Exploring Jewish Meditation
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2022) | Viewed by 6067
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This issue of Religions is dedicated to exploring Jewish meditation in an interdisciplinary perspective from antiquity to the present. While the concept of “Jewish Meditation” is still largely unknown by the wider audience, Jewish contemplative techniques have been an integral part of the construction of Jewish culture for millennia.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to bring together papers from contemporary scholars from within various academic disciplines, temporal scales, and geographic and cultural areas, to focus on different aspects of the vast and complex field of Jewish contemplative practices.
By contrast with the abundant literature dedicated to Kabbalah and Hasidism, especially over the last half-century, the number of academic works to specifically address Jewish meditation remains limited.
This issue aims at shedding light on a vast and complex subculture which is both deeply intertwined with normative and mystical Jewish culture and at the same time has remained esoteric and culturally marginal enough that it remains largely unexplored.
Papers focusing on the history, trends, techniques, teachers, relation to normative Jewish social and religious culture, and interaction with other cultures are particularly welcome.
We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editor Dr. Mira Niculescu (mira.niculescu1@mail.huji.ac.il) or to /Religions/ editorial office (religions@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.
References
Fenton, Paul. “Solitary meditation in Jewish and Islamic Mysticism in the light of a recent archeological discovery” Medieval Encounters 1.2. Brill: Leiden 1995.
Green, Arthur, Mayse, Ariel Evan (eds.) A New Hasidism. Branches. Directed Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, pp. 223–250.
Idel, Moshe. « Meditation and other mystical techniques » in Comparative mysticism. An anthology of original sources, Steven T. Katz (ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013: 25-152.
Persico, Tomer. 2016. Jewish Meditation [Hebrew]. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University Press.
Verman, Mark. The history and varieties of Jewish meditation, New York: Jason Aronson, 1996.
Wolfson, Elliot R. Through a speculum that shines: Vision and imagination in medieval Jewish mysticism. Princeton University Press, 2020.
Dr. Mira Niculescu
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Jewish meditation
- Jewish spirituality
- Jewish mysticism
- contemplative practices
- Kabbalah
- Hassidism
- esotericism
- cultural borrowing
- neo-traditionalism
- hybridization
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
