This book is dedicated to a comprehensive study of two subjects: crossing the boundaries between earth and heaven, between the visible and invisible realm. The first subject - dreams and their meanings in the literature of the classical world. The second subject - ghosts, daemons and haunting possessions in the culture of the Jewish culture and other religions. In twenty one articles the authors spread for the reader a diverse and Multidisciplinary image which shows how human beings have been attempting to peer behind the curtain and to give a lingual-literal expression to the experience of meeting unreachable worlds.

In Sivan 2013 a distinguished audience gathered at the National Library in Jerusalem to mark the 150 th anniversary of the founding of Mekize Nirdamim . The articles published in this fascicle are based on the lectures delivered on that occasion. Some of them are printed as they were delivered that evening, while others have been somewhat expanded by the speakers and provided with bibliographical references and notes. The fascicle concentrates on a general appreciation of the 150 years of the work of the society, sometimes dividing them into various periods and investigating the cultural or scientific phenomena that are reflected in its activities and publications, and sometimes providing a general and all-encompassing overview. The fascicle contains a list of the books printed by Mekize Nirdamim , and the names of the heads of the society over the generations.

The book 'Temple Portals: Studies in Aggadah and Midrash in the Zohar' deals with the Zohar, the most important book of Kabbalah, and discuss it as a latest strata of the Midrashic literature. The book concentrates on the 'expanded' biblical story in the Zohar, and especially on the relationship between it and the ancient Talmudic Aggadah. The book examines the Zohar as a collection of many late and developed versions of the ancient Talmudic stories. Each of its chapters discusses one of the biblical tale traditions in the Zohar. Among other things discussed here issues such as: the sin of Adam, the binding of Isaac, Esau's character, the status of Elijah, and others. By analytical and critical examination of each of these traditions, the composition reveals - the first time systematically - Aspects of continuity and change in the history of the old Aggadic story and its way into the Zoharic corpus. Moreover, the detailed description of this literary process also reveals the world of the authors of the Zohar, their spiritual distresses, mystical orientations , and self-consciousness. Some chapters of this book has been published during the past years, and to these chapters were added several new topics, as well as conceptual and methodological introduction to the Midrash and Aggadah in the Zohar .

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In the book Revelation and Rectification, private aspects of Rabbi Nachman's personal spiritual world, previously unknown and never before discussed, are revealed. The first section of the book explores the spiritual revelations experienced by Rabbi Nachman of Bretslav as well as the spiritual experiments he conducted . Among the topics discussed is the powerful story of spiritual revelation entitled "The Story of the Bread" wherein Rabbi Nachman newly receives the Torah, as did Moses on Mount Sinai. This story was kept secret for two hundred years because of Rabbi Nachman's warning against showing it to any stranger. The second section of the book is dedicated to the rectifications - tikunim - which Rabbi Nachman established. The content and the process of the formulation of the tikun klali (general rectification) are discussed, as are the tikun following nocturnal emission and the tikun to be performed during the pilgrimage to his grave. In this context, the secret story "The Story of the Armor," which deals with the unique quality of the tikun established by Rabbi Nachman is included . In the book, the connection between the personal trials that Rabbi Nachman weathered successfully and the tikunim he established becomes clear. The secret Breslav traditions which tell of the temptations with which Rabbi Nachman struggled while still a young bridegroom comparing him to the Biblical Joseph are discussed.. Also addressed in the book are the motives behind Rabbi Nachman's choice of the city of Uman as his final resting place and the place where the tikun of pilgrimage to his grave was to be performed. The book's final chapter jumps 200 years forward and discusses the developments which took place following the death of Rabbi Nachman, focusing in particular of those developments which have taken place during the past decade (2000-2010 ), among them, new rituals surrounding the pilgrimage to Rabbi Nachman's grave such as the "universal general tikun" and the tossing away of piercing jewelry while reciting the traditional tashlich prayer. The book explores the novel context given by today's Breslav Hasidim to the phenomenon of the pilgrimage to Rabbi Nachman's grave in Uman on the Rosh Hashana holiday, in an era when Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav has become a contemporary Israeli cultural hero who plays an important role in the worlds of varied populations who are not traditionally Breslav Hasidim.

This book is dedicated to a wide range study of the different contexts of paradise in different religious and cultural traditions from antiquity to the present. The biblical story tells of 'Garden of Eden (Genesis H - C, X), is where the human story begins and where its basic concepts are defined. In the story of the Garden of Eden the dialogue between the eternal Creator and an ephemeral created man are mentioned for the first time. Also the archetypal division between man and woman, the distinction between innocence and knowledge , the eye opening as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, the shameful hiding, guilt and fear are also present; A distinction between crime and punishment, the naked and dressed/covered, between prohibited and permitted, between controlling and controlled, and the eternal and the temporal. These concepts have all become world cultural infrastructure of the monotheistic religions in many contexts, from the beginning of life to its end. Table of Contents Foreword Introduction A. Garden of Eden in Antiquity Yair Zakovitch, "Is The Tree of Knowledge The Tree of Life?" Nathan Wasserman, "'And the Earth Was Revealed in all Its Beauty': Remarks on the Literary Traditions of Paradise and Creation of the World in Ancient Mesopotamia and in the Bible." Leah Mazor, “The Journey of the Magical River from the Temple to the Sea (Ezek 47, 1-12): The Removal of Chaos and a New Creation.” Rachel Elior, "'The ‘Garden of Eden was the Holy of Holies and theDwelling of the Lord'." B. Garden of Eden in Late Antiquity Serge Ruzer, “Earthly Paradise as Homeland, Jerusalem as Remotest Exile: Inverted Sacred Geography and Linguistics in the Syriac 'Cave of Treasures'.” Sergey Minov, "The question of Sexuality in Paradise as reflected in Late Antiquity Biblical Exegesis - Between the Sages and the Fathers of the Church." Hannah Wortzman, "Seduction and Sin in the Greek Life of Adam and Eve." Nurit Hirshfeld, “From Which Tree did Adam and Eve Eat in the Garden of Eden?” C. Garden of Eden in the Liturgy and in the World of the Sages Dalia Marx, "'And Mystery is Paradise': The Garden of Eden in Jewish Liturgy." AvigdorShinan, "'On Those who Entered theGarden of Eden Alive'." D. Paradise in the Medieval Period Amitai Harosh, "'And from thence it was parted, and became into four Heads' (Gen 2:10): Paradise in the Writings of Salomon Ibn Gabirol." Micha Goodman, "The Law of the Torah as a return to Paradise: Maimonides Perception of the Law." Oded Yisraeli, "The Tree of Life and its Roots – A History of a Kabalistic Symbol." Elisheva Revel-Neher, "Between Heaven and Earth: the Heavenly Ladder in Jewish and Christian Medieval Art." Ithamar Theodor, "The Star of the Cows - the Highest Heaven in the Krishnaite Tradition." E. Garden of Eden in the Modern Period David Fishelov, "'But We Must Cultivate Our Garden': Paradise Lost/Found in Robinson Crusoe and Candide." Yahil Zaban: "'A Place for Love': the Literature of the Enlightenment and the 'Pleasant Place.'" Yehuda Moraly, "A Revolution in Paradise: Representations of Paradise on the Twentieth Century Stage and Screen." Uri Hollander, "Miłosz Enterd the Pardes: On Czesław Miłosz ' s Utopic Perception ." F. Paradise in Sociology, psychology and Anthropology Yoram Bilu, "'The Gateway to Paradise' in Beit She'an: Between Personal Symbol and Cultural Tradition in a Holy Site." Chaim Noy, "Touristic Paradises: A Critical Rendering of Modern Vacationscapes." Adam Klin-Oron, "End-of-Days Visions in Twentieth-Century Channeling: From the Age of Aquariusto the New Age." Published in Cooperation with Scholion Interdisciplinary Research Center in Jewish Studies

Gershom Sholem (1897-1982), was one of the most renowned figures in Modern Jewish Culture of the 20th Century. He is one of the leading researchers of Judaism in general, and of Cabbala, Sevtaota, Mysticism and Jewish Torat haSod especially. Even now, a whole generation posthumously, his fountains of diverse creation have not ceased to flow. His personality and scientific contemplation change form and fill dozens of books and studies. Scholem dealt many times in Hasidism and its world, and the THE LATEST PHASE – called thus after the opening article of the collection – assembles all his papers on the subject for the first time. The range of Hasidism studies by Scholem is wide and diverse: from the Baal Shem Tov's spiritual world and historic figure, through the abolition of messianicism in the Hasidism and ending in his famous controversy with Martin Buber. Thought, History, Bibliography, newly and originally interpreted Historical documents, Piercing criticism of Authors and Books, Innovations and Insights – all these forged new ways of understanding Hasidism, accompany its research and have not lost their essence. All the papers have been reprinted and have had many remarks and annotations added to them, placing the original articles in the unique context in which they were written and enriching them bibliographically. The Editors of the book are Prof. David Assaf from the Department of History of the Jewish People in the Tel Aviv University and Dr. Esther Liebes director of the Gershom Scholem Library in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem.

This text has been translated for the first time, into Modern Hebrew, expresses aspects of the inter-religious dialogues during a time when Europe was experiencing a number of cruel religious wars.

This book discusses the models of the relationships between the G'dly power and the human power in Jewish mystical literature.

This book is an attempt to explain the traditions in the Kabala which relate to the female body of G-d.

This work illuminates the intricate connections between the mythical-mystical and ritual concepts that formed the chariot tradition through three distinct stages 1) The vision of Ezekiel, the priestly prophet, in the wake of the destruction of the First Temple 2) the Qumran literature of priestly-angelic traditions of Chariot mysticism dating from the middle of the second temple period 3)the mystical hymns of the hekhalot and the Merkavah literature written after the destruction of the Second Temple. These three stages of priestly- angelis lore came together to form the earliest known forms of Jewish mysticism.

Lekhah Dodi operates on four levels simultaneously: the spatial, the temporal, the human, and the sefirotic. Its multivalent language embraces the totality of space, time, humanity, and the sefirot under the canopy of the holy. In order to bring about a world age that is wholly Sabbatical, its redemptive thesis incorporates both the restorative and utopian in the belief that cosmic redemption recapitulates and expands the moment of Eden. To achieve these goals, Lekhah Dodi weaves together strands of biblical verses, rabbinic midrash, liturgical piyyut, Spanish Hebrew poetry, Renaissance meditative poetry and marriage madrigals into an unparalleled kabbalistic lyric of redemption. 7 page summery in English at the end of the book.