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The Royal Asiatic Society's Asian Philosophies and Religions Focus Group continues its series on mysticism with a lecture on the Jewish mystical philosophy of Kabbalah. Kabbalah seeks to explain the relationship between the infinite (God) and the finite (the world). It originated in the religious melting pot of medieval Spain, was systematized in the 16th century by Isaac Luria, and then popularized by Hasidic Jews in Eastern Europe from the 18th century onwards. More recently, Kabbalah has influenced popular culture and spirituality across the world, with notable celebrities such as Madonna embracing its practice.
In the lecture you will learn:
- What are the main texts and concepts of Kabbalah?
- How has Kabbalah absorbed philosophical influences from beyond the Jewish tradition?
- How has Kabbalah influenced philosophical and broader cultural contexts across the world?
- What is the relation between Kabbalah, philosophy, and mysticism?
Join host Professor James Miller and guest speaker Professor Yitzhak Lewis for a fascinating discussion. And please continue the conversation over a special dinner at the venue after the event.
Please note that only the lecture portion (4:30-5:30pm) will be streamed via Zoom.
Agenda
4
00PM
-
4
30PM
4
30PM
-
5
30PM
5
30PM
-
6
00PM
6
00PM
-
8
00PM
Optional Dinner
Yitzhak LewisContinue the conversation with Professor Lewis, Professor Miller and members of the RAS philosophy club over dinner. A set menu will be provided, with the cost paid directly to the venue.
Welcome
Join Professors Miller and Lewis for a welcome drink as the attendees arrive.
Speakers
Yitzhak Lewis
Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan UniversityYitzhak Lewis is Assistant Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan University. His research interests include comparative literature in Hebrew, Spanish and Yiddish, literary and cultural theory, transnational writing and world literature. He is author of A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity (SUNY Press, 2020). His current book project, tentatively titled Games of Inheritance: Kabbalah, Tradition and Authorship in the Writing of Jorge Luis Borges, explores the central role of Jewish literary and intellectual traditions in the writings of Argentine author and public intellectual Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). He has recently edited a volume on “Yiddish and the Transnational in Latin America” for In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies (2021) and is currently editing a collection titled 100 Years of Jewish Literature in China about the reception history of Jewish literature in China from World War I until today. His work has been published in Variaciones Borges, In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies, Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, and is forthcoming in Journal of Latin American Jewish Studies.
Lecture
Lecture from Professor Lewis.
Speakers
Yitzhak Lewis
Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan UniversityYitzhak Lewis is Assistant Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan University. His research interests include comparative literature in Hebrew, Spanish and Yiddish, literary and cultural theory, transnational writing and world literature. He is author of A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity (SUNY Press, 2020). His current book project, tentatively titled Games of Inheritance: Kabbalah, Tradition and Authorship in the Writing of Jorge Luis Borges, explores the central role of Jewish literary and intellectual traditions in the writings of Argentine author and public intellectual Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). He has recently edited a volume on “Yiddish and the Transnational in Latin America” for In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies (2021) and is currently editing a collection titled 100 Years of Jewish Literature in China about the reception history of Jewish literature in China from World War I until today. His work has been published in Variaciones Borges, In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies, Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, and is forthcoming in Journal of Latin American Jewish Studies.
Discussion
Join in the Q and A with Professor Lewis
Speakers
Yitzhak Lewis
Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan UniversityYitzhak Lewis is Assistant Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan University. His research interests include comparative literature in Hebrew, Spanish and Yiddish, literary and cultural theory, transnational writing and world literature. He is author of A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity (SUNY Press, 2020). His current book project, tentatively titled Games of Inheritance: Kabbalah, Tradition and Authorship in the Writing of Jorge Luis Borges, explores the central role of Jewish literary and intellectual traditions in the writings of Argentine author and public intellectual Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). He has recently edited a volume on “Yiddish and the Transnational in Latin America” for In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies (2021) and is currently editing a collection titled 100 Years of Jewish Literature in China about the reception history of Jewish literature in China from World War I until today. His work has been published in Variaciones Borges, In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies, Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, and is forthcoming in Journal of Latin American Jewish Studies.
Optional Dinner
Continue the conversation with Professor Lewis, Professor Miller and members of the RAS philosophy club over dinner. A set menu will be provided, with the cost paid directly to the venue.
Speakers
Yitzhak Lewis
Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan UniversityYitzhak Lewis is Assistant Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan University. His research interests include comparative literature in Hebrew, Spanish and Yiddish, literary and cultural theory, transnational writing and world literature. He is author of A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity (SUNY Press, 2020). His current book project, tentatively titled Games of Inheritance: Kabbalah, Tradition and Authorship in the Writing of Jorge Luis Borges, explores the central role of Jewish literary and intellectual traditions in the writings of Argentine author and public intellectual Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). He has recently edited a volume on “Yiddish and the Transnational in Latin America” for In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies (2021) and is currently editing a collection titled 100 Years of Jewish Literature in China about the reception history of Jewish literature in China from World War I until today. His work has been published in Variaciones Borges, In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies, Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, and is forthcoming in Journal of Latin American Jewish Studies.
Speakers
Yitzhak
Lewis
Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan University
Yitzhak Lewis is Assistant Professor of Humanities at Duke Kunshan University. His research interests include comparative literature in Hebrew, Spanish and Yiddish, literary and cultural theory, transnational writing and world literature. He is author of A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity (SUNY Press, 2020). His current book project, tentatively titled Games of Inheritance: Kabbalah, Tradition and Authorship in the Writing of Jorge Luis Borges, explores the central role of Jewish literary and intellectual traditions in the writings of Argentine author and public intellectual Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). He has recently edited a volume on “Yiddish and the Transnational in Latin America” for In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies (2021) and is currently editing a collection titled 100 Years of Jewish Literature in China about the reception history of Jewish literature in China from World War I until today. His work has been published in Variaciones Borges, In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies, Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, and is forthcoming in Journal of Latin American Jewish Studies.
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