Jewish Mysticism: Tracing the History of Kabbalah
Moving beyond Madonna, red strings, and pop-culture, this study provides a deep, accurate, and intellectually honest understanding of the historical backdrop that led to the birth of an esoteric Jewish tradition alongside the societal and cultural changes that shaped and reshaped it throughout the centuries. This course offers learners the framework to understand how Jewish mysticism developed while utilizing the primary texts that have been central to the tradition. While deeply grounded in scholarship, each class will include discussions that address the timeless mysteries of human existence along with numerous other eternal and universal questions.
Table of Contents
Lesson 1 – The Genesis of Jewish Mysticism: Biblical and Rabbinic Encounters with God
Lesson 2 – In Search of God: The Secrets of the Chassidei Ashkenaz
Lesson 3 – The Ten Sefirot
Lesson 4 – In the Image of God: Sustaining or Destroying Through our Actions
Lesson 5 – Controversy and the Spread of Kabbalah
Lesson 6 – Sefer HaZohar: Reading from the Book of Splendor
Lesson 7 – Mystical Visions and Voices: From Spain to Safed
Lesson 8 – Lurianic Kabbalah: Creation, Destruction and Individual Tikkun
Lesson 9 – Hasidism: Seeking God in a Troubled World
Lesson 10 – Kabbalah in a New Age: 20th Century and Contemporary Forms of Jewish Mysticism
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