Kabbalah For Dummies

Arthur Kurzweil is known as America's foremost Jewish genealogist. The author/editor of several books, he lectures extensively on the subjects of Judaica, magic, and mysticism.

Introduction 1

Part I: So, What’s the Big Secret? Unmasking Kabbalah 9

Chapter 1: What Is Kabbalah? 11

Chapter 2: Magic, Mishegas, and Other Things that Kabbalah Isn’t 29

Chapter 3: Looking Back: A Brief History Of Kabbalah 35

Part II: Cutting to the Core of Kabbalah 53

Chapter 4: The Link between Heaven and Earth: Kabbalah’s Own Top-Ten Countdown 55

Chapter 5: Everything (Even a Traffic Jam) Is for the Best 75

Chapter 6: Our Bodies Don’t Have Souls; Our Souls Have Bodies 91

Chapter 7: Like Déjà Vu All Over Again: Reincarnation in Kabbalah 101

Chapter 8: Instant Karma’s Gonna Get You 113

Part III: Livin’ La Vida Kabbalah 125

Chapter 9: Living One Day at a Time 127

Chapter 10: Living One Week at a Time 149

Chapter 11: A Year in the Life of a Kabbalist 173

Chapter 12: A Kabbalist’s Life Cycle 191

Part IV: Fine-tuning the Essential Skills of the Kabbalist 207

Chapter 13: Discovering the Kabbalistic Books that Really Matter 209

Chapter 14: Hitting the Books — and Kissing Them: Studying Like a Kabbalist 227

Chapter 15: Praying Like a Kabbalist 245

Chapter 16: Knowing the Unknowable God 269

Part V: The Part of Tens 287

Chapter 17: (Almost) Ten Myths about Studying Kabbalah 289

Chapter 18: Ten Great Kabbalists in History 297

Chapter 19: Ten Places that Kabbalists Visit 313

Part VI: Appendixes 323

Appendix A: Books and Authors You’ll Thank Me For Recommending 325

Appendix B: Patriarchs, Swindlers, Prophets, and Sinners: Meet 100 Torah Characters 329

Appendix C: A Glossary of Everything Kabbalah 335

Index 349