From Tiberias, with Love: A Collection of Tiberian Hasidism. Volume 2: R. Abraham ha-Kohen of Kalisk

by Aubrey L. Glazer (Editor), Nehemia Polen (Editor)

Overview

From Tiberias, With Love is a journey to rediscovering the magic and mystery, the intimacy and depth of a lost moment in the history of a remarkably relevant conscious community in the Galilee that still has much to teach us. In the year 1777, a group of spiritual seekers from Eastern Europe set sail in search of a promised land, far away from the internal and external conflicts plaguing those souls seeking the infinite within this finite world. Some who set sail identified with the burgeoning Jewish spiritual renewal movement of hasidism, while others seem to have just come along for the ride. Weathering challenges both socio-economic and geographic, this emigrating group sought to establish a center for a burgeoning hasidic ethos that would radiate to the Diaspora from its renewed center in the Holy Land in Palestine. Tiberian Hasidism provides a model of an intensive contemplative life that is particularly appealing to contemporary spiritual seekers for many reasons, including: its deep focus on mystical theology; devotional practice; and the ecstasy of deep friendship rather than allegiance to an institutionalized religion. This volume focuses on the teachings of R. Abraham haCohen of Kalisk ripe for excavation, offering an authentic roadmap to future contemplative pathways ripe for our age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644694565
Publisher:	Academic Studies Press
Publication date:	01/26/2021
Pages:	418
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Aubrey L. Glazer is senior rabbi of Congregation Shaare Zion and director of Panui, an incubator for contemplative practice and conscious community building. Aubrey’s most recent books include Mystical Vertigo (Academic Studies Press, 2013) and Tangle of Matter & Ghost: Leonard Cohen’s Post-Secular Songbook of Mysticism(s) Jewish & Beyond (Academic Studies Press, 2017).

Nehemia Polen is Professor of Jewish Thought at Hebrew College, Newton Center, MA. A leading expert in Hasidism and Jewish thought, his books include The Holy Fire: The Teachings of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the Rebbe of the Warsaw Ghetto (Jason Aronson Inc., first ed., 1977).

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

A. Introduction

A Spiritual Portrait of R. Abraham Alexander ha-Kohen of Kalisk
Gershon D. Hundert

B. Teaching Stories II

R. Abraham of Kalisk along the Journey to the Promised Land

C. Reader’s Guide

1. R. Abraham Kalisker’s Concept of Communion with God and Man
Joseph George Weiss

2. From Mythos to Ethos: Contours of a Portrait of R. Abraham of Kalisk
Ze’ev Gries

3. Moving Mezrich: The Legacy of the Maggid and the Hasidic Community in the Land of Israel
Ariel Evan Mayse

4. Theology, Succession, and Social Structure in the Dispute between R. Abraham Kalisker and R. Shne’ur Zalman
Nehemia Polen and David Maayan

5. R. Abraham Kalisker’s Critique of Tanya
Haviva Pedaya

6. The Doctrine of R. Abraham Kalisker: The Path to Communion as the Legacy of the Bnei ‘Aliyah
Ra’aya Haran

7. Genotextual Performance between Tzaddiqim in Tiberias: Grains of the Voice Transforming R. Abraham of Kalisk and Reb Nachman of Breslov
Aubrey L. Glazer

D. Chesed le-Abraham (Selected Homilies)

Translators’ Introduction
Aubrey Glazer and Nehemia Polen

Genesis:

[1.1–1.4]. Parshat Lekh Lekha (Genesis 12:1–17:27)
[2.1–2.4]. Parshat Chayyei Sarah (Genesis 23:1–25:18)

Exodus:

[3.1–3.4]. Parshat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1–24:18)
[4.1–4.4]. Parshat Ki Tissa (Exodus 30:11–34:35)

Numbers:

[5.1–5.4]. Parshat Pinechas (Numbers 25:10 –30:1)

Deuteronomy:

[6.1–6.4]. Parshat Vaetchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11)
[7.1–7.4]. Haftarat Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9)
[8.1–8.4]. Haftarat Ki Teitzei (Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19)
[9.1–9.4]. Haftarat Ki Tavo’ (Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8)
[10.1–10.4]. Shabbat Shuva/Ro’sh ha-Shannah (Deuteronomy 26:1–29:8)

Glossary

Hebrew Critical Edition

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A truly groundbreaking study of Rabbi Abraham haCohen of Kalisk—a Hasidic master, who along with Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, lived and thought boldly. Adventurous enough to lead a group of his followers from Eastern Europe to Palestine in the 18th century, he also modeled a heart-based, ecstatic form of Jewish spirituality. Abraham of Kalisk combined intense devotional practice with mystical fellowship, exemplifying his belief that one can discover the divine both deep within oneself and through interpersonal relationship. The wide-ranging, impressive essays in this volume bring this seminal figure to life and enrich our understanding of Jewish mysticism on the cusp of modernity.”

— Daniel C. Matt, translator of Pritzker Edition of the Zohar

“For over a decade, Aubrey Glazer and Nehemia Polen have been working to explore and retrieve the spirit of Tiberian Hasidism. They represent a small group of dedicated and serious religious scholars/seekers who have found their counterparts in the 18th century. These essays and translations show early Hasidism—and contemporary scholarship—at their most profound levels. This book is a ‘must’ for both historians and seekers.”

— R. Dr. Arthur Green, Rector of Hebrew College Rabbinical School, author of Speaking Torah

“Hasidism is often thought of as a product of Eastern European Jewry, embedded in its social, political, and cultural context. While largely true, this depiction ignores the fact that some early proponents of Hasidism immigrated in Palestine and began to teach and write in Safed, Tiberias, and other locales. Drawn simply by the prospect of living in the Holy Land, or by a vision of imminent redemption, these Hasidic circles offered intriguing versions of Hasidic teaching outside of Eastern Europe. This volume is the first dedicated to Erez Israel Hasidism from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Prominent scholars engage in in-depth analysis of this Hasidic literature on the highest scholarly level. This is a must for anyone interested in Hasidism or the development of Jewish spiritual traditions more generally.”

— Shaul Magid, Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College and Kogod Senior Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America

Editorial Reviews

Tiberian versions of Hasidic teaching outside of Eastern Europe serve as a road map to future contemplative pathways for an age yearning for spiritual authenticity to rediscover the magic, mystery, and enigmatic expanded consciousness of the mystically informed contemplative life that brings glory and delight to the divine light of Hashem… The audience/readership will not only include Jewish studies academics, historians of religion, but also spiritual seekers drawn to mysticism. This carefully and clearly written important book containing scholarly essays along with translations of sefer Chesed le-Avraham accompanied by the original Hebrew, is highly recommended for all libraries.”

—David B Levy, Lander College for Women, NYC, AJL Reviews

From the Publisher