Fantastic and Exhaustive Survey Of Kabbalistic Literature & History:
Scholem originally intended much of the material in this book to be entries in an encyclopedia and anyone approaching this book without that knowledge may find it's organization confusing. However his detailed & scholarly (dare I say intellectual) analysis of Kabbalah's fascinating history and colorful characters is unparalleled. He digs deep into the similarities and contradictions between the different Kabbalistic traditions & teachers, citing an exhaustive list of references in the process. The... more info
Excellent resource:
Kabbalah by Gershom Scholem is not for the beginner. He traces the history and roots of Kabbalism and the Zohar. He was a professor of Jewish mysticism and writes as an academic. A beginner will be lost in the technical explanations. If you are familiar with Kabbalism, and want to understand the roots, history and how it has influenced everything from Freemasonry to Mormonism to mainstream Christianity, it is an excellent book. Gershom Scholem was the acknowledged authority on Kabbalism.
History of the Inner Circle of Pharisaism:
The late professor G. G. Scholem has penned the second best historical record on the mystery cult of the Pharisees. Dr. C. David Ginsburg by far did the best job in his published 1865 essay to the Philosophy and Literature Society of Liverpool entitled Kabbalah: Doctrines, Development and Literature.
An Antti Keisala Comment: The Scholem Of Kabbalah:
There's no question that Scholem is the titan of Kabbalah studies, and the father to the second generation of Kabbalah scholarship (including Moshe Idel). This book is a summarization of the bulk of his work, but if you are looking for an introduction to Kabbalah, then most certainly arrive to this book a bit later. The sheer ambition of this volume is daunting, and it does convey much of what Kabbalah is: from its origins and place in Jewish history and the people who influenced and helped to spread it to... more info
