45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Common Sense Qabalah--Practical approach to The Tree of Life, March 22, 2003
This review is from: The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford: Dilettante's Guide to What You Do and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist (Paperback)
Finally, a book that explains The Qabalah in a user-friendly, comprehensible format! I highly recommend The Chicken Qabalah to anyone interested in the subjects of; Qabalah, Magick, Masonry, Astrology, Tarot, etc. This wonderful Treatise on the subject explains The Qabalah in a fun, entertaining manner that sort-of tricks you into learning the subject.
Most books about The Qabalah (Cabalah, Kabalah...spell it however you want, and don't worry about it) will put you to sleep-thus are not conducive to teaching the subject. However, The Good Rabbi has figured-out a way to trick us into staying-awake long-enough not-only to get through a chapter, but THE ENTIRE BOOK !
My wife and I both finished this book very quickly-in fact, we could not put it down. After reading the book, my wife made some wonderful Qabalah Flash Cards, based-upon The Good Rabbi's work, "777" (Crowley --ISBN: 0877286701) and "Paths of Wisdom," by John Michael Greer (ASIN: 1567183158 ). We have found this is the easiest way to learn Qabalistic Correspondences, The Hebrew Alphabet, etc. My wife's idea was brilliant and we now have requests for the Flash Cards, from other would-be Chicken Qabalists.
"The Chicken Qabalah" is, without question, the most fascinating book I have ever read, on the subject! Anyone who can make The Qabalah interesting as The Good Rabbi has should get a Gold Medal, or...perhaps, a Gold Chicken award.
I will treasure my copy of "The Chicken Qabalah" and give it a clear-contact-paper cover to protect it on it's journey about the house-it doesn't take a Psychic to see that this book will be a constant resource / reference in my studies and will rarely find it's way back to the bookshelf.
For anyone who has ever been interested in The Qabalah, but doesn't want to grow old and grey trying to figure it out-or, for anyone who has tried and fell-asleep or become frustrated-this is the best book to acquire, for an introductory course and an exciting, humorous read! Besides, The Rabbi has figured it all out for us, and explained it with diagrams / illustrations, so don't worry about it.
You'll laugh, you'll cry....you'll mutter to yourself, "well, I'll be damned !" Often, you may find yourself slapping your forehead, and proclaiming, "Duh." (Illumination is like that, sometimes). Also, you will find yourself learning the Hebrew letters despite yourself....I do not want to give it away (so to speak), but the methods The Rabbi uses to teach the Hebrew Letters are unforgettable.
If I were to give this book a short description, it would be "Common Sense Qabalah."
Disclaimer:
For anyone, who feels the need to inform me that only one version of The Qabalah is correct...or believes only one organization is correct...or that "Western Qabalah isn't `real' Kabbalah"...or doesn't approve of the Rabbi's style...I only have one thing to say,
"I'm a Chicken Qabalist, and I don't worry about it."
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I finally broke down and read it..........., April 12, 2003
This review is from: The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford: Dilettante's Guide to What You Do and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist (Paperback)
Well, I am a physician and spent years learnig about authentic Jewish Kabbalah. Learned biblical hebrew from a rabbi, own most of the major texts and have been studying for 12+ years. While I was vaguely familiar with Qabalah I had been avoiding it since I had so many bad experiences with the Occult version of this mystical system. Well, a few months ago the universe kept trying to get me to read this book. I laughted and said you have got to be kidding me and blew it off repeatedly for about 3 months. Finally I broke down one day in boredom and bought it thinking "You have to be kidding me. No one can make fun of a spiritual system and effectively teach it. This should at least be good for a laugh" Boy was I wrong. It was a fast entertaining read that taught me many things. First it is traditionally accurate to the best of my knowledge. The Tarot section alone was worth it. For years I had read the Tarot was Kabbalistic but no one touched the subject any further. In 20 pages Lon had me hooked and trained. I literally finished it in an airport and was so deep in thought for 3 hours I almost missed my flight. I have since authored my own course with all the connections I have learned prior to this. The text alone is well over 200 pages of correspondence material. And I had such a great time laughing. I do feel that sometimes his explainations were too simplistic but for people with no background the ideas still communicate the essence. As you go along they will flesh out later into more depthy understanding. Read this book for he Tarot section and Ark of the Covenant section alone if for no other reason and prepare to have a fantastic ride of pure spiritual entertainment and learning. :-)
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40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mini-Masterpiece from a Modern Master!, October 10, 2001
This review is from: The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford: Dilettante's Guide to What You Do and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist (Paperback)
The Chicken Qabalah
Of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford
By Lon Milo DuQuette
Samuel Weiser, 2001
Reviewed by Poke Runyon
After some thirty years of studying, practicing and even daring to
teach what is called "Hermetic Qabalah" (or Kabbalah or Cabala, or
what ever ) I was recently confronted by a person (not even Jewish)
who condescendingly informed me that the word was pronounced
"Kab-ah-LAH" and that if I had not studied it under a bone fide Rabbi
I really knew nothing about it. Even though I had taken a class in
Jewish mysticism in college from a real Rabbi, that didn't seem to be
good enough. I was a "Chicken Qabalist" and I was made to feel as if I
should sit in the back of the metaphysical bus.
Before the mid-1970s we Hermetic qabalists lived in a happy dream
world where we thought we actually were studying and practicing a
deeply profound system of spiritual growth and magical attainment
based on long-forgotten medieval Jewish and renaissance Rosicrucian
roots. We had no idea the "real" Kab-ah-LAH had no Tarot cards, no
Pagan Gods (certainly no Pagan Goddesses!), very little astrology, and
absolutely no magick. But then came our sad awakening. Faced with too
many brilliant young people committing themselves to various forms of
Eastern mysticism, Jewish Biblical and Talmudic scholars, led by
Greshom Scholem and followed by Aryeh Kaplan, dusted off and
refurbished the old, nearly forgotten orthodox Jewish kabbalah.
We Hermetic qabalists (if we even dared to call ourselves qabalists
at this point ) were now second class metaphysical citizens.
What we desperately needed was our own Rabbi --- a roly-poly, white
bearded, good-natured esoteric sage who would tell us: "Hey, it's okay
to be a Chicken Qabalist. Have all the Tarot cards and magick you
want. The qabalah is for everybody! Enjoy!"
And that is exactly what Maestro Lon Milo DuQuette has given us in the
"pseudepigraphic" personage of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford. Ben Clifford
is an iconoclastic, renegade scholar who teaches the students of his
school (the Zerubbabel Institute of Philosophical Youth; 'Z.I.P.Y')
all the basics of the qabalah we know and love --- with delightful humor
and wonderfully cogent analogies. For example: the theory
of the Four Worlds of descending creative emanations is explained as a
four story building where chairs are
conceived, designed, manufactured, and finally put
in the show room on the bottom floor.
But don't make the mistake of thinking that Ben Clifford (or DuQuette)
is dumbing down the qabalah; far from it! Lon DuQuette has already
established himself as one of the leading exponents of Hermetic
qabalah and magick. His "Chicken Qabalah" is rib tickling but it is
also profound---and I make bold to suggest that he can make a deep
concept-such as The Four Parts of the Soul (Chia, Neshamah, Ruach, and
Nepesh) more grokable than Greshom Scholem or Aryeh Kaplan ---
even to Jewish readers.
That brings up another key point: this book is not a "They have
theirs" and "We have ours" sort of presentation. The intent and the
humor is not irreverent and certainly not anti-Jewish. Actually this
review is more critical of the second-class status imposed on Hermetic
qabalah than either Lon, or his Ben Clifford, have been in the book
itself. The Chicken Qabalah should be a delightful read for interested
people of all religious backgrounds. It forms a light-hearted, but
deeply meaningful, bridge between two systems of qabalah that have
recently drifted apart.
Last but not least, it provides those of us who have been immersed in
Hermeitc qabalah for years with a delightfully humorous review of
basics (and profound principles) that we would otherwise not bother to
undertake, given the dry nature of the previously published material.
All considered, The Chicken Qabalah is a mini-masterpiece from a
Master with a twinkle in his eye.
Poke Runyon
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