Mysticism and dreams

90 years ago, in a study that caused a scandal at the time(By Light, Light: The Mystic Gospel of Hellenistic Judaism, New Haven 1935), Erwin R. Goodenough put forward the idea that Judaism in the Greek world had evolved into a form of mystical religion. In his view, this mystical aspect of Judaism offered an authentic alternative in a deeply mystical pagan world. Although Goodenough's approach was rightly dismissed as too radical by many scholars, the fact remains that a deeply mystical language is very much present in Judeo-Hellenistic literature. According to Philo of Alexandria, both the Sinaiic (Hebrew) and Septuagint (Greek) versions of Jewish law can be traced back to a mystical origin. In addition, mystical thinking is accompanied by considerations about dreams. When Jacob dreams of a ladder whose top reaches heaven (with angels ascending and descending on the rungs), this is an allegorical teaching on the ideal passage between corporeal earth and noetic heaven. Philo distinguishes between three types of dream, a typology reminiscent of Stoic dream interpretations. Here again, however, we find an interpretation specific to Hellenistic Judaism, which does not simply imitate the discourse of others.