The Shelf Life of Kabbalah in Early Modern Europe

What does it mean to reveal secrets? The Hebrew word “kabbalah” means “reception” or “tradition,” and often implies the oral transmission of divine secrets from teacher to student. However, Jewish esoteric knowledge has also been inseparable from written texts, both in manuscript and in print. Inspired by the methods of the “history of the book,” this lecture will examine some of the kabbalistic books printed across early modern Europe. We will look at the Italian editions of classics like the Zohar in the sixteenth century; the expansion of the kabbalistic library in Central and Northern Europe in the seventeenth century; and the flourishing of kabbalistic book culture in Eastern Europe in the eighteenth century. The publication of kabbalistic books was one of the central achievements of Hebrew printers and scholars, a frequent cause of controversy and a source of cultural pride. By considering the materiality of these printed books in their historical contexts, the spiritual worlds of the kabbalists will come into clearer focus. 

Avinoam J. Stillman studies kabbalah, the history of the book, and the early modern Jewish diaspora. He is a doctoral candidate at Freie Universität Berlin, having completed his MA at Ben Gurion University. He is also a co-founder of Blima Books, an independent press based in Jerusalem and Berlin and dedicated to “Radical Jewish Literature.” 

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