Heavenly Powers - Hardcover

Silberman, Neil A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039914448X ISBN 13: 9780399144486

Publisher: Putnam Adult, 1998

Synopsis

Tracing the rich history of the Jewish Kabbalah from ancient Babylon to the Renaissance to the present day, a historian reveals its importance as a political, as well as religious, doctrine that challenged the tyranny of earthly potentates and kings.

About this title

Review:

Heavenly Powers: Unraveling the Secret History of the Kabbalah gives a political history of Jewish mysticism. Neil Asher Silberman says the goal of his book is to describe "how kabbalistic rituals--at least in their initial stages--expressed symbolic yearnings for down-to-earth political ideals, formulated under particular historical conditions, with particular earthly injustices in mind." Silberman argues that Kabbalah inspired concrete economic, religious, and political movements in Babylon during the time of Ezekiel, in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, in Istanbul at the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, and in Renaissance Venice. His saga sometimes stretches credibility in its aspiration to historical sweep, but he's entitled. A person can get carried away when he or she has discovered a secret, and Neil Asher Silberman, by describing the political effects of Jewish mysticism, has certainly done that. --Michael Joseph Gross

About the Author:

Neil Asher Silberman studied under Israel's greatest archaeologist, Yigael Yadin, and worked for the Israel Department of Antiquities. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University and continued his studies at Yale University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology. He is the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship (1991-92) and has written a number of well-received books on the ancient Near East, such as Digging for God and Country, Between Past and Present, and A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin; Soldier, Scholar, and Mythmaker of Modern Israel. In addition, he has held editorial positions at Archaeology Magazine, Biblical Archaeologist, and the Oxford Companion to World Archaeology. Mr. Silberman lives in Branford, Connecticut with his wife and daughter and is currently working on his fifth book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 039914448X
• ISBN 13: 9780399144486
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 271