The Non-Jew in Kabbalistic Literature by the Circle of Sefer Ha-Temunah and Its Influence in Eastern Europe

Abstract

Abstract: Over the centuries, the religious images and discourse that shaped the image of the Other affected the intricate web of relations between Jews and non-­ Jews, generating a range of attitudes toward non-­ Jews in various periods and locations. Interestingly, several eastern European kabbalistic homilies reveal a moderate approach toward non-­ Jews, arguing for an essential spiritual partnership. Their authors adopted esoteric traditions that diverge from the radically polemical, negative attitude of the Zohar and the kabbalists of sixteenth-­ century Safed, according to which the non-­ Jew is the ultimate Other: evil, impure, and even demonic. Despite the important role of the Safed traditions in molding kabbalistic thought, these kabbalists propounded ideas found in works by the circle of Sefer Ha-­ temunah. These texts served as the basis on which some eastern European kabbalists justified a new attitude toward the surrounding non-­ Jews, making them spiritual partners in the messianic process.