The profound and ancient teachings of Jewish mysticism - Kabbalah - speak of the urgent need to rectify the world, instructing us how to pick up the pieces of our shattered dreams and mend the tattered fabric of our lives, both as individuals and as active contributors to humanity's destiny. Today, the need for rectification is felt most acutely in Israel, where the dream of Jewish security and cultural revival seems to be threatened as never before. The Kabbalistic model that helps us understand what is happening in Israel is known as the "breaking of the vessels." Secular Zionism has succeeded in creating material vessels - constructing buildings and roads, developing industry, and creating institutions of higher, secular education. But it has willfully neglected or even rejected the inner, spiritual dimension of the vessels themselves - the conscious intention that they serve God's puropose in creation. Every day, the vessels that have been created by the secular Zionist dream of the Jewish people returning to the land of Israel and establishing a safe haven from the perils of the diaspora in the form of a secular Jewish state, whose ultimate goal is to live in peace and harmony with its Arab neighbors, are shattering before our eyes. In this book, Rabbi Ginsburgh presents a conceptual and practical program for healing the ills of the state of Israel. These proposals are borne of intimate acquaintance with the pulse of the people as well as the failings of Isralei politics, and permeated with Chassidic optimism and love for the Jewish people and all of humanity.

Magic culture is certainly fascinating. But what is it? What, in fact, are magic writings, magic artifacts? Originally published in Hebrew in 2010, Jewish Magic Before the Rise of Kabbalah is a comprehensive study of early Jewish magic focusing on three major topics: Jewish magic inventiveness, the conflict with the culture it reflects, and the scientific study of both. The first part of the book analyzes the essence of magic in general and Jewish magic in particular. The book begins with theories addressing the relationship of magic and religion in fields like comparative study of religion, sociology of religion, history, and cultural anthropology, and considers the implications of the paradigm shift in the interdisciplinary understanding of magic for the study of Jewish magic. The second part of the book focuses on Jewish magic culture in late antiquity and in the early Islamic period. This section highlights the artifacts left behind by the magic practitioners-amulets, bowls, precious stones, and human skulls-as well as manuals that include hundreds of recipes. Jewish Magic before the Rise of Kabbalah also reports on the culture that is reflected in the magic evidence from the perspective of external non-magic contemporary Jewish sources. Issues of magic and religion, magical mysticism, and magic and social power are dealt with in length in this thorough investigation. Scholars interested in early Jewish history and comparative religions will find great value in this text.

This book examines the current use of digital media in religious engagement and how new media can influence and alter faith and spirituality. As technologies are introduced and improved, they continue to raise pressing questions about the impact, both positive and negative, that they have on the lives of those that use them. The book also deals with some of the more futuristic and speculative topics related to transhumanism and digitalization. Including an international group of contributors from a variety of disciplines, chapters address the intersection of religion and digital media from multiple perspectives. Divided into two sections, the chapters included in the first section of the book present case studies from five major religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism and their engagement with digitalization. The second section of the volume explores the moral, ideological but also ontological implications of our increasingly digital lives. This book provides a uniquely comprehensive overview of the development of religion and spirituality in the digital age. As such, it will be of keen interest to scholars of Digital Religion, Religion and Media, Religion and Sociology, as well as Religious Studies and New Media more generally, but also for every student interested in the future of religion and spirituality in a completely digitalized world.

Sufism and Early Islamic Piety: Personal and Communal Dynamics offers a new story about the formative period of Sufism. Through a fresh reading of diverse Sufi and non-Sufi sources, Arin Shawkat Salamah-Qudsi reveals the complexity of personal and communal aspects of Sufi piety in the period between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. Her study also sheds light on the interrelationships and conflicts of early Sufis through emphasising that early Sufism was neither a quietist or a completely individual mode of piety. Salamah-Qudsi reveals how the early Sufis' commitment to the Islamic ideal of family life lead to different creative arrangements among them in order to avoid contradictions with this ideal and the mystical ideal of solitary life. Her book enables a deeper understanding of the development of Sufism in light of the human concerns and motivations of its founders.

Mysticism and esotericism are two intimately related strands of the Western tradition. Despite their close connections, however, scholars tend to treat them separately. Whereas the study of Western mysticism enjoys a long and established history, Western esotericism is a young field. The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism examines both of these traditions together. The volume demonstrates that the roots of esotericism almost always lead back to mystical traditions, while the work of mystics was bound up with esoteric or occult preoccupations. It also shows why mysticism and esotericism must be examined together if either is to be understood fully. Including contributions by leading scholars, this volume features essays on such topics as alchemy, astrology, magic, Neoplatonism, Kabbalism, Renaissance Hermetism, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, numerology, Christian theosophy, spiritualism, and much more. This Handbook serves as both a capstone of contemporary scholarship and a cornerstone of future research.

The Ba'al Shem Tov, the 18th century founder of the Chassidic movement whose teachings are rooted in Kabbalah, revealed that any process of spiritual growth must proceed through three developmental changes in psychological attitude which he called "submission, separation and sweetening." Our ultimate goal is to sweeten our problems, to transform darkness into light. But in order to accomplish this, we must first nullify our ego, the root of all of our problems and anxieties, and create a pure, positive state of good and light within us, separated from our outer darkness. In Transforming Darkness into Light, Rabbi Ginsburgh presents the fundamental elements of a system of of Kabbalistic psychotherapy, as it has developed in Chassidic thought and practice. He highlights many ways in which the Jewish mystical path to psychological well-being both agrees with and differs from the dominant schools of modern psychotherapy. Rabbi Ginsburgh also examines in depth the pivotal role played by the therapist, and the power of speech in counseling. He shows, step-by-step, how to separate out the negative influences in our lives, heal our psychological wounds and how to taste the sweetness of inner peace so that we can do our part to bring the world to to be a place of peace and blessing for all humanity.

A common objective of saint veneration in all three Abrahamic religions is the recovery and perpetuation of the collective memory of the saint. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all yield intriguing similarities and differences in their respective conceptions of sanctity. This edited collection explores the various literary and cultural productions associated with the cult of saints and pious figures, as well as the socio-historical contexts in which sainthood operates, in order to better understand the role of saints in monotheistic religions. Using comparative religious and anthropological approaches, an international panel of contributors guides the reader through three main concerns. They describe and illuminate the ways in which sanctity is often configured. In addition, the diverse cultural manifestations of the cult of the saints are examined and analysed. Finally, the various religious, social, and political functions that saints came to play in numerous societies are compared and contrasted. This ambitious study covers sanctity from the Middle Ages until the contemporary period, and has a geographical scope that includes Europe, Central Asia, North Africa, the Americas, and the Asian Pacific. As such, it will be of use to scholars of the history of religions, religious pluralism, and interreligious dialogue, as well as students of sainthood and hagiography.

Originally published in 1973, this volume consists of a sequence of essays in religious thinking, responsive to the impact of Quranic style and emphasis. It traces the implications of the Qur'an in the related fields of man and history, evil and forgiveness, unity and worship, wonder and the hallowing of the world. It does so with a critical eye for the classical commentators, three of whom are translated here in their exegesis of three important Surahs. The underlying emphasis of this book is inter-religious converse and responsibility in the contemporary world.

Originally published in 1966, this was the first of Muhammad 'Abduh's works to be translated into English. Risalat al Tauhid represents the most popular of his discussion of Islamic thought and belief. 'Abduh is still quoted and revered as the father of 20th Century Muslim thinking in the Arab world and his mind, here accessible, constituted both courageous and strenuous leadership in his day. All the concerns and claims of successive exponents of duty and meaning of the mosque in the modern world may be sensed in these pages. The world and Islam have moved on since 'Abduh's lifetime, but he remains a source for the historian of contemporary movements and a valuable index to the self-awareness of Arab Islam.

- Designed and written by Grace Duong, founder of Mystic Mondays: Connect to the guiding power of the cosmos through Mystic Mondays: The Astro Alignment Deck, a brand-new set from Grace Duong, founder and designer of Mystic Mondays. - Features 80 full-color Astro Alignment cards: Discover the insights of each of 80 signs, modalities, planets, cosmic phenomena, and more, rendered in stunning colors and vivid details on these durable divination cards. - Includes flexibound guidebook: An accompanying 112-page guidebook features astrological profiles and enchanted rituals for using the cards. - Deluxe keepsake box: Housed in a magnetic-closure keepsake box, with a separate, shrink-wrapped interior travel box for the cards, this one-of-a-kind collection is a must-have for modern mystics. A note on packaging: In order to help honor our planet and reduce waste, we have only shrink wrapped the interior cosmic creature cards, rather than the keepsake box. Please feel confident that your product is not defective or used, but rather represents a step we are taking to protect our collective home. When you open your deck, you will find that the actual cards inside the box are shrink wrapped for protection and to ensure first use by the buyer.

State and Sufism in Iraq is the first comprehensive study of the Iraqi Ba'th regime's (r. 1968-2003) entanglement with Sufis and of Sunni Sufi Islam in Iraq from the late Ottoman period until 2003 and beyond. For far too long, the secular and authoritarian Ba'th regime has been reduced to the dictator Saddam Husayn and portrayed as antireligious. Its growing political employment of Islam during the 1990s, in turn, has been interpreted either as an abstract Ba'thist-nationalist Islam or as an ideological U-turn from secularism to a form of Islamism that ultimately contributed to the spread of Islamist terrorism after 2003. Broadening the narrow focus on Saddam Husayn, this book analyses other leading regime figures, their close entanglement with Sufis, and Ba'th religious politics of a state-sponsored revival of Sufi Islam and Iraq's broad and distinct Sufi culture. It is the story of a secular regime's search for "moderate" Islam in order to overcome the challenges of radical Islamism and sectarianism in Iraq. The book's two-pronged interdisciplinary approach that deals equally with politics and Sufi Islam in Iraq makes it a valuable contribution to scholars and students in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Religious Anthropology and Sociology, Political Science, and International Relations.

This book examines the history of, and the contestations on, Islam and the nature of religious change in 20th century Pakistan, focusing in particular on movements of Islamic reform and revival. This book is the first to bring the different facets of Islam, particularly Islamic reformism and shrine-oriented traditions, together within the confines of a single study ranging from the colonial to post-colonial era. Using a rich corpus of Urdu and Arabic material including biographical accounts, Sufi discourses (malfuzat), letter collections, polemics and unexplored archival sources, the author investigates how Islamic reformism and shrine-oriented religiosity interacted with one another in the post-colonial state of Pakistan. Focusing on the district of Mianwali in Pakistani northwestern Punjab, the book demonstrates how reformist ideas could only effectively find space to permeate after accommodating Sufi thoughts and practices; the text-based religious identity coalesced with overlapped traditional religious rituals and practices. The book proceeds to show how reformist Islam became the principal determinant of Islamic identity in the post-colonial state of Pakistan and how one of its defining effects was the hardening of religious boundaries. Challenging the approach of viewing the contestation between reformist and shrine-oriented Islam through the lens of binaries modern/traditional and moderate/extremist, this book makes an important contribution to the field of South Asian religion and Islam in modern South Asia.

Thinking about ultimate reality is becoming increasingly transreligious. This transreligious turn follows inevitably from the discovery of divine truths in multiple traditions. Global communications bring the full range of religious ideas and practices to anyone with access to the internet. Moreover, the growth of the "nones" and those who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious" creates a pressing need for theological thinking not bound by prescribed doctrines and fixed rituals. This book responds to this vital need. The chapters in this volume each examine the claim that if the aim of theology is to know and articulate all we can about the divine reality, and if revelations, enlightenments, and insights into that reality are not limited to a single tradition, then what is called for is a theology without confessional restrictions. In other words, a Theology Without Walls. To ground the project in examples, the volume provides emerging models of transreligious inquiry. It also includes sympathetic critics who raise valid concerns that such a theology must face. This is a book that will be of urgent interest to theologians, religious studies scholars, and philosophers of religion. It will be especially suitable for those interested in comparative theology, inter-religious and interfaith understanding, new trends in constructive theology, normative religious studies, and global philosophy of religion.

Studying the history of the notion of the 'Perfect Human' (al-insan al-kamil), this book investigates a key idea in the history of Sufism. First discussed by Ibn 'Arabi and later treated in greater depth by al-Jili, the idea left its mark on later Islamic mystical, metaphysical, and political thought, from North Africa to Southeast Asia, up until modern times. The research tells the story of the development of that idea from Ibn 'Arabi to al-Jili and beyond. It does so through a thematic study, based on close reading of primary sources in Arabic and Persian, of the key elements of the idea, including the idea that the Perfect Human is a locus of divine manifestation (mazhar), the concept of the 'Pole' (qutb) and the 'Muhammadan Reality' (al-haqiqah al-Muhammadiyyah), and the identity of the Perfect Human. By setting the work of al-Jili against the background of earlier Ibn 'Arabian treatments of the idea, it demonstrates that al-Jili took the idea of the Perfect Human in several new directions, with major consequences for how the Prophet Muhammad - the archetypal Perfect Human - was viewed in later Islamic thought. Introducing readers to the key Sufi idea of the Perfect Human (al-insan al-kamil), this volume will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Sufism, Islam, religion and philosophy.

This study of Galilee in modern times reaches back to the region's Biblical roots and points to future challenges in the Arab-Jewish conflict, Israel's development, and inter-faith relations. This volume covers an array of subjects, including Kabbalah, the rise of Palestinian nationalism, modern Christian approaches to Galilee's past and present, Zionist pioneering, the roots of the Arab-Jewish dispute, and the conflict's eruption in Galilee in 1948. The book shows how the modernization of Galilee intertwined with mystical belief and practice, developing in its own grassroots way among Palestinians, Orthodox Jews, Christians, and Druze, rather than being a byproduct of Western intervention. In doing so, The History of Galilee, 1538-1949: Mysticism, Modernization, and War offers fresh, challenging perspectives for scholars in the history of religion, military history, theology, world politics, middle eastern studies, and other disciplines.

This thematic introduction to classical Islamic philosophy focuses on the most prevalent philosophical debates of the medieval Islamic world and their importance within the history of philosophy. Approaching the topics in a comprehensive and accessible way in this new volume, Luis Xavier Lopez-Farjeat, one of the co-editors of The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy, makes classical Islamic philosophy approachable for both the new and returning student of the history of philosophy, medieval philosophy, the history of ideas, classical Islamic intellectual history, and the history of religion. Providing readers with a complete view of the most hotly contested debates in the Islamic philosophical tradition, Lopez-Farjeat discusses the development of theology (kalam) and philosophy ( falsafa) during the 'Abbasid period, including the translation of Aristotle into Arabic, the philosophy and theology of Islamic revelation, logic and philosophy of language, philosophy of natural science, metaphysics, psychology and cognition, and ethics and political philosophy. This volume serves as an indispensable tool for teachers, students, and independent learners aiming to discover the philosophical problems and ideas that defined the classical Islamic world. Key Features * Offers readers a broad, thorough view of the history of Islamic philosophy by using a thematic approach. * Traces the dialogues between philosophers and theologians about important and controversial topics. * Offers both historical descriptions of the key debates in classical Islamic philosophy and current interpretations by contemporary scholars. * Includes extensive lists for further reading at the end of each chapter, directing curious students to the best avenues for further research.

This thematic introduction to classical Islamic philosophy focuses on the most prevalent philosophical debates of the medieval Islamic world and their importance within the history of philosophy. Approaching the topics in a comprehensive and accessible way in this new volume, Luis Xavier Lopez-Farjeat, one of the co-editors of The Routledge Companion to Islamic Philosophy, makes classical Islamic philosophy approachable for both the new and returning student of the history of philosophy, medieval philosophy, the history of ideas, classical Islamic intellectual history, and the history of religion. Providing readers with a complete view of the most hotly contested debates in the Islamic philosophical tradition, Lopez-Farjeat discusses the development of theology (kalam) and philosophy ( falsafa) during the 'Abbasid period, including the translation of Aristotle into Arabic, the philosophy and theology of Islamic revelation, logic and philosophy of language, philosophy of natural science, metaphysics, psychology and cognition, and ethics and political philosophy. This volume serves as an indispensable tool for teachers, students, and independent learners aiming to discover the philosophical problems and ideas that defined the classical Islamic world. Key Features * Offers readers a broad, thorough view of the history of Islamic philosophy by using a thematic approach. * Traces the dialogues between philosophers and theologians about important and controversial topics. * Offers both historical descriptions of the key debates in classical Islamic philosophy and current interpretations by contemporary scholars. * Includes extensive lists for further reading at the end of each chapter, directing curious students to the best avenues for further research.

Between 2007 and 2011, Michael Eigen gave three seminars in Seoul, each running over three days and covering different aspects of psychoanalysis, spirituality and the human psyche. This book is based on a transcription of the third seminar, which took place in 2011, on the subject of Pain and Beauty. The first two were published as Madness and Murder (2010) and Faith and Transformation (2011). A conjunction of the pain that shatters and beauty that heals is made by many authors, including Bion, Winnicott, Milner, Meltzer, Perls, Ehrenzweig, Matte-Blanco, Schneur Zalman, Chuang-Tzu, Buber, Castaneda, and Levinas. These and others are used as windows of the psyche, adding to possibilities of experience and opening dimensions that bring us life. Eigen explores challenges of the human psyche, what we are up against and the resources difficulties can stimulate. This work spans many dimensions of human experience with interplay, fusions and oppositions of pain, beauty, terror, and wonder, and makes use of poetic and philosophical expressions of experience. It will be vital reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and all those with an interest in psychoanalytic and spiritual psychology.