Rating: 
Summary: A unique look at Qabalah
Review:
If you've already read a few books on the Hermetic Qabalah, you probably won't find much new info here. What you will find, though, is a very entertaining and unique look at Qabalistic teachings. This alone makes the book worth buying. The information is presented in such a simple manner that you may be amazed at how difficult the same concepts are made in more serious texts. It does help to have a bit of background in Qabalah to get some of the jokes, but nonetheless, I'm sure this would still make for a good introductory text.
The anecdotes used are quite memorable, allowing for effective mental digestion. Some of the musings are very original, such as the Rabbi's translation of the Sepher Yetzirah (which he claims to have translated by typing it into his computer using a Hebrew font, selecting the text, and changing the font to Times New Roman). The explanations of the Hebrew letters are also very useful. Each letter has a one page description, a large drawing of the letter, and reminders of which other letters it may closely resemble.
I'm not sure exactly what the people who said this book has a Thelemic bias are talking about. Besides a couple references to the number 93, there's really nothing in this book that is specifically Thelemic. Even the Tarot card names and attributions correspond to the typical Golden Dawn model.
As a side note for all those orthodox types out there complaining that this is not the REAL Qabalah, or that this is not how it is supposed to be taught or practiced (or even spelt): can you please stop intentionally hunting down Hermetic Qabalah books simply to fling your verbal feces upon them. It's really quite annoying and unnecessary.
Rating: 
Summary: All eggs in one basket!
Review: "The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford" has got to be the best "cut to the chase" book of its kind on the Qabalah, or is it Kabbalah? Hell who cares! It gives the student the foundation they need to build-up their own system without the trappings of any particular dogma or doctrine. It avoids the common digressions and pitfalls that tend to confuse the study of the Qabalah especially by newer students. It is solid in its treatise but written in a very humorous and down-to-earth fashion. If you have been confused by the Qabalah in the past, buy the book, you'll be very pleased!
Rating:
Summary: Entertainment with Insight
Review: Anyone who's been put off Kabbalah by its trendiness or by its complicated nature should buy this book. While coming at his subject from a Thelemic angle, Duquette explores traditional Kabbalistic attributes as well as more modern interpretations. His descriptions of the letters and how to remember them are hilarous. I don't suppose there are many books on Kabbalah out there that leave the reader grinning, but this is one. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Best intro available - but not for the humor impaired.
Review: Having bought this book almost as soon as it appeared, read it several times, and returned to it time and again, I don't really understand some of the criticisms leveled by the few negative reviewers. This book is mainstream Hermetic Qabalah, or as "mainstream" as Hermetic Qabalah gets at least, and not specifically Thelemic. I say this based on studying Qabalah and practicing magick for a couple of decades from the hermetic but non-Thelemic side then taking up the philosophy and practice of Thelema over the past few years. As for those who criticize it and Hermetic Qabalists generally for not being more like the source material: get over it. We're Chicken Qabalists and don't worry about it. Neither should you. If you want to study orthodox Jewish Kabbalah, more power to you and this isn't really the book for you. Not to say that one can't study both, of course. But this is, after all, a book about Hermetic Qabalah. Criticising it for differing from orthodox Jewish teachings is like reviewing a Cajun cookbook and complaining that it doesn't teah how to make sushi and thus says nothing about rice.
As for those who don't understand the humor or find it lame, all I can add is that tastes vary. I find it very funny but then my sense of humor runs the gamut from clever puns to slapstick depending on the situation. Those who don't find it funny at all are probably not going to get as much out of it, true. If the title alone doesn't make you at least snicker a bit then..well the rest may not be that funny to you either. DuQuette always has a kind and gently self-deprecating style and sense of humor. His _My Live with the Spirits_ is full of excellent and somewhat less blatent examples. I'm afraid it won't appeal at all to the snobbish or the haughty, probably because DeQuette makes material they struggled to comprehend much more easily accesible; some people seem to instantly resent this sort of thing, and DuQuette is a master of it.
If your primary interst in Qabalah is in the Hermetic approach and you aren't already an advanced student, you will probably get quite a lot out of this book. Even the more advanced student will probably pick up a few things in surprising places. This book is not, however, for the haughty, arrogant, or self-important. DuQuette has a way of deflating swollen pomposity.
Rating:
Summary: I Hate This Book
Review: I hate this book, yet I recommend it to my "students" and fellow travelers alike. I hate this book, but I regularly refer to it in need or out of boredom. I hate this book, yet somehow all the things that I detest just make me love it more.In this book, Lon DuQuette (or, if you prefer, Rabbi Lamed) has produced the finest set of introductory knowledge lectures on Hermetic Qabalah in print. Only Regardie et al surpass him in scope, and only D. M. Kraig approaches him in accessibility - but the former go too far, and the latter not far enough. The metaphors may be strained, the plot devices hackneyed, and the jokes incredibly lame, but there is still no better book for confused neophytes in existence today. Some have criticized this as a work of "Thelemic" Qabalah, at odds with the traditional literature on the subject. I respectfully disagree. Though the author describes himself as an apostate and a dilettante, his contributions are nonetheless valuable to students of all traditions (and his correspondences are classical, not Crowleyan). In the words of the Great Rabbi, "Don't worry about it!" To sum up, any bright first-year initiate could have written this book, probably with equal clarity and better jokes. BUT NONE DID, so let us give the devil his due. 93, 418, 666 stars!
Rating:
Summary: The best 3rd book on QBL ever written
Review: I have read so many book about magick that I've lost count. I've been lectured about this subject by Dion Fortune, Isreal Regardie and Donaldson until I thought I knew what I was reading about. 20 years later, I run into Duquette and it all falls into place. In between laughing my soul into fragments and UNDERSTANDING connections I've ASSUMED for years, Duquette has written a book (that I've many times thought was made) specifically for me.
His chapter on the Ineffable Name of God has so enlghtened me as to the perspective of scripture and pronunciation, that I'll never be the same.
Duquette is a prophet of perspective and truth.
However, I don't recommend it to the unitiatied. Read first another book on the Qabalah; maybe two. only then will you appreciate the sharp edge and perspective Duquette brings to this subject. You won't get it until then.
Rating: 
Summary: ho-humm just the same fighting as always
Review: I think it quite apparant the author does not know what a synonym is. Chicken also means scared or frightened. I think the man was referring to that point when critisizing the author. I find it hypocritical that the book states "in all things God can be found" yet with the author's obvious retaliation/rhetoric and defensive manner towards any orthodox teachings only furthers to show he may be frightened and fails to truly see what he himself states. The only thing I see is that the author sunk to the "chicken claiming" man's level and by doing so, shows that he is really no different (the same only opposite trying to prove his views.) If one can overlook his offensive "know-it-all" self-agrandizing attitude, (which does not fit in with his teachings either) there is some good information to be gleaned from this material. Just need to keep in mind that "the whole is part of the all" when reading it and ignore the egotistical overtones and you may find its true values, as I had. :)
It is not a question of who is right and who is wrong, no matter orthodox or unorthodox, what matters most is the underlying meanings/principles and seeing the "God in all things." Only then can we further ourselves by reaching a point where any meaningful and peaceful dialogue may be truly realized and attained.
Rating: 
Summary: A Terrible Waste of Potential
Review: I was initially rather excited to read this book based on the glowing reviews from several of my friends and I found the first chapter or two to be highly amusing, but by the time I reached the end of the book, not only did I no longer find the book funny, but I was extremely disappointed at its ridiculously oversimplified and biased view of the Hermetic Qabalah. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a cheap laugh at the expense of the Western Mystery Tradition, but not to anyone who would actually like to learn something about the Qabalah. One disclaimer that the book should have had is that the views presented are actually the Thelemic view of Qabalah rather than the mainstream Hermetic, Jewish, or Christian variants of this tradition. Instead, the Thelemic view was simply presented as the Qabalah without any further explanation, and the Thelemic Qabalah wasn't even particularly well-conveyed at that. I'm more inclined to recommend books by Ze'ev ben Shimon HaLevi or Dion Fortune for those with a serious interest that goes beyond mocking the Qabalah. All this book does is present a very shallow view and then lead you to believe you "know" the Qabalah. I've seen a few people taken in by this and it is really quite a shame. I am very disappointed because I do think humor is one of the best methods of teaching difficult concepts, but this book attempts that and falls flat on its face.
Rating:
Summary: Learning with Laughter
Review: Like the rest of Mr Duquette's books, The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford takes a difficult subject and simplifys it so that it can be easily understandable. It isn't strictly for novices, however; even those who have studied the Qabala for years can pick some golden eggs of wisdom from this book. The only kind of person I wouldn't reccomend this book to would be to a strict Kabbalist with no sense of humor. All in all, this book is probably the best introduction to the Qabala out there and is genuinely hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: Learning with Laughter
Review: Like the rest of Mr Duquette's books, The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford takes a difficult subject and simplifys it so that it can be easily understandable. It isn't strictly for novices, however; even those who have studied the Qabala for years can pick some golden eggs of wisdom from this book. The only kind of person I wouldn't reccomend this book to would be to a strict Kabbalist with no sense of humor. All in all, this book is probably the best introduction to the Qabala out there and is genuinely hilarious.
|
