Window of the soul : the kabbalah of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) : selections from Chayyim Vital

In this deep and powerful book, the Kabbalah of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) is translated from the original passages of Hebrew. These luminous and sacred passages reveal the most profound teachings of the understanding of God and of our universe, inspired by the truth of the Torah. Some 400 years before Albert Einstein proposed his Theory of Relativity of the outer universe to the scientific community, Luria disclosed to his students his theory of the inner universe and its evolution within the mind of the Ineffable. Seventy-seven years after the exile from Spain of the Jewish people, in a small settlement in upper Galilee called Safed, Isaac Luria was to answer not only the Jewish people's deepest questions of exile and homelessness, but to explain the inner worlds of the spirit and of their evolution that led to the ultimate birth of our cosmos. It is this evolution that reflects the origin and history of souls, according to the teachings of Rabbi Luria. Whether we are the result of cosmic intention or accident, God has connected us to these answers and to the drama of creation that has made us. Window of the Soul is the first and only comprehensive selection of Isaac Luria's teachings from the original passages of Hebrew. It is beautifully written, it is original Kabbalah, and it opens doors in the human heart that have been locked for thousands of years. Cover 1 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 10 Foreword by Rabbi Ernesto V. Yattah 12 Preface 18 Introduction: The Second Adam and the History of Souls 20 Preparing for Kabbalah 51 Anatomy of the Creation 56 The Ten Sephirot 62 The Sacred Name: The Tetragrammaton 63 The Sacred Faces 64 Indwelling Worlds 66 Levels of the Soul 67 Prayer 68 I. The Kings of Edom 70 II. Divine Rebirth 90 III. Adam among the Worlds 132 IV. Benedictions of the Soul 169 Notes 196 Legend 208 About the Author 220 To Our Readers 222 Backcover 226 Rabbi Luria was one of the most gifted of kabbalistic mystics. After the Jewish people were driven from Spain in 1492, it was his vision that disclosed the inner worlds of the spirit & of their evolution that led to the ultimate birth of the cosmos, & it is this evolution that reflects the origin & history of souls.