, Henri Krop, Piet Steenbakkers, Jeroen M.M. van de Ven, 2024-08-22 This 2nd edition Handbook of Spinoza retains a unique focus on the biographical details of Spinoza's life, as well as essential scholarship on his influences and early critics. A glossary of key Latin Spinozan terms with English translations remains a key feature alongside short synopses of Spinoza's writings. Adding to the updated contemporary scholarship on Spinoza from across Europe and the US is the recognition of Spinoza's influence more globally. Distinct from other reference works on Spinoza, this book offers the tools and methodology necessary for students and scholars who are completing their own research. Accompanying each main section is an updated and detailed bibliography that situates both the summative and original scholarship therein. This 2nd edition includes a revised biography from Jeroen van de Ven who has systematically revisited the archive; influences will now include reference to Machiavelli and Hobbes primarily, as well as remarks on the De La Court brothers, La Perèyre, and Delmedigo. A new entry on the critic, Willem van Blijenbergh, alongside a reconstruction of dozens of letters now lost from Spinoza consolidates new directions of study which are supported by additional glossary terms on Axioma (cf. Ordo geometricus), Definitio (ibid.), Excommunicare, Lumen, Methodus, Negatio, Pax, Ratio, (Cf. Cognitio), Scientia intuitiva, and Tempus amongst others. Maintaining an approach that is refreshingly independent of the historicist/analytic/continental divide, this work features scholars from across these traditions, and remains an essential point of reference for students and scholars alike. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edward Craig, 1998 Volume five of a ten volume set which provides full and detailed coverage of all aspects of philosophy, including information on how philosophy is practiced in different countries, who the most influential philosophers were, and what the basic concepts are. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Judaism in Practice Lawrence Fine, 2021-04-13 This collection of original materials provides a sweeping view of medieval and early modern Jewish ritual and religious practice. Including such diverse texts as ritual manuals, legal codes, mystical books, autobiographical writings, folk literature, and liturgical poetry, it testifies to the enormous variety of practices that characterized Judaism in the twelve hundred years between 600 and 1800 C.E. Its focus on religious practice and experience--how Judaism was actually lived by people from day to day--makes this anthology unique among the few sourcebooks available. The volume encompasses the broad scope and complex texture of Jewish religious practice, taking into account many aspects of Jewish culture that have hitherto been relatively neglected: the religious life of ordinary people, the role and status of women, art and aesthetics, and marginalized as well as remote Jewish communities. It introduces such remarkable personalities as Moses Maimonides, Leon Modena, and Gluckel of Hameln, and presents extraordinary texts on festival practice, Torah study, mystical communities, meditation, exorcism, the practice of charity, and folk rites marking birth and death. Representing state-of-the-art scholarship by distinguished academics from around the world, the volume includes many materials never before translated into English. Each text is preceded by an accessible introduction, making this book suitable for college and university students as well as a general audience. Whether read as a deliberate course of study or dipped into selectively for a glimpse into fascinating Jewish lives and places, Judaism in Practice holds rich rewards for any reader. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 2, The Hellenistic Age W. D. Davies, Louis Finkelstein, William Horbury, John Sturdy, Steven T. Katz, Mitchell B. Hart, Tony Michels, Jonathan Karp, Adam Sutcliffe, 1984 Vol. 4 covers the late Roman period to the rise of Islam. Focuses especially on the growth and development of rabbinic Judaism and of the major classical rabbinic sources such as the Mishnah, Jerusalem Talmud, Babylonian Talmud and various Midrashic collections. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Jewish Mind Raphael Patai, 1996 A landmark exploration of Jewish history and culture. First published in 1977, The Jewish Mind provides a penetrating insight into the complex collective reality of the Jewish people. Raphael Patai examines how six great historical encounters, spanning three millennia, between the Jews and other cultures led to both change and continuity in Jewish communities throughout the global diaspora. A timeless analysis by a prominent scholar. Patai, a noted cultural anthropologist and historian, drew on a lifetime of research and personal experience to explore the contemporary Jewish mind in its many manifestations, including an exploration of the notion of Jews as a race, an investigation into Jewish intelligence and talents, as discussion of Jewish self-hate, and a profile of Jewish personality and character. An insightful new foreword by Ari L. Goldman. Bestselling author and journalist Ari L. Goldman places the book in the context of recent turbulent events, especially in the Middle East, and confirms Patai's conclusion that Judaism remains enormous value to humankind. Goldman calls the book a brilliant and absorbing survery of everything poured into the Jewish mind over the millennia. The Jewish Mind is a towering work of scholarship that remains relevant to anyone trying to understand Jewish culture and society around the world today. Book jacket. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Renaissance and Rebirth Brian Ogren, 2009-09-30 Metempsychosis was a prominent element in Renaissance conceptualizations of the human being, the universe, and the place of the human person in the universe. A variety of concepts emerged in debates about metempsychosis: human to human reincarnation, human to vegetal, human to animal, and human to angelic transmigration. As a complex and changing doctrine, metempsychosis gives us a well-placed window for viewing the complex and dynamic contours of Jewish thought in late fifteenth century Italy; as such, it enables us to evaluate Jewish thought in relation to non-Jewish Italian developments. This book addresses the problematic question of the roles and achievements of Jews who lived in Italy in the development of Renaissance culture in its Jewish and its Christian dimensions. Throughout the book, Ogren demonstrates the scholarly pertinacity and intellectual and linguistic versatility that crosscultural intellectual history requires. He finds and digests the essential studies and obscure remarks, in modern scholarship as well as from the fifteenth century, that substantiate the argument, and he constantly strives to discern larger patterns. This research will reward scholars who follow his leads. - Arthur M. Lesley, in: Renaissance Quarterly 63.3 (2010) |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Hebrew Language and Jewish Thought David Patterson, 2004-09 This book explores the idea that Jewish thought is distinguished by concepts and categories rooted in Hebrew. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Judaism, Antisemitism, and Holocaust David Patterson, 2022-03-31 David Patterson offers original insights into the dynamics that underlie the phenomenon of endemic antisemitism. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Uniter of Heaven and Earth Miles Krassen, 1998-10-01 A clear and penetrating account of the basis of Hasidic mysticism. Includes translations of many texts never before available in English. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: The Serpent Kills or the Serpent Gives Life Robert J. Sagerman, 2011-01-07 Abraham Abulafia (1240 – c. 1291) founded an enormously influential branch of Jewish mysticism, referred to as the prophetic or ecstatic kabbalah. This book, from several perspectives, explores the impact of Christianity upon Abulafia. His copious writings evince an intense fascination with Christian themes, yet Abulafia’s frequent diatribes against Jesus and Christianity reveal him to be deeply conflicted in his relationship to his southern European religious neighbors. This book undertakes a careful study of Abulafia’s writings, suggesting that the recognition of an inner dynamic of attraction and revulsion toward the forbidden other provides a crucial key to understanding Abulafia’s mystical hermeneutic and his meditative practice. It also demonstrates that Abulafia's uneasy relationship to Christianity shaped the very core of his mystical doctrine. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Franciscan Studies , 1992 Issues for 1941-44 include the Report of the 23rd-26th annual meeting of the Franciscan Educational Conference. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: As Light Before Dawn Eitan P. Fishbane, 2009-06-29 As Light Before Dawn explores the mystical thought of Isaac ben Samuel of Akko, a major medieval kabbalist whose work has until now received relatively little attention. Through consideration of an extensive literary corpus, including much that still remains in manuscript, this study examines an array of themes and questions that have great applicability to the comparative study of mysticism and the broader study of religion. These include prayer and the nature of mystical experience; meditative concentration directed to God; and the power of mental intention, authority, creativity, and the transmission of wisdom. |
| abraham abulafia light of the intellect: Magic in Western Culture Brian P. Copenhaver, 2015-09-09 The story of the beliefs and practices called 'magic' starts in ancient Iran, Greece, and Rome, before entering its crucial Christian phase in the Middle Ages. Centering on the Renaissance and Marsilio Ficino, this richly illustrated and groundbreaking book treats magic as a classical tradition with foundations that were distinctly philosophical. |
The Life of Abraham - Bible Study
Finally, Abraham's faith is tested when God commands him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. In our next lesson, we will …
Life of Abraham Timeline - Bible Study
Abraham journeys to Gerar and, once again, has Sarah lie about their relationship. The patriarch, although …
Abraham's Family Tree Chart - Bible Study
Abraham was originally named Abram (Genesis 17:1-5). He left his home in Ur of the Chaldees to live in Haran, but …
Abraham's Journey to Promised Land Map - Bible Study
Birth and Early Life of Abraham. Abram (Abraham) is born in 1960 B.C. to a 130 year old man named Terah living in …
Abraham's Lineage to Jesus Chart - Bible Study
It was Abraham who named the city of Beersheba (Genesis 21:31). Jacob renamed the city of Luz to Bethel …
The Life of Abraham - Bible Study
Finally, Abraham's faith is tested when God commands him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. In our next lesson, we will learn about the life of the person God used to delivery his people out of …
Life of Abraham Timeline - Bible Study
Abraham journeys to Gerar and, once again, has Sarah lie about their relationship. The patriarch, although once again caught in a deception, is saved by God's intervention and allowed to live …
Abraham's Family Tree Chart - Bible Study
Abraham was originally named Abram (Genesis 17:1-5). He left his home in Ur of the Chaldees to live in Haran, but soon moved from there to live in the land of Canaan. Sarah, whose …
Abraham's Journey to Promised Land Map - Bible Study
Birth and Early Life of Abraham. Abram (Abraham) is born in 1960 B.C. to a 130 year old man named Terah living in Ur of the Chaldees. He is the third son in a family composed of older …
Abraham's Lineage to Jesus Chart - Bible Study
It was Abraham who named the city of Beersheba (Genesis 21:31). Jacob renamed the city of Luz to Bethel (Genesis 28:19). He also renamed the place where he and Laban agreed to …
Why Did Abraham Try to Save Sodom? - Bible Study
And he (Abraham) said, "Oh do not let the Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. Perhaps only ten shall be found there." And He said, "I will not destroy it for ten’s sake" …
Genealogy of Shem to Abraham - Bible Study
The genealogy from Shem to Abraham is the fifth found in the Bible. Preceding it are the lineages of Cain (Genesis 4), Seth (Genesis 5), Japheth and Ham (Genesis 10). For the eleven post …
Where Did Abraham Live? - Bible Study
The city of Ur, where Abraham first lived, is one of the first places on earth where humans established a settlement. Modern archeological dating of the city to around 3,800 B.C. means …
Age at Which Isaac Was to Be Sacrificed - Bible Study
An ancient tradition of Jewish Rabbis states that the assumed death of Abraham's son caused his mother Sarah to perish (1906 Jewish Encyclopedia). They believe (without Biblical support) …
Why Did God Want Isaac Sacrificed? - Bible Study
Abraham had the faith to sacrifice Isaac, if needed, because he understood that God had the power to resurrect him from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). All the great blessings that would …
