On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead

Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah

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by Gershom Gerhard Scholem,

Translated by Joachim Neugroschel

Schocken Books

Due/Published February 1997, 352 pages, paper

ISBN 0805210814

"A major contribution to our understanding of the Kabbalah."
—Arthur Green, Professor of Jewish Thought, Brandeis University

In the Zohar and other writings of the Kabbalah, Jewish mystics developed concepts and symbols to help them penetrate secrets of the cosmos that cannot be understood through reason or intellect. These ideas about God, human beings, and creation continue to fascinate and influence spiritual seekers of all persuasions today.

In clear and easy-to-understand prose, Gershom Scholem, the pioneer of the modern study of Jewish mysticism explains the basic concepts of the Kabbalah: the mystical "form of the imageless God"; good and evil; the Tsaddik or righteous soul; the Shekhinah, the feminine aspect of God; gilgul, the transmigration of souls; and tselem, the concept of the astral body. For anyone seeking to taste the mysteries of the Kabbalah, this is an essential book.