Kabbalistic Revolution : reimagining Judaism in Medieval Spain / Hartley Lachter.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lachter, Hartley, 1974- author.

Series:

Jewish cultures of the world.

Jewish cultures of the world

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judaism--Spain--History.

Judaism.

Judaism--History--12th century.

Judaism--History--13th century.

Mysticism--Judaism--History--12th century.

Mysticism.

Mysticism--Judaism--History--13th century.

Cabala.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (258 p.)

Place of Publication:

New Brunwick, New Jersey : Rutgers University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Medieval Kabbalah was successful because it advanced a powerful way of imagining the meaning and relevance of Judaism in light of the declining political status of Jews in Western Europe and the proliferation of Christian anti-Jewish thought. The kabbalists claimed to reveal a secret doctrine, hidden among the sages of Israel, in which Jews are placed at the center of the cosmic-divine drama, maintaining the harmony of the secret inner life of God and sustaining the universe through the practice of Jewish law. According to the members of this movement, Jewish ritual is the powerful mechanism through which Jews bring harmony to the hidden facets of the divine world. In an environment in which Christian preachers claimed that Jews had been abandoned by God because they were blind to the true meaning of scripture, the kabbalists presented a radically different narrative, one that depicts Jewish religious life at the center of the universe. Medieval Kabbalah, when understood within its historical context, reveals itself to be a powerful gesture of cultural resistance that permanently transformed Judaism -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Kabbalistic Writing In Late Thirteenth-Century Castile

1. Masters Of Secrets: Claiming Power With Concealed Knowledge

2. Secrets Of The Cosmos: Creating A Kabbalistic Universe

3. Secrets Of The Self: Kabbalistic Anthropology And Divine Mystery

4. Jewish Bodies And Divine Power: Theurgy And Jewish Law

5. Prayer Above And Below: Kabbalistic Constructions Of The Power Of Jewish Worship

Conclusion

Postscript-Cultural Logics: Kabbalah, Then And Now

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About The Author

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-8135-6876-5

OCLC:

894510269