Adult Education: Rabbi's Bookshelf

Zohar
• Reading the Zohar: The Sacred Text of the Kabbalah
  Pinchas Giller
• Studies in the Zohar
  Yehuda Liebes
• The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, volumes I and II
  Daniel Matt
  (translation of the Zohar)

Jewish History
• Jewish People, Jewish Thought
  Robert Seltzer

G'milut Chassadim
• Consolation: The Spiritual Journey Beyond Grief
  Maurice Lamm

General
• Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Years of Exemplary Creative Minds
  Harold Bloom
• The Mismeasure of Man
  Stephen Jay Gould
• Shame: The Power of Carin
  Gershen Kaufman

Kabbalah
• Kabbalah: New Perspectives
  Moshe Idel
• Absorbing Perfections
  Moshe Idel
• Here are a few of the dozens of introductions you can find on line and at various bookstores. While each suffers from usually minor deficiencies (for example, calling any Jewish mysticism before the 1200's "Kabbalah), they each have important insights and interesting angles. If you become a Kabbalah junkie, you'll want to read these.
• The Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah.
  Leonora Leet
  Very interesting, enthusiastic and intuitive text. Leet focuses more on the theosophical side of things (I prefer the pietistic, as most of you know), but the theosophical side is a core dimension of the Kabbalah. She teaches well things that I don't have a feel for.
• Kabbalah: Three Thousand Years (sic) of Mystic Tradition
  Kenneth Hanson
  Hanson is one the few popularists to include the Dead Sea Scrolls and the other Second Temple mysticism in his treatment. An easy and joyful read.
• The Shambhala Guide to Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism
  Perle Besserman
  Besserman's treatment is very able, and she focuses on the person who actually wants to understand and adopt a Kabbalistic practice. I will be using her book for some aspects of the course.

Advanced Kabbalah
• For those ready to do serious academic study, two of the main scholars today who publish in English are Moshe Idel and Elliot Wolfson. Here are the books most often read in introductory or intermediate college and graduate programs:
• Kabbalah: New Perspectives
  Moshe Idel
• Absorbing Perfections: Kabbalah and Interpretation
  Ibid.
• Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism and Hermeneutics
  Elliot Wolfson
• Through a Speculum that Shines: Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism
  Ibid.

Background Reading for Seminar in Jewish Spirituality
• For those who would like to join Rabbi Finley's "Intermediate Kabbalah" course, here are some texts that will help you go over what we have covered so far.
• Mystical Concepts in Chassidism
  J. Immanuel Schochet
  Kehot Publication Society, 3rd Edition, 1988
  This text covers basic Kabbalistic ideas used in the Chassidic thought. In this semester, we will focus on how to use the Kabbalistic thought and practice in our own lives, so the focus here on Chassidic Kabbalah is appropriate.
• For an essential history of the Jewish mysticism, in particular the Kabbalah, there are two main sources:
• Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism
  Gershom Scholem
  Published over 60 years ago, this is still the place to start for anyone doing serious study of the Kabbalah who does not read Hebrew. This text contains chapters on the historical development of Jewish mysticism. It is dense, dry and thorough.
• Scholem abridged this lengthy history in his article on the history of Jewish mysticism for the Encyclopedia Judaica. That article, along with virtually all of Scholem's articles on Jewish mysticism, as well as those by other authors, are collected in:
• Kabbalah
  Gershom Scholem
  Penguin USA (paperback)
  Whether or not you read Major Trends, this is an essential book for your Kabbalah library.
• On the Zohar itself, I recommend:
• Guide to the Zohar
  Arthur Green
  Art Green is one of the great teachers of Jewish mysticism of our time. His guide gives a lucid explanation of what the Zohar is and how it came to be written, with several chapters on main thematic ideas in the Zohar.
• If you are able to study Schochet's book, and/or Scholem's historical survey, and add to it Art Green's book on the Zohar, you will have covered much of the material we studied in class. I will add here other works for your reference. This is not an exhaustive list, but at least a good place to begin:
• Understanding Jewish Mysticism: A Source Reader (two volumes)
  David Blumenthal
  Blumenthal put this together for undergraduates and it is very readable. He provides an excellent overview of Jewish mysticism, and then several original sources translated into English, with clear introductions to each passage.
• The Jewish Mystical Tradition
  Ben Zion Bokser
  Excellent reader. A bit dated, but if you can get one, grab it.
• The Early Kabbalah
  Joseph Dan
  A reader of Kabbalistic texts prior to the Zohar. Excellent.
• The Mystic Quest
  David S. Ariel
  Very good introductory text, and includes a brief and well-written chapter on the history of Jewish mysticism.
• The Origins of the Kabbalah
  Gershom Scholem
  Very dense, dry reading, but if you like first rate scholarship, you will love this book. Meticulous, thorough, fascinating.

I will add other books to our website as we go along in our studies.