Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Religious experience > Mysticism
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Jewish Mysticism - The Infinite Expression of Freedom (Paperback, New edition)
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Jewish Mysticism - The Infinite Expression of Freedom (Paperback, New edition)
Series: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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Mysticism, which transcends the boundaries of time and space and
refers to a reality not grasped by means of ordinary human
cognition, is one of the central sources of inspiration of
religious thought. It is an attempt to decode the mystery of divine
existence by penetrating to the depths of consciousness through
language, memory, myth, and symbolism. Delving deep into the
psyche, mystics strive to redeem perceived reality from its
immediate meaning. Mystical texts constitute a history of this
religious creativity, of man's attempt to reveal the divine
structure underlying the chaos of reality and thereby endow life
with hope and purpose. By offering an alternative perspective on
the world that gives expression to yearnings for freedom and
change, mysticism engenders new modes of authority and leadership;
as such it plays a decisive role in moulding religious and social
history. For all these reasons, the mystical corpus deserves study
and discussion in the framework of cultural criticism and research.
This study is a lyrical exposition of the Jewish mystical
phenomenon. It is based on a close reading of the hundreds of
volumes written by Jewish mystics and incorporates mystical
testimonies drawn from the different countries and cultural
environments in which Jews have lived. Rachel Elior's purpose is to
present, as accurately as possible, the meanings of the mystical
works as they were perceived by their creators and readers. At the
same time, she contextualizes them within the boundaries of the
religion, culture, language, and spiritual and historical
circumstances in which the destiny of the Jewish people has
evolved. The author succeeds in drawing the reader into a mystical
world. With great intensity, she conveys the richness of the
mystical experience in discovering the infinity of meaning embedded
in the sacred text; teasing out the recurring themes, she explains
the multivalent symbols. Using copious extracts from Jewish
mystical sources, she illustrates the varieties of the mystical
experience from antiquity to the twentieth century. She succeeds in
eloquently conveying how mystics try to decipher reality by
penetrating beyond its apparent boundaries: how they experience
spiritual powers symbolically, imaginatively, or visually; how
hidden truths are revealed in visions or dreams, in an epiphany or
as 'lightning'; how they are 'engraved' in the mind or illuminate
in the soul. Most of the texts she draws on are written in very
obscure language, but the skilful translations communicate the
mystical experiences vividly and make it easy for the reader to
understand how Elior uses them to explain the relationship between
the revealed world and the hidden world and between the mystical
world and the traditional religious world, with all the social and
religious tensions this has caused.
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