“That Neibaur brought a knowledge of Kabbalah
to Nauvoo has been mentioned in several studies of the period. For instance,
Newel and Avery note in their biography of Emma Smith, ‘Through Alexander
Neibaur, Joseph Smith had access to ancient Jewish rites called cabalism...
That he not only knew something of Kabbalah, but apparently possessed a
collection of original Jewish Kabbalistic works in Nauvoo, is however
documented in material almost totally overlooked by Mormon historians.
“Can anyone familiar with the history and
personality of Joseph Smith--the prophet who restored the secret knowledge
and rituals conveyed to Adam, translated the works of Abraham, Enoch, and
Moses, and retranslated Genesis--question that he would have been interested
in the original version of this Jewish occult tradition? And here, in
Neibaur, was a man who could share a version of that knowledge with him.
Whatever the reasons for the similarities, it should be remembered that the
Hermetic-Kabbalistic world view parallels Joseph’s vision of God in many
particulars. Not only might Joseph have been interested in this material,
but he would have noted how similar this sacred, secret tradition was with
his own restoration of ancient truth. And perhaps Neibaur, on a religious
quest--from Judaism and Kabbalah, Europe and England, to Christianity and
Mormonism and a new home in Nauvoo--saw or even amplified that intrinsic
sympathy in his explications of the tradition for Joseph.
“Whatever the reasons for the similarities, it
should be remembered that the Hermetic-Kabbalistic world view parallels
Joseph’s vision of God in many particulars. Not only might Joseph have been
interested in this material, but he would have noted how similar this
sacred, secret tradition was with his own restoration of ancient truth. And
perhaps Neibaur, on a religious quest--from Judaism and Kabbalah, Europe and
England, to Christianity and Mormonism and a new home in Nauvoo--saw or even
amplified that intrinsic sympathy in his explications of the tradition for
Joseph.
“Certainly the first text Joseph Smith would
have confronted was the Zohar, the great heart of the Kabbalah. This
is one of the works Neibaur cited repeatedly in his article and, as the
central text of Kabbalah, is the key book any individual with Kabbalistic
interests would have preserved in his library. Familiarity with the Zohar
was a given for a Kabbalist, particularly one with knowledge of works as
divergent as those cited by Neibaur, all of which expounded in some degree
upon themes in the Zohar. If Neibaur had read to Joseph from any
single text, or explained Kabbalistic concepts contained in a principal
book, the Zohar would have been the book with which to start. This
might explain why in 1844 Smith, in what may be his single greatest
discourse and in the most important public statement of his theosophical
vision, apparently quotes almost word for word from the first section of the
Zohar.”
(“Joseph
Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection”)
