“Spirit to Spirit”: The Imagery of the Kiss in theZoharand its Possible Sources
Harvard Theological Review October 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1017/s0017816018000287 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that the Zohar's kiss imagery in the Terumah pericope expresses dynamic union by combining two Neoplatonic notions—the hypostatic relation and the principle of "being contained in each other"—and that this reading revises prior scholarship on eros in Jewish mysticism while suggesting a more plausible trajectory of Greek influence on early Kabbalah. |
Abstract
Abstract The study explores the character and meaning of the imagery of the kiss in theZoharas an expression of dynamic union. In order to demonstrate the formation of a specific structure of ideas and their dynamics within Kabbalistic theosophy, theZoharicimagery found in the pericopeTerumahhas been situated here within the context of numerous sources, from which theZohar, through direct or indirect transmission, could have drawn its key elements. The metaphor of the kiss, which allows the Zoharic homily to embrace several central Kabbalistic concepts of love, presents love as a universal power, being comprised of two Neoplatonic notions, the hypostatic relation and the principle of “being contained in each other.” The analysis of the various sources across ancient Greek, medieval Islamic, and Christian traditions amounts to a different characterization of the meaning adduced thus far in scholarship regarding eros in Jewish mysticism and suggests a more plausible trajectory of influence of Greek sources in the early Kabbalah.