Gershom Scholem

Gershom Scholem , was a historian and Juif philosopher, specialist in the Kabbale and the Jewish mystic. Born with Berlin in 1897, died with Jerusalem in February 1982.

Biography

In Germany

Gershom Scholem is born in an Jewish family from comparable Silesia with the German culture. In revolt against them, it redécouvre its Jewish roots, and the Zionism during its adolescence. He learns the Hebrew , and studies the Talmud under the direction of an orthodoxe rabbi. He attends much the mediums Ostjuden and in particular Martin Buber. He studies also mathematics and philosophy. In 1915, it meets Walter Benjamin. Dice this time, it is fascinated by the cabal, which it places in the center of the continuity of the Jewish history.

In 1918, it decides to be devoted definitively to the Jewish studies, and passes in 1922 its thesis to Munich on the Séfer ha-Bahir text of the cabal of Provence.

In Israel

It arrives at Jerusalem in 1923, and it becomes responsible for the Jewish and Hebraic section of the library of future the Hebraic Université of Jerusalem. In 1925, when the University is created, it is in charge of teaching for the Jewish mystic, then in 1933, it is elected professor. it occupied the pulpit until 1965. He was member of the Académie of Israel as from 1960, and chair this academy, of 1968 with his death.

He bequeathed a very important library devoted to the cabal to the Hebraic University.

Its immense work inserted the study of the cabal in the academic field of the social sciences. But it was also a figure of the history of Israel, fascinating position on all the touching subjects the country. It was always attentive so that the Zionism sinks neither in nationalism, nor in the populism, and preserved between rationalism and orthodoxy an open Judaism of freedom towards the Utopia.

Work

The oeuve of Gershom Scholem includes/understands more than forty volumes and seven hundred articles. Among most important, one can quote:

Bibliographia kabbalistika , 1933. Complete bibliography of works on the cabal of the origins at our days.

Majors Trends off Jewish Mysticism , 1941. Resumption of these conferences in Jewish Theological Seminary of New York. This book brushes a complete history of the Jewish mystic, with his ruptures and its continuity. It is this book which makes it universally famous.

שבתיצביוהתנועההשבתאיתבימיחייו , 1957. Masterly biography of Sabbataï Tsevi, the sabbataïsme and its time.

Ursprung und Anfänge der Kabbalah , 1962. On the beginnings of the cabal in Spain and Provence, in particular around the work of the brothers Isaac and Jacob Cohen, and their disciple Brace of Burgos.

Available in French

"Large Currents of the mystic juive" , ED.: Payot, 2002, ISBN 2228888192
" Correspondence Walter Benjamin, Theodor W. Adorno " , ED.: Montaigne sapwood, 1992, ISBN 2700701585
Sabbataï Tsevi. The Messiah mystic 1626-1676 , ED. Verdier, 1990, coll: Ten words, ISBN 2864320258
On Jonas, the lamentation and the Judaism , translation: Marc de Launay, Bayard editions, collection BIBLE AND PHILOSOPHY, publication 01-03-2007, 96 pages, ISBN 2227476702

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