The Paradoxical Ascent to God: The Kabbalistic Theosophy of Habad Hasidism Book

	Preface
Pt. 1	Introduction
1	A Spiritual Awakening	1
2	The Influence of the Kabbalah	5
3	The Historical Background	7
4	The Hasidic World-View	13
5	Habad-Hasidism	19
6	The Dual Meaning of Existence	25
7	The Dialectical Systems	33
8	The Books of Habad	37
9	The Four Subjects of Discussion	41
10	The Background of the Paradoxical Argument	43
Pt. 2	The Doctrine of Divinity, the Mystical Theology
11	Acosmism	49
12	The Relation Between God and the World	59
13	Wholeness as the Incorporation of Opposites	63
14	Hashvaah (Equalization)	67
15	Entity and Manifestation - Nothingness and Being	73
16	The Doctrine of Tzimtzum	79
17	Transcendence and Immanence	93
18	The Paradox - Two Opposites in a Single Subject	97
Pt. 3	Soul Consciousness and Perception
19	The Doctrine of the Soul	103
20	The Divine Soul	115
21	The Bestial Soul	119
Pt. 4	Divine Worship
22	Divine Worship - Introduction	127
23	Two Aspects of Divine Worship	131
24	Esoterics and Exoterics - The Dispute over the Dissemination of Spiritual Doctrines	139
25	Ha-Avodah be-Bittul - Worship in Self-Annihilation	143
26	Self-Annihilation and the Divine Wholeness	153
27	Ha-Avodah be-Hitbonenut - Worship in Contemplation	159
28	The Controversy over Contemplation	167
29	The Three Principal Types of Worship in Annihilation	173
30	Faith That Transcends Intellect and Comprehension	179
31	Mesirut Nefesh - Self-Sacrifice	185
32	The Confrontation Concerning the Goals of Spiritual Worship	191
33	Avodah be-Hipukh - Worship through Inversion and the Actualization of Divine Wholeness	201
	Conclusion	219
	Glossary	223
	Notes	229
	Primary Sources	255
	Reference List	259
	Index	269