Haskalah and Esotericism
The Haskalah, or “Jewish Enlightenment,” is often considered to be a secularizing trend within modern European Judaism. Yet as recent studies have begun to show, this characterization ignores the Romantic and religious attitudes of many Haskalah authors (maskilim). This article reassesses the Haskal...
| Published in: | Aries |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2018
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| In: |
Aries
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Samiler, Eliakim Götzel 1780-1854
/ Judaism
/ Haskalah
/ Cabala
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| RelBib Classification: | AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism AZ New religious movements BH Judaism |
| Further subjects: | B
Jewish Mysticism
Kabbalah
Haskalah
Enlightenment
esotericism
Eastern Europe
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | The Haskalah, or “Jewish Enlightenment,” is often considered to be a secularizing trend within modern European Judaism. Yet as recent studies have begun to show, this characterization ignores the Romantic and religious attitudes of many Haskalah authors (maskilim). This article reassesses the Haskalah’s relationship to esotericism and Kabbalah by analyzing the life and work of Elyakim Getzel Hamilzahgi (1780–1854), a Galician maskil with a deep commitment to Kabbalistic study. Hamilzahgi’s pioneering textual criticism of Kabbalistic texts, particularly the Zohar, countered the attitudes of Western European scholars and Eastern European Hasidim alike. His scholarship aimed to purify Kabbalah from corruption and to render it a source for a renewal of Jewish religious culture. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-0593 |
| Contains: | In: Aries
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700593-01802001 |