TY - JOUR
AU1 - Faierstein, Morris M.
AB -  MYSTICAL BODIES, MYSTICAL MEALS: EATING AND EMBODIMENT IN MEDIEVAL KABBALAH . By Joel Hecker . Detroit, MI : Wayne State University Press , 2005 . Pp . x + 282 . $ 44.95 , ISBN 0‐8143‐3181‐5 . This study explores the role of eating and the body in the Zoharic corpus. Hecker begins with a comprehensive survey of the religious significance of eating in Biblical and rabbinic literature as it developed prior to the thirteenth century. The Zohar was ambivalent about eating and the body. Sometimes, the focus was purely on the spiritual, and other times, the union of the physical and spiritual was a prerequisite to spiritual attainment. Satiation was no longer merely a physical act but was also understood as a spiritual experience. For the kabbalists, the body not only ingested physical food but also ingested knowledge. They idealized certain foods and explained how they were spiritually transformed and also raised the spiritual level of the mystic who consumed them. The setting of the meal was also an occasion for mystical speculation and fellowship. The theurgic aspects of eating and the symbolism of meals are important aspects of the Zohar . The three Sabbath meals, in 
TI - Mystical Bodies, Mystical Meals: Eating and Embodiment in Medieval Kabbalah – Joel Hecker
JF - Religious Studies Review
DO - 10.1111/j.1748-0922.2006.00068_1.x
DA - 2006-04-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/wiley/mystical-bodies-mystical-meals-eating-and-embodiment-in-medieval-PElvaInBlB
SP - 132
VL - 32
IS - 2
DP - DeepDyve
ER -