From Neoplatonism to Kabbalah: A Mystical Exploration

00:22:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmkZ383LcW8

摘要

TLDRIn this video, the speaker introduces a series discussing the connections between Neoplatonism and Kabbalah, focusing on historical origins, key figures, and scholarly interpretations of Jewish mysticism. The content emphasizes the complex nature of Kabbalistic thought, which is differentiated from earlier and subsequent mystical traditions in Judaism. By examining the philosophical influences that shaped Kabbalah, the series aims to provide a nuanced understanding of its emergence in the 12th century and its development over time, inviting viewers to explore this rich intellectual tradition further.

心得

  • 🔍 **Caution for Traditionalists:** If you are content with traditional views, this series may challenge your beliefs.
  • 🤝 **Scholar Collaboration:** The series features insights from multiple scholars specializing in related fields.
  • 📜 **Historical Emergence:** Kabbalah emerged in the 12th century, influenced by Neoplatonism and Jewish thought.
  • 🏺 **Cultural Intersection:** Understand how cultural and historical contexts influenced Kabbalistic development.
  • 🧠 **Diverse Theories:** There's debate over Kabbalah's origins, emphasizing its complexity and multiple influences.

时间轴

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The series introduces the exploration of Neoplatonism and Kabbalah, encouraging viewers who are uncritical of established Jewish mysticism to refrain from watching. Collaboration with distinguished scholars such as Dr. Justin Sledge and Professor John Vervaeke will provide diverse insights into the relationships between Neoplatonism and various other traditions, setting the stage for an educational journey through these philosophical frameworks.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Delving into Kabbalah's origins, the discussion contrasts traditional beliefs about its timeless roots with a historical analysis. The focus shifts to distinguishing Kabbalah from previous and subsequent forms of Jewish mysticism, emphasizing the importance of specificity in historical discourse. This foundational understanding paves the way to seek the genesis of Kabbalah within the broader context of historical and philosophical influences of the time.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The narrative introduces Gershon Shalom's theory that Kabbalah arose from the blending of Neoplatonism and Jewish Gnosticism, suggesting the emergence of this mystical tradition set within the Jewish intellectual elite of the 12th century. By outlining this interplay, Shalom's hypothesis provides a framework for tracing Kabbalah's historical trajectory while noting the complexity and interconnectivity of various philosophical traditions.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:22:40

    Moshi Edel challenges Shalom's ideas, arguing for a more nuanced approach that emphasizes the development of Kabbalah from within Jewish sources, rather than attributing its origins to external philosophical systems. Edel contends that Kabbalah should be seen as an evolution of earlier Jewish thought catalyzed by the philosophical climate influenced by figures like Maimonides. As the discussion unfolds, themes of tension and diversity within Kabbalistic literature emerge, highlighting the multifaceted nature of Kabbalah's roots.

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思维导图

视频问答

  • What is Kabbalah?

    Kabbalah is a mystical tradition within Judaism that seeks to understand the nature of God and the universe.

  • What historical context is explored in relation to Kabbalah?

    The video discusses Kabbalah's emergence in the 12th century alongside Neoplatonism and Gnosticism in Jewish thought.

  • Who are the collaborating scholars in this series?

    Collaborating scholars include Dr. Justin Sledge, Philipp Home, Dr. Angela Puka, Danitrell, and Professor John Verveiki.

  • What is Neoplatonism?

    Neoplatonism is a philosophical tradition that emerged in ancient Greece, synthesizing various schools of thought including Platonism and Stoicism.

  • What does the video suggest about Kabbalah's origins?

    The video suggests that Kabbalah emerged from a combination of Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, and earlier Jewish mystical texts.

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  • 00:00:00
    hey what's up Seekers welcome back
  • 00:00:02
    if you're a religious person perfectly
  • 00:00:05
    satisfied with the story of Jewish
  • 00:00:07
    mysticism that you've been told and
  • 00:00:09
    don't feel the need to question it I
  • 00:00:11
    highly recommend you not watch this
  • 00:00:13
    series not to be dramatic about it or
  • 00:00:16
    anything but it may rock the boat a
  • 00:00:18
    little and only be beneficial in ways
  • 00:00:21
    that may not be immediately obvious or
  • 00:00:23
    apparent further down the line I mean
  • 00:00:26
    that genuinely
  • 00:00:27
    if that description fits you please
  • 00:00:30
    don't watch this
  • 00:00:32
    okay for those of you that have decided
  • 00:00:34
    to continue Welcome to our series on
  • 00:00:37
    neoplatonism and Kabbalah
  • 00:00:45
    this series is a very special one both
  • 00:00:48
    because the subject is one which is
  • 00:00:50
    close to my heart and also because I
  • 00:00:52
    have the great Fortune of creating the
  • 00:00:54
    series in collaboration with some
  • 00:00:57
    wonderful Scholars and friends of mine
  • 00:00:58
    here creating content on religious
  • 00:01:00
    studies together on YouTube
  • 00:01:03
    this series is being produced in
  • 00:01:05
    collaboration with Dr Justin Sledge from
  • 00:01:08
    the channel esoterica where he'll be
  • 00:01:10
    looking at the relationship between
  • 00:01:12
    neoplatonism and gnosticism Philipp home
  • 00:01:15
    from the channel let's talk religion
  • 00:01:17
    will be looking at new platonism and its
  • 00:01:19
    relationship to Islam and Sufism Dr
  • 00:01:22
    Angela puka from Angela's Symposium will
  • 00:01:25
    be looking at new platonism and its
  • 00:01:27
    relationship to Renaissance Magic
  • 00:01:29
    danitrell from the modern hermeticist
  • 00:01:31
    will be looking at the platonic
  • 00:01:33
    philosopher's Creed by the neoplatanist
  • 00:01:35
    Thomas Taylor and last but not least my
  • 00:01:38
    friend professor John verveiki will be
  • 00:01:40
    looking at neoplatonism and its
  • 00:01:42
    relationship to cognitive science over
  • 00:01:44
    at his channel John viveki I hope that
  • 00:01:47
    you head over and enjoy each of their
  • 00:01:49
    videos and that together you come up
  • 00:01:51
    with a much Fuller picture of new
  • 00:01:53
    platonism and the role that it played in
  • 00:01:55
    Western history from the beginning all
  • 00:01:58
    the way until today please do go over
  • 00:02:00
    check out their fantastic content
  • 00:02:02
    subscribe to their wonderful channels
  • 00:02:04
    and now onto the series
  • 00:02:08
    [Music]
  • 00:02:23
    where does Kabbalah come from it's quite
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    a great big mystery
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    for the traditionalist the answer is
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    rather simple this mystical tradition of
  • 00:02:33
    Judaism goes back to Moses who received
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    it at Sinai perhaps even to Abraham and
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    even to Adam the first man back even to
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    the beginning of time and even earlier
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    before time to the primordial blueprint
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    which God consulted before creation
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    before anything at all existed
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    there is truth religious truth to this
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    tale
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    insofar as ideas embedded incubated
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    inculcated gesticulated and articulated
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    Within These traditions still speak
  • 00:03:03
    truth to the perennially enduring
  • 00:03:06
    questions within the human spirit and
  • 00:03:09
    experience providing relief and hope
  • 00:03:12
    bomb and respite to a parched soul mind
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    and body they can be said these
  • 00:03:18
    traditions and the wisdom they halt can
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    be said to be eternal
  • 00:03:23
    this traditional tale contains I think a
  • 00:03:26
    profound psychological truth even if
  • 00:03:28
    it's not entirely historically true
  • 00:03:31
    it helps I think to distinguish between
  • 00:03:33
    religious truths and historical ones
  • 00:03:36
    between asynchronic and a diacronic
  • 00:03:39
    analysis
  • 00:03:41
    those distinct categories part is
  • 00:03:44
    important lest we commit a basic
  • 00:03:47
    category error
  • 00:03:49
    for today's purposes however we're going
  • 00:03:52
    to be addressing the question from the
  • 00:03:55
    historian's perspective
  • 00:03:56
    for whom this religious tale is not
  • 00:04:00
    untrue but is simply unfalsifiable
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    the historian must work in the narrow
  • 00:04:05
    confines of time texts and literary
  • 00:04:08
    evidence producing a nuanced qualified
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    temporalized picture drafted in the
  • 00:04:14
    dusty libraries of History not a cosmic
  • 00:04:18
    narrative stretching back Beyond time
  • 00:04:20
    itself
  • 00:04:21
    this changing picture of the historian
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    formed and shaped within The Crucible of
  • 00:04:27
    time itself will be the picture that
  • 00:04:29
    we're going to attempt to paint and
  • 00:04:31
    reconstruct over the course of this
  • 00:04:33
    series
  • 00:04:34
    in time we might Endeavor to find the
  • 00:04:37
    timeless
  • 00:04:38
    at that point where the two meet where
  • 00:04:41
    the Timeless And Timely Unite
  • 00:04:44
    these classes take a tremendous amount
  • 00:04:46
    of effort and time to produce and I'd
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    like to be able to continue making them
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    for a while if you find them to be
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    enjoyable and educational if you find
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    them to be of value both for yourself
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    and perhaps For The World At Large
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    please if you can afford it do consider
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    supporting this work over at patreon for
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    as little as the price of a coffee a
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    month if you can't afford to support us
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    financially that's totally fine I get it
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    but please do consider sharing the video
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    and the Channel with your friends and
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    acquaintances word of mouth is an
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    incredibly powerful tool and with your
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    help we can really go places thank you
  • 00:05:21
    if you ask the historian of Jewish
  • 00:05:24
    mysticism when Kabbalah merged onto the
  • 00:05:27
    historical scene they'll find it a
  • 00:05:29
    complex question to answer with any
  • 00:05:31
    degree of precision or certainty
  • 00:05:33
    firstly unlike the traditionalist or
  • 00:05:36
    general public which uses Kabbalah as a
  • 00:05:39
    catch or term for all of Jewish
  • 00:05:41
    mysticism such as one might incorrectly
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    use the term Sufism to refer to all of
  • 00:05:46
    Islamic mysticism the historian in
  • 00:05:49
    contrast will want to be more careful
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    and precise with their language they'll
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    want to distinguish Kabbalah from
  • 00:05:55
    historical forms of Jewish mysticism
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    which preceded it such as the merkava
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    and mysticism of the late second temple
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    and tamaric periods the philosophical
  • 00:06:05
    and ethical mysticism of Isaac Israeli
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    IBN Gabriel IBN Ezra Judah halevi bakrid
  • 00:06:11
    and Moses maimonides or the Jewish
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    political movement of Germany in the
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    12th century and Egypt in the 13th
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    century or from the mystical Traditions
  • 00:06:20
    that follow after Kabbalah historically
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    speaking be it the heretical Messianic
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    movements of saboteanism and frankism or
  • 00:06:28
    the popular 18th century Eastern
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    European revivalistic movement of
  • 00:06:31
    hasidism these are all forms of
  • 00:06:33
    mysticism that according to the
  • 00:06:35
    historian are something other than
  • 00:06:37
    Kabbalah and using Kabbalah to describe
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    all of them is to do Injustice to the
  • 00:06:41
    historical diversity and particularity
  • 00:06:43
    of each of these movements which deserve
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    their own names and Analysis some
  • 00:06:48
    Scholars may even object to the
  • 00:06:50
    viability of the category of Kabbalah at
  • 00:06:52
    all
  • 00:06:53
    pointing out that the rich diversity of
  • 00:06:55
    individuals schools and movements that
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    fall under this General umbrella of
  • 00:07:00
    Kabbalah things like the Eon Circle the
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    gironis Castilian provincial schools the
  • 00:07:05
    abalafian Aesthetics The zoharic Poets
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    the Spanish Visionaries and Prophets The
  • 00:07:11
    Galilean theosophists the lurianic
  • 00:07:13
    mythologist and the Italian philosophers
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    that are all called kabbalists often
  • 00:07:18
    have a lot more different than they have
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    in common with one another and that
  • 00:07:21
    applying one label to all of them
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    homogenizing a diverse group of thinkers
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    containing vast differences of opinion
  • 00:07:28
    and variety of conceptions flattens them
  • 00:07:31
    all under one term in a way that's not
  • 00:07:34
    particularly helpful or useful and can
  • 00:07:36
    often just be misleading
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    while this more critical perhaps even
  • 00:07:41
    deconstructive position bringing out the
  • 00:07:43
    difference and differentiation may be
  • 00:07:46
    true and even helpful on occasion when
  • 00:07:48
    the research requires that degree of
  • 00:07:51
    zoomed in resolution and specificity for
  • 00:07:54
    present purposes we're going to take a
  • 00:07:56
    middle ground on the question of
  • 00:07:57
    Kabbalah choosing to use the category
  • 00:08:00
    indeed but restricting it to the
  • 00:08:03
    speculative Trend in Jewish thought
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    which following the consensus of modern
  • 00:08:06
    historians emerged onto the historical
  • 00:08:09
    scene in 12th century Provence southern
  • 00:08:12
    France and a little later across in
  • 00:08:14
    Castile and Catalonia Northern Spain we
  • 00:08:18
    will use the term and that is how we
  • 00:08:20
    will be using it not including all of
  • 00:08:22
    Jewish mysticism and not discounting it
  • 00:08:24
    because of the genuine diversity within
  • 00:08:26
    Kabbalah but we will be using it as such
  • 00:08:29
    with that little introduction in place
  • 00:08:31
    the question is why did this Innovative
  • 00:08:35
    imaginative speculative esoteric Trend
  • 00:08:38
    which We Now call Kabbalah which would
  • 00:08:41
    go into really take the Jewish World by
  • 00:08:43
    storm entering mainstream Jewish thought
  • 00:08:45
    and practice even becoming the default
  • 00:08:48
    Orthodoxy and author proxy for large
  • 00:08:51
    swaths of Judaism over the ages why did
  • 00:08:54
    it emerge onto the scene at the moment
  • 00:08:56
    that it did what were the historical
  • 00:08:58
    factors that brought it out onto the
  • 00:09:00
    stage of History was there as the
  • 00:09:03
    traditionalist claim a secret mystical
  • 00:09:06
    tradition percolating in Subterranean
  • 00:09:08
    channels of the Jewish World privy only
  • 00:09:10
    to a select few to the handful of
  • 00:09:13
    initiates in each generation faithfully
  • 00:09:15
    and clandestinely passing on the secrets
  • 00:09:18
    of creation for hundreds of years from
  • 00:09:21
    the time of Moses through the judges
  • 00:09:23
    Kings and Prophets priests and sages in
  • 00:09:26
    coveted secrecy right into the Middle
  • 00:09:28
    Ages where it burst upon the scene in
  • 00:09:31
    full color poetry and prose practice and
  • 00:09:35
    persuasion
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    and if so why why then and why in the
  • 00:09:40
    form that it did
  • 00:09:42
    how does it seemingly sudden appearance
  • 00:09:45
    relate to the movements in schools of
  • 00:09:47
    thought these genres and bodies of
  • 00:09:49
    literature that preceded historically
  • 00:09:51
    both within Judaism itself and within
  • 00:09:54
    its broader cultural historical context
  • 00:09:57
    the modern critical study of Kabbalah
  • 00:10:00
    set out to answer just these questions
  • 00:10:04
    some early attempts were made by the
  • 00:10:06
    German visenshoff Scholars like gretz
  • 00:10:09
    Goodman gaster jelinek and Frank but
  • 00:10:12
    they were by and large hopelessly biased
  • 00:10:15
    against mysticism as a phenomena in what
  • 00:10:18
    they saw as otherwise a very proudly
  • 00:10:20
    rational version of German Judaism which
  • 00:10:23
    they were attempting to construct and
  • 00:10:25
    they gave some rather poor answers to
  • 00:10:28
    these really pressing historical
  • 00:10:29
    questions
  • 00:10:30
    things got a little better when the
  • 00:10:32
    German turned Israeli scholar Gershon
  • 00:10:34
    Shalom got on the case and set the field
  • 00:10:37
    of Kabbalah research firmly on its feet
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    with painstaking years of fine research
  • 00:10:41
    unearthing hundreds even thousands of
  • 00:10:44
    manuscripts previously untouched and
  • 00:10:46
    Unknown by historians digging up the
  • 00:10:49
    very Wells and channels that would go on
  • 00:10:51
    to irrigate generations of Scholars to
  • 00:10:54
    come planting and reaping in what would
  • 00:10:56
    become one of the most fertile fields of
  • 00:10:59
    religious studies of the century
  • 00:11:02
    lining up with auspicious timing with
  • 00:11:04
    the rise in the general public interest
  • 00:11:06
    and mysticism from the 60s and onwards
  • 00:11:09
    on the question of the origins and
  • 00:11:11
    emergence of Kabbalah in the Middle Ages
  • 00:11:13
    Shalom proposed that it was the result
  • 00:11:16
    of the intermingling of two different
  • 00:11:18
    forces two different Traditions new
  • 00:11:21
    platonism and gnosticism were actually
  • 00:11:24
    to be a bit more specific what he calls
  • 00:11:26
    neoplatonism and Jewish gnosticism that
  • 00:11:29
    according to Shalom accounts for the
  • 00:11:31
    rise of Kabbalah in the 12th century
  • 00:11:33
    according to Shalom it is these two
  • 00:11:35
    Traditions coming together interacting
  • 00:11:37
    within the intellectual Elite of Judaism
  • 00:11:40
    in the 12th century that gives birth to
  • 00:11:42
    our own form of mysticism which we call
  • 00:11:45
    Kabbalah we're going to put aside the
  • 00:11:48
    Gnostic side of this equation for the
  • 00:11:49
    moment and focus here on the neoplatonic
  • 00:11:52
    very briefly for those that would like a
  • 00:11:54
    reminder new platonism is an umbrella
  • 00:11:57
    term given to the final stage of ancient
  • 00:11:59
    Greek philosophy it refers to a way that
  • 00:12:02
    Plato was interpreted which in its
  • 00:12:04
    interpretation synthesized hundreds of
  • 00:12:07
    years of the best of a Greek thought
  • 00:12:09
    including Aristotle's psychology
  • 00:12:11
    stoicisms ethics and neopythagorean
  • 00:12:14
    numerical mysticism
  • 00:12:16
    neoplatonism perhaps the most
  • 00:12:18
    influential yet least known
  • 00:12:20
    philosophical tradition in the west
  • 00:12:21
    Finds Its First full expression in the
  • 00:12:25
    enniads of platinus in the third Century
  • 00:12:27
    of the Common Era and continued on in
  • 00:12:29
    the students poor free iamblicus proclus
  • 00:12:32
    and others
  • 00:12:33
    neoplatonism via its Arabic and Latin
  • 00:12:36
    translations went on in the Middle Ages
  • 00:12:39
    to have enduring influence upon Muslim
  • 00:12:42
    Christian and Jewish intellectuals
  • 00:12:43
    fostering a common conceptual vocabulary
  • 00:12:46
    and philosophical aesthetic for the
  • 00:12:49
    mystics rationalists and empiricists
  • 00:12:52
    Jews Muslims and Christians alike
  • 00:12:55
    which following the Middle Ages
  • 00:12:56
    continues to deeply impact Western
  • 00:12:59
    philosophical thinking from the
  • 00:13:01
    Renaissance in the 15th century to the
  • 00:13:03
    Cambridge played in this in the 17th the
  • 00:13:05
    German idealists and the New England
  • 00:13:07
    transcendentalists in the 18th and 19th
  • 00:13:09
    right up into the 20th century with
  • 00:13:11
    philosophers like William James simoun
  • 00:13:14
    Wei and Alfred North Whitehead all
  • 00:13:16
    drinking deeply from the wells of new
  • 00:13:18
    platonism new platonism is not just a
  • 00:13:21
    philosophical system but it is a form of
  • 00:13:23
    philosophical mysticism
  • 00:13:25
    its mysticism consists in a word of an
  • 00:13:28
    attempt to reconcile the existence of
  • 00:13:31
    the one true existence the infinite the
  • 00:13:34
    Eternal the absolute Unity what we might
  • 00:13:37
    call god with the many the transient the
  • 00:13:40
    finite the contingent the composite
  • 00:13:42
    namely reality as it appears to our
  • 00:13:46
    limited senses
  • 00:13:47
    new platonism does this work of
  • 00:13:50
    reconciling the two with an elaborate
  • 00:13:52
    Dynamic and elegant description of the
  • 00:13:55
    process of reality itself which it sees
  • 00:13:57
    in its totality as emanating and
  • 00:14:00
    radiating from the one through a series
  • 00:14:03
    of stages a great chain of being
  • 00:14:05
    resulting in reality as we perceive it
  • 00:14:08
    and new platonism opens the possibility
  • 00:14:11
    which is the ultimate aim for the new
  • 00:14:13
    platonist for the individual to make
  • 00:14:15
    their way back up the chain of being
  • 00:14:17
    back to their true Source the one
  • 00:14:21
    Gershon Shalom it seems believed that
  • 00:14:24
    Jewish ideas that had emerged around the
  • 00:14:26
    tone of the Common Era in an internal
  • 00:14:28
    Gnostic revolt against anti-mythical
  • 00:14:31
    Judaism had been passed out secretly for
  • 00:14:34
    Generations re-emerging only when they
  • 00:14:36
    met the Catalyst of Jewish neoplatonism
  • 00:14:39
    in 12th century Provence
  • 00:14:42
    the medieval marriage of these two
  • 00:14:45
    ancient Traditions Gnostic mythology and
  • 00:14:48
    neoplatonic philosophy on the fertile
  • 00:14:51
    Jewish minds of Spain and France is in
  • 00:14:53
    Sean's opinion what gave birth to
  • 00:14:56
    Kabbalah as we know it
  • 00:14:58
    this hypothesis like many of Sean's in
  • 00:15:02
    the field became gospel amongst his
  • 00:15:04
    students many who would go on to become
  • 00:15:06
    the leading scholars in the field that
  • 00:15:08
    he had set up and plowed
  • 00:15:10
    and there it is the secret is solved
  • 00:15:13
    neoplatonism meets gnosticism
  • 00:15:16
    Kabbalah story is done thanks for
  • 00:15:20
    watching but things aren't so simple
  • 00:15:24
    following Shalom alone came another
  • 00:15:26
    scholar who like Shalom cared less about
  • 00:15:29
    the Theory's tone facts of the scholars
  • 00:15:32
    that had preceded him and more about the
  • 00:15:34
    manuscripts themselves and what they had
  • 00:15:36
    to say
  • 00:15:37
    born in Romania making his way to Israel
  • 00:15:39
    when he was just 16 Moshi Del read
  • 00:15:42
    Sean's work and was like whoa whoa whoa
  • 00:15:45
    hold on not so fast things are a lot
  • 00:15:48
    more complicated than that
  • 00:15:50
    edel saw shalom's origin hypothesis of
  • 00:15:53
    gnosticism and new platonism lying at
  • 00:15:56
    the roots of Kabbalah as one which
  • 00:15:58
    sought to explain kabbalah's Roots as
  • 00:16:01
    belonging to non-jewish intellectual
  • 00:16:03
    universes
  • 00:16:04
    edel accuses Shalom of failing to look
  • 00:16:07
    for an explanation for the emergence of
  • 00:16:09
    Kabbalah from within internal Jewish
  • 00:16:11
    sources themselves first
  • 00:16:14
    a development of a tradition within a
  • 00:16:17
    tradition built on the interpretation of
  • 00:16:19
    earlier Jewish texts and ideas as
  • 00:16:21
    Judaism does the natural first place to
  • 00:16:24
    look in Adele's opinion
  • 00:16:27
    Shalom according to edel goes instead to
  • 00:16:30
    find kabbalah's predecessors in
  • 00:16:32
    religious categories comparatively alien
  • 00:16:34
    in the literature of classical Judaism
  • 00:16:37
    ignoring or at least not paying adequate
  • 00:16:39
    attention to kabbalah's natural habitat
  • 00:16:42
    chuism
  • 00:16:44
    where shalom's or novelty Innovation and
  • 00:16:47
    infiltration from outside and
  • 00:16:49
    marginalized sources edel thought it
  • 00:16:52
    more natural to trace kabbalah's
  • 00:16:54
    development from within the world of
  • 00:16:55
    rabbinic Judaism itself as an Innovative
  • 00:16:58
    no doubt but natural progression from
  • 00:17:01
    earlier strata of Jewish thought the
  • 00:17:03
    literature of the Tanakh the tamur and
  • 00:17:05
    the midrash the mystical texts of the
  • 00:17:07
    Jewish poetry and philosophy piyota and
  • 00:17:11
    lastly the German political literature
  • 00:17:14
    of the khasire ashkenaz the German pie
  • 00:17:18
    test of the 11th and 12th century that
  • 00:17:20
    we mentioned earlier
  • 00:17:21
    in addition to this accusation of
  • 00:17:24
    prioritizing external sources edel finds
  • 00:17:27
    shalom's explanation to be too
  • 00:17:29
    simplistic for a phenomena as diverse as
  • 00:17:31
    Kabbalah its literature writes edel is
  • 00:17:34
    replete with tensions controversies and
  • 00:17:36
    fierce disputes and any simplistic
  • 00:17:39
    explanation of its origin relies on a
  • 00:17:42
    smoothed over homogeneous version of
  • 00:17:44
    this mystical literature ignoring the
  • 00:17:46
    variety of types of Kabbalah differing
  • 00:17:49
    from each other both from
  • 00:17:50
    phenomenological historical geographical
  • 00:17:52
    and terminological points of view
  • 00:17:55
    differing from each other in their
  • 00:17:57
    experience their time in history their
  • 00:17:59
    location in space and in the language
  • 00:18:01
    which they use to explain their theories
  • 00:18:04
    edel in his counter theory for the
  • 00:18:07
    emergence of Kabbalah does not propose
  • 00:18:09
    one simple explanation one fit all
  • 00:18:12
    answer or even one model of the
  • 00:18:15
    relationship between Kabbalah and
  • 00:18:17
    neoplatonism as if each of those were
  • 00:18:19
    unitary solitary internally consistent
  • 00:18:22
    things edallen said gives us a piecemeal
  • 00:18:25
    answer talking about the relationship of
  • 00:18:28
    a handful of early kabbalistic thinkers
  • 00:18:30
    in relation to certain late platonistic
  • 00:18:33
    thinkers followed by examining the next
  • 00:18:36
    cluster of kabbalists separated by time
  • 00:18:38
    geography and belief from those
  • 00:18:40
    preceding them and so on and so forth
  • 00:18:42
    throughout the history of Kabbalah
  • 00:18:44
    beginning from the late 12th century on
  • 00:18:47
    the west coast of the European continent
  • 00:18:49
    all the way into the 16th and 17th
  • 00:18:51
    centuries on the other side of the
  • 00:18:52
    continent in Italy Greece and the
  • 00:18:55
    Galilee
  • 00:18:57
    Adele believes that to understand the
  • 00:18:59
    role new platonism plays in the history
  • 00:19:01
    of Jewish mysticism one needs to First
  • 00:19:03
    trace the rising and falling fortunes of
  • 00:19:07
    Plato and Aristotle or really Plato
  • 00:19:10
    verse Aristotle in their reception in
  • 00:19:13
    Jewish intellectual history as a whole
  • 00:19:15
    because when we read the kabbalists
  • 00:19:18
    closely we can see them reflecting those
  • 00:19:20
    General Trends in their own
  • 00:19:23
    relationships to these key thinkers and
  • 00:19:26
    these schools of thought which they
  • 00:19:27
    produced
  • 00:19:29
    while new platonism had been on the rise
  • 00:19:31
    in Judaism with thinkers like Isaac
  • 00:19:34
    Israeli Solomon IBN Gabriel Moses and
  • 00:19:37
    Abraham IBN Ezra and Abraham ibnria with
  • 00:19:41
    the rise of Abraham IBN dawood and even
  • 00:19:43
    more so with Moses maimonides
  • 00:19:45
    neo-acitalianism had become all the rage
  • 00:19:49
    one can with a fair degree of precision
  • 00:19:51
    Trace all of Jewish medieval philosophy
  • 00:19:54
    as a Battleground where acetylianism and
  • 00:19:57
    neoplatonism vied for Supremacy watching
  • 00:20:00
    Jewish philosophy swing back and forth
  • 00:20:02
    between them as their fortunes rise and
  • 00:20:05
    fall
  • 00:20:06
    according to edel maimonides project
  • 00:20:08
    with its thorough rejection of many
  • 00:20:11
    sacred texts practices and traditions of
  • 00:20:14
    Jewish mysticism forced the early
  • 00:20:16
    kabbalists to come out of hiding and
  • 00:20:19
    counter his philosophy which was
  • 00:20:21
    spreading like wildfire with a mystical
  • 00:20:23
    philosophy of their own a philosophy
  • 00:20:26
    which they believed to be the true
  • 00:20:27
    inheritance of the Jewish mystical
  • 00:20:30
    tradition and esoteric law the very one
  • 00:20:33
    of which ahmades was denying its
  • 00:20:35
    legitimacy and authenticity
  • 00:20:37
    this kabbalistic Counter-Strike to
  • 00:20:40
    maimonides and the rejection of his
  • 00:20:43
    neo-arsityianism as well which many of
  • 00:20:46
    them believe to be the true illegitimate
  • 00:20:48
    foreign intrusion into Jewish thought is
  • 00:20:51
    what gave rise in Adele's opinion to
  • 00:20:53
    Kabbalah as we know it today providing a
  • 00:20:57
    alternative to immunity's thinking a
  • 00:20:59
    theory which gives us ironically
  • 00:21:01
    maimonides the great rationalist as the
  • 00:21:04
    Catalyst albeit negative Catalyst of
  • 00:21:07
    Kabbalah
  • 00:21:08
    according to this Theory put forth by
  • 00:21:11
    edel the Resurgence of Kabbalah from a
  • 00:21:14
    secret law forced to the surface in the
  • 00:21:17
    12th century by the unwitting hand of
  • 00:21:20
    the Great Eagle did in fact mingle with
  • 00:21:23
    neoplatonic ideas that had already been
  • 00:21:26
    made kosher by 300 years of Jewish new
  • 00:21:29
    platonists before it which gave shape in
  • 00:21:32
    Adele's opinion to early Kabbalah being
  • 00:21:35
    a Fountainhead of neoplatonic Concepts
  • 00:21:37
    imagery and mystical term mythical
  • 00:21:40
    speculations join us next time as we
  • 00:21:43
    explore a few of the key themes that
  • 00:21:46
    make their way from the neoplatonists
  • 00:21:48
    into the early kabbalists and see what
  • 00:21:51
    the kabbalists themselves have to say
  • 00:21:53
    about all this
  • 00:21:56
    thank you everyone for joining us here
  • 00:21:58
    to learn thank you for those who made it
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    all the way to the end of the video
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    this work over at patreon.com Seekers
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    please do join them if you would like to
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    and can afford it and lastly don't
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    forget to check out our fantastic
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    collaborators work making their parallel
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