Lion Taming: R. Yitzhak Isaac Haver's Kabbalistic Defense of Jewish Tradition

This article explores R. Yitzhak Isaac Havers defense of the authenticity of Kabbalah in Magen Vetzinah (1855), a refutation of Leon Modenas anti-kabbalistic polemic Ari Nohem, which was written in the 17th century but not published until 1840. Haver (1789–1853) feared that Jews would follow Modena and deem Kabbalah an inauthentic part of the Jewish tradition. Refuting Ari Nohem allowed him to critique the anti-traditionalism of his contemporaries who advanced many of Modenas arguments. I argue that Haver addressed contemporary attacks on the authority of traditional Judaism through defending Kabbalah. Rather than a fideistic traditionalist, he engaged with challenges to the authenticity of Kabbalahs textual foundations and its claims to truth. Havers openness to addressing text-critical issues and philosophical aspects of Kabbalah attests to the intellectual curiosity of thinkers of his cultural environment and to the threat that traditionalists perceived from Jewish acculturation and reform. Key words: Kabbalah, mitnagdim, Zohar,