R. Itzhak Isaac Judah Yehiel of Komarno as a Test Case of Jewish Mysticism

The article evaluates the validity of the term and concept of Jewish mysticism (in view of the challenges of Boaz Huss) through a specific test case: the writings of the nineteenth-century Hasidic master R. Itzhak Isaac Safrin of Komarno. The presence of seven distinctive yet interconnected features of mysticism (as proposed by J. B. Hollenback) is clearly demonstrated. It is suggested that for all of its uniqueness, the case of Safrin is not singular but rather has both historical and comparative potential. The wider methodological conclusion concerns the need to decide such theoretical debates through textual analysis.