Hekhalot ,The Origin of Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle Theory

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Religions and Mysticism, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582 AD) introduced the theory of the Interior Castle (the Seven Mansions) as a path towards union with God and the attainment of His divine presence. Since Teresa was not a classical theoritician, it raises the question of how much influence Hekhalot (the Seven Halls for attaining divine visions) had on the presentation of her theory. The hypothesis of this paper is that Teresa was influenced by Hekhalot. The writing of this article proved the validity of the aforementioned hypothesis and demonstrated that Teresa incorporated concepts and terminology from Hekhalot into the structure and development of her theory, with repeated references to the ancient covenant, particularly the book of Ezekiel, as one of the sources of Hekhalot. Emphasizing on the role of contemplation in achieving union and overcoming obstacles to union, Teresa was influenced by Hekhalot. Comparing the seven mansions with the seven halls reveals significant similarities that indicate Teresa's adoption of Hekhalot in presenting the theory of the Interior Castle. Both the mansions and the halls aim for the vision of unity and the unity of vision, with the difference being that Teresa associates vision with union and Hekhalot with encounter. However, this does not imply that Teresa had mastery over the reading and study of Hallucination; rather, she drew from the prevailing mystical literature of Avila, which contained these opinions and teachings.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. آویلایی، ترزا؛ طریقت کمال؛ ترجمه بخشعلی قنبری؛ قم؛ انتشارات دانشگاه ادیان و مذاهب؛ 1396.
  2. توفیقی، حسین؛ رازهای خنوخ؛ سایت بیگانگان باستانی؛ 1394.
  3. توفیقی، حسین؛ کتاب رازهای خنوخ؛ مجله هفت‌آسمان؛ شماره 3 و 4؛ 1378.
  4. حاج ابراهیمی، طاهره؛ عرفان یهودی و مکتب گنوسی؛ مجله هفت‌آسمان؛ شماره 17؛ 1382.
  5. دقیقیان، شیرین‌دخت؛ نردبانی به آسمان نیایشگاه در تاریخ و فلسفه یهود؛ تهران؛ نشر ویدا؛ 1379.
  6. شولم، گرشوم؛ گرایش‌ها و مکاتب اصلی عرفان یهود؛ ترجمه علیرضا فهیم؛ قم؛ دانشگاه ادیان و مذاهب؛ 1392.
  7. قنبری، بخشعلی؛ کاخ درون، عمارت‌های هفت‌گانه؛ مجله هفت‌آسمان؛ شماره 38؛ 1387.
  8. محمودی، ابوالفضل؛ مرکبه و عهد عتیق؛ مجله هفت‌آسمان؛ شماره 15؛ 1381.
  9. Ben Jochai, Simeon; The Sepher Ha-Zohar: or the book of Light; San Diego; Wisard's; Bookshelf and New York; Theosophical Publishing Company; 1980
  10. Frohlich, Mary; The Intersubjectivity of The Mystic; A Study of Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle; Atlanta & Georgia; Scholars Press; 1993
  11. Grafe, Hilda; The Story of Mysticism; Guild ford and London; 1966.
  12. Marcoulesco, Ilena; "Mystical Union", in: Encyclopaedia of Religions; (ed) Mircea Eliade, Vol.5; New York; McMillan 1987
  13. Gruenwald; Jewish Apocalypticism to the Rabbanic Period; New York; Macmillan Publishing Company; 1987
  14. Peers, Allison; "Introduction of Interior Castle"; The Complete Works; London & New York; Shed&Word; 1957
  15. Spencer Sidney; Mysticism in World Religion; Penguin Books; 1963
  16. Scholem, Gershom; “Merkabah Mystucism”; Encyclopaedia Judaica Jerusale; Ketroress; 1996
  17. Teresa of Avila; Interior Castle; (ed) Robert Van de Weyer; London Fount; 1995
  18. Teresa of Avila(1991), Life; Tr.E.Allison Peers; New York; Image Books Doubleday.
  19. Teresa of Avila; “Exclamation of the soul to God”; The Complete Works; London & New York; Shed &Word; TR. BY Allison Peers; 1957
  20. Tishby, Isaiah; The Wisdom of the Zohar: An Anthology of Texts; Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1989.
Religions and Mysticism
Volume 56, Issue 1
September 2023
Pages 243-255

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics