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Document Details :

Title: The Date Palm and the Wellspring: Mandaeism and Jewish Mysticism
Author(s): DEUTSCH, Nathaniel
Journal: ARAM Periodical
Volume: 11    Issue: 2   Date: 1999-2000   
Pages: 209-223
DOI: 10.2143/ARAM.11.2.504462

Abstract :
One of the most intriguing and complex questions in the history of religions is the relationship between Gnosticism and Jewish Mysticism. Within this context, the comparative study of Mandaeism and Jewish Mysticism remains a scholarly desideratum of the first order. The author identifies and examines a host of significant parallels between Mandaean writings and a wide range of Jewish mystical sources, including the Hekhalot literature and the medieval Kabbalah. Some of these traditions are similar enough to raise the possibility of extensive historical contact and cultural exchange between the two groups in Mesopotamia.

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