The Shambhala Guide to Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism

by Perle Besserman

Book Overview

Jewish mystics from biblical times to the present have explored the hidden secrets of the Torah in quest of a single goal: to lose the self in the Infinite "No-thingness" (Ein Sof) and be at one with God. In language accessible to the layperson, this Shambhala Guide provides a detailed introduction to the complex world of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. With an extensive background in meditation practice, Perle Besserman emphasizes Kabbalah's spiritual...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570622159
• ISBN13: 9781570622151
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A history of Jewish mysticism rather than a primer

While the author of this book is thorough in her explanations of the origins and history of Jewish mysticism, I was expecting an introductory text on mysticism based on the title. If you are curious about mysticism's history I would recommend it, but if it is a kabbalah primer you seek, please look elsewhere.

Great Background not hands on how to.

This book presents a history of Jewish Mysticism from Rabbi Akiva and Merhabah (throne mysticism), Safed to Hassidism and the Baal Shem Tov. Epstein presents a view of Safed, as a Jewish Shangri-La, as a center of creation of Kababalist tradition five centuries ago. "Because of its communal nature, Jewish mystical practice presents a double burden: one must not only learn to cleave to God, but he must take the entire community, the entire creation with him.". The largest part of this book is on Kabbalist practices, with an introduction to the path of the spheres; path of the letters; and path of ecstasy. The introductory tales of Rabbi Akiva, presents how ridiculous it is to someone to "casually" pick of Kabballah, and that should not be the intent of the reader. This is not a how to book, but rather an exploration of different practices. She presents interesting parallels between the Jewish saint (tzaddik), and the Buddhist bodhisattva as well as parallels to Taoist meditation. . I found this to be a good accompaniment to The Teaching Company course on "The Mystical Tradition".

An Excellent Primer

Murder in Moab Murder in Moab It has been said that Judaism is a religion that became a people. If so, then God must be at the very center of the Jews' psyche. Their history with G_d has been a tortuous journey and the orthographic G_d acknowledges that He is, finally, unknowable. Then, also, His ways, and His timing, must be inscrutable. The First Temple was destroyed in the year 560 BCE; most of the Jews exiled to Babylonia and ten tribes disappeared. In the year 70 CE all but the west wall of the Second Temple was pulled down by the Romans and the Jews scattered to the winds, ethnographic remnants found in modern times as far away as South Africa and Burma. According to Jewish tradition G_d himself did these disasters, in anger at His chosen people for broken covenants. How does one understand a god who is at once indescribable, one whose name you cannot even speak, but one who manifests Himself so disastrously in the lives of the Chosen? How does one dare approach the unapproachable? After all, only three humans, Adam, Eve, and Moses have, or ever will, stood or ever will stand in His presence. What could someone so small and insignificant as a Jewish philosopher named Ibn Gabirol in eleventh-century Spain hope for? How could he find a way to pierce the veil, to understand the unknowable? The worst feeling in the world is of being lost. Even worse is that of being purposely abandoned. Imagine the terror of a child suddenly finding itself separated from its parents at a crowded mall. Many know the desperate pain of divorce or, worse, the death of a loved one. But only Jews have known the unimaginable divorce of themselves from G_d. And that twice. Now we imagine reconciliation. Try to image a man, Gabirol or some other Jewish mystic, on a night meditation in eleventh-century Spain. There are some large beeswax candles throwing lemon-and-apricot colored light on his ritual phylacteries and shawl. The scent of orange blossoms waft through Moorish arched window to where he sits, rocking, his chin held tightly to his chest, tears flowing freely as he gulps spasmodically in a meditation practice already more than three thousand years old. His conscious mind scatters with the pain of a longing for communion. He begins to fall, float, fly above the chaos, then falls into the center of it! This is his mind, his very psyche where he is whirling, is being tossed uncontrollably. It is the madness of a second intentional abandonment by G_d, one that has lasted seven hundred years. This is the horrifying psychic chaos Zim Zum. Then, in this abstract world, down the rabbit hole, the sensitive soul sees spheres begin to coalesce into a pattern. Almost as the Creator began his world out of nothingness, ten aspects of G_d begin to reveal themselves as a tree: Malkuth, or its feminine equivalent Shekkina, is the trunk, then the canopy makes itself up of Yesod/foundation, Hod/majesty, Netsah//endurance, Rahamim/compassion, Gevurah or Din, Hesed/love and me

"...and above me is the divine radiance of God."

Named for the mythical (?) and mystical kingdom in the East, Shambhala Publications is known for bringing some of the greatest and sometimes most obscure philosophical writings of Mankind to the attention of the general public. Heavily (though not exclusively) concerned with Buddhist and Taoist thought, Shambhala Pocket Classics are an attractive set of unabridged minibooks which fit comfortably in a shirt pocket, making them perfect for reading on planes, trains, and automobiles. Titles in the set include THE BOOK OF TEA, THE ART OF PEACE, ZEN FLESH, ZEN BONES, THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, TAO TE CHING, POEMS BY EMILY DICKINSON, THE ART OF WAR, and this volume, edited by Perle Besserman, THE WAY OF THE JEWISH MYSTICS. A compendium of thought on such subjects as the nature of the Godhead, the purpose of human life, the essence of spiritual practice, and finding holiness in the mundane, THE WAY OF THE JEWISH MYSTICS is a splendid introduction to Kabbalah, from whence most of its readings are taken. The fascinating thing about THE WAY OF THE JEWISH MYSTICS is the universatility of its message: Nothing in these pages would be alien to Lao-Tzu, Hakuin, or Ueshiba O'Sensei, and certainly not Jesus; often the words are identical. For readers unfamiliar with Jewish spiritual writings, THE WAY OF THE JEWISH MYSTICS serves as a fine compass within this esoteric and little-known region of the human heart.

Daily Meditations Collection of Kabbalistic Stories, Prayers

I have been a big fan of this book through several editions. I teach introductory classes on Kabbalah, and have found this book very helpful to both Jews and non-Jews who want a book with short, meaningful daily meditations on Kabbalistic stories, prayers, and spiritual advice. The author studied for years with a number of well-known Kabbalah teachers, and her careful selections of brief items from the Kabbalah make it more accessible to harried modern readers with heavily congested schedules.

This wasn't what I was expecting

I bought this book believing it would teach how to practise the Kabbalah.This book is more a history of Kabbalistic though and practises since the middle ages.If you want to learn the history of the Kabbalah this is a very good book, and is clearly written.If you want to learn to practise the Kabbalah keep looking. This is the seventh Kabbalaistic book I have read, and I can not recommend any of the others in clear conscience. I have have heard good things about "9 1/2 mystics:..." but I have not read that one yet.I will say one thing the "the tree of life" on page 15, and other places does not match the tree of life diagrams in other kabbalistic books I have read.Please E-mail me if you have questions or comments about my review. Two Bears.Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)