Customer Reviews

An Introduction to the Kabbalah (Suny Series in Judaica: Hermeneutics, Mysticism, and Religion) (Suny Series, Judaica)

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This book is well written and uses a "scientific" viewpoint. Its translation into English is well done. I am converting to Judaism and wanted to know more about the spiritual side of Biblical interpretation (Its also good to understand what the Kabbalah is since all Rabbis are learned Kabbalists, whether practising it or not!). The only drawback that it does not have a glossary of defined terms and assumes that the reader is familar with some basic Judaic terminology. Otherwise, I highly recommend it.

Hallamish has written a book for people who want to understand the basic concepts of Jewish mysticism without being bogged down by complicated historical issues or being hijacked by populist charlatans. Most books on the Kabbalah are written either by secularist professors or by closed-minded believers. Hallamish offers the best of both worlds - he is a professor of Jewish mysticism at Israel's Bar Ilan University, but, while he avoids any preaching or missionizing, he clearly recognizes the living spiritual power of the tradition which he describes in this book.