The Practice of Kabbalah: Meditation in Judaism

By Steven A. Fisdel

The Practice of Kabbalah: Meditation in Judaism emphasizes meditation within Judaism as the practical core of Jewish mysticism. In this volume, Rabbi Steven Fisdel explores, Jewish meditation practices as the experiential side of Kabbalah and therefore as one of the primary sources for the development of the mystic thought and belief in Judaism. This work focuses on a variety of mystic traditions within Kabbalah that relate directly to meditative practice. It incorporates several different schools of thought and represents various periods in the development of Kabbalah. Among the traditions included for elucidation are the mysticism of the Hebrew alphabet, the Ayin meditation of Dov Baer of Mezeritch and Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, as well as selections from the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar. The Practice of Kabbalah is designed to assist the reader in learning to extract meditation practices from the text of kabbalistic classics with the understanding that profound mystical and theological insight often comes from spiritual experience. This experience (regardless of whether it leads to or results from contemplation and thought) often emerges from deep meditation. In this volume, Rabbi Fisdel carefully explains meditation practices that represent direct illustration of all the principles and schools of thought covered in this work. For additional reference, the appendix contains a series of graduated meditations designed to assist the reader in developing greater proficiency in meditation. The Practice of Kabbalah is the result of twenty-five years of intense study, personal experience, and teaching. The doctrines and practices described in this original work are drawn directly and exclusively from traditional Jewish sources. Both the novice and the experienced meditator will benefit from the variety of meditations included here that allow for their integration into any meditation regimen.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568215088
• ISBN13: 9781568215082
• Release Date: July 1996
• Publisher: Jason Aronson
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"