D. Lit., Principal of Aria College, Portsmouth.

In the Press
BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY. By C. A. F. Rhys Davids, M.A., F.B.A., Lecturer in Indian Philo- sophy, Manchester University.
THE MYSTICS OF ISLAM. By Reynold A. Nicholson, M.A., Litt.D., LL.D., Lecturer in Persian, Cambridge University.
London: G. BELL & SONS LTD.
JEWISH MYSTICISM
BV
J. ABELSON, M.A., D.Lit.
PRINCIPAL OF ARIA COLLEGE, PORTSMOUTH
LONDON
G. BELL AND SONS LTD.
1913
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EDITOR'S PREFACE
General and special studies on Christian mysticism are numerous enough ; but it is somewhat remarkable that, in their intro- ductory pages, authors, who have much to say of Plotinus and Neoplatonism, have nothing or very little on the still more cognate subject of Jewish mysticism. This is not, however, so very surprising, for, truth to tell, there is a singular dearth of anything like an adequate introduction to the study of Jewish mysticism itself. The impression left with the general reader is that there is little of a mystical nature in the legitimate tradition of Jewish re- ligion, and that the Kabbalah is simply a morbid and late growth, fed entirely by elements foreign to the genius of Israel. How ill-founded is the former view, and how extreme the latter, mav be seen in the following pages. In an able summary, that
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vi EDITOR'S PREFACE
may well serve as an introduction to the general study of Jewish mysticism, Dr. Abelson makes accessible to the general reader, in simple terms, the results of his careful inquiry, based on the researches of the best Jewish scholars, and reinforced by his own wide acquaintance with Tal- mudic and Rabbinical literature. To write profitably on Jewish mysticism, it is neces- sary to have, not only a discriminating sympathy with the mystical standpoint, but also a first-hand knowledge of Jewish religious literature, the peculiar genius of which, perhaps, no one but a member of the race that has produced it can ade- quately appreciate and interpret. In addi- tion to this, Dr. Abelson comes well prepared for his task, as he has already opened up a new field of research by his valuable critical study on The Immanence of God in Rabbinical Literature, a subject which is the indispensable presupposition of all Jewish mysticism.
PREFACE
The following pages are designed to give the reader a bird's-eye view of the salient features in Jewish mysticism rather than a solid presentation of the subject as a whole. The reason for this will be apparent when one thinks of the many centuries of varie- gated thought that have had to be packed within the small number of pages allotted to the book. It is this very fact, too, that will possibly give the present treatment of the sub- ject a fragmentary and tentative appearance. Thus Chapter V. follows immediately upon the contents of Chapter IV., without the least attempt to show any of the numerous inter- vening stages of development. Similarly,