The Scandal of Kabbalah

Leon Modena, Jewish Mysticism, Early Modern Venice

Yaacob Dweck

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English

Princeton University Press
01 November 2011

Judaism: mysticism

Series: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World

The Scandal of Kabbalah is the first book about the origins of a culture war that began in early modern Europe and continues to this day: the debate between kabbalists and their critics on the nature of Judaism and the meaning of religious tradition. From its medieval beginnings as an esoteric form of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah spread throughout the early modern world and became a central feature of Jewish life. Scholars have long studied the revolutionary impact of Kabbalah, but, as Yaacob Dweck argues, they have misunderstood the character and timing of opposition to it. Drawing on a range of previously unexamined sources, this book tells the story of the first criticism of Kabbalah, Ari Nohem, written by Leon Modena in Venice in 1639. In this scathing indictment of Venetian Jews who had embraced Kabbalah as an authentic form of ancient esotericism, Modena proved the recent origins of Kabbalah and sought to convince his readers to return to the spiritualized rationalism of Maimonides.

The Scandal of Kabbalah examines the hallmarks of Jewish modernity displayed by Modena's attack--a critical analysis of sacred texts, skepticism about religious truths, and self-consciousness about the past--and shows how these qualities and the later history of his polemic challenge conventional understandings of the relationship between Kabbalah and modernity. Dweck argues that Kabbalah was the subject of critical inquiry in the very period it came to dominate Jewish life rather than centuries later as most scholars have thought.

By: Yaacob Dweck
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 43
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780691145082
ISBN 10: 0691145083
Series: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 01 November 2011
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Illustrations xi Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 Chapter One: Hebrew Manuscripts in an Age of Print 29 Chapter Two: Early Modern Criticism of the Zohar 59 Chapter Three: Guiding the Perplexed 101 Chapter Four: Safed in Venice 127 Chapter Five: A Jewish Response to Christian Kabbalah 149 Chapter Six: The Afterlife of Ari Nohem 171 Chapter Seven: Kabbalah and Scholarship in the Nineteenth Century 201 Epilogue: History of a Failure 231 Acknowledgments 237 Works Cited 239 Index 273

Yaacob Dweck is assistant professor of history and Judaic studies at Princeton University.

Reviews for The Scandal of Kabbalah: Leon Modena, Jewish Mysticism, Early Modern Venice

In this excellent monograph, Dweck situates Modena's literary activity in the polarity between print and manuscript, paying critical attention to the reading and writing practices informing these polemics... This is a meticulous work of scholarship, from its careful examination of ligatures in handwritten manuscripts to the nuanced ways in which Dweck outlines broader intellectual currents, such as early modern skepticism and the emergence of historical criticism. -- Choice [M]eticulous and illuminating ... -- Howard Tzvi Adelman, Jewish Review of Books

Commended for AJS Jordan Schnitzer Book Award for Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, and Jewish History and Culture in Antiquity 2014
Commended for AJS Jordan Schnitzer Book Award for Biblical Studies, Rabbinics, and Jewish History and Culture in Antiquity 2014.
Commended for Best First Book in the History of Religions Award, American Academy of Religion 2012 (United States)
Commended for Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History, Association for Jewish Studies 2014
Runner-up for American Academy of Religion: Best First Book in the History of Religions 2012
Runner-up for American Academy of Religion: Best First Book in the History of Religions 2012.
Shortlisted for American Academy of Religion: Best First Book in the History of Religions 2012.