Appendix One: Further Reading
To help you determine which book you would like to read next, we have divided the books into five categories – Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced, All Around, and Textbooks. The first three categories are divided by the level of prior knowledge readers are required to have. The Beginners Category requires no prior knowledge. The Intermediate Category requires reading one or two beginners’ books first; and the Advanced level requires one or two books of each of the previous categories. The fourth category, All Around, includes books you can always enjoy, whether you are a complete novice or well versed in Kabbalah.
The fifth category – textbooks – includes translations of authentic source materials from earlier Kabbalists, such as the Ari, Rav Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam) and his son and successor, Rav Baruch Ashlag (the Rabash).
Additional translated material that has not yet been published can be found at www.kabbalah.info. All materials on this site, including e-versions of published books, can be downloaded free of charge.
Beginners
Kabbalah for Beginners
Kabbalah for Beginners is a book for all those seeking answers to life’s essential questions. We all want to know why we are here, why there is pain, and how we can make life more enjoyable. The four parts of this book provide us with reliable answers to these questions, as well as clear explanations of the gist of Kabbalah and its practical implementations.
Part One discusses the discovery of the wisdom of Kabbalah, and how it was developed, and finally concealed until our time. Part Two introduces the gist of the wisdom of Kabbalah, using ten easy drawings to help us understand the structure of the spiritual worlds, and how they relate to our world. Part Three reveals Kabbalistic concepts that are largely unknown to the public, and Part Four elaborates on practical means you and I can take, to make our lives better and more enjoyable for us and for our children.
Kabbalah Revealed
This is a clearly written, reader-friendly guide to making sense of the surrounding world. Each of its six chapters focuses on a different aspect of the wisdom of Kabbalah, illuminating the teachings and explaining them using various examples from our day-to-day lives.
The first three chapters in Kabbalah Revealed explain why the world is in a state of crisis, how our growing desires promote progress as well as alienation, and why the biggest deterrent to achieving positive change is rooted in our own spirits. Chapters Four through Six offer a prescription for positive change. In these chapters, we learn how we can use our spirits to build a personally peaceful life in harmony with all of Creation.
Wondrous Wisdom
This book offers an initial course on Kabbalah. Like all the books presented here, Wondrous Wisdom is based solely on authentic teachings passed down from Kabbalist teacher to student over thousands of years. At the heart of the book is a sequence of lessons revealing the nature of Kabbalah’s wisdom and explaining how to attain it. For every person questioning “Who am I really?” and “Why am I on this planet?” this book is a must.
Awakening to Kabbalah
A distinctive, personal, and awe-filled introduction to an ancient wisdom tradition. In this book, Rav Laitman offers a deeper understanding of the fundamental teachings of Kabbalah, and how you can use its wisdom to clarify your relationship with others and the world around you.
Using language both scientific and poetic, he probes the most profound questions of spirituality and existence. This provocative, unique guide will inspire and invigorate you to see beyond the world as it is and the limitations of your everyday life, become closer to the Creator, and reach new depths of the soul.
Kabbalah, Science, and the Meaning of Life
Science explains the mechanisms that sustain life; Kabbalah explains why life exists. In Kabbalah, Science, and the Meaning of Life, Rav Laitman combines science and spirituality in a captivating dialogue that reveals life’s meaning.
For thousands of years Kabbalists have been writing that the world is a single entity divided into separate beings. Today the cutting-edge science of quantum physics states a very similar idea: that at the most fundamental level of matter, we are all literally one.
Science proves that reality is affected by the observer who examines it; and so does Kabbalah. But Kabbalah makes an even bolder statement: even the Creator, the Maker of reality, is within the observer. In other words, God is inside of us; He doesn’t exist anywhere else. When we pass away, so does He.
These earthshaking concepts and more are eloquently introduced so that even readers new to Kabbalah or science will easily understand them. Therefore, if you’re just a little curious about why you are here, what life means, and what you can do to enjoy it more, this book is for you.
From Chaos to Harmony
Many researchers and scientists agree that the ego is the reason behind the perilous state our world is in today. Laitman’s groundbreaking book not only demonstrates that ego has been the basis for all suffering throughout human history, but also shows how we can turn our plight to pleasure.
The book contains a clear analysis of the human soul and its problems, and provides a “roadmap” of what we need to do to once again be happy. From Chaos to Harmony explains how we can rise to a new level of existence on personal, social, national, and international levels.
Intermediate
The Kabbalah Experience
The depth of the wisdom revealed in the questions and answers within this book will inspire readers to reflect and contemplate. This is not a book to race through, but rather one that should be read thoughtfully and carefully. With this approach, readers will begin to experience a growing sense of enlightenment while simply absorbing the answers to the questions every Kabbalah student asks along the way.
The Kabbalah Experience is a guide from the past to the future, revealing situations that all students of Kabbalah will experience at some point along their journeys. For those who cherish every moment in life, this book offers unparalleled insights into the timeless wisdom of Kabbalah.
The Path of Kabbalah
This unique book combines beginners’ material with more advanced concepts and teachings. If you have read a book or two of Laitman’s, you will find this book very easy to relate to.
While touching upon basic concepts such as perception of reality and Freedom of Choice, The Path of Kabbalah goes deeper and expands beyond the scope of beginners’ books. The structure of the worlds, for example, is explained in greater detail here than in the “pure” beginners’ books. Also described is the spiritual root of mundane matters such as the Hebrew calendar and the holidays.
Advanced
The Science of Kabbalah
Kabbalist and scientist Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, designed this book to introduce readers to the special language and terms of the authentic wisdom of Kabbalah. Here, Rav Laitman reveals authentic Kabbalah in a manner both rational and mature. Readers are gradually led to understand the logical design of the Universe and the life that exists in it.
The Science of Kabbalah, a revolutionary work unmatched in its clarity, depth, and appeal to the intellect, will enable readers to approach the more technical works of Baal HaSulam (Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag), such as The Study of the Ten Sefirot and The Book of Zohar. Readers of this book will enjoy the satisfying answers to the riddles of life that only authentic Kabbalah provides. Travel through the pages and prepare for an astonishing journey into the Upper Worlds.
Introduction to the Book of Zohar
This volume, along with The Science of Kabbalah, is a required preparation for those who wish to understand the hidden message of The Book of Zohar. Among the many helpful topics dealt with in this text is an introduction to the “language of roots and branches,” without which the stories in The Zohar are mere fable and legend. Introduction to the Book of Zohar will provide readers with the necessary tools to understand authentic Kabbalah as it was originally meant to be, as a means to attain the Upper Worlds.
The Zohar
The Book of Zohar(The Book of Radiance) is an ageless source of wisdom and the basis for all Kabbalistic literature. Since its appearance nearly 2,000 years ago, it has been the primary, and often only, source used by Kabbalists.
For centuries, Kabbalah was hidden from the public, which was deemed not yet ready to receive it. However, our generation has been designated by Kabbalists as the first generation that is ready to grasp the concepts in The Zohar. Now, we can put these principles into practice in our lives.
Written in a unique and metaphorical language, The Book of Zohar enriches our understanding of reality and widens our worldview. Although the text deals with one subject only – how to relate to the Creator – it approaches it from different angles. This allows each of us to find the particular phrase or word that will carry us into the depths of this profound and timeless wisdom.
All Around
Attaining the Worlds Beyond
From the introduction to Attaining the Worlds Beyond: “…Not feeling well on the Jewish New Year in September 1991, my teacher called me to his bedside and handed me his notebook, saying, ‘Take it and learn from it.’ The following morning, my teacher perished in my arms, leaving me and many of his other disciples without guidance in this world.
“He used to say, ‘I want to teach you to turn to the Creator, rather than to me, because He is the only strength, the only Source of all that exists, the only One who can really help you, and He awaits your prayers for help. When you seek help in your search for freedom from the bondage of this world, help in elevating yourself above this world, help in finding the self, and help in determining your purpose in life, you must turn to the Creator, who sends you all those aspirations in order to compel you to turn to Him.’”
Attaining the Worlds Beyond holds within it the content of that notebook, as well as other inspiring texts. This book reaches out to all those seekers who want to find a logical, reliable way to understand the world’s phenomena. This fascinating introduction to the wisdom of Kabbalah will enlighten the mind, invigorate the heart, and move readers to the depths of their souls.
Basic Concepts in Kabbalah
This is a book to help readers cultivate an approach to the concepts of Kabbalah, to spiritual objects, and to spiritual terms. By reading and re-reading in this book, one develops internal observations, senses, and approaches that did not previously exist within. These newly acquired observations are like sensors that “feel” the space around us that is hidden from our ordinary senses.
Hence, Basic Concepts in Kabbalah is intended to foster the contemplation of spiritual terms. Once we are integrated with these terms, we can begin to see, with our inner vision, the unveiling of the spiritual structure that surrounds us, almost as if a mist has been lifted.
Again, this book is not aimed at the study of facts. Instead, it is a book for those who wish to awaken the deepest and subtlest sensations they can possess.
Together Forever
On the surface, Together Forever is a children’s story. But like all good children’s stories, it transcends boundaries of age, culture, and upbringing.
In Together Forever, the author tells us that if we are patient and endure the trials we encounter along our life’s path, we will become stronger, braver, and wiser. Instead of growing weaker, we will learn to create our own magic and our own wonders as only a magician can.
In this warm, tender tale, Michael Laitman shares with children and parents alike some of the gems and charms of the spiritual world. The wisdom of Kabbalah is filled with spellbinding stories. The Magician is yet another gift from this ageless source of wisdom, whose lessons make our lives richer, easier, and far more fulfilling.
Textbooks
Shamati
Rav Michael Laitman’s words on the book: Among all the texts and notes that were used by my teacher, Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag (the Rabash), there was one special notebook he always carried. This notebook contained the transcripts of his conversations with his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), author of the Sulam (Ladder) commentary on The Book of Zohar, The Study of the Ten Sefirot (a commentary on the texts of the Kabbalist, Ari), and of many other works on Kabbalah.
Not feeling well on the Jewish New Year in September 1991, the Rabash summoned me to his bedside and handed me a notebook, whose cover contained only one word, Shamati (I Heard). As he handed the notebook, he said, “Take it and learn from it.” The following morning, my teacher perished in my arms, leaving me and many of his other disciples without guidance in this world.
Committed to Rabash’s legacy to disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah, I published the notebook just as it was written, thus retaining the text’s transforming powers. Among all the books of Kabbalah, Shamati is a unique and compelling creation.