Zoharitic hints at the historical development of the Sefirot
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.2006.25.2.125Keywords:
Zoharitic literature, Sefi rot, Kabbalistic doctrineAbstract
Citing references in the Zoharitic literature (compiled in the late thirteenth century) to the historical development of the Kabbalistic doctrine of the Sefirot (Divine Emanations), I argue that these references indicate historical consciousness on the part of the Kabbalists that pre-dates the nineteenth century historians of the Wissenschaft des Judentums. These references may also be indicative of a process of debate and of refinement of that doctrine, as well as an eff ort to shield this process from Jewish and Christian critics by camouflaging it under general discussions of the Shem Hameforash, the Ineffable Divine Name, a term that in and of itself was a lightening rod to some critics, who would have associated it with magic and superstition.
References
Albo, J. 1929-30 Sefer Ha-Ikarim by, 5 volumes. Trans, Isaac Husik. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
Abelson, J. 1912 The Immanence of God in Rabbinical Literature. London: Macmillan and Co.
Jewish Mysticism. London: G. Bell and Sons.
Falk, G. 1992 The Jew in Christian Theology. Translation of Martin Luther’s Von Schem Hamphoras. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co.
Frisch, D., Trans. 1993-99 Sefer Zohar Hakodesh im Perush Matok Midvash. Jerusalem: Makhon Daat Yosef.
Giller, P. 2001 Reading the Zohar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hallamish, M. 1999 An Introduction to the Kabbalah. Trans. Ruth Bar-Ilan and Ora Wiskind-Elper. New York: State University of New York Press.
Heller-Wilensky, S. O. 1965 Investigating the Sources of Isaac ibn Latif. In proceedings of Fourth Congress of Jewish Studies. Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies.
Ibn Latif, Isaac ben Abraham 1860 Zurat Olam. Vienna: K’vuzat Hahamim ed.
Kaplan, A., Trans. 1979 The Bahir. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser.
Liebes, Y. 1993 Studies in the Zohar. Trans. Arnold Schwartz, Stephanie Nekache, Penina Peli. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Maimonides, M. 1904 The Guide for the Perplexed. Trans. M. Friedlander. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd.
Matt, D. C. 1996 God and the Big Bang, Discovering Harmony Between Science and Spirituality. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing.
The Zohar : translation and commentary. Pritzker Edition. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Scholem, G. G. 1974 Kabbalah. New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co.
Origins of the Kabbalah. Trans. Allan Arkush. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society.
Sheshet, Yitzhak ben 1992 She’elot ut’shuvot l’Rabenu Yitzhak ben Sheshet, vol. 1. Jerusalem: Makhon Or ha-Mizrah.
Simon, M. and P. L. Levertoff , Trans. 1933 The Zohar, vol. 4. London: The Soncino Press.
Sperling, H. and M. Simon, Trans. 1931 The Zohar. London: The Soncino Press.
Tishby, I. 1989 The Wisdom of the Zohar, An Anthology of Texts. Trans. David Goldstein. London: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization.
Zundel, Enoch ben Joseph 1832-33 Midrash Tanhumah al Hamishah Humshei Torah im perushim Etz Yosef v’anaf Yosef . Vilnias. (Hebrew)
