Gabriel's Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales

by Howard Schwartz (Adapter)

A vast bounty of tales recounting mystical experiences among the rabbis can be found in the Talmud, the Zohar, Jewish folktales, and Hasidic lore. Now, in Gabriel's Palace , scholar Howard Schwartz has collected the greatest of these stories, sacred and secular, in a marvelously readable anthology.
Gabriel's Palace offers a treasury of 150 pithy and powerful tales, involving experiences of union with the divine, out-of-body travel, encounters with angels and demons, possession by spirits holy and pernicious, and more. Schwartz provides an informative introduction placing these remarkable tales firmly in the context of centuries of post-biblical Jewish tradition. The body of the text presents spellbinding tales from the Talmud, Zohar, the Hasidic masters, and an enormous range of other sources. Here are stories of Shimon bar Yohai, reputed to be the author of the Zohar; Isaac Luria, known as the Ari, who was the central figure among the Safed mystics of the 16th century; Israel ben Eliezer, known as Baal Shem Tov, who founded Hasidism; Elimelech of Lizensk, possessor of legendary mystical powers; and Nachman of Bratslav, the great storyteller whose wandering spirit is said to protect his followers to this day. Together, these tales paint a vivid picture of "a world of signs
and symbols, where everything that took place had meaning, a world of mythic proportions....A world in which the spirits of the dead were no longer invisible, nor the angels," where the master and his disciples labor to repair the world so that the footsteps of the Messiah might be heard.
Drawn from rabbinic, kabbalistic, folk, and Hasidic sources, these collected tales form a rich genre all their own. In Gabriel's Palace , the powerful tradition of Jewish mysticism comes to life in clear, contemporary English.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Fantasy, Spirituality, Folklore, Mythology, Religion

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Howard Schwartz is Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is a prolific writer who has published fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. In searching for themes and images for his work in various genres, he has often found his inspiration in biblical, midrashic, and kabbalistic lore. Many of his works retell ancient folktales, reflecting his belief in the importance of passing cultural lore from one generation to the next. His poetry frequently reflects the dreamlike and mysterious elements of Jewish mythology.

Reviews

[Steve Cran · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Jewish religion contains a treasure trove of fairy tales and legends. Spanning all the way from biblical times all the way to present times. The midrash contains stories of the patriarchs, the Mishna ( Oral Torah) contains legends of rabbi Akiva and the Rashbi. The Talmud was redacted during the second temple period. Later on in Jewish history the author covers tales of the kabbalistc mystic like the Arizal. Next he jumps into chassidic tales and hen goes into some tales told in modern times.

All the stories contain miracle performed by rabbis or tzaddkim. By using different permutations of gods name they are able to summon angels and drive away demon, sometimes the rabbis can travel to heaven and back. The rabbis are much like medieval Magicians who could wield magic to curse or cure. The tales are filled with variety of mystical creatures much like a Grimm's fairy tale.

The book is filled with stories from each time period in Jewish History. The introduction gives a long and detailed explanation of these time periods along instruction on different mystical concepts. The end part contains detailed foot notes and explanations . I , myself learned several new things while reading this book. I did not know that Sandalphon was the Angels whom takes our prayer and weaves a crown for God . Tzadkiel takes the soul after death and prepares it for the world to come. Ash modal and Lilith are the regents of the demons realm. An ibbur is a heavenly soul that mixed with a person in order to tach them Torah

If stories are your thing or if furthering your knowledge of Judaism is what you are after then I strongly recommend you read this book.