Word and Image in Medieval Kabbalah

The Texts, Commentaries, and Diagrams of the Sefer Yetsirah

By: M. Segol

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Hardcover | 30 October 2012 | Edition Number 1

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Hardcover
214 Pages

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22.2 x 14.9 x 2.2

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The Sefer Yetsirah, the Book of Creation, is a core text of the early kabbalah, but it is something of a mystery. Scholars have struggled to establish the most basic facts about the work: its dating, its place of origin, and especially its meaning. Is it philosophy, theosophy, or magic? What were its ritual uses? Even now, scholars do not agree on these. Its manuscript context provides important clues, however. The work appears commonly in kabbalistic manuscript collections, embedded in commentaries containing diagrams and glosses. Taken together, they show how some used the Sefer Yetsirah, and how it fit into Jewish canonical discourses and ritual practices. The words and images of Sefer Yetsirah raise crucial questions about the history of kabbalah, and about scholarly categories for understanding it. In the end, they show that the relation between religion and magic is closer than we think.

Industry Reviews

'Segol provides a clearly-written guide through the maze of medieval commentaries and modern academic scholarship surrounding the Sefer Yetsirah. With remarkable lucidity, she introduces us to the mind-set of medieval Jews who sought through Hebrew letter combinations, ritualized dance, and the creation of a golem to alter the earthly and divine realms. Readers interested in a central work of medieval mysticism and Kabbalah will welcome this new methodological approach to Sefer Yetsirah, a central though utterly enigmatic classic. Yet, scholars of Religious Studies, even those not versed in medieval literature, will be rewarded by Segol's use of the medieval texts, diagrams, and commentaries as a means to address the larger issues that have shaped academic scholarship, particularly the issues surrounding magic and religion.' - Jody Myers, California State University, Northridge

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