No. 10/10 – Lawyers and Mystics in Judaism: A Prolegomenon for a Study of Prophecy in Jewish Mysticism

Title: Lawyers and Mystics in Judaism: A Prolegomenon for a Study of Prophecy in Jewish Mysticism

Abstract: The Rabbinic claim that prophecy stopped after the biblical times, was part of a deep restructuring of biblical Judaism and the emergence of Rabbinism. Nevertheless, during the Middle Ages and premodern times there is ample evidence as to the existence of claims to prophecy, made by Jewish scholars belonging to what may be called secondary elite. The development of Jewish spirituality reveals many important moments of tensions, frictions and even sharp controversies between the legalistic (Halakhic) elite, which tried to keep the status quo in Jewish communities, and the individuals and larger movements, which aspired to prophetic experiences, some of which are dealt with here.

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