Challenging the notion that Jewish mysticism ceased to exist in the Hassidic enclaves of early nineteenth century Europe, Hamutal Bar-Yosef delves into the mystical elements of 20th century Israeli literature. Exploring themes such as unity, death, and sex, Bar-Yosef traces the influence and the trends towards secular mysticism found in Russian, Yiddish, and early Hebrew writers, and examines the impact of Zionism in creating a modern, living mystical literature. This is an exciting new text for anyone studying modern Hebrew literature.

One of the foremost 13th-century Persian mystics, 'Aziz Nasafi, with his simple manner of explaining God, his essence, attributes and acts in the language of theologians and philosophers, provides the western reader with an overview of all the major interpretations of medieval Islamic thought. One of his main achievements was to synthesize the ideas of prominent Sufi masters such as Ibn 'Arabi, Najm al-Din Kubra and Abu Hafs 'Umar Suhrawardi into a coherent whole, thus establishing his own place as an authority of speculative Sufism. At the same time, Nasafi's explanations of various Muslim religious doctrines - supererogatory worship, asceticism and devotion to God - cast light on the practical aspect of Sufism. Hence the popularity, wherever Persian was spoken, of his works, manuscripts of which were collected in libraries and private collections all over the Muslim world. Providing a selection in English of Nasafi's treatises, Dr Ridgeon's work offers the western student of Islam a guide to the speculative and practical dimensions of Sufism. The first two treatises are short but complete works (entitled "The most sublime goal" and "Quintessence of realities") which focus on vari

Sufism formed one of the cultures of resistance which has existed in the social fabric of Persia since antiquity. Such resistance continues to manifest itself today with many looking to Sufism as a model of cooperation between East and West, between traditional and modern. 'Sufism in the Secret History of Persia' explores the place of Sufi mysticism in Iran's intellectual and spiritual consciousness through traditional and contemporary Sufi thinkers and writers. Sufism in the Secret History of Persia examines the current of spirituality which extends from the old Iranian worship of Mithra to modern Islam. This current always contains elements of gnosis and inner knowing, but has often provided impetus for socio-political resistance. The study describes how these persisting pre-Islamic cultural and socio-religious elements have secretly challenged Muslim orthodoxies and continue to shape the nature and orientation of contemporary Sufism.

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Sufi oral discourse in Senegal is overwhelmingly dominated by stories about past and current shaykhs. An important corpus of oral narratives about Sufi clerics is not only (re)told by Sufi speakers throughout Senegal but also in the Senegalese diasporas in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. These accounts are interwoven by multiple speakers among followers of Senegalese Sufi brotherhoods and passed down from generation to generation in Senegal and its diasporas. The weaving together and spreading of such texts themselves are part of the Sufi praxis. These oral texts, deeply rooted in their context of production, which dictates their form and functions, are still generally unknown to scholars of Islam in Senegal and West Africa. By filling this gap, this book contributes to the discourse of religions in general and Sufi Islam in particular.

Long ago, mystics believed that along with every renewal of the phases of the Moon came shifts within the souls of all stones, plants, animals, and yes, even humans. This book highlights these shifts and explains how we are affected by them, how to tap into them for wholesome living, and how to engage obstacles we might encounter along the way. Drawing from a rich treasury of ancient Hebraic mystery wisdom and her many years of experience as a spiritual healer and counselor, Miriam Maron introduces us to the remarkable interplay between the months of the yearly cycle and tribal archetypes in the Hebraic tradition. She discusses each month's corresponding animal, mineral, and plant totems. In Ancient Moon Wisdom, one will discover important life lessons from the histories and mythologies surrounding these archetypes and the deeper meanings behind each of their corresponding months-all of which will prove helpful in one's personal unfolding.

Both in everyday language and religious metaphor, the heart often embodies the true self and is considered to be the seat of emotion in many cultures. Many Muslim thinkers have attempted to clarify the nature of Sufism using its metaphorical image, particularly in the tenth and eleventh centuries.

This book examines the work of Ab T lib al-Makk and his wider significance within the Sufi tradition, with a focus on the role of the heart. Analysing his most significant work, "Q t al-qul b" ( The Nourishment of Hearts ), the author goes beyond an examination of the themes of the book to explore its influence not only in the writing of Sufis, but also of Hanbal and Jewish scholars.

Providing a comprehensive overview of the world of al-Makk and presenting extracts from his book on religious characteristics of the heart with selected passages in translation for the first time in English, this book will give readers a better understanding not only of the essential features of Sufism, but also the nature of mysticism and its relation to monotheistic faiths.

Use your mantram when you're ill or anxious, tired or restless, and it will guide you and comfort you like a true friend. The Mantram, or mantra, is a short, powerful, spiritual formula from the world's great traditions, repeated silently in the mind, anytime, anywhere. Easwaran, the author of Passage Meditation and the best-selling translations of The Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads and The Dhammapada, taught the use of the mantram for forty years as part of his passage meditation program.The mantram can help you to steady your mind and free it from anxiety, anger or resentment. Easwaran explains how the mantram works, and gives practical guidelines for using it to focus your thoughts and access deeper resources of strength, patience, and love.

The Path of Worshippers to the Paradise of the Lord of the Universe is an authoritative book and a guideline on practical Sufism ('irfan-i 'amali). It is also a mirror to the soul of its author. In this book Ghazzali speaks not only as a scholar but also as a master and sincerely shares his spiritual experiences with his readers in a simple language and an intimate tone. These qualities of the book penetrate into the depth of the heart of the reader. The importance of the book lies in the fact that its author was the most prominent theologian and jurist of his time and its teachings are as valid today as they were when the author wrote the book just before his death in 505/1111.

The Path of Worshippers to the Paradise of the Lord of the Universe is an authoritative book and a guideline on practical Sufism ('irfan-i 'amali). It is also a mirror to the soul of its author. In this book Ghazzali speaks not only as a scholar but also as a master and sincerely shares his spiritual experiences with his readers in a simple language and an intimate tone. These qualities of the book penetrate into the depth of the heart of the reader. The importance of the book lies in the fact that its author was the most prominent theologian and jurist of his time and its teachings are as valid today as they were when the author wrote the book just before his death in 505/1111.

Le Clezio's Spiritual Quest is the first English language book to address the development of this Nobel Prize winner's spiritual ideas and the first book in any language to focus on his abiding interest in the philosophy of Parmenides, Sufism, and Meso-American religion. Le Clezio's Spiritual Quest explains many puzzling features of his work from this philosophical perspective, including the relative absence of dialogue in his novels and short stories, his portrayals of mystical experiences, his intensely poetic prose, his treatment of time as the repetition of history, and his struggles to develop a persuasive ethical system. Le Clezio is not merely postcolonial, he creates a new kind of spiritual understanding of the cosmos by drawing on sources that have little connection to the main religious and spiritual traditions of the Western and Eastern worlds. Le Clezio's Spiritual Quest offers an important supplement to French studies of his work, which have explored his works in the context of his French sources. It concludes with a consideration of artistic dilemmas posed by this Nobel Prize-winning author, whose experimental fiction merges poetry, essay, fiction, and philosophy in ways that are enlightening, fresh, and yet often challenging to read. This book guides undergraduate and graduate students of French literature as well as scholars of literature and contemporary ideas to reflect on Le Clezio as a representation of a new direction in philosophical and spiritual voyaging because of his remarkable independence from many contemporary debates and his choice to seek new foundations for human thought in dead religions and what many have considered marginal philosophical and religious traditions.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries secular French scholars started re-engaging with religious ideas, particularly mystical ones. Mysticism in the French Tradition introduces key philosophical undercurrents and trajectories in French thought that underpin and arise from this engagement, as well as considering earlier French contributions to the development of mysticism. Filling a gap in the literature, the book offers critical reflections on French scholarship in terms of its engagement with its mystical and apophatic dimensions. A multiplicity of factors converge to shape these encounters with mystical theology: feminist, devotional and philosophical treatments as well as literary, historical, and artistic approaches. The essays draw these into conversation. Bringing together an international and interdisciplinary range of contributions from both new and established scholars, this book provides access to the melting pot out of which the mystical tradition in France erupted in the twenty-first century, and from which it continues to challenge theology today.

Tis title provides impressive dossier on the phenomenon of Saturnism, offering a new interpretation of aspects of Judaism, including the emergence of Sabbateanism. This book explores the phenomenon of Saturnism, namely the belief that the planet Saturn, as described by ancient astrology, influenced Jews, reverberating into Jewish life. Taking into consideration the astrological aspects of Judaism, Moshe Idel demonstrates that they were instrumental in the conviction that Sabbatei Tzevei, the mid-17th-century messianic figure in Rabbinic Judaism, was indeed the Messiah. Offering a new approach to the study of this mass-movement known as Sabbateanism, Idel also explores the possible impact of astrology on the understanding of Sabbath as related to sorcery and thus to the concept of the encounter of witches in the late 14th and early 15th century. This book further analyzes aspects of 20th-century scholarship and thought influenced by Saturnism, particularly lingering themes in the works of Gershom Scholem and seminal figure Walter Benjamin. "The Robert and Arlene Kogod Library of Judaic Studies" publishes new research which provides new directions for modern Jewish thought and life and which serves to enhance the quality of dialogue between classical sources and the modern world. This book series reflects the mission of the Shalom Hartman Institute, a pluralistic research and leadership institute, at the forefront of Jewish thought and education. It empowers scholars, rabbis, educators and layleaders to develop new and diverse voices within the tradition, laying foundations for the future of Jewish life in Israel and around the world.

"Tessas deep intimacy with Teresa of Avila . . . creates an invitational space for readers of any tradition (or none) to enter into their own transformational relationship with the wild woman of Avila."Mirabai Starr. This fresh, upbeat, and deftly profound book joyfully reconnects the fullness of our lives and the depth of our prayer. Much more than yet another book about a great saint who once was, it actually rekindles something of St. Teresas outrageous spiritual impulse for contemporary readers, particularly those who describe themselves as "spiritual, not religious." Tessa Bielecki is the author of several books on St. Teresa of Avila, as well as a former Abbess. "

Reading Jewish Religious Texts introduces students to a range of significant post-biblical Jewish writing. It covers diverse genres such as prayer and liturgical poetry, biblical interpretation, religious law, philosophy, mysticism and works of ethical instruction. Each text is newly translated into English and accompanied by a detailed explanation to help clarify the concepts and arguments. The commentary also situates the work within its broader historical and ideological context, giving readers an enhanced appreciation of its place in the Jewish religious experience. This volume includes a comprehensive timeline, glossary and bibliography.

'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (1641 to1731) was the most outstanding scholarly Sufi of Ottoman Syria. He was regarded as the leading religious poet of his time and as an excellent commentator of classical Sufi texts. At the popular level, he has been read as an interpreter of symbolic dreams. Moreover, he played a crucial role in the transmission of the teachings of the Naqshabandiyya in the Ottoman Empire, and he contributed to the eighteenth-century Sufi revival via his disciples. This pioneering book analyzes important aspects of al-Nabulusi's work and places him in the historical context.

In recent years, many historians of Islamic mysticism have been grappling in sophisticated ways with the difficulties of essentialism. Reconceptualising the study of Islamic mysticism during an under-researched period of its history, this book examines the relationship between Sufism and society in the Muslim world, from the fall of the Abbasid caliphate to the heyday of the great Ottoman, Mughal and Safavid empires.

Treating a heretofore under-researched period in the history of Sufism, this work establishes previously unimagined trajectories for the study of mystical movements as social actors of real historical consequence. Thematically organized, the book includes case studies drawn from the Middle Eastern, Turkic, Persian and South Asian regions by a group of scholars whose collective expertise ranges widely across different historical, geographical, and linguistic landscapes. Chapters theorise why, how, and to what ends we might reconceptualise some of the basic methodologies, assumptions, categories of thought, and interpretative paradigms which have heretofore shaped treatments of Islamic mysticism and its role in the social, cultural and political history of pre-modern Muslim societies.

Proposing novel and revisionist treatments of the subject based on the examination of many under-utilized sources, the book draws on a number of disciplinary perspectives and methodological approaches, from art history to religious studies. As such, it will appeal to students and scholars of Middle East studies, religious history, Islamic studies and Sufism.

Reading Jewish Religious Texts introduces students to a range of significant post-biblical Jewish writing. It covers diverse genres such as prayer and liturgical poetry, biblical interpretation, religious law, philosophy, mysticism and works of ethical instruction. Each text is newly translated into English and accompanied by a detailed explanation to help clarify the concepts and arguments. The commentary also situates the work within its broader historical and ideological context, giving readers an enhanced appreciation of its place in the Jewish religious experience. This volume includes a comprehensive timeline, glossary and bibliography.

Focusing on the Maijbhandari movement in Chittagong, south-eastern Bangladesh, which claims the status of the only Sufi order originated in Bengal and which has gained immense popularity in recent years, this book provides a comprehensive picture of an important aspect of contemporary Bengali Islam in the South Asian context.

Expertise in South Asian languages and literatures is combined with ethnographic field work and theoretical formulations from a range of disciplines, including cultural anthropology, Islamic studies and religious studies. Analysing the Maijbhandaris tradition of Bengali spiritual songs, one of the largest popular song traditions in Bengal, the book presents an in-depth study of Bengali Sufi theology, hagiography and Maijbhandari esoteric songs, as well as a discussion of what Bengali Islam is. It is a useful contribution to South Asia Studies, as well as Islamic Studies.

The two theories of divine love that are examined in this book have their foundations in Greek, Jewish, Christian and Muslim ideas. Al-GhazA[lA(R) (twelfth century) was influenced mainly by Plato and Ibn Sina's teachings, while al-DabbA[gh (thirteenth century), who accepted some GhazA[lA(R)an notions, developed a theory of divine love that can be traced back to Neoplatonism. Both scholars created complete theories of divine love that include definitions of love, its causes and signs, the ways to love God, God's love for man, and kinds of love. The book will interest students of theology, philosophy and mysticism in general, and students of Islam in particular.

With the rise of the various intellectual streams in the Western world in the second half of the twentieth century, modern Arab poets recognized the need to promote the Arabic poem. They knew that the road of self exploration and promotion begins in the ancestral legacy. The Road to Self-Revival explores the tendency of modern Arabic poetry to summon Sufi figures, thinking, philosophy, terms, attitudes and practices. Specifically, this volume focuses on the poetry of four Arab modernists: Abdul Wahab al-Bayyati (1926-1999), Ali Ahmad Said known as Adonis (1930-), Salah Abdu-s-Sabur (1931-1981) and Mahmud Darwish (1941-2008). The book traces a number of Sufi figures in the poetry of these poets: Bishr ibnul-Harith Al-Hafi (767-840), Al-Husain Ben Mansur Al-Hallaj (858-922), Farid ed-Din Al-'Attar (1145/46-1221), Muhyi ed-Din bnul-'Arabi (1165-1240) and Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi (1207-1273).

Arthur Edward Waite writes "The Book of Ceremonial Magic" as a newer and more accurate edition of his previous title "The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts," written in 1898. As most ancient texts on magical literature are rare and hard to come by, it becomes very difficult for modern scholars to ascertain an accurate knowledge of ancient spells and rituals. Waite responds to this lack of accessible literature and approaches this text as a methodical and systematic account of magical procedures of the past. He remains faithful to the original sources before making any conclusions by way of his thorough research methods.

Part I provides the reader with essential passages from leading magical texts from the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries. Part II is a more systematically organized version of these ancient texts, adapted by A.E. Waite to the ways of the modern academic. This volume remains one of the best sources of magical procedure, touching on such topics as gods, costume, and the planets and their relation to the supernatural. Although disapproving of the application of magic and the black arts in his introduction, Waite nonetheless defends those victims persecuted throughout history because of their participation in these superstitious beliefs. He also speaks positively about astrology and alchemy, noting them as more important categories of the magical arts. Through this volume, the contemporary reader can finally begin to understand the beliefs in the black arts that were so deeply rooted in our civilization's past.

Durante cuarenta das Dios le dio a Mary Kathryn Baxter visiones del infierno y la comision para que se las contase a todos a fin de que escojan la vida. He aqu un recuento de ese lugar y de los seres que lo poblan vistos en contraste con las glorias del cielo. Se trata de algo que nos recuerda la necesidad que todos tenemos del milagro de la salvacin. Over a period of forty days, God gave Mary K. Baxter visions of hell and commissioned her to tell all to choose life. Here is an account of the place and beings of hell contrasted with the glories of heaven. It is a reminder of the need each of us has for the miracle of salvation.