An Introduction to the Kabbalah

by Moshe Hallamish, Ruth Bar-Ilan (Translator), Ora Wiskind-Elper (Translator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791440124
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	12/03/1998
Series:	SUNY series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	379
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Moshe Hallamish is Full Professor of Jewish Mysticism, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He has authored and edited many books, and is editor of DAAT, a journal of Jewish Philosophy and Kabballah.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part One: The Kabbalah and its Attainment

1. Mysticism and the Kabbalah
2. The Kabbalist and His Kabbalah
3. Prerequisites
4. Early Preparations
5. The Dangers Facing the Mystic
6. Techniques of Exploring Mysteries
7. Evaluation of the Kabbalah
8. The Origins of the Revelations

Part Two: The Basic Concepts of the Kabbalah

9. The Doctrine of the Sefirot
10. Good and Evil
11. The Doctrine of Creation
12. The Torah
13. The Doctrine of the Soul
14. The Doctrine of Transmigration

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Indexes

Editorial Reviews

"An Introduction to the Kabbalah is a lucid, scintillating guide to the esoteric teachings of Judaism. The book is very readable without sacrificing scholarly sophistication." — Daniel Matt, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley; Author of The Essential Kabbalah and God and the Big Bang

"This is an important work. It provides an overview of the world of Jewish mysticism with particular attention to the issues that are philosophically generated within that tradition. It examines these issues in a phenomenological way, free of the historiographical approach practiced by many students of Gershom Scholem. The book addresses a number of significant aspects of Jewish mysticism in light of their relationship to general Jewish thought, not in the light of other traditions. It also provides the newcomer to the field with important sources from across the historical continuum of the Kabbalah." — Pinchas Giller, Washington University

From the Publisher

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

Library Journal

Being older than 40 with years of Torah study under one's belt no longer appears to be requisite for the practice of Kabbalah, Judaism's mystical tradition. Eschewing a historical approach in this introductory text, Halamish (Jewish mysticism, Bar-Ilan U, Israel) first discusses the personal attainment of Kabbalah: the Kabbalist's qualifications, preparation, risks, techniques of exploring spiritual mysteries, and sources of revelations. Basic concepts are then accessed: doctrines of the Sefirot, creation, soul, and transmigration as well as the nature of good and evil. Translated from the Hebrew. Indexed by name and title, but not subject. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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