Sepher Rezial Hemelach: The Book of the Angel Rezial

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Summary: FINALLY AFTER 300 YEARS, PRICELESS BOOK.
Review: Finally after 300 years, this incredibly important text is finally available in an accessable version. I have searched high and low for this book, only to learn that it has never been translated into English (until now). I found that original editions cost as much as $10,000.00, and those are in Biblical Hebrew, which as anyone who has tried will tell you, is extremely difficult to translate. This is the long awaited first English translation of this famous magical Hebrew grimoire text - a translation from the ancient Hebrew of the rare and complete 1701 Amsterdam edition. According to Hebrew legend, the Sepher Rezial was presented to Adam in the Garden of Eden, given by the hand of God and delivered by the angel Rezial. The myth suggests that this is the first book ever written, and of direct divine provenance. A diverse compendium of ancient Hebrew magical lore, this book was quite possibly the original source for later, traditional literature on angelic hierarchy, astrology, Qabalah and Gematria. Moses Gaster mentions this in his introduction to the Sword of Moses (1896) suggesting that the Sepher Rezial could be a primary source for many magic and qabalistic books of the Middle Ages. Sepher Rezial Hemelach is a compilation of five books, being The Book of the Vestment, The Book of the Great Rezial, The Holy Names, The Book of the Mysteries (Sepher HaRazim), and The Book of the Signs of the Zodiac. It includes extensive explanatory text on the holy names of God, the divisions of Heaven and Hell, the names and hierarchy of the angels and spirits, as well as symbolic intepretations of both the Book of Genesis and Sepher Yetzirah. It also includes material on astronomy, astrology, Gematria and various magical talismans, most notably those used for protection during childbirth. In his lengthy introduction, the translator details the history, bibliographical citations, and lineage of this famous work, and as an appendix, lists the old and rare manuscripts still in existence, providing a bibliography of other reference works for study. The release of this contemporary English translation is a landmark event for students of ritual magick and the Ancient Hebrew tradition. THIS IS JUST A FANTASTIC BOOK & HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

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Summary: Very Helpful translation
Review: I read Hebrew with minor translation but I was able to use this book to find the exact sections in my Hebrew version of Sefer Rezial, published in Israel. I am excited to be able to use the section called "Book of the Signs of the Zodiac" to compare and further understand the Hebrew Mystical & Divine Names regarding and related to the notations of the Angelic Language of Rezial, re pages 270-74 with the exact names and descriptions in my Hebrew version. Just looking at the Angelic Language is one thing; having the text translation related to is applications is quite another. This book is a godsend for serious study as well as students of ancient languages.

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Summary: Very Helpful translation
Review: I've been reading through this book for 2 years now and have found this translation of the complete 1701 Sepher Rezial Hemelach to be nothing less than inspired. This book is one of the most important practical Qabalah source-works and, just as importantly, has been translated by a practicing Qabalist. The very fact that this work, controversial in even the most mystical and secretive of Jewish Kabbalah circles for maybe 1000 years has finally appeared in English, is an astounding event in itself and should certainly to be explored.

Why hasn't there been any Hebrew scholar in 300 years able to translate the 1701 edition? The answer is two-fold: 1) Apparently there has not been (or it has not been allowed), else it would have been done. 2) The Book of the Mighty Angel Rezial is about the Holy Power of the Lord YHVH, as Infinite Creator (the NOT, the Indescribable), given to us to guide our way back to Eden (Heaven). The Sepher Rezial Hemelach belongs with the most mystical of all holy books because it dwells (teaches us) from the true Inner School, the Inner Consciousness or Inner Source of Knowledge and Love.

There have been many books written about Kabbalah which contain an abundance of dogmatic or complex explanations leaving most readers with a complex intellectual understanding rather than greater practical, spiritual experience.

The Sepher Rezial Hemelach is a book from the other end of the spectrum, an ancient but powerful work to help us realize the quintessence of the Practical or Mystical Qabalah. (One can either read this book as an important historical document or read it as a set of instructions.) A real translation of this book by someone without a practicing Qabalistic background would be like buying a car-repair manual written by someone who has never seen a car.

Steve Savedow has all but captured the essence of the miraculous, and is the first person since 1701 to translate the complete five books. His previous book on Goetic and Solomonic practice appears to have left him well prepared for the vision needed to communicate the essence of this book to us.

I have been, to my great excitement and personal joy, inspired by his translation to make short comparisons of several sections to the original Hebrew. For my sources I have used a small section of the original Rezial Amsterdam 1701 version, and my own original book printed in Yozaafaf Poland 1873. (Important Note: Savedow directly translates the complete 1701 edition; ALL versions of Rezial in print are exact Hebrew copies of the 1873 "slightly shortened 1701" edition).

Savedow's Book Four, Part 3 compares wonderfully to another beautiful treatise (and the only other English translation of this section up until now), published privately in 1971 by the Mystical Qabalah group, Ma'aseh Merkabah, or Work of the Chariot. This section in Hebrew is sub-titled, "Rezial HaGadol." (p. 124 in any Jerusalem edition; p. 229 in Savedow) The WC group names the work "Book of (the Angelic Secrets of) Raziel the Great," the sub-text it translates is called "Measure of the Divine Body." Savedow translates the complete section as "This is the Prayer Required to Establish [ITS] Greatness." I like it.

Although Savedow's pronunciation chart is very helpful it can be further expanded to bridge several traditions; however quibbling over this, as others do, can be as fruitful as arguing over potato or patahto, Aretz or Eretz.

In translating Biblical Hebrew, a language without vowels or changing "ending" letters, I am aware of three methods or choices: 1) don't translate the letters at all; 2) transliterate the letters exactly; 3) add an "e" or "eh" sound between consonants. As an example, reading the section of Angel Names, the WC group selects #2 above (ex: PSQY"N). For the same Angel Name, Savedow selects #3 (ex: Pheseqien - p. 229). The third method may be easier for readers unable to read Hebrew; one can simply remove the "e" to get the original Hebrew text.

Savedow's "Names on the Forehead of God," on pages 230-231, are exactly as the Hebrew is pronounced. The WC group translates the same, although they prefer stating the traditional "Y" for the letter Yod; Savedow prefers "I."

Another example is the Angel we know as Anael, Hamiel, Haniel, Ariel, - names based upon westernized, "scholarly" Roman translations, corroborated by Gustav Davidson's book, "A Dictionary of Angels." Savedow's Index revealed to me the proper biblical-English spelling is A'anial, which I really appreciated. Keep in mind; the proliferation of phonetic mistranslations of the original Hebrew abounds everywhere in Western Mystical literature as well as the KJV. We all have been mispronouncing many Angel Names for centuries which Savedow takes great pains to remedy.

It is my final belief the most important words are properly translated; where they are not translated the original Hebrew is indicated. I would have preferred more Hebrew references myself but I believe this is because of the publisher's decision to exclude the Hebrew in order to shorten book length. Go figure! I would hope the publisher does a 2nd book based upon Savedow's full research.

Biblical Hebrew, as well as the Ezra Hebrew of the Torah, is extremely mantric and consciousness-raising. That this book suddenly appears now in this Age I believe comes to us guided by the Ruach HaKodesh - the Divine Holy Spirit. This translation connects psychically very well with the original Hebrew, as a whole. To the earnest seeker, Sepher Rezial can be read like a universal restaurant menu and reveal untold treasures. The book itself has shown me that each of it's sections can be used as separate Qabalistic meditations or prayers, pronouncing the words as you *feel* or experience the essence of them to be. Or you can just enjoy the book as a fascinating document of antiquity.

For me, this is an inspired translation and appears to have the hallmarks a true transmission: It works.

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Summary: A difficult task completed
Review: Medieval Hebrew is difficult to translate, and when the topic is mysticism, it is even more so. The translator has done a good job, though the manuscript(s) he used must have been slightly incomplete (for instance, in the attributions of planets to signs of the zodiac.)
The Sepher Rezial (or Raziel) is a good complement to the Sepher Yetsirah, but it cannot replace the Sepher ha-Zohar. It will mostly be useful to advanced Kabbalists, for whom it provides invaluable information as to the 72 Names (vehu, Yeli, Sita, etc). It also demonstrates that Kabbalists used Astrology extensively.
It is a book that deserves an attentive study by experienced Kabbalists.

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Summary: The Translation of Translations
Review: Studying the Qabballah is nothing but research, research, research...anyone who tell you otherwise is either lying to you or selling something. Why this book has failed to be translated before is a marvel to me, seeing it's historic if not Biblical importance. And not to just Jews either. Christians, and Qabballists as well as Jews can see the importance of this book.

This book was (traditionally) written by God Himself and given to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Thus, it was supposedly handed down from Adam all the way down to Solomon. This was a book that God gave man and would not give to the Angels. This seems a little conspicious because we are told in the Sepher Yetzirah that God taught the Qabballah to the Angels and Man. However, we are told in this book that the Angels were jealous because of this book being given to man. Whatever the reason, or the cause, it was given to man to learn. It also says that it was the cause of alot of Solomon's magick.

However or whatever you believe, this is a very interesting book. The translation strives to be accurate. The Hebrew that it was translated from was Biblical, in that it had no vowels. Because of this difficulty, the translator gives the actual Hebrew in English for other scholars to translate as they see fit. If it's claim is accurate, this is just as important as the Torah itself, in that it was given directly from God.

Other good references for this work would be the Sepher Yetzirah and The Bahir by Areya Kaplan and the Zohar. Overall, it is a great book.

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Summary: Early Kabbalistic Literature
Review: This book is certainly interesting from a historical perspective being one of the earlier texts on Kabbalistic studies. Although it is pretty clear that it is not as old as the original author would have you believe, this Middle Age text is important from the perspective of its historical influence. This book's focus is on the branch of practical Kabbalah. From my view, the significance of the book does not lie in its magical incantations and gematria but its naming of various angels and divisions of heaven and hell. Unfortunately from my perspective these discussions were extremely brief. The only thing I would have liked to see done differently would have been keeping the appearance and form of the Hebrew alphabet instead of transforming them into English where the author was not trying to phonetically use Hebrew. This book is extremely hard to follow and even less practical. Therefore, if you are not a student of historical religion you may be disappointed.

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Summary: WONDERFUL BOOK. Highly Recommended.
Review: This book is one of the most important Kabbalah text ever produced, and likely the original source for most modern literature on Hebrew angelic hierarchy and mythology, as well as Biblical astrology and gematria. The translation is very readable and from what I can tell by my own Hebrew edition, quite accurate. I can read modern Hebrew well, but the medieval Hebrew without vowels was difficult to translate, although when comparing and reading along with the translation, it is much easier to interpret. Mr. Savedow should be commended for his great work and for the wonderful job he did, I am so thrilled to finally be able to read this book after owning a Hebrew version for over 10 years and having little success when attempting to read it. Having been a student of ceremonial magick and kabbalah for most of my adult life, I would highly recommend this text to anyone interested in Hebrew magick, kabbalah, astrology, gematria and Biblical mythology.

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Summary: Not a real translation
Review: Translating is a tricky business, especially when the translator is dealing with esoteric literature, which wasn't meant to be read by everybody. The translator should know the language he's translating from pretty well. Unfortunately it is very obvious to anyone who knows Hebrew, that mr. Savedows knowlegde of Hebrew (and Aramaic as well) is very limited. He has made a lot of very strange mistakes and the translation consists of various elements that are NOT present in the original text. He makes ordinary Hebrew words into mysterious, magical names. I could go on, but I think it is save to say that this book is not a translation, but a not-very-much-to-do-with-the-original-text interpretion. Anyone considering to buy this book should keep this in mind.