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Elliot R. Wolfson (born November 23, 1956) is a scholar of Jewish studies, comparative mysticism, and the philosophy of religion.
Wolfson earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in philosophy at Queens College of the City University of New York, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University, where he trained under the supervision of Alexander Altmann.
Wolfson is the Marsha and Jay Glazer Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.[1] He was previously the Abraham Lieberman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University (1987–2014).
His main area of scholarly research is the history of Jewish mysticism but he has brought to bear on that field training in philosophy, literary criticism, feminist theory, postmodern hermeneutics, Eastern mystical traditions, and the phenomenology of religion. He is also considered to be "the leading scholarly interpreter" of the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, influential former leader of the Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty.[2]
He has also published three volumes of poetry (drawn from the collection of poems he has amassed for decades called Preparations for Death) and he has had a gallery show of his paintings. Wolfson has served as the editor of the Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy since its inception in 1992. He has also served on various editorial boards for book series and journals.
Wolfson's son, Elijah Wolfson, was formerly a senior editor at Newsweek.[3] and is now an editorial director at Time.[4] His other son, Josiah Wolfson, is owner of Aeon Bookstore in Manhattan, https://aeonbookstore.com/
- ^ "Elliot Wolfson – Religious Studies, UC Santa Barbara".
- ^ Sutcliffe, Adam (2020). What Are Jews For?: History, Peoplehood, and Purpose. Princeton University Press. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-691-18880-5.
- ^ "Elijah Wolfson". Newsweek.
- ^ "Elijah Wolfson". February 4, 2019.