Mystical Theology and Social Dissent: The Life and Works of Judah Loew of Prague (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization) - Softcover

Sherwin, Byron L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1904113508 ISBN 13: 9781904113508

Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2006

Synopsis

Judah Loew, better known as the Maharal of Prague, was a leading kabbalist of the sixteenth century and a pivotal personality in late medieval European Judaism. Best known from the legend that credited him with creating the golem-an artificial human with superhuman powers-his true importance lay in his influence on subsequent developments in Jewish mysticism and hasidism. Byron Sherwin analyses the legends and their influence on modern literature and ethics. He also 'reveals the concealed' in Loew's mystical theology. His lucid text unravels the obscurities of kabbalism and Loew's mystical speculation regarding the fundamental ideas of Jewish theology, while his notes demonstrate Loew's relationship to the mystical tradition which preceded him. (PRINT ON DEMAND)

About this title

About the Author:

Byron L. Sherwin is Distinguished Service Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Mysticism and Director of Doctoral Programs at Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, Chicago. His recent books include Golems among Us, Workers of Wonders, and Kabbalah: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism.

Review:

`Excellent.' - Chimen Abramsky, Times Literary Supplement `[An] illuminating book.' - David Katz, London Review of Books `The heart of the book, on Maharal's thought, is valuable for its careful and admirably clear explication of Maharal's complex views on Divine attributes, Torah, Jewish uniqueness, man and his perfection, and messianism . . . to be welcomed for its lucid presentation of major themes in the thought of a protean sixteenth-century Jewish thinker who influenced certain key Hasidic, Zionistic and semi-Mitnaggedic thinkers.' - Hillel Goldberg, Journal of the American Academy of Religion `A solid contribution to our knowledge of the intellectual world of central and east European Jewry in the early modern era, an area and an era that deserves greater scholarly attention.' - Ira Robinson, Association for Jewish Studies Newsletter `Very fine . . . a model of clarity and scholarship.' - Howard Schwartz, Jerusalem Post

About this edition

• Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1904113508
• ISBN 13: 9781904113508
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 254