Kabbalah

by Gershom Scholem

Book Overview

Scholarship and rigor mark this magnum opus by the esteemed Gershom Scholem, who did work on Kabbalah back when such activity was in disrepute among Jewish scholars of his rank. It is here where... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452010071
• ISBN13: 9780452010079
• Release Date: April 1978
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent resource

Kabbalah by Gershom Scholem is not for the beginner. He traces the history and roots of Kabbalism and the Zohar. He was a professor of Jewish mysticism and writes as an academic. A beginner will be lost in the technical explanations. If you are familiar with Kabbalism, and want to understand the roots, history and how it has influenced everything from Freemasonry to Mormonism to mainstream Christianity, it is an excellent book. Gershom Scholem was the acknowledged authority on Kabbalism.

An Antti Keisala Comment: The Scholem Of Kabbalah

There's no question that Scholem is the titan of Kabbalah studies, and the father to the second generation of Kabbalah scholarship (including Moshe Idel). This book is a summarization of the bulk of his work, but if you are looking for an introduction to Kabbalah, then most certainly arrive to this book a bit later. The sheer ambition of this volume is daunting, and it does convey much of what Kabbalah is: from its origins and place in Jewish history and the people who influenced and helped to spread it to the world to the basic ideas and concepts, it's pretty much here in one form or another. You might know that this is a collection of Scholem's writings he intended for an encyclopedia, and should be treated as such. The function of the book lies in the ease of reference, not in the introduction it might give to the subject: it's worthier than gold when it comes to finding different concepts explained or annotated quickly, say, Shabbateanism in the 18th century or "Ba'al Shem" ("Master of the Divine Name"). And it has an extensive list of bibiolgraphy for further reading, as well as a well-thought out general index of names, topics and concepts. But its purpose isn't to dwell profoundly in all the areas of Kabbalah, and it doesn't pretend to. I'd advice you to search for other Scholem first to get some grip on what's going on, then come back to this and let it stay with you in further readings when you venture to Idel and others; and even then his style of writing may seem heavy. This comes from the small experience I have with Scholem, that I've found "Godhead" and his other books to be more approachable by first sight. But you can go up the tree. My suggestion is simply to start a little lower and then reach higher. This is a book to keep with you once you get there. With best regards, AK

The Ultimate Text In Kabbalah

While working on my BA in Religious Studies at CSUF in '74 I took a course in 'Jewish Mysticism' taught by the distinguished and late Rabbi Joseph Kalir. Our one and only textbook for that class was Gershom Scholem's 'Kabbalah.' This is not an easy read by any means, not one of those recent releases that have become so popular in the last couple of years. One of those, 'Living Better Through Kabbalah' pieces of trash. This is the real thing. 'Kabbalah' will demand your time and attention to read and understand, but if you put in the supreme effort you will be rewarded with real knowledge and depth of what awaits for the true devotee. It's a book you'll keep in your library and refer back to over and over again because there's no way to remember so much. One of the essential texts on the subject. If you haven't read this, you aren't a kabbalist.

encyclopedic

I have learned a great deal from KABALLAH. It is a cross-section of the research of Herr Doktor Gershom Scholem. Each topic is given a concise explanation, including personalities and bibliographic references. When I first read this book, I found the explanations a bit terse. The density of information was overwhelming. Now, that I am more familiar with the work of Professor Scholem, I find this text to be an excellent review. If you are interested in the research of Professor Scholem or in the Kabbalah's historical development, this will be interesting to you.

Review of the 'Kabbalah'

I read the 'Kabbalah' for the 1st time in the early '90's. I can still open it up, to this day, and learn something brand new.Gershom Scholem was a professor of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem until his death in 1982. Among his works are 'Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism', 'The Messianic Idea in Judaism', 'Origins of the Kabbalah', 'Kabbalah', 'On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism', 'On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead', and 'Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah'. Every book is a treasure in and of itself. Mr. Scholem put the Kabbalah back on the 20th century map. His studies on the 'Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation)', 'The Bahir (Bright)', and 'The Zohar (Splendor)' show the brillance of this unique individual. The 'Kabbalah' is written in 3 parts. The 1st is the Kabbalah itself; from the beginings of mysticism up to modern times (including the disaster brought on by Sabbatai Sevi, that very nearly destroyed Judaism for 250 years afterwards). He also shows the Hasid's (the Ultra-Orthadox Jews) and how the Kabbalah and the Zohar influance their teachings and beliefs. He also shows why regular Orthadox Jews avoid the Kabbalah (calling it Jewish withcraft) and why they considear the Hasid's to be cultists of a sort (even though the Kabbalah WAS Orthadox Judaism for 300 years before the advent of Sabbatai Sevi - which Mr. Scholem painfully points out). He also shows the inept handling by the 'Christian Kabbalists' and occultists in general - neither group prepared to do the initial research that was needed. Both groups had different agendas and used the Kabbalah to further those particular goals.The 2nd part is chocked full of enough goodies to make you swear off dieting for good. The Zohar, the Shabbatean movement, the Frankists, demonology, gemaria (bible codes that change what the Torah says to something else entirly [the book 'The Bible Code' is an excellent example] to eventualy write a '6th Book of Moses' written entirly out of codes is the Kabbalists eventual goal), how to make a Golem, Thrown (merkabah) mysticism, and much much more. Lastly, it has the peaple and their histories that make this book such a delight to read. Azriel of Gerona, Moses Cordovero, Joseph Gikatilla, and many more. The 'Lion' and his 'Cubs' give their roar as well.If you have to buy one book on the Kabbalah, then this is the book to get. You will not be sorry in the least.Sincerly, Shawn W. Ooten