The Literary Emergence of Esotericism in German Pietism

The Emergence ofEsotericism in German Piety 67 THE LITERARY EMERGENCE OF ESOTERICISM IN GERMAN PIETISM by Daniel Abrams Daniel Abrams received his doctorate in Jewish mysticism from New York University and is a Warburg post-doctoral fellow at the Hebrew University for the academic year 1993-1994, with additional assistance provided by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. I. The first literary works of the Jewish mystical tradition known as the Kabbalah appeared in thirteenth-century Provence, and its· center soon moved to Spain where it flourished until the Expulsion in 1492. Due to the overwhelming focus of scholars and medieval Kabbalists on the theosophic doctrine of sefirot and their symbolism which was crystallized in the writings ofvarious circles in thirteenth century Spain and was all but canonized in the Zohar, many have neglected to take note of the emergence of pre-Kabbalistic mystical works in the early thirteenth century.l As reported by Eleazar of Worms, the student ofJudah the Pious who headed the pietist circle in Germany, the mystical teachings were passed 'Upon completing this article I came across Joseph Dan's "Das Entstehen der jiidischen Mystik im mitteralterlichen Deutschland," ]udentum im deutschen Sprachraum, herausgegeben von Karl Erich Grozinger (Frankfurt am Main, 1992), pp. 127-171. While his paper enters into a broader discussion of the emergence ofJewish mysticism in Europe, the first section of Dan's paper touches upon some of the issues discussed here, with significantly different conclusions. Various studies have been written on the mystical writings of the German Pietism, most notably by Joseph Dan. See below for bibliographic information concerning his most pertinent works. One should note the relatively small space given to German Pietism in Gershom Scholem's Origins of the Kabbalah (Princeton, 1987). See his Major Trends in]ewishMysticism (New York, 3rd revised edition, 1961),·pp. 80-118. 68 SHOFAR Winter 1994 Vol. 12, No.2 on orally from generation to generation. In his commentary to the prayers, Eleazar lists by name, generation by generation, the bearers of this secret lore dating back to the Jews who first came to Germany from Italy and even beyond Italy to the Jewish community in what is now Iraq. One figure in particular is responsible for the transference of this body of lore, Abu Aharon, who is believed by some scholars to have brought with him the tracts collectively known as the Hekhalot literature.2 What concerns us here is not the authenticity of every detail or name in Eleazar's accounting of the history of his community and circle, but the larger picture of how these mystics perceived themselves in relation to their past and their oral traditions. And while Gershom Scholem and Israel Weinstock exchanged views over how one could be certain about the existence of Abu Aharon and the content of his traditions, there is tacit agreement between them that there is no reason to doubt the overall outline of events.3 Judah the Pious was the founder and leader of German Pietism in the twelfth century. He composed few works, none of them of a mystical character. From the complex mystical doctrines written down in the numerous works of his student, Eleazar of Worms, one can only conclude that Judah exercised a strict self-imposed ban on divulging his esoteric lore. In a number of instances Eleazar testifies that he was instructed not to transcribe the secrets, "And [one may] not transmit [the secrets] in writing but rather orally, as did the Hasid [R. Judah the Pious].,,4 In Eleazar's most difficult and esoteric work, which still remains in unpub2Rabbi Eleazar of Wonns ... Commentary on the jewish Prayerbook, ed. Moshe Hershler Oerusalem, 1992), pp. 228-229 [Hebrew]; Scholem, Major Trends, p. 102; See also Joseph Dan, The Esoteric Theology of Ashkenazi Hasidism Oerusalem, 1968), pp. 15-18 [Hebrew]; Ivan Marcus, Piety and Society: Thejewish Pietists ofMedieval Germany (Leiden, 1981), pp. 67-68; Megilat Ahima'atz, ed. Benjamin Klar Oerusalem, 1944), p. 13 [Hebrew]; A. Grossman, "The Migration of the Kolonymous Family From Italy to Germany," Zion 40 (1975), pp. 154-185 [Hebrew]. See further, "Between Eretz·Israei and Babylonia," Shallml 5 (1987), pp. 21-23 [Hebrew]. 3Gershom Scholem, "Have the...