The 3rd-Century Pagan Philosopher Whose Views Shaped Kabbalah

A few weeks ago, an expert in ancient philosophy asked me—after a conversation with a Chabad Hasid—if the Lubavitcher rebbes had read the works of the 3rd-century Graeco-Egyptian philosopher Plotinus. I doubt any had, but I wasn’t surprised by the question: academic scholars have long noted that, since at least the early Middle Ages, Jewish mysticism has had noticeable similarities to Neoplatonism, the philosophical school most associated with Plotinus. And not just mystics: Neoplatonic thought likely also influenced Solomon ibn Gabirol, Moses Maimonides, and other philosophers. In conversation with J.J. Kimchi, Sarah Pessin explains what Neoplatonism is, how Jewish thinkers discovered it through Arabic texts, and why it seems so compatible with Judaic though. (Audio, 70 minutes.)