A History of Kabbalah : From the Early Modern Period to the Present Day

Jonathan Garb's A History of Kabbalah: From the Early Modern Period to the Present Day is a lucid and sophisticated account of the multifaceted nature of Jewish mysticism, focusing on its development from the spiritual revolution that took place in Safed in the sixteenth century until the present. Opening the secrets of the kabbalah to a wider audience, Garb judiciously argued that how important the mystical and esoteric tradition has been in Jewish history and in the cultural and intellectual life of Europe more generally. One of the more methodologically innovative aspects of Garb's book is his contention that kabbalah became a major factor in the religious life of Jews in the modern age due to print and others forms of rapid communication, a process that has magnified significantly in recent years due to the digital revolution. Informative and provocative, A History of Kabbalah will surely be of interest to a wide readership. Cover Half-title Title page Copyright information Dedication Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Premodern and Modern Kabbalah: Breaks and Continuities Introduction The Autonomy of Modern Kabbalah Continuities: Exegesis, Gender, Theurgy and Magic Chains of Textual Continuity Comparative Reflections Conclusion: Kabbalah in Transition to Modernity 2 The Safedian Revolution of the Sixteenth Century Earlier Centers Karo and His Circle Cordovero and His Circle Luria and His Circle Safed in Europe Conclusion: Safed as a Mystical Culture 3 The Kabbalistic Crisis of the Seventeenth Century Sabbateanism: Theology, Ideology and Sociology The Finalization and Triumph of the Safedian Canon Philosophical and Cultural Reception Critical Responses The Nationalization of Kabbalah Conclusion 4 Canonization: The Eighteenth Century Messianism and the Residual Presence of Sabbateanism Hasidism: Theology, Ideology and Sociology The Near Eastern Hegemony of R. Shalom Shar'abi R. Eliyahu of Vilna and His School Lesser-Known Tributaries Eighteenth-Century Kabbalah as Split Canonization 5 Beginnings of Globalization: The Nineteenth Century Geopolitics and the Kabbalah: An Overview of the Century The Changing of the Guard in Hasidism The Moderation of the Vilna Gaon's School The Eastern European Immigrations to Ottoman Palestine Continuities and Diversities in the Near East Kabbalah, Globalization and Culture Kabbalah at the Turn of the Century 6 Destruction and Triumph: The Twentieth Century Overview The Kabbalah of the Land of Israel The Last Days of European Kabbalah The Modernization of Hasidism The New Centers of Kabbalah Kabbalah in Postwar Global Mysticism Kabbalah in the Early Twenty-First Century Conclusion 7 Recurrent Themes: Gender, Messianism and Experience? Some Shared Themes Three Periods of Kabbalistic Modernity Areas for Future Research Coda Appendix: Timeline Glossary Bibliography Sources Studies Index "This volume offers a narrative history of modern Kabbalah, from the sixteenth century to the present. Covering all sub-periods, schools, and figures, Jonathan Garb demonstrates how Kabbalah expanded over the last few centuries, and how it became an important player, first in the European, subsequently in global cultural and intellectual domains. Indeed, study of the Kabbalah can be found on virtually every continent and in many languages, despite of the destruction of many centres in the mid-twentieth century. Garb explores the sociological, psychological, scholastic and ritual dimensions of kabbalistic ways of life in their geographical and cultural contexts. Focusing on several important mystical and literary figures, he shows how modern Kabbalah is both deeply embedded in modern Jewish life, yet has become an independent, professionalized sub-world. He also traces how Kabbalah was influenced by, and contributed to the process of modernization"-- Provided by publisher A narrative history of modern Kabbalah, from the sixteenth century till today, in the general context of modernization. A History of Kabbalah will be interest students, scholars, and laypeople in Jewish Studies, Religious Studies, and intellectual and cultural history.