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.

This is the first translation with commentary of selections from The Zohar, the major text of the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. This work was written in 13th-century Spain by Moses de Leon, a Spanish scholar.

"In this book, Joseph Citron offers the first comprehensive analysis of Prague Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz's (1565-1629) magnum opus of Jewish ethical literature, the Shnei Luhot Ha-Berit. Citron's close philological analysis reveals the pioneering nature of the work in creating an organic Jewish theological system rooted in the mystical structures of Kabbalah, cultivating an orthodoxy in thought and legal practice based upon its principles. Emotion, psychology, self-actualisation and joy are all presented as essential facets of religious life, significantly influencing the 17th-century Sabbatean movement, the 18th-century Hasidic movement, and the Orthodox movement of the 19th century. The book is essential for scholars and laypeople alike wishing to understand the evolution of European Judaism in the early modern period"--

Pardes Rimonim is a classic work of authentic Kabbalah penned by the preeminent scholar, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (Ramak). A powerful intellect, fertile writer, and gigantic figure in Kabbalah, Ramak (circa 1520-1570) distinguished himself first in Talmudic studies while under the tutelage of Rabbi Yosef Caro. However, he began his Kabbalah studies at age 20 with Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, who was both his brother-in-law and composer of Lecha Dodi. In the Pardes, Ramak also displays a marked philosophical influence by the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, i.e. Maimonides). Indeed, Ramak's encyclopedic work in Kabbalah heralded the renaissance of kabbalistic genius that emerged after him in Safed. A comprehensive work collecting the kabbalistic learning of that time, the original Hebrew version of the Pardes was a single volume composed of 32 parts and was written in both Hebrew and Aramaic. This edition comprises 12 volumes, and this is volume 1.

This central text of Jewish mysticism was written in thirtenth-century Spain, where Kabbalah flourished. Considered to be the most articulate work on the mystical Kabbalah, Gates of Light provides a systematic and comprehensive explanation of the Names of God and their mystical applications. The Kabbalah presents a unique strategy for intimacy with the Creator and new insights into the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Kabbalah, aspects of God emanate from a hierarchy of Ten Spheres interconnected by channels that may be disrupted or repaired through human activity.

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.