Shamanic trance in modern Kabbalah / Jonathan Garb.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Garb, Jonathan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cabala.

Shamanism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (288 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago ; London : University of Chicago Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

Bringing to light a hidden chapter in the history of modern Judaism, Shamanic Trance in Modern Kabbalah explores the shamanic dimensions of Jewish mysticism. Jonathan Garb integrates methods and models from the social sciences, comparative religion, and Jewish studies to offer a fresh view of the early modern kabbalists and their social and psychological contexts. Through close readings of numerous texts-some translated here for the first time-Garb draws a more complete picture of the kabbalists than previous depictions, revealing them to be as concerned with deeper states of consciousness as they were with study and ritual. Garb discovers that they developed physical and mental methods to induce trance states, visions of heavenly mountains, and transformations into animals or bodies of light. To gain a deeper understanding of the kabbalists' shamanic practices, Garb compares their experiences with those of mystics from other traditions as well as with those recorded by psychologists such as Milton Erickson and Carl Jung. Finally, Garb examines the kabbalists' relations with the wider Jewish community, uncovering the role of kabbalistic shamanism in the renewal of Jewish tradition as it contended with modernity.

Contents:

Theory of shamanism, trance, and modern Kabbalah

The shamanic process: descent and fiery transformations

Empowerment through trance

Shamanic Hasidism

Hasidic trance

Trance and the nomian.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786613097569

9781283097567

1283097567

9780226282060

0226282066

OCLC:

721194458