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The Kabbalah
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Jewish philosophy and Kabbalistic scholarship

The Kabbalah, or the Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews

Adolphe Franck1843
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The first rigorous modern scholarly study of the Kabbalah, published in French in 1843 by the philosopher Adolphe Franck. Drawing on the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, Franck reconstructs the principal doctrines of Jewish mysticism — the nature of God (Ein Sof), the ten Sefirot, the cosmic drama of creation and emanation, the soul and its destiny — and argues for striking parallels with Neoplatonic and Pythagorean philosophy. Written before the great 20th-century Kabbalistic scholarship, it represents the entry of Kabbalah into European academic discourse and remains a valuable historical introduction.

This edition1843
EditionOriginally published in French as La Kabbale, 1843; English translation by I. Sossnitz, 1926
Hebrew KabbalahDivine emanationKabbalistic correspondencesKabbalahNeoplatonismHebrew mysticismKabbalistic magicHistory of religionKabbalistic meditationKabbalismmystical studyJewish KabbalahEsoteric Philosophy

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Contents83 chapters

  1. 01THE. KABBALAH
  2. 02FRANCK
  3. 03THE KABBALAH
  4. 04THE RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY
  5. 05OF THE HEBREWS
  6. 06ADOLPH FRANCK
  7. 07DR. I. SOSSNITZ
  8. 08SPECIAL EDITION
  9. 09JOSEPH L. SOSSNITZ
  10. 10THE SEPHIROTH
  11. 11AND THEIR INTERRELATIONS
  12. 12SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
  13. 13INTRODUCTION
  14. 14PART ONE
  15. 15CHAPTER I—The Antiquity of the Kabbalah.
  16. 16CHAPTER II—The Kabbalistic Books. Authenticity of the Sefer Yetzirah.
  17. 17CHAPTER III—Authenticity of the Zohar.
  18. 18PART TWO
  19. 19PART THREE
  20. 20APPENDIX
  21. 21INDEX
  22. 22PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION
  23. 23PREFACE TO THE GERMAN TRANSLATION OF THE FIRST FRENCH EDITION
  24. 24FOREWORD TO THE SECOND FRENCH EDITION
  25. 25PREFACE OF THE AUTHOR
  26. 26INTRODUCTION
  27. 27CHAPTER I
  28. 28THE ANTIQUITY OF THE KABBALAH
  29. 29CHAPTER II THE KABBALISTIC BOOKS
  30. 30AUTHENTICITY OF THE SEFER YETZIRAH
  31. 31CHAPTER III
  32. 32THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE ZOHAR
  33. 33CHAPTER I
  34. 34THE DOCTRINE CONTAINED IN THE KABBALISTIC BOOKS. ANALYSIS OF THE SEFER YETZIRAH
  35. 35CHAPTER II
  36. 36ANALYSIS OF THE ZOHAR
  37. 37ALLEGORICAL METHOD OF THE KABBALISTS
  38. 38CHAPTER III
  39. 39CONTINUATION OF THE ANALYSIS
  40. 40OF THE ZOHAR
  41. 41THE KABBALISTS' CONCEPTION OF THE
  42. 42NATURE OF GOD
  43. 43CHAPTER IV
  44. 44CONTINUATION OF THE ANALYSIS
  45. 45OF THE ZOHAR
  46. 46THE KABBALISTS' VIEW OF THE WORLD
  47. 47CHAPTER V
  48. 48CONTINUATION OF THE ANALYSIS OF THE ZOHAR
  49. 49VIEW OF THE KABBALISTS ON THE HUMAN SOUL
  50. 50CHAPTER I
  51. 51SYSTEMS WHICH OFFER SOME RESEMBLANCE TO THE KABBALAH
  52. 52CHAPTER II
  53. 53RELATION OF THE KABBALAH TO THE ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL
  54. 54CHAPTER III
  55. 55RELATION OF THE KABBALAH TO THE DOCTRINE OF PHILO
  56. 56CHAPTER IV
  57. 57RELATION OF THE KABBALAH TO CHRISTIANITY
  58. 58CHAPTER V
  59. 59RELATION OF THE KABBALAH TO THE RELIGION OF THE CHALDEANS AND PERSIANS
  60. 60APPENDIX
  61. 61BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES ON THE ZOHAR
  62. 62A. NAMES OF THE ZOHAR
  63. 63EDITIONS OF THE ZOHAR
  64. 64C. ELEMENTS OF THE ZOHAR
  65. 65TRANSLATIONS OF THE ZOHAR
  66. 66TRANSLATIONS
  67. 67ENGLISH:
  68. 68FRENCH:
  69. 69GERMAN:
  70. 70HEBREW:
  71. 71YIDDISH:
  72. 72LITERATURE ON THE BOOK OF FORMATION
  73. 73(SEFER YETZIRAH)
  74. 74INDEX
  75. 75INDEX. A
  76. 76B. C
  77. 77H. I. J
  78. 78K
  79. 79N. O. P
  80. 80W
  81. 81INDEX
  82. 82ERRATA
  83. 83Date Due

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