The Seventh Telling: The Kabbalah of Moeshe Kapan

by Mitchell Chefitz

Book Overview

The Seventh Telling is a journey into the Kabbalah, a spiritual discipline hidden within the folds of Jewish history. Stephanie and Sidney have been studying with Moshe Katan, a kabbalist who shared... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312289227
• ISBN13: 9780312289225
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A transformative experience

I don't know why this book called my name as I chanced upon it at a bookstore. But, it did. I picked it up, began reading, read at every opportunity, ordered the sequel before I was finished, moved right on to the sequel, and am now re-reading the first book. I even e-mailed Mitchell Chefitz (he answered my e-mail, by the way). I hardly recognize myself.This book is transformative. It took this hard-headed realist into the nature of mysticism, slowly, evenly and intelligently. (I think the ancient kabbalists were on to quantum mechanics well before the 20th century physicists were.) It can be read on so many levels that there is something in it for everybody. It changed my view of death. Read it.

A story with many levels for understanding and enjoying

This is a powerful,beautifully written novel that has the ability to speak to the reader in many different ways. The first time I read it was for pleasure and I could not put it down. I literally finished the last page and went back to the first page to read it again. Each reading has given me a different level of understanding and I am sure that when I read it again I will learn on still another level. What a rarity for Kabballah to be made so accessible and what a surprise to have it in the form of a very readable novel. You will be swept up in the lives of the characters and captivated by the stories. I am looking forward to the sequel that is due out next year!

WOW! A book to read and re-read

A wonderful read, a book to be read on many levels and thoroughly engaging from beginning to end. I loaned a copy to my Mom of 83 who after reading it won't return it because she wants to re-read it again. I doubt I'll get it back...ever! This has happened two more times with friends! The reader becomes such a genuine part of the story and I didn't realize that at the beginning. There is a "story," and within there is almost a manual for learning Kaballah. It is hard to go to bed while reading this,you just don't want to put it down. A compelling book that I would very much recommend to anyone who is looking for something absolutely exceptional. The characters are real, they are people we can relate too and we come to care about them. The time spent reading is so worthwhile!Don't hestiate to purchase this book as you'll be going back to it again and again. I am ready to purchase the next book the second it comes out in print! The author has insight, knowledgethat his can effectively transmit and a remarkable ability to tell a thoroughly wonderful story. You'll absolutely be hearing a lot more of this new novelist!

Captivating message of healing and life changing

What is Kabbalah? What is the purpose of doing it? How is it different from other spiritual disciplines? How is it similar to psychotherapy, yet different? These are complex questions that cannot be answered simply. However, this book has tried a new and not so new approach - storytelling. Inspired by Talmudic tradition, the Bible, ancient Jewish Kabbalistic texts, and modern spiritualist Rabbis such as Shlomo Carlebach and and Zalman Schachter, we get an introduction to Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, through the retelling of the life of the fictional Moshe Katan. The retelling, which is also very much about Moshe's wife Rivkah, is carried out to a select group of students by a couple who are friends of Moshe and Rivkah, Stephanie and Sidney. In the process of the retelling, we get a direct example of how learning comes through storytelling by watching Stephanie and Sidney's lives transformed, and the lives of other characters as well. We follow Moshe from his days as Michael Kaytan, wayward and bored young student, who gets accepted into MIT on a fluke, his talent to detect the pattern in an otherwise random field, who winds up in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, studies in a Yeshivah in Israel, and finally becomes an ordained rabbi in the U.S., a commodities trader, spiritual counselor, and teacher. The first half of the book is mostly narrative, while the second half, although continuing the narrative and the storytelling, is also a beginner's guide into Kabbalistic philosophy, terminology, and meditation techniques. A point not to be overlooked, is that Moshe's mystical pursuit is not done in isolation and that the spiritual community that he creates around him and the people with whom he prays and celebrates Jewish life, first as an official Rabbi, then small 'r" rabbi, then just Moshe, alternately referred to as Havurah or Minyan, is very much a part of it. As Moshe reminds people, we individuals are not the center of the universe, we are a part of the continuum. Moshe also makes the point that one does not have to be Jewish or know Hebrew to practice Kabbalah. There is a detailed glossary of terms (Kabbalistic, Jewish ritual, and Hebrew) at the end of the book, which is quite useful, and also keeps the flow of the story from being interrupted.I truly commend the author for the painstaking work of this book. It is an act of humility and love. It never becomes preachy or dictatorial, rather seeks to suggest, to inspire, and provide guideposts for further study to anyone who is interested in a deeper and truer connection with the creator, the mysteries of creation, and doing some very real healing in the here and now.

The Seventh Telling works on many levels

The Seventh Telling is a remarkable book that "works" on many levels. It introduces and explains kabbalistic thought in a very accessible way, and demonstrates how the theory can be put into practice by modern people. However, unlike other guides, this one is also a gripping story, in several layers, whose characters are compellingly human and complex. As we engage in the multiple narratives, we experience the power of the "telling" to open our consciousness to new insights. We are invited to accompany Moshe Katan, the protagonist, as he explores the relationship among the worlds of action, feeling, thought, and pure emanation in his daily life, as well as through the practice of kabbalistic meditation. For those who, for whatever reason, will never directly experience the power of this practice to change oneself and the world, reading The Seventh Telling the next best thing.Ruth Goldston