Once upon a time, I've learned from reading the comic strips, schoolkids coming back from summer vacation were made to write essays on "What I Did Last Summer." (Linus to Lucy: "What did I do last summer?" Lucy to Linus: "You read comic books and watched TV.") I was in elementary school back … [Read more...]
Sex, the Moravians, and Rabbi Jonathan Eibeschuetz
"I am, as you will quickly discover if you don't know already, a raw newcomer to your field of expertise. I'm here because I believe I can shed some observations from my own field, Jewish mysticism and messianism, that may shed light on dark places in yours. I hope for your expert judgment as to … [Read more...]
Bertrand Russell, Plotinus, and the Kabbalah
(This post is a follow-up to my two-part series on "Kabbalah, the Zohar, and the Rose.") When you're looking for enlightenment about Kabbalah, Bertrand Russell isn't the first person you'd think of turning to. The British philosopher and activist, whose long life spanned Queen Victoria's … [Read more...]
Kabbalah, the Zohar, and the Rose (Part 2)
(This is a continuation of last week's post.) How many petals has a rose? Thirteen, according to the Zohar, the great Kabbalistic classic of the Middle Ages. The number isn't fortuitous, either. It's part of a vast symbolic web that ties together the human body, the world of nature, the … [Read more...]
Kabbalah, the Zohar, and the Rose (Part 1)
"Rabbi Hizkiah opened with the verse, 'Like a rose among thorns' [Song of Songs 2:2]. What is this 'rose'? The Community of Israel ..." That's the way the Zohar starts off. The Zohar, which first began to trickle into Jewish communal awareness around the year 1300, became over the next few … [Read more...]
