Meditation and Kabbalah

This book is not as potentially rewarding to a beginner but requires some knowledge before reading. It is a good idea to know a little bit about the various famed Rabbis, who they were, where they lived, and what they were famous for. It is also a good idea to have some reasonable level of experience of meditation and prayer, and to have had some direct experience with devekut and feel comfortable and validated in one's experience. It is also good to have a basic grounding in theoretical Kaballah and the sefirot. Maybe more than basic. So, if the above paragraph describes you, this book is an astoundingly great book. First of all, the historical timeline of the rabbis and their interelationships is easy to understand and is very synthetic. I also found the presentation of Abulafia's permutation methods to be easily understandable and surprisingly easy to put into practice (the first one anyway). I can hear the angels now whining about my newfound attempts to permute the Tetragrammation, who do these puny humans think they are anyway? I have edited this review as I recently finished the book. This is a phenomenal book. The first text that I have read which provides an organized understanding of the timeline and rabbinic players in the ongoing tradition of Jewish mysticism. From Abulafia to Cordovero to Reb Vitale to the Ari and the Baal Shem Tov, all of the important rabbinic figures, their contributions and their historical relevance are coherently summarized. I wish that I had read this book a lot earlier. But even better, Kaplan provides a summary of the yichudim and meditations used by the masters here in the text. Although there is a slightly amusing warning in the beginning of the text that you cannot read the text in a bathroom because it contains the names of God, there emerges a much clearer understanding why the publishing of this material can be considered potentially dangerous. The clear meaning of the commandment regarding not taking God's name in vain is apparent after reading this book. The use of these meditations and yichudim without near perfect intent by people is the ultimate meaning of taking God's name in vain. In other words, it is misuse of the names of God. Used in the correct manner, the book is fabulous.

Without the Kabbalah, a lot of meditation regarding what the prophets have done in the Bible, would be difficult to comprehend. There are couple of points I do suggest: 1. After reading the introduction, I suggest to read, Pg 306 (because it is the summary of the whole book). From the line: "The techniques of the Hekhalot and Abulafia are highly advanced and dangerous.....Rabbi Nachman's method was the most universal, and could be used literally everybody". Rabbi Nachman's methods can be found in the book "Jewish Meditation" by Aryeh Kaplan, extensively. 2. Pg 40, it explains that a system of purification is needed after the ashes of the Red Heifer no longer exist. 3. Pg 114, It says a summary about Rabbi Abulafia's teachings by Rabbi Albotini. Pg 77, it starts to explain the journey to find a purification through the permutation (Tzerufath) of the NAMES of GOD. 4. Pg 195-198. I will suggest to read it at least twice. The Elijah's path is another safest way of purification(and most realistic, you will also see that in Meditation and the bilble by Aryeh Kaplan, Pg 21). About the mechanism how an Advocated Angel will work on you, I read more or less the same thing in eastern mystic book. 5. Pg 231 the meditation on the mystical name YBK (Psalm 20th) and "Meditation and the bible" by Aryeh Kaplan Pg 139-140 Psalm 119th, it is a good combination. 5. Pg 185, it's a big summary of the Ten Sephirot, about its letter, vowel, meditation word (Tetragammaton). You just need to add the color and english translation write on Pg 181. 6. From a more scientific propose, like Aryeh Kaplan would say in his book Jewish Meditation, Pg 120: "....the spine is universally recognized as an important conduit of energy", I will suggest to meditate in this book, Pg 256, The sephirot and man, to "activate" our "own chakras", because it is exactly what the book "The Subtle body" by Cyndi Dale Pg 275 says by "idolatrous" means. However, in the book "The Subtle body" by Cyndi Dale Pg 326-327, regarding the sephiroth and chakric associations, are very different from Aryeh Kaplan (Pg 256). 7. P32 it's an interesting way how it links to eastern mysticism. 8. Pg 231 (as in Pg 40 from 2nd paragraph to the end of the page: From then on....). Again, the book explain about the danger of the Practical Kabbalah withouth the proper purification. With this kind of information, my guess about the "Book of Abramelin" (I don't want to say anything bad about this book) could be a result of Practical Kabbalah???. In the "Book of Abramelin" by George Dehn version, Pg 199-200 Appendix IV, say something about this "unpurified problems". Although, there are other kinds of magic books, this one explicit connects with the Kabbalah.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan succeeds perfectly in the attempt to introduce the meditative traditions of Kabbalah in brief but still emptying manner. The book seems to be perfect even to advanced students of mysticism and kabbalah as it contains rare transcriptions of Merkavah and Hekalot literature. It contains numerous hints for those advanced as well as good introduction to different traditions, still not forfeiting Holyness. Actual methods are expounded in many chapters for those who are to search them further. I think this would be ideal companion for Kaplans Sefer Yetzirah & Bahir as it expounds also methods that are being explained at those classical Kabbalah works. For those seeking for Shekinah and Ruach HaKodesh, I consern these most illuminating food for soul.

After a couple years I'm only about a quarter of the way through this. Spends a lot of time on the history of each technique, the descriptions of which require several close readings to understand. And then you have to practice meditation, and who am I kidding? I'm not that disciplined. I couldn't meditate my way out of a wet paper bag. But it's a good book, a challenging read that probably delivers great rewards for people who will commit to it. Maybe I'll do that one of these days.

Deep conversation of ancient beliefs.

This book is a gem, like all Arieh Kaplan wrote. It links the world of Kabbalah with the practice of meditation and mindfulness in a serious and erudite way.

This book does not disappoint. The author is top notch in his research and presentation. Anyone seeking to enhance their ability to meditate and connect deeply with God, you will not be disappointed. I recommend having its twin companion: Meditation and the Bible to get the foundational understanding.

There is no book penned by Ravi Aryeh Kaplan that isn't excellent. I had a collection of his works and loved everyone of them. My only regret is that he was taken from us too early. His literary wealth was insurmountable. What more he could have given us. But what he has is such a blessing. Highly recommend this author.

This is a superb book. If you are interested in Kaballah then it is best to go back to the original sources - the great Kabbalistic Rabbis of the past. And if you are going to back to the source it is good to have a guide who not only understands the source but can make it accessible. Kaplan is all these. The selections are excellent and wonderfully rendered into English. Along with the extracts Kaplan includes quick, concise but erudite contextual commentaries and descriptions of the main Kaballists and their lives. Thus one can gain an overview of the history of Kaballah and how it developed over the centuries. The only criticism I have is that there are a lot of typos but otherwise I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Its pages drip with love, ecstasy and joy.

Very deep secrets and so much knowledge in one book

Perfeito!

Disfruté este libro enormemente. El libro proporciona una visión general de las diferentes técnicas de meditación empleadas por los cabalistas a lo largo de los siglos y proporciona algunos ejercicios de meditación. Por momentos el libro es denso, debido a la complejidad del tema. Sin embargo, en general, recomiendo ampliamente este libro para aquellas personas que deseen conocer las técnicas de meditación del judaísmo.

Although not written with the same level of experience as I have come to expect from authors of books on meditation, it nonetheless connects me with the relevant Jewish texts and inspires me to learn more about meditation as it occurs in my own tradition.