Undressing God: Unitive Imagery in the "Bahir" and the "Zohar"
Abstract
Many different methods have been used in the past to speak about God and
humankind's relationship to God. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, a unique
form of mysticism came about which combined older philosophies and methodologies to
create what is called Kabbalah. Kabbalah is a specifically Jewish form of mysticism that
has its origins in the early middle ages, and by the twelfth century was adopting a
cohesive form as a way of approaching mysticism. The combination of the older
philosophies and methodologies allows the mystical texts adequately to address the
dualities which are found in the world and within the mystical body of God. Because of
the all inclusiveness of God, He is neither masculine nor feminine. However, when
speaking of God, I will generally use the masculine pronoun as is conventionally done
because no adequate alternative choices exist ('it' as pronoun is best applied to things and
not to a living God).