This book acquaints the reader with the world of the Kabbalah. The first part discusses the Kabbalist as a person: the personal transmission of Kabbalistic traditions, the Kabbalist's qualities and qualifications, prerequisites and early preparations, risks and achievements, as well as techniques for uncovering mysteries and the sources of revelations. The second part deals with the major themes in the teachings of the Kabbalah, such as the doctrine of the Sefirot, the Sitra–Ahra—good and evil, the creation of the world, the status of the Torah and its commandments, the doctrine of the soul and the transmigration of souls. In treating these issues, the book also notes the assimilation of Kabbalistic notions in Jewish religious customs.

The Kabbalah has long languished in darkness, unknown outside the confines of Jewish Mysticism and the communities who practiced it. But today, the Kabbalah is well-known but often misunderstood. The story of Kabbalah is as old as Judaism itself, with many of the ideas present in the Hebrew Scriptures interpreted in the canon of Kabbalah. Applying Jewish theological premises and Neo-Platonist cosmology, the Kabbalists created a systematic interpretation of familiar Creation Narrative in the Book of Genesis, which today illuminates and serves Judaism. At the same time, Kabbalistic concepts have entered mainstream consciousness with great interest expressed in mainstream Christianity and even in modern science.

"Kabbalah is a clear, accessible primer and introduction to the major teachings of the Jewish mystics and dominant forms of Jewish mystical experiences, as well as to the significant texts that constitute classical Jewish mystical literature."--BOOK JACKET.

A translation of the Kabbalah for the layperson includes a compact presentation of each primary text and features a practical analysis and vital historical information that offer insight into the various aspects of Jewish mysticism.

This remarkable and groundbreaking study explores the author's view that there is a close correspondence between the basic tenets of alchemy and those of Jewish esoteric tradition, generally known as Kabbalah. The author, Arturo Schwarz, points out that both alchemy and Kabbalah are frequently distorted in popular as well as scholarly literature. The real concern of alchemy is not to transmute lead into gold, but rather, through the investigation of the self, to evolve from the state of ignorance (symbolized by lead) to that of awareness (symbolized by gold). As Schwarz points out, "this drive toward self-awareness is also basic in the teachings of the major kabbalists." Schwarz goes on to explain that in both systems "one of the major instruments of understanding our inner self is love, both physical and spiritual." Through a careful analysis of the use of sexual imagery in both systems, Schwarz builds his fascinating and eye-opening thesis that alchemy and kabbalistic tradition share profound similarities.

Vols. 8-10 of the 1965-1984 master cumulation constitute a title index.