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Chapter 15 Moses Cordovero

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Jewish Virtue Ethics
This chapter is in the book Jewish Virtue Ethics
Chapter 15Moses CordoveroEUGENE D. MATANKYMoses Cordovero (Cordoeiro) (1522–1570), active in the Galilean town of Safed, was the preeminent kabbalist prior to the ascent of Isaac Luria. His surname implies that his family originated in the town of Cordova, Spain, but due to its spelling, they presumably resided in Portugal before their eventual immigration to Safed.1 While scant details are known concerning his early years,2 from his scattered autobiographical statements we may discern that he studied Jewish exoteric material with Joseph Karo and that he began to study Kabbalah with Solomon Alqabeṣ—his brother-in-law—at the age of twenty and within six years completed his work Pardes Rimonim (Orchard of Pomegranates), a masterful overview of key kabbalistic topics.3 Of primary concern in this composition was the theosophical conception of the Godhead,4expressed through sefirotic entities and divine names. Determining the precise configuration and interconnectedness of the Godhead was of particular importance for Cordovero. A prolific writer, his oeuvre demonstrates his command of almost the entire Jewish corpus; from his earliest composition until his more mature works such as Or Yaqar, a systematic commentary on the entire Zohar, Tefillah le-Moshe, a prayerbook replete with kabbalistic commentary and intentions, and Sefer Elimah, a complex work exploring theosophical, theurgical, and mystical aspects of Kabbalah.199
© 2023 State University of New York

Chapter 15Moses CordoveroEUGENE D. MATANKYMoses Cordovero (Cordoeiro) (1522–1570), active in the Galilean town of Safed, was the preeminent kabbalist prior to the ascent of Isaac Luria. His surname implies that his family originated in the town of Cordova, Spain, but due to its spelling, they presumably resided in Portugal before their eventual immigration to Safed.1 While scant details are known concerning his early years,2 from his scattered autobiographical statements we may discern that he studied Jewish exoteric material with Joseph Karo and that he began to study Kabbalah with Solomon Alqabeṣ—his brother-in-law—at the age of twenty and within six years completed his work Pardes Rimonim (Orchard of Pomegranates), a masterful overview of key kabbalistic topics.3 Of primary concern in this composition was the theosophical conception of the Godhead,4expressed through sefirotic entities and divine names. Determining the precise configuration and interconnectedness of the Godhead was of particular importance for Cordovero. A prolific writer, his oeuvre demonstrates his command of almost the entire Jewish corpus; from his earliest composition until his more mature works such as Or Yaqar, a systematic commentary on the entire Zohar, Tefillah le-Moshe, a prayerbook replete with kabbalistic commentary and intentions, and Sefer Elimah, a complex work exploring theosophical, theurgical, and mystical aspects of Kabbalah.199
© 2023 State University of New York

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. Foreword xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Biblical Literature 9
  7. Philo of Alexandria 23
  8. Titus Flavius Josephus 37
  9. Rabbinic Literature 51
  10. Baḥya Ibn Paquda 65
  11. Solomon Ibn Gabirol 81
  12. Maimonides 97
  13. Elazar of Worms 111
  14. Naḥmanides 123
  15. The Zohar 137
  16. Gersonides 149
  17. Ḥasdai Crescas 163
  18. Joseph Albo 173
  19. Isaac Arama 185
  20. Moses Cordovero 199
  21. Baruch Spinoza 213
  22. Moses Ḥayyim Luzzatto 227
  23. Moses Mendelssohn 241
  24. Menaḥem Mendel Lefin 255
  25. Ḥayyim of Volozhin 269
  26. Naḥman of Bratslav 283
  27. Isaac Bekhor Amarachi 297
  28. Israel Salanter 311
  29. Simḥah Zissel Ziv 325
  30. Hermann Cohen 337
  31. Abraham Isaac Kook 353
  32. Martin Buber 369
  33. Mordecai Kaplan 383
  34. Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler 395
  35. Joseph Soloveitchik 409
  36. Hannah Arendt 425
  37. Emmanuel Levinas 441
  38. Abraham Joshua Heschel 455
  39. Jewish Feminism 469
  40. Jewish Environmentalism 483
  41. Afterword 497
  42. Contributors 503
  43. Index 511
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781438493923-018

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. Foreword xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Biblical Literature 9
  7. Philo of Alexandria 23
  8. Titus Flavius Josephus 37
  9. Rabbinic Literature 51
  10. Baḥya Ibn Paquda 65
  11. Solomon Ibn Gabirol 81
  12. Maimonides 97
  13. Elazar of Worms 111
  14. Naḥmanides 123
  15. The Zohar 137
  16. Gersonides 149
  17. Ḥasdai Crescas 163
  18. Joseph Albo 173
  19. Isaac Arama 185
  20. Moses Cordovero 199
  21. Baruch Spinoza 213
  22. Moses Ḥayyim Luzzatto 227
  23. Moses Mendelssohn 241
  24. Menaḥem Mendel Lefin 255
  25. Ḥayyim of Volozhin 269
  26. Naḥman of Bratslav 283
  27. Isaac Bekhor Amarachi 297
  28. Israel Salanter 311
  29. Simḥah Zissel Ziv 325
  30. Hermann Cohen 337
  31. Abraham Isaac Kook 353
  32. Martin Buber 369
  33. Mordecai Kaplan 383
  34. Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler 395
  35. Joseph Soloveitchik 409
  36. Hannah Arendt 425
  37. Emmanuel Levinas 441
  38. Abraham Joshua Heschel 455
  39. Jewish Feminism 469
  40. Jewish Environmentalism 483
  41. Afterword 497
  42. Contributors 503
  43. Index 511
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