Overview

A historical novel of Jewish mysticism, prophecy, and apocalyptic expectation-where Kabbalah and Christian thought briefly converged. The Shooting Star is the first volume of The Name Trilogy, a sweeping work of historical and mystical fiction centered on Abraham Abulafia (1240-1291), the Jewish prophet of the Divine Name and one of the most controversial figures in medieval Kabbalah. In the late thirteenth century, Abulafia proclaimed the return of prophecy through the sacred Name of God. Using Kabbalistic techniques such as tzeruf (letter permutation), gematria, and notariqon, he calculated the year 1290 as the turning point of history. At the same time-unknown to him-Joachim of Fiore's Franciscan followers were independently awaiting the same year as the dawn of the Age of the Spirit. This novel traces the dramatic convergence of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic expectation: Abulafia's visionary journey to Rome, his failed confrontation with the papacy, his exile and persecution, and the parallel Franciscan vigils and disappointments that reshaped medieval spirituality on both sides. Grounded in primary sources and serious scholarship, The Shooting Star explores: Jewish mysticism and early Kabbalah The emergence of the Zohar Medieval apocalyptic theology The tension between prophecy and rabbinic authority The fragile boundary between Jewish and Christian mystical thought Figures such as Rabbi Solomon ibn Adret (the Rashba) appear not as caricatures, but as guardians of tradition facing unprecedented spiritual disruption. For readers of Antony Hylton's previous books on the Psalms, prophetic renewal, and the Divine Name, this volume extends the same core themes into history: How language, revelation, and expectation shape faith-and how failed prophecy transforms rather than disappears. The Shooting Star is ideal for readers interested in: Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah Medieval history and theology Messianic movements and apocalyptic thought Intersections between Judaism and Christianity Serious religious and intellectual historical fiction This is not a story of easy answers, but the opening movement of a trilogy that follows vision, collapse, and the long search for unity that continues far beyond 1290.

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