Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Enjoyable and Enlightening
Review: Although the print is kind of small and the notes are inconveniently at the end, this book is an excellent resource! I'm a Christian, and not a mystic. I bought this book to better understand some odd Christian teachings floating around in several modern church movements that I suspected, from other reading I'd done, are kabbalistic. The contents of this authorative book clearly delineate the relationship of Jewish mysticism and magic to the main features of these new Christian movements. (For instance, the current emphasis on holy spirit "anointings", visitations of the shekinah, and "the bride of Christ" clearly come from Judaica.) Christians interested in embracing their Hebrew roots need to read this, order to properly discern and divide what is scripture from what is tradition. (A copy of Abraham Cohen's "Everyman's Talmud" is very helpful too!)

Despite the esoteric topics, Gershom Scholem is fairly easy to understand, and the book is organized into logical topics. It also has a good index and tons of bibliographical references. A must for your reference shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Enjoyable and Enlightening
Review: For those of you who want to understand where and how the major trends in Kabbalism developed, look no further. This book covers all of the major ideas in their proper historical context, from Gnosticism to Hasidism.

The author's concept or purpose is to dispel many of the misleading, and speculative notions on the nature of Jewish mysticism. In the process, taking the mystical/magical portions for the most part out of the equation.

What I like best about Scholem's work is that he is not so concerned with what the meaning of each Kabbalistic notion but is primarily concerned with where it originated and what circumstances allowed for the development of an idea. This allows for an objective and unbiased consideration of the concept being studied.

What you won't get in this book that you will find in most others about this subject is the promotion thereof. No evangelical tendencies exist which make for a more throrough reading.

Rating:
Summary: THE Modern Classic of Kabbalah
Review: Gershom Scholem transformed Kabbalah into an acceptable academic discipline. Today many writers/scholars/professors follow in his footsteps (e.g. Wolfson and Idel). He, no doubt, did us a great service. It should be noted, however, that he was an historian--neither scientist nor Kabbalist. He appears to have faithfully presented Kabbalistic doctrines, teachings, etc. Nonetheless, the reader should be sensitive to a certain lack of scientific viewpoint on the one hand and mystical/experiential knowledge and orientation on the other--in all of his works. That said, this is a wonderful book, probably his best (certainly his most famous) and one of the best available today on Kabbalah per se. If you like this book, I'd recommend you also read, "Jewish Gnosticism-Merkabah Mysticism-and Talmudic Tradition," "On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead," and his voluminous entry in a Jewish Encyclopedia on Kabbalah published as a stand-alone volume entitled, "Kabbalah." Both this last work and "Major Trends" illuminate most of the main Kabbalistic concepts (e.g. the Shekinah, the female Presence or Immanence of God). Any serious student of Kabbalah will find the present work a necessary addition to his/her repertoire. It's probably the best known contemporary work on the subject. The historical data has great breadth and considerable depth. However, it does suffer from Scholem's lack of mystical or scientific background. For example, near the very front of the book, he asserts that no on would consider the prophets to be mystics. This is untrue. Since I consider it so (and he's broken the non-all ness principle), he is simply wrong. Since a mystic has direct knowledge or contact with God, and prophets have such, they are most definitely mystics. In set theory they would be a subset of mystics (a circle within a circle on a Venn Diagram). This does not, of course, imply that all mystics are prophets. My favorite quotation from this book is on page 229:

"It says something for its [the conception of the Shekhinah as the feminine element in God] vitality that, despite the opposition of such powerful forces [the philosophers and the strict Talmudists as well], this idea became part and parcel of the creed of wide circles among the Jewish communities of Europe and the East." Thus, Scholem points out the innovative content of Kabbalah vs. normative, Rabbinical Judaism with its emphasis on the transcendence of a male God. This book is a close as you get to required reading in Kabbalah for both the scholar and the practitioner. After all, a mystic needs the balance of having his/her feet on the ground (of good scholarship=good theory) as well as his/her head in the clouds (of meditation and mystical attunement).

Rating:
Summary: uplifting sparks
Review: I learned a great deal from this text, and further my spiritual understanding has been enhanced by Herr Doktor Gershom Scholem's (1897-1982) book, "MAJOR TRENDS IN JEWISH MYSTICISM". This text is of a type which transcends criticism. In the forward, professor Robert Alter describes this pioneering work as "an enduring contribution to the study of religion" which "stands out as one of those rare intellectual achievements of the middle decades" of the twentieth century. A great deal of territory is covered here. The historical and theosophic development of the Qabbalah with respect to its role in Judaism begins before the building of the second temple (roughly 538 BCE) and continues into the 19th century after the founding of the Hasidic movement by Israel Baal Shem (d 1760). In a stimulating and engaging presentation, Herr Doktor Scholem explains the major trends which span more than 2 millenia. They include Merkabah Mysticism & the roots of Jewish Gnosticism (100BCE - 1100CE), Mediaeval German Hasidism (1150-1250CE), Prophetic Kabbalism (1200-1300), the development and influence of the Book of Zohar (1276-1400), Lurianic Mysticism (1391-1650), the Sabbatian Heresy of the 17th century and finally, 19th century Hasidism. The breadth of this development is awe inspiring. Just as important for me are the details. I was excited when I learned of the Lurianic Kabbalah's Theory of Tikkun which Herr Doktor Scholem describes as "the greatest victory which anthropomorphic thought has ever won in the history of Jewish mysticism". The doctrine of Tsimtsum provided me with a clear alternative to pantheism for the first time. This doctrine separated theism from pantheism because it provides an answer for the existence of something other than GOD. Isaac Luria must have been an astounding individual. Thomas Aquinas briefly defines mysticism as "cognitio dei experimentalis", as the knowledge of GOD through experience. Which brings me to the most important idea I learned from this text, namely, that there is a place for the irrational in the worship of the LORD, my GOD, in whose presence I am. If you are interested in Mysticism of any type, creed or practice, this text is indispensible for you.

Rating:
Summary: Canonical Text
Review: I learned a great deal from this text, and further my spiritual understanding has been enhanced by Herr Doktor Gershom Scholem's (1897-1982) book, "MAJOR TRENDS IN JEWISH MYSTICISM". This text is of a type which transcends criticism. In the forward, professor Robert Alter describes this pioneering work as "an enduring contribution to the study of religion" which "stands out as one of those rare intellectual achievements of the middle decades" of the twentieth century. A great deal of territory is covered here. The historical and theosophic development of the Qabbalah with respect to its role in Judaism begins before the building of the second temple (roughly 538 BCE) and continues into the 19th century after the founding of the Hasidic movement by Israel Baal Shem (d 1760). In a stimulating and engaging presentation, Herr Doktor Scholem explains the major trends which span more than 2 millenia. They include Merkabah Mysticism & the roots of Jewish Gnosticism (100BCE - 1100CE), Mediaeval German Hasidism (1150-1250CE), Prophetic Kabbalism (1200-1300), the development and influence of the Book of Zohar (1276-1400), Lurianic Mysticism (1391-1650), the Sabbatian Heresy of the 17th century and finally, 19th century Hasidism. The breadth of this development is awe inspiring. Just as important for me are the details. I was excited when I learned of the Lurianic Kabbalah's Theory of Tikkun which Herr Doktor Scholem describes as "the greatest victory which anthropomorphic thought has ever won in the history of Jewish mysticism". The doctrine of Tsimtsum provided me with a clear alternative to pantheism for the first time. This doctrine separated theism from pantheism because it provides an answer for the existence of something other than GOD. Isaac Luria must have been an astounding individual. Thomas Aquinas briefly defines mysticism as "cognitio dei experimentalis", as the knowledge of GOD through experience. Which brings me to the most important idea I learned from this text, namely, that there is a place for the irrational in the worship of the LORD, my GOD, in whose presence I am. If you are interested in Mysticism of any type, creed or practice, this text is indispensible for you.

Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful Text on a Very Esoteric Subject
Review: This historical-critical text of some 350 pages took me longer to read than I'd expected: many of the subjects discussed tend to be complex, even though Scholem's prose is always comprehensible. Fortunately, the book is partitioned into more or less independent chapters on different subjects, so you don't have to read through the entire thing uninterrupted to avoid losing a particular train of thought.

In numerous places, Scholem compares the various schools of Jewish mysticism to Gnosticism. Like the Gnostics, most of the Kabbalists -- even really strange thinkers like Sabbatai Zevi -- pursued hidden knowledge, rather than faith, as a means of establishing a direct relation with God. And like the Gnostics, many Kabbalists assumed that the soul of man exists in a state of exile from the true God, as a result of a primordial cosmological imbalance. The Sabbatians went as far in Gnostical thinking as to assume the existence of two Gods, a hidden one and a revealed one; although the Sabbatians reversed the traditonal Gnostic interpretation by preferring the revealed God (the God of Israel, whom the Gnostics opposed) to the hidden God. This striking set of similarities between Gnosticism and Jewish mysticism was the strongest impression I came away with from reading the book.

I found the Jewish mystics to be a colorful and profound group of thinkers. While just a bit dry in a few places, this book engagingly describes an impressive, energetic theological tradition.

Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful Text on a Very Esoteric Subject
Review: This historical-critical text of some 350 pages took me longer to read than I'd expected: many of the subjects discussed tend to be complex, even though Scholem's prose is always comprehensible. Fortunately, the book is partitioned into more or less independent chapters on different subjects, so you don't have to read through the entire thing uninterrupted to avoid losing a particular train of thought.

In numerous places, Scholem compares the various schools of Jewish mysticism to Gnosticism. Like the Gnostics, most of the Kabbalists -- even really strange thinkers like Sabbatai Zevi -- pursued hidden knowledge, rather than faith, as a means of establishing a direct relation with God. And like the Gnostics, many Kabbalists assumed that the soul of man exists in a state of exile from the true God, as a result of a primordial cosmological imbalance. The Sabbatians went as far in Gnostical thinking as to assume the existence of two Gods, a hidden one and a revealed one; although the Sabbatians reversed the traditonal Gnostic interpretation by preferring the revealed God (the God of Israel, whom the Gnostics opposed) to the hidden God. This striking set of similarities between Gnosticism and Jewish mysticism was the strongest impression I came away with from reading the book.

I found the Jewish mystics to be a colorful and profound group of thinkers. While just a bit dry in a few places, this book engagingly describes an impressive, energetic theological tradition.

Rating:
Summary: The best guide to understanding Jewish mysticism
Review: This is the best guide to understanding Jewish mysticism that I know. Scholem was the great pioneer in the field. He opened up the mystical texts to serious scholarly investigation after they were ignored by more as it were ' rationalistic ' scholars. In doing so he connects us with a remarkable tradition and group of thinkers who contemplate the human divine relationship with utmost intensity and seriousness. One of the more interesting points for me was Scholem's distinction of Jewish Mysticism from other mainstream mysticisms, the central idea that for the Jewish Mysticism G-d can be approached , and must be approached as closely as possible but cannot be wholly unified with. i.e. that for the Jewish mystic some Transcendent dimension must always remain outside which the human can never come. I also greatly appreciated Scholem's meditations on the effect of Lurianic Kabbalah on Jewish history. And in this sense Scholem's own sense of the Jewish people's return to history as not involving an immediate and final demand for its end, but a place in its ongoing development. This brief review does not do justice to the richness of the concepts invoked and explained in the work, nor the scope of the thought. Rather it touches the points which most touched me.
The joy of intellectual adventure at the highest levels awaits the reader of this work.

Rating:
Summary: The Screwball Kabbalah
Review: With these nine snapshots of Great Moments in Jewish Mysticism, Scholem gives an amazing crash course in an immense & complex spiritual tradition. His chapter on the Zohar is especially helpful, with concise explanations of tricky concepts like Sefiroth and the Shekinah, God's female aspect (I had no idea! Though since reading this I've heard Leonard Nimoy say that he copped Spock's split-finger greeting from synagogue, where it signaled the Shekinah's presence).

Scholem's affection for the Kabbalists stems from his belief that they kept alive a mythic, almost pantheistic, vision of God against the more rationalizing tendencies of mainstream Judaism. The mystics as he describes them, despite their arcane systems, were closer to popular beliefs and aspirations than the 'official' rabbinical tradition. In 1938, when Scholem gave these lectures, he hoped for a spiritual revival from within Jewish mysticism at a moment of crisis. I don't know if the New Age hipness of the Kabbalah was what he had in mind, but for all the measured, scholarly prose his heart is clearly with the weirdos.

I knew almost nothing about Jewish mysticism going into this book. I put it down with a new respect for one of the human mind's more intricate and neglected creations.

Rating:
Summary: The Screwball Kabbalah
Review: With these nine snapshots of Great Moments in Jewish Mysticism, Scholem gives an amazing crash course in an immense & complex spiritual tradition. His chapter on the Zohar is especially helpful, with concise explanations of tricky concepts like Sefiroth and the Shekinah, God's female aspect (I had no idea! Though since reading this I've heard Leonard Nimoy say that he copped Spock's split-finger greeting from synagogue, where it signaled the Shekinah's presence).

Scholem's affection for the Kabbalists stems from his belief that they kept alive a mythic, almost pantheistic, vision of God against the more rationalizing tendencies of mainstream Judaism. The mystics as he describes them, despite their arcane systems, were closer to popular beliefs and aspirations than the 'official' rabbinical tradition. In 1938, when Scholem gave these lectures, he hoped for a spiritual revival from within Jewish mysticism at a moment of crisis. I don't know if the New Age hipness of the Kabbalah was what he had in mind, but for all the measured, scholarly prose his heart is clearly with the weirdos.

I knew almost nothing about Jewish mysticism going into this book. I put it down with a new respect for one of the human mind's more intricate and neglected creations.