Jewish Studies 235 - Intro. to Jewish Mysticism

'Mysticism refers to a type of religious life in which individuals seek intimate and personal, direct and intense experience of the Divine. There exists a rich and fascinating Jewish mystical tradition with hundreds of books of diverse kinds. This course examines the Kabbalah of thirteenth-century Spain, focusing upon the seminal work of this period, the Zohar; the synthesis of mysticism and messianism that occurred in the city of Safed (in the Land of Israel) in the sixteenth century; and the popular pietistic movement of Eastern Europe from the eighteenth century forward, Hasidism; and various expressions of mystical spirituality in our own time.'