The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia

by Moshe Idel

Overview

This book represents the first wide-scale presentation of a major Jewish mystic, the founder of the ecstatic Kabbalah. It includes a description of the techniques employed by his master, including the role of music. There is a discussion of the characteristics of his mystical experience and the erotic imagery by which it was expressed. Based on all the extant manuscript material of Abulafia, this book opens the way to a new understanding of Jewish mysticism. It points to the importance of the ecstatic Kabbalah for the later developments in mystical Judaism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438407456
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Series:	SUNY series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Moshe Idel was Centennial Scholar in Residence at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Currently, he is Professor of Kabbalah in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Shlomo Pines

Acknowledgments

Journal Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1. Techniques for Attaining Ecstasy

Chapter 2. Music and Ecstatic Kabbalah

Chapter 3. The Mystical Experience

Chapter 4. Erotic Images for the Ecstatic Experience

Bibliography

Index of Subjects and Proper Names

Index of Titles