Customer Reviews

Kabbalah of Creation: The Mysticism of Isaac Luria, Founder of Modern Kabbalah

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Rabbi Eliahu Klein has done a service for those studying kabbalah in English by providing the first-ever translation of Shaar HaKlalim, the introductory section to Etz Chaim. He also includes a concise and insightful commentary, which is filled with interesting chiddushim (new teachings).

Unfortunately, one must take some chaff with the wheat. He uses somewhat idiosyncratic translations to refer to basic terms; for example Binah he calls "Intuition," which in truth probably better describes the nature of Chochmah. Hod he calls "Praise," and so on. These terms are probably better left transliterated, as they usually are in English translations, to avoid misunderstandings. The reader will most likely need to mentally translate these translations back into their usual terms as they read, thus making the text a bit unwieldy in places.

In his commentary, Rabbi Klein also misunderstands the RaMChaL, one of the most important and brilliant commentators on Lurianic kabbalah, dismissing his work as "a failure," and inexplicably criticising it again elsewhere. Rabbi Klein is also so PC that he misrepresents the Ari's views of women and is deliberately vague on the Ari's view of homosexuality.

"The Kabbalah of Creation" is, in summary, a personal interpretation of the kabbalah of the Ari, and it shows the translator's creativity and insight. It is not entirely reliable, however, and thus I hesitate to recommend it for those new to the field. For those seeking an authentic overview of Lurianic Kabbalah in English, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's "Inner Space: Introduction to Kabbalah, Meditation, and Prophecy" remains the best text available.

This particular text is the Second Revised edition by the translator. Rabbi Klein has produced a translation and running commentary on the Shaar HaKlalim, the introductory chapter to Haim Vital's Etz Chaim. Rabbi Haim Vital was a disciple of Isaac Luria, the 16th Century mystic from Safed. The provenance of Shaar HaKlalim is uncertain. Rabbi Klein speculates that it is by a student of Isaac Luria, Moshe Jonah.

This translation is radical. Specific kabbalistic jargon has been idiosyncraticly translated by the author into English, rather than leaving the jargon untranslated as other English translations of kabbalistic works do. This leaves the reader who is familiar with kabbalah continually flipping back to the glossary to figure out which of the sferot are being referenced.

Apparently, the first edition was printed with the original text, this edition is only the English translation, which limits the utility for the serious scholar. Unfortunately, the Lurianic system is very complicated and is really only accessible to more serious scholars.

The utility to the seeker is limited. As Rabbi Klein recommends, the book is best used in the context of a havurah - i.e. in group study - preferably with a spiritual guide.

This is a radical breakthrough translation of an earlier work by the Ari -Rabbi Isaac Luria, the founder of the Tree of Life school. Check out, the Kabbalah of Kissing, the Gay tikkun and the thoughtfull readers notes at the end of every chapter.This is first time someone has translated an entire mystical text with an ongoing commentary and comprehensive Lexicon of Kabbalah in the back.Professor Miles Krassen of Oberlin College has written, "Even advanced scholars in Jewish mysticism can learn soemthing new from Klein's insightfull approach."

As a Kabbalist Jew of Spanish descent, I'm not really certain what the author of this book seeks to achieve for the uninitiated. If any wonder why the mystics such as Luria died at an early age, including the Ari Kaplan of blessed memory, it may very well be because they violated the Oral Law prohibiting the dissimination of this mystical knowledge outside the realm of the faithful. For many, including pop stars of today, not understanding what is to be taken literally vs. figuratively has led people astray from the simple truths of the written [revealed] Torah/Pentatuch which form the very foundation of Kabbalah through the Hebraic science of Gematria.