Gnostic Judaism

[xkatz]

Some sites seem to indicate it was an actual religious movement. Does anyone know about Gnostic Judaism, what it's beliefs are, or what they practice?

 

[David_2010]

I'm not sure about any modern movements, but, I am very interested in Gnosticism, and, from what I've read, Gnosticism was a child of Judaism, and, Gershom Scholem did also call the Kabbalah Jewish Gnosticism.

I'd definitely be interested in reading any other replies here.

 

[Levite]

I'm not sure about any modern movements, but, I am very interested in Gnosticism, and, from what I've read, Gnosticism was a child of Judaism, and, Gershom Scholem did also call the Kabbalah Jewish Gnosticism.

I'd definitely be interested in reading any other replies here.

There have been some scholars that call Zoharic Kabbalah a form of Jewish Gnosticism, and perhaps with some sound reason. Zoharic Kabbalah is funny stuff, and involves some imagery and concepts which, at face level, seem very Gnostic: the division between light and darkness, the aspects of God's nature in disharmony with one another, the linking of the yetzer ha-ra (urge to do evil/wrong/chaos) to the sitra achra (the emanations of God that incline toward darkness/evil), etc. Not all Kabbalah is that Gnostic, although most Kabbalah has had at least a bit of Gnostic influence. Frankly, it is mostly the Gnostic imagery that puts me off the Zohar: I like pre-Zoharic Kabbalah better.

I am unaware of a modern Gnostic Jewish movement. If it existed, it would be almost surely be incompatible with Rabbinic Judaism, unless it had been quite heavily modified.

There certainly was an ancient Jewish Gnosticism. I don't know that it was entirely a child of Judaism-- I think several religions and philosophies seem to have contributed to it, including Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Platonism, Pythagoreanism, and perhaps some of the mystery cults. But it did certainly have a great flourishing in Jewish lands at that time, and the Rabbis of the Talmud make it clear that one of the primary heresies that they have to deal with is the philosophy of du reshuyot, or Twin Authorities (i.e., dualistic Gnosticism). The great mystic Elisha ben Abuya is said (BT Hagigah, 2nd chapter) to have had a vision of ascension to paradise, where he found the Metatron (chief of the angels), and apparently mistook the Metatron for a Second Authority, for which heresy he was excommunicated, and ever after referred to only as Acher ("the other one;" the story also tells us that the Metatron was punished in Heaven for not immediately correcting Acher's misapprehension).

I don't mind a touch of dualism. But too much just skeeves me out, theologically.