The Book of Concealed Mystery

Continuum announces a new series of classic works of mysticism with representative texts from all the major world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism.A mix of familiar texts with proven sales potential and less familiar works with untapped readerships will introduce the committed of all faiths to key contemplative texts from outside their traditions. Each volume will be bound with lavish, full-color covers, and illustrated throughout.The Book of Concealed Mystery is a book of the key text of the Kabbalah, a work known as the Zohar ("Splendour"). The Zohar is a commentary on the Torah and although it is sometimes ascribed to a second-century rabbi, Simon Bar-Yochai, the form in which it is most widely known originates with Moses of Leon, a native of Granada, who died in 1305.The kabbalists believe that the undefinable origin of all things is Ein Sof -- the cause of causes, the infinite, that which underlies everything. The universe emanates from the divine in successive layers called esefiroti. Everything exists in God, but God extends infinitely beyond existence. All we know and are is linked together, pervaded and maintained by the divine. According to The Book of Concealed Mystery, the light of God must be concealed in order to be revealed to creation. Even though the kabbalists believe that ultimately Ein Sof is beyond expression or understanding, the contemplation of God's presence in all things causes our thoughts to be purified