The Kiss of God: Spiritual and Mystical Death in Judaism

The lines of Michael Fishbane’s book trace the spiritual face of Judaism in one of its many appearances. Fishbane explores the quest for spiritual perfection in early rabbinic sources and in Jewish philosophy and mysticism. The “kiss of God,” a symbol for union with God, and the ritual practices—meditation and performance—connected with it are presented.

The book identifies a persistent passion for religious perfection, expressed as the love of God unto death itself. The masters of the tradi...