The Sufis From America: Kabbalah and Theosophy in Puna in the Late 19th century

“THE SUFI SOCIETY FROM AMERICA”: THEOSOPHY AND KABBALAH IN POONA IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY1 Boaz Huss 1. Introduction Many years ago, when I was working on my PhD at the Gershom Scholem Library in Jerusalem, a small booklet caught my attention. It was a translation of the Idra Zuta, one of the most sanctified units of the Zohar, into Jewish Arabic. The volume, whose English title page read: ‘Idra Zuta, or the Lesser Holy Assembly, translated from the Aramaic Chaldee into Arabic (in Hebrew Characters) by Abraham David Ezekiel’, was printed in Poona (Pune), India, in 1887, at the printing house of the translator.2 On the front page of the treatise Scholem wrote in his handwriting: ‘This book is very rare, as it was banned by the Rabbis of Bagdad, Jerusalem and Hebron, who pronounced the translation of the secrets of the Idra into Arabic a sacrilege, probably because they were anxious on account of its anthropomorphic imagery’. I found some information about the book (which was the first of nine printed by the A.D. Ezekiel press in 1887–1888) and the controversy around it in Abraham Yaari’s account of the Jewish press in Poona.3 But I was still intrigued. Who was A.D. Ezekiel and what stimulated him to translate the Idra Zuta into Jewish Arabic? What 1 I am grateful to Nurit Inbar and Sasson Somekh for helping me to translate the Jewish-Arabic texts included in this study. I would like to thank Mary Anderson, the secretary of the Theosophical Society, Adyar, Randall C. Grubb, the leader of the Theosophical Society, Pasadena, and Jim Belderis, head librarian of the Theosophical Society, Pasadena, for sending me materials I could not find in the libraries in Israel. I am also grateful to Isaac Lubelsky, Don Karr, and Kocku von Stuckrad who read an earlier draft of this paper and offered important comments. The research for this study was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 809/05). 2 Scholem’s copy of the book (which had been given to him by Isaia Oscar Rabinowitch in 1943), carries a dedication of A.D. Ezekiel to his brother: ‘Presented to N.D. Ezekiel Esq. by his affectionate brother, the author, Poona, 4th January 1888’. 3 Yaari, The Hebrew Press in the Orient, vol. 2, 83–85. See also Sassoon, Ohel David, 429–431. 168 boaz huss was the cultural context and significance of his unique translation and printing enterprise that enraged the rabbinic authorities of Baghdad, Jerusalem, and Hebron? I sensed there was an interesting story behind this booklet but uncovered it only many years later. A couple of years ago, while working on a study of the translations of the Zohar,4 I returned to examine the Arabic rendition of the Idra Zuta. This time, I found the lead that directed me towards the story I was looking for. The pointer was the first (partial) translation of the Zohar into English, The Kabbalah Unveiled, by Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, one of the founders of the Order of the Golden Dawn. The Kabbalah Unveiled (based on Knorr von Rosenroth’s translations of the Zohar in Kabbala Denudata)5 was printed in London in 1887, and included renditions of three Zoharic units, including the Idra Zuta translated into English as The Lesser Holy Assembly. Eureka! Two translations of the Idra Zuta, one made in London the other in Poona, both carrying the same English title, The Lesser Holy Assembly, both published in the same year, 1887! There must have been some connection between the two. The link, I suspected, was the Theosophical Society. I knew that Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers had been affiliated with the Theosophical Society,6 whose international headquarters were established in the early 1880’s in Bombay, India. Was Abraham David Ezekiel also related to the Theosophical Society? A quick search in the online archives of the Theosophical Society revealed that A.D. Ezekiel had indeed been a prominent member of the Poona branch of the Theosophical Society and that in 1887 he had published an article entitled ‘The Kabbalist from Jerusalem’ in the journal The Theosophist. Later, I discovered the initials F.T.S.—Fellow of the Theosophical Society—in one of Ezekiel’s publications, which I have traced in the British Library. From the introductions to two of his books, written in the Baghdadi Jewish Arabic dialect (which I read with the kind assistance of Ms. Nurit Inbar and Prof. Sasson Somekh), 4 Huss, ‘Zohar Translations’, 33–110. On the Arabic translation of the Idra Zuta see ibid., 55–57. 5 Ibid., 57–58. Kilcher, ‘Verhüllung und Enthüllung des Geheimnisses’, 377–379. 6 Mathers is referred to as a F.T.S. (‘Fellow of the Theosophical Society’) in The Theosophist, August 1887, 105. His wife, Moina, describes his meeting with Blavatsky in her introduction to the second edition of The Kabbalah Unveiled, XII. Previous to the founding of the Golden Dawn, Mathers was active in the Hermetic Society of Anna Kingsford, which branched off from the London lodge of the Theosophical Society in 1884. See Godwin, Theosophical Enlightenment, 362. “the sufi society from america” 169 I gleaned further information on his affiliation with the Theosophical Society, referred to by Ezekiel as ‘the Sufi Society from America’! In the present study, I intend to discuss A.D. Ezekiel’s connection with the Theosophical Society and his printing enterprise. I will show that Ezekiel’s interest in kabbalah followed on his joining the Theosophical Society, and that theosophy was of a major bearing on his perception of kabbalah and on his translation and printing venture. Finally, I will briefly discuss other examples of Jewish involvement and interest in the Theosophical Society, and the impact the Theosophical Society, as well as other related movements of the late nineteenth century, had on modern Jewish interest in kabbalah. 2. A.D. Ezekiel and the Theosophical Society A.D. Ezekiel (his full name was Abraham David Salman Hai Ezekiel) was a member of a prominent family of the Jewish Baghdadi community residing in Bombay and Poona; he was related to the affluent Gabbai and Sassoon families.7 His father, David Hai Ben Ezekiel Mazliah was a member of the Beit David benevolent Society in Bombay, and the owner of a large collection of books and manuscripts.8 It was probably in 1882 that A.D. Ezekiel joined the Theosophical Society. Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott, the founders of the Theosophical Society, arrived in India in 1879, and established their headquarters in Bombay (afterwards, in 1882 it was moved to Adyar).9 In 1882, Blavatsky and Olcott visited Poona, where, after two successful 7 The term ‘Baghdadi’ (or, in Hebrew, ‘Bavli’) refers not only to Jews who emigrated from Baghdad itself , but also to Jews who came to India from other Iraqi and Middle Eastern communities, and who in the nineteenth century established thriving communities in Calcutta, Bombay and Poona. On the Baghdadi community in India see Katz, Who are the Jews of India, 126–159. 8 Ibid., 51, 195. On his library, which included rare manuscripts, see Sapir, Even Sapir, vol. 2, 41 (Sapir visited his house in Bombay in 1860). Manuscripts from his collection are extant today in the Shocken library (no. 37), and in the Sassoon collection (nos. 52, 550, 1049). On the Beit David Society, which was named after David Sassoon, see Ben-Yaacob, ‘The Emigration of Babylonian Jews to India’, 26–28. Abraham David’s paternal grandfather Ezekiel Mazliah, emigrated from Basra to Bombay in the early nineteenth century (see: ibid., 51). His maternal grandfather was Moshe Ben Mordekahi Ezekiel Gabbai, from Bombay (see Sapir, Even Sapir, vol. 2, 41). Abraham David’s sister, Kathrin, was married to Reuven Sassoon (see Ben-Yaacob, ibid., 51). 9 On the early years of the Theosophical Society, see Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived, 1–29; Godwin, Theosophical Enlightenment, 277–331; von Stuckrad, Western Esotericism, 122–129. 170 boaz huss Figure 1: Title Page of The Lesser Holy Assembly, A.D. Ezekiel’s Press, Poona 1887 (courtesy of the Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem, Gershom Scholem’s Library). “the sufi society from america” 171 lectures, they established a branch of the Theosophical Society, with twenty members. Judge N.D. Khandalvala related in his memoires of Mme. Blavatsky, published in 1929: In 1882 I asked them [Mme. Blavatsky and Col. Olcott] to come to Poona to my place, where I also invited a number of friends to whom I introduced them. Col. Olcott gave two public lectures at the City TownHall, and these were much appreciated. Afterwards a Branch Theosophical Society was established in Poona with 20 members. This Society still exists and is doing useful work. Thereafter Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott came to Poona on four different occasions, putting up twice at my place and twice at the house of the late Mr. A.D. Ezekiel.10 In the introduction to a book he published in 1888, Ezekiel gives an account of his joining the Theosophical Society, which he calls the ‘Sufi Society’: ‘Ten years ago some people came from America who called themselves the Sufi Society. Their deeds and movement are famous amongst the Indian people. I met them and joined their society five years ago’. Ezekiel was involved in the events surrounding the controversy over the Theosophical Society that erupted in 1884–1885, after the publication of incriminating letters Mme. Blavatsky allegedly wrote to her former aid, Emma Coulomb, and the critical report written by Richard Hodgson for The Society for Psychical Research (S.P.R.).11 In one of the Coulomb letters dated 24 October 1883 (first published in the Madras Christian College Magazine, and The Times of India in September 1884), Blavatsky tells of a meeting A.D. Ezekiel arranged for her with his wealthy cousin, Jacob Sassoon, asking Mme. Coulomb to fabricate a message from the Mahatmas (the wondrous masters Blavatsky claimed to be in touch with), in order to secure a donation from Sassoon: Whether something succeeds or not I must try. Jacob Sassoon, the happy proprietor of a crore of rupees, with whose family I dined last night, is 10 Khandalvala, ‘Madame H.P. Blavatsky As I Knew Her’, 214. In an unsigned editorial note published in the supplement to The Theosophist, August 1882, it is mentioned that Damodar K. Mavalankar, the Manager of The Theosophist, visited Poona at stayed in A.D. Ezekiel’s house. A picture of A.D. Ezekiel, with Blavatsky, Olcott, and other members of the Theosophical Society, which was taken during a convention in Bombay in 1882, can be found at: http://www.teosofiskakompaniet.net/ DamodarKMavalankarPioneer_2003_.htm (accessed 16 September 2008). 11 On the Coulomb affair and the Hodgson Report see: Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived, 87–95; Lubelsky, ‘Celestial India’, 129–136. 172 boaz huss anxious to become a Theosophist. He is ready to give 10,000 rupees to buy and repair the head-quarters, he said to Colonel (Ezekiel his cousin arranged all this) if only he saw a little phenomenon, got the assurance that the Mahatmas could hear what was said, or give him some other sign of their existence (?!!). Well, this letter will reach you the 26th, Friday, will you go up to the Shrine and ask K.H. (or Christopholo)12 to send me a telegraph that would reach me about 4 or 5 in the afternoon, same day worded thus: “Your conversation with Mr. Jacob Sassoon reached Master just now. Were the latter even to satisfy him still the doubter would hardly find the moral courage to connect himself with the Society. RAMALINGA DEB.” If this reached me on the 26th even in the evening—it will still produce a tremendous impression.13 The publication of the Coulomb letters and the Hodgson report, which received worldwide attention, was a very serious blow to the Theosophical Society, causing a great stir amongst its followers. In a letter printed in the Times of India, Ezekiel denied the charges made by Emma Coulomb: In one of the letters my name has been mentioned, and you will allow me to make a few observations. I know in detail all the particulars of Madame Blavatsky’s last visit to Poona. Some of the particulars have inaccurately been put into the alleged letter. The telegram referred to therein was not at all meant, even in the most distant way, to suggest the possession of phenomenal powers by Madame Blavatsky, and she never attempted to put before me or Mr. Sassoon the telegram in any such light. On carefully reading this paper I can plainly see that Madame Blavatsky could not have written the letter, much less have called for the telegram.14 12 K.H. is Koot Hoomi, one of two most prominent Mahatmas associated with the Theosophical Society (the other being Morya). The Shrine, which contained a portrait of Koot Hoomi, was located in the Society’s headquarters in Adyar, and was the scene of many of the supernatural phenomena reported by members of the Theosophical Society. 13 Patterson, ‘The Collapse of Koot Hoomi’, 204–205; Coulomb, Some Account, 69–70; Hodgson, ‘Report’, 211. 14 The Times of India, 15 September, 6. The letter is cited in Price, ‘First Report’ (note on the Coulombs). A more detailed letter by Ezekiel, in which he gives his account of the ‘Poona Telegram’ was published in The Times of India, 18 September, 8. According to a letter Judge Khandalavala wrote to Blavatsky in December 1885, in which he tells of the reaction of Sassoon and Ezekiel to the publication of the Coloumb letters, he was responsible for sending (and writing?) these letters (from which we learn that one of A.D. Ezekiel brothers was also affiliated with the Theosophical Society): ‘You are scarcely aware what a difficult task we had when the alleged letters appeared. Poor Sassoon wavering and ready to side with the public. Ezekiel’s brother impatient to rush into print with a lot of matter collected haphazard from the conversation they had with you and scarcely knowing whether he was going to do you “the sufi society from america” 173 Notwithstanding his defense of Blavatsky, Ezekiel was skeptical concerning some of the supernatural phenomena related with the Theosophical Society, especially, the mysterious appearance of letters from the Mahatmas. Dr. Franz Hartmann declared in his statement to the S.P.R. committee, that ‘Mr. Ezekiel is a great sceptic, and he made me promise that if any occult phenomena should happen after my return to headquarters, I would let him know it’.15 Ezekiel’s skepticism concerning the wondrous appearance of the Mahatmas’ letters is mentioned in Madame Coulomb’s pamphlet: He was in company with others in Madame’s apartment when a letter fell from the ceiling. Mr. Ezekiel formed the natural supposition that it must have been pulled down by some contrivance so he went and unburdened his heart to several Fellows of the Society giving this is a great secret.16 Ezekiel himself tells of his skepticism in a letter he wrote to the editor of The Times of India, after the publication of Coulomb’s letters: Madame Blavatsky and several others knew but too well what an inveterate doubter I am regarding these phenomena and she must have been a thorough simpleton, and not the clever imposter she is represented to be if she called for the telegram to make a “tremendous impression” as alleged. It was only through me that she could hope to make any impression regarding the telegram upon Mr. Sassoon, but she knew my nature too well to expect anything out of me17 or Sassoon harm. Ezekiel scarcely remembering all the details and I knowing nothing as to what actually happened during your two visits. In spite of all that, I made the best of the situation and sent two letters signed by Ezekiel to The Times of India which greatly restored the peace of mind of our fellows and sympathizers’. This letter was published in Barker, ‘The Letters of H.P. Blavatsky to A.P. Sinnett’, letter 93a. 15 Printed in: Price ‘First Report’, appendix 37. 16 Coulomb, Some Account, 73. Hodgson, ‘Report’, 249. According to Coulomb, Blavatsky, who heard of Ezekiel’s suspicions, gave her husband orders to dismantle the device through which the letters were pulled down (for Blavatsky’s comment on this, see Gomes, ‘Blavatsky’s Annotations’. This passage is cited by Hodgson, ‘Report’, 249. Hodgson writes that Ezekiel confirmed Coulomb’s account. He also says that the details Ezekiel gave him concerning a communication he received from a Mahatma corroborated his suspicions of Blavatsky, but that Ezekiel did not give him permission to publish them. This is mentioned also in the report of the general meeting of the S.P.R from July 1885, found at: http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/spr62685.htm (‘Mr. Hodgson described in detail the appearance of one of these envelopes, which showed clear traces of its having been opened surreptitiously; and mentioned a case described to him by Mr. Ezekiel, a Theosophist at Poona, which corroborated his own conclusions, but the details of which Mr. Ezekiel was unwilling to have published’; accessed 16 September 2008). 17 The Times of India, 18 September, 8. 174 boaz huss Blavatsky, who held anti-Semitic prejudices,18 was infuriated by Ezekiel’s skepticism. Coulomb relates how Blavatsky ignored Ezekiel when she passed through Poona, in February 1884: On route to Bombay the party was met at Poona by Mr. Khandalvala [. . .] and by Mr. Ezekiel also a Fellow of the Society. This last gentleman uttered a cry of joy when he saw the train stop saying: ‘Oh, here is Madam’. But when she heard his voice she told me in a loud whisper and in French: ‘Ne laissez pas entrer ce C [. . .] de juif; Je ne veux pas le voir. Qu’il aille au diable! Dites lui que je dors’ [Do not let that [. . .] of a Jew come in. I will not see him, Let him go to [. . .]! Tell him that I am sleeping].19 Blavatsky, in her comments on Coulomb’s account, denied she had said that, but admitted she did not want to see Ezekiel, because of his treacherous behavior: ‘It is true I did not want to see him & told so to Khandalavala & others. But that was because Mme C. had told me that he had behaved treacherously that he pretended to believe, & then told his friends I was a swindler’.20 Notwithstanding his skepticism, and the tension with Blavatsky, Ezekiel remained a member of the Theosophical Society, and, as we saw above, defended Blavatsky after the publication of the Coulomb letters.21 In 1885, Colonel Olcott spent a few days in Ezekiel’s household in Poona. In his Old Diary Leaves, he gave a colorful description of his visit: I passed on to Poona with our colleague the late Mr. Ezekiel, a member of the great family of the Sassoons and an ardent Kabbalist. At his house I met a Rabbi Silbermann of Jerusalem and his wife [. . .] He wore the Oriental costume as also did Mr. Ezekiel senior, who lived in the other half of the little house [. . .] The old gentleman and I were sitting together one day, he watching me so closely that I thought something must be wrong about my dress, but he soon undeceived me. Beckoning me mysteriously into his bedroom, he took from a press a complete Jewish costume [. . .] and asked me to put them on. When I had done 18 Isaac Lubelsky described Blavatsky’s attitude to the Jews as ‘light anti-Semitism’. See Lubelsky, ‘Celestial India’, 153 (see also ibid., 150). In 1877 Blavatsky sent a letter to the New York Times, in which she defended the Russian authorities’ attitude to the Jews. See ibid, 112 (the letter can be found at: http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/ JewsInRussia.htm; accessed 16 September 2008). 19 Coulomb, Some Account, 78. 20 Gomes, ‘Blavatsky’s Annotations’. 21 See also Coulomb’s remark ‘So I will leave him [i.e. Ezekiel] in Poona where he later busies himself to throw his stone at the Coulomb’s’ (Coulomb, Some Account, 78). “the sufi society from america” 175 so, he led me by the hand along the verandah to the adjoining rooms, intimating that he was going to pass me off as a Jew. Entering into the spirit of the joke, I gravely saluted the Jerusalem family after the Eastern fashion [. . .] The aged Rabbi [. . .] saluted me with great respect [. . .] He then began putting me a lot of questions in Hebrew, and refused to believe that I was a mere Gentile, when young Ezekiel, laughing heartily at his bewilderment, told them who I was [. . .] His wife [. . .] looked me over most scrutinisingly, and confirmed her husband in his belief of my Hebraic origins. “Why” said she to the maid, “who can deny it? See, has he not the shekinah?” meaning the shining aura the tejas as the Hindus call it. Both the Ezekiels were immensely amused at the success of the old gentleman’s trick [. . .]22 In July 1887, Ezekiel published in The Theosophist a story entitled ‘The Kabbalist of Jerusalem’. The story tells of a friend of Ezekiel’s, a Jewish merchant, a native of Jerusalem, a skeptic who did not believe in magic, the future life, or the kabbalah.23 Yet, through a chance meeting in India with a mysterious woman with supernatural psychic powers (identifying herself as Sarah, a Jewess born in Constantinople), he becomes interested in kabbalah and theosophy. In his quest for occult knowledge, relates Ezekiel, his friend met with a medium in Paris, and later, after a long search, with an old kabbalist from the Beth-El synagogue in Jerusalem: He saw before him a thin-faced, white-bearded old man, clad in a ragged national costume, and squatted upon a mat in the darkest corner of the synagogue [. . .] his appearance was not that of one asleep, but rather of one whose attention was fixed upon an inner world. A holy calm seemed to have settled over him, and this internal beatitude made Rabbi Jacob think he saw upon his face and round his head that Shechina, or soul shine, which is believed to appear upon the face of the true seer [. . .]24 The Beth-El kabbalist agrees to teach him kabbalah, only after his making a pilgrimage to hidden kabbalistic masters in Tunis. The story ends with the old kabbalist’s declaration that the ‘doctrines promulgated by 22 Olcott, Old Diary Leaves, vol. 3, 307–308. In the story the Rabbi is called Jacob, but Ezekiel says it was not his real name. It is possible that this character in Ezekiel’s story is based on Rabbi Silbermann, whom Olcott met at Ezekiel’s house in 1885. Interestingly, on the copy of ‘The Kabbalist of Jerusalem’ that Ms. Mary Anderson, the International Secretary of the Theosophical Society, Adyar, has kindly sent me, I found a handwritten note: ‘Col’s Diary for July 21st, at Bombay—1887 “Visit from Mr. Moses, the original of Rabbi Jacob in Ezekiel’s story in the July Theosophist—‘The Kabbalist of Jerusalem’ ”. 24 Ezekiel, ‘Kabbalist of Jerusalem’, 600. 23 176 boaz huss the Theosophical Society are identical with those taught by the Kabbalists of our race’.25 In late 1887, Ezekiel opened a printing press in Poona, where, during the years 1887–1888, he printed nine books, which I will discuss in more detail below. In the supplement to The Theosophist, January 1888, Ezekiel appears on the list of the general council of the Theosophical Society. In 1892, his name is amongst other members of the Indian branch of the Theosophical Society on a notice concerning a prospective lecture tour of Annie Besant.26 In July 1897 The Theosophist announced: ‘We regret very much to record the departure from this life of brother A.D. Ezekiel [. . .] a very old and well known member of the Poona Branch’.27 3. A.D. Ezekiel’s Press in Poona At the end of 1887, A.D. Ezekiel opened a printing press in Poona.28 His first publication, printed in December 1887,29 was the translation of the Idra Zuta into Jewish Arabic (printed together with the Aramaic original, line on top of line). The Idra Zuta (the small assembly) and the Idra Raba (the large assembly) are special, highly revered, units of the zoharic corpus, characterized by their anthropomorphic depiction of the divine countenances (parzufim). The Idra Zuta relates the hidden secrets of the divine countenances, and their sexual relationships, 25 Ibid., 601. Lucifer: A Theosophical Magazine, vol. 9, 1891–1892, 1. 27 The Theosophist 18, June 1897, supplement, 35. 28 Previously, in 1885, a lithography entitled The Life of Moses in Egypt, in Jewish Arabic cursive handwriting, was published in Bombay by S.A Ezekiel. See Yaari, Jewish Press, 60. Possibly, this is the work of A.D. Ezekiel, whose full name was Abraham Suliman David Ezekiel. A previous Jewish printing house, which served the Bene Israel community, and printed only two books, operated in Poona during the year 1870. Four more books, in Hebrew, English and Marathi, were printed by Vital Shakharam Arnighorty, Suvidya Prakash and Shivaji Presses, for the Bene Israel community in Poona during the years 1873–1878. On the Bene Israel community see Katz, Who are the Jews of India, 91–125. 29 The preface to the book is dated 13 December 1887 (27 Kislev 5648). A printed invitation to become a subscriber to the forthcoming Idra Zuta, with a specimen page of the print, was issued by Ezekiel in September 1887 (see Sassoon, Ohel David, 430). As mentioned above, the copy of the Idra Zuta found in Scholem’s library, carries a dedication to the author’s brother from 4 January 1888. 26 “the sufi society from america” 177 Figure 2: Convention Group, Bombay 1882, A.D. Ezekiel standing, 1st to the right. Sitting in the middle, Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott. http://www.teosofiskakompaniet.net/DamodarKMavalankarPioneer_2003_ .htm (courtesy of Teosofiska Kompaniet). which were revealed by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the protagonist of the Zohar, on his deathbed.30 A.D. Ezekiel dedicated his translation of the Idra Zuta to the philanthropist in the Baghdadi community in Calcutta, Mazal Tov, wife of the wealthy merchant Elijah David Joseph Ezra.31 In his introduction, Ezekiel declares that he does not intend to reveal the secrets of the Zohar, but only to explain the literary meaning of its words for those who read the Zohar without understanding its meaning. Ezekiel is referring to the custom of the ritualistic reading, on special occasions, of the Zohar in general, and of the Idrot in particular, common in Jewish communities, as from the eighteenth century.32 In reference to the radical anthropomorphic imagery of the Idra and possibly, in anticipation of the controversy that would follow the printing of the translated 30 See Green, Guide to the Zohar, 154. On the activities of Elijah David Joseph Ezra and his wife, see Ben-Yaacob. ‘Immigration of Babylonian Jews’, 88–90. 32 Huss, Like the Radiance of the Sky, 251–254, 261–264; idem, ‘Sefer ha-Zohar’, 295–300. 31 178 boaz huss Idra, Ezekiel cites at length a passage from Rabbi Hayim Vital’s (chief disciple of the 16th century kabbalist, R. Isaac Luria) Shaar ha-Hakdamot asserting that the zoharic (as well as biblical) anthropomorphism is a parable that should not be understood literally.33 Nonetheless, the translation of the Idra Zuta into Jewish Arabic did stir a fierce controversy against A.D. Ezekiel. Objections to the translation of the Idra were voiced by the Rabbis of Baghdad in a letter dated 5 January 1888 (21 Tevet 5648), published in the Jewish Gazette Paerah, in Calcutta.34 In another letter, printed in the same periodical, the sages of Baghdad emphatically prohibited the publication of such a translation.35 On 24 February 1888, a letter signed by both Rabbi Raphael Meir Panigel, the Sephardic chief Rabbi (Haham Bashi) of Palestine, and his son in law (who later succeeded him) Rabbi Yaacov Shaul Eliashar, was issued in the Jerusalem Hebrew newspaper, Havatzelet: Our soul has grieved to hear that the two Idrot, Idra Rabba and Idra Zuta,36 were printed in the Arabic language in the town of Poona, a town in India. Who would believe such bad news? Who would not be upset and outraged by such a great sacrilege (hilul ha-Shem); whose hair will not stand on end when he sees such an evil thing, that the hidden secrets reach the hands of the multitude and the ignorant [. . .] Woe is us! How did the holy Torah become, God forbid, a scorn and derision for the nations! How did villains come and profane it! [. . .] Woe is us! How was such a great profanation committed in our days! We are thus obliged to decree in the power of the Divine Presence (Shechina) which never left the Wailing Wall, and in the power of the holy Torah, that no son 33 See Shaar ha-Hakdamot, 2. A similar admonition concerning the anthropomorphism of the Idra Rabba and Idra Zuta is printed by way of introduction to the Idra Rabba, in almost all of the Zohar editions, since its first printing, in Mantua 1558. 34 Cited in Sassoon, Ohel David, 429. According to Sassoon, the letter was printed in The Jewish Gazette Paerah, 10 (34). As the microfilm of the tenth volume of The Jewish Gazette, from the year 1888, has disappeared from the Jerusalem National library, I was not able to check the original letter (as well as many other letters concerning the printing of the Idra Zuta from that year). According to a letter of Ezekiel to Rabbi Meir Penigel, which I will discuss below, the Rabbis of Baghdad did not see the manuscript of his translation, but rather, a translation of the Idra Rabba, which was prepared by a friend of his. 35 Cited by Sassoon, ibid., 430, from volume 10 (37). 36 Actually, Ezekiel printed only the Idra Zuta. The Rabbis of Hebron, who also issued a decree against Ezekiel thought he printed the two Idrot. Both the decrees were issued before the Rabbis saw the book itself, an issue Ezekiel complained about in his response that will be discussed below. “the sufi society from america” 179 of Israel should be allowed to read the above mentioned printed Idrot, in other languages, under any circumstance. Furthermore, every person called by the name of Israel, has the obligation to make an effort to keep and hide the translations in a place where no foreign hand can reach them, and eliminate them from the world. We also decree, sustained by the power of the court, that Rabbi Abraham David Suliman David Hai [i.e., A.D. Ezekiel. B.H.] must make an effort to collect and conceal them in a hidden place (gnizah) [. . .]37 A similar decree, using even harsher terminology, signed by Rabbi Elijah Mani, and four other Sephardic Rabbis of Hebron, was published in Havazelet two weeks later (11 March).38 A.D. Ezekiel did not recoil in the face of his being denounced by the great Sephardic rabbinic authorities of his time. During 1888, he published several letters in The Jewish Gazette Paerah, defending his translation and attacking his opponents.39 On 20 July 1888 (12 Av 5648), Ezekiel sent a communication to the Chief Rabbi, Raphael Meir Panigel, in which he defies his ban, and defends his translation: I have come to kiss the hands of my teacher and Rabbi, the crown of my head, to ask his permission to speak about the issue of the holy Idra Zuta, which I have dared to approach in the glorious endeavor of translating it into the Arabic language. I have translated it into pure and clean language, interlinear, the language of the Idra on top, and the Arab language beneath, in fine craftsmanship. Therefore I have sent his honor two copies, so he can see the beauty of my endeavor and pursue its introduction. Now, when I received volume 18 of the Havazelet, and saw that his honor wrote that it (the translation of the Idra) is forbidden and must be put in a hidden place etc., I was bewildered. As my work had not yet 37 Havazelet 18 (18), 24 February 1888 (12 Adar 5648), 138–139. Reprinted in Grayevsky, Zikharon le-Hovevim Rishonim, vol. 15, 1928; See also Yaari, The Hebrew Press in the Orient, 84. 38 Havazelet 18 (20), 11 March 1888 (28 Adar 5648), 156–157. Reprinted in Grayevsky, ibid., 204. Interestingly Grayevsky mentions another attempt to translate the Zohar into Arabic by one Moreno Cohen of Jaffa; the venture was forbidden by the Sephardic chief Rabbi of Palestine (ha-Rishon le-Zion). Additional letters against Ezekiel’s translation, by Rabbi Solomon Twena of Calcutta, and other anonymous authors, were printed in issues of The Jewish Gazette Paerah in 1888. See: Sassoon, Ohel David, 430. 39 Sassoon, ibid. According to Sassoon, in these letters, Ezekiel cited form the works of Hayim Vital in order to defend his venture, gave instances of earlier translations of Kabbalistic works, relied on the translation of the Talmud into French, and threatened one of his correspondents with an action according to the Indian Penal Code. 180 boaz huss reached his honor, and he had not looked at it, how could he pronounce a verdict upon me? Who has ever heard of such a thing, that a verdict should be pronounced not in the presence of the accused? As his honor has not seen the book, not even part of it, nor read in its introduction about the intention of the author, how could he speak, moreover write, to disgrace me in the above mentioned Havazelet? 40 Ezekiel writes that in his opinion, it is not only not forbidden to translate the Idra, but rather it is: ‘a religious obligation (mizvah) to study and teach and write and translate it into Arabic, which is the accustomed language amongst us’. He cites a passage from Hayim Vital’s introduction to Etz Hayim to the effect that it is a mizvah to reveal the kabbalistic secrets of the Zohar, as this revelation will bring forth redemption;41 he adduces several examples of kabbalistic texts written in foreign languages, or translated into them.42 Ezekiel writes, defiantly, that Panigel’s decree did not achieve its goal, but on the contrary, enhanced the sales of the book, which was now out of stock. He adds that he refused requests to reprint the translation of the Idra, because he was busy translating the rest of the Zohar! Ezekiel concludes his letter by requesting Panigel to withdraw his decree, and asserting his independence from the rabbinic authorities in Baghdad (whom he blames for inciting Panigel against him): Thus I request his highness that if the truth be with me, he should publish in Havazelet that it [the translation of the Idra] is permitted, and furthermore, that it is a Mitzvah to read in it [. . .] And my master and Rabbi should also know that the sages and Rabbis of Baghdad have written to the dignitaries of India concerning this affair, thinking they had authority over me. Praise God, I am a free person, and they don’t have power over me. Yet, if my master will teach me the source for his verdict 40 The letter was printed, from manuscript, by Grayevsky, ‘On the translation of the Idrot to Arabic’, 15. Parts of the letter were reprinted in Yaari, Hebrew Press in the Orient, 84. Ezekiel writes that he published a previous letter to Panigel in The Jewish Gazette, issue 43, but did not receive an answer to his complaints. 41 On this perception, that became widespread in the sixteenth century, see Huss, Like the Radiance of the Sky, 224–226. On this idea in Vital’s introduction to Etz Hayyim, see ibid., 239–240 (Ezekiel does not bring an exact quote from Vital, but probably refers to his words in the introduction to Etz Hayyim, 9–13). 42 Ezekiel relies on the mention of such books in the seventeenth century Hebrew bibliography, Siftei Yeshenim by Shabbtai Bass. He mentions the works of Abraham Herrera that were written originally in Spanish, and Sefer Keter Shem Tov of Abraham of Cologne, that was translated into Latin. “the sufi society from america” 181 why it is forbidden and why it must be hidden away, I will try to do that, and will obey his will.43 During the months of the controversy over the printing of the translation of the Idra Zuta, Ezekiel continued his printing venture, including the publication of other kabbalistic texts, translated into Arabic. Yet, he did not print any other zoharic texts (although, as we saw, he mentions that he did continue to translate the Zohar). In February 1888, Ezekiel printed an Introduction to the Kabalah, the only English text he published in his printing press. This book is a reprint of a text entitled ‘Introduction to the Cabalah’, published in London in 1845–1846, in the Journal The Voice of Israel, propagated by ‘Jews who believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah’, edited by the convert Reverend Ridley Haim Herschell. The ‘Introduction to the Cabalah’ that was published in the Voice of Israel, and reprinted by Ezekiel, was an English translation (probably prepared by Herschell) of excerpts from the book on Jewish sects by the Jewish scholar, Peter Baer (Geschichte, Lehren und Meinungen aller bestandenen und noch bestehenden religiösen Sekten der Juden und der Geheimlehre oder Kabbala, published in Brünn in 1822–1823). Ezekiel, who in this book added the initials F.T.S. to his name, addressed the book to fellow members of the Theosophical Society in India, who were interested in kabbalah: Since the formation of the Theosophical society several enquiries have been made as to the teaching of the Kabbalah. With a view therefore to give the general reader some idea of the subject I have thought it fit to reprint without any corrections or additions the ‘Introduction to the kabalah’ as it appeared in the Voice of Israel, leaving it to some future time to write something more on the subject. Should the introduction excite sufficient interest—amongst the readers in this country—to do so. All the other books that Ezekiel printed that year were in Jewish Arabic, and addressed to the Jewish Baghdadi community. In April 1888 he published Natural Philosophy, a text book on physics for schoolchildren.44 During that year, he also produced translations of Song of Songs, and of The Book of Creation (Sepher Yezirah), a fundamental 43 Grayevsky, ‘On the Translation of the Idrot to Arabic’, 16. Natural Philosophy, Matter and Motion (catechism) in Arabic (in Hebrew characters). For the use of schools. The book is dedicated to Moshe Avi Aziz of Calcutta. 44 182 boaz huss work of the kabbalistic tradition,45 as well as two Arabic tales, Dewan El Mathee and Dewan El Rahban.46 Toward the end of 1888, Ezekiel printed two more kabbalistic texts in translation. In October a Jewish-Arabic translation of the first part of Yosef Ergas’ Shomer Emunim,47 an early eighteenth century kabbalistic text (written in the form of a disputation), whose main argument is that kabbalistic imagery, especially, the Lurianic doctrine of the Zimzum (i.e., Divine contraction), should be understood metaphorically, rather than literarily.48 Ezekiel dedicated this book to the editor of the journal Paerah, Elijah Moshe Dweck ha-Cohen, and to other members of ‘our group’ in India and other places, who stood by him in his struggle to ‘overthrow the yoke of the priestcraft’, during the controversy over the publication of the Idra Zuta.49 In the introduction, Ezekiel refers again to this controversy, expressing his hope that the publication of Shomer Emunim would not encounter the objections of the rabbinic authorities, who ‘opposed the publication of the Idra Zuta, for no reason’. As mentioned above, in his introduction to Shomer Emunim, Ezekiel tells how he became a member of the Theosophical Society, and says that because he saw that much of the knowledge of the theosophists 45 Cabticum Canticorum, or the Song of Solomon, Interlineary Translation from the Herbrew into Arabic (in Hebrew Characters), by Abraham David Ezekiel, Poona, 1888; Sepher Yesirah or The Book of Creation, Interlineary Translation from the Hebrew into Arabic (in Hebrew Characters), by Abraham David Ezekiel, Poona, 1888. A reprint of these texts, and a short discussion of them, can be found at Allan D. Coreé’s website: http://www.uwm.edu/~corre/jatexts/Text114.html; http://www.uwm.edu/~corre/ jatexts/Text118.html; http://www.uwm.edu/~corre/jatexts/Text118.pdf (all accessed 16 September 2008). 46 Dewan El Rahban: an Arabic tale in Arabic (in Hebrew Characters) edited by Abraham David Ezekiel, Poona 1888; Dewan El Mathee, an Arabic tale in Arabic (in Hebrew Characters) edited by Abraham David Ezekiel, Poona 1888. I have not seen the last two publications, which are mentioned in Yaari, Hebrew Press, 89; Hill, ‘Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic and Marathi Jewish Printing in India’. 47 The English title page reads: ‘Shomer Emuneem (First Argument), a Kabbalistic Controversy Translated from Hebrew in Arabic (in Hebrew Characters). For the use of students of Kabala’. 48 On Shomer Emunim, and the Kabbalistic perception of Yosef Ergas see: Goetschel, ‘La Justification de la Kabbale dans le Shomer Emunim of Joseph Ergas’; Idem, ‘La Notion de Simsum dans le Shomer Emunim de Joseph Ergas’; Hansel, ‘La Lettre ou L’allegorie, La Controverse sur l’interpretation du Simsum dans la Cabale Italienne du XVIII siecle’. 49 Ezekiel writes the words ‘Yoke’ and ‘Priestcraft’ in English. “the sufi society from america” 183 was based on kabbalah, he had begun studying the Lurianic canon Ez Hayyim:50 But once I started reading it, I could not understand a word of it. At that time, one of my friends from our community, Rabbi Sassoon Abdullah Somekh, was here. When he saw me struggling to understand this book, he suggested that I consult his father in Baghdad. I wrote a letter to the famous sage Rabbi Abdullah Somekh in Baghdad, and asked him to guide me how to understand this book. The sage directed me to the book Shomer Emunim, the first part of which I have now translated. A month later, in November 1888, Ezekiel printed The Sermon of True Faith (Drush be-Inian ha-Emunah ha-Amitit).51 This sermon, first published at the end of Isaac Lupis’s Kur Mezraf ha-Emunot u-Mareh ha-Emet,52 in Metz, 1847, is a summary of Drush Boker le-Avraham, written by the 17th century Sabbatean theologian Michael Cardozo.53 In the introduction, Ezekiel writes that he had decided to translate and print this short work because he found that it could be beneficial towards the understanding of the kabbalistic books he had already published, and those he intended to publish in the future. Here too Ezekiel refers to the controversy against him, and asserts that the study of kabbalah is permitted in his time. He says that since he had translated the Idrot, many people started studying kabbalah, and many urged him to print more kabbalistic books. Nonetheless, the translation of The Sermon of True Faith was the last kabbalistic text Ezekiel translated and printed. Possibly, he succumbed to the pressure of the rabbinic authorities, or gave up his printing venture for other reasons. After a year of intensive activity, no more books were printed by the A.D. Ezekiel Press in Poona. 50 Probably, Ezekiel studied the version of Shmuel Vital, Shmonah Shearim. He refers to it as ‘Etz Hayyim with Shmonah Shearim’. 51 The English title page reads: ‘A Sermon on true faith, Copied from “Kor Musref ” & Translated from Hebrew in Arabic (in Hebrew Characters). For the use of students of Kabbalah’. 52 On the book, a Jewish Polemic against Christianity, written in Aleppo, Syria, in 1695 see Lasker, Jewish Philosophical Polemics, 16. 53 According to Yehuda Liebes, the Sermon of True Faith was written by Cardozo himself. See Liebes, On Sabbateanism and its Kabbalah, 44–46. Nisim Yosha, suggested that the abbreviation of Boker Le-Avraham was prepared by Lupis. See ibid., 46. 184 boaz huss 4. Theosophy and Kabbalah Although A.D. Ezekiel had undoubtedly been aware of kabbalah pervious to his joining the Theosophical Society, his interest in it was stimulated by his encounter with Theosophy, and the theosophical perspective shaped his views on kabbalah and his efforts to translate and publish kabbalistic texts. At the end of the nineteenth century Madame Blavatsky and other members of the Theosophical Society were interested in kabbalah, as they were in other esoteric traditions. Their knowledge was based on the Christian kabbalistic tradition, on its adaptation by nineteenthcentury occultists (mostly, by Eliphas Lévi), and on various nineteenthcentury scholarly works on kabbalah (especially, Christian Ginsburg’s The Kabbalah, published in London in 1865). According to Colonel Olcott’s memories, the first resolution of the Theosophical Society, founded in New York, on 8 September, 1875, was ‘that a society be formed for the study and elucidation of Occultism, the Cabbala, etc’.54 Kabbalah played an important role in the writings of Blavatsky, especially, in the Secret Doctrine. As Gershom Scholem suggested (following the Jewish Theosophist Leonard Bosman), the mysterious Book Dzyan, which her Secret Doctrine is allegedly based on, is dependent in title and content, on the zoharic Siphra Dezniuta.55 Yet, her attitude to kabbalah was quite ambivalent, as revealed especially in her article ‘The Kabalah and the Kabalists at the Close of the Nineteenth Century’, published in Lucifer in 1892, in which she wrote: In short [that] no Kabalistic work now extant among the Western nations can display any greater mysteries of nature than those which Ezra & Co., and the later co-workers of Moses de Leon, desired to unfold [. . .] And what they do reveal hardly repays the trouble of passing one’s life in studying it.56 54 Olcott, Old Diary Leaves, vol. 1, 121. Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived, 27. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 398–399 (note 398). 56 Blavatsky, The Kabalah and The Kabalists, 12–13. According to Don Karr: ‘HPB made it clear that she believed that: A. “Kabbalah” was inferior to “our (Eastern) septenary system”. B. Kabbalistic writings had “all suffered corruptions in their content by sectarian editors”. C. There was “evidence of occult knowledge in the West” even though HPB saw fit to expose “[its] limitations” and point to “the misleading character of Kabbalistic Symbolism”.’ Karr, ‘Christian Kabbalah in English’. 55 “the sufi society from america” 185 Interest in kabbalah was especially prominent amongst members of the London lodge of the Theosophical Society, who, because of their preference of Western esoteric tradition, branched off into the Hermetic Society and the Order of the Golden Dawn. As mentioned earlier, in 1887 one of future founders of the Order of the Golden Dawn, Samuel Liddel MacGregor Mathers, published the first English translations from the Zohar, including the Idra Zuta. In the same year, William Wynn Westcott, another fellow of the London branch of the Theosophical Society, and a founding member of the Order of the Golden Dawn, issued a translation of Sepher Yetzirah.57 It was the interest and knowledge of kabbalah amongst the theosophists which prompted Ezekiel to study, and later translate and print kabbalistic texts. In his introduction to Shomer Emunim, he relates: Ten years ago some people came from America who called themselves the Sufi Society [. . .] I met them and joined their society five years ago. I have seen from their writings that much of their movement was based on our Kabbalah. I desired to understand the wisdom of Kabbalah, and asked people to direct me to the books of this knowledge. He continues and says that the fact that non Jews were experts in kabbalah prompted him to teach, translate and print kabbalistic texts, for the benefit of the Jewish community: The members of the Sufi Society that came to Bombay were not Jewish. I was very much astonished that foreign people were experts in our wisdom of Kabbalah, while we, the Jews, were barred from it. So, after much effort and sleepless nights, I studied a little of it, and what I have studied, I will reveal to my brethren so that they can enter and study this knowledge, and this translation will help them to do so. As suggested above, Ezekiel’s choice to translate the Idrot was influenced by the late nineteenth century interest of theosophists and other Western esoteric circles who were acquainted with it through the Latin translation in Knorr von Rosenroth’s Kabbalah Denudata.58 This is probably true also of Ezekiel’s choice to translate Sepher Yezira, another work central amongst Christian kabbalists and occultists. As 57 58 Westcott, Sepher Yetzirah. See Kilcher, ‘Verhüllung und Enthüllung des Geheimnisses’. 186 boaz huss mentioned above, both the Idrot and Sepher Yezira were translated into English by fellows of the Theosophical Society in 1887.59 Ezekiel’s theosophical perspective on kabbalah was probably the reason for his intriguing choice to reprint the Sermon of True Faith. This short text succinctly summarizes the unique Sabbatean kabbalistic theology of Abraham Cardozo (described by Scholem as a ‘Gnostic dualism with a reversal of evaluation’),60 whose main theological argument as formulated in The Sermon of True Faith was: ‘That the creator is not the First Cause, but rather, a being emanated for him, which is the God of Israel, and it is He who should be worshiped’.61 Ezekiel’s theosophically inclined mind was probably pleased by the assertion of the author of the Sermon of True Faith (be it Cardozo or Lupis): ‘The true faith which I reveal to you [. . .] was forgotten amongst us, and for a thousand years nobody has known its essence and truth, and we have been, like the gentiles, misled in the knowledge of the Divine’.62 Ezekiel’s theosophical perception of kabbalah comes to the fore in his article, ‘The Kabbalist from Jerusalem’. Sarah, the Jewish ‘seeress’ who is described in the story as having ‘transcendental powers’ performs a ‘phenomenon of a physical character, to prove the control of the human spirit over the correlations of matter’.63 The phenomenon, a miraculous transportation of a Jerusalem manuscript to India, is reminiscent of the ‘phenomena’ performed by Mme. Blavatsky. The kabbalist of Beth El is also described as having psychic powers, and he, like the hidden kabbalists of Tunis, is depicted similarly to the adepts and the mahatmas of the Theosophical Society. In the conclusion of the story, the Jerusalem kabbalist affirms that kabbalah and Theosophy are identical: 59 Other translations of these texts were published at the same period. In 1887, Eliphas Lévi’s disciple, Papus, published a French translation of Sepher Yezirah. In 1888, Isaac Myer included an English translation of the beginning of the Idra Rabba in his Qabbalah, the Philosophic Writings of Ibn Gebirol. Eliphas Levi translated the Idra Raba into French already in the 1870’s, but his translation Les Livre des Splendeurs was published only in 1894. In 1895, Henri Château published a translation of all the Zoharic texts that were included in Kabbalah Denudata. See Huss, ‘Translations of the Zohar’, 57–64. 60 Scholem, Kabbalah, 399. 61 For a summary of Cardozo’s Theology see: Scholem, Kabbalah, 396–400; Halperin, Abraham Miguel Cardozo, 60–70. 62 The author’s discussion concerning the beliefs of the Indians and the Chinese may also have been of interest to him. 63 Ezekiel, ‘Kabbalist of Jerusalem’, 599. “the sufi society from america” 187 ‘There is but one God and one truth’ said he. ‘Whosoever may be the teacher, he can but teach the Universal Doctrine. There are such adepts in the Himalayas, as there are others of the same kind in Egypt and other parts of the world. God has not abandoned any family of his children to their own ignorance and weakness; He would not be a true Father, if that were so. These doctrines promulgated by the Theosophical Society are identical with those taught by the Kabbalists of our race; there is the same rule of life, the same goal to reach. The World has never been without such teachers, nor will ever be. In the darkest night of superstition and ignorance, in the deepest depths of social degradation, there are always living witnesses to the truth’.64 5. Concluding Remarks The story of A.D. Ezekiel and the ‘Sufis from America’ illustrates the impact of the Theosophical Society and related esoteric movements on the interest of Jews in kabbalah in the modern era. I would like to conclude with a survey of some additional examples of Jews who joined the Theosophical Society and whose interest in and perception of kabbalah were influenced by theosophy. Many Jews joined the Theosophical Society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,65 and in 1925, at the Jubilee congress of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, the Association of the Hebrew Theosophists (A.H.T.) was founded.66 In an appeal to the members of the Theosophical Society, Gaston Polack from Brussels, who was elected as the president of the A.H.T., declared that ‘the association proposes to bring to light all the hidden spiritual riches of the Jewish religion’.67 Between the years 1926–1932, the American section of the A.H.T. published a Journal, The Jewish Theosophist, edited by Henry C. Samuels. 64 Ibid., 601. Amongst the founders of the Association of Hebrew Theosophists, in 1925, were Jewish Theosophists from Bulgaria, Egypt, Belgium, India, and Iraq. See Bosman, Plea for Judaism, 23. Interestingly, Gandhi tells in his Autobiography that he became acquainted with members of the Theosophical Society in South Africa, through his Jewish associate Lewis W. Rich, who was a member of the Society; see Gandhi, Autobiography, 138. 66 On that occasion, the foundation stone for a future synagogue was laid by Annie Besant. See Polack, ‘Association of Hebrew Theosophists’, 103–104; Besant, ‘On the Watch Tower’, 553. Bosman, Plea for Judaism, 23. 67 Polack, ‘Association of Hebrew Theosophists’, 103–104. 65 188 boaz huss At the same period, a branch of the Theosophical Society was founded in Basra, Iraq, by Jews who had previously resided in India.68 In 1931, following political strife in the community, the Jewish theosophists were banned by the religious authorities of Basra and Baghdad. They separated from the Jewish community, established their own synagogue and cemetery and employed their own ritual slaughterers (shochet). The Jewish Theosophical Society in Basra was active at least until 1936, when the ban on them was annulled.69 Similar to A.D. Ezekiel, other Jewish theosophists became interested in kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. Leonard Bosman, an English Jewish theosophist, who wrote extensively about kabbalah, published a booklet (in 1913) entitled The Mysteries of the Qabalah. Bosman in his book, The Music of the Spheres, or Cosmic Harmony, asserted that essentially theosophy and kabbalah were identical, and suggested that Mme. Blavatsky’s Book of Dzyan was based on the zoharic Siphra Dezniuta: But verily the Secret Doctrine of the Jews is Theos-Sophia and nothing but Theos-Sophia, and hence it is a matter of perfect simplicity to reconcile the two teachings which emanate from One Source. The inner teaching of Judaism is the same as that offered in the Secret Doctrine, the very name of the Book of Dzyan from which the Secret Doctrine was taken and the Qabbalistic work called the Book of Dzyaniouta being similar in construction and purpose.70 In 1928 Alexander Horne, a member of the A.H.T., wrote a discourse called An Introduction to Esoteric Judaism in which he describes kabbalah and Hasidism, as Jewish expressions of universal esotericism. His interest in kabbalah is expressed in a number of articles he contributed to The Theosophist and The Jewish Theosophist. In his article ‘The Life and Form’, published in The Theosophist in 1929, he calls for 68 Possibly, the first Jewish Theosophical branch was founded in Basra in 1916, by Dr. Yaakov Salomon, from India. Yet, there is only scant information concerning this group. In 1927, a branch of the Theosophical Society was founded by Kadourie Ani (whose brother was a member of the Bombay branch of the Society). See Cohen, ‘Jewish Theosophists in Basra’, 402. 69 Cohen, ibid., 402–407. See also the memoirs of Sasson Somekh, Baghdad Yesterday (previously published under the title ‘Forever ‘Amba’, Ha’aretz [English Edition], 8 March 2002. I am grateful to Prof. Somekh who informed me about the Basra Theosophists. 70 Bosman, Music of the Spheres, 5. See also idem., Mysteries of the Qabbalah, 31. “the sufi society from america” 189 the establishing of a Jewish theosophy, founded on the Jewish mystical tradition: Therefore let the Theosophy that is presented to the Jews be a Jewish Theosophy, based on the purest heritage of the Jewish past, founded on Jewish mystic lore, colored by Jewish symbolism, and phrased in Jewish thought. There is enough in the Cabala, in the philosophy of the Gnostics, the Essenes and the Hasidim, to furnish the basis for an inspiring and intellectually acceptable philosophy of life period.71 In 1932, Jennie Wilson, another member of the A.H.T. met with the Jerusalem kabbalist Hayim Leib Auerbach (whom she describes as the ‘Dean of Cabala University in Jerusalem’), during his visit in New York, in which he gave a lecture at the New York Branch of the AHT.72 The Hebrew Theosophist sent a description of her impressions from this meeting to the editor of the World Theosophy Magazine, called ‘The Ancient Wisdom in Palestine’: The writer was fortunate to come in contact with the famous Rabbi Auerbach, to explain to him the ideals and aims of the Theosophical Society and hope of the Association Hebrew Theosophists. The existence of the Society was new to him, but when some of the teachings were mentioned, especially re-incarnation, his face lighted up in recognition. “You mean Gilgal” he said.73 Jews who joined the German section of the Theosophical Society, which in 1912, under the leadership of Rudolf Steiner, branched into the Anthroposophical Society,74 also became interested in kabbalah. In 1913, A.W. Sellin published a treatise about the spiritual philosophy of the Zohar, based on a lecture he gave at the first general assembly of the Antroposophical Society in Berlin.75 Ernst Müller, another follower of Steiner’s, and a member of the Zionist student union in Prague, prepared translations of Zohar passages into German, as well as several books on kabbalah, including one in English about the history of Jewish mysticism.76 71 Horne, ‘The Life and The Form’, 333. The Jewish Theosophist, 2(1), April–June 1932, 7 (editorial notes). 73 Wilson, ‘Ancient Wisdom in Palestine’, 317. 74 See Godwin, Theosophical Enlightenment, 367–368; Campbell, Ancient Wisdom Revived, 155–158; von Stuckrad, Western Esotericism, 129–130. 75 Sellin, Die geisteswissenschaftliche Bedeutung des Sohar. 76 Vom Judentum, 281–284; Müller, Der Sohar und seine Lehre; idem, Der Sohar: Das Heilige Buch der Kabbala; idem, History of Jewish Mysticism. See Riemer, ‘Wanderer zwischen den Welten’. 72 190 boaz huss The Theosophical Society influenced further Jewish thinkers and scholars, who were interested in kabbalah in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Naphtali Herz Imber, author of the Zionist anthem ha-Tikvah, relates that in 1893 he was asked by George Ayers, the president of the Theosophical Society in Boston, to translate the Zohar.77 Although Imber was critical of the Theosophical Society and of Mme. Blavatsky,78 he nonetheless used theosophical perceptions in his discussions of Jewish mysticism, referred to Hasidim as ‘Jewish Theosophists’, and called the Hasidic Rabbis ‘Mahatmas’!79 Finally, it should be mentioned that Gershom Scholem was impressed by the ‘real insights’ of Arthur Edward Waite, a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn, who was much influenced by Theosophy.80 In his 1927 Bibliographia Kabbalistica, Scholem wrote that Waite’s The Doctrine and Literature of the Kabalah, and his The Secret Doctrine in Israel, belong to the best books written about kabbalah from a theosophical perspective.81 Although Scholem dismissed the Theosophical Society as ‘pseudo-religion’82 and blamed Blavatsky for ‘misuse and distortion’ of kabbalah,83 in 1944 he wrote in a letter to Joseph Weiss: You are certainly too harsh on Madame Blavatsky, it is surely too much to say that the meaning of cabala has been forgotten in the ‘Secret Doctrine’. After all, the Lady has made a very thorough study of Knorr von Rosenroth in his English adaption, and of Franck’s ‘Cabale Juive’. She certainly knew more about cabalism than most of the other people you mention [. . .] I think it might be rather interesting to investigate the cabalistical ideas in their theosophical development. There is, of course, 77 Kabakoff, Master of Hope, 181. See also ibid., 16. Ibid., 10–12. 79 Ibid., 179, 295. Imber says that Blavatsky invented her Mahatmas on the basis of her knowledge of Hasidism; ibid., 10–12. 80 Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 2; idem, ‘Waite, A.E., The Holy Kabbalah’, 633–638. 81 ‘Beide Bücher gehören jedenfalls zu den besten von theosophischer Seite über die Kabbalah geschriebenen’ (Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalastica, 158). Elsewhere, Scholem was much more critical of Waite. See Burmistrov, ‘Gershom Scholem und das Okkulte’, 26. 82 Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 206. 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