Colors from the Zohar: Drawn from the Classic of Jewish Mysticism [Paperback]

Jerry Winston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1976

Written in "black fire on white fire," this book is a small masterpiece, so compelling that its layers of meaning continue to unfold at every reading. The best gate of entry yet into the Zohar, the crown-jewel of-the Kabbalah, the Bible of the mystics. A remarkable synthesis of scholarship and art. Truly an inspired work!

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

To the mystics, the Scroll of the Sacred Teachings was different from an ordinary book. To them, it was written by the finger of God in black fire on white fire, and contained that which was both hidden and revealed. It was said to consist of layers, and beneath these layers were to be found all the secrets and the mysteries of the universe. But in order to make this discovery, not only the sentences, but the words, even the letters themselves, had to be searched out.

This searching out--this unfolding of the Teachings--gave rise to the mystical tradition known as the Kabbalah. The great literary work of the Kabbalah was the Zohar, which has for years, despite its importance, remained obscure and impenetrable to the English speaking audience--until now.

Rabbi Jerry Winston has immersed himself in this classic work of mysticism and brought forth these Colors From the Zohar. The result is a work of art, shimmering with beauty, stunning with power. Within these pages, the whole world passes through the prismatic imagination of the mystics to shed new light on the mystery of creation and the journey of the soul.

From the Author

The Zohar was originally written in Aramaic. I don't know many people these days who read Aramaic, do you? So the Zohar remains a closed book, or worse, a lost one--unless we translate it into the language of our understanding. That is why I wrote this book: to invite readers to enter the world of the Kabbalah and taste the beauty and the wisdom that is found there.

Traditionally, there were three prerequisites to beginning the study of Kabbalah. You had to be emotionally mature, sexually stable, and firmly grounded in the Foundational Teachings, so as not to lose your way. That is because if approached with impure motives, the Kabbalah is indeed flammable and potentially dangerous. If approached with sincerity and humility, it will yield itself to you, not as a scholar studying a text, but as a petal that holds itself open, waiting for the dew.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 97 pages
• Publisher: Barah Books; First Edition edition (January 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0685747786
• ISBN-13: 978-0685747780
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,604,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VISIONS AND ILLUMINATIONS, November 6, 2001

By 

Gianluca of AstarX (Manteiv, Top-of-the-World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colors from the Zohar: Drawn from the Classic of Jewish Mysticism (Paperback)

Many books have been written which present the Sephiroth, Paths and their symbolism in an intellectual, Hermetic manner; it is the intention of this book to breathe the life of individual creativity into the body of arcane wisdom.

The text is presented in a deliberately upbeat, contemporary style, designed to be accessible to novices as well as to older adepti. This by no means compromises the traditional attributes of the Kabbalistic system, which remain the backbone of the text. Accurate traditional information is presented throughout the book, and from this sure foundation both author and reader are free to extrapolate.