Gershom Scholem and the Mystical Dimension of Jewish History

"An excellent overview of the history of Jewish mysticism from its early beginnings to contemporary Hasidism . . . scholarly and complex" ( Library Journal). Over the course of more than sixty years, Gershom Scholem reassembled the scattered texts of Jewish mysticism. In a monumental work of scholarship, he catalogued and annotated these sacred writings—known collectively as Kabbalah—and restored them to their rightful place in the realm of serious study. Now Joseph Dan, the first Gershom Scholem Professor of Kabbalah at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, provides a lucid overview of Scholem's work. Here, Dan delves into Scholem's history of Kabbalah and its integration into the larger fabric of Jewish history and thought.