An Introduction to the Kabbalah »

This book acquaints the reader with the world of the Kabbalah. The first part discusses the Kabbalist as a person: the personal transmission of Kabbalistic traditions, the Kabbalist's qualities and qualifications, prerequisites and early preparations, risks and achievements, as well as techniques for uncovering mysteries and the sources of revelations. The second part deals with the major themes in the teachings of the Kabbalah, such as the doctrine of the Sefirot, the Sitra-Ahra - good and evil, the creation of the world, the status of the Torah and its commandments, the doctrine of the soul and the transmigration of souls. In treating these issues, the book also notes the assimilation of Kabbalistic notions in Jewish religious customs.

Library Journal

There has been a veritable flood of books on Jewish mysticism in recent years. Many New Age practitioners are attracted to Jewish mysticism, with its emphasis on spirituality, meditation, nature, and even ecology. Hallamish (Jewish mysticism, Bar-Ilan Univ., Israel) has tapped into this trend and produced a readable overview of the main teachings of the Kabbalah, a shorthand expression for Jewish mystical experience. Hallamish discusses techniques for exploring mysticism, mystical doctrines, and the evolution of mystical thought. Scholars will especially appreciate this solid study, though informed lay readers will enjoy it, too. Libraries already owning either Kenneth Hanson's Kabbalah: Three Thousand Years of Mystic Tradition (LJ 10/15/98) or Neil Asher Silberman's Heavenly Powers: Unraveling the Secret Power of the Kabbalah (LJ 10/15/98) can pass. General readers may also enjoy David Cooper's God Is a Verb (Riverhead, 1997), which is more of a how-to manual on Jewish mysticism.--Paul M. Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL