Early Jewish Mysticism Research Articles

Gilayon and “Apocalypse”: Reconsidering an Early Jewish Concept and Genre

AbstractThis paper examines various ways in which apocalyptic studies can benefit from the introduction of the term and concept of gilayon, a reconstructed Hebrew counterpart of the Judeo-Greek apocalypse. The term gilayon, which combines the meanings of “revealed book” and “book of revelation,” refers to a central image of early Jewish revealed literature and could serve to define an important corpus, the boundaries of which might well overlap with (but still differ from) what is understood by the “genre apocalypse” in modern research. Moreover, this reconstructed concept uncovers additional meanings and associations, which shed light on texts known as “apocalyptic,” and has explanatory power for many phenomena associated with them. The introduction of gilayon may modify the entire paradigm of our understanding of early Jewish mysticism and help to divert the discussion of textual genres associated with it from a phenomenological to a historical route.

Jewish Mysticism: From Ancient Times through Today

Jewish Mysticism: From Ancient Times through Today

Yahoel and Metatron. Aural Apocalypticism and the Origins of Early Jewish Mysticism, written by Andrey A. Orlov, 2017.

Yahoel and Metatron. Aural Apocalypticism and the Origins of Early Jewish Mysticism, written by Andrey A. Orlov, 2017.

With Letters of Light: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Early Jewish Apocalypticism, Magic, and Mysticism in Honor of Rachel Elior. Edited by Daphna V. Arbel and Andrei A. Orlov

With Letters of Light: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Early Jewish Apocalypticism, Magic, and Mysticism in Honor of Rachel Elior. Edited by Daphna V. Arbel and Andrei A. Orlov

The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New TestamentRowlandChristopherMorray-JonesChristopher R. A. The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament BrillLeiden, 2009, xxvii, 685, €195.00ISBN 978-90-04-17532-7

The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New TestamentRowlandChristopherMorray-JonesChristopher R. A. <i>The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament</i> BrillLeiden, 2009, xxvii, 685, €195.00ISBN 978-90-04-17532-7

The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament. By CHRISTOPHER ROWLAND and CHRISTOPHER R. A. MORRAY-JONES.

The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament. By CHRISTOPHER ROWLAND and CHRISTOPHER R. A. MORRAY-JONES.

Rabbinization and the Making of Early Jewish Mysticism

Hekhalot literature testifies to the heterogeneous nature of Jewish religious practice and authority at and across the boundaries of rabbinic Judaism. Yet, Hekhalot and rabbinic literatures do not reflect clear-cut social, cultural, and institutional divisions within Jewish society, nor are they complementary facets of a single, coherent religious system. Both of these options oversimplify the complex relationship between these rapidly evolving sites of Jewish literary culture. Rather, Hekhalot literature and the social groups that produced it were subject to the same institutional, technological, linguistic, and demographic transformations that reshaped Jewish society and culture more broadly toward the end of Late Antiquity (500–800 C.E.). The relationship between Hekhalot and rabbinic literatures can thus shed light on the dialectical process by which rabbinic authority was gradually extended into new areas of Jewish life, while itself being transformed in the process.

The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament

The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament

The Use of Water as a Medium for Altered States of Consciousness in Early Jewish Mysticism: A Cross‐Disciplinary Analysis

ABSTRACTThis article combines the disciplines of textual/linguistic analysis, anthropology, and perceptual psychology to examine selected ancient Jewish mystical texts that claim to describe the praxis for ascents into heaven and encounters with angelic spirits in order to reconstruct the psychosocial context of these literary works. Specifically, the article examines Hekhalot or “Divine Palaces” texts that deal with hydromancy, giving attention to their mythic–symbolic assumptions, their described preparatory and triggering rituals, and their accounts of the ASC (altered states of consciousness) visions resulting from these rituals that are experienced by the practitioners. The article suggests that these accounts correlate with ASC practices identified in the literature and additionally suggests that although the mystical texts are written to resemble biblical accounts of revelatory experiences, the texts under consideration are more than works of fabulous imagination; they are literary artifacts of an actual ecstatic ASC praxis among the Jews of Late Antiquity.

An Analysis of the Dialect and Early Jewish Mystical Lore in a Targumic Tosefta to Ezekiel 1.1 (Ms Gaster 1478)

AbstractCodex Manchester Gaster 1478 contains an extensively aggadic Targumic Tosefta to Ezekiel 1:1, the prelude to the prophet's vision of the divine 'throne-chariot'. This study focuses on the unique mystical lore that is preserved in this Targum. It transpires that this material sheds light on a relatively dark chapter in the reception history of early Jewish mysticism, being closely related to Hekhalot literature, and to the Shi'ur Qomah tradition in particular, with implications for the latter's dating. It is furthermore established that the intriguing mixture of Aramaic dialect use that characterizes this Tosefta-Targum bears resemblances with Late Jewish Literary Aramaic.

Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism. Edited by April D. DeConick

Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism. Edited by April D. DeConick

The Study of Heikhalot Literature: Between Mystical Experience and Textual Artifact

This essay outlines the fundamental methodological and empirical advances that the study of Heikhalot literature has experienced during the past 25 years with the aim of encouraging specialists and enabling non-specialists to approach this complex material with greater precision and sophistication. The field of early Jewish mysticism has been profoundly shaped by the increasing integration in the humanities of cultural and material histories, resulting in an increased focus on scribal practice and other material conditions that shaped the production and transmission of these texts. Against previous assumptions, recent research has shown Heikhalot literature to be a radically unstable literature. This article will review the research tools (editions, concordances, translations, etc.) that now allow for careful analysis of Heikhalot and related texts. Tracing recent research, I demonstrate how our new understanding of the fluid and heterogeneous nature of the Heikhalot corpus will better enable scholars to pursue the important work of understanding its social and religious significance, within the broader landscape of late antique and medieval religions.

Book Review: Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism

Book Review: Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism

ON THE POLEMICAL NATURE OF 2 (SLAVONIC) ENOCH: A REPLY TO C. BÖTTRICH

Adam's story occupies a prominent place in 2 Slavonic (Apocalypse of) Enoch. The traditions pertaining to the first human can be found in all the sections of the book. In these materials Adam is depicted as a glorious angelic being, predestined by God to be the ruler of the earth, but falling short of God's expectations. The article argues that the extensive presence of Adamic materials in 2 Enoch has a polemical nature since it is related to the long-lasting competition between Adamic and Enochic traditions. The analysis shows that the polemics taking place in 2 Enoch involve a rewriting of «original» Adamic motifs and themes when the details of Adam's «story» are transferred to a new «hero», the seventh antediluvian patriarch. The features of Adam's story, his roles and offices, are used in 2 Enoch as the building blocks for creating the new, celestial identity of the elevated Enoch. In the course of these polemical appropriations, the elevated angelic status of the prelapsarian Adam, his luminosity, his wisdom, and his special roles as the king of the earth and the steward of all earthly creatures are transferred to the new occupant of the celestial realm, the patriarch Enoch, who, near the Lord's throne, is transformed into one of the glorious ones initiated into the highest mysteries by the Lord, becomes the «manager of the arrangements on the earth», and writes down «everything that nourished» on it. The investigation of Adamic polemics in 2 Enoch demonstrates that a number of important passages associated with early Jewish mysticism, such as the motif of the Divine Face in chapters 22 and 39, the future prominent role of Enoch-Metatron as the governing power on the earth, and his title «Youth», belong to the primary text, since they play a decisive role in Adamic polemics of the Slavonic apocalypse.

The Liturgy of the Messiah: The Apocalypse of David in Hekhalot Literature

The connection between literature and Merkavah mysticism occupies a prominent place in the study of Hekhalot literature. The text most frequently adduced in scholarly research is the Hebrew book of Enoch, which has been characterized as a grand summary of the Jewish and mystical traditions.1 Since Gershom Scholem's account of early Jewish mysticism, the notion that traditions live on in Hekhalot literature has been generally accepted. Scholem emphasized that the Merkavah mystic's heavenly journey, the goal of which lies in beholding God on his throne, is tied to a vision of the Messianic end.2 For Scholem, the connection between throne mysticism and the messianic idea finds expression in just those short apocalyptic chapters3 which were included in the various tracts, and which for Scholem belonged to the core of Hekhalot literature.4 These short text units can be clearly differentiated from their immediate context on the basis of formal characteristics. Their

The three temples: on the emergence of Jewish mysticism

In this ground-breaking study, Rachel Elior offers a comprehensive theory of the crystallization of the early stages of the mystical tradition in Judaism based on the numerous ancient scrolls and manuscripts published in the last few decades. Her wide-ranging research, scrupulously documented, enables her to demonstrate an uninterrupted line linking the priestly traditions of the Temple, the mystical liturgical literature found in the Qumran caves and associated directly and indirectly with the Merkavah tradition of around the second and first centuries BCE, and the mystical works of the second to fifth centuries CE known as Heikhalot literature.The key factor linking all these texts, according to Professor Elior’s theory, is that many of those who wrote them were members of the priestly classes. Prevented from being able to perform the rituals of sacred service in the Temple as ordained in the biblical tradition, they channelled their religious impetus in other directions to create a new spiritual focus. The mystical tradition they developed centred first on a heavenly Chariot Throne known as the Merkavah, and later on heavenly sanctuaries known as Heikhalot. In this way the priestly class developed an alternative focus for spirituality, based on a supertemporal liturgical and ritual relationship with ministering angels in the supernal sanctuaries. This came to embrace an entire mystical world devoted to sustaining religious liturgical tradition and ritual memory in the absence of the Temple.This lyrical investigation of the origins and workings of this supernal world is sure to become a standard work in the study of early Jewish mysticism.

ON THE POLEMICAL NATURE OF 2 (SLAVONIC) ENOCH: A REPLY TO C. BÖTTRICH

AbstractAdam's story occupies a prominent place in 2 Slavonic (Apocalypse of) Enoch. The traditions pertaining to the first human can be found in all the sections of the book. In these materials Adam is depicted as a glorious angelic being, predestined by God to be the ruler of the earth, but falling short of God's expectations. The article argues that the extensive presence of Adamic materials in 2 Enoch has a polemical nature since it is related to the long-lasting competition between Adamic and Enochic traditions. The analysis shows that the polemics taking place in 2 Enoch involve a rewriting of "original" Adamic motifs and themes when the details of Adam's "story" are transferred to a new "hero," the seventh antediluvian patriarch. The features of Adam's story, his roles and offices, are used in 2 Enoch as the building blocks for creating the new, celestial identity of the elevated Enoch. In the course of these polemical appropriations, the elevated angelic status of the prelapsarian Adam, his luminosity, his wisdom, and his special roles as the king of the earth and the steward of all earthly creatures are transferred to the new occupant of the celestial realm, the patriarch Enoch, who, near the Lord's throne, is transformed into one of the glorious ones initiated into the highest mysteries by the Lord, becomes the "manager of the arrangements on the earth," and writes down "everything that nourished" on it. The investigation of Adamic polemics in 2 Enoch demonstrates that a number of important passages associated with early Jewish mysticism, such as the motif of the Divine Face in chapters 22 and 39, the future prominent role of Enoch-Metatron as the governing power on the earth, and his title "Youth," belong to the primary text, since they play a decisive role in Adamic polemics of the Slavonic apocalypse.

Shekhinah, the Virgin Mary, and the Song of Songs: Reflections on a Kabbalistic Symbol in Its Historical Context

In a book published several years ago entitled Keter: The Crown of God in Early Jewish Mysticism,1. Keter: The Crown of God in Early Jewish Mysticism. (Henceforth: Keter) Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. I tried to make a modest contribution to the ongoing discussion of Kabbalistic symbols and their origins. There I traced the evolution of a single but key symbol from its place in rabbinic aggadah and early Jewish esotericism to its fixed role in the Kabbalistic symbol system of the High Middle Ages. Here I would like to repeat that process with regard to another major symbolic element of Kabbalah, considering broadly the role of the female within the godhead, particularly under the twin rubrics of shekhinah, the indwelling Presence, and kenesset yisra'el, the hypostatized “Community of Israel.” The positing of a female aspect within the divine self has to be seen against the background of the entire tradition of Jewish imaging of God, going back to the Bible and the early rabbis. Specifically, however, I plan to show that the unequivocal feminization of shekhinah in the Kabbalah of the thirteenth century is a Jewish response to and adaptation of the revival of devotion to Mary in the twelfth century Western church.

Keter: The Crown of God in Early Jewish Mysticism. Arthur Green

<i>Keter: The Crown of God in Early Jewish Mysticism</i>. Arthur Green

Scholastic Magic: Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism

Book Review| April 01 1999 Scholastic Magic: Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism Scholastic Magic: Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism, Michael D. Swartz. David Frankfurter David Frankfurter Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Journal of Biblical Literature (1999) 118 (1): 142–144. https://doi.org/10.2307/3268239 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation David Frankfurter; Scholastic Magic: Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism. Journal of Biblical Literature 1 January 1999; 118 (1): 142–144. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/3268239 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveSBL PressJournal of Biblical Literature Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Book Reviews You do not currently have access to this content.