The paradoxical ascent to God : the kabbalistic theosophy of Habad Hasidism / Rachel Elior ; translated from Hebrew by Jeffrey M. Green.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Elior, Rachel.

Series:

SUNY Series in Judaica : Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion

SUNY series in Judaica

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Habad--Doctrines.

Habad.

Cabala--Influence.

Cabala.

Mysticism--Judaism--History.

Mysticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xx, 279 pages)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c1993.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is a study of the Habad Hasidism movement, an influential part of the Hasidic Movement, which originated in the eigteenth century. Habad was founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1813) who established a Hasidic community in Belorussia and who set forth the new Habad doctrine in a book entitled Tanya (Likutey Amarim). This doctrine expounded the mystical ideas underlying the quest for God. Its essential innovation lay in the formulation of a religious outlook which concentrated upon perceiving the divinity: its essence, its nature, the stages of its manifestation, its characteristics, its perfection, its differing wills, its processes, the significance of its revelation and the possibilities of its perception. This conception generated a profound transformation of religious worship and was the cause of great controversy throughout the Jewish world.

Contents:

""Front Matter""; ""Half Title Page""; ""Title Page""; ""Copyright Page""; ""Dedication Page""; ""Table of Contents""; ""Preface""; ""Content""; ""Introduction""; ""A Spiritual Awakening""; ""The Influence of the Kabbalah""; ""The Historical Background""; ""The Hasidic World-View""; ""Habad-Hasidism""; ""The Dual Meaning of Existence""; ""The Dialectical Systems""; ""The Books of Habad""; ""The Four Subjects of Discussion""; ""The Background of the Paradoxical Argument""; ""The Doctrine of Divinity, the Mystical Theology""; ""Acosmism""; ""The Relation Between God and the World""

""Wholeness as the Incorporation of Opposites"" ""Hashvaah (Equalization)""; ""Entity and Manifestation-Nothingness and Being""; ""The Doctrine of Tzimtzum""; ""Transcendence and Immanence""; ""The Paradox-Two Opposites in a Single Subject""; ""Soul Consciousness and Perception""; ""The Doctrine of the Soul""; ""The Divine Soul""; ""The Bestial Soul""; ""Divine Worship""; ""Divine Worship-Introduction""; ""Two Aspects of Divine Worship""; ""Esoterics and Exoterics

The Dispute over the Dissemination of Spiritual Doctrines""; ""Ha-'Avodah be-Bittul

Worship in Self-Annihilation""

""Self-Annihilation and the Divine Wholeness"" ""Ha-'Avodah be-Hitbonenut

Worship in Contemplation""; ""The Controversy over Contemplation""; ""The Three Principal Types of Worship in Annihilation""; ""Faith That Transcends Intellect and Comprehension""; ""Mesirut Nefesh-Self-Sacrifice""; ""The Confrontation Concerning the Goals of Spiritual Worship""; ""'Avodah be-Hipukh

Worship through Inversion and the Actualization of Divine Wholeness""; ""Back Matter""; ""Conclusion""; ""Glossary""; ""Notes""; ""Primary Sources""; ""Reference List""; ""Index""; ""Back Cover""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-268) and index.

ISBN:

1-4384-0198-1

OCLC:

794701340