The Way into Jewish Mystical Tradition »

The Way Into Jewish Mystical Tradition, guided by Lawrence Kushner, explains the principles of Jewish mystical thinking, their religious and spiritual significance, and how they relate to our lives. Kushner offers us a step-by-step exploration of:

• What "Jewish mysticism" means—the key concepts in mysticism, with classic texts to explore and learn from.
• Why mysticism is a part of the modern Jewish experience.
• The goals of mysticism, and how they relate to broader Jewish spirituality.

Here is a book that allows us to experience and understand the Jewish mystical approach to our place in the world.

Publishers Weekly

Jewish Lights adds another installment to its The Way Into... series with this examination of Jewish mysticism, which fails to live up to the standard of earlier volumes on such subjects as prayer and God. While those books each succeeded in presenting a basic introduction to one important concept in Judaism, most readers will find that Jewish mysticism continues to be a mystery after reading Kushner's murky primer. This is a shame, since Kushner is a genuine expert on Jewish mysticism and has authored much better books (Honey from the Rock; The River of Light) on the subject. Here, he relies largely on "classical texts" that turn on unfathomable passages drawn mostly from obscure 18th-century Hasidic rebbes. The material is organized into three parts, based on his division of Psalm 19 into a "triptych of Jewish mystical tradition." Throughout, Kushner offers 50 "Jewish mystical ideas": phrases, words or brief biblical quotations that are supposedly explained by the citations from the Hasidic rebbes. Some attempts at clarification become gross oversimplifications; for example, Kushner confounds Jewish mysticism with political activism, asserting that the mysticism of Abraham Joshua Heschel, "like most Jewish mysticism, was one of political activism." Such dubious statements are disappointing in a work that ought to elucidate the Jewish mystical tradition, not shroud it in further layers of obfuscation. (May) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

	Acknowledgments
	Introduction	1
1	Presence	9
1	God's presence is the fullness of all the world
2	The power of the Creator within each created thing
3	There is no place without God's presence
4	The light of the Divine Presence is everywhere
2	Nothing	17
5	My help will come from Nothing
6	Every moment God sustains all creation!
7	God is God and there is nothing else
8	Upper unity, lower unity
9	Something from Nothing
10	Attaining the level of Nothingness
3	Name	35
11	One Without End
12	The Name of Being, the Ineffable Name
13	The entire Torah is composed of Names of God
14	Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth
4	Truth	51
15	Each day the Torah calls us in love
16	The whole world is made of letters
17	God created the world with the Torah
18	The sound of almost breathing
19	How to say (your own) Torah
5	Organism	71
20	The inverted tree
21	Sefirot
22	The worlds of separation and unity
23	Ayn Sof withdrew itself
24	I have created, I have formed, I have even made
25	Those who walk within rivers of fire
6	Consciousness	87
26	Hidden light
27	The business with Ezekiel's chariot
28	The four who entered the orchard
29	The other side
30	I will surely hide My face
31	The secret wisdom of Kabbalah
7	Person	107
32	Self
33	No two human beings are alike
34	Returning to your source
35	Descent for the sake of ascent
36	Self-annihilation
37	A human being who contains all creation
8	Deed	119
38	Restoring the universe
39	Unio Mystica
40	For the sake of unifying God
41	Awakening below causes awakening on high
42	Our service fulfills a cosmic need
43	To sense the sacred
9	Yearning	137
44	It's all from the One of Blessing
45	I have set the Lord before me continually
46	Every single utterance is an entire universe
47	Rapture
48	The time of the Messiah
49	Shabbat: A taste of the world to come
50	You shall be holy
	Epilogue	157
	Notes	165
	Glossary	169
	Suggestions for Further Reading	173
	Index	177
	About Jewish Lights Publishing	193