The Enneagram and Kabbalah: Reading Your Soul [Paperback]

Howard A. Addison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1998

Many practitioners of the Enneagram have detected a Kabbalistic influence on its practice. In The Enneagram and Kabbalah, Rabbi Howard Addison draws clear parallels between the two disciplines. He shows how they amplify each other's essential teachings to help us better understand our strengths and weaknesses.

By looking through the lens of Kabbalah at the nine personalities of the Enneagram, Addison reveals the extraordinary correspondence between the two systems. He adapts classical Kabbalistic spiritual practices to the Enneagram's nine personality types, creating a powerful combined tool to enhance your personal spiritual understanding.

This pioneering book shows that when brought together, the Enneagram and Kabbalah may help you make more sense of your life, give it greater direction, and open wider the gate of spiritual self-discovery.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Kabbalah is ages old; the Enneagram, though it has its roots in the Middle Ages, has gained prominence as a New Age phenomenon. This book purports to show the link between the two and to provide background on the Enneagram, which is a personality-typing process based on personal Enneagram numbers, one through nine. Addison says in his introduction that learning his number was "transformative" for him, yet the book's problem centers on that very issue. Rather brief initial descriptions of the traits of all nine numbers are given, but the information is simply too sketchy for readers to decide what numbers they may be. As each number connects with each point on the Tree of Life, further examination of a number's traits is supplied, but even this may not be enough for someone to decide which number is his or hers. This book will be of most use to those already familiar with both Kabbalah and the Enneagram (and who know their numbers). For this audience, Addison makes a real contribution by offering analysis, meditative techniques, a biblical figure with which to identify, and ways to begin or renew Jewish observance by connecting traditions with the aspects of a particular number. Recommended where interest in the Enneagram is growing. Ilene Cooper

Review

"A stimulating blend of two flavors of mystical psychology. Guaranteed to help you understand yourself and others more deeply." -- Daniel C. Matt, author of The Essential Kabbalah and God & the Big Bang

"Finally, someone has made the helpful connection between the Enneagram and Kabbalah; Howard Addison does it very well. His book should help restore the spiritual goal and foundations of the Enneagram." -- Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Enneagram teacher and author of Discovering the Enneagram

"In comparing the Enneagram diagram with the Tree of Life, this groundbreaking book initiates the important and necessary work of bridging historic mystical traditions." -- Helen Palmer, Center for Enneagram Studies, Berkeley, California

This most enlightening book offers a powerful prescription for self-discovery, spiritual healing, and personal growth. Read it and let your soul soar to the highest realms of knowing and being." -- Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D. author of Soul Judaism and When Life Hurts: A Book of Hope

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Pub; 1st edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580230016
• ISBN-13: 978-1580230018
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,876,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent reference for adepts, perfect for beginners., September 28, 1999

By 

Stephen B. Dwyer "Kush" (Syosset, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Enneagram and Kabbalah: Reading Your Soul (Paperback)

this is one of my favorite books on the enneagram. as a long time student of the enneagram i continue my discussion on the topic through an online discussion group. so many of the topics we discuss are very clearly laid out, and organized in this book, making it an excellent reference resourse. the rabbi has combined a very complete over view with fresh archtypes from the kabbalah for expansion of the characterizations of type. this is also one of my favorite books to get for friends that i am introducing to the enneagram, because it is so comprehensive and easy to understand.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle and Honest Approach, December 3, 2007

By 

Ann Bronte (Portland OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Enneagram and Kabbalah: Reading Your Soul (Paperback)

This is my favorite book on the enneagram and definitely the best written by an author speaking out of his religious tradition. Addison does a remarkale job writing from a pastoral model, that is he comes from a place of Hearing, a place of hesed. Compassion, but more.
I had great difficulty with the enneagram and resisted it as my introdcution to it was harsh. This is the book for introduction to the enneagram; and the Kabbalah adds depth to its meaning.I particulary love how Addison employs characters from scripture to illustrate certain types. Kudos to Addison for hearing and speaking truth in the spirit of chesed. Please forgive any misunderstanding of terms . . . I speak fom a Christian orientation.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Original and Ambitious Take on the Enneagram, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Enneagram and Kabbalah: Reading Your Soul (Paperback)

A good book for enneagram enthusiasts, and also a good way to get a taste of Jewish mysticism. The author writes responsibly and carefully and offers some real insights. Of course, one has to accept the correlations he makes between the enneatypes and the points on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life -- but he does argue from a place of scholarship. This reader wishes that he could have been a little more careful to reiterate the meaning of certain phonetic Hebrew terms that he uses freely throughout the book. But, overall, an impressive and worthwhile addition to enneagram literature and a good primer on Kabbalah.