Messianic Secret

Recent years have seen the flourishing of research on Lithuanian Kabbalists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to the point that some scholars speak of a defined and delineated stream of Kabbalah, a school unto itself dubbed "Lithuanian Kabbalah." Such scholars include within this stream all those who saw the Vilna Gaon as their teacher in Kabbalah (parallel to the position of the Baal Shem Tov in Hasidism) and they ascribe to it such fixed categories as its "Articles of Faith." In their conception, this stream was part and parcel of the broader and well-known nationalist-messianic current that had its source, supposedly, in the Vilna Gaon himself; this current reached its full fruition in the twentieth century, and so too has the smaller stream within it, now a clearly defined "school," developed in various ways until the present. As if this were not enough, scholars have joined the later ideological trend which seeks to revise the history of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in a decidedly messianic way, presenting it in a continuous line from the Vilna Gaon to the emergence of Zionism and then to the founding of the State of Israel. Again, the Vilna Gaon is not merely presented as a "herald" of Zionism but as one who encoded within his Torah the secret of redemption, the beginning of which, apparently, we are witnessing today. The article conducts a critical analysis of the concept of "Lithuanian Kabbalah," and uses as its case study the life and teachings of Rabbi Shimon Tsvi Horowitz.


בשנים האחרונות צומח ועולה מחקר סביב למקובלים בני ליטא במאות התשע עשרה והעשרים, עד שיש כאלו המדברים על זרם מוגדר ומובחן, אסכולה בפני עצמה, המכונה 'קבלה ליטאית'. בתוך זרם זה כוללים את כל אלו שראו בגר"א את מורם בקבלה, כמעין בעש"ט לחסידות, ומונים קטגוריות מקובעות של 'עיקרי אמונה' של אותו זרם הרוכב על מהלך משיחי ולאומי ידוע שמקורו כביכול בגר"א עצמו והגיע לגמר בישולו במאה העשרים. עד שנוצר בעיני כמה חוקרים מעין 'חוג' ברור ומוגדר שמתגלגל באופנים שונים עד לימינו. אם לא די בכך, הרי שהמדברים על אותו זרם קבלי רוכבים למעשה על קו אידיאולוגי מאוחר שבא לפרש מחדש את ההיסטוריה של היישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל במאה התשע עשרה ברוח משיחית וליצור מעין המשכיות מימי הגר"א עד להופעתה של הציונות ולמאורעות שהתרחשו עם הקמת מדינת ישראל. שוב אין הגר"א מצטייר רק כ'מבשר' הציונות אלא כמי שצפן בתורתו את סוד הגאולה שאנו עומדים לכאורה בפתחה. המאמר עוסק בניתוח ביקורתי של המשוג "קבלת ליטאית" וכמקרה מבחן יש כאן דיון בדרכו של ר' שמעון צבי הורביץ

One of the outstanding motifs found in the gospel of Mark is the concept known as the Messianic Secret.  This theme is viewed on one end as a mystery and on another end as a hermeneutical presupposition.  The concept of secrecy centers on the miracles of Jesus, his encounters with demons, and his instructions to the disciples. The passages that underscore this theme can be found in Mark 1:25, 34; Mark 1:44; 5:43; 8:27-30; 9:2-9. The passage under consideration for this paper is Mark 3:7-12. This paper will present an overview of scholarship, the background and purpose of Mark’s gospel, an outline of chapter 3 including the text under consideration, an exposition and exegesis of the text, and will conclude with possible reasons for the Messianic Secret.

Summary:  When the king backs Haman’s decree, Esther is saddled with a difficult mission.  She has been selected as Persia’s replacement queen not only because of her natural beauty, but because of her (apparent) lack of allegiance to a particular people.  Yet Esther soon finds herself required to defend her people--a people who exhibit exactly the kind of insubordination as Vashti did (briefly).  To her credit, Esther succeeds in her mission, which has a number of Messianic overtones.

Keywords:  Esther, Ahasuerus, Haman, Messianic, Jewish tradition, liturgy, Psalm 22.  Date:  Jul. 2019.  Credits:  R. David Fohrman’s The Queen You Thought You Knew.

Mark’s messianic secret has intrigued scholars, pastors, students, and theologians alike for many years, and all would agree: the whole subject of Mark’s Gospel is indeed not fully addressed if this motif is simply set aside. And although many have, across the years, put forward various theses as to why Jesus sought to keep His messianic identity a secret, there are fewer who have approached the subject from the perspective, perhaps best and most recently offered by David Rhoads. Rhoads breaks in at an important time in critical scholarship, offering a perspective of Mark not previously considered; one based in narrative and literary criticism and textual reconstruction. Rhoads engenders a deeper, more textually-based look at Mark’s Gospel, while allowing the researcher and casual reader to set aside historical criteria and theological presuppositions in considering Mark’s aim in the writing of his account. Rhoads sets out to consider the text as a story, and does just that. Inspired by the work of Rhoads, a closer examination of Mark from a decisively narrative, thematic-based perspective reveals the workings of an interpretation of Jesus’ Messianic secret-keeping not as a crisis of identity for Jesus himself, nor as primarily theological indicator of his messianic identity, nor even as a dogmatic approach of an author desperate to synthesize the life of Jesus with the beliefs of the early church, but rather as a narratively-employed thematic motif carefully applied and inserted by the author, with an intended audience and audience-response in mind; an audience who themselves were facing the most significant challenge of faith in the presence of great fear. Rhoads thus accomplishes what so few have otherwise done, which is to bring a vividness to the text of Mark’s Gospel which historical criticism had all but stripped away. Moreover, it is Rhoads’ work, though he does not give us the answer himself, which provides the foundation from which we might draw the material necessary to answer the question of purpose with regard to Mark’s messianic secret motif.

The Messianic Secret is not in fact a crisis of identity for Jesus, nor is it a dogmatic attempt to redefine, or reauthor a better, more orthodox messianic figure in line with the more developed beliefs of the early church—rather, it is a specific narrative choice of the author himself (Mark) to create an overwhelming sense of thematic suspense which finds its climax in the battle of faith and fear. These two thematic giants wage war against one another in a dramatic struggle towards the ultimate end of a developing rhetorical question. Throughout Mark’s Gospel account he presents instances in which the direct characters, yet also the reader, and listener, experience and witness together the power of Jesus the Messiah, Son of Man, Son of the Most High God, and inaugurator of the Kingdom of God, to heal, to drive out demons, conquer physical maladies, and rule with intellectual superiority over the Roman and Jewish leaders of the day. Yet the question for each character, and indeed the question for each reader and listener remains the same throughout the narrative: how will they, how will we, respond? Will the telling of this story, in all its facets, bring about a bold and courageous response of proclamation and faithful confession of the truth of the messiah in the face of great adversity, or will it otherwise end in fearful silence? Will fear of persecution and death, such as was faced and suffered by the protagonist himself overwhelm the audience? Or will they otherwise respond in triumphant faith? This is the climactic rhetorical movement of the Gospel of Mark. The scope of this paper is thus primarily concerned with the text of Mark’s Gospel and his presentation of the messianic secret motif as that which serves the greater narrative purpose of the whole in developing this rhetorical call for a decision of faith or fear.

This is the third chapter of my contextual introduction to the New Testament, From Crisis to Christ (Nashville, TN: 2014), 51-74. It was published on the Bible and Interpretation site, May 2015 as an example of my new approach to biblical studies, which I call "second criticality." That essay is also posted on the Bible and Interpretation site.

L’article a pour sujet la personnalité extraordinaire du kabbaliste le Rabbin Levi Isaac Krakovsky (1891–1966), un des étudiants oubliés du Rabbin Yehuda Leib Ashlag (1885–1955). Krakovsky diffusait l’enseignement de son maître en Amérique en anglais, écrivait des douzaines de livres et essayait d’établir des yeshivot de Kabbalistes. Contrairement à son maître, il présentait un enseignement exotérique et une vision de diffusion de la Kabbale dans le monde entier. Son influence était minime, mais un de ses élèves était Shraga Philip Berg qui continuait son chemin et le complétait de plusieurs points de vue. L’article se base sur de riches matières archivales, parmi lesquelles de longues essays de l’auteur en manuscrit qui sont décrits ici pour la premiere fois. D’une telle façon, nous décrivons le dévelopment de la Kabbale en Amérique du début du vingtième siècle jusqu’ aujourd’hui.

Quelques questions et réponses sur l'Évangile : 1) les paraboles 2) Le Notre père 3) Les rapports scripturaires entre l'Ancien et le Nouveau Testament 4) La nature de L'Esprit-Saint 5) Le secret messianique


Some questions and answers about the Gospel: 1) The parables 2) Our father 3) Scriptural relationship between the Old and New Testament 4) The nature of the Holy Spirit 5) The Messianic Secret

"on: Pawel Maciejko, The Mixed Multitude: Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement 1755-1816 (Jewish Culture and contexts), Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, 376 pp.

The article includes a review of developments in research of late Sabbateanism, especially research concerning the ‘wondrous charlatan’, Jacob Frank. Histories of Frank, and those who joined his movement in various countries until his conversion have long been a subject of great interest for modern historiography and they provide a touchstone for discerning the religious and ethical boundaries of the historians themselves. The first to write critically about Frank came from the Haskalah and had a negative attitude toward him. They saw Frank as the last and necessary chain in the unfolding of Sabbatean heresies. A real change in perspective came about in studies from the beginning of the twentieth century, written with a romantic and nationalistic orientation by authors who found the sparks of nationalism in Sabbatean literature. The studies of Gershom Scholem, Aaron Zeev Eshkoli and others who continued this trend, but who were more nuanced and historically accurate, offered a fuller picture of the phenomenon. Against this background it is possible to better appreciate the
publication of the new book by Pawel Maciejko, The Mixed Multitude, which presents the history of late Sabbateanism in very different light and in various ways changes the accepted understanding of its history."

The Messianic Era: Conditions:

The Messianic Era will be one of tremendous prosperity. It will leave humankind with ample free time as the pursuit of riches and wealth will be no more, meaning war during it will cease to exist.

Because of these prosperous conditions all the nations of the world will be preoccupied with one pursuit: the study of HaShem and the Torah. Moshiach will reveal profound previously unknown dimensions of the Torah. The Torah which we study in this world is naught in comparison to the Torah of Moshiach that will be revealed.

Furthermore, while our present-day knowledge of HaShem is limited to intellectual perception, but during the Messianic Era we will actually "see" what we are studying.

The Commandments we do today pale in comparison to those we will perform when we will be returned to the Holy Land. And aside from the greater quality of the Commandments we will perform then, quantitatively too, we then will finally be capable of performing so many Commandments which we are unable to do today. Also, with the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, we will resume the Temple service and all the Commandments that it entails.

Moshiach will usher in an era of peace and prosperity which will benefit all of mankind. The prophets depict the Messianic Era as a miraculous one, and the Scriptures are replete with statements regarding fantastic miracles that will be commonplace during the Messianic Era.

One of the most significant facts relating to the Messianic Era doctrine is the teaching that the Millennial Kingdom is a rule of HaShem on earth, thereby distinguishing it from a purely spiritual reign in the hearts of men through centuries of human history. The King of Kings ruling on earth distinguishes it from the will of HaShem as expressed in eternity future. The evidence for this is so abundant that it is strange that learned men have been able to deny this plain teaching of the Scriptures. Psalm 2:8 records the invitation of the Father to His blessed Son: "Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."

Isaiah 11 paints the graphic picture of the reign of King Moshiach on earth, a scene which cannot be confused with the present age or the eternal state if interpreted in any normal literal sense. As presented, it describes the Messianic Era and the righteous government of King Moshiach.

The cumulative evidence for the Messianic Era of King Moshiach presented in preceding research serves as a logical introduction to the prophecies of the Scriptures fulfilled in the earthly and eternal reign of Moshiach. The doctrine of the Messianic Era is one of the major revelations of Scripture pertaining to HaShem’s program. As a theme for theological investigation, it has attracted a host of scholars who have developed the kingdom theme in desperation to understand what the future holds, yet we fail miserably trying to pen the vast deepness and significance of it...

The headings in this part cover the following areas:

1) Torah: The Eternal Constitution of the World.
2) Torah: Changed to a Deeper Dimension.
3) Holistic Overview of the Messianic Age Structure.
4) Moshiach’s Kingdom Will Be Earthly.
5) The Structure of the Kingdom.
6) The Kingdom’s Administration.
7) The Nations and Worship.
8) Characteristics and Dynamic of the Kingdom.
9) What Will the Earth Be Like?
10) The General Living Conditions.
11) Quick References for Conditions Within the Messianic Era.
12) Jerusalem and It’s People Described.
13) Israel and Its People Described.
14) Cleansing of the Land During the First Years in the Olam Haba.
15) Messianic Age Temple Overview.
16) Description of the Messianic Age Temple.
17) Living Water Will Flow From the Temple.
18) Temple Priests and Ordinances.
19) Object of the Messianic Age Reign.
20) End of the Seventh Thousand Year: The Messianic Era Closure.
21) Conclusion.

One of the more astounding books produced by Bratslav Hasidism is Liqquṭei tefilot (1822–1827), composed by R. Nathan Sternhartz of Nemirov, which established a whole new genre in Bratslav literature. This article discusses the book's genesis, publication, and primary goals, as well as the controversy it generated. The new Bratslav theology that emerged after the death of Rabbi Naḥman led to disputes, both internal and external, over the role and character of R. Nathan. Examining this particularly obscure chapter in the early history of Bratslav Hasidism sheds light on the movement as it exists today in all its diversity, both ideological and social. Keywords Bratslav Hasidism – Hasidism – Jewish mysticism – Kabbalah

Full Article
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/1477285x-12341269;jsessionid=1n5j66dblsols.x-brill-live-03

Review
"This excellent study is [...] recommended for academic libraries."
Daniel Scheide, Florida Atlantic University, Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews, Volume VII, No. 2
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Abstract
It is difficult to ignore the diversity of the kabbalah or both its modest and coarse manifestations over the course of the twentieth-century – phenomena that have latterly garnered considerable attention in both the lay and research literature alike. That said, it appears that the historical background for these current developments, namely the world of the kabbalists in the late 1800s and early 1900s, has yet to merit an in-depth study. The dozens of hagiographies that are now being written by the progeny and admirers of the said kabbalists paint a romantic picture of a “glorious past.” In these books, the early twentieth century is described as a kabbalistic renaissance that is on equal footing with the days of Isaac Luria in Safad. Surprising as it may be, the Hebrew and Yiddish belles-lettres and, following in their footsteps, the research literature from Gershom Scholem onwards has left the impression that kabbalah deteriorated in the beginning of the twentieth century to the point of nearly vanishing of the world stage. According to this same narrative, only the efforts of a few surviving kabbalists—a sort of dying elite—kept the flame from expiring. On those rare occasions in which scholars bring up these practitioners, they are referred to as “the remnants of the kabbalists” or similar epithets. This characterization was painted in even louder colors upon describing the era’s Jerusalem-based kabbalists. At one and the same time, then, there are descriptions of both a great awakening and steep decline. The author’s attempt to make sense of this contradiction is one of the catalysts behind the present study. Its origins aside, the book focuses on the kabbalah seminaries (Yeshivot or academies) in Jerusalem from 1896 to 1948 as well as the various manifestations of kabbalah within traditional Jewish society.
Kabbalistic Circles in Jerusalem breaks new ground on the robust activities of Jerusalem’s kabbalistic yeshivot, foremost among them Beit el, Rehovot haNahar, and Sha'ar haShamayim. By virtue of these institutions’ publications and the unearthing of tens of documents and manuscripts that were deposited in sundry archives, the book surveys the daily schedule and methodology of these yeshivot; their methods for disseminating kabbalah books; the dynamics between revelation and concealment that undergirded all the kabbalists’ endeavors; the arrangement of the RaShaSh Siddur’s first print run; the messianic outlooks that were espoused in this community regarding the attempts to discover the Sambatyon River and the lost tribes; and the content and assorted roles of the Tikkunim literature. What is more, the author explores the disagreements between competing groups—most notably, the feud over the extent to which occult wisdom should be exposed to the general public—and the various gradients of Jewish mysticism within these seminaries.
Against this backdrop, shedding light on Jerusalem’s kabbalist circles between the years 1896 and 1948 opens a door to the wider world of the myriad kabbalistic streams in East Europe and Arab lands, the Maghreb included. The foundations that were laid by these yeshivas in the early twentieth century also paved the way for the contemporary blossoming of kabbalah in many and manifold circles. In this sense, retracing the pertinent developments in the Land of Israel at the outset of the twentieth century is imperative not only for repairing the distorted picture of the past, but for understanding the ongoing surge in kabbalah study
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This book endeavors to fill a lacuna in the literature on early twentieth-century kabbalah, namely the lack of a comprehensive account of the traditional kabbalah seminaries (Yeshivot) in Jerusalem from 1896 to 1948 as well as the various manifestations of kabbalah within traditional Jewish society. The foundations that were laid in the early twentieth century also paved the way for the contemporary blossoming of kabbalah in many and manifold circles. In this sense, retracing the pertinent developments in Palestine at the outset of the twentieth century is imperative not only for repairing the distorted picture of the past, but for understanding the ongoing surge in kabbalah study.

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Contents

Preface pp. ix-xii

Introduction: The Imagined Decline of Kabbalah pp. 1-17

Chapter One: The Kabbalistic Yeshivot of Jerusalem  pp. 19-73

Chapter Two: Searching for the Lost Tribes  pp. 74-108

Chapter Three: The Renaissance of Print  pp. 109-140

Chapter Four: Prayers and Ritual Literature pp. 141-166

Chapter Five: Critique, Parody and Controversy pp. 167-175

Concluding Remarks p. 176

Appendix: List of Proclamations pp. 177-184

Bibliography pp. 185-230

Index pp. 231-243


"Reviews:
(1) Tomer Persiko, 2012, הרחובות ממריאים ‘The streets of Kabbalah’, Beit Avichai Journal, (Hebrew)
(2) Tomer Persiko, 2012, הרחובות ממריאים ‘The streets of Kabbalah’, Lula’at ha-El: The Varieties of Religious Experience, Blog (Hebrew)
(3) Avishai Elboim, 2011, חיפוש עשרת השבטים ‘Searching for the lost Tribes’, Shabat be-Shabato, no. 1405, p. 6 (Hebrew)
(4) Yaniv Mezuman, 2012, רחובות הנהר ‘Rehovot ha-Nahar’, Makor Rishon, Shabat, pp. 12-13 (Hebrew)
(5) Yehudah Mirsky, 2012, ‘Gershom Scholem, 30 Years On’, Jewish Ideas Daily.
(6) Eliezer Baumgarten, 2013,נהר שלום  ‘Nahar Shalom’, Pa'amim 133-134, 7 pages (Hebrew) http://www.ybz.org.il/_Uploads/dbsAttachedFiles/Pea133_134eyunim.pdf


1) Evening book at the Ben Tsvi Jerusalem, with the guests: Moshe Idel, Ronit Maroz, Yoram Bilu Hanan Gafni, Zeev Griss, 10 March 2012
http://www.ybz.org.il/?CategoryID=141&ArticleID=849

2) Evening book at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, with the guests: Haim Beer, Elhanan Reiner, Zeev Griss, Boaz Huss 12 June 2012
http://in.bgu.ac.il/Pages/events/Streets-of-the-river.aspx





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The formation and development of Wrede’s “Messianic Secret” has been a central facet of Markan studies for over a century. Building on and revising this principle, I propose first, that the Messianic Secret in Jesus’ ministry was to serve as an intentional, gradual, and calculated unfolding of His identity in a progressive manner which thus would act as a corrective for the disciples’ Messianic expectations. Second, I propose that this progressive Christology centers on a motif of the relationship between Jesus’ Identity and Authority. Through the employment of teaching, miracles, and displays of divine prerogatives and power, Jesus’ authority is used to draw the disciples to a better understanding and acceptance of his true identity. That is, they move from an initial understanding of Jesus as a simple Rabbi to one having authority over demons, sickness, sin and forgiveness, tradition, the law and Sabbath, and even over the elements of nature. This is at the same time juxtaposed against those who know Jesus’ identity and over whom Jesus has full authority (demons) and against those who are mistaken in their supposition of his identity and over whom Jesus has no authority (e.g. Jewish leaders, those of his hometown, Herod). This displays the relationship of Identity and Authority in Mark, namely that authority only comes with proper understanding of identity. Third and finally, this presentation will briefly examine one major ramification of this proposal, namely the resituation of the turning point of Mark from Peter’s confession of faith (Mark 8:29) to the Mount of Transfiguration (9:2-8) as the Mount of Transfiguration pericope serves as the pinnacle of the revelation of Jesus’ Identity and Authority.

This thesis proposes that Mark had in mind a motif of the relationship between - and the interchange and development of - Jesus' identity and authority as His identity was increasingly revealed to the disciples. This study takes into account Christology (particularly Markan) and its development in scholarship, the concept of the Messianic Secret, Markan literary structure, and the history of and varying views regarding the passage that might be considered 'turning point' in Mark's narrative. This latter is explored because I propose here that when viewed through the lens of Christ's Identity and Authority, the turning point of Mark should be placed at the Mount of Transfiguration rather than the preceding (and most commonly held) pericope of Peter's confession of faith.

Jonatan Meir, “The Politics of Printing the Book Sefer Likutei Tefilot"

This essay discusses one of the more astounding books produced by Bratslav Hasidism – Likutei Tefilot, composed by R. Nathan Sternharz of Nemirov between 1822 and 1827. Notable enough for its content alone, the book also established a whole new genre in Bratslav literature, a fact requiring examination of the book’s genesis, the context of its printing, and its primary goals, as well as the controversy that erupted around it. The new Bratslav theology that emerged upon the death of Rabbi Nahman at the end of 1810[, and which was articulated in Likutei Tefilot,] carried with it a number of ramifications for the small group that had begun to gather around the tsadik, including the eruption of disputes, both internal and external, over [the role and character of] Rabbi Natan of Nemirov. This is a particularly obscure chapter in the history of Bratslav Hasidism, which as a whole remains under-explored by modern scholars; a careful examination of the initiation and crystallization of Bratslav Hasidism in its early stages will shed light on the movement as it exists today in all its diversity, both ideological and social.

The first part of Hillel Zeitlin’s (1871-1942) mystical diary appeared in print in Warsaw 1919. Zeitlin continued to write the diary till the holocaust, and the manuscript is presumed lost. In this paper, I shell reconstruct the content of the lost part of the diary on the basis of the manuscript correspondence between Zeitlin and other Authors. I shell also discus the unsuccessful attempts of Zeitlin to have his diary published. In this discussion, mystical aspect of Zeitlin’s work will come forth.

This thesis examines the elusive Jesus of Luke-Acts in its ancient Mediterranean literary context and investigates the implications of this for Lukan composition and Christology. Scholars recognising characterisations or themes of elusiveness in biblical literature have addressed some Lukan instances, but without concentrating on Luke-Acts. Other studies have struggled to identify a suitable scheme for elusiveness data in ancient Mediterranean literature or New Testament Gospels. Previous studies offering christological and thematic explanations for Jesus' paradoxical presence and absence or 'secretive'/'mysterious' conduct, particularly the (so-called) 'Messiasgeheimnis' or alternative Geheimnis-theories (e.g., 'Leidensgeheimnis' in Luke), fail to account comprehensively for related motifs. Nevertheless, this thesis demonstrates how these and other relevant motifs, also pertaining to other characters or events, contribute to a portrayal of Jesus as an elusive figure and to a broader, more comprehensive and coherent thematic emphasis on elusiveness in Luke-Acts. Concentrated analysis is devoted to four episodes: Jesus eluding his parents during childhood (Luke 2:41-52); Jesus' Nazareth visit and escape (4:16-30); Jesus' (un)recognition and disappearance on the Emmaus road (24:13-35); and Jesus' differently perceived manifestation blinding Paul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-19a; 22:6-16; 26:12-18). In terms of other characters and events, this exploration involves accounts of Paul's escapes and survivals, incarceration deliverances of the disciples, apostolic pronouncements on dissidents, the Philip-eunuch story, and angelic activity. This reconceptualisation in terms of elusiveness offers a fresh perspective for reading Luke-Acts. By utilising an eclectic literary-critical methodology which incorporates aspects of text-centred and reader-oriented approaches, this thesis employs an ancient reader as a heuristic device to demonstrate a characterisation of the elusive Jesus and thematic elusiveness in Luke-Acts. An ancient Mediterranean 'extratextual repertoire' of literary elusiveness offers the type of data which this reader would have invoked for reading the four focal episodes. This extratextual data also illuminates elusive characters and themes in other literature, notably gods and aided mortals in Homeric epic (especially the Odyssey), Dionysus in Euripides' Bacchae, and Yahweh, other supramundane figures, and aided mortals in Jewish texts. As a result of considering Lukan depictions of Jesus' elusiveness in the light of ancient Mediterranean analogues, this project offers several new readings and expands or reinforces some readings less recognised in scholarship. In terms of Lukan composition, this thesis proposes that Jesus is characterised as an elusive figure which principally contributes to an elusiveness theme. This involves several motifs (including those related to Geheimnis-theories) and other elusive characters or events. This study highlights how Lukan elusiveness creates entertaining stories to maintain reader contemplation, inciting intrigue for continued reader engagement. This project also determines that Lukan depictions of elusiveness involve recognisably appropriated motifs and tropes rather than specific intertextual sources. Regarding Lukan Christology, elusiveness underscores commonly acknowledged Christologies (suffering and royal Davidic Messiah; Son of God) as well as less recognised or implicit Christologies (divine visitor; judge; Wisdom) and indicates more continuity of Jesus' pre- and post-mortem physical transience or transcendence than critics normally allow. Ultimately, Jesus' elusiveness consistently indicates his exceptionally theomorphic identity whilst maintaining a degree of ambiguity inherent in Lukan Christology.

This article bridges two substantial but historically distinct bodies of scholarship
on the Gospel of Mark: investigation of its multiple secrecy motifs, on the one
hand, and its alleged “Paulinism,” on the other. Recent decades have seen renewed
interest in exploring a possible relationship between Paul and the earliest gospel,
whether attributed to its general conformity with “Pauline Christianity” or to the
author’s specific knowledge of Pauline letters. Despite being a prominent topic
in other scholarship on Mark, however, secrecy has received little sustained
attention with respect to the question of Pauline influence. I address this lacuna
by amplifying the many theological affinities between the texts while also exploring Mark’s secrecy as a narrative strategy whose elements cooperate to privilege
Paul as the principal (or only) authority on Christ. I then broach the implications
of my reading for the gospel’s early reception, offering preliminary theorization of intellectual dynamics it fostered and in which settings these may have resonated.

Gershom Scholem, Be-ikvot Mashiah, Jerusalem 1944
גרשם שלום, בעקבות משיח, ירושלים תש"ד

Numbered bibliophile edition of 125 copies

Forthcoming
דפים לדוגמא מתוך ספר אודות ד"ר משה שפיצר והוצאת ספרי תרשיש
Tarshish Book Exhibition and Catalogue, eds. Ada Vardi and Meron Eren, Jerusalem: Mineged, 2016, pp. 50-55

The healing of blind Bar-Timaeus (Βαρ-Τιμαῖος), in Mark 10, may appear to be one of the simplest and least spectacular of Jesus’ miracles, but beneath the surface of this brief periscope is a key reoccurring theme of Jesus’ ministry and Greco-Roman culture. Providing hospitality to travelers/beggars (Xenia - ξενία), and the related concept of gods, angels and/or heroes arriving disguised as travelers or beggars (Theoxenia - θεοξενία), are frequent themes in the Bible (in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures), as well as in Greco-Roman myth and culture.

Bar-Timaeus may be more than a blind beggar. His “hidden identity” may be that of a Greco-Roman philosopher who has chosen a beggar’s life. And his deepest desire may not be the restoration of physical sight, but obtaining spiritual enlightenment that only Jesus, the Son of David (Υἱὲ Δαυὶδ) can give.

Bar-Timaeus’ healing, in Mark’s gospel, is also a pivotal point for Jesus revealing his “hidden identity,” what some have termed the “messianic secret.” Earlier in his ministry, Jesus instructed those he healed to not “tell this to anyone” (Mark 1:44). When demons begin to announce Jesus’ hidden identity as “Son of God,” Jesus commands them to be silent and “gave them strict orders not to tell others about him” (Mark 3:11-12). Mark 1:34 says, “(Jesus) cast out many demons, but he would not allow the demons to speak because they knew he was the Messiah.” When speaking to the Twelve, Jesus told them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God. But to those on the outside everything is given in parables” (Mark 4:11). Later, when Jesus asked his closest disciples, “‘Who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’ Jesus warned them they should tell no one about him” (Mark 8:29-30).

When Jesus encounters Bar-Timaeus, however, Jesus no longer seeks to conceal his “hidden identity.” When Bar-Timaeus calls him “the Son of David,” synonymous with Messiah, Jesus does not command him to be silent; and several hours later, when Jesus nears Jerusalem, he rides into the city in a symbolic manner that proclaims his “hidden identity” to anyone familiar with the scriptural prophesies about the Messiah, the anointed King of Israel.

This article analyses a limited textual unit that belongs to the Zohar (apparently to the sub-section known as Midrash Hane‘elam), the essence of which is built on the armature of an apocalyptic story, “The Bird and the Children.”
This unit hints at a messianic message: soon we shall see that foreign kingdoms are at war with one another and, as we know, “If you have seen kingdoms fighting with each other, expect the feet of the messianic king” [Genesis Rabbah 41 (42) d]. In the pattern of the Vision of Daniel (ch. 7), here, too, four kingdoms are mentioned, and we are meant to infer that following them will come the kingdom of the Messiah. Prediction of the future is based on the marvelous abilities of R. Ele‘azar, the son and successor of R. Shim‘on bar Yohai (Rashbi), to decipher the hints that God conceals in His creation.
The article discusses the literary and philological-textual characteristics of this unit and it emphasizes the importance of combining different methods of research for understanding the Zohar, its historical context, its literary structure and even its theology.
Three versions of this story have been located in manuscripts and printed editions; each seems to be a reworking of its earlier ones.
It is being suggested here that the first version was written during the fifth Crusade, following the taking of the Egyptian port city of Damietta by the Crusaders. It seems that the Jewish writers of this story saw this event as an apocalyptic omen just like some of the Christians did (and if this is so than it must have been written before the falling of Damietta in June 1221). It could also be written at the second taking of this city, just before the mid-thirteenth century. In either case, we are evidently dealing with a time much before R. Moshe de Leon (to whom many attributed the composition of the Zohar or at least part of it).
The second version is an adaptation of first one, and it seems that the motives for its creation were literary, and that its authors had already distanced themselves from the content that concerned the authors of the first. It seems that this version was created in the "Golden Age" of the Zohar, namely in Castile at the end of the 13th century or beginning of the 14th. If this is so, the trouble taken to preserve and embellish the text indicates the first steps toward the establishment of the canonical status of Zohar literature.
The third version appears for the first time in volume II (6c–7a) of the Mantua printed edition of the Zohar (1558); it is the creation of the printers, an adaptation and collation of the two earlier versions. There is a great deal of external evidence that at this time Zoharic literature was indeed undergoing processes of canonization, and the adaptation of this story must be seen in this context.

Jewish mysticism has many forms. In his epochal Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, Gershom Scholem however defined Luranic Kabbalah, Sabbatianism, and Hasidim as three different stages in the same process of mystical articulation. In his wake, various scholars of Jewish Thought have since pursued the interrelationship of the two latter ones: Wherein lie the possible origins and sources of the Hasidic movement within the Sabbatean movement? How and which respect can the formation of the Hasidic movement be understood as a (critical) response to the Sabbatean and Frankist movements? And what role played the Baal Shem Tov, the paradigmatic figure and founder of Hasidism, and his circle in this regard?
The aim of this workshop is to shed light on these questions by an attempted close reading of a central and foundational source of Hasidism, the Shivhei ha-BeSHT (In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov).

The workshop will be held by Prof. Dr. Jonatan Meir of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Prof. Meir is currently associate professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. His
research interests include the History of the Jews in Eastern Europe, Jewish Polemics, Jewish Mysticism, the Haskalah Movement, Hasidism, and Contemporary Kabbalah. Among his most recent publications are: Rehovot ha-Nahar: Kabbalah and Exotericism in Jerusalem (1896-1948), Jerusalem, 2011; Michael Levi Rodkinson and Hasidism, Tel Aviv, 2012; Imagined Hasidism: The Anti-Hasidic Writings of Joseph Perl, Jerusalem, 2013.

This article ‘Messiah’ was my contribution to the SOTS Wiki project. Knowing that its Wiki status will result in its being mended beyond recognition, I am posting the original here for those who might like to read my original thoughts on the matter. A longer treatment of the same material will be found in Appendix I to my Messiah ben Joseph (2016).

This course will delve into the major moments of Bratslav Hasidism from its founding through the Holocaust. Through a study of central texts in Hasidism we will evaluate the daring theological picture that negotiated change in relation to a shifting reality. In the first semester we will read from the works of R. Nahman of Bratslav and R. Nathan of Nemirov, and in the second we will study the development of Hasidism through the twentieth century.