Alef, mem, tau : kabbalistic musings on time, truth, and death /

This volume presents an analysis of time, in its various modalities, as these notions are embodied in the medieval Jewish mystical tradition. Wolfson (NYU) is one of the most distinguished contemporary students of kabbalah, and the present work began life as the Taubman Lectures at the University of California at Berkeley. Wolfson, using the device of three letters of the Hebrew alphabet--the first letter aleph, a middle letter mem, and the final letter tau--considers the meaning, respectively, of the notions of the beginning, the present, and the future (end/death). Basing his reflections primarily on one of the first crucial medieval kabbalistic sources, the Sefer Bahir, and then more centrally on the greatest of all medieval kabbalistic works, the Zohar, he offers a thoughtful deconstruction of his themes. His ruminations on the end/death are especially interesting and provocative. Wolfson sees death as the moment when "the truth of the world of unity is disclosed." By this he means to refer to a time when the oppositions with which one lives are overcome and reconciled. All libraries supporting advanced courses in Jewish studies should purchase this book. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. S. T. Katz Boston University