Practical Kabbalah: A Guide to Jewish Wisdom for Everyday Life

Kabbalah is the richest repository of ancient Jewish mysticism. Its myriad writings express the profundity of God's mysteries and ""explain the eternal laws of how spiritual energy moves through the Cosmos."" For centuries, holy men have devoted their entire lives to plumbing its depths. Rabbi Wolf, who leads workshops and seminars on Kabbalah, believes that the great wisdom of Kabbalah can be used in everyday life to achieve balance and harmony. In the first section of the book, Wolf provides a useful introduction to the history of Kabbalah and its interpretation. He discusses Kabbalah's many layers and paints a picture of the kabbalist, someone whose life is devoted to prayer and the study of Kabbalah. In his second section, Wolf elaborates upon the 10 Sefirot, ""the spiritual energies of Mind and Emotion,"" that make up Kabbalah. The Kabbalah teaches that the universe's creation is incomplete and these Sefirot are the tools we can use to ""create the environment through which the universe can be perfected."" For example, Wolf interprets ""Hessed"" as the ""unlocking flow of love."" He notes that ""Hessed is the dominant flow that propels us to a state of oneness and unity."" As in the other meditations, Wolf offers a variety of meditation exercises on the Sefirot so that the Sefirot can be woven into everyday life. The author uses stories from Hasidic teachers, biblical stories and personal anecdotes to illustrate the ways that Kabbalah can guide seekers to spiritual unity. (June)