Mysticism
The current vogue for Kabbalah among aficionados of the "New Age" has certainly bemused many committed Jewish laypeople. These purveyors teach a sort Kabbalah that is cut loose from the moorings of traditional Judaism. Such a form of Kabbalah is manifestly inauthentic, as the kabbalistic classic, the Zohar, is a midrash on the Torah, and it is steeped in the imagery of the Tanakh, as well as being based in halakhah and aggadah. Kabbalah is spiritually a product of the loamy soil of classical Judaism, and therefore Jewish readers ought to consider the tradition from within a Jewish context, for that is its true place.
For the beginning student in Kabbalah, there are a number of useful English editions that can provide an introduction to mystical ideas.
Gershom Scholem and his Jerusalem school set the contours of the study of Kabbalah in the twentieth century. Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism remains a classic historical overview, even as the conclusions that Scholem drew about each stage of kabbalistic history have become discredited. The topical introductions On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism and On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead are interesting and examine central themes in kabbalistic teaching from an non-historical point of view. Scholem's articles for the Encyclopedia Judaica were anthologized as Kabbalah. This a good reference work, but certain sections may be too dense for the layperson.
The Paullist Press has published a number of good translations of primary sources in Kabbalah. These volumes have clear introductions and are uniformly compelling theologically. I would recommend The Early Kabbalah, by Joseph Dan and Ronald Keiner, Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment by Daniel C. Matt, Safed Spirituality by Lawrence Fine, The Generations of Adam by Miles Krassen and Jewish Mystical Autobiographies by Moshe Faierstein. These are all essential works of classical Kabbalah and will reward study and contemplation.
Daniel C. Matt's The Essential Kabbalah is a particularly good initial collection of readings. Matt is currently preparing a translation of the whole Zohar, the Pritzker Edition. The first volume is slated for release this year and the scholarly community is looking forward to seeing the Zohar translated in its entirety by a premier scholar. Accompanying this work will be A Companion to the Zohar by Arthur Green, which will probably be an indispensable source for all scholars.
Beware of any work that spells the term "Qabbalah." These are usually archaic translations of earlier works in the public domain, relics of a period when Christian scholars in the renaissance became enamored of Jewish mysticism and many early works were translated into Latin. These later English translations are a hopeless confusion of influences.
