The Origins of Jewish Mysticism
"The Origins of Jewish Mysticismis the culmination of a lifetime of scholarship by one of the most important figures in the field. Full of fresh and convincing interpretations, it is among the most significant works on Jewish mysticism to appear in decades."--Philip Alexander, University of Manchester"With great acumen and ingenuity, Schfer refutes the currently popular idea that there was an uninterrupted continuum from the earliest Jewish apocalypses and the Dead Sea Scrolls to the mystical Hekhalot literature of late antiquity. His book is a very sobering reminder that the origins of Jewish mysticism still remain by and large shrouded in darkness."--Pieter W. van der Horst, professor emeritus, Utrecht University