Session Seven:

Inside Out: An Overview of Jewish Mysticism, Kabbalah, and Chasidism

Every visible structure has an inner power that energizes it. Jewish mysticism is one of the inner powers that sustains Judaism. As we will see in this lesson, this field of study contains many fascinating teaching that are relevant to our mission in life, our happiness, our relationships, and our self-esteem. On a societal level, the Jewish mysticism can offer ways for us to come together and interrelate politely and affably, even as people disagree and have important differences.

But for many generations, Jewish mysticism was not studied by most Jews. Why was this so? And what changed? More importantly, what makes a particular form of mysticism “Jewish”?

This lesson explores the history and development of Jewish mysticism, from ancient times until today. The development of Jewish mysticism is very much linked with twists and turns of Jewish history, and this session explores this link at great length.