Immortality, Resurrection and the Age of the Universe: A Kabbalistic View [Hardcover]

Aryeh Kaplan (Author), Yaakov Elman (Author), Israel Lipschutz (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Robinson's translation into clear English of an important though neglected 16th-century introductory text on Kabbalah (Jewish mystical teaching, which emerged in the 12th and 13th centuries but which believers trace back to foundational revelation at Sinai in the time of Moses) is important as a nonliteral approach to divine revelation. Cordovero was a great systematizer of Kabbalistic theology, an important popularizer of Kabbalah for Jewish people, and someone who combined Jewish ethical teaching and Kabbalistic doctrine. Robinson's footnotes elucidate difficult or obscure points. Recommended for academic, seminary, and large public libraries.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English, Hebrew

Product Details

• Hardcover: 169 pages
• Publisher: Ktav Pub Inc; 1ST edition (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881253456
• ISBN-13: 978-0881253450
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Mysticism
  • #87 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Theology

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jews are not Fundamentalists!, June 28, 2000

By 

Jennifer M. Macleod "yiddishe supermama" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Immortality, Resurrection and the Age of the Universe: A Kabbalistic View (Hardcover)

Kaplan does an excellent job of clarifying this distinction in his marvellously approachable book.

This book surprised me (pleasantly) in more than a few ways. Science and Judaism are not diametric opposites, and (despite the ponderous title!) this is a down-to-earth, readable source for exciting traditional Jewish views.

In his essay on the age of the universe, Kaplan points out that the insights of Jewish tradition have -- from the very beginning -- NEVER been strictly literalistic ones.

Kaplan also touches on the dangers of aligning ourselves with evangelical Protestants and others who would exchange the richness of our midrashic heritage for a simple-minded "God wrote it; I believe it" allegiance to the Biblical text. As serious Jews (or Christians, for that matter), we need not adopt convoluted "creation science" theories or look the other way ("study it because it's on the test, but ignore it the second you step into a synagogue").

We need to embrace evolution, NOT with our fingers crossed, but because it is every conscientious scientist's best guess as to how God got us here in the first place. English is not the BEST language in the world, but we use it because it's the best we have to communicate with each other. Same with evolution. Not perfect by any means, but it's the closest we get to articulating the mysteries we thank God for putting us here to ponder.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reconcilliation of Science and Religion, May 11, 2002

By 

A. J. Valasek (Clemmons, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Immortality, Resurrection and the Age of the Universe: A Kabbalistic View (Hardcover)

Let me say that the rating is primarily based on the brevity of the work considering the price tag usually associated with it. The reader will quickly discover that only half of the book is written by Rabbi Kaplan, the rest by Rabbi Lipschitz. Not that Lipschitz's reading is poor by any means, it just isn't what I paid for. Although I found Rabbi kaplan's work extremely interesting, I found it a bit brief. None of the concepts are taken to any depth and only let the reader hang on many topics. Admittedly the complilers associate the work with a collection of lectures and personal notes but I don't think a person could know until after purchase. The true value of this book lies in its openness to new scientific hypothesis and its position that simply a literal reading of the Bible is faulty. I particularly thought the commentary on how two differing opionions are deemed correct, or at least possible, until proven otherwise was refreshing and would be good advice to at least the Christian community. His brief commentary on the resurrection shed some light in my mind on the general absence of its discussion in the Tanakh. Overall, it's a good book and worthy of discussion but unfortunately a bit shallow.

5.0 out of 5 stars This well written book contains many insights in Judaism, November 26, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Immortality, Resurrection and the Age of the Universe: A Kabbalistic View (Hardcover)

This small, well-written book contains a collection of essays on important topics in Judaism by one of the most prolific and profound Orthodox Jewish writers of our century. Aryeh Kaplan was a first-rank scholar who was familiar with all phases of Jewish knowledge, and was also trained in physics. As a result, he was in an almost unique position to comment on issues relating traditional beliefs to modern scientific knowledge. This book covers the following topics: The age of the universe, longevity and immortality, resurrection, stars and angels, and male & female. Kaplan has much of interest to say about these topics, including some truly eye-opening ideas. Included in this book are translations of essays from an early kabbalistic sage, Isaac of Acco, and an important 19th century scholar, Israel Lipshitz on the great antiquity of the earth. The hebrew text of the latter's essay occupies the last 31 pages of this 169 page book published by Ktav Publishing House.

The reader will be struck by the novelty of some of the ideas on the above topics as well as the scholarship of the author. I, therefore, strongly recommend it anyone who has an interest in these topics and wishes a better understanding of the possible harmonization of Biblical themes and scientific knowledge.