Gershom Scholem

For Scholem, “Kabbalah was not just another theory of language but an extraordinary opening up within Jewish tradition of the notion of revelation” (Handelman 18). Not surprisingly, Benjamin and Scholem believe that language has a divine origin and the experience of revelation is a linguistic one. Benjamin finds another source of Kabbalistic insight

In this essay, which is included in his book Potentialities, Giorgio Agamben scrutinizes the Eighth Thesis in Walter Benjamin's 'Theses on the Philosophy of History' with regard to the general Judaist messianic tradition. He is particularly interested in the relationship between the concept of messianic time and Carl Schmitt's notion of the state of emergence, which Benjamin invokes in the Eighth Thesis. In this thesis, Benjamin, while asserting that we currently live in the state of exception, urges

Knowing God: Mysticism in Christianity and Other Religions Mysticism, mystic experiences, and encounters with the divine are important—and even integral—to many religions throughout the world. Mysticism, defined as experiencing the divine, should have a special importance in Christianity. Christianity posits a God who is transcendent, yet immanent, and as Christians we believe we can have a relationship with the Deity. Because of this we should have a unique conception of mystical experiences

understanding of the subject. Highly credible Jewish websites will guide my initial research and help to slowly emerge me into learning the teachings. Next I plan to focus on Jewish academic journals and scholarly information. In particular, Professor Gershom Scholem, he is an expert and experienced writer on the subject and is well respected by Jews and non-Jews alike. My research journey will then take me to

The Zohar refashions the Torah’s narrative into a mystical novel. On one level, the biblical heroes are the protagonist, and the rabbis interpret their words, their personalities, and their encounters with holy or demonic forces. The commentary is often far removed from the literal meaning of the biblical text. The words of Torah are a starting point, a springboard for the imagination. At times the commentators become the main characters, and we read about dramatic study sessions with Rabbi Shim’on

W.B. Yeats' "Adam's Curse" Though written only two years after the first version of "The Shadowy Waters", W.B. Yeats' poem "Adam's Curse" can be seen as an example of a dramatic transformation of Yeats' poetic works: a movement away from the rich mythology of Ireland's Celtic past and towards a more accessible poesy focused on the external world. Despite this turn in focus towards the world around him, Yeats retains his interest in symbolism, and one aspect of his change in style is internalization

The role of art, when delving into human suffering and matters of good and evil, ought to be that of a delivering agent, designed to extract a form of universal truth from the very consciousness of the observer, and act as mirror for humanity's dual reality. The present paper aims to analyze the traditional and modern theories of theodicy in relation to literature, insofar as literary works such as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita or Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov owe their widely acknowledged

Metamorphoses are a concept commonly used in literature to show a character's profound change. The concept was used in The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, which is about a man named Gregor, who woke up one day to find out he had turned into a vermin. Following his discovery, he tried to go to work to support his family, which ended up revealing his new form. Gregor was locked in his room and slowly lost his humanity and connection to his family. Gregor eventually died alone in his room, and his family

Introduction For the past three years, I have taught Scripture to our ninth grade religious education classes. Reading the Old Testament, there appeared to be a belief in an afterlife, but what those beliefs are was not clear to me at all. They used terms like “the world to come” and “going to be with our fathers”. There are several passages where people appear to be taken up without dying, like Elijah and Enoch, but it doesn't say where they went. In __________________, it talks about people