Living the Kabbalah : a guide to the Sabbath and festivals in the teachings of Rabbi Rafael Moshe Luria /

Two rabbis, a world apart (Benyosef in Jerusalem, Wolf in Australia), take quite different approaches to bringing the Kabbalah to modern readers. Kabbalah, a set of ancient mystic Jewish teachings, dates from ancient times but reached its flowering in 18th-century central Europe. Over the centuries, there have been many great teachers of Kabbalah. Benyosef bases his teachings on those of Rafael Moshe Luria, a modern master of Kabbalah and a direct descendant of the famous 16th-century Kabbalist R. Isaac Luria. Benyosef guides the reader through the holidays and festivals of the Jewish year and shows how these events can be celebrated and understood via concepts developed by Moshe Luria. The text will speak to those already familiar with the Kabbalah and who wish to contrast the Lurian approach with that of other Kabbalists. Beginners will find the text rough going. In contrast, Wolf (who bases his teachings on those of the late Lubavicher Rebbe Schneerson) shows how the Kabbalah fits into other mystic traditions such as Zen Buddhism and Hinduism. Using meditation exercises, Wolf, who is also a psychologist, hopes to bring the reader to inner peace and spiritual communion with God. Recommended for larger religion or Judaica collections.ÄOlga B. Wise, Compaq Computers Inc., Austin, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.