Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship (Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture)

Rating:
Summary: Rich, wide-reaching, but somewhat unsound
Review: Mostly sympathetic overview of Lurianic kabbalah, theory and early history, drawing from a wide range of sources. Fine blends philosophical and sociocultural analyses together to paint a richly textured picture of the Arizal (R. Yitchak Luria) and his disciples. The Arizal was phenomenal thinker, integrating many different approaches into a compelling and beautiful mystical system. His chief disciple R. Chaim Vital, while brilliant in his own right, comes in for criticism in this book for his apparent narcissism and inability to get along with his peers. The only significant problem I have with this book is that Fine has bought Scholem's polemical thesis about an alleged opposition or incompatibility between kabbalah and halachic Judaism. Like Scholem, who was a self-confessed "religious anarchist," Fine brings highly selected quotations to support this thesis, while ignoring the central tenets of kabbalah. Since the days of the Rabbis of the Talmud (and even prior to them), who were deeply immersed in Merkavah mysticism, almost all of the leading halachic authorities in Judaism have also been the leading kabbalists of their generations. Far from opposing halachah, kabbalists throughout history have been especially supportive of it and exacting in their observance. This is no coincidence, since kabbalah may be best understood as a sort of mystical commentary and apologetic for halachah, advanced to bolster and enrich halachic practice. Although Fine's support for Scholem's biased thesis renders his other conclusions somewhat unreliable as well, the good in this book still far outweighs the dubious in it. This said, the above points make me reluctant to recommend the book to those who are not already familiar with true kabbalah.