"And they shall be one flesh" : : on the language of mystical union in Judaism / / by Adam Afterman.

• Superior document: Supplements to the Journal of Jewish thought and philosophy, volume 26
• VerfasserIn: Afterman, Adam,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2016]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to The journal of Jewish thought and philosophy ; volume 26.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (289 pages)
• Notes: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

"In "And They Shall Be One Flesh: On the Language of Mystical Union in Judaism", Adam Afterman offers for the first time an extensive study of mystical union and embodiment in Judaism. Afterman argues that Philo was the first to articulate the notion of unio mystica in Judaism and in monotheism and is the source of the henōsis mysticism in the later Neoplatonic tradition. The study provides a detailed analysis of the Jewish medieval trends that developed different forms of mystical union and mystical embodiment through the Holy Spirit. The book argues that the development of unitive mysticism in Judaism is the fruit of substantial moments of openness, not only to Greek and Arab philosophy but also to Islam and Christianity"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction -- 2. From Philo to Plotinus: the emergence of mystical union -- 3. Unio mystica and ancient Jewish mysticism -- 4. Platonic and Aristotelian traditions of union -- 5. "As light unites with light": the language of union in Jewish Neoplatonism -- 6. The language of union in the writings of Moses Maimonides and Moses Nachmanides -- 7. Mystical union in early kabbalah -- 8. Mystical union in the ecstatic kabbalah of Abraham Abulafia -- 9. Language and images of mystical union in the kabbalah of R. Isaac of Acre -- 10. "Single unification, single bond": the language of union and unity in the Zohar -- 11. From kabbalah to the Renaissance and Hasidism: a brief overview.