The Path of Kabbalah [Paperback]

Rav Michael Laitman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2005

Kabbalists state that there is no reality at all, but something called His Essence, the Upper Force, and this is what we perceive as our world. As uncanny as it sounds, this notion hides in its wings the very prospect of freedom, for every person, for every nation, and for the entire world.
The structure and the perception of reality are the surface of this book. But the story of humanity, or more accurately, of the human soul, is the undercurrent that drives the reader forward in this book. It is about you, about me, about all of us. This book is about the way we were, the way we are, the way we will be, and most importantly, it is about the best way to get there. In this neatly structured composition, every part speaks of a different aspect of Kabbalah. It starts with our perception of reality, our perception of the Creator, and the evolution of our soul in the spiritual worlds (including explanatory drawings). The book also clears up misconceptions about Kabbalah and explains, in plain words, how to experience the spiritual realm of our lives.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

KABBALIST RAV MICHAEL LAITMAN, a PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah and an MS in Bio-cybernetics, is the founder and president of Bnei Baruch — Kabbalah Education & Research Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing widespread knowledge of Kabbalah. For twelve years he studied closely at the side of his mentor, Kabbalist Baruch Ashlag, the first-born son and successor to Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag, author of the Sulam commentary on The Zohar. Once he received Rav Ashlag’s teachings, he was committed to circulating it to others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: Bnei Baruch, Laitman Kabbalah (October 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0973231599
• ISBN-13: 978-0973231595
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,282,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Laitman is the founder and president of the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education & Research Institute, which is dedicated to teaching and sharing the wisdom of Kabbalah. Professor of Ontology, PhD in Philosophy and Kabbalah, and MSc in bio-Cybernetics. Father of three and grandfather of three.

Dr. Laitman has received the unlikely distinction of being today's foremost authority on authentic Kabbalah. His research and study led him to ancient sources which reveal a science about how the natural laws of living systems work in human thought and desire, and the direct way this impacts human relations globally.

He is the author of The Complete Idiots Guide to Kabbalah, as well as thirty other books on the subject published in fourteen languages. In his book, From Chaos to Harmony, written in 2005 - long before the current financial crisis erupted - he laid out in detail, what would cause it, the positive purpose the crisis would serve, and what change people would need to undergo to solve it.
A warm engaging personality, with a down-to-earth concern for others, Dr. Laitman spends his every waking hour writing, teaching and traveling the world to dialog and exchange ideas, taking insights from these encounters to bring the knowledge of nature's general law of love and interdependence down to a practical everyday level, where it's needed most - in the family, education, science, commerce and the arts. His goal is to empower individuals to connect and quickly influence change in human behavior, matching the challenge of the new world we all now face.

As a member of the World Wisdom Council, he has collaborated with scientists, spiritual and political leaders, thinkers, artists, academics and social theorists.

Together with all this activity, he runs the Bnei Baruch international educational institute which provides open web-based classes daily on www.kab.tv, and produces books, films, a TV channel and other media all dedicated to the message of the unity of people, nations and the love of humanity - and all of it provided completely free to everyone who wants it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary Kabbalah for an Inquiring mind., November 14, 2006

By 

Donald Thompson "Don Thompson" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Path of Kabbalah (Paperback)

I wanted to review the book. The Path of Kabbalah, by Michael Laitman.

I am a student of the contemporary interpretation of Kabbalah as taught by Laitman and have been so for about three and a half years. My background is an eclectic one comprised of studies in biology, art and the social sciences. What does it mean when I say I have studied Kabbalah? In the US, kabbalah can be studied, from the academic point of view or from the view of an actual practitioner of Kabbalah with an actual teacher. The former allows the reader to survey the material with the view of the scholar who has knowledge of context, yet not necessarily the knowledge of experience, hence an academic author due to purely rational reasons cannot do the experience of Kabbalah justice. For the Kabalistic mind is a mind that is training or trained to access mental capacity and sensation beyond reason.

Kabbalah is a very ancient view of the world stemming from or compiled from cultures even older than 5700 years ago. It's name means the Way of Receiving. Receiving What? Don't we receive everything from our 5 senses? The Kabbalist would chuckle and proceed to diagram and outline to a student the myriad sensations that comprise an individual's state of mind, separate from the experiences of the 5 senses. Kabbalah rightly ascribes those sensations or feelings as acts of reception; reception from whom?

The Kabbalist's universe at its most spare and abstract level is defined as harboring two unique and fundamental forces; the desire to bestow or altruism and the desire to receive or egoism. The desire to bestow, also known as the Singular, unique and fundamental quanta of the universe, or simply Creator is the source. It's action creates the desire to receive. This "thing" or "it" is extremely complex, but it has a plan and an original thought, that has been discerned by the great sages of Kabbalah.

This thesis is what is discussed in The Path of Kabbalah, it is discussed from the point of view of the person receiving this energy or this thought of creation. It quickly goes into the root of creation and purpose of an individual and seeks to explain the first order sensations. One of which is the point in the heart; the heart being the metaphoric term for the emotional feeling state of a person. The point in the heart is the desire so to speak to attain a connection to this wider universe created by the Creator. If a person has a desire to attain spirituality, they will know it and Kabbalah speaks to the further refinement of this attainment.

The book is broken down into the following sections:

Part One: The Beginning ................................9
Part Two: Phases of Spiritual Evolution .............. 70
Part Three: The Structure of the Upper Worlds ........140
Part Four: Proper Study ............................. 253
Part Five: Religion, Prejudice and Kabbalah ......... 306
Part Six: Genesis ....................................320
Part Seven: The Inner Meaning ....................... 333
Detailed Table of Contents .......................... 372
Our Other Books ..................................... 377
About Bnei Baruch ................................... 379
How To Contact Bnei Baruch .......................... 380

To a potential reader: I believe this text will give you a very good introduction to the spiritual methodology of Kabbalah. The text outlines the basics one needs to understand it as a spiritual methodology to attain transcendence and an invitation to join with others in pursuing this method.


A note on the intent of this particular school's emphasis. Laitman tells the story of how he came to know Baruch Ashlag, his mentor.

"The rabbi did not teach his students for the purpose of accumulating
theoretical knowledge of the names of spiritual concepts, or for the
purpose of philosophizing without understanding the nature of things.
Instead, he wanted to bring his students to a state where they would feel
these concepts. This is an entirely different method than a theoretical
study. In that method, the purpose is not the quantity of knowledge that
the student acquires, but its quality, meaning, the extent to which the
things the student hears help him approach the things he reads about
by himself."

As a person committed to this spiritual path, the above quote strikes me as the deep intention of this school and PATH OF KABBALAH is a book to give to a person seriously looking for a spiritual path either from a Jewish or Christian perspective on a methodology to pursue the attainment of a mystical union with the greater whole.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoying the path, December 2, 2005

By 

Sonia Gregerson "kabbalahgirl" (Simi Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Path of Kabbalah (Paperback)

For those who have always wanted to understand the more spiritual side of Kabbalah, this is the book for you.
It is expressed in simple laymans terms and at the same time Rav Laitman gives an extraordinarily clear way of understanding the process of study that is needed.

Rav Laitman has an ability to bring to life the different phases of the spiritual evolution as taught to him by his teacher, Baruch Ashlag; son of Yehuda Ashlag also known as the Baal Hasulum.

Although easy for the layman to comprehend it should also appeal to those who have studied Kabbalah with other teachers.
The main emphasis is the purpose and intent of the student.
As well as the point that the reality we perceive is only the tip of the iceberg.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Journey, May 3, 2010

By 

Edward J. Barton (Tukwila, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Path of Kabbalah (Paperback)

The Path of Kabbalah is an amazing journey through the hidden wisdom. Dr. Laitman takes us through the deep meaning, history, structure of the upper worlds, importantce of learning kabbalah and a significant number of questions and answers. Rav Laitman takes us through a journey starting with an introduction to the science of kabbalah, a indepth discussion of the phases of spiritual evolution and the structure of the upper worlds. He then comments on the proper methods for study, the right books teacher and group. He discusses the interactions between religion and kabbalah, as well as the challenges faced by the student. Finally he summarizes the key stories of the book of Genesis in a kabbalistic way, and provides a guide to the inner meaning of many of the stories that are beyond corporeality.

My recommendation is that the beginning student start with Rav Laitman's biik "Kabbalah for the Beginner", and then move onto this text - though that isn't strictly necessary - it will provide some background and structure for the study of this book. All in all, a great resource to study from.