Hartley Lachter is Philip and Muriel Berman Chair in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Religion Studies at Lehigh University. He is the author of Kabbalistic Revolution: Reimagining Judaism in Medieval Spain (2014).

"It is a pleasure to read such an erudite work that is written in such an accessible manner. Lachter distills a great deal of information from notoriously complex texts to illuminate the kabbalistic tradition on history and suffering."—Jonathan Ray, Georgetown University "This is a truly innovative work, offering rare insight into the kabbalists as agents of history. Lachter shines as a scholar of medieval texts, and the many understudied works he includes make for a significant contribution to the field."—Ellen Haskell, University of North Carolina at Greensboro "Drawing on a wide range of less well-known kabbalistic texts—for example, the Sefer ha-pelt'ah and Sefer ha-temunah, composed between the late 14th to the early 16th century, Lachter explains, with erudition and sensitivity, how Jews of a mystical persuasion explained the difficult shape of exilic existence.... Highly recommended."—S. T. Katz, CHOICE

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Terrors of History: Finding Order in a World of Chaos2. Meaning in Exile: Kabbalistic Readings of History Gone Awry3. The Shape of Time: History and Cosmic Cycles4. Living across Time: Reincarnation and the Course of History5. History's Ends: Apocalyptic Secrets in the Present Tense6. Shaping History: Kabbalistic Writing and Historical AgencyConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

Hartley Lachter is Philip and Muriel Berman Chair in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Religion Studies at Lehigh University. He is the author of Kabbalistic Revolution: Reimagining Judaism in Medieval Spain (2014).

"It is a pleasure to read such an erudite work that is written in such an accessible manner. Lachter distills a great deal of information from notoriously complex texts to illuminate the kabbalistic tradition on history and suffering."—Jonathan Ray, Georgetown University "This is a truly innovative work, offering rare insight into the kabbalists as agents of history. Lachter shines as a scholar of medieval texts, and the many understudied works he includes make for a significant contribution to the field."—Ellen Haskell, University of North Carolina at Greensboro "Drawing on a wide range of less well-known kabbalistic texts—for example, the Sefer ha-pelt'ah and Sefer ha-temunah, composed between the late 14th to the early 16th century, Lachter explains, with erudition and sensitivity, how Jews of a mystical persuasion explained the difficult shape of exilic existence.... Highly recommended."—S. T. Katz, CHOICE

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Terrors of History: Finding Order in a World of Chaos2. Meaning in Exile: Kabbalistic Readings of History Gone Awry3. The Shape of Time: History and Cosmic Cycles4. Living across Time: Reincarnation and the Course of History5. History's Ends: Apocalyptic Secrets in the Present Tense6. Shaping History: Kabbalistic Writing and Historical AgencyConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

Hartley Lachter is Philip and Muriel Berman Chair in Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Religion Studies at Lehigh University. He is the author of Kabbalistic Revolution: Reimagining Judaism in Medieval Spain (2014).

"It is a pleasure to read such an erudite work that is written in such an accessible manner. Lachter distills a great deal of information from notoriously complex texts to illuminate the kabbalistic tradition on history and suffering."—Jonathan Ray, Georgetown University "This is a truly innovative work, offering rare insight into the kabbalists as agents of history. Lachter shines as a scholar of medieval texts, and the many understudied works he includes make for a significant contribution to the field."—Ellen Haskell, University of North Carolina at Greensboro "Drawing on a wide range of less well-known kabbalistic texts—for example, the Sefer ha-pelt'ah and Sefer ha-temunah, composed between the late 14th to the early 16th century, Lachter explains, with erudition and sensitivity, how Jews of a mystical persuasion explained the difficult shape of exilic existence.... Highly recommended."—S. T. Katz, CHOICE

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Terrors of History: Finding Order in a World of Chaos2. Meaning in Exile: Kabbalistic Readings of History Gone Awry3. The Shape of Time: History and Cosmic Cycles4. Living across Time: Reincarnation and the Course of History5. History's Ends: Apocalyptic Secrets in the Present Tense6. Shaping History: Kabbalistic Writing and Historical AgencyConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex