Kabbalah: New Perspectives

«This distinction involves different types of religiousness, transcending the question of interest in various themes or clusters of themes.» — Idel insiste en que la línea que separa las dos corrientes no es temática sino de tipo de religiosidad: no se trata de que unos cabalistas se ocupen de unos asuntos y otros de otros.

«The major issues discussed in ecstatic Kabbalah—such as devekut, the importance of isolation, or the centrality of letter combination—are far more than themes treated in a scholastic manner.» — los asuntos que Idel pone del lado extático —el *devekut*, la importancia del aislamiento, la centralidad de la combinación de letras— no son para él temas tratados escolarmente.

«Rather, they are cardinal matters that strongly molded the via mystica of the ecstatic Kabbalist; he was practically oriented to mystical goals other than those of his fellow, the theosophical-theurgical Kabbalist.» — sino, dice, materias cardinales que moldearon la *via mystica* del cabalista extático y lo orientaron en la práctica hacia metas distintas de las de su colega teosófico-teúrgico.

«According to the characterization of the Kabbalah by an early fourteenth-century Kabbalist,! the topics dealt with by this lore are the nature of the» — la evidencia con que Idel apoya la distinción del lado teosófico: la caracterización que da un cabalista de comienzos del s. XIV; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente, cortada aquí por el folio xi.

«ten Sefirot and the mystical meaning of the commandments, which is an \excellent definition of theosophical-theurgical Kabbalah.» — continuación de esa caracterización, que Idel toma por definición excelente de la cábala teosófico-teúrgica: la naturaleza de las diez sefirot y el sentido místico de los mandamientos (la contrabarra es ruido del escaneo).

«On the other hand, Abraham Abulafia, the main representative of ecstatic Kabbalah, described his Kabbalah as focused upon the divine names, in contradistinction to what he considered to be a lower type of Kabbalah, referred to by him as “the way of the Sefirot,” evidently a reference to the theosophical Kabbalah.» — y la del lado extático: según Idel, Abulafia describió su propia cábala como centrada en los nombres divinos y opuesta a un tipo inferior que él llamaba el camino de las sefirot.

«The differences between the two kinds, however, are not merely a matter of self-perception or a scholar imposing his own categories on the material; the historical development of the two trends itself confirms the necessity for a clear distinction between them.» — Idel se adelanta a la objeción de estar imponiendo una rejilla ajena: sostiene que el desarrollo histórico de las dos corrientes confirma por sí solo la necesidad de distinguirlas.

«From the very beginning, the ecstatic Kabbalah was attacked by a major representative of theosophical-theurgical Kabbalah; the first clash between Kabbalists was a sharp criticism of Abulafia’s prophetic and messianic activity, as well as of his Kabbalistic theory, issued by R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret, a leading figure of theosophical Kabbalah.» — el episodio con que lo apoya: según Idel, el primer choque entre cabalistas fue la crítica de R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret a la actividad profética y mesiánica de Abulafia y a su teoría cabalística.

«This attack generated a sharp reaction on the part of Abulafia, who noted the theological danger inherent in the doctrine of the ten Sefirot as divine potencies and compared some Kabbalists, probably including Adret, to the Christians who believed in the Trinity.» — y la respuesta que según Idel dio Abulafia: señalar el peligro teológico de la doctrina de las diez sefirot como potencias divinas y comparar a algunos cabalistas con los cristianos que creen en la Trinidad.

«The result of this controversy was the exclusion of ecstatic Kabbalah from Spain, which became from the 1280s onward the scene of the most important developments within theosophical-theurgical Kabbalah.» — el resultado que Idel adjudica a esa controversia: la cábala extática queda excluida de España, que desde la década de 1280 es el escenario de la teosófico-teúrgica.

«The ecstatic trend migrated to Italy and the Orient, where it developed in a Muslim ambience,° strikingly different in its mystical conceptions from the Christian environment of the theosophical-theurgical Kabbalah.» — y a dónde emigró: Italia y Oriente, en ambiente musulmán, que Idel presenta como marcadamente distinto del entorno cristiano en que se desarrolló la otra corriente.

«Instead of presenting a historical sequence of Kabbalists or of ideas, I adopt an essentialist attitude to the contents of Kabbalistic material that places greater emphasis upon their religious countenance than on their precise location in place and time.» — la actitud que Idel declara adoptar en lugar de la secuencia histórica: esencialista respecto del contenido, con más peso en el semblante religioso del material que en su ubicación precisa en el tiempo y el espacio.

«The unfolding of the key concepts that characterized and directed Kabbalistic activity and thought, their exposition as atemporal modes, and the understanding of their interplay in various Kabbalistic schools is the “inner” history of Kabbalah or of Jewish mysticism,» — cómo llama Idel a ese despliegue de conceptos clave expuestos como modos atemporales y a su juego recíproco entre escuelas: la historia interna de la cábala.

«the theurgical approach was part of the classical rabbinic conception of the commandments and could justifiably be regarded as an important rationale for the mzzvot that, inter alia, helped motivate the persistent observance of the commandments by Jews.» — una de las tesis que Idel anuncia en la introducción: el enfoque teúrgico ya formaba parte de la concepción rabínica clásica de los mandamientos y ayudó a motivar su observancia persistente (*mzzvot*, errata del facsímil por *mizvot*).

«This theocentric attitude assumed an “open” theology or theosophy, conditioned by the dynamics of human activity; centered on the halakhah, it was a strictly nomian system and, consequently, exoterically open to all Jews and therefore obligatory.» — el tipo de teología que Idel le atribuye a esa actitud teocéntrica: abierta, condicionada por la dinámica de la actividad humana, centrada en la halajá, estrictamente nómica y por eso exotéricamente abierta y obligatoria para todos los judíos.

«I want to emphasize that theosophical motifs and structures also existed among the Jews in ancient times;» — el énfasis que Idel pone contra una lectura solo medieval de la teosofía: sostiene que motivos y estructuras teosóficos existían ya entre los judíos en la antigüedad.

«These theosophical structures were effectively suppressed by the rabbinic authorities, however, who focused their literary activity on the presentation and elaboration of the halakhah rather than on its conceptual superstructure.» — y qué habría pasado con ellos, según Idel: las autoridades rabínicas los suprimieron eficazmente al concentrar su actividad literaria en la halajá y no en su superestructura conceptual.

«On this ground, it is easy to understand why the emergence of more complicated theosophies was accompanied by the composition of larger com-_ mentaries on the mystical rationale of the commandments.» — según Idel, cuanto más complicada la teosofía, mayores los comentarios sobre el sentido místico de los mandamientos.

«Indeed, the bulk of thirteenth-century Kabbalistic literature was dedicated to ta'amey ha-mizuot.» — y la consecuencia que saca: el grueso de la literatura cabalística del s. XIII se dedicó a las razones de los mandamientos (*ta'amey ha-mizvot*; el facsímil imprime *mizuot*).

«The first full-fledged Kabbalistic treatment of this issue, however, seems to have been done by R. ‘Azriel, who integrated within his commentary the views of R. Isaac the Blind and others, paralleling some terms and concepts recurring in the literature close in time and subject matter to the Book of 'Iyyun.» — a quién adjudica Idel el primer tratamiento cabalístico completo de la oración: R. ‘Azriel, que integró en su comentario las posiciones de R. Isaac el Ciego y de otros.

«Nahmanides Kabbalah seems to have revolved uniquely around the Kabbalistical understanding of the commandments, !? although he only tantalizingly hinted at the existence of such a meaning, without disclosing its details.» — lo que Idel dice de Nahmánides, con su grado: su cábala parece haber girado únicamente en torno a la comprensión cabalística de los mandamientos, pero él solo insinuó ese sentido sin detallarlo.

«The golden age of the Kabbalistic ta'amey mizvot, however, occurred during the last two decades of the thirteenth century.» — la época que Idel señala como edad de oro del género.

«An interesting commentary on the commandments spuriously attributed to R. Eliezer ben Nathan, Ma'amar ha-Sekhel, was composed during this period and included some important Kabbalistic discussions.» — un caso de atribución que Idel marca como espuria: el Ma'amar ha-Sekhel adjudicado a R. Eliezer ben Nathan.

«With the emergence of the Lurianic system, a large exegetical literature of commandments and prayer was produced that reinterpreted the ritual and the significance of the mizvot in terms of Lurianic theosophical concepts.» — lo que según Idel trajo el sistema luriánico: una gran literatura exegética que reinterpretó el ritual y el sentido de los mandamientos en términos teosóficos luriánicos.

«As I have already pointed out, the theurgical-theosophical Kabbalists were not interested in extreme types of devekut, their religious focus being the Kabbalistic performance of the mizvot.» — el contraste que Idel viene sosteniendo: los cabalistas teosófico-teúrgicos no se interesaban por los tipos extremos de *devekut*, porque su foco religioso era la ejecución cabalística de los mandamientos.

«Its first clear state is to be found in the Heikhalot literature,?° where the use of anomian techniques was intended to induce paranormal experiences of ascent to the realm of Merkavah and contemplation of the Divinity.» — dónde sitúa Idel el primer estado claro de la corriente extática: la literatura de Heikhalot, con técnicas anómicas para inducir el ascenso a la Merkavá.

«It is worth emphasizing that this type of contemplation was not a regular response to the request of the Divine, as were the commandments, nor was God seen as the beneficiary of this kind of human activity.» — y qué la distingue de la teurgia, según Idel: esa contemplación no respondía a una petición divina ni tenía a Dios por beneficiario.

«It was mostly a human initiative that brought the individual to undertake the perilous path of ascending to the high for the sake of attaining an extraordinary and fascinating experience.» — sino que era, dice, iniciativa humana: emprender el camino peligroso del ascenso por una experiencia extraordinaria.

«In contrast to rabbinic theurgy, Heikhalot ecstasy was fraught with dreadful dangers that threatened to annihi» — y el precio que Idel le adjudica frente a la teurgia rabínica: peligros que amenazaban con aniquilar al místico indigno; la frase se corta aquí por el cambio de plana.

«Whereas the theurgical interpretation of the commandments did not detract from their fulfillment by ordinary people, the ecstatic nature of the path of Heikhalot literature made it usually, although not always,2! appropriate only to the elite few.» — el corolario social que Idel saca: la teurgia no restaba nada al cumplimiento de la gente común, mientras que la vía de los Heikhalot quedaba, casi siempre, para unos pocos.

«Like their ancient predecessors, the Ashkenazic masters employed divine names rather than halakhic precepts in order to obtain their mystical revelations or visions.» — lo que según Idel conservó el hasidismo asquenazí de esa herencia: nombres divinos en lugar de preceptos halájicos para obtener revelaciones o visiones.

«The next stage was the ecstatic Kabbalah, which was influenced by Ashkenazic mystical techniques used to attain a goal formulated by the Judeo-Arabic philosophical epistemology: the perfect act of cognition was interpreted mystically as the union of the knower with the Divine as intelligibilia.» — cómo describe Idel el paso siguiente: la cábala extática toma técnicas asquenazíes para una meta formulada por la epistemología filosófica judeoárabe, la unión del cognoscente con lo divino como *intelligibilia*.

«Even more now than in its two preceding stages, the ecstatic Kabbalah emphasized the need for isolation for the effective performance of its anomian practices; it had also since the early fourteenth century included equanimity as a prerequisite of the mystical process.» — y los dos requisitos que Idel le atribuye desde el s. XIV temprano: aislamiento y ecuanimidad.

«The medieval mystic, however, was endangered not by malevolent angels but by the weakness of his own physical or psychic structure, which might be unable to resist the pressures of the Divine invading his personality so that he would die a “death by kiss’—a beatific one.» — el riesgo que Idel le adjudica al místico medieval, distinto del de los Heikhalot: no ángeles malévolos sino la propia flaqueza física o psíquica ante lo divino, y una muerte por beso.

«But this school of Kabbalah paid a price for its anthropocentrical emphasis: a retreat from collective worship as the central and highest form of religious experience and concentration on an individualistic escapism.» — el precio que Idel le cobra a la escuela extática por su antropocentrismo: retirada del culto colectivo y concentración en un escapismo individualista.

«Leading Safedian Kabbalists, such as R. Moses Cordovero and R. Hayyim Vital, conceived the ecstatic practices as the highest type of Kabbalah, superior to the theosophical-theurgical version.» — según Idel, Cordovero y Hayyim Vital tuvieron las prácticas extáticas por el tipo más alto de cábala, superior a la teosófico-teúrgica.

«They nevertheless practiced both, regarding the theosophical one as more appropriate for dissemination to a larger public and the ecstatic as suitable for more limited audiences.» — y con qué reparto, según él: practicaban las dos, dando la teosófica por más apta para difundirse y la extática para públicos reducidos.

«This appraisement was inverted in Hasidism; theosophy was regarded either as a subject too difficult to be studied and practiced by the masses or as theologically suspect.» — la inversión que Idel señala en el hasidismo: la teosofía pasa a verse demasiado difícil para las masas o teológicamente sospechosa.

«The founders of Hasidism, however, did emphasize some of the mystical values that characterized ecstatic Kabbalah; devekut understood as unio mystica, inspiration and revelation, the need for seclusion and equanimity for concentration, the psychological understand_ ing of theosophy, and a unique interest in linguistic mysticism formed the basic structure of Hasidic mysticism.» — qué valores de la cábala extática ve Idel en la estructura básica de la mística hasídica: *devekut* como *unio mystica*, inspiración y revelación, reclusión y ecuanimidad, teosofía entendida psicológicamente y mística lingüística.; el escaneo imprime *understand_ ing* por *understanding*

«Notwithstanding these affinities, Hasidism also emphasized the importance of the mystical performance of the commandments—a nomian technique—as a vital key to mystical life.» — y el límite que pone en la misma página: el hasidismo subrayó también la ejecución mística de los mandamientos, técnica nómica.

«Copyright © 1988 Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.» — la página de derechos del volumen, que fecha el copyright en 1988 a nombre de Yale University.

«Designed by Nancy Ovedovitz and set in Garamond No. 3 type by The Publishing Nexus Incorporated, Guilford, Connecticut. Printed in the United States of America by Vail-Ballou Press, Inc., Binghamton, New York.» — el pie de imprenta que declara la misma plana: diseño de Nancy Ovedovitz, composición de The Publishing Nexus Incorporated e impresión de Vail-Ballou Press.

«The idea of my writing a comprehensive study on Kabbalah emerged in a midnight discussion with my friends Professor Ivan Marcus of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Professor David Ruderman of Yale University.» — en el prefacio, Idel adjudica el origen del proyecto a una conversación de medianoche con Ivan Marcus y David Ruderman.

«Since that discussion, which took place at Cam- ” bridge, Massachusetts, in 1984, the initial idea underwent several substantive changes until it took the present form.» — y fecha esa conversación en Cambridge, Massachusetts, en 1984, declarando que la idea inicial cambió varias veces hasta tomar la forma presente.

«A first draft of this book was submitted at a colloquium organized by the Jewish Theological Seminary in the summer of 1986 as part of that institution's centennial events.» — el primer borrador, dice Idel, se presentó en un coloquio del Jewish Theological Seminary en el verano de 1986, dentro de los actos de su centenario.

«the colloquium was designed to include about thirty American scholars of Judaica and general mysticism who discussed and argued the content of this work.» — y lo que ese coloquio reunió, según el prefacio: unos treinta estudiosos norteamericanos de judaica y de mística general que discutieron el contenido del libro.

«Especially helpful were the remarks and suggestions I received from Professors Ewert Cousins, Louis Dupré, Michael Fishbane, Arthur Hyman, and Bernard Mac-Ginn.» — los nombres a los que Idel agradece observaciones y sugerencias; la grafía Mac-Ginn es la del facsímil.

«The late Professor Alexander Altmann devoted much energy and wisdom to proposing numerous suggestions» — el primero de los dos revisores del manuscrito que Idel nombra, Alexander Altmann, ya fallecido al escribirse el prefacio.

«concerning all the chapters of the book; Professor Morton Smith kindly contributed his vast knowledge regarding most of the chapters.» — y el segundo, Morton Smith; la frase continúa aquí desde la plana anterior.

«Helpful discussions with Professor Geoffrey Hartman, Professor Yehuda Liebes, Professor Shelomo Pines, and Professor Isadore Twersky contributed to the formulations of several issues.» — las conversaciones que Idel dice haber aprovechado para formular varios asuntos: Geoffrey Hartman, Yehuda Liebes, Shelomo Pines e Isadore Twersky.

«For any mistakes still occurring in the presentation, I alone am responsible.» — la reserva con que Idel cierra los agradecimientos.

«The writing of this book would have been impossible without the constant and generous assistance of the Institute of Microfilms of Hebrew Manuscripts, which is part of the National and University Library in Jerusalem.» — la base material que Idel declara para el libro: el Institute of Microfilms of Hebrew Manuscripts de la National and University Library de Jerusalén.

«Jonathan Chipman kindly undertook the task of typing two drafts and improving my English;» — Idel declara que Jonathan Chipman mecanografió dos borradores y mejoró su inglés, dato del que esta ficha toma la lengua del volumen.

«The theurgical performance of mizvot did not include dangerous or ecstatic moments and could be regarded as part of what Max Kadushin described as “normal mysticism.”» — y el rasgo que la separa de lo extático, con el término que Idel toma de Max Kadushin: la ejecución teúrgica de los mandamientos no incluía momentos peligrosos ni extáticos.

«The historical dimension is nevertheless important for the conception of Kabbalah as a Jewish mystical phenomenon, one deriving from Gershom Scholems descriptions of Kabbalah as basically a Gnostic phe» — y contra qué la plantea: la concepción de la cábala como fenómeno judío, frente a la descripción de Scholem que la hace básicamente gnóstica; la frase se corta aquí por el cambio de plana.

«For the time being, only a few limited surveys of this subject are available, primarily in the works of Gershom Scholem.» — y dónde están, según él, los pocos panoramas disponibles.

«This interpretation of Agrippa’s view places him at the beginning of a series of scholars who maintained the view that Marcos's theory was influenced by ancient Jewish mystical views related to the Shi’ ur Komah. They include E. Ben Amozegh,*° M. Gaster,4! Scholem,4? Gedaliahu G. Stroumsa,» — la serie en que Idel inscribe esa lectura: Ben Amozegh, Gaster, Scholem y Stroumsa.

«Franck’s presentation contributed more to the knowledge of Kabbalah in modern Europe than did any other work prior to the studies of Scholem.» — y el peso que Idel le adjudica en el conocimiento europeo moderno de la cábala.

«This diagnosis of the role of Kabbalah is strikingly similar to Scholem’s famous perception of the role of Kabbalah as a vital component of Judaism, which enabled the latter to continue its organic life for many generations.» — la comparación que Idel establece sin arbitrarla: ese diagnóstico de 1843 se parece llamativamente a la conocida tesis de Scholem sobre el papel de la cábala en la continuidad del judaísmo.

«nineteenth century, clear precedent for the modern positive evaluation of Kabbalah by a Western-born scholar such as Scholem.» — el punto que Idel quiere subrayar y que abre esta plana: ya a mediados del s. XIX había precedente claro de la valoración positiva de la cábala por un estudioso de formación occidental como Scholem.

«Scholem’s critique of the negative evaluation of Kabbalah in the writings of such representatives of the Wissenschaft des Judéntums’© as Steinschneider and Graetz, although justified, is nevertheless partial.» — la objeción de Idel a Scholem en este punto, con su matiz: la crítica de Scholem a la Wissenschaft des Judentums es justificada pero parcial.

«In general, however, the attitude toward Kabbalah on the part of some of the nineteenth-century Jewish scholars is much more sympathetic than one might deduce from the way Scholem presents them.» — el desacuerdo de fondo que Idel plantea aquí: la actitud decimonónica hacia la cábala fue más simpatética de lo que se deduce de la presentación de Scholem.

«This passage, which was written in 1908 as part of an essay entitled “Jewish Mystics: An Appreciation,” foreshadowed the great achievements of Hirsch’s younger contemporary Gershom Scholem.» — la fecha y el título del ensayo, y el papel que Idel le da: presagio de los logros de Scholem.

«He surveyed all the major trends of Jewish mysticism on the basis of perusal of the basic documents extant in print and manuscripts. His writings therefore contain the first authoritative presentation of the history of Jewish mysticism in its entirety.» — el primero de los cuatro logros que Idel le reconoce a Scholem: la primera presentación autorizada de la historia entera del misticismo judío.

«Ina long series of bibliographical studies, Scholem laid the basis for the modern bibliography of Kabbalah, building the structure for further descriptions of Kabbalistic literature. To a far greater extent than did Landauer, Steinschneider, and Jellinek, Scholem inspected an immense amount of manuscript material, enabling him to establish the authorship of a great number of Kabbalistic works.» — el segundo: la base de la bibliografía moderna de la cábala y la determinación de la autoría de muchas obras (el facsímil pega *Ina* por *In a*).

«Scholem approached Kabbalah as a religious phenomenon, more than either his predecessors or his successors did, and he attempted to describe it historically as well as phenomenologically. Therefore, he can be considered the founder of the phenomenology of Kabbalah.» — el tercero: haber tratado la cábala como fenómeno religioso y haberla descrito histórica y fenomenológicamente.

«It is, however, significant that most of Scholem’s discussions on phenomenological aspects of Kabbalah were written at a relatively later stage of his scholarly activity, many of them having been presented at the Ascona annual conferences. I suppose that this late turn toward a more phenomenological understanding of Kabbalah was the result of the need to present it to the particular type of audience that was characteristic of these symposia.» — y la reserva que Idel añade sobre ese tercer logro, con su grado: lo fenomenológico llega tarde en Scholem y él supone que fue por el público de Ascona.

«Last, Scholem, like Franck, regarded Kabbalah as a vital part of the Jewish religion, emphasizing its centrality for a proper understanding of its evolution. His emphasis upon the pluralism of Jewish thought enabled him to integrate within it Kabbalah and its offshoot, Sabbatianism. In his view, Judaism is whatever a given generation of Jews evolves as its expression.» — el cuarto logro, que Idel emparienta otra vez con Franck: la cábala como parte vital de la religión judía, y el judaísmo como lo que cada generación de judíos elabora.

«Scholem began his scholarly activity by attempting to disclose the metaphysical substratum of Kabbalistic thought.®° Although he never explicitly» — por dónde empezó Scholem, según Idel: por sacar a la luz el sustrato metafísico del pensamiento cabalístico; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente.

«acknowledged it, he assumed that, on a deeper level, Kabbalah expresses a metaphysical reality that can be grasped by a proper hermeneutics, using historical, philological, and philosophical tools.» — y el supuesto que Idel le atribuye sin que Scholem lo reconociera: que la cábala expresa una realidad metafísica alcanzable por una hermenéutica adecuada.

«He waited, as he himself confessed, to receive a hint coming from that core.» — lo que según Idel confesó Scholem: esperar una señal venida de ese núcleo.

«I have no idea if he indeed received an intimation of this kind, for he did not commit to writing the presence or absence of such a call.» — y la abstención con que Idel lo deja: no sabe si la recibió, porque Scholem no lo puso por escrito.

«At least as far as the latter is concerned, however, he was apparently certain that academic research falls short of clarifying it.» — lo que Idel sí da por seguro en Scholem, con su grado: que la investigación académica no alcanza a esclarecer el núcleo de la realidad.

«Was he of the same opinion regarding the inadequacy of these approaches to attain the metaphysical core of the Kabbalah? Scholem seems to have left no decisive answer.» — la pregunta que Idel deja abierta sobre Scholem, y su abstención expresa.

«However, he gave explicit expression to his fear of death—that is, spiritual death—as the result of academic preoccupations.» — lo que sí encuentra dicho: el miedo de Scholem a la muerte espiritual por las ocupaciones académicas.

«Early in his life, he engaged in practical exercises based upon Abraham Abulafia’s mystical techniques, as he told me in conversation and as he recorded shortly before his death in the Hebrew version of his autobiography.» — el dato biográfico que Idel aporta en parte de primera mano: Scholem practicó de joven ejercicios basados en las técnicas de Abulafia, según se lo dijo en conversación y según su autobiografía hebrea.

«This inference from Scholem’s various statements must, however, be regarded more as a timid prescription than as a descriptive confession.» — y el límite con que la acota de inmediato.

«If one wishes, Scholem may be considered as a theoretical mystic or a mystic in theory, as well as a theorist of Kabbalah.» — la fórmula que Idel ofrece para Scholem, condicionada.

«The common perceptions of his personality either solely as a historian or as a historiosopher unnecessarily reduce his spiritual physiognomy to his obvious and manifest activity, blatantly ignoring his own statements.» — lo que Idel objeta a las lecturas corrientes de Scholem: reducir su fisonomía espiritual a su actividad manifiesta.

«Extraordinarily successful as Scholem was as a historian of mystical texts and ideas, he was, in his own eyes, rather a failure qua mystic, yet one who longed for mystical experience.» — el contraste con que Idel cierra el retrato: gran historiador y, a sus propios ojos, un fracaso como místico.