Michael D. Swartz Livres

Exploring the intersection of imagination and magic, the book delves into early Jewish mysticism, particularly between the fifth and ninth centuries. It recounts tales of ancient rabbis invoking the angel Sar-Torah, who granted them extraordinary memory and learning abilities. Michael Swartz analyzes visionary literature to reveal how marginalized Jewish communities perceived Torah and ritual, offering fresh insights into the classical Judaic concept of Torah and the rabbinic culture that shaped it.

The phenomena we call magic and mysticism had a profound effect on the shaping of Judaism in late antiquity. In this volume, Michael D. Swartz offers a wide-ranging study of the purposes, world-views, ritual dynamics, literary forms, and social settings of ancient Jewish magic and mysticism and their function in religion and history. Based on the author's studies over the past few decades, he proposes innovative methods for the study of these two phenomena. The author focuses especially on the rituals of early Jewish magic and mysticism, their social contexts, and the textual dimension of this complex literature. He also offers introductions to these phenomena. Michael D. Swartz argues that the authors of these texts employed intricate technologies, literary and artistic forms, and physical practices to negotiate between the values and world-views of their cultures and the texture of everyday life.