Gershom Scholem (1897 – 1982) was a German philosopher and historian. Widely regarded as the founder of modern academic study of the Kabbalah, Scholem was appointed the first professor of Jewish mysticism at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Major Academic Works
•Das Buch Bahir (1923): Based on his doctoral thesis analyzing the oldest known kabbalistic text, Sefer ha-Bahir.
•Bibliographia Kabbalistica (1927): A foundational German bibliography mapping out vast collections of known Kabbalistic literature.
•Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941): Extracted from his groundbreaking lectures in New York, this seminal text provides a comprehensive history of Jewish mysticism from the early Merkabah era to Hasidism.
•Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition (1960):
An analytical study establishing the deep historical roots of Jewish mysticism within early rabbinic literature.
•Ursprung und Anfänge der Kabbala (1962): Published later in English as Origins of the Kabbalah (1987), this book reconstructs the early medieval genesis of Kabbalistic literature.
•Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah, 1626–1676 (1973): His massive, definitive biography detailing the rise and profound impact of the 17th-century Sabbatean messianic movement.

Key Essay Collections & Source books:
• Zohar, the Book of Splendor (1949): A curated selection of basic readings from the seminal text of Jewish mysticism, edited and introduced by Scholem.
•On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism (1965): Compiled largely from his lectures at the prestigious Eranos gatherings, offering profound insights into the inner mythology of Kabbalah.
•The Messianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality (1971): A broad collection of essays dealing with Jewish eschatology, crises, and historical shifts.
•Kabbalah (1974): A comprehensive consolidation of Scholem's extensive contributions to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, tracking its history, concepts, and primary texts.
•On Jews and Judaism in Crisis: Selected Essays (1976): A direct exploration of German-Jewish identity, assimilation, and early Zionist intellectual discourse.
•On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah (1991): Six complex, deeply researched essays investigating core theological structures such as the Sefirot and the feminine aspect of the divine (the Shekhinah).