Boaz Huss
I am a Professor of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. My research interests include the History of Kabbalah and of its research, Western Esotericism, New Religious Movements, and New Age Culture.
Address: The Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
P.O.B 653, Beer-Sheva 84105
Address: The Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
P.O.B 653, Beer-Sheva 84105
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Books by Boaz Huss
In the State of Israel, Bergmann became a leading philosopher and highly admired cultural figure. He himself showed great interest in world religions, mysticism, and Western esotericism. Bergmann also emerged as an important point of reference for left-wing Israeli discourse. Up from the late 1920ies has was one of the protagonists of the “Brit Shalom”, an initiative which called for an advocated peaceful coexistence of Jews and Arabs and a bi-national State in Israel/Palestine.
In this volume, distinguished historians, scholars of religion, and cultural scientists conflate a fascinating life story of a man who always worked on social and educational improvements and searched for fairness and deeper truths in a world full of conflict and antagonisms.
The essays collected here examine esoteric schools and spiritual teachers in which interested Bergmann found particular interest – Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Anthroposophical Society; the Sufi René Guénon, founder of the Traditionalist School; George Gurdjieff and his student P. D. Ouspensky, founders of the Fourth Way, the Indian philosopher and yogi Sri Aurobindo, and parapsychology. The essays are preceded by an introduction by Boaz Huss and Samuel Glauber that surveys Bergmann’s interest in the spiritual currents of his day, his call for the creation of a “courageous” philosophy that would expand the boundaries of human consciousness, and his contribution to the culture of alternative spirituality in Israel.
Contributors: Toshio Akai, Asher Binyamin, Jean-Pierre Brach, Helena Čapková, Julie Chajes, Christian Chanel, John Patrick Deveney, Christine Ferguson, Peter Heehs, Boaz Huss, Shimon Lev, Jonatan Meir, Michele Olzi, Daniel Raveh, Hana Ewa Raziel, and Gal Sofer.
Boaz Huss has broken new ground with this study, which examines the reception and canonization of the Zohar as well as its criticism and rejection from its inception to the present day. His underlying assumption is that the different values attributed to the Zohar are not inherent qualities of the zoharic texts, but rather represent the way it has been perceived by its readers in different cultural contexts. He therefore considers the attribution of different qualities to the Zohar through time, and the people who were engaged in attributing such qualities and making innovations in cultural practices and rituals.
For each historical period from the beginning of Zohar reception to the present, Huss considers the social conditions that stimulated the veneration of the Zohar as well as the factors that contributed to its rejection, alongside the cultural functions and consequences of each approach. Because the multiple modes of the reception of the Zohar have had a decisive influence on the history of Jewish culture, this highly innovative and wide-ranging approach to Zohar scholarship will have important repercussions for many areas of Jewish studies.
Esotericism, Kabbalah and the Transformation of Traditions
Editors: Julie Chajes, Boaz Huss
The thirteen chapters of this volume examine intersections between theosophical thought and areas as diverse as the arts, literature, scholarship, politics, and, especially, modern interpretations of Judaism and kabbalah. Each chapter offers a case study in theosophical appropriations of a different type and in different context. The chapters join together to reveal congruencies between theosophical ideas and a wide range of contemporaneous intellectual, cultural, religious, and political currents. They demonstrate the far-reaching influence of the theosophical movement worldwide from the late-nineteenth century to the present day.
Contributors: Karl baier, Julie Chajes, John Patrick Deveney, Victoria Ferentinou, Olav Hammer, Boaz Huss, Massimo Introvigne, Andreas Kilcher, Eugene Kuzmin, Shimon Lev, Isaac Luberlsky, Tomer Persico, Helmut Zander.
בספר נידונים ההקשרים ההיסטוריים והחברתיים שהביאו להבניית המושג "מיסטיקה יהודית", ונבחנת התקבלותו של המושג הזה כקטגוריה שכוננה את מחקר הקבלה והחסידות באקדמיה והשפיעה על עיצובן של תנועות
קבליות וחסידיות בנות זמננו. מטרתו של הספר היא לברר את הגנאלוגיה של המושג "מיסטיקה יהודית" ולחשוף את ההנחות התיאולוגיות והפוליטיות העומדות ביסוד המחקר האקדמי של הקבלה והחסידות.
In the last decades of the 20th century, a surprising revival of interest in Kabbalah and Hasidism occurred in Israeli society, in Jewish communities in the Diaspora, and to a certain degree in the Western culture in general. Since the late 1960’s, and especially, during the last two decades, new Kabbalistic movements came into being, whereas old Kabbalistic Yeshivot and Hasidic groups have become more active. Today, many forms of Kabbalistic rituals and practices are performed, revived, and re-invented, along with Kabbalistic themes being integrated in literature, art, music and popular culture.
Most contemporary Kabbalistic and Hasidic movements emerged out of earlier forms of 20th century Kabbalah, reproducing and developing previous Kabbalistic themes and practices. Yet, today`s Kabbalah is created in the framework of postmodern culture and new spiritual formations (especially, the New Age) stimulating its revival and to a large extent shaping its cultural expressions.
The present volume includes sixteen articles which investigate the new forms of Kabbalah, their cultural contexts and their contacts with other forms of contemporary spiritual revival. The papers were written by prominent scholars from a variety of disciplines, including history of Kabbalah, sociology, anthropology, and religious studies.
Some of the articles deal with various forms of contemporary Kabbalah and Hasidism. Yaakov Ariel investigates the origins of the movements of Renewal and return to tradition; Chava Weissler examines the Performance of Kabbalah in the Jewish Renewal Movement in the United States, and Rachel Werczberger explores the theme of healing in the rituals of Jewish Spiritual Renewal in Israel. The Contemporary Renaissance of Breslov Hasidism is discussed by Zvi Mark, and Jonathan Garb presents his research of the mystical Renaissance in the contemporary Ashkenazi Haredi World in Israel. Elliot R. Wolfson’s study focuses on the Kabbalistic-Pietistic Teachings of Itamar Schwartz, one of the more prolific contemporary teachers of Kabbalah in the Haredi world. Jonatan Meir examines the boundaries of Kabbalah in the thought of R. Yaakov Moshe Hillel, of Yeshivat Hevrat Ahavat Shalom of Jerusalem. In her study `Kabbalah for the Gentiles`, Jody Myers draws attention to three contemporary Kabbalah teachers (Ariel Bar Tzadok, Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Michael Laitman) who affirm the appropriateness of teaching Kabbalah to non-Jews.
Other articles trace the wider contexts in which contemporary forms of Kabbalah emerged and follow the contacts between Kabbalah and other forms of contemporary spiritual revival in the western world. In his essay Philip Wexler goes into the social psychological and religious core of classical social theory, and suggests that this core is relevant for the understanding of new age spirituality. Véronique Altglas offers a comparative perspective on the globalization of religious resources through an examination of case-studies: neo-Hindu movements that spread in the West and the Kabbalah Centre. Wouter J. Hanegraaf examines the way kabbalistic themes were understood and integrated in the Gnosis magazine, published in 1985-1999, and Graham Harvey explores the negotiations of contemporary Paganism between esotericism and animism under the influence of Kabbalah.
Several scholars deal with the Israeli context of present day revival of Kabbalah and contemporary spirituality. Shlomo Fischer looks at new cultural and social phenomena among the West Bank settlers in Israel-Palestine and the larger radical religious Zionist community supporting them. Tamar Katriel investigates the precursors to postmodern spirituality in Israeli cultural ethos, and Joseph Loss investigates the processes of becoming a Buddha-Dhamma practitioner through an ethnographic study of Buddha-Dhamma practitioners in Israel. Concluding the volume, the editor reviews the research of contemporary Kabbalah and Hasidism and the challenges contemporary Kabbalah poses to the academic study of Jewish Mysticism.
The volume grew out of an international workshop on `Kabbalah and Contemporary Spiritual Revival`, funded by the Israel Science Foundation and the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought, which was held at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in May 2008. I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to those who assisted me in the production of this volume: Ms. Judith H. Seeligmann who took upon herself the style editing of the volume and Prof. Daniel Sivan, the director of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, who prepared it for publication. Special thanks are due to Prof. Howard Kreisel, the head of the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Studies and the editor of the Goldstein-Library of Jewish Thought, who accompanied this volume through all of its stages with his sound advice and good will, contributing much to its final editing. I would like also to thank Ms. Lilach Bar and Ms. Ziva Vital who helped to prepare and organize the workshop this volume is based on. The preparation of this volume was supported by the Israeli Science Foundation (grant no. 809/05).
Papers by Boaz Huss
"There are so many ways of spiritual development offered to men today. There is Rudolf Steiner, of whom I am very much indebted, there is Uspansky, whom I do not know, there is R. Guenon whom I have studied this autumn, there is Sivananda there is Krishnamurti – and there is Pondicherry. How can one who has had no personal experiences and who seeks his way, decide for himself which way is the right way?"
This short passage reveals Bergmann’s deep interest in esotericism and alternative spirituality, as well as his uncertainties regarding his own spiritual quest. Bergmann started his spiritual quest as a young man and continued searching for the rest of his life. He found much interest in various esoteric and spiritual teachings, in which he believed one could find the key for a new metaphysical science based on alternative forms of consciousness, and later had an important role in introducing modern esoteric teachings to Israeli public and in the formation of modern alternative spiritual movements in Israel. The article discusses
Bergmann’s esoteric and alternative spiritual interests, his call for a “courageous” philosophic revolution that would expand human consciousness, and his impact on esoteric and alternative spiritual culture in Israel.
In the State of Israel, Bergmann became a leading philosopher and highly admired cultural figure. He himself showed great interest in world religions, mysticism, and Western esotericism. Bergmann also emerged as an important point of reference for left-wing Israeli discourse. Up from the late 1920ies has was one of the protagonists of the “Brit Shalom”, an initiative which called for an advocated peaceful coexistence of Jews and Arabs and a bi-national State in Israel/Palestine.
In this volume, distinguished historians, scholars of religion, and cultural scientists conflate a fascinating life story of a man who always worked on social and educational improvements and searched for fairness and deeper truths in a world full of conflict and antagonisms.
The essays collected here examine esoteric schools and spiritual teachers in which interested Bergmann found particular interest – Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Anthroposophical Society; the Sufi René Guénon, founder of the Traditionalist School; George Gurdjieff and his student P. D. Ouspensky, founders of the Fourth Way, the Indian philosopher and yogi Sri Aurobindo, and parapsychology. The essays are preceded by an introduction by Boaz Huss and Samuel Glauber that surveys Bergmann’s interest in the spiritual currents of his day, his call for the creation of a “courageous” philosophy that would expand the boundaries of human consciousness, and his contribution to the culture of alternative spirituality in Israel.
Contributors: Toshio Akai, Asher Binyamin, Jean-Pierre Brach, Helena Čapková, Julie Chajes, Christian Chanel, John Patrick Deveney, Christine Ferguson, Peter Heehs, Boaz Huss, Shimon Lev, Jonatan Meir, Michele Olzi, Daniel Raveh, Hana Ewa Raziel, and Gal Sofer.
Boaz Huss has broken new ground with this study, which examines the reception and canonization of the Zohar as well as its criticism and rejection from its inception to the present day. His underlying assumption is that the different values attributed to the Zohar are not inherent qualities of the zoharic texts, but rather represent the way it has been perceived by its readers in different cultural contexts. He therefore considers the attribution of different qualities to the Zohar through time, and the people who were engaged in attributing such qualities and making innovations in cultural practices and rituals.
For each historical period from the beginning of Zohar reception to the present, Huss considers the social conditions that stimulated the veneration of the Zohar as well as the factors that contributed to its rejection, alongside the cultural functions and consequences of each approach. Because the multiple modes of the reception of the Zohar have had a decisive influence on the history of Jewish culture, this highly innovative and wide-ranging approach to Zohar scholarship will have important repercussions for many areas of Jewish studies.
Esotericism, Kabbalah and the Transformation of Traditions
Editors: Julie Chajes, Boaz Huss
The thirteen chapters of this volume examine intersections between theosophical thought and areas as diverse as the arts, literature, scholarship, politics, and, especially, modern interpretations of Judaism and kabbalah. Each chapter offers a case study in theosophical appropriations of a different type and in different context. The chapters join together to reveal congruencies between theosophical ideas and a wide range of contemporaneous intellectual, cultural, religious, and political currents. They demonstrate the far-reaching influence of the theosophical movement worldwide from the late-nineteenth century to the present day.
Contributors: Karl baier, Julie Chajes, John Patrick Deveney, Victoria Ferentinou, Olav Hammer, Boaz Huss, Massimo Introvigne, Andreas Kilcher, Eugene Kuzmin, Shimon Lev, Isaac Luberlsky, Tomer Persico, Helmut Zander.
בספר נידונים ההקשרים ההיסטוריים והחברתיים שהביאו להבניית המושג "מיסטיקה יהודית", ונבחנת התקבלותו של המושג הזה כקטגוריה שכוננה את מחקר הקבלה והחסידות באקדמיה והשפיעה על עיצובן של תנועות
קבליות וחסידיות בנות זמננו. מטרתו של הספר היא לברר את הגנאלוגיה של המושג "מיסטיקה יהודית" ולחשוף את ההנחות התיאולוגיות והפוליטיות העומדות ביסוד המחקר האקדמי של הקבלה והחסידות.
In the last decades of the 20th century, a surprising revival of interest in Kabbalah and Hasidism occurred in Israeli society, in Jewish communities in the Diaspora, and to a certain degree in the Western culture in general. Since the late 1960’s, and especially, during the last two decades, new Kabbalistic movements came into being, whereas old Kabbalistic Yeshivot and Hasidic groups have become more active. Today, many forms of Kabbalistic rituals and practices are performed, revived, and re-invented, along with Kabbalistic themes being integrated in literature, art, music and popular culture.
Most contemporary Kabbalistic and Hasidic movements emerged out of earlier forms of 20th century Kabbalah, reproducing and developing previous Kabbalistic themes and practices. Yet, today`s Kabbalah is created in the framework of postmodern culture and new spiritual formations (especially, the New Age) stimulating its revival and to a large extent shaping its cultural expressions.
The present volume includes sixteen articles which investigate the new forms of Kabbalah, their cultural contexts and their contacts with other forms of contemporary spiritual revival. The papers were written by prominent scholars from a variety of disciplines, including history of Kabbalah, sociology, anthropology, and religious studies.
Some of the articles deal with various forms of contemporary Kabbalah and Hasidism. Yaakov Ariel investigates the origins of the movements of Renewal and return to tradition; Chava Weissler examines the Performance of Kabbalah in the Jewish Renewal Movement in the United States, and Rachel Werczberger explores the theme of healing in the rituals of Jewish Spiritual Renewal in Israel. The Contemporary Renaissance of Breslov Hasidism is discussed by Zvi Mark, and Jonathan Garb presents his research of the mystical Renaissance in the contemporary Ashkenazi Haredi World in Israel. Elliot R. Wolfson’s study focuses on the Kabbalistic-Pietistic Teachings of Itamar Schwartz, one of the more prolific contemporary teachers of Kabbalah in the Haredi world. Jonatan Meir examines the boundaries of Kabbalah in the thought of R. Yaakov Moshe Hillel, of Yeshivat Hevrat Ahavat Shalom of Jerusalem. In her study `Kabbalah for the Gentiles`, Jody Myers draws attention to three contemporary Kabbalah teachers (Ariel Bar Tzadok, Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Michael Laitman) who affirm the appropriateness of teaching Kabbalah to non-Jews.
Other articles trace the wider contexts in which contemporary forms of Kabbalah emerged and follow the contacts between Kabbalah and other forms of contemporary spiritual revival in the western world. In his essay Philip Wexler goes into the social psychological and religious core of classical social theory, and suggests that this core is relevant for the understanding of new age spirituality. Véronique Altglas offers a comparative perspective on the globalization of religious resources through an examination of case-studies: neo-Hindu movements that spread in the West and the Kabbalah Centre. Wouter J. Hanegraaf examines the way kabbalistic themes were understood and integrated in the Gnosis magazine, published in 1985-1999, and Graham Harvey explores the negotiations of contemporary Paganism between esotericism and animism under the influence of Kabbalah.
Several scholars deal with the Israeli context of present day revival of Kabbalah and contemporary spirituality. Shlomo Fischer looks at new cultural and social phenomena among the West Bank settlers in Israel-Palestine and the larger radical religious Zionist community supporting them. Tamar Katriel investigates the precursors to postmodern spirituality in Israeli cultural ethos, and Joseph Loss investigates the processes of becoming a Buddha-Dhamma practitioner through an ethnographic study of Buddha-Dhamma practitioners in Israel. Concluding the volume, the editor reviews the research of contemporary Kabbalah and Hasidism and the challenges contemporary Kabbalah poses to the academic study of Jewish Mysticism.
The volume grew out of an international workshop on `Kabbalah and Contemporary Spiritual Revival`, funded by the Israel Science Foundation and the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought, which was held at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in May 2008. I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to those who assisted me in the production of this volume: Ms. Judith H. Seeligmann who took upon herself the style editing of the volume and Prof. Daniel Sivan, the director of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, who prepared it for publication. Special thanks are due to Prof. Howard Kreisel, the head of the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Studies and the editor of the Goldstein-Library of Jewish Thought, who accompanied this volume through all of its stages with his sound advice and good will, contributing much to its final editing. I would like also to thank Ms. Lilach Bar and Ms. Ziva Vital who helped to prepare and organize the workshop this volume is based on. The preparation of this volume was supported by the Israeli Science Foundation (grant no. 809/05).
"There are so many ways of spiritual development offered to men today. There is Rudolf Steiner, of whom I am very much indebted, there is Uspansky, whom I do not know, there is R. Guenon whom I have studied this autumn, there is Sivananda there is Krishnamurti – and there is Pondicherry. How can one who has had no personal experiences and who seeks his way, decide for himself which way is the right way?"
This short passage reveals Bergmann’s deep interest in esotericism and alternative spirituality, as well as his uncertainties regarding his own spiritual quest. Bergmann started his spiritual quest as a young man and continued searching for the rest of his life. He found much interest in various esoteric and spiritual teachings, in which he believed one could find the key for a new metaphysical science based on alternative forms of consciousness, and later had an important role in introducing modern esoteric teachings to Israeli public and in the formation of modern alternative spiritual movements in Israel. The article discusses
Bergmann’s esoteric and alternative spiritual interests, his call for a “courageous” philosophic revolution that would expand human consciousness, and his impact on esoteric and alternative spiritual culture in Israel.
The chapter surveys the evidence concerning the historical connections between Kabbalah and Sufism and discusses the history of the academic study of Sufism and Kabbala and its reception by the general public. It shows that although there is some resemblance between ideas and practices of some Kabbalistic and Sufi circles, there is evidence of only very few historical interactions between Kabbalist and Sufis. The connections between Kabbalah and Sufism were dependent mostly on shared sources, rather than on personal encounters. Notwithstanding the scarcity of historical evidence, scholars (and following them, neo-Kabbalists and neo-Sufis) emphasize the resemblance between Kabbalah and Sufism and offer speculations concerning possible historical interactions between them. Although cultural transfers existed also between non-Sufi Islamic circles and Kabbalah, and Sufism had a considerable impact on other Jewish movements except Kabbalah, scholars and practitioners emphasize especially the Kabbalistic-Sufi connections. The chapter shows that the pervasive notion concerning the proximity and remarkable resemblance of Sufism and is dependent on the definition and interpretation of these traditions as expressions of a universal, mystical, religious phenomenon. It argues that the perception of Sufism and Kabbala as Islamic and Jewish mysticism encouraged the comparisons and the search for possible historical connections between them and shaped the ways academic study these traditions, as well as the ways they are perceived, appropriated, and practiced in contemporary western societies.
https://academic.oup.com/mj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mj/kjaa017/6042978?guestAccessKey=f91cdc75-673f-4596-8f39-e7dba4b78e29
https://correspondencesjournal.com/19602-2/
Traducción del inglés al español Óscar Reyes-Matute_מתת
La filosofía y el misticismo son percibidos usualmente como dos fuerzas antagónicas y opuestas en la cultura medieval judía. Sin embargo, a pesar que de una actitud negativa de la una hacia la otra ha sido prevalente entre los místicos y los filósofos, las dos tendencias estuvieron íntimamente relacionadas y fueron interdependientes. Los cabalistas adoptaron conceptos y terminologías filosóficas y las integraron en sus sistemas místicos. A su vez, muchos filósofos judíos fuero influenciados por las percepciones cabalísticas. 1 Además, la imagen negativa de uno y otro-la noción misma de que aquéllos representan "el otro"-no fue siempre predominante. En ciertos períodos los místicos judíos y los filósofos se consideraron unos a otros más favorablemente y algunas veces expresaron una evaluación positiva del corpus de conocimiento de los otros. En este ensayo discutiré un tema específico en la compleja relación entre el misticismo judío y la filosofía, a saber, la imagen de la filosofía dentro de la mayor escuela de la mística judía-la Cabalá. Me concentraré en las diferentes representaciones de las relaciones entre la filosofía y el misticismo, y sugeriré que los tres modelos más importantes de esta representación aparecen en la literatura cabalística. De acuerdo con el primer modelo, la Cabalá y la filosofía representan esencialmente el mismo corpus de conocimiento. La diferencia entre ellas es semántica: diferentes términos se refieren a las mismas entidades y conceptos. Estas diferencias semánticas son, de acuerdo con algunos cabalistas, una consecuencia de las diferentes fuentes de esta información y de su transmisión. El segundo modelo ofrece una visión jerárquica de la relación entre la filosofía y la Cabalá. De acuerdo con este modelo, la filosofía es, en comparación con la Cabalá, un inferior, aunque válido, corpus de conocimiento. Usualmente, los 1 Ver el breve estudio de Idel acerca de la filosofía judía y la Cabalá en la academia moderna en M. Idel "Los secretos de Abulafia acerca de La Guía. Un giro lingüístico" en Perspectivas del pensamiento judío y el misticismo, ed. A. L. Ivri, E. R. Wolfson y A. Arkush, Ámsterdam 1998, 289-92.
(article submitted, 2009)
The lecture will examine the life of Mirra Alfassa and her road from the cosmic movement to Sri Aurobindo's ashram. It will discuss the impact of Max Theon's esoteric ideas on Mirra Alfassa, her perceptions of Kabbalah, and the question of her Jewish identity.
Lecture given at: Paideia The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden Thursday, February 6, 2014
RESEARCH WORKSHOP OF THE ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND THE GOLDSTEIN-GOREN INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH THOUGHT, December 2013
RESEARCH WORKSHOP OF THE ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND THE GOLDSTEIN-GOREN INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR JEWISH THOUGHT, December 2013
Examining issues related to Dada and Kabbalah, poetic structure, the Romanian connection
Reception 6.30 in the Gavin de Beer room
Lecture 7.00pm in the JZ Young lecture theatre
Anatomy Building, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT
This event is kindly sponsored by the book’s publishers,
The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
***ADMISSION IS FREE***
The course will examine basic Kabbalistic themes such as the theory of the Sefirot, ecstatic and prophetic Kabbalistic techniques, reincarnation, demonology, and practical Kabbalah. It will introduce major Kabbalistic works and movements, including the Sefer ha-Zohar, Lurianic Kabbalah, Hasidism, and the contemporary revival of popular Kabbalah.
In recent decades, interest in Kabbalah has been increasing and many non-academic Kabbalah centers have been founded throughout the world. Most of the information available online for the layman is non-academic, and at times it can be misleading and confusing.
The aim of this course is to introduce students with no background in Kabbalah or Jewish thought to the major ideas and practices of the Kabbalah in their historical and cultural settings. The ideas are presented in an accessible manner without jeopardizing the course's academic rigor.
The course approaches Kabbalah from a historical and sociological perspective. Kabbalistic theories and practices will be studied through reading and analyzing primary sources (the Kabbalistic texts themselves) as well as applying the most up-to-date secondary literature (academic research)
The course presents a variety of different perspectives on the themes it covers. Through the assignments and discussions that accompany the video lectures, students will be encouraged to express their opinions and individual perspectives, and to contribute to fruitful intellectual discussions.
Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies Clarendon Institute, Walton Street Oxford, OX1 2HG
Convenors: Boaz Huss, Sebastian Musch & Lionel Obadia
Application deadline: 10 January 2020.
Vital is known first and foremost as the chief disciple of R. Isaac Luria. Luria himself wrote little; Vital is thus responsible to a large extent for what is now known as “Lurianic Kabbalah.” As a paragon of the sixteenth-century Safed renaissance, many aspects of Jewish life in Palestine and Syria are imbricated in his life and thought in this critical chapter of early modern Jewish history. Alongside his immense and singular contribution to the development of the Kabbalah, the breadth and diversity of Vital’s interests are evident in his rich corpus of writings. These are devoted to a plethora of topics and express the variegated aspects of his activity over many decades in Safed, Jerusalem, and Damascus. The study of Vital’s life and work may thus shed light on many facets of contemporary Ottoman Jewish society.
The fifteen sessions of the conference will cover many aspects of the activity of Vital and his contemporaries, as well as the history of the reception of his intellectual legacy in the modern and early modern periods.
Sessions include:
Safedian Modes of Fashioning Prominent Figures | Crossroads in the Formations of Kabbalistic Knowledge | Vital, Between Cordovero and Luria: A Reappraisal | Vital’s Book of Visions and Its Early and Later Contexts | Safedian Praxis and Its Contexts | Safed Beyond the Text: Reality and Imagination | Metempsychosis and the Fate of the Soul | Vital the Doubtful Messiah | Safed’s Culture of the Book | The Formation of Lurianic Kabbalah Across Regions | From Vilna to Jerusalem: Reading Vital in Modern Times | Vital in a Philosophical Tone
Papers will be delivered in both Hebrew and English
For details (including list of English papers), see: https://sites.google.com/view/vital400/en | For further inquiries: [email protected].
Academic Committee: Prof. Boaz Huss, Prof. Bracha Sack, Prof. J. H. Chajes, Dr. Hanan Harif, Prof. Ronit Meroz, Prof. Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin. Committee secretary: Dr. Assaf Tamari
We discussed the origins of Tu B'Shvat, first sources to mention the Tu B'Shvat "Seder"/"celebrations", the Sabbatean sources, Donmeh, Donmeh songs, sabbatean symbolism, and more
To discuss ‘spirituality’, we are joined by Boaz Huss and Steven Sutcliffe. We discuss the genealogy of ‘spirituality’, and its contemporary significance, with particular reference to the New Age movement. The second half focuses on how spirituality may trouble the religion / secular distinction, and its implications for the critical study of religion.
Boaz Huss is the Aron Bernstein Chair in Jewish History at the dept. of Jewish Thought and the chairperson of the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought at the Ben-Gurion University. His research interests include history of Kabbalah, Western Esotericism, and New Religious Movements. His publications include The Cosmic Movement: Sources, Contexts, Impact (Bialik Press, 2021, together with Julie Chajes), Mystifying Kabbalah: Academic Scholarship, National Theology, and New Age Spirituality, Oxford University Press, 2020, and The Zohar: Reception and Impact, Liverpool University Press, 2016. He is currently engaged in research of comparative mysticism, of the Jewish followers of the Theosophical Society, and of Anthroposophy in Israel.