the Qlippoth, Nazis, Pynchon

[Eric Alan Weinstein]

At 11:46 26/02/97 -0800, you wrote:

> Kabbalah is one 
>of the most fully developed mystical traditions, and it is Jewish; what 
>would that mean to spiritualist Nazis?  What would the Qlippoth, 
>specifically, mean to Nazis? 

This is one of the points provoking my imagination as I do that
crazy thing, trying to imagine Pynchon imagining, writing GR.
I'm also interested in this idea that there is a spectrum of 
representation and symbolic meaning for Qlippoth in the
Kabbalistic tradition.  Tempering this with the uncertain degree
of Pynchon's own understanding at the time of writing GR.

I take it however that ideas of Kabbalah were/are transmuted,
transformed by the A Crowley crowd, and bear uncertain
relation to the teaching of G.I.Gurjieff, and his circle, both
of whom also may factor into any understanding of 'context'
for Pynchon, with appropriate grains of salt/mountains of irony/
depths of appreciation.

With the nodes flying through so many systems,
historical, theological, theosophical, I am once more glad
for TRP's humor, which for me is like the grace of movement
the hands of an expert juggler display.  
  
Perhaps my friend Jeremy Cranswick can enlighten at some 
point, if he is peering into the list.


> I know that antisemitic tradition uses 
>Kabbalah to accuse Jews of sorcery and of conspiracy 
>(our word "cabal," of course). 

Thanks again,
Eric Alan Weinstein
Centre For English Studies
University Of London
E.A.Weinstein at qmw.ac.uk