"Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity" Book Launch

To celebrate the publication of Eli Rubin’s new book, “Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity,” the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives is hosting an evening of local Jewish scholars discussing the work and considering its themes. The program will include short reflections on the book from Shua Hoexter (JGrads Pittsburgh), Leah Shollar (Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh), and Adam Shear (University of Pittsburgh), followed by a response from Dr. Rubin.

“Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity” provides a comprehensive intellectual and institutional history of Chabad Hasidism through the Kabbalistic concept of ?im?um. The onset of modernity, Rubin argues, was heralded by this startling idea: existence itself is predicated on a self-inflicted “rupture” in the infinite assertion of divinity. Centuries of theoretical disputations concerning ?im?um ultimately morphed into religious and social schism. These debates confronted the meaning of being and forged the animating ethos of Chabad, the most dynamic movement in modern Judaism.

Chabad’s distinctive character and self-image, Rubin shows, emerged from its spirited defense of Hasidism’s interpretation of ?im?um as an act of love leading to rapturous reunion. This interpretation ignited a literal conflagration, complete with book burnings, denunciations, investigations, and arrests. Innovatively integrating history, philosophy, and literature, Rubin shows how Kabbalistic ideas are crucially entangled in the experience of modernity and in the response to its ruptures.

Admission

The program is free with advance registration and will take place in the museum’s sixth floor Detre Library & Archives.