Abstract

This paper compares the doctrines of Plotinus, a 3rd century pagan Neoplatonic philosopher, and Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, an 18th century kabbalist, according to a set of standard philosophical and theological categories: cosmology, ontology, epistemology, teleology, theodicy, ethics, theurgy, providence, and aesthetics. Luzzatto's doctrines are further contrasted against the doctrines of the rabbinic tradition. Luzzatto's particular doctrines are traced through the Zoharic branch of Kabbalah to Neoplatonic influences introduced into Kabbalah in 13th century Spain, when the Zohar, the only kabbalistic text to reach canonical status, was first composed. The particular strain of Zoharic Kabbalah espoused by Luzzatto was further developed by Isaac Luria in the 16th century, and caried to Italy by his followers towards the end of 16th century. The Kabbalah of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto demostrates the longevity of Neoplatonic doctrine through the centuries.