3 papers in the library · publishing 2007
May 31, 2007 Rachel Elior
Mysticism is one of the central sources of inspiration of religious thought. It is an attempt to decode the mystery of divine existence by penetrating to the depths of consciousness through language, memory, myth, and symbolism. By offering an alternative perspective on the world that gives expression to yearnings for freedom and change, mysticism engenders new modes of authority and...
Jewish Mysticism May 31, 2007 Rachel Elior
This chapter describes the mystic. A mystic is one who is gifted with spiritual greatness, vision, imagination, inspiration, and the ability to be exalted; one who is able, awake or in dreams, to cross boundaries of consciousness and to experience a feeling of immediate contact with higher worlds; one who experiences a transition from one reality to another through visions or dreams. By using...
Jewish Mysticism May 31, 2007 Rachel Elior
This chapter provides an overview of the corpus of mystical writings in the traditional Jewish world, developed over the course of thousands of years. With all its cultural and historical manifestations, mysticism embraces a rich world of thought, creativity, imagination, and inspiration, transcending existential experience. Mysticism deals mainly with another reality that exists beyond the...