Description
Book SynopsisHasidic Art and the Kabbalah presents eight case studies of manuscripts, ritual objects, and folk art developed by Hasidic masters in the mid-eighteenth to late nineteenth centuries, whose form and decoration relate to sources in the Zohar, German Pietism, and Safed Kabbalah. Examined at the delicate and difficult to define interface between seemingly simple, folk art and complex ideological and conceptual outlooks which contain deep, abstract symbols, the study touches on aspects of object history, intellectual history, the decorative arts, and the history of religion. Based on original texts, the focus of this volume is on the subjective experience of the user at the moment of ritual, applying tenets of process philosophy and literary theory – Wolfgang Iser, Gaston Bachelard, and Walter Benjamin – to the analysis of objects.
Trade Review"Batsheva Goldman-Ida's Hasidic Art and the Kabbalah sets up a visual feast that recalls the ancient Tabernacle or Temple vessels while, at the same time, expanding our notion of the sacred." - Glenn Dynner, Jewish Review of Books (Fall 2018).
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Figures Introduction Part 1: Manuscripts 1 Hasidic Prayer Book Continuity and Change Significance Conclusion Part 2: Ritual Objects 2 Hasidic Wine Cup Continuity and Change Models Significance Conclusion 3 Hasidic Seder Plate Continuity and Change Models Influences Significance Conclusion 4 Hasidic Sabbath Lamp Continuity and Change Models Significance Conclusion 5 The Hasidic Prayer Shawl Ornament Continuity and Change Models Shpanyer-Arbet Influences Significance Conclusion Part 3: Folk Art 6 The Hasidic Pipe and Snuffbox Continuity and Change Models Significance Conclusion 7 Hasidic Talismans Continuity and Change Models Influence Significance Conclusion 8 The Hasidic Rabbi’s Chair Continuity and Change Influences Significance Conclusion 9 Conclusion Symbolism Mythic Context Hasidic Context Worship through Corporeality The Nature of Hasidism New Directions in Research Bibliography Index
