Jewish Preaching and Popularizing the Zohar in Times of Crisis: An Edition and Commentary of R. Moses Zacuto's Haqdamot

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Gerold Necker
• Subject Area: Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568398490

A newly discovered work by the kabbalist Moses Zacuto (ca. 1610–1697) offers insight into Jewish preaching in Northern Italy after the Sabbatean crisis. Zacuto refers to these texts, which are structured as lecture outlines based on Sefer ha-Zohar, the central medieval kabbalistic work, as Haqdamot (“Introductions”). Between 1678 and 1696, he delivered these popular sermons in his capacity as chief rabbi of Mantua, following the weekly Torah readings and on holidays. Drawing on specific Zohar passages, Zacuto addresses general halakhic, philosophical, and ethical themes. This project will edit, analyze, and comment on the Haqdamot for the first time, based on the surviving manuscripts, in both digital and printed formats.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants