The Kabbalah: The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews

By Adolphe Franck

Book Overview

Delve into the profound origins and evolution of the Kabbalah with Adolphe Franck's scholarly work, The Kabbalah: The Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews. Originally published in 1843, this study meticulously traces the roots of Kabbalistic philosophy, uncovering its deep connections to ancient Zoroastrian beliefs.

Franck draws on the Sepher Yetzirah and the Zohar, analyzing these seminal texts to explore the Kabbalah's development long before their first recorded publication in the 13th century. By comparing Kabbalistic thought with Greek philosophy, Gnosticism, and the teachings of Philo and the Alexandrians, Franck challenges prevailing assumptions about its origins.

His insightful thesis suggests that the Kabbalah may have emerged during the Babylonian exile, influenced by the contemporaneous spread of Zoroastrianism. This groundbreaking work offers readers a compelling reevaluation of the Kabbalah's place in the broader tapestry of world religious and philosophical thought.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1396325581
• ISBN13: 9781396325588
• Release Date: August 2024
• Publisher: Left of Brain Books
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Superlative on the Supernals

I was interested in this book cause it kept being cited in the Golden Dawn and Kabbalah books I'd been reading. When I saw this 1967 Citadel paperback for cheap in a used book store, I snagged it for a song. Originaly published in 1843, this French book is not new, but for a long time this was about the only book that made the Kabbalah understandable to the uninitiated. This book concerns itself with Kosher Kabbalah. Hermeticism gets barely a mention. Franck maps out what Kabbalah is, and where it came from. I found his discussion of the Supernals to be most enlightening, seeing stuff here I'd never come across anywhere else. His explanation of the other triads was excellent as well. His examination of where Kabbalah came from was less interesting to me, but might be most interesting for others. While he notes resemblances between Kabbalah and Platonism, Neoplatonism, Philo, and Christianity, he rejects the notion of any close connection between these and the formation Kabbalah. Instead he posits that Kabbalah was influenced by Zoroasterism during the Hebrews' sojourn in Babylon. I found his argument convincing.