Pascal Themanlys (27 September 1909 – 25 June 2000) was a French (later Israeli) poet,
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
, and
Kabbalist. His books on
Jewish mysticism
Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in 1 ...
have been published in French, English and Hebrew.
Pascal was born in Paris; his French parents
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis (d ...
and Claire Themanlys were important disciples of
Max Theon, and in charge of the "Cosmic Movement" in France. Pascal himself only met Theon once in 1920 (when he was eleven, Théon was well into his seventies), although he claimed later he was
initiated
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...
by his father Louis. This supplemented his own studies of traditional
Lurianic
Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mean ...
Kabbalah.
At fifteen, he published his first collection of poems, work of poems, a booklet called the ''Emerald Monocle'', in 1924. He met a number of important authors and artists such as
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
and
Paul Valéry
Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...
. In 1934 his book ''Les merveilles du Becht'' (''Wonders of Becht'') was published, the first book in French about the
Baal Shem Tov
Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...
.
During the Second World War he was a member of the
French resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
. In 1947, he married his wife, Raymonde; they would later have three children.
In 1949 he emigrated to Israel where he became the head the French section of the Department of Information of the
Jewish Agency
The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
.
He was also the founder of the ''Amitiés Israël-France'' (Israel-France Friendship) society.
After his retirement from the civil service he founded the
Argaman Center, and taught and studied Kabbalah. He seems to have had a very poor opinion of liberal Judaism.
Bibliography
*''Le monocle d’émeraude'' ("The Emerald Monocle"), foreword by
Hélène Vacaresco
Helene or Hélène may refer to: People
*Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name
*Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda
*Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis
*Helene (Ama ...
, Delpeuch, Paris 1924.
*''Le Souffleur'', illustrated by Mouth, Marcelle Lesage, 1927.
*''Figures Passionnées'' ("Impassioned Figures"), Delpeuch, Paris 1930.
*''Les merveilles du Becht'' ("Wonders of Becht"), Lipschutz, Paris 1934.
*''Grands d'Israël'', Rieder, Paris 1938.
*''Cocktail de Fruits'' ("Fruit Cocktail"), Beresniak, Paris 1938.
*''Détresse et Résistance Juives'', M.N.C.R., Grenoble, October 1944.
*''Influences'', Pro Libro, Paris 1949.
*''Max Théon and Cosmic Philosophy'', Cosmic library, 1955.
*''Un itinéraire de Paris à Jérusalem'', Books of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 1963.
*''Shaar Lesodoth Hahitbonenouth'' (in Hebrew), Argaman, Jerusalem, 1981 .
*''In Way of Meditation in the Light of the Kabbala'' (in English), Argaman, Jerusalem, 1981 .
*''Likrat Haboker Hagadol?'' (in Hebrew), Argaman, Jerusalem, 1982 .
*''Si ‘hou Bekhoi Niflotav'' (conversations with Danièle Storper) (in Hebrew), Argaman, Jerusalem 1987.
*''Or ‘Hadash al Tsion'' (in Hebrew), Argaman, Jérusalem, 1987.
*''Visions of the Eternal Present'' (Selections from the Cosmic Works of Max Theon) - (in English), Argaman, Jerusalem, 1991.
*''A l’approche du grand matin'' Argaman, Jérusalem, 1996.
*''Rééditions des Merveilles du Becht'' : Hebrew : Editions Argaman, Jerusalem, 1999. French: Yerid Hasfarim, 6 rue Mea Shearim Jérusalem, 2000
External links and references
Pascal Themanlys- biography on ''Cosmique Review''
*Oscar Laurens Schrover 200
- includes biographical comments
miscellaneous notes, on Kheper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Themanlys, Pascal
1909 births
2000 deaths
Hermetic Qabalists