In the Shadow of the Ladder

Book excerpt: It is with these deeply personal questions that Rabbi Ashlag opens his Introductions. Moving easily from the experience of the individual to the role of humankind in Creation and back again, he teaches the interplay of light with its vessel. It is this dynamic that makes up the drama of the Creator in relationship to the creation. Evil, suffering, compassion and joy are shown to each have its place as the path unfolds from concealment of the Source to the full experience of Divine love. Rabbi Ashlag teaches Kabbalah, not as an esoteric study limited to the mystically inclined, but as a universal pathway of the spirit. Many books are available about Kabbalah. This book is Kabbalah itself. Its uniqueness lies in that it contains authentic texts of Kabbalah, yet it is accessible to the general reader as a result of the clarity of the translation and the easy style of the explanations. Book jacket.