mysticism/kabbalah Flashcards
what is mysticism
- the direct knowledge of God can be attained through a magical experience
- the practice of religious ecstasy
- the quest to achieve oneness with God
what is Kabbalah
- jewish mysticism
- esoteric teachings meant to explain the connection between god, ein sof and the moral and finite universe
what are the 4 levels of interpreting the Torah
- peshat
- remez
- derash
- sod
what is peshat
direct interpretations of meaning
what is remez
allegorical meanings a deeper understanding
what is derash
rabbinic meaning, universal connections
what is sod
inner, esoteric meanings, secretive meanings
what did the rabbis do in safed
they pass through and discussed the meaning of the Bible and Talmud and built schools
they discussed the messiah
what did the people of safed become because of the rabbis
they were the early kabbalists
what was the Zohar
mystical book, commentary on the bible
who wrote the Zohar
shimon bar yohai
what was the decline of safed
the sultans became worse towards the jews
- they were now restrictions against Jews and schools in Turkey and Palestine were affected
- safed became a poor town again
