Dr. Elchanan Shilo
The Zionist thought as an infrastructure for building a modern-Jewish identity. Connections between philosophy and literature in the writings of modern creators such as Micha Josef Berdyczewski and A.B. Joshua; The way in which Kabbalah is expressed by modern creators, such as Rabbi Kook and Agnon;The fiction in Rabbi Nachman of Braslav's tales;Jewish spirituality and revival in Israel and American Judaism; Political history of the State of Israel.
CV
Dr. Elhanan Shilo holds a B.A in Jewish Philosophy and General Studies (including Philosophy and Bible Studies) from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Master's degree in Jewish philosophy from Bar-Ilan University. The topic of his A.M. thesis: "Kabbalistic Strata in the Thought of Rabbi Kook and their Relationship to Hegel's Philosophy and to the Spirit of the Time", under the supervision of Prof Aharon Shear-Yashuv. The topic of his Ph.D Thesis: "The Use and Literary Function of Kabbalah in the Works of S.Y.Agnon", was awarded summa cum laude, written under the supervision of Prof. Yoav Elstein, in the Department of Literature of the Jewish People, Bar Ilan University. Post-Doc: Jewish Philosophy at the Hebrew University. In this framework, Shilo was a scientific project coordinator of Prof. Jonathan Garb book: Modern Kabbalah as an Autonomous Domain of Research.
Shilo's books: The Kabbalah in the Works of S.Y. Agnon and:The Story of the "Nablus Group" (1969-1973),
A Forgotten Chapter in the History of the Settlements, (Accepted for publication).
Shilo published a manuscript with commentary of the Lurianic Kabbalah and the Kabbalah of Ramchal written by Rabbi David Cohen (Hanazir), in Or Harazim and Pitche Hapardes.
He also wrote Creative thinking in the book: Existential Judaism, which comes to give an original foundation and a new perception for population that is between of religious and secular.
Research
Zionist thought
Hebrew literature
Political history of the State of Israel.
Interpretation of modern creators to the Kabbalah of Ramchal and R. Yizhak Isaac Haver.
Hassidic fiction with an emphasis on the stories of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav.
Jewish renewal and neo-Hasidism.
Publications
List of publications
Authored Books
The Kabbalah in the Works of S.Y. Agnon, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 2011. (Heb).440 pp.
Existential Judaism, Schocken Press, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv2017 , 270 pp. (Heb).
Publications of Manuscripts
Publication of manuscript writings of Rabbi David Cohen (Hanazir), commentary Klach Pitche Chochma of Ramchal, Pitche Hapardes (Hebrew) 594 pp. Jerusalem 2009 including an introduction and super commentary on the manuscript (Heb).
Publication of manuscript writings in Kabbalah of Rabbi David Cohen (Hanazir): Or Harazim (Hebrew), Jerusalem 1999, 68 pp (Heb).
Literary Scientific Project Organizer
A scientific publication of all the tales of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, headed by Prof. Zvi Mark. The Complete Tales of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (2014) focusing on all the versions of his written texts. The publication is funded by the ISF. (Israel Scientific Foundation) (Heb).
Jonathan Garb, Modern Kabbalah as an Autonomous Domain of Research, Los Angeles 2016, Cherub Press 90 pp (Heb).
Editorship of collective volumes
Publication of unknown documents and papers of Rabbi Kook in: Moshe Yechiel Zuriel, The Treasures of Rabbi Kook (Hebrew) Vol. 4, Ashdod 1993, 336 pp (Heb).
Refereed Articles
Amir Goldstein & Elchanan Shilo, "Generational Crossover: Passing the Torch from the Labor Movement for the Greater Land of Israel onto Gush Emunim", Israel Affairs 28 (1) (2021), p. 45-59.
"Rabbi Kook’s Interpretation of Lurianic Kabbalah, the Appearance of New Souls and Tikkun ha-Olam", Iyunim Bitkumat Israel, (Ben-Gurion University) 18, 2008, pp. 55 – 77 [Hebrew].
“Imprints of the Kabbalah in two works by Agnon from the German Period: A look at ‘Aggadat Hasofer’ and ‘Ma’aseh Azriel Moshe Shomer Has’farim’ " Agnon & Germany,
edited by Hans-Jürgen Becker, Hillel Weiss, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 2010 pp. 391 - 426.
"National symbols and kabbalistic motives in Lea, Agnon's heroine in Lifnim min ha-homah" Dapim Lemehkar Besafrut, Haifa University Journal of Literature, 18, 2012, pp. 165 – 188 [Hebrew].
"The secret in Agnon's literary work: imprints of the Kabbalah", Kabbalah, Mysticism and Poetry: The Journey to the End of Vision, edited by Avi Elqayam & Shlomy Mualem, Magnes Press 2015, pp. 478-526 [Hebrew].
"Rabbi Yizhak Isaac Haver's Influence on Rabbi Kook's Interpretation of the Kabbalah", Daat 79 (2015), pp. 89 - 111 [Hebrew].
"The Substance of Man and the World in the Unio-Mystic Experience of Rabbi Kook", Iyunim Bitkumat Israel, 25, (2015), pp. 37 – 64. [Hebrew].
"The State of the World before the Appearance of the People of Israel: Between R. Moshe Haim Luzzatto and R. Yizhak Isaac Haver", Kabbalah 37 (2017), pp. 251-270. [Hebrew].
Amir Goldstein & Elchanan Shilo, "Menachem Begin and the Question of the Settlements: 1967–1977", British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 47 (2020), p. 1-20.
Amir Goldstein & Elchanan Shilo, "The Schem Group's Attempts to Establish an Israeli Settlement in Nablus and Vicinity, 1969-1970", Iyunim 34 (2020), P. 95-123. [Hebrew].
Entries in Scientific Encyclopedia
"Treasure under a bridge", Thematological Encyclopedia of Jewish Literature, Bar Ilan University, Volume 4. 2018, pp 223-266 [Hebrew].
Accepted for publication, "The chosen dream", Thematological Encyclopedia of Jewish Literature, Bar Ilan University, Volume 4. 2018, pp. 157-186 [Hebrew].
Unrefereed Professional Articles
"The Logic of the Mystery", Alon Shvut, 1995 No. 143 – 144, pp. 144 – 156.
"On the necessity of creating a new religiosity", Deot , July 2005, P. 5.
"The Hebrew letters that make up Agnon's name" Makor Rishon, Musaf Shabat, 8/8/2008..
"It's not a package deal", Makor Rishon, Musaf Shabat, 16/1/2009.
"God's revelation in a human text", Makor Rishon, Musaf Shabat, 19/6/2009.
"Jewish continuity: between halacha and secularism", Makor Rishon, Musaf Shabat, 7/5/2010.
"How to join the Jewish people – A new solution", Makor Rishon, Musaf Shabat, 5/11/2010.
"The inside and the shell, beyond modernism and post-modernism",Makor Rishon, Musaf Shabat, 12/10/2011.
"The Chosen Among the Chosen", Makor Rishon, , Musaf Shabat & Ma'ariv 10/1/2014.
"The Perception of God in the Modern Times", Makor Rishon, Musaf Shabat 5/12/2014.
"Post–Othodoxy in the Writings of Rabbi Kook ", Deot 71, September 2015, pp. 16-21.
An Entry in a Ciber Encyclopedia
"King Solomon's daughter in the tower", (Agadastories, Snunit, Beit Avi Chai).
Lectures and Presentations
| 2017 | The 16th Congress of the World Union of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem | "The Desire for a Disaster as a Jewish Pathology: Between the Evening Journey of Yatir by the Young Abraham B. Yehoshua and The Retrospective by the later Abraham B. Yehoshua" |
| 2013 | The Congress of the World Union of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem | "Berdyczewski: Between Revolutionary Declarations and Cultural Continuity" |
| 2013 | A conference on religious experience in a secular world,Sapir Academic College, | "Mitzvah observance without commandments" |
| 2012 | A conference dedicated to the Kabbalah in Lithuenia, Bar Ilan University | "The influence of Rabbi Isaac Haver on Rabbi Kook's interpretation of the Kabbalah" |
| 2012 | The 28th Conference of the Association for Israel Studies, Haifa University | "The Zionist Roots of the Canaanaite Movement" |
| 2011 | A public discussion on the occasion of the publication of my book: The Kabbalah in the Works of S.Y. Agnon, Agnon's Center, Jerusalem | "My personal experiences in the study of the imprints of the Kabbalah in Agnon's works" |
| 2011 | "On Conversion", A conference, Bar Ilan University | "The solution to the question of non-Jewish immigrants: Identity and definition of Israeli Jews" |
| 2009 | The 15th Congress of the World Union of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem | "The concept of Zimzum , Between Rabbi Kook and Chabad" |
| 2009 | A conference on the study of Judea and Samaria, Ariel University | "The loss of the Old City of Jerusalem, a study of Lea, Agnon's heroine in Lifnim min ha-homah" |
| 2006 | A conference on Agnon's works, Haifa University | "Imprints of the Kabbalah and its literary use in Agnon's works" |
| 2005 | The 14th Congress of the World Union of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem | "Imprints of the Kabbalah in Agnon's literary works" |
| 2001 | The 13th Congress of the World Union of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem | "Rabbi Kook – Between Hegel's Philosophy and the Ari Mysticism" |
Last Updated Date : 16/11/2023
