Messianic mystics
By: Moshe Idel.
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New Haven
Language: eng
Number of pages: 451
Subjects: Messiah -- Judaism -- History of doctrines; Cabala -- History
Description: In this book, one of the world's leading scholars of Jewish thought examines the long tradition of Jewish messianism and mystical experience. Moshe Idel calls upon his profound knowledge of ancient and medieval texts and of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Eastern sources to uncover new perspectives on the nature and development of Jewish messianism.

He shows that, contrary to Gershom Scholem's view that mysticism and messianism are incompatible religious tendencies, they are in fact closely related spiritual phenomena. Messianism regularly emerges from mystical experiences, Idel contends.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.