Skeptical Strategies used by Simone Luzzatto and Leon Modena in their Examinations of Kabbalah

The Venetian rabbis Simone Luzzatto (1583-1663) and Leon Modena (1571-1648) adopted a critical approach towards Kabbalah; and yet their criticism was manifested in different ways. While Leon Modena devoted an entire book written in Hebrew, his Ari Nohem (“Roaring Lion”), to a comprehensive and sharp attack on Kabbalah, Simone Luzzatto included merely a few pages in his Discorso circa il stato degli Hebrei et in particular dimoranti nell’inclita città di Venetia (“Discourse Concerning the Condition of the Jews, and in particular those living in the Fair City of Venice”) where he presented in Italian apparently only several basic concepts and historical data of Kabbalah. In my paper, I will compare and discuss various sceptical strategies inherent in their examination of Kabbalah. Thus, I will present the complex relationship between the purpose of the writing, the choice of language, the addressed audience, the modes of publication and sceptical strategies.