cover image Kabbalah Month by Month: A Year of Spiritual Practice and Personal Transformation

Kabbalah Month by Month: A Year of Spiritual Practice and Personal Transformation

Melinda Ribner. Jossey-Bass, $22.95 (329pp) ISBN 978-0-7879-6152-7

It was inevitable that amid the explosion of Kabbalah-related books in the last five years, some would be done devotional-style, aimed to bring the puzzles of Judaism's most mystical text to readers in digestible, bite-sized daily doses. But in Kabbalah Month by Month: A Year of Spiritual Practice and Personal Transformation, Mindy Ribner gives readers a fairly thoughtful and perceptive interpretation. What sets this book apart from most others that explore Kabbalah for the hoi polloi is that it is firmly and stubbornly rooted in Jewish tradition. Some may not agree with Ribner's explanations of some Jewish traditions, or her investigations of astrology, but they will appreciate the fact that she has not sought to divorce Kabbalah from its religious roots. The book is beautifully designed in a square paperback format. (Oct.)