Mystic Quest: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism [Paperback]

David Ariel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0805210032 | ISBN-13: 978-0805210033

The Mystic Quest is a lucid, accessible introduction to the esoteric mystical tradition in Judaism known as Kabbalah.

Jewish mysticism is a rich and varied tradition of secret teachings and practices that has been a part of Judaism since antiquity. Ariel locates the Jewish mystical tradition within the context of Jewish history and traces its evolution throughout the ages, concluding with the role of mysticism in contemporary Judaism.

David S. Ariel is president of the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Mystic Quest by David S. Ariel may be the most accessible and sophisticated introduction to Jewish mysticism available. Ariel starts by comparing Jewish mysticism to Christian mystical traditions, drawing on writers such as William James and Sigmund Freud to define his terms. He then provides a history of Jewish mysticism, starting with Ezekiel's vision of the chariot and working up to the present day, with special attention to the ways that kabbalah has influenced mainstream Judaism. (One notable detail is that Lekha Dodi, or "Come, My Beloved," the Friday-evening prayer, is a hymn to the kabbalist-derived feminine dimension of God.) In the book's concluding chapters, Ariel gives practical advice about how contemporary Jews can cultivate mystical spirituality. By demonstrating the pervasive mystical dimension of Jewish culture, Ariel gives his Jewish readers the great gift of enlarging their understanding of what they already know, enabling them to find new revelation in the religion that has always guided them. --Michael Joseph Gross

From Publishers Weekly

The Jewish mystical tradition is unknown to most Jews today, yet for centuries prior to the French Revolution mysticism was an important current in Judaism. Rabbis in second-century Israel practiced visualization techniques and meditation. Kabbalists, beginning in Provence around 1175, deciphered the "ten numerals"God's personal aspect. To the early Jewish mystics, God's wisdom ( Hokhmah ) prefigured everything that might come into existence; each person possessed a higher and lower soul; and God's feminine, caring aspect ( Shekhinah ) was locked in holy marriage with his masculine component. Jewish mystics' detailed deathbed visions, as reported here, bear direct comparison to modern parapsychologists' accounts of after-death experiences. Ariel's ( Eastern Dawn of Wisdom ) brilliant study is the first comprehensive history of Jewish mysticism to make its ideas accessible to the nonspecialist. Readers, Jewish or non-Jewish, with an interest in mysticism will find much knowledge here.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 237 pages
• Publisher: Schocken (May 26, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805210032
• ISBN-13: 978-0805210033
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,303,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent and Lucid Introduction, October 6, 1999

By 

Cameron B. Clark (Bristow, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mystic Quest: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism (Paperback)

I'm currently reading this book along with many others related to mysticism. This is an excellent and clearly presented introduction to Jewish mysticism. The chapter titles are as follows: 1) Seekers of Unity: The Nature of Mysticism 2) Bridging the Abyss: The History of Jewish Mysticism 3) Living with the Abyss: The Character of Jewish Mysticism 4) The Hidden and the Revealed: The Principles of Jewish Mysticism 5) The Calculus of the Divine World: The Teaching of the Sefirot 6) The Shekhinah: The Feminine Aspect of God 7) Language and Being: The Torah as God's Emanation 8) The Oneness of Being: The Destiny of the Soul 9) The Mystic Drama: The Religious Life of the Jewish Mystic 10) Uplifting the Sparks: Modern Jewish Mysticism 11) Jewish Mysticism and the Mystic Quest

For those interested in Christian Mysticism, check out the multi-volume "The Presence of God" series by Bernard McGinn, esp. the first volume "The Foundations of Mysticism." - Brad Clark

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, accessible, and Jewishly authentic, October 8, 2003

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mystic Quest: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism (Paperback)

This is one of the better introductions to Jewish mysticism on the market today. Although written in an academic style (plenty of citations, footnotes, etc.) it is still spirit-filled and inspiring. Unlike the overly-ponderous works of Gershom Scholem, this is a book that the average person with a college-level reading ability can pick up and understand.

The author, David Ariel, is (or was at the time this was published) President of the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies, and, I would assume, produced this book to fill a gap in the usual (i.e., heavily Christian/gentile) college philosophy curriculum. By doing so, he has no doubt educated quite a few professors as well as their students in the beauty and complexities of various forms of Jewish mysticism.

Ariel begins with the question "What is mysticism?" and a discussion of some non-Jewish writers on mystical topics, such a William James, Sigmund Freud, Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Underhill, etc. -- names whose works are generally more familiar to philosophy students than those of the Jewish mystics. He then goes on to present the basic concepts of Jewish mysticism (kabbalah) chapter by chapter, drawing on commentaries, Zohar, classical anecdotes from Jewish tradition, excerpts from the synagogue liturgy, etc.

One of the best features of this book is Ariel's gift for translating "archaic" symbols into modern language. On pp. 98-99, for example, he give a glossary of kabbalistic symbols and terms, then challenges the reader to use them to decipher a cryptic passage from the Zohar -- which becomes quite clear, once you understand the "code." He does an equally nice job with "Lecha Dodi," a Sabbath hymn that every Jewish congregation sings on Friday evening, but whose deeper kabbalistic meanings are seldom understood. His original translations of source materials are also excellent, making this a very accessible book without "talking down" to the reader. Highly recommended.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and provoking, March 4, 2005

By 

Gary Sprandel (Frankfort, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mystic Quest: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism (Paperback)

Ariel starts with a good background on mysticism, the importance of individual experience and the uniqueness of Jewish mystics. He starts the history of mysticism with Ezekiel, and includes both German Hasidism and Safed on the Galilee. His inclusion of interpreted text from Zohar was revealing as well as Lekha Dodi, and I would have liked more such passages.

On "The Character of Jewish Mysticism" he states "Before there is mysticism, there is religion". But another view is that the individual experience does not require faith or knowledge. Being a book, perhaps he also does not emphasize the Oral tradition enough. The discussion on Sefirot, and "calculus" of the divine world, was difficult, but that difficulty may have been mine; with concepts of emanation as "self-contraction" or "man is conceived as a structure parallel to and analogous with the Sefirot". Ariel also continues with the metaphor of the "human soul upward toward the heavens", but Rabbi Albert Green has presented a metaphor of Jewish mysticism as inward. I appreciated the references to Isaac Bashevis Singer, and will read some of his works. Since the writing of this book (1988) there has been a more popular appeal, and I have heard that Jewish mysticism is now taught in rabbinical school.