Stanford University Press put up a page in May for a book they will publish in November:

“From Kabbalah to Class Struggle: Expressionism, Marxism, and Yiddish Literature in the Life and Work of Meir Wiener ” by Mikhail Krutikov is an intellectual biography of Meir Wiener (1893–1941), an Austrian Jewish intellectual and a student of Jewish mysticism who emigrated to the Soviet Union in 1926 and reinvented himself as a Marxist scholar and Yiddish writer. His dramatic life story offers a fascinating glimpse into the complexities and controversies of Jewish intellectual and cultural history of pre-war Europe.

Wiener made a remarkable career as a Yiddish scholar and writer in the Stalinist Soviet Union and left an unfinished novel about Jewish intellectual bohemia of Weimar Berlin. He was a brilliant intellectual, a controversial thinker, a committed communist, and a great Yiddish scholar—who personally knew Lenin and Rabbi Kook, corresponded with Martin Buber and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and argued with Gershom Scholem and Georg Lukács. His intellectual biography brings Yiddish to the forefront of the intellectual discourse of interwar Europe.

The book can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com

Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi, the British author fo many books on Kabbalah and the man behind the “Kabbalah Society” published his autobiography in April. Here is the description from his site:

In his autobiography, Halevi sets out his spiritual journey amid the drama of life, which he perceives as a process of development, indicating how his unfolding fate is part of a Providential scheme. This book traces the story of how an artist and poet became a writer about and a teacher of Kabbalah. Many of the illustrations are the author’s own work. So too are several of the diagrams, which are a modern interpretation of the Tradition. The Path of a Kabbalist is also a first-hand account of how Halevi’s books came into being and inspired many people and study groups worldwide.

A side note. When I was in London last December, the first time after more than a decade, I visited one my favorite bookstores, Watkins Books. Looking through their Kabbalah section I realized that Halevi is republishing his books under his own company name and design. I took a photo of the shelf dedicated to his works, with the uniform covers.

Sam (Simcha) Krause wrote a book by the title, “Hey Waiter…. There is a God in my soup! Learning Kabbalah through humor“. He explains the reason behind the book in this blog entry:

You might ask, “What’s a nice, serious subject like Kabbalah doing in a book like this?”  The answer lies in Kabbalah itself.  Laughter is an involuntary reflex that transcends reason and lifts us above our physical state, allowing for an unselfconscious connection with something beyond the self – God, for example.  A joyful person is open, available and willing to entertain concepts that don’t necessarily fit a logical paradigm.  So jokes can become vehicles through which we can contemplate the divine.

Arthur Kurzweil wrote a foreword combining personal accolades of the author and a Talmudic story. An excerpt of the book is also available. The book can be purchased at the site’s eStore starting mid August.

Last week I wrote about a recently published book by Mr. Zvi Mark, a Senior Lecturer at Bar Ilan University and Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem is a busy scholar, “The Scroll of Secrets“. Today I am happy to cover another books of his that was published in its original Hebrew in 2003 and  for the first time in English last June , “Mysticism and Madness: The Religious Thought of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav.” The official description of the book reads:

This work offers a systematic description of the highly interesting mystical doctrine of one of the most influential thinkers in Jewish mysticism. Two hundred years since Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav’s demise, his philosophical writings and literary creation remain lively and provocative materials in both Jewish culture and the New-Age movement. Key elements of Rabbi Nachman’s magic and magnetic force are illuminated in this research, which presents Bratslavian mysticism as a unique link in the history of Jewish mysticism. The mystical worldview is the axis of this book, but its branches stretch out to key issues in the Bratslavian world such as belief and imagination, dreams and the land of Israel, melodies and song.

The Robert and Arlene Kogod Library of Judaic Studies publishes new research which provides new directions for modern Jewish thought and life and which serves to enhance the quality of dialogue between classical sources and the modern world.This book series reflects the mission of the Shalom Hartman Institute, a pluralistic research and leadership institute, at the forefront of Jewish thought and education. It empowers scholars, rabbis, educators and layleaders to develop new and diverse voices within the tradition, laying foundations for the future of Jewish life in Israel and around the world.

Rabbi Zvi Leshem‘s review of the book appeared in February in the Jerusalem Post. I didn’t find any other review, but has seen this reposted at half a dozen sites. The review mentions previous biographies of Rabbi Nachman and how Marks ahift the focus from their existentialist focus to “Nahman’s major concern remains that of his other hassidic colleagues, finding a path to God for himself and for his followers.” The review then summarizes further contributions of the book to the study of this important figure.

Read the full review and then read the book. Don’t let it scare you that on the linked Amazon page the price for a copy of the book ranges between $110 and $150. That’s for the hardcver version, but frmo there the paperback is linked to and you could get for between $22 and $38.

In April Academic Studies Press published Zvi Mark‘s “The Scroll of Secrets: The Hidden Messianic Vision of R. Nachman of Breslav“. You can read reviews/blurbs on the Publisher’s site.  The announcing email included information about the book and its author and the table of contents too.

Description:

Concealed for two centuries and known only to a select individual in
each generation, the Scroll of Secrets is the hidden Messianic vision
of R. Nachman of Bratslav. Despite being written in an encoded
language, with acronyms and abbreviations, after a clarification and
cautious reconstruction of what can be decoded, the reader is
presented with an exalted Messianic vision. The book marks a turning
point in our knowledge of R. Nachman’s spiritual world, and initiates
a renewed discussion of an intriguing Hasidism that excites scholars
and broad circles within the Jewish and Israeli publics.  The reader
is presented with a sublime and enticing vision of the eschatological
End of Days that contains song and prayer, Torah, melodies and
longings, and love and compassion for every man.

About the Author:

Dr. Zvi Mark is a Senior Lecturer at Bar-Ilan University and a
Research Fellow of Shalom  Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. His
previous publications include Mysticism and Madness; The Religious
Thought of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (Continuum, London and New York,
2009) and numerous articles examining the esoterica of Bratslav Hasidism.

Table of Contents:

Introduction by Shaul Magid.
Translator’s Introduction.
Foreword.
Section 1
The Scroll of Secrets.
Opening Scroll.

Section 2
Deciphering the Tepliker Manuscript.

Section 3
Chapter One – The Messiah as a Breslavian Tzadik: Made in the Image of R. Nachman.
Chapter Two – The Messiah as Baby and Child in the Scroll.
Chapter Three – The Nature of the World in Messianic Times.
Chapter Four – The Temple.
Chapter Five – King Solomon and the Scroll’s Messiah.
Chapter Six – Is There a Secret Belief that R. Nachman Never Died or Will Return from the Dead?
Chapter Seven – The Scroll in Light of the Other Secret Writings of R. Nachman.
Chapter Eight – The Scroll as Esoterica: Social and Spiritual Aspects of the Sanctified Secret.
Chapter Nine – The Messianic Revolution and the Echoes of the Scrolls among the Breslav Chasidim Today.
Chapter Ten – Epilogue.

Appendix One.
Appendix Two: Further Testimony on the Scroll and its Transmission.
Appendix Three: The Manuscripts.
Appendix Four: R. Avraham Chazan on the Scroll of Secrets: The  Sichot Me’anash Manuscript.
Appendix Five: The Return of the Baal Shem Tov as the Messiah.
Appendix Six: Where is the Golden Tree?
Bibliography.
Index.

Tal Moshe Zwecker (a Chabad rabbi) published the Kindle edition of his ” Jewish Meditation – Hisbodedus the lost path of secluded meditation” last week. It is a 34 pages long. Here is his description:

A collection of translations from primary sources on Jewish Meditation, especially relating to the prophetic and mussar schools. Beginning with Sefer HaMaspik Le’Ovdei Hashem by Rabbi Abraham Maimonides the famous son of Rambam, this book presents authentic traditional sources from the Tanakch, the classic commentaries, the mussar school and the kabbalists about Hitbodedut or secluded meditation. This is not an instructional guide but a collection and minor analysis of these texts to guide someone who has a genuine interest in exploring the primary authentic texts of the Jewish tradition on Hisbodedus of the body and of the mind. Questions answered and explored include: What is Hisbodedus? Who practiced it and how? What are the different forms of Hisbodedus?

From the publisher’s, ACMI Press’ blurb on Gerald Epstein‘s Kabbalah for Inner Peace: Imagery and Insights to Guide You through Your Day

Kabbalah for Inner Peace offers a contemporary approach to the 4,000–year–old spiritual tradition called the Kabbalah of Light or Visionary Kabbalah. This practice weaves the wisdom of Kabbalah with mental imagery exercises. Through this path, we discover new perspectives, create change, and open ourselves to Spirit. With over 60 mental imagery exercises, the book takes us through a typical day and addresses the challenges that we frequently face – from centering ourselves in the morning to alleviating insomnia at night. In between, Dr. Gerald Epstein teaches us to conquer the inner terrorists of anxiety and self–doubt; to master our financial worries; to cope with physical pain; and to deal with past trauma. The book concludes with imagery to awaken to Spirit and find true freedom.

And here is Vision magazine’s review:

Perpetual stress, anxiety and self-doubt are just some of the side effects of what Gerald Epstein, MD, calls “our inner terrorists.” These mental-health minions block our communication with the spiritual realm, leaving us enslaved by the material world—frustrated, aggravated, and longing for peace.

As a physician and pioneer in the use of mental imagery to heal mental and physical ailments, Epstein’s latest book, Kabbalah for Inner Peace: Imagery and Insights to Guide You through Your Day, delves into the imbalances that lie at the root of our daily stress. This inspirational book fuses the ancient mystical wisdom of the Kabbalah with 60 visual exercises that help us conquer negativity, reopen our spiritual passageways, and find strength amid life’s challenges.

From financial fears to insomnia, physical pain and past traumas, Epstein illustrates how to recognize and confront the source of suffering through short mental imagery exercises. With closed eyes, deep breaths and a clear mind, we can learn how to connect with the energy of the universe, visualize its flowing power, and rediscover our innate self-healer.

According to Epstein, the disconnection between people and the divine force comes from constant external stimuli from work, finances, television and myriad distractions. Yet through these daily exercises, we can tune out the racket and transcend into a mystical union that brings healing, balance and harmony to our lives.

The book @ Amazon

Prof. Jonathan Garb‘s The Chosen Will Become Herds: Studies in Twentieth-Century Kabbalah (translated to English by Yaffah Berkovits-Murciano) is finally a comprehensive study of modern Kabbalah in its social context. Here is the publisher’s, Yale University Press’, blurb:

The popularity of Kabbalah, a Jewish mystical movement at least 900 years old, has grown astonishingly within the context of the vast and ever-expanding social movement commonly referred to as the New Age. This book is the first to provide a broad overview of the major trends in contemporary Kabbalah together with in-depth discussions of major figures and schools.

A noted expert on Kabbalah, Jonathan Garb places the “kabbalistic Renaissance” within the global context of the rise of other forms of spirituality, including Sufism and Tibetan Buddhism. He shows how Kabbalah has been transformed by the events of the Holocaust and, following the establishment of Israel, by aliyah. The Chosen Will Become Herds is an original piece of scholarship and, in its own right, a new chapter in the history of Kabbalah.

The book @ Amazon

The book at the publisher’s site

The Jerusalem Post review

Academic Studies Press is pleased to announce the publication of the  English language edition of Yoram Bilu’s Bahat prize winning book,  The Saints’ Impresarios: Dreamers, Healers and Holy Men in Israel’s  Periphery.

The astonishing revival of saint worship in contemporary Israel was ignited by Moroccan Jews, who had immigrated to the new country in the 1950s and 1960s.  The Saint’s Impresarios charts the vicissitudes of four new domestic shrines, established by Moroccan-born men and women in peripheral development towns, following an exciting revelation involving a saintly figure.  Each of the case studies discussing the life stories of the “saint impresarios” elaborates on a distinctive theme: dreams as psychocultural triggers for revelation; family and community responses to the initiative; female saint impresarios as healers; and the alleviation of life crises through the saint’s idiom. The initiatives are evaluated against the historical background of Jews in Morocco and the sociopolitical and cultural changes in present-day Israeli society. For readers interested in Israel and Jewish Studies, folk religion and mysticism, cultural and psychological anthropology, and Moroccan Jews.

THE THOUGHT OF R. JOSEPH ALBO
Esoteric Writing in the Late Middle Ages,
By Dror Ehrlich

The book is in Hebrew, published by Bar-Ilan University Press

This book is the first comprehensive, methodological analysis of the religious-philosophical thought of R. Joseph Albo, author of the Sefer ha-`Ikkarim. Albo was active in Christian Spain in the first half of the fifteenth century, a period in which the Catholic Church exerted great pressure on the Jews in order to convince them to convert to Christianity. During this same time there was an ongoing dispute among Jewish thinkers between conservatives and rationalists regarding the role of philosophy in the formation of religious concepts.

The book claims that Sefer Ha-`Ikkarim was written in an esoteric manner, similar to Maimonides` The Guide of the Perplexed, so that the author`s true beliefs are concealed in different philosophical and theological discussions. A close study of Albo`s discussions on many issues related to his theories on divinity, on humanity, onprovidence and on reward reveals his use of many literary and stylistic means of concealment. Analysis of his philosophical works in the light of the intellectual, cultural, social and political contexts in which he lived enables one to understand what caused Albo to write in this particular style. It is well know that there is a significant time gap between the original version of the first part of Sefer Ha-`Ikkarim and its final completion. This book reveals that there is also gap in content and in style between the first part and the three additional ones. This research sheds new light on Albo`s philosophy, which was considered by most scholars of medieval Jewish philosophy to be conservative, eclectic, apologetic and unoriginal. The conclusion is that the key to a fitting understanding of Albo`s thought lies in the identification and characterization of the art of his philosophic writing.