Episode
446 - Universal History: How Kabbalah Shaped America: the Land of the End
- Podcast
- The Symbolic World
- Published
- Apr 18, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3596
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
This is the final episode of our Universal History series on the American Religion. Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I look at the religious ideas behind the American project, especially the influence of Kabbalah and the search for a “pure” and universal mystical tradition. We trace how early Protestants, thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, and figures like Ezra Stiles engaged with Jewish mysticism as part of their attempt to understand and shape America’s role in the universal history. - Watch the YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/A563i-jrZs0 - Watch the rest of this series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_U0msyBRVpwCI_srzn3tjL - Universal History playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_M2uZP3yW6EEiod3fGD6FD Timestamps: 00:00 - Coming Up 01:10 - Intro Music 01:35 - Introduction & Framing the Topic 02:28 - Jefferson, Adams & “Pure Religion” 05:23 - Kabbalah and the Founding Fathers 07:48 - Puritans, Quakers & Early American Mysticism 11:11 - Adam Kadmon & Christian Kabbalah 16:18 - George Keith & Quaker Debates 20:18 - Sabatianism & Messianic Movements 26:03 - Apocalyptic Expectations in Early America 29:44 - Judah Monis & Kabbalah in Harvard 33:48 - Kabbalah Used to Defend the Trinity 35:59 - Ezra Stiles & America as the New Israel 39:06 - America as the “New World” in Prophecy 42:49 - Loss of Christian Mysticism & Turning to Kabbalah 48:33 - America as the Promised Land Idea 51:50 - Is America the “End of the World”? 54:54 - The Contradictions of American Culture 58:10 - Final Reflections on America’s Spiritual Identity ===== Join us at the Symbolic World Summit | May 14-16 | Ohio | Keynote speakers: Jonathan Pageau, Fr. Josiah Trenham, Mary Harrington, Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin, Kale Z…