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Path of the Kabbalah
Dr. Sheinkin offers Jews and non-Jews a basic initiation into the origins, history, principles, symbolism, language, and disciplines (including meditation methods) of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. It is an integral treatment of Kabbalah that speaks from the depths of classical Judaism, but is sensitive to contemporary spiritual seekers. The author creates a remarkable synthesis of psychology and mysticism. He gives a vast cosmic view of history within the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life doctrine, resting the outer world in the remarkably profound foundations of the inner world of the ten basic spiritual forces of the sefiroth.
196 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 16, 2016
An intriguing look into the world of Jewish mysticism in way that is well explained and deep at the the same time.
Sheinkin.
.Sheinkin delves into the building blocks of kabbalah and the mysteries of the universe How there are many paths to G-D but the Jewish path of Torah uplifts the whole world.
He explains the Creation and proof of the existence of G-D and does so in a universal and non-dogmatic way but in a way that leaves no doubt.While there are many paths it is not a matter of pick and mix We must choose a specific path and stick to it.
Sheinking clarifies the reality of Creation and how one day means 7 thousand years each in the time described in the Torah , what really happened in Eden with Adam and Eve and their origins, and the male and female energy forces of Adam who before the creation of Eve had male and female components.
How Moses was rescued by Egyptian Princess Batya who was ALREADY converting to Judaism and was in the river as part of the ritual bathing process.
And how Moses killed the Egyptian overseer who was beating the Hebrew slave , only by speaking a kabbalistic verse.
Astrology, karma meditation and reincarnation are all a part of Judaism as Sheinkin explains, And he deals with the kabbalistic concepts of angels, demons, the many levels of the should, good and evil, the messiah and heaven and hell.
Some practical kabbalistic meditations in the appendix. A fine introduction for both Jew and non-Jew alike highly recommended.
Sheinkin.
.Sheinkin delves into the building blocks of kabbalah and the mysteries of the universe How there are many paths to G-D but the Jewish path of Torah uplifts the whole world.
He explains the Creation and proof of the existence of G-D and does so in a universal and non-dogmatic way but in a way that leaves no doubt.While there are many paths it is not a matter of pick and mix We must choose a specific path and stick to it.
Sheinking clarifies the reality of Creation and how one day means 7 thousand years each in the time described in the Torah , what really happened in Eden with Adam and Eve and their origins, and the male and female energy forces of Adam who before the creation of Eve had male and female components.
How Moses was rescued by Egyptian Princess Batya who was ALREADY converting to Judaism and was in the river as part of the ritual bathing process.
And how Moses killed the Egyptian overseer who was beating the Hebrew slave , only by speaking a kabbalistic verse.
Astrology, karma meditation and reincarnation are all a part of Judaism as Sheinkin explains, And he deals with the kabbalistic concepts of angels, demons, the many levels of the should, good and evil, the messiah and heaven and hell.
Some practical kabbalistic meditations in the appendix. A fine introduction for both Jew and non-Jew alike highly recommended.
April 10, 2018
This man has definitely sat on the shoulder of giants and seen far into the distance . Not a bad piece of work for a medical doctor who is not a rabbi. No less the way he writes makes sense and he relays some pretty heavy concepts down to layman terms.
Starting off it is mentioned that Jewish mysticism and the path of Torah are just one of many paths one can traverse upon to reach the pinnacle of Godhead. Systems can even be developed much like they are in New Age movement but these systems which are hodge podge of things taken from different spiritual paths. This could limit their effectiveness as they lack a proper system of checks and balances.
Judaism itself is rather deep. Most are familiar with the written Torah which consists of the five Books of Moses, Prophets and the Writings. There is more further explanation was contained in the Oral Torah. Kabbalah not mentioned in the Torah is the inner working of the Universe.
Much of Kabbalist knowledge is not contained in the Torah. FOr example take the word for God, he is called the ain sof, that without end. This epithet is not mentioned once in the Bible. The other name for god like Elokim, Adoni, Jehovah are not names of god but rather names of his attributes he created in order to work with the physical world. The top three are too holy for us humans so we only deal with the lower seven. These attributes are called the Sefirote. They are what god uses to interface with us. Ain Sof or god is beyond male and female or even the spiritual. It is unchanging. THe sefirote interact with us, change us and are in turn changed by us. Gods power is too strong for us to be near to so there has to be distance like the Earth from the sun. To get his power for our benefit we need step down stations so it is not too strong for us.
Most of existence is fillled by the Ain Sof or the light of Ain Sof. To make room for creation God had to constrict himself. It left a small dot which would fill our realm, the spiritual realm and five different universes. It gets complicated. Needless to say we are in the realm action Assiyut. Too dwell in other realms would put us too close to God which would be bad for us. Then fifth universe is Adam Kadmon or primordial man. That is in charge of everything .
In the beginning the Sephirote broke apart because the light was too intense .They were reformed as five partzufin. THe sephirote exist forever on the spiritual realm. They interact in combinations. Every Sephora contains all the other sephirote.
This short book chock full of information is only 192 pages. This book is excellent for those wishing to get their feet wet in Mysrtical Judaism.It is also. Excellent for intermediate learners. Great explanation of concepts and some cool mediation’s at the end.
Starting off it is mentioned that Jewish mysticism and the path of Torah are just one of many paths one can traverse upon to reach the pinnacle of Godhead. Systems can even be developed much like they are in New Age movement but these systems which are hodge podge of things taken from different spiritual paths. This could limit their effectiveness as they lack a proper system of checks and balances.
Judaism itself is rather deep. Most are familiar with the written Torah which consists of the five Books of Moses, Prophets and the Writings. There is more further explanation was contained in the Oral Torah. Kabbalah not mentioned in the Torah is the inner working of the Universe.
Much of Kabbalist knowledge is not contained in the Torah. FOr example take the word for God, he is called the ain sof, that without end. This epithet is not mentioned once in the Bible. The other name for god like Elokim, Adoni, Jehovah are not names of god but rather names of his attributes he created in order to work with the physical world. The top three are too holy for us humans so we only deal with the lower seven. These attributes are called the Sefirote. They are what god uses to interface with us. Ain Sof or god is beyond male and female or even the spiritual. It is unchanging. THe sefirote interact with us, change us and are in turn changed by us. Gods power is too strong for us to be near to so there has to be distance like the Earth from the sun. To get his power for our benefit we need step down stations so it is not too strong for us.
Most of existence is fillled by the Ain Sof or the light of Ain Sof. To make room for creation God had to constrict himself. It left a small dot which would fill our realm, the spiritual realm and five different universes. It gets complicated. Needless to say we are in the realm action Assiyut. Too dwell in other realms would put us too close to God which would be bad for us. Then fifth universe is Adam Kadmon or primordial man. That is in charge of everything .
In the beginning the Sephirote broke apart because the light was too intense .They were reformed as five partzufin. THe sephirote exist forever on the spiritual realm. They interact in combinations. Every Sephora contains all the other sephirote.
This short book chock full of information is only 192 pages. This book is excellent for those wishing to get their feet wet in Mysrtical Judaism.It is also. Excellent for intermediate learners. Great explanation of concepts and some cool mediation’s at the end.
May 31, 2010
I got yelled at in a very scary way for telling my old Hebrew school teacher (a former Israeli drill sergeant) that I was reading this... It's said you're not supposed to delve into the mysteries of Kabbalah before you're 40 (some also say 30). So read at your own risk... Anyways it's a great introduction to this branch of Jewish mysticism.
May 1, 2008
I feel that this author explores the heart of religious beliefs and the common link between them. It's all good.
March 30, 2021
This is by far, the best introduction to Kabbalah that I have ever encountered. It is powerful yet simple to understand and sets a strong foundation for the principles and foundation of the practice. I highly recommend and bought a second book edited by this author.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews