Mesiášská idea v judaismu

In shaping the concept of messiah and redemption in Judaism, according to G. Scholem (1897-1982), the restorative and utopian currents in particular contributed to the transformation of the old heritage of apocalypticism. In the essays contained in this collection, the author notes the catastrophic and revolutionary elements of Jewish messianism as well as the differences with Christianity regarding the inner and outer aspects of salvation. He discusses the connections with the kabbalistic understanding of the world's redemption; he analyzes the antinomian tendencies expressed in the heretical concept of "redemption through sin" and developed in the false messianic movements of Sabbatianism and Frankistism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the doctrines of Eastern European Hasidism, then, he sees a certain neutralization of the messianic tension leading to a shift of emphasis to the personal sphere of man. Other essays cover selected topics in the history of Jewish religion and literature.

Czech edition