138 OPENINGS OF WISDOM is considered by leading scholars to be the classic exposition of the kabbalistic system, providing the student with all the concepts and understandings necessary to navigate and find meaning in the Zohar, the teachings of the ARI and other kabbalistic literature. Luzzatto's outstanding kabbalistic work is Kelah (=138) Pithei Hokhmah, a systematic exposition of the Lurianic Kabbalah. There Luzzatto demonstrates the task which he has undertaken in the history of the Kabbalah: to reveal the internal meaning (nimshal) of the paradigms (meshalim) so numerous in the Lurianic writings, to which they tend to give an anthropomorphic coloring. Luzzatto often quotes from the works of Maimonides; in the same spirit he believes that it will be thus possible to get rid of the main cause of error concerning what is divine: materialization (hagshamah). Rejecting an interpretation which would accept the Lurianic descriptions literally (ki-feshuto) and in a materialistic sense, is for Luzzatto also part of the fight he is leading against Shabbateanism. Kelaḥ Pitḥei Ḥokhmah is the perfect illustration of the close connection between logic and Kabbalah in the works of Luzzatto. The very structure of that treatise is built on the gradation rule. Each petaḥ door or chapter - opens with a general principle (kelal), the details or particular aspects of which are then exposed. Before turning to commentary and explaining the themes which are unique to the Lurianic Kabbalah (such as ẓimẓum), Luzzatto innovates by exposing the principle on which his own kabbalistic doctrine is based: divine unity conceived both as the origin and the finality of creation. He uses the distinction rule to delineate with precision the object of Kabbalah, and details what he means by "divine" (Elohut). He thus refines a principle which was already present in the works of his predecessors, such as Menahem Azarya de Fano, while giving a completely novel interpretation of ẓimẓum, the act of contraction or withdrawal of the divine infinity (Ein-Sof) which preceded the emanation of sefirot.

First published in 1587, Moses Cordovero's now classic introduction to Kabbalah, Or Ne'erav, was intended to serve several purposes; it was meant both to provide a justification for the study of Kabbalah and to encourage that study by providing detailed instructions for interested laymen on how to go about that study; indeed, it was intended as a precis of Cordovero's much larger Pardes Rimmonim. In many ways, Cordovero was ideally suited to compose such a work. His teacher of rabbinics was no other than R. Joseph Caro, author of the Shulhan Arukh, which rapidly became the halakhic code par excellence. His master in Kabbalah was Solomon ha-Levi Alkabetz, whose sister he subsequently married. The result of his studies with both was no less than a kabbalistic "code", a systematic kabbalistic theology of the Zohar, the basic text of Jewish mysticism. But this work was too large, and too complex to be easily mastered. Moreover, it assumed too much previous knowledge to serve as an introduction to the subject; hence the need for Or Ne'erav. Or Ne'erav succeeded in fulfilling all these purposes, and has remained a classic introduction to the study of Kabbalah - and is used as such to this day. Dr. Robinson's accurate but readable translation is the first English rendition of this essential work. -- Back cover.

Secrets of the Future Temple will enlighten and inspire all who seriously yearn and hope for the Temple which is destined to stand eternally in Jerusalem as the House of Prayer for All the Nations. The Bible records the prophet Ezekiel's vision of being transported to Jerusalem, where a heavenly angel showed him this Temple, giving him precise measurements of all its building, chambers, courtyards, gates and other details. The inner meaning and purpose of the Future Temple are explained in full in Mishkney Elyon, "Dwellings of the Supreme," a priceless jewel in the legacy of towering 18th century mystical genius Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Ramchal, 1707-47). The Temple is the center point where all the branches of the Tree of Life connect with their roots, channeling a flow of sustenance and blessing to the entire world. Secrets of the Future Temple presents a clear English translation of this kabbalistic classic together with diagrams of the Temple and Altar and other study aids. An extensive Overview traces the Temple vision from the Founding Fathers of Judaism onwards, reviews Ramchal's life and works, and explains the central concepts of Mishkney Elyon in simple, understandable terms. Translated by Avraham Yehoshua ben Yaakov Greenbaum.