Cover of Kabbalah: New Perspectives

Kabbalah: New Perspectives

In this prizewinning new interpretation of Jewish mysticism, Moshe Idel emphasizes the need for a comparative and phenomenological approach to Kabbalah and its position in the history of religion. Idel provides fresh insights into the origins of Jewish mysticism, the relation between mystical and historical experience, and the impact of Jewish mysticism on western civilization.

Read more

"Idel's book is studded with major insights, and innovative approaches to the entire history of Judaism, and mastery of it will be essential for all serious students of Jewish thought."—Arthur Green, New YorkTimes Book Review

"Moshe Idel's original, scholarly, and stimulating study of Kabbalah contains the promise of a masterwork."—Elie Wiesel

"Moshe Idel's book can help the nonspecialized reader to reconsider the whole of Kabbalistic tradition in comparison with many aspects of contemporary thought."—Umberto Eco

"There can be no dispute about the importance and originality of Idel's work. Offering a wealth of complementary insights to Gershom Scholem and his school, it will command a great deal of attention and serious discussion."—Alexander Altmann

Audience
adult
Length
long · 464 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Kabbalah: New Perspectives? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Kabbalah: New Perspectives. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism Shares kabbalah, religion, judaism
  2. Kabbalah Shares kabbalah, religion, judaism
  3. Zohar: The Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah Shares kabbalah, judaism, religion
  4. God and the Big Bang 1/E: Discovering Harmony Between Science & Spirituality Shares kabbalah, judaism, religion

“If you want more of the same (occult about jewish), start with these.”

  1. The Torah: A Modern Commentary- English Opening
  2. What Do Jews Believe?: The Spiritual Foundations of Judaism
  3. Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary
  4. The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious

“If it was the judaism that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Way of God: Derech Hashem (Torah Classics Library)
  2. Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation: In Theory and Practice
  3. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism
  4. Meditation and Kabbalah

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Heavenly Torah: As Refracted through the Generations
  2. The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism
  3. The Foundations of Mysticism: Presence of God:A History of Western Christian Mysticism, Vol 1
  4. Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts