Q&A: Help locating a book or idea
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Help locating a book or idea
Question
Hello,
Do you perhaps know of a book that deals with the world of Kabbalah and the question of whether the sefirot and the upper worlds are metaphor? A metaphorical or allegorical description of some idea? And along those lines—do you know of anything?
I mean an academic research book that discusses this question at length and catalogs the various views. But books of other kinds would also help me.
Thank you very much for everything!
Answer
I don't know of one.
Discussion on Answer
Thanks, I sent an email.
I have a short Word document that summarizes a controversy surrounding the teachings of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto—whether everything is metaphor. It has many sources, clarifications, and approaches on the issue of metaphor and imagery. It's not academic, but it's organized. I can send it to you: dvirlevi311@gmail.com