Studies in Religious Philosophy and Mysticism [Paperback]

The twelve studies here are arranged in three distinct groups  Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic philosophy, Jewish mysticism, and modern philosophy. One theme that appears in various forms and from different angles in the first two sections is that of Images of the Divine. It figures not only in the account of mystical imagery but also in the discussion of the Know thyself motif, and is closely allied to the subject-matter of the studies dealing with mans ascent to the vision of God and his ultimate felicity.

In the third section three thinkers are discussed: the English Deist, William Wollaston, who is shown to be steeped in the medieval Jewish traditions of philosophy and mysticism; Moses Mendelssohn, the philosopher of eighteenth-century Enlightenment, whose thesis asserting Spinozas influence on Leibnizs doctrine of the pre-established Harmony is investigated critically; and Franz Rosenzweig, the most brilliant religious philosopher in twentieth-century Jewry, whose notion of History is analysed.

Originally published in 1969, this is an important work of Jewish philosophy.

Introduction  1. The Delphic Maxim in Medieval Islam and Judaism  2. The Ladder of Ascension  3. Ibn B
jja on Mans Ultimate Felicity  4. Essence and Existence in Maimonides  5. A Note on the Rabbinic Doctrine of Creation  6. Saadyas Theory of Revelation: Its Origin and Background  7. Eleazar of Worms Symbol of the Merkabah  8. The Motif of the Shells in Azriel of Gerona  9. Moses Narbonis Epistle on Shi ur Qom
  10. William Wollaston: English Deist and Rabbinic Scholar  11. Moses Mendelssohn on Leibniz and Spinoza  12. Franz Rosenzweig on History