Theoretical Approaches to Esoteric Writing in Nascent Kabbala

• In Event: Competing Voices and Textual Traditions in Thirteenth Century Kabbalah

Abstract

Kabbalah emerged as a full-fledged literary tradition in the first half of the thirteenth century when the first Kabbalists composed extended kabbalistic texts.  In deciding to author these texts, they confronted the dilemma of how to record oral traditions that they viewed as secrets only suitable for the elite.  In this paper, I show that the solution of Ezra ben Solomon and Asher ben David, two of the first kabbalistic authors, involved engaging in esoteric writing—a style designed to prevent unsuitable readers from understanding the secret ideas contained in the text.  In my analysis, I apply two distinct theoretical models.  The first model, which is not directly related to the question of writing but may be applied to it, is rooted in the work of the sociologist George Simmel and presents secrets as a means of creating social hierarchies in which a privileged group gains prestige and stands apart from those who lack secret knowledge.  According to the second model, pioneered by Leo Strauss, by hiding secrets in writing, authors are able to defend themselves from persecution that they would face if they revealed their unconventional ideas.  While in the first model secrecy is a means of gaining social status, in the second it is a means of escaping social scrutiny.  In my view, combining both models offers a fuller understanding of the phenomenon of esoteric writing in the works of Ezra and Asher.  In all, my paper demonstrates that to more fully appreciate the emergence of Kabbalah as a literary tradition, it is necessary to attend to the motivations behind the early Kabbalists’ activities as esoteric writers. 

Author

• Jonathan Dauber, Yeshiva University