Gershom Scholem
Letters to Werner Kraft
In 1917 Gershom Scholem began a correspondence with Werner Kraft (1896-1991), who was studying literature and had been in contact with Scholem's friend Walter Benjamin. These letters, Scholem's side of the correspondence, offer insights into Scholem's reading of philosophers, his study of Hebrew, as well as the beginnings of his studies of Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalistic texts that increasingly fascinated him.
While Kraft was a year older than Scholem, both recognized that Scholem was the more mature, both intellectually and emotionally. Both men were conscripted into the German army during WW I, and struggled to find ways to deal with the miseries of their experiences. In a number of these letters Scholem sets aside intellectual matters to offer words of encouragement, commiseration, and unfailing support as Kraft struggles with self-doubt and depression.
2022/ 6 X 9, 135 pages
ISBN 0-917453-45-X
Letters to Werner Kraft
In 1917 Gershom Scholem began a correspondence with Werner Kraft (1896-1991), who was studying literature and had been in contact with Scholem's friend Walter Benjamin. These letters, Scholem's side of the correspondence, offer insights into Scholem's reading of philosophers, his study of Hebrew, as well as the beginnings of his studies of Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalistic texts that increasingly fascinated him.
While Kraft was a year older than Scholem, both recognized that Scholem was the more mature, both intellectually and emotionally. Both men were conscripted into the German army during WW I, and struggled to find ways to deal with the miseries of their experiences. In a number of these letters Scholem sets aside intellectual matters to offer words of encouragement, commiseration, and unfailing support as Kraft struggles with self-doubt and depression.
2022/ 6 X 9, 135 pages
ISBN 0-917453-45-X
Letters to Werner Kraft
In 1917 Gershom Scholem began a correspondence with Werner Kraft (1896-1991), who was studying literature and had been in contact with Scholem's friend Walter Benjamin. These letters, Scholem's side of the correspondence, offer insights into Scholem's reading of philosophers, his study of Hebrew, as well as the beginnings of his studies of Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalistic texts that increasingly fascinated him.
While Kraft was a year older than Scholem, both recognized that Scholem was the more mature, both intellectually and emotionally. Both men were conscripted into the German army during WW I, and struggled to find ways to deal with the miseries of their experiences. In a number of these letters Scholem sets aside intellectual matters to offer words of encouragement, commiseration, and unfailing support as Kraft struggles with self-doubt and depression.
2022/ 6 X 9, 135 pages
ISBN 0-917453-45-X