Gershom Scholem (December 5, – February 21, ), also known as Gerhard Scholem, was a Jewish philosopher and historian widely regarded as the modern founder of the scholarly study of Kabbalah. Raised in Germany, he rejected his parents' assimilationist views, and immigrated to Palestine in He became a leading figure in the Zionist intellectual community of Palestine before World War II, and later became the first professor of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Although a leading student of mysticism and an ardent Zionist, Scholem remained a secular Jew, rather than a religious one, throughout his life.
Scholem is best known for his collection of lectures, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (), and for his biography, Sabbatai Zevi, the Mystical Messiah (), as well as several other books on kabbalism. His collected speeches and essays, published as On Kabbalah and its Symbolism (), helped to spread knowledge of Jewish mysticism among Jews and non-Jews alike. He published over 40 volumes and nearly articles. As a teacher, he trained three generations of scholars of Kabbala, many of whom still teach.
Scholem was awarded the Israel Prize in , and wa
Gershom Scholem: an Intellectual Biography
Gershom Scholem (–) was ostensibly only a scholar of Jewish mysticism, yet he occupies a powerful role in today’s intellectual imagination, having influential contacts with an extraordinary cast of thinkers, including Hans Jonas, Martin Buber, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, and Theodor Adorno. In this first biography of Scholem, Amir Engel shows how Scholem grew from a scholar of an esoteric discipline to a thinker wrestling with problems that reach to the very foundations of the modern human experience. As Engel shows, in his search for the truth of Jewish mysticism Scholem molded the vast literature of Jewish mystical lore into a rich assortment of stories that unveiled new truths about the modern condition. Positioning Scholem’s work and life within early twentieth-century Germany, Palestine, and later the state of Israel, Engel intertwines Scholem’s biography with his historiographical work, which stretches back to the Spanish expulsion of Jews in , through the lives of Rabbi Isaac Luria and Sabbatai Zevi, and up to Hasidism and the dawn of the Zionist movement. Through parallel narratives, Engel touches on a wide array of importa
Gershom Scholem: An Intellectual Biography
Gershom Scholem (–) was ostensibly a scholar of Jewish mysticism, yet he occupies a powerful role in today’s intellectual imagination, having influential contact with an extraordinary cast of thinkers, including Hans Jonas, Martin Buber, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, and Theodor Adorno. In this first biography of Scholem, Amir Engel shows how Scholem grew from a scholar of an esoteric discipline to a thinker wrestling with problems that reach to the very foundations of the modern human experience.
As Engel shows, in his search for the truth of Jewish mysticism Scholem molded the vast literature of Jewish mystical lore into a rich assortment of stories that unveiled new truths about the modern condition. Positioning Scholem’s work and life within early twentieth-century Germany, Palestine, and later the state of Israel, Engel intertwines Scholem’s biography with his historiographical work, which stretches back to the Spanish expulsion of Jews in , through the lives of Rabbi Isaac Luria and Sabbatai Zevi, and up to Hasidism and the dawn of the Zionist movement. Through parallel narratives, Engel touches on a wide array of imp
Gershom Scholem
Reviews
"This careful, convincing&#;intellectual biography of philosopher/historian Gershom Scholem (–) occasions rethinking the relationship between Scholem’s scholarship on kabbalah and sabbatism and his personal journey as a Zionist. Scholem grew up in Germany and in the early s emigrated to what was to become the State of Israel. Engel argues that Scholem’s 'unusually wide' and continuing prominence, unexpected for a scholar of an esoteric area of history, results from the profundity of his reflections on central questions of Jewish and European life in the 20th century. Engel critiques previous biographical treatments of Scholem that found in his work an assertion that kabbalah expressed a single metaphysical truth underlying all facets of Jewish history and philosophy. Engel contends that Scholem was more creative than that—that he wove into narratives 'the old and the new, the esoteric and the political, the personal and the social' and in so doing broadened the discussion. Thus, Scholem’s scholarship reflects his own life experience even as it reveals a community’s need to transform in the face
Biographies you may also like
Piet mondrian biography composition 10 Lo stile di Composizione n°10 (molo e oceano) (Pier and Ocean) di Piet Mondrian. In Composizione n°10 (molo e oceano) realizzato nel durante il suo isolamento in Missing: biography.
Wright brothers facts on family Discover 24 fascinating facts about the Wright Brothers, pioneers of aviation, and their journey to inventing the first successful airplane.
Eran elhaik biography examples Eran Elhaik. Professional. History at National Geographic Grantee. Scientific Disciplines Anthropologist, Geographer. Grants. Human Histories & Cultures A study of the Missing: examples.
Lise lindstrom biography definition American dramatic soprano Lise Lindström has dazzled the world with compelling performances that are “truly world-class”. Her unique vocal power combined with her expansive range, Missing: definition.
Quiubo cuando el bebeto biography Carlos Alberto García Villanueva, “El Bebeto”, escribe una nueva historia gracias a Todo Valió la Pena, nuevo álbum con 17 canciones al ritmo de mariachi. Para él contó con el Missing: biography.
Roxana shirazi biography of martin luther Roxana Shirazi is the author of The Last Living Slut ( avg rating, ratings, reviews, published ), Dead Iranian Girl ( avg rating, 1 Missing: martin luther.