Simple kabbalah

Kim Zetter

Book - 1999

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2nd Floor 296.16/Zetter Due Apr 24, 2024
Subjects
Published
Berkeley, Calif. : Conari Press c1999.
Language
English
Main Author
Kim Zetter (-)
Physical Description
xiv, 203 p. : ill. ; 19 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 203).
ISBN
9781573241700
  • List of Illustrations
  • Foreword
  • 1. What Is Kabbalah?
  • 2. A Brief History of Kabbalah
  • 3. Some Key Principles of Kabbalah
  • 4. Understanding Genesis
  • 5. The Tree of Life
  • 6. Practical Kabbalah
  • Numerical Chart of the Hebrew Alphabet
  • Glossary
  • For Further Reading
  • Acknowledgments
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

To convert complex spiritual ideas to clear, lucid terms, Conari Press established the Simple Wisdom series. Simple Kabbalah follows comparable books on Feng Shui and Meditation in attempting to make esoteric topics readily accessible. Kabbalah, or "received tradition," is the Jewish mystical answer to all questions about God, people and the universe, supposedly hidden within the Hebrew Scripture. Kabbalists devote themselves to unraveling these secrets. Zetter, a journalist who specializes in Jewish affairs, began studying Kabbalah 10 years ago when she lived in Israel. She provides a straightforward explanation of Kabbalah and then offers a brief history, beginning in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the canonical text of Kabbalah, the Book of Zohar, appeared. Next, she sets forth key principles of Kabbalah and examines the text of Genesis to demonstrate the techniques Kabbalists use to unearth deeper meanings in received traditions. A chapter is devoted to the Tree of Life, the crucial symbol of Kabbalah, and the book concludes by exploring Kabbalah's significance for human behavior. The labyrinthine mysteries of Kabbalah remain perplexing, but this book is a useful introduction for those who wish to investigate arcane elements of Jewish theology and philosophy. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

This latest entry in the "Simple Wisdom" series has the courageous goal of attempting to make the notoriously forbidding practices and ideas of Jewish mysticism of the Kabbalah "simple." Zetter, a longtime journalist on Jewish and Israeli topics, has done an admirable job making Kabbalah accessible, with clear descriptions of the history of Kabbalah, its theology, and of the mystical Tree of Life at its center. Highly recommended, especially for collections where Jewish topics are in demand. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A better title might be 'Jewish Mysticism for Dummies.' Zetter, sometime contributor to the Los Angeles Times and Jerusalem Post, summarizes Jewish mystical teachings for an audience of nonspecialists and seekers. Her first five chapters provide an adequate introduction: she walks readers through some of the key kabbalistic texts, and we also meet figures from the history of Kabbalah. Readers will become acquainted with a few central kabbalistic concepts'that God created and destroyed seven worlds before ours, that creation is ongoing, that God created the universe through ten ``emanations'' or ``forces'' (sefirot). The volume culminates in a final chapter about ``practical Kabbalah.'' Here, Zetter falls down. Ostensibly addressing the relevance Kabbalah has to postmoderns, the book degenerates into holistic pap: ``When we exhibit lovingkindness, we heal the world because acts of lovingkindness bring unification''; ``To experience a Gevurah [strength] consciousness, Kabbalists advise us to examine areas of our life that are out of balance . . . eating too much or watching too much TV . . . . Instead of eating a bag of potato chips for an evening snack, we might want to opt for something healthier.'' Instead of exploring, say, the ways Jews in the Jewish Renewal movement are integrating kabbalistic teachings into their worship services, Zetter ends on a weak note: Random Acts of Kindness with a faintly Jewish flavor. (6 illustrations)

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.