Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction
2008; Purdue University Press; Volume: 26; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1534-5165
Autores Tópico(s)Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies
ResumoA Very Short Introduction, by Joseph Dan. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 130 pp. $18.95. Joseph Dan's recent monograph a gem that admirably fulfills the promise of its title and more. In just over 100 footnote-free pages, Dan offers a methodical overview of the major doctrines and theoreticians of the Jewish mystical tradition. Given the vast expanse of material that he covers, spanning more than 800 years of extensive literary activity, this consistently informative introduction highlights Dan's magisterial expertise and his enviable ability to make the arcane accessible. Joseph Dan arguably Scholem's most accomplished disciple. For many years he has served as the Gershom Scholem Professor of at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Like his protean mentor, Dan has published on all aspects of Jewish mysticism, from ancient to modern times. Especially noteworthy his four-volume study of each major period, as well as his superb anthology of primary sources, The Heart and the Fountain. In fact, this rich and engaging collection of source material makes a wonderful companion piece to A Very Short Introduction (hereafter Introduction). Dan divides Introduction into nine well-focused chapters. Chapter One, Kabbalah: The Term and Its Meaning, offers an insightful discourse on the multivalent nuances of the term Kabbalah, beginning with its various connotations in modern Israeli Hebrew. He then traces its origins in Rabbinic and medieval Jewish literature. In so doing he notes that even applied specifically to Jewish mysticism it has a variety of connotations. In characterizing himself as a historian of ideas, Dan asserts that his role is not to uncover what something'really' is, but to present the development of a concepts meaning in different historical and cultural contexts (p. 7f.). This kind of methodological self-reflection peppers the book and makes it enlightening reading, even for those who are familiar with much of the material under discussion. Chapter Two devoted to ancient Jewish mysticism and the origins of the Kabbalah. Dan initially discusses the Hekhalot corpus and Sefer Yezirah. From there he moves on to the medieval German pietists, known as the hasidei ashkenaz. Evincing great humility, he doesn't even mention that he pioneered the study of these works in his Hebrew University doctoral dissertation, which served as the basis for his seminal monograph The Esoteric Theology ofAshkenazi Hasidism (Hebrew). Next there an analysis of the Babir, which Scholem and Dan consider to have been written in the late 12th century, thereby constituting the earliest work of the Kabbalah. Dan highlights three innovative features of the Babir. 1. its depiction of the intradivine realm as comprising ten powers, which were later designated by the term sefirot, 2. the lowest of these feminine, thereby introducing gender dualism into the Godhead, and 3. the Tree becomes a guiding metaphor for the Divine realm. He also mentions that the Bahir was the first Jewish text that treated reincarnation in a positive manner. Finally, in a break with Scholem he rejects the contention that the Bahir represents a Jewish packaging of Gnostic ideas and even expresses skepticism concerningjewish Gnosticism, per se. In Chapters Three and Four Dan offers an overview of the literary development of the from the 13þ through 15* centuries. Naturally, a major focus the Zohar, the crown jewel of Jewish mysticism. In his illuminating discussion on the Kabbalah and Spiritualization he explains how kabbalistic interpretation of biblical commandments promoted a unique worldview. …
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