Absorbing Perfections: Kabbalah and Interpretation
Absorbing Perfections: Kabbalah and Interpretation
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Abstract
In this wide-ranging discussion of Kabbalah—from the mystical trends of medieval Judaism to modern Hasidism—this book considers different visions of the nature of the sacred text and of the methods to interpret it. It takes as a starting point the fact that the postbiblical Jewish world lost its geographical center with the destruction of the temple and so was left with a textual center, the Holy Book. The author argues that a text-oriented religion produced language-centered forms of mysticism. Against this background, he demonstrates how various Jewish mystics amplified the content of the Scriptures so as to include everything: the world, or God, for example. Thus the text becomes a major realm for contemplation, and the interpretation of the text frequently becomes an encounter with the deepest realms of reality. The author delineates the particular hermeneutics belonging to Jewish mysticism, investigates the progressive filling of the text with secrets and hidden levels of meaning, and considers in detail the various interpretive strategies needed to decodify the arcane dimensions of the text.
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Front Matter
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Introduction
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1
The World-Absorbing Text
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2
The God-Absorbing Text: Black Fire on White Fire
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3
Text and Interpretation Infinities in Kabbalah
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4
The Book that Contains and Maintains All
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5
Magical and Magical-Mystical Arcanizations of Canonical Books
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6
Torah Study and Mystical Experiences in Jewish Mysticism
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7
Secrecy, Binah, and Derishah
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8
Semantics, Constellation, and Interpretation
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9
Radical Forms of Jewish Hermeneutics
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10
The Symbolic Mode in Theosophical-Theurgical Kabbalah
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11
Allegories, Divine Names, and Experiences in Ecstatic Kabbalah
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12
Tzerufei 'Otiyyot: Mutability and Accommodation of the Torah in Jewish Mysticism
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13
Tradition, Transmission, and Techniques
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14
Concluding Remarks
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End Matter
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Appendix 1
Pardes: The Fourfold Method of Interpretation
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Appendix 2
Abraham Abulafia's Torah of Blood and Ink
- Appendix 3 R. Isaac of Acre's Exegetical Quandary
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Appendix 4
The Exile of the Torah and the Imprisonment of Secrets
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Appendix 5
On Oral Torah and Multiple Interpretations in Hasidism
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Appendix 6
“Book of God”/“Book of Law” in Late-Fifteenth-Century Florence
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Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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Appendix 1
Pardes: The Fourfold Method of Interpretation
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