God Is a Verb

Simply put, this book is a terrific introduction to the mystical side of Judaism. Although I've been a student of religion for some time now, I've only recently started to make the transition from reader to do-er, joining some friends at Temple and at a Passover Seder; I've been very much impressed at how alive the Jewish faith is, and God Is a Verb only reinforces that impression. The author does a tremendous job of explaining the basics of the religion, the basics of the mystical side of the religion, and the basics of actual Jewish meditative practice. Perhaps the best aspect of this book is all the wonderful Hasidic stores Rabbi Cooper uses to illustrate his points. I could not recommend this work more highly. It has given me the confidence to now try and crack some more esoteric and scholarly works on Kabbalah.

Most works on Kabbalah are too cryptic, too obscure, very difficult to understand. Rabbi Cooper offers one of the most inspiring and clearest explanations of the Jewish mystical path that I have read. Anyone who has found greater depth of spiritual experience through exploring Eastern religions owes it to him/herself to read this incredibly beautiful explanation of the Oneness of God, the universe, the process of creation, and the meaning of life in general. Rabbi Cooper's explanation of "God-ing" just blew me away!

This book may be read and appreciated by anyone interested in the subject. It is of particular use, though, and interest to Jewish people interested in the religion of their forbears who find that there is nothing at all spiritual in most modern Jewish practice. I found that this book really delivered on this front. Reb Cooper draws excellent analogies to mystical Eastern traditions with which he is very familiar as well as mystical Islam (sufism) and Christianity (also called Cabbalah). Along the same lines, "The Jew and the Lotus" also gives a good glimpse of more spiritual aspects of Judaism with which most modern Jews (like me) are, unfortunately, wholly unfamiliar. I so enjoyed this book that I bought an older series of tapes with meditations by Reb Cooper. The tapes were not half as enjoyable to me as this book (and much of the material was repetitive of the book). I recommend this book to anyone looking for more/some "spirituality" in Judaism. It will not disappoint. Reb Cooper's Hasidic tales are enjoyable for their own sake and add greatly to the book's great readability.

This is a great overview for those beginning their mystic study of the Kabballah. However, for those looking for hardcore information on Kabballah, you may need to search for a different source. Reb Cooper's view of Kabballah is consistent with hermetic kabballah, which views the spiritual journey as the most significant aspect of Kabballah. However, others not in Reb Cooper's tradition, may choose to pursue Kabballah as a search for theological answers, and if this is your quest, try another book on Kabballah.