The Essential Kabbalah [Paperback]

But reading more closely I was surprised by how well Matt manages to cover some of the Kabbalah's central obsessions in such a short space. The intricate patterns of the Sefirot, the notion of God's 'Nothingness', and a more philosophical account of Creation than the version in Genesis all make a concise appearance. Reading authors from different centuries on the same subject helps to reinforce some of the trickier ideas.

The intro and notes lean heavily on Gershom Scholem's more detailed scholarship. I'd have liked to see more passages from the Zohar (the most famous text of Kabbalah, which Matt's translated), and a historical arrangement would appeal to readers looking for more than Chicken Soup for the Soul. But Matt compensates with useful notes and a good bibliography. The translations themselves are clear but not afraid to shy away from knotty philosphical concepts that will have you thinking of parallels from Buddhism to the Big Bang.

The book left me wanting to read more from the texts, which was probably its aim. A helpful start for anyone interested in learning about this fascinating tradition.

According to Prof. Lawrence Fine (one of my professors when he and I were at Indiana University): 'Kabbalah is a mystical tradition filled with radiance, vitality, and spiritual depth. [In Matt's book] we catch a glimpse of the sparks of diving life about which the kabbalists speak.'

'Those who persevere in this wisdom find that when they ponder these teachings many times, knowledge grows within them--an increase of essence. The search always leads to something new.'

Kabbalah has often been a secret, or restricted, knowledge. Some have likened it to a gnostic framework. Some kabbalists would not teach, or indeed even discuss, kabbalistic knowledge and practice with anyone under forty years of age.

'Other requirements included high moral standards, prior rabbinic learning, being married, and mental and emotional stability. The point is not to keep people away from Kabbalah, but to protect them.'

The tendency for people to get lost in spirituality, essentially to get lost in the vastness of God to be found deep within themselves, has been noted in almost every spirituality of maturity throughout history. And many has been the false prophet who entices the unwary and uninitiated into mystical territory only to abandon them there.

The similarity of some practice of Kabbalah and other mystical traditions can be seen in this passage on mental attachment:

'In meditation, everything depends on thought. If your thought becomes attached to any created thing--even something unseen or spiritual, higher than any earthly creature, it is as if you were bowing down to an idol on your hands and knees.'

Kabbalistic practices have not been restricted to Jewish practitioners, either (and I'm not talking about Madonna's recent excursion into the territory). Italian humanist Mirandola found great love for the Latin translation of Kabbalah during the Renaissance, and laid a foundation for a 'Christian' kabbalistic literature, expanded by Johannes Reuchlin and Knorr von Rosenroth (who in turn influenced the likes of Leibniz, Lessing, Swedenborg, and Blake).

Kabbalah, translated from Hebrew, means 'receiving' or 'that which is received'. Kabbalah combines philosophical principles and divine instructions, heavily influenced by Talmud and Torah, infused with a heavy dose of feminine-God imagery, to explore the mysteries of human relationship with God as both father and mother, Lord and lover. There is the tradition that 'Kabbalah conveys our original nature: the unbounded awareness of Adam and Eve.'

Around 1280, Moses de Leon of Spain began circulating literature, based on earlier uncompiled teachings, that merged with other materials into the Zohar, the book of radiance, now considered the canonical text of kabbalistic literature. The Zohar concentrates on the aspects of God in personal naming and attribute (a God-with-us) and the Ein Sof, the endless or infinite (a transcendent God). The Ein Sof incorporates the negative theology of Maimonides:

'The description of God by means of negations is the correct description--a description that is not affected by an indulgence in facile language....With every increase in the negations regarding God, you come nearer to the apprehensions of God.'

Kabbalah heavily influenced Hasidism, an eighteenth century Jewish revivalist movement. Imagery of sparks and fire are prominent in Hasidic teaching and lore; this comes often from kabbalistic texts.

Most of the passages in Matt's book are from the Zohar, translated anew by Matt.