"In this 1975 lecture at Boston College the preeminent scholar in Jewish mysticism Gershom
Scholem speaks of the Kabbalistic doctrine of the tselem, the astral
body. The word “tselem” first appears in Genesis 1:26 when God creates
man and says “let us make man in our image (tselem) and in our
likeness.” In Hebrew “tselem” means “plastic image” and describes the
individual essence of each human being. It constitutes an independent
entity mediating between body and spirit. In mystical experience, the
tselem could manifest as the perception of one’s own double, which
revealed the deepest spiritual essence within man. Professor Scholem
retraces the historical development of the doctrine of the tselem in
Jewish mysticism and tells us how it is related to the principle of
individuation in man."
& some useful commentary here.
No comments:
Post a Comment