Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction to The Book of Contemplation, The Fountain of Wisdom, and The Book of Unity * Jewish Prophecy and Mysticism * Historical Overview * Medieval Jewish Mysticism in Western Europe * Tradition, Esotericism, and Pseudepigraphy 2. The Books of Contemplation and The Fountain of Wisdom * Symbols Used in the Apparatus * Contemplation-Short * The Fountain of Wisdom * Contemplation-Long * Contemplation-Thirteen Powers * Contemplation-Standard * I am R. Hammai * The Book of Unity of R. Hammai 3. Cosmological Theories of the "Circle of Contemplation" * The Cosmology of The Books of Contemplation * The Cosmogony of The Fountain of Wisdom 4. Historical Dimensions * Scholem's Historiography of Early Kabbalah * Scholem's Historiography and R. Isaac Cohen's Legends * The "Circle of Contemplation" * Linguistic Evidence 5. Historical Connections * R. Azriel and The Books of Contemplation * The Hasidei 'Ashkenaz and the "Circle" * R. Meshullam the Zadokite Appendix I The Book of Contemplation's Subtexts 3:1 Midrash of R. Simon the Righteous 3:2 Commentary on the Thirteen Attributes 3:3 Thirteen Powers 3:4 The Secret of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy 3:5 Pseudo-Rabad's Twelve Attributes 4:1 Contemplation-Burgos 4:2 Contemplation-J.T.S. 1884 4:3 Contemplation-Standard/Inner Attributes 4:4 Contemplation-Standard/Magic 4:5 R. Hasdai's Book of Contemplation Appendix II Textual Relationships Selected Bibliography Index

About the Author

Mark Verman is Jay Phillips Chair in Jewish Studies at St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota.

Reviews

Verman discovered that the 'Circle of Contemplation' produced a series of distinct treatises, each entitled The Book of Contemplation and attributed to the same fictitious author. These treatises, embodying one of the most intriguing puzzles of medieval literature, are included here. The author concludes that these writings were a product of thirteenth-century Spain, not France, as claimed by Gershom Scholem. His conclusion engendered a critical evaluation of the premises of Scholem's historiography of early medieval Jewish mysticism.