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The Mystic Heart of Judaism

Miriam Bokser Caravella


The Sefirot


PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION: Revelation and Concealment
The chain of transmissions
Divine unity
Divine language
Inner journey and mystical experience
Conclusion

CLASSIC TEXTS OF JUDAISM
The Hebrew Bible
Talmud and Midrash
Editions used

TRANSLITERATION GUIDE

EDITORIAL NOTE

  1. In the Beginning...
    Abraham
    Moses: The archetypal prophet
    Joshua
  2. Early Prophets
    Samuel
    David: The prophet- king
    Prophets and their disciples
    Elijah and Elisha: The ecstatics
  3. The Classical Prophets
    Amos: Seek the Lord and live
    Hosea: The husband betrayed
    Isaiah: A vision of holiness
    Jeremiah: A message of comfort
    Ezekiel: Visionary of the chariot of God
    Second Isaiah and Third Isaiah: Polished arrow and servant of God
    The concept of the messiah
  4. The End of Prophecy?
    Mystic masters at Qumran
    1 Enoch
    Concept of the messiah at Qumran
    End of prophecy? A postscript
  5. Sages and Rabbis
    Jesus of Nazareth
    The rabbis at Yavneh and Tiberias
    Babylonia
  6. Magic and Mystic Ascent
    Rabbi as miracle worker
    The power of numbers, letters, and names
    The merkavah and the power of names
    The Sefer yetsirah
  7. Early Messiahs
    Abu Isa
    Yudghan and Mushka
  8. Philosophers and Sufis
    Jews in the world of Islam
    The Maimonides family
    Abraham he-Hasid and the Maimonides family
    Practices
  9. The Middle Ages: Hasidei Ashkenaz
    Teachings of the Hasidei Ashkenaz
    The Special Cherub circle
    Practice
    Conclusion
  10. The Middle Ages: Early Kabbalah
    The Bahir
    First kabbalists in Provençe and Gerona
    How did the mystics live? Renunciates and ascetics
    How the teachings were revealed and passed down
    Symbolism of the early Kabbalah
    Kavanah and devekut
    The Gerona circle
    The Iyun circle
    A mystical rationale for the commandments
  11. The Kabbalah Matures
    Moses de León
    Abraham Abulafia
  12. The Mystic Fellowship of Safed
    Moses Cordovero
    Isaac Luria
  13. Messiahs of the Post-Inquisition Age
    David Reubeni and Shlomo Molkho
    Shabatai Tsevi
    Jacob Frank
    Moshe Hayim Luzzatto
    Yemenite messiahs
    A return to inwardness
  14. Hasidism: A New Paradigm
    The tsadik as foundation of the world
    Social background
    The Ba’al Shem Tov
    Ba’alei shem: Masters of the name
    Disciples
    The doctrine of the tsadik
    Teachings
    Fountain of grace and wisdom
    The court of the rebbe
    Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav
    Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady and Habad- Lubavitch
    Other tsadikim
    The unending story

APPENDIX 1: The Writing of the Bible

APPENDIX 2: The Sefirot

APPENDIX 3: Theurgy and Augmentation in Hasidei Ashkenaz and Early Kabbalah

APPENDIX 4: Testimony of Abulafia’s Disciple

ENDNOTES

GLOSSARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contact and General Information

Published by:
G. P. S. Bhalla, Secretary
Science of the Soul Research Centre
c/o Radha Soami Satsang Beas
5 Guru Ravi Dass Marg, Pusa Road
New Delhi 110 005, India

© 2011 Science of the Soul Research Centre
All rights reserved.

First edition 2011
ISBN 978-93-80077-16-1
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