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8 - The Mystical Theology of Kabbalah: From God to Godhead

from Part II - Medieval

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

By
Adam Afterman
Edited by
Steven Kepnes
Steven Kepnes
Affiliation:
Colgate University, New York
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Summary

In this essay I survey the development of the Kabbalistic Godhead; exploring sources from the Hebrew Bible, through rabbinic literature and medieval Jewish philosophy, and culminating in thirteen century kabbalah and the Zohar. Following this discussion, I discuss primary theological elements incorporated within this conception, such as the understanding of the ten sefirot, which comprise the Godhead, the mystical understanding of the Tetragrammaton as correlating to the divine essence, God’s identification with the Torah and commandments, and the feminine element of the Godhead. This examination of the configuration of the Godhead and its various elements naturally leads to a discussion of the “complex unity” of God. In this examination I discuss the relation of different divine persona within the Godhead, the evil or demonic element of the Godhead, and lastly the differing conceptions of the Godhead as a kataphatic or apophatic entity. Finally, I examine the phenomenon of mystical union between the human being and the Godhead.

Keywords

Godheadtheology of kabbalahmystical unionTetragrammatonsefirotgenderevilJewish philosophy
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Jewish Theology , pp. 149 - 182
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

Selected Further Reading

Afterman, Adam. “And They Shall Be One Flesh”: On the Language of Mystical Union in Judaism. Leiden: Brill, 2016.Google Scholar
Afterman, Adam. “From Philo to Plotinus: The Emergence of Mystical Union.” Journal of Religion 93.2 (2013): 177–96.Google Scholar
Ginsburg, Elliot K, The Sabbath in the Classic Kabbalah. Albany: SUNY Press, 1989.Google Scholar
Green, Arthur. Keter: The Crown of God in Early Jewish Mysticism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Hallamish, Moshe. An Introduction to the Kabbalah. Translated by Ruth Bar-Ilan and Ora Wiskind-Elper. Albany: SUNY Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Idel, Moshe. Enchanted Chains: Techniques and Rituals in Jewish Mysticism. Los Angeles: Cherub Press, 2005.Google Scholar
Idel, Moshe. Kabbalah: New Perspectives. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988.Google Scholar
Scholem, Gershom. On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism. Translated by Ralph Manheim. New York: Schocken Books, 1965.Google Scholar
Scholem, Gershom. On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah. Translated by Joachim Neugroschel. New York: Schocken Books, 1991.Google Scholar
Tishby, Isaiah. The Wisdom of the Zohar. Translated by David Goldstein. Oxford: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1989.Google Scholar
Weiss, Tzahi. “Sefer Yeṣirah” and Its Contexts: Other Jewish Voices. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018Google Scholar
Wolfson, Elliot R. Abraham Abulafia – Kabbalist and Prophet: Hermeneutics, Theosophy, and Theurgy. Los Angeles: Cherub Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Wolfson, Elliot R. Alef, Mem, Tau: Kabbalistic Musings on Time, Truth, and Death. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfson, Elliot R. “Negative Theology and Positive Assertion in the Early Kabbalah.” Da‘at 32–33 (1994): v–xxii.Google Scholar
Wolfson, Elliot R. Through a Speculum That Shines: Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.Google Scholar

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