As light before dawn
Subtitle: the inner world of a medieval kabbalist
By: Eitan P. Fishbane.
Series: Stanford studies in Jewish history and culture; Stanford studies in Jewish history and culture
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Stanford, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 336
ISBN-13: 9780804759137
Subjects: Isaac ben Samuel, -- of Acre; Cabala -- History -- To 1500; Mysticism -- Judaism -- History -- To 1500
Description: Explores the mystical thought of Isaac ben Samuel of Akko. This study examines an array of themes and questions that have great applicability to the comparative study of mysticism and the broader study of religion. It includes prayer and the nature of mystical experience, and meditative concentration directed to God.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: pt. 1. Context. Perspectives and new directions : reflections on the state of scholarship; title: The wandering kabbalist : historical profile and context. pt. 2. Reception and transmission. Receiving tradition, constructing authority; title: Intentions and the recovery of meaning; title: Seeing the secret : creative process and the hermeneutics of insight. pt. 3. Contemplative practice, mystical experience. Contemplation, theurgical action, and the presence of God; title: Techniques of mystical contemplation : kavvanah and devotional experience; title: Asceticism, prophecy, and mystical union.