Customer Reviews

Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow

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Rabbi Green, has written this book as a exposition of his personal Jewish mystical theology. The book is intended for the Jewish mystical seeker, who is dissatisfied with traditional normative Judaism. It is a liberal perspective, although to be fair, Green is definately on the right wing of the Jewish Renewal movement.

The book lays out the system of sfirot, olamot, and shemot in basic terms, provides some guided meditations, provides a negative critique of Lurianic kabbalah (too complicated to be useful), provides a fairly useful summary of the modern day issues for mysticism and halacha to solve (some would say fads).

He is providing a Jewish mystical framework divorced from tradition in order to attract Jews who would otherwise be studying Buddhism or other Eastern religious traditions. The purpose is to address the mystical experience within a post-modern context. He rejects a traditional normative understanding of God and Torah. Instead, he uses mysticism to develop an alternative.

The book is definately rooted in the Age of Aquarius. Green was one of the founders of the Havurah movement back in 1968. It attempts to graft modern (post-modern?) counter-culture onto Judaism. Even down to a wise-crack about Republican Jews.

The book very much fits with the goals of the Jewish Renewal movement. Although, in his chapter on sources for further study, he is much more respectful of traditional sources than many of the leaders of Jewish Renewal after the passing of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the hassidic Rabbi who founded the movement.

Rabbi Green is also the author of the companion introduction to the translation of the Zohar being prepared by Daniel Matt at Stanford University. That introduction is an excellent one to the system of kabbalah in the Zohar.

Arthur Green has a writing style wich feels as though you are having a fireside talk with an older,very wise man (don't know if that's how he is but that's how he comes across).There where several points in this book where I had to put it down because the points he elucidated where so clarifying and enlightening.Awesome book.

When I first came across this text, the latest work by writer/Professor Arthur Green, I thought, "Eureka! Finally a unified field theory of Kabbalah from a liberal point of view!" Alas, not quite; Mr. Green makes many brilliant points, including the word chosen for the title, which is God saying to Moses at the Burning Bush: "I will be or I am that!" This for Green, is both Man and God saying the same thing: "I am was and will be that I am was will be"

But stating God and man are one is not only Kabbalah, it is all mysticism, and a high level of generality, if not touchy feely syncretism pervades much of this work, which would initially seem more destined more for the advanced than general reader. Green does an excellent job, laying out the history of the Kabbalah's development, the sephirot or Ten potencies of divine power, the relationship between the Torah, the Bible and Kabbalah, and the directions the Kabbalah may take in the future for liberal Jews.

However, he does all of this as a modern Jew who explicitly states that he has no faith and not even concern with, the efficacy of Jewish prayer and practice, or their ability to deliver to the worshipper what it is he or she prays for. Further, Green seems to down play Jewish uniqueness in the work in favor of a "toned down" mysticism, that leaves neither God nor Torah at it's center, but concepts more like "Eco-kashrut" and other spiritual forms of political correctness.

This particular point, "Eco-kashrut" is originally the brainchild of Arthur Waskow, but Green has adopted it as part of his program. Initially meant to signify vegetarianism, this term now indicates an "environmentally aware" life, where the Jewish person avoids all products and items which are made from exploitation of human or animal labor, or that pollute the environment. Needless to say, while this may be an idea implicit in Torah, it is not and never has been a focus of Jewish tradition, and this and other innovations proposed by Green, Waskow and others, leave this writer quite uncomfortable.

Ultimately, the Kabbalah proposed in this book, is weakened by it's very willingness to bow to contemporary fashion, and ignore so much Jewish tradition and history. History in particular, which is one of Judaism's great strengths, is hardly mentioned as an influencing factor in this book, yet without it's history, Judaism would be a shriveled tree indeed. For more traditional Jews, or liberally traditional Jews such as myself, Jewish history is the source of Jewish faith, as I prove in my book, " Jewish History and Divine Providence" available here on Amazon.

As a born and raised Reform Jew, I often felt let down by that denominations absence of systematic theology; now there may be too much of it, but done in the wrong sensibility. Grounded in both the Kabbalah and Jewish history, but with a profoundly ethical sense of Jewish law, "Jewish History" counterbalances the excessive trendiness found in Ehyeh, and read together with it, will give the practicing Jewish liberal, a complete model of 21st century(or 58th century) Judaism.

All of the good points about EHYEH have been mentioned by other reviewers. I only want to correct two things said by the reviewer from San Ramon:

1. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is very much alive as of this writing.

2. Arthur Green is not on the right wing of anything.

This book provides an outstanding, easy to understand, explanation of Kabbalah for today's world. The writing style is wonderful and the author has a keen knowledge of the subject. While some, particularly religious conservatives, may find the perspective he brings to his review and analysis jarring, I found it highly informative, very considerate of traditional religious values, and quite refreshing. The book is not a study guide for the practice of Kabbalah, but rather a thoughtful overview and explication of an ancient mystic tradition that significantly impacted Judaism. And while it is clear that the author believes in the relevance of that tradition to our lives today, he conceives it as having a broader outreach and expanded meaning for our time.

This book was extraordinarily helpful. Well written and accessible, the author communicated profound understandings that underlie both conceptual understanding and facilitation of practice. For any reader interested in mystic spirituality and a deeper spiritual path, I strongly recommend this book.

Green does a good job shifting the reader through the choppy waters of the Kabbala's theosophical ocean.

This book promotes a form of non-dual Judaism, the belief that God is not separable from creation. Everything is in a sense God. Yet the Kabalah's delves into the "life" of God through speculation about God's different manifestations, or sephirot.

Green takes a decidedly psychological view of the sephirot; this is in keeping with the agenda of the book. It is a Kalalah for tomorrow! It tries to set out an agenda that will make the Kabalah more palatable to non- halakhic Jews and fellow travelers. In general Green succeeds. He has such a great command of the spiritiual journey that of course he realizes that it never ends. His epilogue "To Keep on Going - Where do I go from Here?" is helpful, concise and humble.

The title of this book is a name, or names of God. It is what God answers Moses when he asks what name to tell the children of Israel when Moses tells them he has come to free them from Pharaoh. It is an impossible Hebrew grammatical construction which may be (in addition to others) translated, I will be what I will be."
Arthur Green is a respected academic in Kabbalah. He is a little too new-agey for my tastes, which run to the Gershom Sholem (sp?) side. But the price of the book is worth the diagrams and one Hebrew illustration of how traditional cabalists spelled one of God's names. I recommend buying it used from a reputable Amazon dealer.

No doubt an honest and deep thinker, Arthur Green's journey seeking a deeper approach to Judaism left me trailing far behind. Too esoteric, too me centered, too Reconstructed for my tastes. Too artificial in linking modern thought, Kabbalah and a practical world view. Kabbalistic thought can be challenging enough... adding an additional vision seemed overactive. But I wish the author well in his exploration toward finding his personal Shangrila. He certainly is commited to it.