The question above was on the mind of enough rabbis and academics to organize a conference around it. As I read the summary in the JewishJournal.com almost everybody who is somebody in today’s world of Kabbalah was there. Just look at the list of speakers and panelistst on the conference’s homepage. (I will be adding more books to my list based on that page.) The subtitle, setting the agenda for the event was: The Promise and Problems in Mainstreaming Jewish Mysticism. Based on the Jewish Journal piece it sounds like they managed to do that.

The Backyard Professor’s blog entry on cool video about sound and creation (and rice and a metal sheet) re-introduced me to Leonora Leets. She has four Kabbalah books out, of which I already listed the first two earlier:

• The Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah: Recovering the Key to Hebraic Sacred Science
• Renewing the Covenant: A Kabbalistic Guide to Jewish Spirituality
• The Kabbalah of the Soul: The Transformative Psychology and Practices of Jewish Mysticism (March 25, 2003)
• The Universal Kabbalah (September 29, 2004)

Regarding her latest, the Amazon.com reviews are not helpful. They either praise her (including Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi, whose opinion I value) or trash her, saying that it is mostly geometry. The publisher’s description is more informative though: [The book p]resents a new understanding of the laws of cosmic manifestation through the sacred geometry of the Sabbath Star diagram. It sees to be an analysis of the Mogen David through (the history of) Kabbalah and its application to other principles.

A press release from last month announced Michael Laitman’s new book: Kabbalah Revealed: The Ordinary Person’s Guide to a More Peaceful Life. One of my favorite principles Kabbalah (and most religions I respect) teaches is humility. The author’s name in the press release is prefixed with “Dr.”, while on his own site and on Amazon it is prefixed with “Rav” and suffixed with “PhD”. This inconsistency made me assume that hem (or the people responsible for promotion) is more interested in the recognition that I would prefer. But as I not have read any of his books I maybe totally off here. Phrases like “word-renowned scholar” or “for the first time ever” make me think of self-promotion. I know that is it necessary, when works alone, but that is my point, why no major publisher picked up his tomes and offered help with more appropriate wording? (I am speaking from ignorance, there might be legitimate reasons, e.g. they want to publish it through their own organization, “Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies”. In my experience most major talents manage to get major support. He might have opted to stay in the somewhat closed world of orthodoxy.)
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Howard Smith (an observant Jew and a research astrophysicist) wrote in a column at Newsday.com:
The mystical Jewish Kabbalists of 16th-century Israel developed a cosmology with striking similarities to that of modern science. […T]he Kabbalists weaved an intricate account of how the universe was created with light from an infinitesimal speck that evolved with light into today’s universe. […] Modern science offers us a deeper way to explicate scriptural symbolism.
I strongly suspect that his new book (published in October), “Let There Be Light: Modern Cosmology and Kabbalah, a New Conversation between Science and Religion” is an explication of the same idea.

Following the lead of the intro line of Rabbi Max Weiman’s monthly column at the JewishInStLouis.org to Amazon.com I realized that his new book was published in November. The description of the 68 page booklet does not give much away:
This short book gives the reader a user friendly handle on three key ideas that lead to a happy life. They all boil down to independent thinking, but the important part is how this is attached to the soul. Practical examples and exercises make this book a hands on tool for life long happiness.

Weiman’s own site, Kabbalah Made Easy, has plenty of free material in the form of courses/articles, but visitors can buy his writings and ask questions from him too. Let me just pick one sentence form his site from the autobiographical page, in case it helps:
His own books A Map of the Universe: An Introduction to the Study of Kabbalah, Cycle of Influence: Kabbalah and Astrology, and A Simple Guide to Happiness: From a mystical perspective, he has self-published and is seeking a mainstream publisher for them.

I more or less accidentally came upon this book as I was looking for something else, not even Kabbalah related. I didn’t find out much about it, as there is only one Amazon review and a short description at the publisher’s (Syracuse University Press) site. The later suggests that the Zohar is a clue “to this academic detective story” about Dante and his relationship to Beatrice Portinari. And I copy here the former in its full length.

Mark Mirsky’s Dante, Eros, Kabbalah is a spinning, lush, analytical look at Dante’s relationship to the mysterious Beatrice. He looks at Dante’s world through the weave of Jewish mysticism and western philosophy, and this tilts each world enough so that you see everything in a new light as you read. With inspired madness and genius, Mirsky delves deep into the abyss of paradise and love. Highly recommended.

In the same Cleveland Jewish News item where it was announced that David S. Ariel will step down from the presidency of Siegal College I learned of his “Kabbalah: The Mystic Quest in Judaism” book and that he will be working on another one next year. There are so many introductory texts to Kabbalah by now that it is hard for one to stand out. However this books is not from now it is an enhanced reworking of the author’s 1988 book. Back then it was a more unique endeavor and was well received. More when I lay my hands on a copy.

• Amazon

I learned from the Cleveland Jewish News, but could have learned from many source about Lawrence Kushner’s first fiction book Kabbalah: A Love Story. As I was educated by so many of his previous books I am looking forward to read this novel. Both the Cleveland review tells more of the story line and thinks of the book as s collection of interesting ideas and enjoyable fiction at the same time. What I picked up from the official Amazon description is that the book works on many levels, just like Kabbalah. I plan to make up my own mind about it, but these are aspects I might enjoy when I get to it.