The Chosen Will Become Herds

“The first comprehensive survey of the major developments in the history of Kabbalah as well as the spiritual life in Israel in the twentieth-century…This is an original piece of scholarship, written by a first-rank scholar.”—Moshe Idel

-- Moshe Idel

“Garb's monograph is the grounding study of twentieth-century Kabbalah. The volume offers a profound appreciation of the social and political forces in play amongst the schools that study and produce Kabbalistic literature in our day.”—Daniel Abrams, Bar Ilan University, Editor of Kabbalah: Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts

-- Daniel Abrams
“Jonathan Garb traces the astonishing transformation of the Kabbalah from an obscure, initially devalued scholarly domain to a bold, generative movement of twentieth-century mystical speculation. His approach is at once critical, skeptical, and empathic in the finest sense of the word, and the story he tells is illumined by a broad comparative vision and by his immense erudition in the classical Jewish sources. This essay is an exemplary instance of modern, historically informed comparative religion.”—David Shulman, Hebrew University -- David Shulman

"The best book I've read on modern Jewish mysticism. Jonathan Garb gives us an insightful overview of contemporary Kabbalah and Hasidism, including the impact of Zionism, postmodernism, New Age, and the internet."—David R. Loy, author of Nonduality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy

-- David R. Loy
“Jonathan Garb presents a fascinating picture of the latest phase of development in Jewish Mysticism, in particular its complete break with esoteric restrictions and traditions.”—Moshe Halbertal, New York University School of Law -- Moshe Halbertal
"Garb shows how 20th-century Kabbalah impacted multiple political, religious, and cultural arenas in Israel and beyond. Simply put, this is the best available map of modern Kabbalah."—William Parsons, Rice University -- William Par