Heavenly Powers

by Neil Asher Silberman

Tracing the rich history of the Jewish Kabbalah from ancient Babylon to the Renaissance to the present day, a historian reveals its importance as a political, as well as religious, doctrine that challenged the tyranny of earthly potentates and kings.

Genres: History, Mysticism, Spirituality

271 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 1998

About the author

Neil Asher Silberman is an archaeologist and historian with a special interest in history, archaeology, public interpretation and heritage policy. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and was trained in Near Eastern archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Awarded a 1991 Guggenheim Fellowship, he is a contributing editor for Archaeology Magazine and is a member of the editorial boards of the International Journal of Cultural Property, Heritage Management, and Near Eastern Archaeology.

With Israel Finkelstein, he is the author of The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts (2001) and David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition (2006). His other books on the themes of history, heritage, and contemporary society include Archaeology and Society in the 21st Century (2001); Heavenly Powers (1998); The Message and the Kingdom (1997); The Archaeology of Israel (1995); Invisible America (1995); The Hidden Scrolls (1994); A Prophet from Amongst You: The Life of Yigael Yadin (1993); Between Past and Present (1989); and Digging for God and Country (1982).

Since 1998, he has been involved in the field of public heritage interpretation and presentation, working on various projects in Europe and the Middle East. From 2004 to 2007, he served as director of the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation in Belgium. In 2008, he was appointed to the faculty of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and became one of the founders of its Center for Heritage and Society.

He also serves as the president of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Interpretation and Presentation (ICIP) and is a member of the ICOMOS International Advisory Committee and Scientific Council.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, except for Procopius, whose gossipy chronicle lived up to its title, and Donna Tartt's witty caper, preceding the constant spate since of subtitles as "secret history," ad infinitum, I can't stand this qualifying phrases marketing books. Anyhow, I only saw the spine when looking this up at my library.

Glad I did persevere. Capitalizing on the then pre-millennial consumer craze for trendy Kabbalah, it aims to deflect the reader towards rather a straightforward account of the social context, subversive texts, and countercultural "underground" messages of esoteric Jewish mystical visionaries attempting to explain the hidden working of primordial forces harnessing unleashed evil to transform into good.

Silberman takes over half the pages to set the scene in ancient and early medieval eras. It's successful in sketching the transmission of decidedly strange lore throughout the rabbinical diaspora after the defeat by Rome in Palestine, but it's skimpy on the actual details of admittedly arcane vocabulary and cosmic models, eluding easy summary. He implicitly tries downplaying sensational or unfounded claims for the efficacy of the spells, sayings, and stories, but risks a potted historical survey instead.

However, given his expertise lies in the Holy Land's archeological and political ramifications, by the time he gets to the resurgence of Safed, the wool trade's rise and fall, and an ingenious analogy to the harnessing of divine energies for elucidation as crafted products and renewed production by humans, he enlivens the telling. It's by far the standout section. But bookended by a terse summary of events which brought "biblical astrophysics" (74) today's worldwide exposure, it's again too superficial even for a general audience. Yet, he avoids lecturing the reader, he strives to cogently capture difficult ideas and he attempts to condense a considerable amount of academic information for his 1998 readership.

"The magic, the particular symbols, and techniques of meditation are all powerful ways to help us recognize that the structures of society all around us are not divinely created or inevitable but artificial patterns imposed by private interests that hunger for power in our day-to-day reality." (2)

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer on the history of Kabbalah but a bit limited in terms of explaining details of the belief system. Additionally I think the Christian/occult appropriation of the Kabbalah deserved more than some passing mentions.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good historical survey of Jewish mysticism, from an historical rather than mystical viewpoint.

[Mike Stolfi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely historical tour on how why the goyim are talking about the Kabbalah today & how the ceremonial aspects are tangential to what was happening at the times they were happening.