**This groundbreaking work by Richard Smoley, author of fourteen books including Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of Gnosticism and Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition, presents the Jewish mystical teaching in a fresh new light.
Kabbalah: Treasure House of Secret Wisdom**offers a guide to the esoteric tradition that will serve as a concise introduction for beginners. But it also presents never-before-published insights on the Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Formation"), the oldest, most admired, but one of the most cryptic Kabbalistic texts that will bring a fresh perspective on this work even for advanced students.
Richard Smoley has incorporated the fruits of fifty years of Kabbalistic study and practice and discusses how the tradition has spread from its Jewish roots to widespread use in present-day Western mysticism.
This book offers:
- A brief history of the Kabbalistic tradition
- An introduction to the Tree of Life, the central image of the Kabbalah
- An explanation of the ten sefirot or principles of the Tree of Life
- Easy to follow directions for creating a Tree of your own
- A clear, succinct, and persuasive analysis of the Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Formation")
- An analysis of the meaning of the different Hebrew names for God
- What may be the true pronunciation of the unutterable Divine Name, the Tetragrammaton YHWH
- Ways of practicing Kabbalistic meditation
- Core teachings of Kabbalistic number symbolism
- A clear description of the Four Worlds of Kabbalistic teaching and how they interpenetrate
- A discussion of how Kabbalah relates to human psychology
- A Kabbalistic analysis of the creation account in Genesis
- An explanation of how the Kabbalah underlies the symbolism of both Judaism and Christianity
- An account of how to use the Kabbalah to awaken higher consciousness
- A section, "For Your Consideration," at the end of each chapter, providing exercises and material for thought and enabling readers to experience the ideas more deeply
Although there are many books on the Kabbalah available today, Kabbalah: Treasure House of Secret Wisdom is essential reading for students of this tradition at all levels.
