Most scholars of Judaism take the term "Jewish mysticism" for granted, and do not engage in a critical discussion of the essentialist perceptions that underlie it. Mystifying Kabbalah studies the evolution of the concept of Jewish mysticism. It examines the major developments in the academic study of Jewish mysticism and its impact on modern Kabbalistic movements in the contexts of Jewish nationalism and New Age spirituality. Boaz Huss argues that Jewish mysticism is a modern discursive construct and that the identification of Kabbalah and Hasidism as forms of mysticism, which appeared for the first time in the nineteenth century and has become prevalent since the early twentieth, shaped the way in which Kabbalah and Hasidism are perceived and studied today. The notion of Jewish mysticism was established when western scholars accepted the modern idea that mysticism is a universal religious phenomenon of a direct experience of a divine or transcendent reality and applied it to Kabbalah and Hasidism. "Jewish mysticism" gradually became the defining category in the modern academic research of these topics. This book clarifies the historical, cultural, and political contexts that led to the identification of Kabbalah and Hasidism as Jewish mysticism, exposing the underlying ideological and theological presuppositions and revealing the impact of this "mystification" on contemporary forms of Kabbalah and Hasidism.

About the Author
Boaz Huss is the Aron Bernstein Professor of Jewish History in the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is the vice president of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism. His research interests include the history of Kabbalah, Western esotericism, New Age culture and new religious movements in Israel.

Reviews
This book documents, in an exhaustive and epic manner, the complex relationship of Kabbalah studies to the business of mysticism. * Dr. Pinchas Giller, Chair of the Jewish Studies Department and Jean and Harvey Powell Professor in the College of Arts & Sciences, Marginalia *
This book is an intriguing contribution to the academic history of Kabbalah, which presents a highly innovative approach to Kabbalah that combines cultural studies approaches with critical considerations from Jewish Studies. * Nicole Maria Bauer, Religious Studies Review *
Those interested in kabbalah, its scholarship, and suggestions for new directions should welcome this eminently readable volume. * S. Ward, CHOICE *
The new English edition of Huss's book will remain an essential read for those who wish to critically engage not only with the study of Kabbalistic traditions but also with the scholarly categories that shaped the academic field of Jewish studies at large. * Agata Paluch, Journal of Jewish Studies *
Highly recommended for academic libraries. * Daniel Scheide, Florida Atlantic University, Association of Jewish Libraries *
Mystifying Kabbalah is an important methodological intervention in the academic study of Kabbalah... * Brian Hillman, Reading Religion *
Kabbalah and mysticism are strange bedfellows. Such is the counterintuitive argument at the heart of Boaz Huss's new book,... Huss's presentation conflates a range of disparate motivations that fuel scholars of religion, history, culture, and, yes, theology. * Ariel Evan Mayse, Stanford University, The Journal of Religion *
This book makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of religion and Kabbalah, opening up important and innovative perspectives for our understanding of Kabbalah and Hasidism their reception. * Nicole Maria Bauer, University of Innsbruck, Religious Studies Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780190086961
Author Boaz Huss
Format Hardback
Page Count 200
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 458g
Dimensions(mm) 155mm * 236mm * 20mm