Zohar: The Book of Splendor : Basic Readings from the Kabbalah

Rating:
Summary: prayer book
Review: I enjoy this small book by Herr Doktor Gershom Scholem. "Zohar : The Book of Splendor : Basic Readings from the Kabbalah" is a collection of passages from the Zohar. The Zohar is a five volume set which is the central work in the literature of the Kabbalah. It was written in the late 13th Century CE in Spain. As such, this little book is much too small to be considered as anything but snippets and favourite passages. At the same time, I find solace in the meditations. Like many prayer books, I find it helps to centre myself spiritually as I conform my conscious mind to my faith. If you are interested in a book of meditations to strengthen a prayer life, this book may be interesting to you.

Rating:
Summary: prayer book
Review: I enjoy this small book by Herr Doktor Gershom Scholem. "Zohar : The Book of Splendor : Basic Readings from the Kabbalah" is a collection of passages from the Zohar. The Zohar is a five volume set which is the central work in the literature of the Kabbalah. It was written in the late 13th Century CE in Spain. As such, this little book is much too small to be considered as anything but snippets and favourite passages. At the same time, I find solace in the meditations. Like many prayer books, I find it helps to centre myself spiritually as I conform my conscious mind to my faith. If you are interested in a book of meditations to strengthen a prayer life, this book may be interesting to you.

Rating:
Summary: Wisdom
Review: Short book, with few passages, makes us think quite a bit to understand. It's a gate to start studying The Zohar; not too deep but also not too easy as the subject itself is far from light.

Rating:
Summary: A Glimpse at the Mysterious Zohar
Review: This book was primarily written for those people that want to get a flavor for the large compilation of writings known as the Zohar. The Zohar is the most widely used text in the study of Kabbalah. This book, written by Gershom Scholem, takes various exerpts from the Zohar to give the reader a basic idea of what manner of instruction and knowledge one can find in the Zohar. His selections are chosen to cover most of the stages of life and the major questions concerning what lies after and possibly our return. For taking such a small selection, Scholem masterfully picked his selections to provide a smooth transition between subjects. This book is very short and can be read in a couple of days without too much effort. Let the reader beware, if you choose to obtain the full version after reading this book, you might be surprised to find that much of the text is extremely difficult to understand. Scholem definitely chose those exerpts that are not too difficult to understand for this book. In spite of its brevity, I would recommend this book because it adequately portrays the Jews rich scholarship over the centuries and their constant striving to understand the more mysterious matters of their existence.

Rating:
Summary: A Glimpse at the Mysterious Zohar
Review: This book was primarily written for those people that want to get a flavor for the large compilation of writings known as the Zohar. The Zohar is the most widely used text in the study of Kabbalah. This book, written by Gershom Scholem, takes various exerpts from the Zohar to give the reader a basic idea of what manner of instruction and knowledge one can find in the Zohar. His selections are chosen to cover most of the stages of life and the major questions concerning what lies after and possibly our return. For taking such a small selection, Scholem masterfully picked his selections to provide a smooth transition between subjects. This book is very short and can be read in a couple of days without too much effort. Let the reader beware, if you choose to obtain the full version after reading this book, you might be surprised to find that much of the text is extremely difficult to understand. Scholem definitely chose those exerpts that are not too difficult to understand for this book. In spite of its brevity, I would recommend this book because it adequately portrays the Jews rich scholarship over the centuries and their constant striving to understand the more mysterious matters of their existence.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting First Look
Review: This was an intense book and was frightfully challenging at times. Part of the challenge was due to a lack of cultural relevance. The book makes reference to all kinds of Jewish history and culture without any explanations. It felt as though I were missing huge chunks of important references.
But, that being said, what I was able to grasp was enormous. This book really put a new spin on the Old Testament for me. It made me think about allegory and allusion in a whole new light. The layers and layers of mythic and mystic knowledge that it hints at being concealed in the various Scriptures is both tantalizing and invigorating. And, perhaps most importantly of all, it has left me wanting more.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting First Look
Review: This was an intense book and was frightfully challenging at times. Part of the challenge was due to a lack of cultural relevance. The book makes reference to all kinds of Jewish history and culture without any explanations. It felt as though I were missing huge chunks of important references.
But, that being said, what I was able to grasp was enormous. This book really put a new spin on the Old Testament for me. It made me think about allegory and allusion in a whole new light. The layers and layers of mythic and mystic knowledge that it hints at being concealed in the various Scriptures is both tantalizing and invigorating. And, perhaps most importantly of all, it has left me wanting more.