THE LAST JEWISH SUFI: THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF RABBI ARIEL BENSION [1880-1932]
THE LAST JEWISH SUFI: THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF RABBI ARIEL BENSION [1880-1932]

Author(s): Stephen Schwartz
Subject(s): History of Judaism, History of Religion
Published by: Naučnoistraživački institut »Ibn Sina«
Keywords: [Rabbi] Ariel Bension; Beth-El, Fes; Ibn Arabi; Jerusalem; Judeo-Spanish; Kabbalah; Abraham Kohen Herrera; Maimonides; Manastir; Macedonia;
Summary/Abstract: The paper describes the life and influence of the Jerusalem-born Sephardic rabbi and Kabbalistic mystic Rabbi Ariel Bension (1880-1932), author of a neglected volume, The Zohar in Moslem and Christian Spain, published in English in 1932 and in Spanish in 1934. Rabbi Bension also served the Jewish community as a religious leader in Manastir, Macedonia, before the First World War. His book is a comparative study of the works of Spanish Sufis, Kabbalists, and Christian mystics. The paper further describes the relations between Sufis and Kabbalists in Manastir under Ottoman and post-Ottoman rule, the influence of Muhjed’din Ibn Arabi, and controversies over Kabbalah involving Jews and the Zaydi Shia ruler of Yemenin the early 20th century.

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