Počátky kabaly

In this seminal work, Gershom Scholem (1897-1982), one of the most important Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, analyzes in detail the origins and early stages of the development of Kabbalah, undoubtedly one of the most difficult and important questions in the religious history of Judaism. He describes the various currents that we can distinguish in the earliest Kabbalists, beginning with the first appearance of Kabbalah in the book /Bahir/ around the middle of the 13th century. In doing so, he introduces the reader to the various religious and general historical factors at work at the time when Kabbalah was seeking to crystallize. In his /The Origins of Kabbalah/, Scholem traces primarily Gnostic and Neo-Platonic influences on early Kabbalistic thinkers. According to Scholem, Kabbalah in this period of its development stems from three main centres: Provence, Castile and Gerona. /The origins of the Kabbalah begin with an analysis of the Bahir, a work that Scholem believes originated in the mystical circle led by Yitzhak the Blind in Provence, although he also believes that some layers of this work may have originated in some unknown Jewish Gnostic groups. Moving to Castile and Gerona, the Kabbalah is increasingly active in positioning itself as an alternative theology to rationalist philosophy. Scholem takes the view that the Geronian school was not an independent entity, but rather a continuation of an earlier circle in Provence, from which it emerged

Czech edition