Yechiel Shalom Goldberg
Spiritual Leadership and the Popularization of
Kabbalah
in Medieval Spain
Abstract
This study examines the portrayal of the kabbalist in the Commentary on The Song of Songs, written by R. Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona. Contrary to the tendency of scholars to treat kabbalists as mystics, Ezra portrays the kabbalist as a sage whose wisdom is acquired through a combination of oral transmission, textual study, ascetic practices, and “the attachment to the divine presence.” Whereas Ezra’s predecessors, most notably his teacher, Isaac the Blind, maintained a model of spiritual leadership that required that the kabbalistic sage hide his wisdom from the public, Ezra came to believe that the task of the kabbalistic sage is to teach kabbalistic wisdom to all Israel since only this wisdom could provide Israel with the fortitude to survive exile and with the hope that the exile will, at the divinely appointed time, come to an end.
Following an analysis of Ezra’s more exoteric stance toward kabbalistic secrets, the study turns to Ezra’s portrayal of the kabbalist qua sage and addresses Ezra’s depiction of kabbalistic hermeneutics, devekut, and the kabbalist’s view of non-kabbalists. The conclusion reflects on the implications of Ezra’s portrayal of the kabbalist for ongoing discussions of taxonomic issues in the study of Kabbalah.
|
