Description:
As Light Before Dawn explores the mystical thought of Isaac ben Samuel of Akko, a major medieval kabbalist whose work has until now received relatively little attention. Through consideration of an extensive literary corpus, including much that still remains in manuscript, this study examines an array of themes and questions that have great applicability to the comparative study of mysticism and the broader study of religion. These include prayer and the nature of mystical experience; meditative concentration directed to God; and the power of mental intention, authority, creativity, and the transmission of wisdom.
Review Quotes: "Fishbane presents a carefully parsed analysis of Issac's world view, which remain in many respects a template for the spirituality of the Zohar in which the kabbalist is enmeshed in a consciousness defined by the interactions of the tropes of the Jewish canon, the images of the phenomenal world, the demands of the law, and the larger sweep of history."--Pinchas Giller, AJS