"All My Thinking Has But One Focus": Contemplative Seclusion in (Early) Modern Jewish Spirituality

This study investigates the way in which different concepts of contemplation and seclusion are negotiated in Jewish spiritual literature. Focusing on (early) modern examples, it particularly addresses the functions and goals of physical and mental exercises designed to achieve detachment from worldl...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Koch, Patrick B. 1978- (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Ruhr-Universität Bochum 2023
Dans: Entangled Religions
Année: 2023, Volume: 14, Numéro: 4
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Judaïsme / Spiritualité / Kabbale / Contemplation (théologie) / Détachement
RelBib Classification:AG Vie religieuse
BH Judaïsme
Sujets non-standardisés:B Jewish morality
B Jewish spirituality
B contemplative seclusion
B (Early) Modern Kabbalah
B perishut
B hitbodedut
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Description
Résumé:This study investigates the way in which different concepts of contemplation and seclusion are negotiated in Jewish spiritual literature. Focusing on (early) modern examples, it particularly addresses the functions and goals of physical and mental exercises designed to achieve detachment from worldly concerns. It shows how practices denoted by the terms perishut (lit. "separation") and hitbodedut (lit. "solitude") serve as preparatory steps that enable individuals to approach the divine, with the ultimate goal of bringing about various experiences of oneness with the deity. Against this background, it elucidates how perishut and hitbodedut were considered by some authors instrumental to gain divine knowledge, and how this idea relates to earlier Jewish conceptions of prophecy. Lastly, it will illustrate how in contemporary sources, contemplative seclusion is presented as a practice that transcends the temporal framework to which humans are bound.
ISSN:2363-6696
Contient:Enthalten in: Entangled Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.46586/er.14.2023.10249