Presenter Information

David Sclar, Princeton University

Description

During the early modern period, Jews lived with an assumed religious tenet to love their God. Biblical texts, including verses used in the liturgical Shema, explicitly commanded believers to wholly and actively do so. In the twelfth century, Maimonides had described a love of God driven by rational adoration of the Torah (and God’s works), which, appropriately realized, would result in a sense of intellectual and emotional fulfillment. Early modern kabbalists took the notion further by desiring to commune with the living God (devekut), channeling all of their faculties, including emotions, towards the spiritual. Both conceptions idealized love of God as true service without thought of reward.

The life and thought of Moses Hayim Luzzatto (1707-1746), who defined love and fear of God and about whom caches of primary sources survive, offers insight into practical implications of the mystical ideal. The texts presented here shed light on Luzzatto’s challenge to love God despite his overt failure as redeemer. They reveal that his spiritual worldview trumped his personal aspirations: devekut corresponded to the level of one’s love and fear; the purpose of creation was only to manifest God’s Oneness; and the system of reward and punishment, and the existence of evil, were tied to divine providence and contributed to the unfolding divine plan.

Start Date

23-8-2016 4:30 PM

End Date

23-8-2016 5:30 PM

Location

Fordham University

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Aug 23rd, 4:30 PM Aug 23rd, 5:30 PM

For the Love of God: Spiritual Purpose and Mastering Emotions in the Pietistic Writings of Moses Hayim Luzzatt

Fordham University

During the early modern period, Jews lived with an assumed religious tenet to love their God. Biblical texts, including verses used in the liturgical Shema, explicitly commanded believers to wholly and actively do so. In the twelfth century, Maimonides had described a love of God driven by rational adoration of the Torah (and God’s works), which, appropriately realized, would result in a sense of intellectual and emotional fulfillment. Early modern kabbalists took the notion further by desiring to commune with the living God (devekut), channeling all of their faculties, including emotions, towards the spiritual. Both conceptions idealized love of God as true service without thought of reward.

The life and thought of Moses Hayim Luzzatto (1707-1746), who defined love and fear of God and about whom caches of primary sources survive, offers insight into practical implications of the mystical ideal. The texts presented here shed light on Luzzatto’s challenge to love God despite his overt failure as redeemer. They reveal that his spiritual worldview trumped his personal aspirations: devekut corresponded to the level of one’s love and fear; the purpose of creation was only to manifest God’s Oneness; and the system of reward and punishment, and the existence of evil, were tied to divine providence and contributed to the unfolding divine plan.