Gershom Scholem (1897-1982) was ostensibly a scholar of Jewish
mysticism, yet he occupies a powerful role in today's intellectual
imagination, having an influential contact with an extraordinary
cast of thinkers, including Hans Jonas, Martin Buber, Walter
Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, and Theodor Adorno. In this first
biography of Scholem, Amir Engel shows how Scholem grew from a
scholar of an esoteric discipline to a thinker wrestling with
problems that reach to the very foundations of the modern human
experience. As Engel shows, in his search for the truth of Jewish
mysticism Scholem molded the vast literature of Jewish mystical
lore into a rich assortment of stories that unveiled new truths
about the modern condition. Positioning Scholem's work and life
within early twentieth-century Germany, Palestine, and later the
state of Israel, Engel intertwines Scholem's biography with his
historiographical work, which stretches back to the Spanish
expulsion of Jews in 1492, through the lives of Rabbi Isaac Luria
and Sabbatai Zevi, and up to Hasidism and the dawn of the Zionist
movement. Through parallel narratives, Engel touches on a wide
array of important topics including immigration, exile, Zionism,
World War One, and the creation of the state of Israel, ultimately
telling the story of the realizations--and failures--of a dream for
a modern Jewish existence.
General
Imprint: |
University of Chicago Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Studies in German-Jewish Cultural History and Literature, Fr |
Release date: |
September 2019 |
Authors: |
Amir Engel
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 28mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
240 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-226-68332-4 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-226-68332-X |
Barcode: |
9780226683324 |
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