The prolific Yehuda Berg published another book in April: “The Spiritual Rules of Engagement: How Kabbalah Can Help Your Soul Mate Find You.” Here is quickdfw.com‘s (where I first found about the book) take on it

The basic idea: At the beginning of the universe, there was a Divine Force. It created a vessel, which was both female and male. But the presence of both genders made it shatter, and the pieces created the universe. So now we’re looking for our soul mate from that period. It’s a horrible oversimplification, which is why you should read this book. In it, Berg explains this mystic puzzle and makes it quite a bit less confusing.

I learned from Bob’s Book Reviews that the Steampunk anthology (edited by  Ann and Jeff VanderMeer) that intended to introduce the Steampunk genre to wider audiences includes “Ted Chiang‘s “Seventy-Two Letters” a golem story, set in a world in which automata are animated by the magic of the Kabbalah (and face opposition from the equivalent of Luddites).”

Found it on Chabad.org:

New Book on Jewish Mysticism Released
Jan 27, 2009 1:45 PM
A new book on Jewish mysticism, written by Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi DovBer Pinson, has recently been published by Ben Yehuda Press.

“Thirty-Two Gates of Wisdom: Awakening Through Kabbalah” presents meditative practices as a way to achieve a deeper awareness of the spirituality inherent in the physical world.

Pinson runs Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Iyyun Center, a community-based yeshiva that focuses on Jewish law and Kabbalah, and directs Chabad of Carroll Gardens. …

Here is the description from Amazon.com

Kabbalah holds the secrets to a path of conscious awareness. In this compact book, noted spiritual teacher DovBer Pinson presents 32 key concepts of Kabbalah and shows their value in opening the gates of perception. From the Introduction: Simply translated, Kabbalah means “that which is received.” Looking deeper, the word Kabbalah can mean to be open and receptive, to challenge one’s own internal navigational system in order to see, hear, and be open to… more. We must be receptive to a teaching to fully absorb it. We turn ourselves into vessels and invite within that which we wish to understand or grasp. In this way, we become receptacles, dispensaries, and a part of the Kabbalah. We become vessels of this tradition by opening the self to a higher reality, and viewing the spirit within the matter. We raise our consciousness to the point where the Divine within all creation is revealed. As we pursue a deeper awareness, we become less ego-centered and more attuned to the deeper significance of our surroundings. About the author: Rabbi DovBer Pinson heads the Iyyun Center in Brownstone Brooklyn. He has written several books, including Inner Rhythms: The Kabbalah of Music; Reincarnation & Judaism: The Journey of the Soul; Meditation & Judaism: Exploring Meditative Paths and Jewish Wisdom of the Afterlife.

I read a quick entry on EarthTimes.org on why “Significant Numbers Turning to Astrology During Economic Downturn.” The article was mostly based on an interview with Gahl Sasson whose book came out last year: “Cosmic Navigator – Design Your Destiny With Astrology and Kabbalah.” Here is the description from the author’s website:

What is the meaning of life?
When will I find my soul mate?
What happens to me after I die?
Am I bound to my astrological fate or can I change it?
How do I get along with my Virgo boss?
Cosmic Navigator, a new book that combines the ageless personality insights of Astrology with the deeper archetypal wisdom of Kabbalah, provides answers to these and many other questions. It affords readers the thrilling opportunity to learn why they are the way they are, and how each of us might use the potent tools supplied by these spiritual traditions to create purpose, serenity, and a life exactly as we’d like it.

From an email I received:

A new book has just been published that bridges, and demonstrates, a close connection between, three different intellectual disciplines. No one has ever published a book claiming and demonstrating a relationship between these apparently unrelated subjects. This work, which is based upon a close analysis of primary sources in these disciplines, clarifies the principles of each of these disciplines, and should be of interest to those attracted to inter-disciplinary studies.

The book bridges three distinct academic disciplines, the oldest (Jewish Law) being about 2,000 years old, while the most recent (quantum physics) is less than 100 years old. Yet, all deal, in part, with very similar concepts. Yet, all deal, in part, with very similar concepts. The book’s title is, “Quantum Physics, Jewish Law, and Kabbalah: Astonishing Parallels; Theological Implications.” The book has a hard cover, is 6×9″, has 215 pages, an extensive index and bibliography, and a striking painting laminated on the cover.

The book priced at about $21.00, and is available in Jewish bookstores, or from the distributor, Yaakov Levitz, 718-377-0047, 1188 East 18th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11230. The author is Aaron M. Schreiber, a Professor of Law at leading American and Israeli law schools, and an ordained Rabbi. He has previously published many works, including “Jewish Law and Decision-Making: A Study Through Time”, and “Jurisprudence: Understanding and Making Law.” For many years, he was the Principal Investigator of the computerized Responsa Project at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

Urim Publications just published Tzror HaMor Torah Commentary, a classic commentary from the late 15th century by Rabbi Avraham Saba, including many interpretations derived from the Zohar.

Here is the official description from the publisher:

Rabbi Avraham Sabba was born in Castile in 1440 and spent the first 50 years of his life in parts of Spain where Jews lived in prosperity and security. He wrote many books, among them the Torah commentary Tzror HaMor. His genius is evident from the manner in which he selects hundreds of quotations from the Zohar, the most famous mystical text, in which he demonstrates that the author of the Zohar is capable of being understood by the average Jew, (as opposed to scholars) and that the Zohar is helpful in understanding many difficult passages in the Torah.

He was forced into exile to Portugal in 1492, and to North Africa in 1497 after not only being persecuted and seeing many members of his family die for kiddush hashem, but he had to rewrite this commentary completely from memory, as in Fez, Morocco he had no library at his disposal. He died on board a ship on the way to Italy and was buried in Verona in 1510

The translator, Eliyahu Munk, was born in Frankfurt on Main, where he received his education at the Samson Rafael Hirsch Realschule, and the Yeshiva of the late Rabbi Joseph Breuer, of blessed memory. He continued his education at the Yeshiva in Gateshead, England. He served in Jewish education (primarily as a teacher) for almost 30 years in Toronto, Canada.

Hardcover, 5 volume boxed set
$195.00 US
ISBN 978-965-524-013-9

The (New York) Jewish Week had a book review on “The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican,” written by Rabbi Benjamin Blech and Roy Doliner, a docent and guide at the Vatican. Here are some excerpts that caught my attention

The book claims that there was Jewish influence in Michelangelo’s painting, particularly from the Kabbalah or mystical aspect of Judaism. …The authors also point out that a little-noticed aspect of the Sistine Chapel is that Stars of David — then called Seals of Solomon — adorn the floor of the chapel. In addition, they noted that the Sistine Chapel is built to the exact dimensions of the original Temple in Jerusalem — including the Holy of Holies that only the high priests were allowed to enter on Yom Kippur.

And the preface partially reads,

Driven by the truths he had come to recognize during his years of study in private nontraditional schooling in Florence, truths rooted in his involvement with Judaic texts as well as Kabbalistic training that conflicted with approved Christian doctrine, Michelangelo needed to find a way to let viewers discern what he truly believed. He could not allow the Church to forever silence his soul. And what the Church would not permit him to communicate openly, he ingeniously found a way to convey to those diligent enough to learn his secret language.

I learned about Rabbi Yaacov Haber‘s (and Rabbi David Sedley) new book titled Sefiros from an entry of Yitzchok Adlerstein‘s Cross Currents blog. The post dismisses most books in English about Kabbalah, but praises this one. Then goes on to argue with or more specifically elucidate whether sefiros are “not descriptions of G-d Himself, but are themselves part of His creation.” The 20 comments are also informative.

The book itself was published by and available from TorahLab. It is “a practical 49 day guide to spiritual refinement through counting the Omer.” Three sample pages can be downloaded from the publisher’s site, to get a sense of its content. 

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

Rabbi Jonathan M. Case self-published a book titled, Journey to the Soul: Kabbalah’s Pathway for Your Present and Future through Outskirts Press. The publisher put up a webpage through which the book can be ordered and even issued a press release. The author has a blog and a website  and the book is available even at Amazon.com. One the blog he gives weekly drashot. On the website meditations are posted and a few nice images. One would think that through all these channels I could get a fuller picture what the book is about. But at every one of these places only these few lines I repeated. So I repeat them here too. Maybe it is helpful enough for some. I feel that I only got a vague teaser. That means nothing though about the quality of the book.

A hunger grips the world. It yearns to be filled by the answer to the ultimate question: Why am I alive? The voice is incessant. If it is ignored there will be consequences.

Sometimes climaxing as a “mid-life crisis” which can have dramatic implications; other times surfacing as an “existential crisis” at any age, this unspoken and unanswered question can form the core of wrenching sadness, deep angst and some awful choices. There is an answer. Through sources that span millennia and using examples from real lives, here is a richly woven tapestry using stories, lore, aphorisms and the mystic tradition of Kabbalah. Here are the answers you have been seeking.

Come, drink deeply and walk into life…