Kabbalah Since the AR”Y: Chassidism
Chassidism marked a moment of revolutionary change in Jewish life and spiritual engagement of the 18th century. Heavily influenced by the kabbalistic teachings of the Ari, early Chassidic thinkers explored and contributed to the development of Jewish mysticism.
In this podcast episode, David discusses the lives and work of several early influential Chassidic figures whose ideas fit within the framework of Kabbalah, including;
- the Baal Shem Tov
- the Maggid of Mezricth
- Rebbe Nachman
- the Alter Rebbe.
David places these figures and their contributions in their historical 18th century European context and unpacks some of their fascinating and complex mystical ideas.
Other concepts discussed in this episode:
- Kabbalah & Jewish mysticism
- Lurianic Kabbalah
- the Zohar
- chassidism
- chochma
- hitbonenut
- hitlahavut
- keter
- otiot
- tzimtzum
- kli
- sovev
- bina
Listeners who find this material new or challenging may wish to refer to the glossary of kabbalistic terms (with illustrative graphics) provided here.
Find part one of the series which looks at the life and ideas of the AR”Y (Rabbi Isaac Luria) here.
Find part two of the series which examines the lives and ideas of key 18th post-Lurianic thinkers, including the Vilna Gaon and Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in this episode.
Find more of David Solomon’s podcast, with dozens of lectures on Jewish history, the Bible, Jewish philosophy, and Kabbalah here.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16:01 — 104.4MB)
This three-part series was recorded in Jerusalem at the OU Israel Center in 2009.