713 • 726-9520 srossel@rossel.net

Ancient Jewish Mysticism

God's Chariot: From Talmud to Medieval Times

Jewish mysticism was already evident in Biblical times, but encounters with Hellenism from the West and Zoroastrianism from the East accelerated its development. Absorbing these influences, Jewish mysticism emerged in uniquely Jewish ways. It can be arranged into two elemental periods, divided by movements before and movements after the emergence of Kabbalah and, especially, the publication of the Zohar.

(For destinations that seek intensive study, Rossel has crafted two separate courses: This, "God’s Chariot," the first, concentrates on Jewish mysticism from ancient to medieval times. Either course stands on its own; and for destinations with less time commitment, various segments of each course can also stand alone.)

Available Topics Include

  • Basic Mystic Concepts: Transformation, Gnosis, Allegory, & Piety

  • The Mother Goddess: Restoring the Role of the Feminine

  • The Mystic Prophets

  • Intimations of Intimacy: Mystic Books of the Apocrypha

  • The Work of Creation

  • The Work of the Chariot

  • Dealing with Demons: Aramaic Magic Bowls

  • Mystics & Magicians: Sefer Razim, "The Book of Secrets"

  • Sefer Yetzirah, "The Book of Creation"

  • Golem: Practical Mysticism

  • Hasidei Ashkenaz: Mystics along the Rhine

  • Kalonymus: The Pious Family

  • Judah the Pious and Eleazar of Worms

  • The School of Provence

  • Gnosticism: Secrets Behind Secrets

  • Sefer HaBahir, "The Book of Brightness"

  • Hasidei Ashkenaz: Their Rituals & Their Practice

  • Lilith: A Pictorial Essay

  • Protections against Armies of Medieval Demons

  • Isaac the Blind & His Spanish Students

  • Abraham Abulafia & The Tenets of Prophetic Kabbalah

  • Origins of the Zohar

  • The Doctrine of Sefirot: A Pictorial Essay

You may also be interested in

You may also be interested in

You may also be interested in