The Schocken Book of Jewish Mystical Testimonies: A Unique and Inspiring Collection of Accounts by People Who Have Encountered God, from Biblical Times to the Present - Couverture souple

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0805210911 ISBN 13 : 9780805210910

Editeur : Random House Inc, 1997

Synopsis

Book by Jacobs Louis

A propos du livre

Extrait :

From Chapter 2: "The Four Who Entered the King's Orchard"

The Four Who Entered the King's Orchard
This famous passage in the Babylonian Talmud . . . has been discussed at length through the centuries as the main statement in rabbinic literature of mystical experience . . . The four sages mentioned all flourished in the first half of the second century . . . As to the object of this mystical contemplation, it is in all probability the Chariot of Ezekiel.

TEXT
Our Rabbis taught: Four entered an orchard and these are they: Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Aher and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva said to them: "When you reach the stones of pure marble, do not say: 'Water, water!' For it is said: 'He that speaketh falsehood shall not be established before mine eyes' [Ps. 101:7]." Ben Azzai gazed and died. Of him Scripture says: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" [Ps. 116:15]. Ben Zoma gazed and was stricken. Of him Scripture says: "Hast thou found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it" [Prov. 25:16]. Aher cut down the shoots. Rabbi Akiva departed in peace.

COMMENTS
Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma were both named Simeon. They were never ordained as rabbis and it has been suggested that this is why they are not referred to as "Simeon ben Azzai" and "Simeon ben Zoma," it being considered insulting to them to refer to them by their full name without the title. Aher is Elisha ben Avuyah. "Aher" means "the other one," a name given to him when he became an apostate, according to the implications of our passage, as a result of his vision. Based on this passage the term "cutting down the shoots" is used in later Jewish literature as a synonym for "heresy." In the passage, it is implied that the mystical ascent of the soul is fraught with danger both to body and soul. Only Rabbi Akiva emerges unscathed. Rashi's comment to the passage deserves to be quoted in full as evidence of how this matter was viewed in the traditions of 11th-century France. Rashi comments as follows:

Pure marble: shining like clear water.

Do not say: Water, water! is here, how can we go on further?

Gazed: toward the Shekhinah.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints: His death was hard for God since he was still a young man, yet he had to die because it is said: "For man shall not see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20).

Was stricken: He became demented.

Présentation de l'éditeur :

A unique and inspiring collection of accounts by people who have encountered God, from Biblical times to the present.
Foreword by Karen Armstrong

The Schocken Book of Jewish Mystical Testimonies brings together the few accounts we have by Jewish mystics of their encounters with the divine. The sources collected in this volume--spanning two thousand years and including material from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East--include depictions of peak religious experiences and visions, examples of ecstatic prayer, and counsel on how to keep company with the divine.

Supplemented with commentary by Louis Jacobs, one of the world's most knowledgeable scholars of Jewish mysticism, these accounts offer an exciting new window on Jewish religious experience and inspiration to spiritual seekers of all persuasions.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Random House Inc
• Date d'édition: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0805210911
• ISBN 13: 9780805210910
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 352