Adam Afterman, Ph.D. (2008), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Associate Professor in Jewish Mysticism and Philosophy and Acting Chair of the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud at Tel Aviv University. He has authored studies on Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism and medieval Jewish philosophy.

"In this work Afterman (Jewish mysticism and philosophy, Tel Aviv Univ., Israel) focuses on a central issue in the study and interpretation of Jewish mystical texts (Kabbalah): Did Jewish mystics have unitive experiences (unio mystica) with the divine—experiences like those of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu mystics, among others—or did they have relational, not unitive, experiences due to the presuppositions of Jewish theology?...Though not original in conception, this is a masterful survey of arcane but important Kabbalistic texts. It is a valuable addition to the literature due to its learned exposition of a wide array of classical mystical texts." -S.T. Katz, Boston University, CHOICE, February 2017, Vol. 54, No. 6“Overall, this book will play a crucial role in future scholarly thought about mystical union in Judaism and it is highly recommended for all those interested in Jewish and cross-cultural mysticism, as well as medieval Jewish thought more generally.” -Joel Hecker, H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews, September, 2017

• AcknowledgmentsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: From Philo to Plotinus: The Emergence of Mystical UnionChapter 3: Unio Mystica and Ancient Jewish MysticismChapter 4: Platonic and Aristotelian Traditions of UnionChapter 5: “As Light Unites With Light”: The Language of Union in Jewish Neo-Platonism.Chapter 6: The Language of Union in the Writings of Moses Maimonides and Moses NachmanidesChapter 7: Mystical Union in Early KabbalahChapter 8: Mystical Union in the Ecstatic Kabbalah of Abraham AbulafiaChapter 9: Language and Images of Mystical Union in the Kabbalah of R. Isaac of AcreChapter 10: “Single Unification, Single Bond”: The Language of Union and Unity in the ZoharChapter 11: From Kabbalah to the Renaissance and Hasidism: A Brief OverviewChapter 12: Concluding RemarksPrimary SourcesBibliographyIndex

Adam Afterman, Ph.D. (2008), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Associate Professor in Jewish Mysticism and Philosophy and Acting Chair of the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud at Tel Aviv University. He has authored studies on Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism and medieval Jewish philosophy.

"In this work Afterman (Jewish mysticism and philosophy, Tel Aviv Univ., Israel) focuses on a central issue in the study and interpretation of Jewish mystical texts (Kabbalah): Did Jewish mystics have unitive experiences (unio mystica) with the divine—experiences like those of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu mystics, among others—or did they have relational, not unitive, experiences due to the presuppositions of Jewish theology?...Though not original in conception, this is a masterful survey of arcane but important Kabbalistic texts. It is a valuable addition to the literature due to its learned exposition of a wide array of classical mystical texts." -S.T. Katz, Boston University, CHOICE, February 2017, Vol. 54, No. 6“Overall, this book will play a crucial role in future scholarly thought about mystical union in Judaism and it is highly recommended for all those interested in Jewish and cross-cultural mysticism, as well as medieval Jewish thought more generally.” -Joel Hecker, H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews, September, 2017

• AcknowledgmentsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: From Philo to Plotinus: The Emergence of Mystical UnionChapter 3: Unio Mystica and Ancient Jewish MysticismChapter 4: Platonic and Aristotelian Traditions of UnionChapter 5: “As Light Unites With Light”: The Language of Union in Jewish Neo-Platonism.Chapter 6: The Language of Union in the Writings of Moses Maimonides and Moses NachmanidesChapter 7: Mystical Union in Early KabbalahChapter 8: Mystical Union in the Ecstatic Kabbalah of Abraham AbulafiaChapter 9: Language and Images of Mystical Union in the Kabbalah of R. Isaac of AcreChapter 10: “Single Unification, Single Bond”: The Language of Union and Unity in the ZoharChapter 11: From Kabbalah to the Renaissance and Hasidism: A Brief OverviewChapter 12: Concluding RemarksPrimary SourcesBibliographyIndex

Adam Afterman, Ph.D. (2008), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Associate Professor in Jewish Mysticism and Philosophy and Acting Chair of the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud at Tel Aviv University. He has authored studies on Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism and medieval Jewish philosophy.

"In this work Afterman (Jewish mysticism and philosophy, Tel Aviv Univ., Israel) focuses on a central issue in the study and interpretation of Jewish mystical texts (Kabbalah): Did Jewish mystics have unitive experiences (unio mystica) with the divine—experiences like those of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu mystics, among others—or did they have relational, not unitive, experiences due to the presuppositions of Jewish theology?...Though not original in conception, this is a masterful survey of arcane but important Kabbalistic texts. It is a valuable addition to the literature due to its learned exposition of a wide array of classical mystical texts." -S.T. Katz, Boston University, CHOICE, February 2017, Vol. 54, No. 6“Overall, this book will play a crucial role in future scholarly thought about mystical union in Judaism and it is highly recommended for all those interested in Jewish and cross-cultural mysticism, as well as medieval Jewish thought more generally.” -Joel Hecker, H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews, September, 2017

• AcknowledgmentsChapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: From Philo to Plotinus: The Emergence of Mystical UnionChapter 3: Unio Mystica and Ancient Jewish MysticismChapter 4: Platonic and Aristotelian Traditions of UnionChapter 5: “As Light Unites With Light”: The Language of Union in Jewish Neo-Platonism.Chapter 6: The Language of Union in the Writings of Moses Maimonides and Moses NachmanidesChapter 7: Mystical Union in Early KabbalahChapter 8: Mystical Union in the Ecstatic Kabbalah of Abraham AbulafiaChapter 9: Language and Images of Mystical Union in the Kabbalah of R. Isaac of AcreChapter 10: “Single Unification, Single Bond”: The Language of Union and Unity in the ZoharChapter 11: From Kabbalah to the Renaissance and Hasidism: A Brief OverviewChapter 12: Concluding RemarksPrimary SourcesBibliographyIndex