About the lecture:
In 1924, the Association of Hebrew Theosophists was founded at the headquarters of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, South India. Soon afterward, sections of the Jewish Theosophical Society were established in India, Iraq, England, Holland, the United States, and other locations. Before the foundation of the Hebrew Association, Jews had already been active in the Theosophical Society in many parts of the world, including South Africa, where some Jewish Theosophists were close friends of Mahatma Gandhi. A common feature among many of these Jewish Theosophists was their interest in Kabbalah, and the theosophically inspired interpretations they gave it.
The lecture, which presents the recently published monograph on the Jewish Theosophists and the Kabbalah, explores the history of Jewish followers of the Theosophical Society and their contributions both to the Society and to modern Jewish culture. It introduces several prominent Jewish adherents of the Society and examines the establishment of Jewish lodges and associations within its framework. The lecture also discusses the efforts of Jewish Theosophists to reconcile their Jewish identity with their theosophical convictions and their endeavors to create new, theosophically inspired interpretations of Kabbalah.
About the speaker:
Prof. Boaz Huss holds the Aron Bernstein Chair in Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Thought and serves as the chairperson of the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University. His research focuses on the history of Kabbalah, contemporary Kabbalah, Western esotericism, New Age culture, and new religious movements in Israel.
His recent publications include The Cosmic Movement: Sources, Contexts, Impact (Bialik Press, 2021, co-authored with Julie Chajes) and Mystifying Kabbalah: Academic Scholarship, National Theology, and New Age Spirituality (Oxford University Press, 2020). His most recent book, The Secret Doctrine of the Jew: Jewish Theosophists and the Kabbalah, was published by the State University of New York Press.
http://bit.ly/4864oax
Venue:
VU Confucius Institute, Didžioji Konfucijaus aud.
M.K. Čiurlionis St. 21, Building II (in the inner courtyard, entrance via the Faculty of Geosciences of Vilnius University)
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