The nature of ritual and mythological symbols has been a major topic of discussion in the fields of religion, folklore, and anthropology in recent years. Within the study of Judaism new attention has been drawn to the tradition of the Kabbalists, the Jewish mystics of the later Middle Ages, who have been well-known for their creativity in symbol-making and exegesis. Their radical re-reading of the earlier Jewish tradition has been called a model of mythopoeic revision, a revision rooted in a world-view that stressed the interrelation of all worlds and levels of being.

This study is concerned with the Kabbalistic re-reading of the Sabbath over the course of its classical period, from the late twelfth to the early sixteenth centuries. The historical significance of the topic, broadly speaking, rests on three factors: the centrality of the Sabbath within classical Judaism, the centrality of the Sabbath within the Kabbalistic mythos, and the Kabbalists’ influence on the popular understanding of Shabbat in later Judaism.

The Sabbath has been one of the most significant and beloved institutions of Jewish life since late antiquity. The importance of the Sabbath is attested by the sheer number of legal dicta, imaginative works, songs, and rituals which pertain to the day. In its Rabbinic formulation, Sabbath-observance was both a hallmark of Jewish social identity, a sine qua non for membership in the Covenant Community, and a sacramental institution with salvific import.