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Since medieval times, the mystical tradition of Kabbalah was restricted to qualified men over forty--because it was believed that only the most mature and pious could grasp its complexity and profound, life-changing implications. More recently, Kabbalah nearly disappeared--as most of its practitioners perished in the Holocaust. In the national bestseller God Is a Verb, this powerful spiritual tradition, after centuries of secrecy and near-extinction, is explained clearly by one of its most prominent teachers. Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? How do we get there? These questions have fueled Kabbalists for nearly a millennium. Rabbi David A. Cooper is the first to bring this obscure and difficult tradition to a mainstream audience in a way that gently leads us to the heart of the subject, showing us how to transform profound teachings into a meaningful personal experience--and appreciate fully this great mystical process we know as God.… (more)
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Cooper begins with a
At the end of Part II, Cooper offers a series of meditations on the angels and archangels, including attempts to invoke one or more of them. In Part III, Cooper offers more practical everyday practices to advance on what he refers to as the 12 Paths -- paths of learning, respect, generosity, lovingkindness, moderation, purity, joy, selflessness, awe, equanimity, extraordinary mind states, and life eternal, which he also calls God Consciousness.
I've come back to this book several times trying to decide how to rate it. He is a compelling author. Some of his suggestions, such as invoking angels into one's consciousness, I would consider with a great deal of caution.
Rabbi Cooper is scholarly but approachable, both mystical and practical, serious and lighthearted. He shares enough stories about his personal life to make it clear that he truly does live according to these teachings, but it never becomes a "me-me-me" book.
Update: February 3, 2015
Now reading for the second time (in as many years), as part of a "spiritual book club" I started with my daughter.
Update: May 17, 2015
Just as good this time around. Truly, this is a book to buy, read, and re-read.