Department of Jewish thought
Subject: From Medieval Catalonia to Christian Kabbalah: Creative Reception as Cultural Encounter in Ma‘arekhet ha-Elohut.
Advisor: Prof. Avishai Bar-Asher.
Abstract: Ma‘arekhet ha-Elohut (MhE, c. 1300) is a foundational, yet understudied medieval Spanish work of Kabbalah. My dissertation will provide the first comprehensive analysis of the MhE, examining its structure, influences, authorship, and transmission through textual analysis and manuscript studies. I will investigate the MhE’s reception among Jewish and Christian thinkers, exploring its role in the cross-cultural intellectual exchanges of the Renaissance. By contextualizing the MhE within Renaissance Italy’s cultural milieu, where Spanish and Italian kabbalistic traditions converged, this study illuminates how these novel encounters shaped the development of Kabbalah. Through analysis of its commentaries, controversial journey into print, and translations, this research reveals how a single text became a crucial nexus for the transformation of kabbalistic thought in Early Modern Europe.