1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910461572803321

Titolo

The serpent kills or the serpent gives life [[electronic resource] ] : the kabbalist Abraham Abulafia's response to Christianity / / edited by Robert Sagerman

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Leiden [Netherlands] ; ; Boston, : Brill, 2011

ISBN

1-283-12063-1

9786613120632

90-04-19447-9

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (398 p.)

Collana

Supplements to The journal of Jewish thought and philosophy, , 1873-9008 ; ; v. 12

Altri autori (Persone)

SagermanRobert

Disciplina

296.3/96

Soggetti

Cabala

Judaism - Relations - Christianity

Christianity and other religions - Judaism

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Abulafia and alterity : the other in the self -- Refutation and absorption : Abulafia's response to the Christian context -- Abulafia's demons : the psychological dimension of Abulafia's relationship to Christianity -- Abulafia and Jesus : metatron and sandalfon -- Warp and woof : circumcision, crucifixion and divine embodiment.

Sommario/riassunto

Abraham Abulafia (1240 – c. 1291) founded an enormously influential branch of Jewish mysticism, referred to as the prophetic or ecstatic kabbalah. This book, from several perspectives, explores the impact of Christianity upon Abulafia. His copious writings evince an intense fascination with Christian themes, yet Abulafia’s frequent diatribes against Jesus and Christianity reveal him to be deeply conflicted in his relationship to his southern European religious neighbors. This book undertakes a careful study of Abulafia’s writings, suggesting that the recognition of an inner dynamic of attraction and revulsion toward the forbidden other provides a crucial key to understanding Abulafia’s mystical hermeneutic and his meditative practice. It also demonstrates



that Abulafia's uneasy relationship to Christianity shaped the very core of his mystical doctrine.