Kabbalah and Eros
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Yale University Press
Published:22nd Aug '05
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
In this book, the world’s foremost scholar of Kabbalah explores the understanding of erotic love in Jewish mystical thought. Encompassing Jewish mystical literatures from those of late antiquity to works of Polish Hasidism, Moshe Idel highlights the diversity of Kabbalistic views on eros and distinguishes between the major forms of eroticism.
The author traces the main developments of a religious formula that reflects the union between a masculine divine attribute and a feminine divine attribute, and he asks why such an “erotic formula” was incorporated into the Jewish prayer book. Idel shows how Kabbalistic literature was influenced not only by rabbinic literature but also by Greek thought that helped introduce a wider understanding of eros. Addressing topics ranging from cosmic eros and androgyneity to the affinity between C. J. Jung and Kabbalah to feminist thought, Idel’s deeply learned study will be of consuming interest to scholars of religion, Judaism, and feminism.
"Idel, with the brilliance and learning we have come to expect, has illuminated what went into 'the culture of eros' among a large cast of rabbbinic and kabbalistic authors. His book makes for surprising and fascinating reading."—Geoffrey Hartman, Yale University
-- Geoffrey Har- Commended for National Jewish Book Award (Scholarship) 2005
ISBN: 9780300108323
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 680g
384 pages