Gershom Scholem
Born 5 December 1897 · Died 21 February 1982
Gershom Scholem was born in Berlin, the son of a printer. His interest in Judaica was opposed by his father, but his mother intervened and he was allowed to study Hebrew and the Talmud with an Orthodox rabbi. He studied mathematics, philosophy, and Hebrew at the University of Berlin. In 1918 in Bern he met Elsa Burchkardt who became his first wife. He returned to Germany in 1919 and received a degree in semitic languages at the University of Munich. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the oldest known kabbalistic text, Sefer ha-Bahir. In 1923 he emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel), devoted himself to Jewish mysticism and became a librarian, and then head of the Department of Hebrew and Judaica at the National Library. He went on to become a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He taught the Kabbalah and mysticism from a scientific point of view, and became the first professor of Jewish mysticism at the university in 1933, remaining in this post until his retirement in 1965, when he became an emeritus professor. In 1936, he married his second wife, Fania Freud. His best-known work is his collection of lectures, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941). He is widely regarded as the founder of the modern, academic study of Kabbalah. He died in Jerusalem in 1982.
Books by Gershom Scholem in order
Books by Gershom Scholem in the order they were published, from Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941) to From Frankism to Jacobinism (2023).
- 1Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism1941 - 2Raʻyon ha-geʼulah ba-ḲabalahRaʻyon ha-geʼulah ba-Ḳabalah1941
- 3Zohar, the Book of Splendor
Zohar, the Book of Splendor1949 - 4Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Traditio
Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition1960 - 5On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism
On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism1960 - 6On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead
On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead1962 - 7ha- Ḳabalah shel Sefer ha-Temunah ṿe-shel Avraham Abulʻafyha- Ḳabalah shel Sefer ha-Temunah ṿe-shel Avraham Abulʻafyah1965
- 8Walter Benjamin
Walter Benjamin1965 - 9The Messianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spi
The Messianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality1971 - 10Sabbatai Sevi
Sabbatai Sevi1973 - 11Kabbalah
Kabbalah1974 - 12From Berlin/jerusalem
From Berlin/jerusalem1977 - 13La cábala y su simbolismo
La cábala y su simbolismo 1978 - 14„…Und Alles Ist Kabbala“
„…Und Alles Ist Kabbala“1980 - 15Kriminologie Im Strafprozess
Kriminologie Im Strafprozess1980 - 16Le Nom et les symboles de Dieu dans la mystique juiveLe Nom et les symboles de Dieu dans la mystique juive1983
- 17Las Grandes Tendencias De La Mistica Judia
Las Grandes Tendencias De La Mistica Judia1993 - 18Aux origines religieuses du judaïsme laïque
Aux origines religieuses du judaïsme laïque1999 - 19Briefe, 3 Bde., Bd.3, 1971-1982
Briefe, 3 Bde., Bd.3, 1971-19821999 - 20The Fullness of Time
The Fullness of Time2003 - 21Devils, Demons and SoulsDevils, Demons and Souls2004
- 22Lamentations of Youth
Lamentations of Youth2008 - 23From Frankism to Jacobinism
From Frankism to Jacobinism2023 - 24Urpsrung Und Anfaenge Der Kabbala
Urpsrung Und Anfaenge Der Kabbala