Some Thoughts on Jewish Mysticism

1
Some Thoughts on Jewish Mysticism

• A Very Different
• History

2
Personal Cautions

• I am always begin any discussion of a Jewish
  theme by pointing out that I am not an expert in
  this area.
• Christian understanding of Judaism is both
  helped and hindered by a shared Scripture. Most
  Christians assume that modern Judaism is simply
  the continuation of the ancient Jewish tradition
  in a new form.

3
The Word Judaism

• Derived from the word, Judah.
• Began its characteristic development with the
  Exile of the leadership to Babylon from 586-538.
• The return to the land was never complete. The
  wealthiest and in time the richest Jewish
  community was in Babylon and the East.

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The Hellenistic World and Judaism I

• Judaism developed along two parallel and related
  lines
• The Babylonian and Eastern Communities that
  developed many characteristic practices of later
  Judaism
• The Rabbi
• The Synagogue

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The Hellenistic World and Judaism II

• The Palestinian Community
• The continuation of nationalism
• Deep influence of Hellenism
• Included in the Seleucid Empire
• The Ambiguous Revolt of the Maccabees
• The Roman Conquest and the New Diaspora

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Toward the Second Exile

• Judaism was very diverse
• Philo of Alexandria, great Platonic philosopher
• The Dead Sea Scrolls
• Apocalyptic
• A series of Jewish Revolts, both in Palestine and
  the Provinces, lead to the expulsion of the Jews
  from Palestine and much anti-Judaism among Romans
  and Greeks

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Some First Century Religious Movements in Judaism

• Christianity
• Gnosticism
• Apocalyptic
• The Dead Sea Peoples
• Pharisees and Rabbis

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A Religion of Obedienceand Law

• Part of the way for Jews to survive in the new
  world that followed the revolts was to develop
  and accentuate their characteristic religious
  practices.
• Although some traces of the mysticism of Philo,
  the Gnostics, and some Christians, such as the
  author of John, continued, much of Judaism apart
  from mysticism.

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Talmud

• Normative Collection of Biblical Interpretations
  or Midrash.
• The material in Talmud stretches over several
  centuries
• teaching" - compendium of discussions of the
  Mishnah by generations of scholars and jurists in
  many academies over a period of several
  centuries. The Jerusalem (or Palestinian) Talmud
  mainly contains the discussions of the
  Palestinian sages. The Babylonial talmud
  incorporates the parallel discussion in the
  Babylon academies

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Parts of Talmud

• Mishna (repeated study) written down by Judah
  the Prince in about 200 CE. This was the oral
  interpretation of the law by the leading rabbis
  and contained rabbinic decisions.
• Gamara (completion) Comments on the Mishna
  that were collected.
• Palestinian Talmud collected about 350 C.E.
• Babylonian Talmud collected about 550 C.E. but
  modified steadily for the next 250 years

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Before the Kabala

• The Greater and the Lesser Hekhaloth
• Edited in the Sixth Century (500s) CE. Although
  some Palestinian elements, probably have some
  elements from Palestine.
• Not Midrashim
• Major theme is the vision of the heavenly realm,
  the heavenly throne (Merkabah), and Gods Glory
• Descent from the Throne
• Esoteric groups that stood somewhat apart from
  the Talmudic development although conscious of
  them

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The Merkabah as Gnostic

• Originally, we have here a Jewish variation on
  one of the chief preoccupations of the second and
  third century Gnostics and Hermetics the ascent
  of the soul from the earth, through the spheres
  of the hostile planet-angels and rulers of the
  cosmos, and its return to its divine home in the
  fullness of Gods light, a return which, to
  the Gnostic mind, signified redemption.Scholem
• There are seven gates to be passed. Cf. Teresa

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Riding the Chariot

• Importance of the Chariot Imagery in the Bible
• This is called "the Vision of the Merkabah .
  ..and those under this strange hallucination, who
  imagine themselves entering the Heavenly Chariot
  and floating through the air, are called "Yorede
  Merkabah" ( "those that go down into the
  ship-like chariot" Jellinek, "B. H." iii. 90, 94
  et seq.). In this chariot they are supposed to
  ascend to the heavens, where in the dazzling
  light surrounding them they behold the innermost
  secrets of all persons and things, otherwise
  impenetrable and invisible.Jewish Enclopedia

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The Body of God

• One of the more unusual images in this mysticism
• God is pictured in very anthropomorphic terms and
  the adept is in Gods presence directly and
  immediately.

15
Magic

• Scholem and others notes that early Jewish
  mysticism often degenerated into magic.

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German Hassidism

• 1150-1250 in the Rhineland Region of Germany
• The word means the pious
• Three Major Figures
• Samuel the Hasid
• Eleazer ben Jehudah
• Jehudah the Hasid

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HASIDISM

• Not only for scholars. A Hasid might only know
  the Bible and not Talmud
• Three marks of piety
• Ascetic renunciation of the world
• Serenity of mind
• Altruism. (What is mine is yours, and what is
  yours is yours)

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Penitence

• Special emphasis of Hasidism.
• Modeled closely on the Churchs practices

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Kabbalah

• Sefer Yetzirah or Book of Creation (somewhere
  between 600 and 900)
• The Bahir or Illumination, around 1100, in
  Southern France
• The Zohar around 1200 in Spain, possibly by Moshe
  de Leon

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The Tree of Life and the Tree of Death

• Important Cosmic Symbols
• The tree of life is composed of the ten
  emanations from God
• Clearly a neo-platonic understanding
• Called the sefirot

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The Great Tree I
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Great Tree II
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God

• Two Aspects of God
• God as God is in Godself. Neither matter or
  spirit. The Ein Sof.
• God as God is in Creation and Revelation.

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Humankind

• Nefesh (???) or soul
• Ruach (???) Greek Spirit
• Neshamah (????) - the higher soul or intellect or
  reason.
• One can develop Ruach and Neshamah by religious
  practices.
• -----------------------------
• Chayyah (???) similar to Eckharts little spark
• Yehidah (?????)the highest part of the soul.

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Kabbalahs Critics

• Although Scholem, the great scholar of Jewish
  mysticism, believed that Kaballah was the great
  Jewish theology in the early modern period
  (1500-1800), most rabbis of all branches of
  Judaism have distrusted it.
• Judaism has favored the rationalism of
  Maimonides and similar thinkers.