Kabbalah: Tradition of Hidden Knowledge

Halevi is a respected authority who has written several good books on the Qabbalah. This one is a gem. The concise text introduces several key concepts of Qabbalistic thought. Like all the books in Thames & Hudson's "Art & Imagination" series, this one is profusely illustrated ---- after 30 pages of text are 60 pages of pictures & diagrams, all amply explained in accompanying notes. Most of the diagrams have the original Hebrew writing, so this book is a tremendous resource for anyone who reads Hebrew. In particular, I am a big fan of the "extended Tree of Life" diagram on p. 41, showing how the Sefirot play out in the worlds of Azilut, Beriah, Asiyyah, and Yesirah; I have never seen such a detailed diagram of this anywhere else. Between the text and the notes accompanying the diagrams, Halevi makes clear the scriptual origins of the Qabbalah, the beliefs & practices, as well as the influence of the Qabbalah on non-Jewish traditions. I think this book is a wonderful introduction for a modern reader seeking an "in" on the Qabbalah. Even after reading other books, I find myself going back to this book again and again. It is a treasure.

Well, I still don't unserdtand all this crazy stuff but this book is an extremely good overview with lots of pictures. I am not Jewish but it looks like this book would be really good for Jewish people who want to understand how Kabbalah relates to their religous practices.