On April 1 I received the first suggestion from a website visitor for a book to be included in this site. Joe Markel recommended The Key to Chassidus. The author was listed as Bitzalel Malamud. I tried to find out more about the book, but it was not listed on Amazon and searching for the author’s name Google gave me only 8 hits. One of those though led to lulu.com, where anyone can self-publish a book. The book’s page there includes this description:

An explanation and translation of  “The Gate of Unification” by the Mittler Rebbe. This book explains how the physical and spiritual worlds are emanated and created through the contractions of the G-dly, infinite light of the “Chain of Descent” from cause to effect.

Besides purchasing it at lulu.com one can download the entire book as a series PDF files from here. The first of these not just include an introduction, but also a detailed table of contents. Under each chapter heading there is a third/half page explanation of what the chapter is about. That should navigating the book for those who are ready to dive into it.

Eliahu Klein’s “A Mystical Haggadah: Passover Meditations, Teaching, and Tales” was published just in time for this year’s Passover. Here is the book description that appears on every site that lists it:

In a generation that has seen an explosion in popularity of books about mystical and meditative traditions, very little has been published about the rich and fascinating mystical traditions of the Jewish holy days. Passover, the first religious holiday of the Jewish people, particularly rewards a re-viewing from a mystical perspective. A Mystical Haggadah takes readers through the Passover ritual with Kabbalistic meditations and affirmations in a friendly, accessible format. This Haggadah also includes many Hassidic teachings and stories that have never been presented to the English reading audience. The book is especially valuable for its transliterations of all the major prayers and rituals, and is refreshing in its creative and spiritually-based adaptation and translation of the primary Haggadah text.

Klein’s three previous books are already on this site, so I am happy to add this latest one.

• Meetings With Remarkable Souls: Legends of the Baal Shem Tov
• Kabbalah of Creation: The Mysticism of Isaac Luria, Founder of Modern Kabbalah
• Kabbalah of Creation: Isaac Luria’s Earlier Mysticism