Ruth Kara-Ivanov Kaniel

The book examines the centrality of "birth" in Jewish literature, gender theory, and psychoanalysis, thus challenging the centrality of death in Western culture and existential philosophy. Medieval Kabbalistic literature compared human birth to divine emanation, and presented human sexuality and procreation as a reflection of the sefirotic structure of the Godhead – an attempt to marginalize the fear of death by linking the humane and divine acts of birth. The book sheds new light on the image of God as the "Great Mother" and the crucial role of the Shekhinah as a cosmic womb.　

King David is one of the most colorful, complex, and controversial, personalities in Jewish lore. While numerous studies have focused on David's centrality to biblical literature and late antiquity, to date no comprehensive scholarly attempt has been made to investigate his image in the kabbalistic literature. This study contributes to the understanding of the connection between messianic thought, gender and mysticism. By focusing on the centrality of the figure of King David in Jewish culture the book discusses psychoanalytic perception of the self, and illuminating issues of identity, sexuality, and gender fluidity in Medieval kabbalistic literature.

The book "Human Throes - Birth in Kabbalah and Psychoanalysis" deals with the concept of birth in Jewish literature and Psychoanalysis. The book highlights the significance of birth in Jewish culture, as a challenge to existential philosophy and the centrality of death in Western culture. In this research, I trace the development of images of birth starting with the Hebrew Bible, through the rabbinic literature, culminating in the homilies of the Zohar, Lurianic Kabbalah and Hassidic drashot, in light of Christian and Neoplatonic perceptions of birth and their roots in Greek mythology and philosophy. The book explores various concepts of birth including birth as a real event, as a symbol of the "individuation process" and as a metaphor for creation, divine emanation and redemption. In the course of the book I discuss the relations between the human mother and the infant in light of their mutual experience in the birth process.
        In Jewish mystical texts, human birth is compared to divine emanation, since the human sexuality and birth reflects the cosmic structure of the divine Sefirot. Consequently, according to the Kabbalists, divine “proliferation” is enabled by and depends upon human generative activity. Kabbalistic detailed images of the "divine womb" of the upper mother (Bina) and the lower mother (Shechinah), give us a sense of the mystical project aimed to link the human and divine acts of Birth, and in so doing to create distance from the fear of death. In this context I suggest the notion of a new Jewish drive, “the fear of not being born,” which is opposed to the better known fear of death, and present a few parallels between ancient Jewish perceptions and psychoanalytic observations about intra-uterine life. In conclusion I claim that birth—as a reality and a metaphor—challenges the limits of human knowledge, simultaneously connecting to both human subconscious and divine images.  Winner of the Gorgias Press Book in Jewish Studies for 2019-2020.

רשימות על הספר חבלי אנוש – הלידה בפסיכואנליזה ובקבלה
• ד"ר חנה אולמן, שיחות לג, 2, 2019, עמ' 184-188
• ד"ר מירב רוט, ערב השקת הספר באוניברסיטת חיפה – 12.6.19
• חני בירן, ערב השקת הספר בתולעת ספרים תל אביב -  1.11.19
• ד"ר רוית ראופמן, "הולדת שלגיה: על החיבור בין מאורע הלידה וניסיונות ההשמד של הבת בידי האם", עיונים בספרות ילדים , 30, תשפ"א (2020), עמ' 37- 64.
• ד"ר רועי הורן, מקור ראשון 13/11/19 https://www.makorrishon.co.il/judaism/183547/

The Book deals with the Female Dynasty of the House of David in the Biblical literature and its influence on the Jewish Messianic Myth. I argue that the Messiah, "Son of David,” is chosen due to the merit of his mothers and their extraordinary antinomian deeds. In all the biblical stories about the Judean line, there is a constant and repetitive theme: the birth of the redeemer son is preceded by scenarios of seduction and sexual transgression, which are initiated by the female protagonists. These biblical scenes of seduction underscore the dominance of the heroines, and it is their actions alone that cause the birth of the sons and the formation of the myth of the birth of the Messiah. The book examines, from a mythic and a gender viewpoint, the female characters that establish the messianic dynasty, and discusses the evolution of their stories in Jewish exegesis, starting with the Hebrew Bible, through the Rabbinic Literature, culminating in the homilies of the Zohar.
This book emphasizes the centrality of the mother image in the Jewish messianic idea and its development throughout the ages, and shows that transgressive behavior is not an innovative idea first found in the Sabbatean heresy. This book provides a missing link in the chain of research on this topic and significantly contributes to the understanding of the connection between female transgression and breaking through sexual boundaries, on the one hand, and the concept of redemption, on the other. Moreover, it raises an important principle that relates to the ethnic and national identity of the Jewish people – that through the ‘other’, the stranger, and for the sake of precision, through the ‘foreign woman’ who threatens and seduces – the Messiah is born. The prominence of the roles of the mothers of the Davidic dynasty teaches us that the foreign and gentile women are those who, in a subversive manner and by means of sexual sins, establish the heart of Jewish sovereignty and royalty. In addition, In the last chapter of the book I discuss the parallels between the appearance of Mary (in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke), and the Davidic Mothers in the Hebrew Bible, and stress mutual representations of these narratives in Christian and Jewish culture.

This article compares two biblical accounts: the description of the construction of the Tabernacle (Ex. 25–40), and the myth of Eve’s creation (Gen. 2), and explores connection between the Hebrew Goddess (Shechina) and the Tabernacle (the house of His residence, Mishkan). The paper aims to reveal the literary and symbolic links between feminine attributes in these two formative accounts, from their development in biblical literature to their appearances in rabbinic midrash and medieval Kabbalah. By combining tools of gender studies, myth, and literary theory, the paper explores how erotic images of the sacred femininity were developed and proliferated over generations.

The aim of this article is to explore the evolution of the concept of ‘mutual responsibility’ from the biblical and Talmudic eras to medieval Kabbalistic literature, and to analyse the notion of arvut and its implications through the prism of gender. I suggest that whereas in the Bible and in rabbinic literature the ‘negative’ aspect of mutual responsibility was emphasized, with a focus on one’s obligation to take responsibility for another’s sins or for his soul, in Kabbalistic literature metaphysical and ‘positive’ aspects of mutual responsibility were developed. Since the Godhead is fashioned as an anthropomorphic image, both men and women carry the burden of mutual responsibility in the celestial realm. Yet, despite the theosophical development that strengthened the theurgic place of women in mystical life, it appears that oppressive aspects of the notion also appeared in Kabbalistic thought. These aspects claimed that arvut existed only between the members of the male group, although ‘all Israel are limbs [evarim] of one another’ and ‘parts of one body’. In the course of the article, I discuss the connection between arvut and the doctrine of gilgul, and other practices such as the Pilgrimage Festival, which illustrates the metaphysical idea of responsibility.

המאמר בוחן את הַקשרים בין דמותו של שבתי צבי לדמותו של דוד המלך בכתביו של נתן העזתי ובתודעה השבתאית. במקורות השבתאיים, המשיח נתפס כבעל תשובה, כסמל של הירח, הלילה והשבת בדומה לדוד המלך. הרבה מן הדרשות בזוהר הוסבו על ידי המאמינים השבתאים על המשיח החדש, ואולי ניתן להבין את הטקסים המשונים והמעשים הזרים שעשה שבתי צבי לאור הקִרבה שבין שבתי לדוד. כך, למשל, המנהג לחגוג את שלושת הרגלים ביחד, המבטא את תפיסת הגואל כרגל הרביעית במרכבה. המאמר עוסק בתיאור שבתי צבי כשכינה, במערכת היחסים בינו ובין נתן, בסמליות הנשית שעולה מכתביו של נתן, ועוד. למרות ההבדלים בין מגמות וכתות שונות בהגות השבתאית, הטענה בדבר קו ברור של דמיון בין דוד המקראי ובין שבתי צבי משותפת לכולן. קו מחשבה זה, האופייני הן לרוב ההוגים השבתאים המתוחכמים ביותר והן לדמיון העממי של המאמינים השבתאים מן השורה, מרמז לכך שיש לראות את דוד ואת שבתי צבי כשתי דמויות מיתולוגיות המשלימות זו את זו.
The paper examines the links between the image of Shabbetai Zevi and King David in R. Nathan of Gaza’s writings and in Sabbatian consciousness. It points to mythical and ritual elements which connect the female and the Messianic conception of David in Kabbalistic writings, on the one hand, and the Sabbatian Messiah, on the other. In Sabbatian sources, the perception of the Messiah is that of a bacal-tešuva (penitent); as a symbol of the moon, the night, and the Shabbat; similarly to King David. Many of the homilies in the Zohar were ascribed by the Sabbatian believers to the new Messiah, and the strange rituals and deeds that Shabbetai engaged with can perhaps better be understood in light of the affinity between Shabbetai and David. For example, the Sabbatian custom of celebrating the three festivals together, is rooted in the kabbalistic myth of the legs of the Divine Chariot (Merkava), and the perception of the Messiah as the fourth leg of the Merkava. In addition, Zevi’s custom of nocturnal wonderings and of a fast from Shabbat to Shabbat, as well as the dichotomy between sexual restraint and unbridled adultery are all elucidated by the parallel between Shabbetai and David. The article touches on the portrayal of Shabbetai as Shekhinah, the relationship between Shabbetai and Nathan, and the female symbolism that emerges from Nathan writings. Despite the differences between the disparate trends and sects within Sabbatian thought, the claim of an obvious line of resemblance between the biblical and kabbalistic David and the contemporary Shabbetai is a common thread. It is as typical of most sophisticated Sabbatian thinkers as for the popular imagination of the Sabbatian common masses, implying that Shabbetai and David are to be seen as mythological and complementary personalities.

This paper explores the image of the biblical Sarah as she is portrayed in Zohar Lekh-Lekha (Zohar I: 95b -96a), focusing on her dominant matriarchal role in the rite of Isaac’s circumcision. It focuses on Sarah's identification with the upper sefirah of Binah and trace the original process by which the Zohar incorporates female biblical heroes within the sefirotic system. In addition, the paper examines the issue of gender reversal, fluidity and androgyneity in Kabbalistic literature, the fertile encounter between psychoanalytic theory and Zoharic homiletics, and Judeo-Christian polemics during the Middle Ages.

הן הקבלה והן הפסיכואנליזה תופסות את הנפש האנושית כמרובדת ובנויה שכבות על שכבות. פרויד השווה לא אחת את מלאכת האנליטיקאי לארכיאולוג שמשחזר שרידים הקבורים תחת ההריסות, ואף המקובלים מפתחים תורת בריאה וגאולה המושתת על זיכרון של עולמות שחרבו, והמיסטיקון נתפס כמי שמחלץ משמעות המסתתרת בתוך עיי החורבות האלוהיות והפרטיות. כפיתוח לספרי "חבלי אנוש- הלידה בפסיכואנליזה ובקבלה" מאמר זה עוסק במפגש שבין התיאוריה הפסיכואנליטית לבין החשיבה הקבלית והמיסטית סביב סוגיות של הולדה, מיניות והורות. הדיון מתמקד בתפיסה כי הנפש זקוקה להורים כדי לצמוח, ודן בדגם "ההורים העליונים" אותו הוסיפו המקובלים לדמויות הזכר והנקבה באילן האלוהי. בתוך כך נבחנות תפיסות פסיכואנליטיות וקבליות של הורות, כגון דמות הורית משולבת combined parental figure תפיסות אודות קונספציה ופרה-קונספציה, בזיקה לתפיסה הזוהרית של "תרין רעין דלא מתפרשין", מיתוס הנסירה, ועוד.

This paper deals with the representation of David as a "feminized Messiah" appearing in the image of the Shekhinah in Kabbalistic literature, and with the connections between femininity and heresy in Jewish messianic movements. In the course of this analysis, I focus on the development of the concept of David as "fourth leg of the Divine Chariot,” from the origins of Kabbalah (the Bahir, R. Asher Ben David, R. Jacob Bar-Sheshet) to Castille and beyond, in the Zohar and the Theosophical-Theurgical Kabbalah in 13th–14th Century (in texts written on the Iberian Peninsula), up to the portrayal of David as the Shekhinah in Lurianic Kabbalah and Sabbateanism. I claim that in the cases of David and Shabbatai Zevi, heresy indeed accompanies femininity. If the present order and its law are typically gendered as masculine, the threatening, disruptive forces that attempt to bring forth redemption are identified as feminine.

King David is one of the most colorful heroes of Jewish myth. Warrior and poet, sinner and penitent, conqueror and musician, adulterer and Messiah. The many facets of his character are rooted in biblical scripture, and continue to develop in the literature of the Midrash and the Kabbalah. Each generation has added new layers to David’s portrait, sketching him in a new light. Indeed, David’s personality reflects the characters and hopes of his interpreters throughout generations. Embodying the hero “with a thousand faces” and representing the messianic idea, David is not only a private character but a collective entity, wearing many different forms. The paper aims to examine the identification of David with Jerusalem and with the figure of the Shekhinah, from Psalms to the book of the Zohar.

To Write or Not to Write: The Myth of Writing in the Zohar
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The article discusses the myth of the writing of the Zohar and the figure of Rashbi as an author, in connection with the cave stories in rabbinic midrash and their development in the framing stories of the Zohar: In the ‘Rav Metivta’ story (Zohar Shelach Lekha), in the dialogue between Elijah and Rashbi (Zohar Hadash on Song of Songs), in the introduction to the Zohar and in  Zohar Hadash Ki-Tavoh. This examination seeks to emphasize the centrality of writing in the Zoharic world, while uncovering the authors’ self-awareness, as it is reflected in the description of Rashbi as a writer.

מאמר זה עוסק בלידה ובמשמעות שהיא מעניקה לקיומנו, כחוויה מכוננת בה האדם מתבונן לאורך חייו. בניגוד ל'היות-לקראת-המוות' שהציב האקזיסטנציאליזם במרכז הגותו, המאמר מבקש לבחון את המצב הקיומי של 'היות-מתוך-לידה'. לפי זרם מרכזי בהגות היהודית, ששורשיו במקרא ובספרות חז"ל ופיתוחו בספרות הקבלה, הלידה מהווה ארוע מכונן שמשפיע על עולם האמונה, הריטואל וההלכה. בספרות הקבלה הלידה נושאת אופי מטפיזי ותיאורגי והיא מייצגת נקודת מפגש חשובה בין העולם האנושי לאלוהי. במהלך דברי אבחן היבטים שונים של הלידה וזיקות בין המשגותיה בפסיכואנליזה ובקבלה, ואציע כי לעומת חרדת המוות, ממקורות יהודיים רבים עולה חרדה עמוקה יותר, והיא החרדה שלא להיוולד, ועל כן לא להתממש עד תום.

Disguised as authority, protection and holiness integrated into a discussion of repairing the nation and the cosmos, incidents of exploitation take place under the auspices of halakha. The responsibility for this rests with the entire society. במסווה של סמכות, הגנה וקדושה השלובות בשיח על תיקון האומה והקוסמוס, מתחוללים מקרי ניצול בחסות הקבלה. האחריות על כך מוטלת על החברה כולה

את דברי המקרא "כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה ה' אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ" (שמות לא, יז), דורש ספר הבהיר כרומז לבריאת נפשות חדשות בכל שבת: "ביום השביעי שבת וינפש, מאי וינפש, מלמד שיום השבת מקיים כל הנפשות".  השבת היא למעשה 'אם גדולה' שמרחמה מגיחות נשמות ובקרבה צומחים חיים. באיכותה המיוחדת, היא מעניקה כוח לכל המציאות להתמיד בקיומה. בדברים הבאים אבקש לעמוד על כוח ההתחדשות של השבת והיבטיה הנשיים בהשראת מקורות המדרש והקבלה. לסיכום אציג כמה מחשבות על קבלת השבת בימינו, ועל התרומה הנשית לטקסים אלו.

my lecture analyzes the poetical framework of the Zohar while focusing on the opening of the book and its ending. I will argue that these two texts demonstrate hyper-performative aspects and emphasize dramatic trends within the Zoharic text(ure). While presented on the divine "stage," these texts involve colors, vocal elements and theatrical scenery such as fire, water, shouting, singing, etc. In its crucial and mystical episodes the Zohar also includes moments of void, noiselessness and mute voices, as a metaphor of the beginning of creation and the end of the days.

Book Talk at JTS on December 14/ 19:30pm
"Holiness and Transgression: Mothers of the Messiah in the Jewish Myth" Academic Studies Press, 2017, By Ruth Kara-Ivanov Kaniel.
Panel With: Prof. David Kraemer; Prof. Eitan Fishbane; Prof. Nethaniel Berman; the Author Ruby Namdar; Dr. Biti Roi.

המבט של ספר הזוהר על דמותו של דוד המלך מבנה אותו כגיבור בעל אלף פרצופים: חוטא ארכיטיפי, ליצן החצר, ובסופו של תהליך גם בן זוגה של התשובה עצמה. על הסליחה, התשובה והמחילה בזוהר כפי שהן משתקפות בדמותו של משורר תהלים
פורסם באתר בית אבי חי 2015
http://www.bac.org.il/Cycle-of-the-year/project/aal-haslyhha-mhshbvt-aal/article/dvd-hamlch-baalha-shl-hatshvbha