Appendix A

Books and Authors You’ll Thank Me for Recommending

If you’ve visited your local bookstore or spent some time searching for Kabbalah books online, you no doubt know that there are a lot of books out there about Kabbalah. Given the quantity and quality of available literature, I imagine that you wouldn’t mind some recommendations of some books to read as you increase your interest and understanding of Kabbalah. This appendix contains my best suggestions in no particular order.

The Books of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

Elsewhere in this book I recommend Rabbi Kaplan’s translation of the Five Books of Moses called The Living Torah. Rabbi Kaplan wrote many other noteworthy books in his relatively short career that you’d be well-served to read. Among them are some of the most important and revealing books on Kabbalah in English, including Meditation and Kabbalah and Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide. I also suggest tracking down anything else written by the late Rabbi Kaplan — you really can’t go wrong with his work.

The Thirteen Petalled Rose by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s The Thirteen Petalled Rose isn’t a book about Kabbalah — it’s a book of Kabbalah. The brief, 180-page volume has become a contemporary classic, piercing to the heart of the most profound ideas in Jewish theology. It’s essential reading for any serious student of Kabbalah today.

Like The Thirteen Petalled Rose, all the books written by the incomparable Rabbi Steinsaltz are profound. In particular, you shouldn’t miss Simple Words, a slim book about some of the most familiar words in our lives; the volume contains important spiritual principles that you can use every day.

The Way of Splendor: Jewish Mysticism and Modern Psychology by Edward Hoffman

Hoffman’s The Way of Splendor: Jewish Mysticism and Modern Psychology is a wonderful introduction to Kabbalah through the eyes of a psychologist. Dr. Hoffman is a master at taking profound Kabbalistic ideas and reframing them in familiar and easy-to-grasp terms. He writes with great clarity and insight.

The Books of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

Known to his many students and admirers as Reb Zalman, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, which is marked by a deep interest and spiritual connection to Kabbalistic traditions. Two books in particular are essential reading to get into the creative mind of Reb Zalman:

Paradigm Shift: From the Jewish Renewal Teachings of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi by Ellen Singer, which contains his essential teachings

Wrapped in a Holy Flame: Teachings and Tales of the Hasidic Masters, in which Reb Zalman doesn’t just discuss the great Hasidic masters of Kabbalah — he almost becomes them as he writes!

Souls on Fire by Elie Wiesel

In his youth, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel studied Kabbalah. After his experiences during the Holocaust, he continued his lifelong study of Jewish tradition, as his exceptional books reflect. Of Wiesel’s many extraordinary volumes, Souls on Fire is one of his masterpieces. In it he shares his passion for the lives and wisdom of the great Hasidic sages.

9 1/2 Mystics: The Kabbala Today by Rabbi Herbert Weiner

Over 30 years ago, Rabbi Herbert Weiner, a modern congregational rabbi in New Jersey, went searching the world for teachers who could provide him with an understanding of Kabbalah. He met many contemporary teachers of Kabbalah, and in 9 1/2 Mystics, he shares his journeys and encounters with readers. This book remains fresh, beautifully written, and deceptively deep so many years later.

Kabbalah: Selections from Classic Kabbalistic Works by Rabbi Avraham Yaakov Finkel

This book is the best single-volume introduction to the great personalities of Kabbalah throughout history. Like several of Rabbi Finkel’s other superb books (such as The Great Torah Commentators, The Great Chasidic Masters, and Contemporary Sages ), Selections from Classic Kabbalistic Works introduces readers to biographical information about each personality and presents carefully selected words of wisdom and teachings from their writings.

The Artscroll Prayer Book

Every Jewish household and everyone interested in Judaism and Kabbalah needs an Artscroll Prayer Book. (When you pick up your copy, make sure it’s Nusach Sefard, which means that it reflects Kabbalistic practice today.) This one volume contains every prayer and blessing referred to in Kabbalah For Dummies. It also offers a huge amount of information on the meanings of the prayers as well as instructions for participating in traditional rituals and celebrations. Also included are the Jewish wedding ceremony and many other prayers for life cycle events.

Mishneh Torah: Yesodei HaTorah by the Rambam

The great Jewish philosopher and sage Maimonides (also known as the Rambam) wrote many books. One of his most celebrated and revered works is the 14-volume Mishneh Torah, a compilation representing the essence of the entire body of Jewish teachings. Many sections of this huge work have been translated. I recommend the translation of the volume Yesodei HaTorah (The Foundation of the Torah) because it offers the very first chapters of the entire work. Known as “The laws which are the Foundations of the Torah,” chapters one and two reveal the fundamentals of Kabbalah. Although Maimonides isn’t known as a Kabbalist, his work is a beautiful illustration of how the same profound ideas of Jewish theology can be expressed in entirely different ways.

The Fundamentals of Jewish Mysticism by Rabbi Leonard Glotzer

The introduction to this book is one of the best explanations of the ten sefirot I’ve ever seen. The book itself follows the commentary of the Vilna Gaon as that great sage looked at one of the classics of Kabbalah, Sefer Yetzirah.