The treatise Scechina is a manifesto of Renaissance Christian-Kabbalistic messianism. The author, Cardinal Egidio da Viterbo (1469-1532), was a preeminent Christian Kabbalist, both in terms of his position within the ecclesiastical hierarchy and in what concerns the depth and breadth of his acquaintance with Hebrew sources. The treatise was composed in exquisite Renaissance Latin and is hereby rendered for the first time into a modern language. The text articulates the voice of the Jewish Shekinah herself, expounding in first person and with profound insight the doctrine of Kabbalah, fervently calling for the completion of the final stage of universal redemption. This redemption commences with the discovery of distant lands and foreign cultures, and its protagonist is Emperor Charles V, whose motto - plus ultra [further beyond] - refers to surpassing the Strait of Gibraltar and medieval knowledge (the Emperor and Pope Clement VII are among the book's addressees). While this redemption is Christian in nature, it emphasizes integration and synthesis with Greek and Roman wisdom, and particularly Judaism. Despite sharp condemnations of Jews for their non-acceptance of Jesus, Egidio's Shekinah lavishes love upon them, especially the Kabbalists, whom she refers to as "my Arameans" and considers as latent Christians. This even extends to support for Solomon Molkho, the Jewish messiah who apostatized from Christianity. Such an attitude towards Judaism did not survive in the Catholic Church in the generation following Egidio, the era of the Counter-Reformation. The translation is richly annotated by the translators, providing extensive commentary and explication. Furthermore, the volume is prefaced by comprehensive introductory chapters authored by Judith Weiss, elucidating the life, intellectual contributions, and literary corpus of Egidio da Viterbo.

In the preface to his book Emek Hamelech Rabbi Naftali Bacharach lists his ten books, noting that the first is Emek Hamelech , and the second is Gan ha-Melekh , his commentary on the Zohar printed here for the first time. Bacharach's style in Emek Hamelech is similar to his style in Gan Hamelech , however, while Emek Hamelech was written according to the order of Emanation, Gan Hamelech was written as a commentary to the Zohar. In general, the Kabbalistic writing of Bacharach is characterized by the fact that it is full of messianic tension, and unlike most descriptions of the Emanation in Lurianic Kabbalah that we are familiar with, Bacharach also describes the first stages of the Emanation in Messianic terms.

Some of the subjects discussed in this book: Lurianic Kabbalah: Between Myth and Science The Metaphorical Relation between God and Man and the Significance of the Visionary Reality in Lurianic Kabbalah On the Concept of Zimzum in Kabbalah and its Research 'Tho Young Roes of a Doe': The Secret Sermon of Isaac Luria before his Death Katnut ('Smallness') and Gadlut ('Greatness') in Lurianic Kabbalah Selections from Ephraim Penzieri: Luria's Sermon in Jerusalem and the Kavvanah in Talking Food Luria's Status as an Halakhic Authority Halakhah and Commerce in the Biography Isaac Luria Dream, Vision and Reality in Haim Vital's Sefer ha-Hezyonot Moshe Cordovero and Isaac Luria Genizat Ha-Or in Simeon Lavi's Ketem Paz and the Lurianic doctrine of Zimzum The Zoharic Commentaries of Joseph Ibn Tatul The Lurianic Concept of Prophecy in the Writings of Abraham Cohen Herrera The Influence of Luria on the Shelah Lurianic Kabbalah and Rabbi Isaac ha-Cohen Kook's Philosophical System

The articles in this volume: The living and the dead in the march of redemption - Noam Zohar The chronicle of Ahimaaz and its place in Byzantine literature - Stephen Benin Miriam's well- French customs relating to the Sabbath third meal - Israel Ta-Shma The term 'Haggada' in the parable of the beloved in the palace in The Zohar - Frank Talmage The expression "Feeling of compulsion" in Crescas - Zeev Harvey The vision of the nobles of Israel in the Jewish philosophy of the Middle ages - Shaul Regev Herman Cohen and Franz Rosenzweig - Rivkah Horwitz Models of the ideal religious man in Rabbi Soloveitchik's thought - Lawrence Kaplan An addition to my article "Mazmiah Qeren Yeshu'a" - Yehuda Liebes On the semantic components of the expression "Mazmiah Qeren Yeshu'a" - Shlomo Morag Rejoinder to Shlomo Morag - Yehuda Liebes Summeries in English of all the articles at the end of the volume.

The articles in this volume: The verification of prophecy in Medieval Jewish philosophy - Howard (Haim) Kreisel On the book Be'ur Shemot Kodesh Ve-Hol attributed to Maimonides - Jacob Levinger Philosiphical commentaries to Jeremiah 9' 22-23, in Medievil and Renaissance Jewish thought - Abraham Melamed On the question of the authorship of the commentary Or Ha-Ganuz attributed to Rabbi Meir Ben Solomon Abi Sahula - Ze'ev Galili Nietzche and the Grenzjuden - Jacob Golomb Solomon Schiller's The national existence of the Jews: a translation and introduction - Schraga Bar-Sela Notes and comments: Review of Y Liebes (Mazmiah Qeren Yeshu'ah) - Israel Ta-Shma The horn of David and the horn of salvation (Mazmiah Qeren Yeshu'ah) - Menahem Kister Response to I.M. Ta-Shma - Yehuda Liebes Response to M. Kister - Yehuda Liebes More on Middat Hesed - Moshe Idel

The articles in this volume: Labor as a value in the Talmudic and Midrashic literature - M. Ayali The magical and Neoplatonic interpretations of the Kabbalah in the Renaissance - M. Idel "Mishnat Ha-Met" and "Seder rehizah gedolah" attributed to Hillel the elder - M. Benayahu The exile of Israel and the exile of the Shechina in "Or Yakar" of Rabbi Moses Cordovero - B. Sack The Minsk debate - R. Elior The place of Judaism in Jonathan Gottfried Herder's philosophy of history - Z. Levy Judaism, nationalism and humanism in the work of Yehezkel Kaufmann - E. Luz There are summeries in English for all the articles at the end of the volume.