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Lecturer(s)
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Visi Tamás, doc. Ph.D., M.A.
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Course content
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1. Introduction: Anti-Rationalistic trend in Jewish thoughts and the origins of Kabbalah (Reading: the Commentary of Isaac the Blind on Sefer Yetzirah) 2. Sefirotic versus prophetic Kabbalah (Reading: Idel, Messianic Mystics, 58-100) 3. Jewish Intellectual Life in 16th century Moravia: Rabbinic sources 4. Kabbalah in Maharal´s Thought 5. Eliezer Eilburg: Intellectual Non-Conformism and Kabbalah in 16th century Moravia (Reading: Davies, "The Ten Questions") 6. A New Sacred City, Safed, and a New Holy Man, Yitzhak Luria 7. From Straznice to Safed: Shloml ben Hayyim Meisterl´s quest for the teachings of Yitzhak Luria (reading: Joseph Delmedigo, Matzref le-hokhma, 40a-49b). 8. Va-yahel Moshe: Kabbalah and Everyday Life in the Thought of a 16-17th century Moravian rabbi, Judah Altschuler of Moravsky Krumlov 9. Hemdat Yamim and the Popularization of Lurianic Kabbalah 10. Kabbalistic Symbolism in Moravian Synagogues 11. Kabbalistic Background of Moravian Takkanot (reading: E. Roth, ed. Takkanot Nikolsburg, 5-11) 12. Sabbateanism in Moravia: Lobele Prosstitz 13. Sabbateanism in Moravia: Responsa literature 14. Hasidism (or Its Absence) in Moravia: Shmuel Schmelke Horowitz and the invention of the "Nikolsburg Hasidic Dynasty"
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture
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Learning outcomes
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Kabbalah originated as an esoteric mystical lore in the Middle Ages but became the dominating force of Jewish religious thought in the Early Modern period and it influenced immensely popular religion. The purpose of the seminar is to explore the presence of kabbalistic ideas and practices in early modern Moravia.
Familiarity with the basic concepts of Kabbalah and the basic outlines of Jewish intellectual history in early modern Moravia
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Prerequisites
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None.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Didactic Test
Participation in class (50%), short reflection-paper at the end of the semester (50%)
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Recommended literature
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Altschuler, Jehuda Aharon Mose. (1701). Va-jahel Mose. Frankfurt a. O.
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Binjamin Ha-Lévi. (2011). Széfer Hemdat Jamim. Bené Berak: Mekhon Hemdat Jamim.
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Davis, Joseph. (2011). "The Ten Questions of Eliezer Eilburg and the Problem of Jewish Unbelief in the 16th Century." The Jewish Quarterly Review 91 (2001): 293-336..
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Fine, Lawrence. (2003). Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
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Idel, Moshe. (1998). Messianic Mystics. London, New Haven: Yale University Press.
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Scholem, Gershom. (1967). Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Schocken Books.
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