Public Lecture Yamamoto: An Introduction to Kabbalah: Marginality and Creativity
| When: | Th 25-09-2014 at 16:00 |
| Where: | Court Room, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Oude Boteringestraat 38, Groningen |
Kabbalah can be understood as a creative phenomenon on the margins of Judaism, rather than as an intangible mystical imagination. It often challenged the orthodox doctrines and branched out into fields that have not often been studied as part of Jewish history. The lecture will focus on some kabbalistic ideas and specify their unique traits through original texts. No knowledge of Kabbalah is required.
Dr. Shinichi Yamamoto is a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. His research focus is on Sabbateanism, a messianic and kabbalistic phenomenon in the 17th-18th century. His PhD dissertation (University of Tokyo, 2011) was devoted to "The Origin and Development of Sabbatean Antinomism." Sabbateanism is frequently characterized as a heresy of Judaism, but Dr. Yamamoto has been working on the elusive relationship between so-called heretical ideas and the believers' devotional attitude toward traditional practices.