Glenn Dynner, author of the book Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society, will teach a summer CCE course on Jewish Mysticism: From Antiquity to the Present at Sarah Lawrence College, in New York, between June 4- July 18, 2013:

This course traces the history of Jewish mysticism from late antiquity through modernity. After an overview of early Jewish mysticism from the biblical and rabbinic periods and the mystical-based asceticism of medieval German pietists, we will delve into the medieval flowering of the erotically-charged and heavily symbolic literature known as “Kabbalah”, which developed in Spain and Southern France. We will study kabbalistic approaches to such topics as: God, evil, demonology, sin, death, sexuality, prayer, and magic, particularly as revealed in The Zohar—the most central text of Jewish mysticism that, traditionally, one was forbidden to study until the age of 40. After tracing the further development of Kabbalah in 16th-century Safed (in present-day Israel), we will study a related mass messianic eruption which centered around Shabbetai Tzevi. We then learn about “Hasidism,” an 18th century East European popular mystical movement that centered around charismatic miracle-workers and grew into flourishing, modernity-proof dynasties that often survived the devastation of the Holocaust and continue to exist in America and Israel to this day. This course examines both the speculative and practical dimensions of Jewish mysticism.

B. Les Lancaster has a chapter in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality  on The Hard Problem Revisited: From Cognitive Neuroscience to Kabbalah and Back Again. The book was edited by Harald Walach, Stefan Schmidt, and Wayne B. Jonas and published by Springer in 2011 in their “Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality” series. The abstract of the essay:

The dialogue between cognitive neuroscience and spirituality/mysticism has largely entailed measuring the neural and cognitive effects of spiritual practices. Such research follows from the spiritual traditions’ teachings about the intended psychological effects of practice. The ontologically more challenging postulates of spiritual traditions (e.g., mind beyond brain, ‘higher’ or ‘ultimate’ realities) are ignored when focusing in this way on measurable concomitants of practice. In this chapter I argue that the dialogue should be widened to include some of the ontologically more challenging concepts, where these involve references to the brain and psychological states. A specific example is examined in some detail: the kabbalistic worldview posits a correspondence between higher and lower levels in the cosmos (‘macrocosm’ and ‘microcosm’), and includes notions of unconscious thought arising in ‘brains’ in the Godhead. I demonstrate that the macrocosmic principles advanced in kabbalistic literature display a degree of concordance with the results of current research into the neural correlate of consciousness. I explore the implications of this concordance for the light it may cast on the enduring hard problem of consciousness.

The afternoon courses of Spertus Institute‘s Distance Learning Seminar will include this summer, July 7 –  11, 2013, a course on Jewish Mystical Liturgical Texts, taught by Rabbi Dr. Byron L. Sherwin:

The focus of this course is the profound impact of Jewish mystical teachings on Jewish liturgical compositions, many of them well-known from the traditional prayers recited on weekdays and holidays. The impact of Jewish mystical ideas upon rituals and meanings of well-established Jewish rituals will also be discussed. After a review of some background issues and ideas, the majority of class time will concentrate on classical Jewish liturgical texts composed by Jewish mystics in ancient and medieval times and informed by the Jewish mystical tradition. If Judaism is a religion shaped by its liturgy, this course demonstrates the endemically mystical nature of the Jewish religion. Some texts to be studied include: Ein Keloheinu, Alenu, Kedushah, L’cha Dodi, The Martryrology, the Tu B’shvat Seder, Tikkun Leyl Shavuot, Ushpizin, Counting the Omer, and others. Liturgical and supporting primary texts will be studied in the original Hebrew/Aramaic with English translations (when available). In addition, there will be required secondary readings. Besides the primary and secondary texts available on Desire2Learn, students are recommended to read: Byron L. Sherwin, Kabbalah: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism (2006, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, available in paperback and hardcover) for background in Jewish mysticism.

Charles H. Silverstein published an article in Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought (Volume 55, Issue 2, 2012) on “Kabbalistic Influences on Alchemy, Psychoanalysis, and Analytic Psychology“. Abstract:

With the Scientific Revolution, the Hermetic science of alchemy transformed into chemistry. From the perspective of the scientific worldview, alchemy was merely a pseudoscientific proto-chemistry. Beginning in the nineteenth century, researchers rediscovered alchemy as an allegory for spiritual development. However, prior to the Middle Ages, alchemy was not an allegorical narrative, but rather a metallurgic craft that incorporated religious principles. At some point, metallurgic alchemy transformed into allegorical alchemy in which the focus was on personal development through spiritual growth. This transformation may have occurred sometime in the Middle Ages, a time period in which alchemists incorporated principles of Jewish mysticism, known as Kabbalah, into alchemy. Not until the mid-twentieth century did researchers explore the extent of the Kabbalistic influences on alchemy.

The Kabbalah may have also influenced Sigmund Freud. His father was a partially assimilated Hasidic Jew, and Freud himself may have been acquainted with Kabbalistic writings. Researchers have compared psychoanalysis to the principles and psychological constructs of a major stream of Kabbalah—Lurianic Kabbalah. While in Freud’s Viennese circle, Herbert Silberer wrote a seminal book on the occult that for the first time portrayed alchemy as a psychology of the unconscious. Although Freud repudiated his writings, the book eventually influenced Carl Jung.

Jung became interested in alchemy’s symbolism as a key to a psychology of the unconscious. Although Jung acknowledged the influence of Kabbalah on alchemy, his unacknowledged relationship to the Kabbalah was significant. The aspects of alchemy that influenced Jung the most were the very ones that were deeply influenced by the Kabbalah.

Moshe Idel published an article in The Jewish Quarterly Review (Volume 103, Number 2, Spring 2013) on “Idel: The Tsadik and His Soulâs Sparks: From Kabbalah to Hasidism“. Abstract:

The present study shows the continuity between the Safedian Kabbalistic view of the relations between the sparks of a certain soul, and the Hasidic theory, that was conceived of as innovated by and characteristic of 18th century Hasidism, as to the responsibility of the Tsadik for the sparks that belongs to his soul. In the two literatures, the rescue of a spark of one’s soul is related to the beautiful captive woman that is conceived of as an externalization of an inner dimension of the righteous person, immersed in a shell.

Sami Sjöberg published an article in Neohelicon (December 2012, Volume 39, Issue 2, pp 305-319) on “Writing in Secret: Kabbalistic Language Mysticism and Messianic Teleology in Lettrism“. Abstract:

The article addresses the influence of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, and messianism in the avant-garde movement lettrism. The poetic experiments of Jewish avant-gardists were often influenced by Kabbalah and this study focuses on the theme of secrecy and its manifestations in writing. Lettrism adopts the elements of the so-called kabbalistic secret writing, which resembles written language but is fundamentally opaque. The secret thus hidden is at once linguistic and ontological. Therefore, the secret is here analysed both as a medial and an ontological opening, which dispel the dualisms recurring in rational modes of thinking. Hence, the secret appears as a manifestation of a cognitive void. Even though the secret cannot be known, it resides at the temporal limits of the phenomenal world and includes a teleological vector. This vector implies that the secret is entwined in a messianic promise according to which language will eventually signify and mediate meaning.

Tomorrow, Aprl 26, 2013, There will be  ”A Talk with Phil Raskin: Discussing Kabbalism” at  Inver Hills Community College. Here is the basic description from the flyer

Jewish mysticism is an interesting and important aspect of Judaic philosophy. Come learn more about an often underappreciated aspect of Judaism.

We will be discussing the role of Kabbalism within Judaism. Phil has been teaching at a local Synagogue for over two decades and has years of experience with Jewish ritual objects and their use in Judaic practice. This should be an exciting and informative discussion!

Tzahi Weiss published an article in The Journal of Religion (Vol. 93, No. 1, January 2013) on “Who Is a Beautiful Maiden without Eyes? The Metamorphosis of a Zohar Midrashic Image from a Christian Allegory to a Kabbalistic Metaphor“. Opening paragraph:

The cultural origins of the medieval Jewish belief in the Shekhinah as an independent feminine divine presence has been the subject of an important scholarly debate in the field of Jewish mysticism during the last decade. At the crux of this debate stands the question concerning the possible influence of the revival of the praxis of devotion to Mary, during the High Middle Ages, on the emergence of the medieval Jewish belief in the Shkehinah as a feminine divine presence. The conclusion that this revival was indeed what influenced the evolution of the Jewish belief in the Shekhinah is supported by the combination of two facts: the lack of any detailed discussion concerning the belief in a feminine divine presence in Jewish sources prior to the twelfth century CE compounded by the fact that at the very same time and in that very same cultural context Marian worship flourished.

Dr. Eliezer Shore will teach a course at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem June 30 – July 28, 2013 on “The New Kabbalah: From Jewish Mystics to Madonna“. Course Description:

For millennia, Kabbalah – the Jewish mystical tradition – was a highly guarded, orally transmitted body of knowledge. Today, Kabbalah is everywhere, from the internet, to Madonna, to popular charms and amulets. This course explores the ways in which Kabbalah has entered into diverse forms of contemporary spirituality, new-age thought, religious cross-fertilization (i.e. Buddhist Kabbalah), art, cinema, and even politics.

After a brief introduction into the question of mystical experience and an overview of the history of the Kabbalah, the course will zigzag through history – jumping from earlier generations of thinkers to contemporary Kabbalists and Hasidic masters. In this way, the student will see how ancient, mythic ideas receive modern interpretation. We will examine Kabbalistic writings on such issues as the nature of the Divine, the reasons for creation, and humanity’s role in the process of redemption in such seminal works as the Zohar, the Lurianic corpus and the works of R. Yehudah Ashlag. In comparison, we will examine the teachings of The Kabbalah Center and Bnei Baruch; modern Jewish theologians (Arthur Green), contemporary Jewish meditation (Jay Michaelson), right-wing religious Zionists (R. Yitzchak Ginsburgh), artists (Eliah Succot, David Friedman, Madonna, Matisyahu), feminists, psychologists and environmentalists. Various perspectives on G-d and the universe, the human body and sexuality, meditation, ritual, and healing will be also examined. The question we will ask throughout is: “Is Kabbalah just another fad, or does it add true and profound value to the various disciplines to which it is applied?” Throughout the course, the rich picture of the Jewish mystical tradition will be complimented by frequent comparison to other great spiritual traditions of the world.

Sandra Valabregue-Perry published an article in Jewish Quarterly Review (Volume 102, Number 3, Summer 2012) on “The Concept of Infinity (Eyn-sof) and the Rise of Theosophical Kabbalah“. Abstract:

The rise of theosophical Kabbalah is commonly understood as the appearance of a two-folded structure consisting of ten Sefirot on the one hand, and a transcendental entity named Eyn-Sof (infinity) on the other. In this article an alternative model will be proposed trying thus to shed new light on the rise of theosophical Kabbalah. The role of Eyn-Sof in the formation of the theosophical system will be reexamined by emphasizing the common roots of Eyn-Sof and the Sefirot and their interconnection. This study will trace the development of Eyn-Sof from the Jewish cosmological tradition of Sefer Yetzirah to 13th century kabbalistic commentaries. It will thus portray the novelty of this trend in comparison to the philosophical commentaries on Sefer Yetzirah that preceded the rise of Kabbalah.

This article argues that the concept of Eyn-Sof originated in Sefer Yetzirah, and acquired its unique sense in the exegetical theosophical literature on that work. From this time forward, the vertical structure of the theosophical system, its infinite expansion from the source and its infinite upper extension toward the source, would prevail in most of the theosophical works.

Eyn-Sof became synonymous with God’s essence not necessarily because of its apophatic character but precisely because of the theosophical space that is made possible by the infinite extension. The image of Eyn-Sof portrayed here differs thus from the abstract, inaccessible and remoteness usually associated with it; Eyn-Sof became the divine space itself.