Kabbalistic Tarot: Hebraic Wisdom in the Major and Minor Arcana

by Dovid Krafchow

An introduction to the ancient kabbalistic origins and meanings of the tarot

• Reveals the intimate relationship of the tarot to the esoteric teachings of the Torah and the Kabbalah

• Provides kabbalistic interpretations for all 78 traditional tarot cards

• Includes a detailed kabbalistic reading and interpretation of the Tree of Life spread

When the Greeks invaded Israel and forbade study of the Torah, the Jewish people began a secret method of Toranic study that appeared to be merely a simple way to fill playing cards. These first tarot decks enabled study of the Torah without detection. Once the Maccabees expelled the Greeks from Israel and Israel once again became a Jewish kingdom, tarot cards dropped from sight. Fifteen hundred years later, in response to Jewish disputations with Catholic theologians, political and religious persecutions, and ultimately the Inquisition, the cards resurfaced as a secret learning tool of the Torah.

In Kabbalistic Tarot, Dovid Krafchow details how the true meaning of the tarot is locked within the Kabbalah. He shows the correspondence between the 22 Major Arcana cards and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and how the four suits correspond to the four kabbalistic worlds of Briah, Yitzerah, Asiyah, and Atzilut. He describes the kabbalistic meanings of each of the 78 cards and their relations to the Torah and provides insight into the Tree of Life spread through several kabbalistic readings.

Genres: Tarot, Judaism, Religion

Paperback

First published July 11, 2005

About the author

My predilection to the written word began at very young age but I did not begin reading until I went into the navy after high school and have always read slowly. I find words transportive, taking me to places beyond my imagination. I was humbled by the writer’s ability to write. By the time I got out of the navy, discharged in San Francisco in 1965 at the age of 21, I had decided to become a writer. I figured that I could always learn to write but now was the time live. I put my thumb out; five years and 30,000 miles later I decided to radically change my life—to pursue truth through my Jewish roots.

I burned everything I had written and embarked on a new path in life. I learned to read Hebrew and began a lifetime occupation with the Jewish books. Hebrew is a short language and the authors are skilled at brevity. I was intimidated at first by the depth and clarity of these books. Every word meant something because the authors, some ancient and some modern, had led scrupulous lives dedicated to bringing light from Heaven into the world through their words. For fifty years every day I read these books along with my lay interest in everything in the world, I have derived beautiful and unique information.

I began writing again shortly after being married; from my experiences being a truck driver in New York City I crudely scribed out on a typewriter a short book of short stories along with a book of parables. We moved to Israel where I wrote a novel. After 19 years, the marriage ended. I returned to America and began a sad decline into madness. I was unable to write while my heart was breaking. I ended up homeless. I had been reading Tarot cards in clubs in NYC and finally moved to Woodstock where I had a public access program called Jewish Misticism—the mist of the ism. I produced this weekly hour long show for seven years before being overcome by a curse from the local rabbi, burned down my house and left town.

Besides my madness, I was being torn asunder by a tightening invisible band around my belly. Knowing I close to death, I went behind the Redwood curtain determined to write down everything I could before the end. I wrote six books and three years, had a miraculous recovery and moved to San Francisco where I had been raised. I have moved many times since then but at the age of 73 living my my ’89 Volvo station wagon I returned to LA where I had been born but left at the age of three. Over the last three years I have recovered my health and to a great degree settled my mind and spirit.

I have written twenty books but I have never had the money or expertise to actually market my work. I have one book published by Inner Traditions and four self-published books. The books I study has greatly influenced my thinking pattern, my writing and I have become the vehicle of a supernal knowledge. After fifty years of work, I have come to the culmination of my work and am ready to put everything into making these works known to the world. Recently, I began a You Tube half hour broadcast that drew a few people and one of them liked my words so much, he sent me seven thousand dollars. I am using this money to make my work known. I am pregnant with books.

Reviews

[Hilary Flexer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm speaking from a Jewish perspective in regards to this book--- One thing about this piece that stuck out for me, was the connections between the symbols of the cards and the symbols of the Kabbalah (which to me, are teachings that reveal the contents of Jewish soul and the workings of the Divine Soul). In this way Krafchow has bridged for me the gap between my inner life and the "plain" meaning of the cards, as previously I tended towards viewing them merely at face value: as a complicated tool of divination, rather than approaching the deck with the idea that it could give me depthful insights into my psychology and spiritual path. It is easy to read and follow which is great for me because I have some reading comprehension issues. So very well written. This should be in any Tarot reader/ collector's library.

[AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable source of insights into the relationship of Kabbalah and Tarot, and how to use the cards as more of a spiritual guide than for fortune telling. His insights into the card meanings (using the classic Pamela/Waite/Rider deck) are some of the most unique and valuable I have encountered in many years. I will definitely be referencing this book for years to come.

[Bill Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure of this book to be honest. I honestly don’t think tarot goes back as far as the author claims. Also I feel you can’t always think too deeply when pulling cards. I do feel this may be a good reference book when a person feels stuck or needs to be more in depth for specific things.

[Kim Dallmeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting Tarot interpretation.

[Cep Subhan KM · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting interpretation for symbols in Tarot cards. It is not always easy to understand but in general it is astonishing.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The historical sections of this book are superb, as are Krafchow’s explanations of the sefirot. I found the parts pertaining to Tarot, however, to be vague and hard to follow.

[Misha Fredericks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent!