The Essential Works of Kabbalah

Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It is Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God–the mysterious Ein Sof («The Infinite»)–and the mortal, finite universe (God's creation). It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. Historically, Kabbalah emerged from earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th- to 13th-century Spain and Southern France, and was reinterpreted during the Jewish mystical renaissance in 16th-century Ottoman Palestine. Jewish Kabbalists originally developed their own transmission of sacred texts within the realm of Jewish tradition. For kabbalists, ten utterances in Genesis with which God created the world are linked to the ten sefirot—the divine structure of all being. According to the Zohar and the Sefer ha-Yihud, the Torah is synonymous with God. Table of Contents: "The Cabala" by Bernhard Pick is a brief critical introduction to the Kabbalah. "Sefer Yetzirah" or, The Book of Creation" is one of primary sources of Kabbalistic teaching. "The Sepher Ha-Zohar" or, The Book of Light – Zohar, or Splendor is the most important text of Kabbalah, at times achieving even canonical status as part of Oral Torah. It is a mystical commentary on the Torah. "Jewish Mysticism" by J. Abelson gives Kabbalah the historical context and presents it as a product of the development of Jewish mystical thought. "The Kabbalah Unveiled" by S. L. MacGregor Mathers presents the translations and commentaries of the books of Zohar: The Book of Concealed Mystery; The Greater Holy Assembly; and The Lesser Holy Assembly.