Decoding the Dogma Within the Enigma

Rabbi Moses Cordoeiro (aka Cordovero, 1522-1570) was a towering mystical thinker in Safed and retains to this day a seat of honor in Jewish intellectual history. Ranking among the most prolific and lucid thinkers Judaism has ever known, Cordoeiro had an enormous impact on the trajectory of mystical philosophy from the 16th century onward. This book - the first extensive work on Cordoeiro in English - sheds new and important light on his life, writings, practical piety, and, most importantly, systematic thought in Kabbalah. By placing Cordoeiro's personal growth and conceptual evolution within sociopolitical and theoretical context, his works (both published and unpublished) are thoroughly investigated with the aim of articulating his elaborate theoretical model and its relations to his mystical practices. Much attention has been given throughout this book to Cordoeiro's acute philological sensitivity, for his view of Hebrew as "God's Vernacular" had prompted him to introduce bold and often remarkably creative exe-getical maneuvers. This book is a significant contribution to philo-sophical scholarship and to anyone interested in exploring the deeper realms of Jewish mystical thought.

Author: Zohar Raviv

Publisher: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller E.K.

Publication Date: Sep 25, 2008

Number of Pages: 520 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: 383646778X

ISBN-13: 9783836467780