From Berlin to Jerusalem: Memories of My Youth [Paperback]

Gershom Scholem (Author), Harry Zohn (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 1988

"A serene, lucid, and stylish essay in intellectual autobiography that at the same time commemorates a vanished world."—The Times Literary Supplement

From Berlin to Jerusalem portrays the dual dramas of the author's total break from his middle-class German Jewish family and his ever-increasing dedication to the study of Jewish thought. Played out during the momentous years just before, during, and after World War I, these experiences eventually led Gershom Scholem to immigrate to Palestine in 1923.

Gershom Scholem was professor of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem until his death in 1982.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation)

About the Author

Gershom Scholem: Gershom Scholem (1897-1982) was born in Berlin, educated at the universities of Jena and Bern, and emigrated to Palestine in 1923, where he devoted himself to the study of the Jewish mystical tradition and the Kabbalah. One of the greatest scholars of the twentieth century, admired both for his philological prowess and his philosophical insight, Scholem was the author of many books, including Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, and On Jews and Judaism in Crisis, a collection of autobiographical writings and essays on Zionism.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 178 pages
• Publisher: Schocken Books (November 7, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805208712
• ISBN-13: 978-0805208719
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,148 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Jewish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The memoir of a great scholar, December 13, 2004

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: From Berlin to Jerusalem: Memories of My Youth (Hardcover)

Gershom Scholem was one of those rare scholars who open a whole new world of study. He is the first to really explore the great mystical tradition of Judaism. In this memoir he tells the story of his Berlin childhood and youth, his discovery against his German patriotic father's opposition of his Jewish religious roots, his discovery of his vocation, his immigration to what would become his home, Jerusalem , his friendships with many distinguished people , including his great friend Walter Benjamin, his helping to establish the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, his Zionism, and his understanding of the Jewish people's return to history.

This works contains worlds in its pages. A small but powerful book about a great scholar's life.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Inspiration, February 6, 2011

By 

Laura Wharton (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Berlin to Jerusalem: Memories of My Youth (Paperback)

This is a great book about a great man -- and a real inspiration. Thrown out of school, he became a brilliant and learned teacher at the Hebrew Universiy in Jerusalem; brought up in an assimilated German household, he learned about Herzl when he got a picture of him as a Christmas present, subsequently moving to Israel. A great read.