The Kabbalistic Journey: From Religion to Spirituality to Mysticism
With a wealth of erudition, personal wisdom and experience, and informed by insights from psychology and many non-Jewish religious traditions, Joseph Schultz provides a stimulating and accessible survey of a wide variety of little-known Jewish mystical teachings and experiences. "The Kabbalistic Journey" takes the reader on an extensive tour of the variegated and extraordinary experiential dimensions of Kabbalah--the Jewish mystical tradition. Like the spiritual maestros he depicts, Joseph Schultz is beyond doubt, a 'wisdom figure' for our times. --Dr. Byron L. Sherwin, Distinguished Service Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Mysticism, Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies, Chicago, ILIn "The Kabbalistic Journey: From Religion to Spirituality to Mysticism," Joseph Schultz has not only written an introduction to Kabbalah but to the whole field of mysticism. Just as Evelyn Underhill's "Mysticism" introduced readers to mystical thinking from a Christian perspective, so Schultz explores the universal themes of spirituality and the longing for the Divine that characterizes all mystical traditions and demonstrates how these find expression in Jewish mysticism. Schultz clears away the falsehoods and misunderstandings that have plagued the study of Kabbalah, and provides a thorough explanation of the nature, purpose and stages of approach to mysticism found in Jewish tradition. --Howard Schwartz, Professor of English, University of Missouri-St. LouisIn "The Kabbalistic Journey: From Religion to Spirituality to Mysticism," Joseph Schultz has not only written an introduction to Kabbalah but to the whole field of mysticism. Just as Evelyn Underhill's "Mysticism" introduced readers to mystical thinking from a Christian perspective, so Schultz explores the universal themes of spirituality and the longing for the Divine that characterizes all mystical traditions and demonstrates how these find expression in Jewish mysticism. Schultz clears away the falsehoods and misunderstandings that have plagued the study of Kabbalah, and provides a thorough explanation of the nature, purpose and stages of approach to mysticism found in Jewish tradition. --Howard Schwartz, Professor of English, University of Missouri-St. Louis