CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Sivek, Liat |
|---|---|
| Title | YOM TOV LIPMANN'S STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN: COSMOLOGY AND KABBALAH IN LATE MEDIEVAL JEWISH CUSTOM |
| Summary | Jewish intellectual activity in Ashkenaz saw significant changes in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. One of the leading intellectuals of these times was Rabbi Yom Ṭov Lipmann Mühlhausen, whose famous polemic treatise, Sefer Nitsaḥon, has been the focus of many studies. However, his other works have received less scholarly interest though they offer myriad examples of Lipmann’s unique approach to interpreting Jewish custom by integrating philosophy and Kabbalah. In this study, I offer a comprehensive examination of Lipmann’s less studied works in order to sketch a broader picture of his thought and interpretation of Jewish custom. This study is based on the cosmological framework Lipmann established in Sefer ha-Eshkol [Book of the cluster], which served as a theoretical guidebook for his later compilations. Lipmann’s framework is based on Aristotelian physics and on Kabbalistic emanation theory. The author offers using both as the means for achieving kawwanah (proper intent), which must be present in Jewish customs in order to successfully fulfill them. Through a close reading of Lipmann’s texts and by highlighting cross-reference points within them, we can reach a fuller understanding of the author’s approach to Jewish customs, specifically prayer and Hebrew writing. By interpreting both customs within a cosmological framework, Lipmann offers a way in which one can turn the act of reciting Jewish prayers and writing the Hebrew alphabet into a journey through the heavens. |
| Supervisor | Wilke, Carsten |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/sivek_liat.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University