Dialogue on Kabbalah by Samuel David Luzzatto

This is the first complete translation ofVikuah? 'al H?okhmat ha-Kabbalah, a literary-philosophical dialogue composed by the great Italian Jewish scholar Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), also known as Shadal. Originally published in Hebrew in 1852, theDialoguedepicts a multi-faceted and acrimonious disputation between two scholars, who debate the authority and authenticity of Jewish mystical traditions. This work subjects Kabbalah, along with its textual centerpiece the Zohar, to both a rigorous critique and an impassioned defense, thereby inviting the reader to critically examine this centuries-old debate. Shadal'sDialogueis a classic text of the Jewish enlightenment (Haskalah), in which trends of modern scholarship and historical criticism are brought into confrontation with rabbinic tradition and Kabbalistic mysteries. This translation has been augmented by over a thousand footnotes, extensive glossaries, and a lengthy introduction outlining the place of Shadal'sDialoguewithin the history of Kabbalah criticism and the rise of modern Jewish scholarship.