Reviews for "In the Shadow of the Ladder"
Review by Rabbi Yonasson Gershon (top Amazon 500 Reviewer) author of "Out of the Ashes"
This book is both an introduction to the saintly life and teachings of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag (1886-1955) and a new translation of some of his basic teachings. Although there have been some unauthorized (and in some cases, spurious) translations of Ashlag's work over the years, none has been as accessible to the English-speaking reader as this book. The translations included here were done with the permission of Rabbi Yisroel Miller, who holds the Hebrew copyright to Ashlag's works, and who graciously allowed Mark and Yedidah Cohen to use the original materials. In their introduction, the Cohens discuss their choice(s)of words for this translation, and their struggle to remain true to Rabbi Ashlag's thought. They also include an excellent glossary of "Keywords, Definitions, and Concepts."
Yehudah Ashlag is now regarded as one of the greatest kabbalists of the 20th century. Born into a Hasidic family in Warsaw, he was a child prodigy whose interest in kabbalah was awakened at an early age. In their introduction, the Cohens write: "The story is told that at the ages of eleven, a book fell off a shelf and hit him on the head. His father picked it up and while replacing it, told him that it was a book for angels, not for people. But the young Yehudah decided that if it was printed, then it was certainly intended for human beings!" (p. 20) Thus began his secret study of kabbalah, along with the more usual course of yeshiva studies. At the age of 19 he was ordained as a rabbi by the rabbis of Warsaw, and served as a rabbi in that city for 16 years. In 1924 he moved to Israel, where, in 1926, he began writing his works on kabbalah.
Rabbi Ashlag's best-known work is "Ha-Sulam," (The Ladder), a complete translation of the Zohar from Aramaic into modern Hebrew, along with his own commentary on each paragraph. He also wrote a number of introductory books and articles on basic kabbalistic concepts. Due to extreme poverty, the original self-published editions were quite limited, but still circulated widely enough to attract both disciples and critics. By publishing this material, he went against the convention of the time, which was to limit access to advanced Torah scholars. But Rabbi Ashlag correctly perceived that Jews in our generation would not be satisfied to merely learn the outer forms. The time had come, Rabbi Ashlag believed, to make the inner teachings of Judaism accessible to everyone.
However, we should also note that he also stressed the importance of practicing the teachings in daily life, through Torah and mitzvot (the commandments). Unlike some of the "neo-kabbalists" who have co-opted his writings over the years, Rabbi Ashlag did not break with Orthodox Judaism. Rather, he sought to enrich the experience of the Torah life by revealing the inner meanings of the outer observances. Kabbalah is something a Jew does IN ADDITION TO traditional Torah observances, not "instead of."
Kabbalists from the "Jewish Renewal" school of thought may be surprised to learn that "Four Worlds Judaism" is not something unique to the Renewal movement. Rather, these ideas are clearly outlined in the works of Rabbi Ashlag, who, in turn, took them from the teachings of the 16th-century mystic, Isaac Luria. He, in turn, received them through the Zohar. In his "Introduction to the Zohar" (included in this book), Rabbi Ashlag clearly explains the Four Worlds (levels of existence: Action, Formation, Creation, Emanation) as well as many other basic concepts necessary for understanding kabbalah. That these teachings have now become so widespread is perhaps due to Rabbi Ashlag's courage in bringing them out of secrecy and into the light.
I highly recommend this book as a first rung on the Ladder to greater love of God.
This book is both an introduction to the saintly life and teachings of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag (1886-1955) and a new translation of some of his basic teachings. Although there have been some unauthorized (and in some cases, spurious) translations of Ashlag's work over the years, none has been as accessible to the English-speaking reader as this book. The translations included here were done with the permission of Rabbi Yisroel Miller, who holds the Hebrew copyright to Ashlag's works, and who graciously allowed Mark and Yedidah Cohen to use the original materials. In their introduction, the Cohens discuss their choice(s)of words for this translation, and their struggle to remain true to Rabbi Ashlag's thought. They also include an excellent glossary of "Keywords, Definitions, and Concepts."
Yehudah Ashlag is now regarded as one of the greatest kabbalists of the 20th century. Born into a Hasidic family in Warsaw, he was a child prodigy whose interest in kabbalah was awakened at an early age. In their introduction, the Cohens write: "The story is told that at the ages of eleven, a book fell off a shelf and hit him on the head. His father picked it up and while replacing it, told him that it was a book for angels, not for people. But the young Yehudah decided that if it was printed, then it was certainly intended for human beings!" (p. 20) Thus began his secret study of kabbalah, along with the more usual course of yeshiva studies. At the age of 19 he was ordained as a rabbi by the rabbis of Warsaw, and served as a rabbi in that city for 16 years. In 1924 he moved to Israel, where, in 1926, he began writing his works on kabbalah.
Rabbi Ashlag's best-known work is "Ha-Sulam," (The Ladder), a complete translation of the Zohar from Aramaic into modern Hebrew, along with his own commentary on each paragraph. He also wrote a number of introductory books and articles on basic kabbalistic concepts. Due to extreme poverty, the original self-published editions were quite limited, but still circulated widely enough to attract both disciples and critics. By publishing this material, he went against the convention of the time, which was to limit access to advanced Torah scholars. But Rabbi Ashlag correctly perceived that Jews in our generation would not be satisfied to merely learn the outer forms. The time had come, Rabbi Ashlag believed, to make the inner teachings of Judaism accessible to everyone.
However, we should also note that he also stressed the importance of practicing the teachings in daily life, through Torah and mitzvot (the commandments). Unlike some of the "neo-kabbalists" who have co-opted his writings over the years, Rabbi Ashlag did not break with Orthodox Judaism. Rather, he sought to enrich the experience of the Torah life by revealing the inner meanings of the outer observances. Kabbalah is something a Jew does IN ADDITION TO traditional Torah observances, not "instead of."
Kabbalists from the "Jewish Renewal" school of thought may be surprised to learn that "Four Worlds Judaism" is not something unique to the Renewal movement. Rather, these ideas are clearly outlined in the works of Rabbi Ashlag, who, in turn, took them from the teachings of the 16th-century mystic, Isaac Luria. He, in turn, received them through the Zohar. In his "Introduction to the Zohar" (included in this book), Rabbi Ashlag clearly explains the Four Worlds (levels of existence: Action, Formation, Creation, Emanation) as well as many other basic concepts necessary for understanding kabbalah. That these teachings have now become so widespread is perhaps due to Rabbi Ashlag's courage in bringing them out of secrecy and into the light.
I highly recommend this book as a first rung on the Ladder to greater love of God.
Review of "In the Shadow of the Ladder" by Aryeh Segal, student of Rabbi Ashlag, Efrat, Israel
Everybody knows that Kabbalah cannot be learned from reading a book. Nor is it learned by listening to a Rav. To learn Kabbalah is nothing less than to embark on a path that leads to self-transformation.
But what sort of transformation is sought? Transformation is the sort of thing that occurs when wine becomes vinegar; an essentially new form develops from the old. In what way could someone take on a new, essentially different mode? What could this transformation be?
For many years, I had imagined it to be a sudden clarity about the true nature of reality (or God) that results from some profound religious experience. Yet despite a great deal of reflection on reality and God and some measure of understanding, I failed to see in what sense such an enlightenment could be a true transformation.
The answer came to me recently while attempting to absorb the teachings of Rabbi Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag, well-known for his translation and commentary on the Zohar, which is called “Hasulam” (the ladder). Rabbi Ashlag’s writings and teachings are voluminous and profound, but a recent English translation of two of his introductions provides an excellent opportunity for English readers to be moved by his clear presentation of the connection between Creation and the process of our daily lives. “In the Shadow of the Ladder” produced by Mark and Yedidah Cohen, provides a translation that is good, readable English, faithful to the text, but not obsessively so. The translators are seriously committed to the depth of these teachings, and their work was clearly a labor of love.
So to understand self-transformation, we begin with a fundamental question about the nature of existence. In the creation of the world, did God create something separate from Himself? How could God create something that is not part of Him? Isn’t everything included in God? Rabbi Ashlag’s remarkably insightful answer is that God is basically a giver; he lacks nothing, and has no need to receive anything. The purpose of creation is for God to give to another, and so He created something entirely foreign to Himself – the desire to receive. This desire to receive, therefore, is the basic matter of creation.
All of God’s myriad creations – including we humans - are essentially machines that are programmed to constantly seek benefit from whatever they encounter. “What’s in it for me?” is the question that all of creation is asking at every moment. Although it sometimes seems that people rise above this egotistic nature, actually it is so deeply embedded that no matter how much we adopt altruistic behaviors, a closer look reveals that we are really seeking favors in return, recognition and honor, or reward in the world to come
Now, we can never stop receiving, and so it seems we will always be somehow separated from God, since receiving is foreign to His nature. And yet our primary task is somehow to imitate the giving nature of God, and thereby get close to Him and cling to Him. The resolution of the paradox is to learn to receive only in order to give. We are to act in a manner similar to a hesitant guest, who first refuses his host’s entreaties and then gladly partakes of the food only after the host makes it clear that the guest is thereby doing him a favor.
According to Rabbi Ashlag, the whole purpose of the Torah and commandments, is to enable us to learn to receive only in order to give. It is by no means a simple matter, but by practicing “Love thy neighbor as thyself” – the great rule that is the focus of all of the Torah – we can, with unfailing intention and almost superhuman effort, reprogram ourselves to seek constantly the benefit of others without any intention of reward.
What then is “transformation”? Only when the “what’s in it for me?” machine is completely replaced with a constant seeking of “how can I serve you?”, only then have we truly acquired a new nature.
The transformed individual, now freed from the constant urge to grab some “goodies”, is flowing with the stream of life, open to experience the hidden miracles that abound in every moment, receiving a full measure of God’s bounty because of his eagerness to pass it on. He is full of life, and his life is full of endless delight.
Everybody knows that Kabbalah cannot be learned from reading a book. Nor is it learned by listening to a Rav. To learn Kabbalah is nothing less than to embark on a path that leads to self-transformation.
But what sort of transformation is sought? Transformation is the sort of thing that occurs when wine becomes vinegar; an essentially new form develops from the old. In what way could someone take on a new, essentially different mode? What could this transformation be?
For many years, I had imagined it to be a sudden clarity about the true nature of reality (or God) that results from some profound religious experience. Yet despite a great deal of reflection on reality and God and some measure of understanding, I failed to see in what sense such an enlightenment could be a true transformation.
The answer came to me recently while attempting to absorb the teachings of Rabbi Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag, well-known for his translation and commentary on the Zohar, which is called “Hasulam” (the ladder). Rabbi Ashlag’s writings and teachings are voluminous and profound, but a recent English translation of two of his introductions provides an excellent opportunity for English readers to be moved by his clear presentation of the connection between Creation and the process of our daily lives. “In the Shadow of the Ladder” produced by Mark and Yedidah Cohen, provides a translation that is good, readable English, faithful to the text, but not obsessively so. The translators are seriously committed to the depth of these teachings, and their work was clearly a labor of love.
So to understand self-transformation, we begin with a fundamental question about the nature of existence. In the creation of the world, did God create something separate from Himself? How could God create something that is not part of Him? Isn’t everything included in God? Rabbi Ashlag’s remarkably insightful answer is that God is basically a giver; he lacks nothing, and has no need to receive anything. The purpose of creation is for God to give to another, and so He created something entirely foreign to Himself – the desire to receive. This desire to receive, therefore, is the basic matter of creation.
All of God’s myriad creations – including we humans - are essentially machines that are programmed to constantly seek benefit from whatever they encounter. “What’s in it for me?” is the question that all of creation is asking at every moment. Although it sometimes seems that people rise above this egotistic nature, actually it is so deeply embedded that no matter how much we adopt altruistic behaviors, a closer look reveals that we are really seeking favors in return, recognition and honor, or reward in the world to come
Now, we can never stop receiving, and so it seems we will always be somehow separated from God, since receiving is foreign to His nature. And yet our primary task is somehow to imitate the giving nature of God, and thereby get close to Him and cling to Him. The resolution of the paradox is to learn to receive only in order to give. We are to act in a manner similar to a hesitant guest, who first refuses his host’s entreaties and then gladly partakes of the food only after the host makes it clear that the guest is thereby doing him a favor.
According to Rabbi Ashlag, the whole purpose of the Torah and commandments, is to enable us to learn to receive only in order to give. It is by no means a simple matter, but by practicing “Love thy neighbor as thyself” – the great rule that is the focus of all of the Torah – we can, with unfailing intention and almost superhuman effort, reprogram ourselves to seek constantly the benefit of others without any intention of reward.
What then is “transformation”? Only when the “what’s in it for me?” machine is completely replaced with a constant seeking of “how can I serve you?”, only then have we truly acquired a new nature.
The transformed individual, now freed from the constant urge to grab some “goodies”, is flowing with the stream of life, open to experience the hidden miracles that abound in every moment, receiving a full measure of God’s bounty because of his eagerness to pass it on. He is full of life, and his life is full of endless delight.
ENDORSEMENTS
“In the search for meaning and self-transformation, Jewish mysticism is one of the great spiritual resources, attracting ever-wider circles of devotees. Drs. Mark and Yedidah Cohen has made available to an English-speaking public the work of an important, though little known, master of the genre, Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag. Through it, readers will discover a fascinating path to inner harmony and growth through receptivity to the Divine light that fills creation.”
Rabbi Professor Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain
“Here is a fresh and highly readable translation of writings by an authentic Master Kabbalist. Among the many books of Kabbala now available, this will stand out for its unique combination of depth, authenticity, and clear, direct speech.”
Rabbi Arthur Green, Professor of Jewish Thought at Brandeis University, author of Seek My Face, Speak My Name.
“It is a wonderful translation and introduction! You rendered perfectly that exquisite language of the Jew before the nameless: intimate, tender, simple, sweet and oh so eloquent. A real contribution.”
Rabbi Don Singer, Sensei
“In the Shadow of the Ladder is a beautiful book about the Kabbalah that can open the mysteries of the soul. Read it and be changed.”
Judith Orloff MD, author Second Sight.
"Rabbi Ashlag, in touch with the sacred, is a true mediator of that affinity with the One that enables us to remember that we are here, not for ourselves, but for the great purpose. Mark and Yedidah Cohen have translated the text with integrity and with compassion. This book is not ‛about’. It will initiate you into the greater service.”
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal, author of Paradigm Shift and Gate to the Heart.
“In the search for meaning and self-transformation, Jewish mysticism is one of the great spiritual resources, attracting ever-wider circles of devotees. Drs. Mark and Yedidah Cohen has made available to an English-speaking public the work of an important, though little known, master of the genre, Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag. Through it, readers will discover a fascinating path to inner harmony and growth through receptivity to the Divine light that fills creation.”
Rabbi Professor Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain
“Here is a fresh and highly readable translation of writings by an authentic Master Kabbalist. Among the many books of Kabbala now available, this will stand out for its unique combination of depth, authenticity, and clear, direct speech.”
Rabbi Arthur Green, Professor of Jewish Thought at Brandeis University, author of Seek My Face, Speak My Name.
“It is a wonderful translation and introduction! You rendered perfectly that exquisite language of the Jew before the nameless: intimate, tender, simple, sweet and oh so eloquent. A real contribution.”
Rabbi Don Singer, Sensei
“In the Shadow of the Ladder is a beautiful book about the Kabbalah that can open the mysteries of the soul. Read it and be changed.”
Judith Orloff MD, author Second Sight.
"Rabbi Ashlag, in touch with the sacred, is a true mediator of that affinity with the One that enables us to remember that we are here, not for ourselves, but for the great purpose. Mark and Yedidah Cohen have translated the text with integrity and with compassion. This book is not ‛about’. It will initiate you into the greater service.”
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal, author of Paradigm Shift and Gate to the Heart.
CUSTOMERS' RESPONSES
Thanks for the book. It is a great gift. The chapter on Kabbala definitions at the back is a great explanation of some terms I have had a hard time understanding. You do a great service explaining them. The book is a real amazing thing, touching me in ways I have not been by most books. I am not a newcomer to Judaism. Your book is a gate to help me go deeper. Shalom Spencer, California
Congratulations on a wonderful publication. Reading it is like listening to your voices teaching us. I want to thank you for all the joy you have given me in introducing me to Rabbi Ashlag's Introductions to Kabbalah. I use this material in my daily life and in my work with adults and children, especially when I am working with sick people. Thank you again, both of you. Leila .Hart, Kfar HaNasi, Israel I have read your book “In the Shadow of the Ladder” and it was amazing (to say the least). I have read other translations of Rabbi Ashlag in English, and for whatever reason, he has a hypnotic effect on me. Simply, the book provides the jump start in transforming my life for the better. Robert Kahalani, New York
Rabbi Ashlag is now generally recognized as THE major Kabbalist of the twentieth Century. His work has been badly distorted and plagiarized in English translation but here at last is the essence of his teachings, portrayed in an accurate and authentic form. The translators have done a superb job of rendering Rabbi Ashlag in readable English while at the same time being true to the original text. They have added extra chapters explaining the basic concepts of Kabbalah so that the reader can fully understand Rabbi Ashlag's teachings even if they have no previous background in Kabbalah. The two Introductions to Kabbalah that are at the center of this book are miniature masterpieces, explaining the nature, meaning and purpose of human existence. I heartlily recommend this book to anyone who wants a proper and authentic understanding of Kabbalah. It is a modern classic that one can come back to again and again, constantly finding inspiration and insight. Peter Mond, Safed, Israel
Thanks for the book. It is a great gift. The chapter on Kabbala definitions at the back is a great explanation of some terms I have had a hard time understanding. You do a great service explaining them. The book is a real amazing thing, touching me in ways I have not been by most books. I am not a newcomer to Judaism. Your book is a gate to help me go deeper. Shalom Spencer, California
Congratulations on a wonderful publication. Reading it is like listening to your voices teaching us. I want to thank you for all the joy you have given me in introducing me to Rabbi Ashlag's Introductions to Kabbalah. I use this material in my daily life and in my work with adults and children, especially when I am working with sick people. Thank you again, both of you. Leila .Hart, Kfar HaNasi, Israel I have read your book “In the Shadow of the Ladder” and it was amazing (to say the least). I have read other translations of Rabbi Ashlag in English, and for whatever reason, he has a hypnotic effect on me. Simply, the book provides the jump start in transforming my life for the better. Robert Kahalani, New York
Rabbi Ashlag is now generally recognized as THE major Kabbalist of the twentieth Century. His work has been badly distorted and plagiarized in English translation but here at last is the essence of his teachings, portrayed in an accurate and authentic form. The translators have done a superb job of rendering Rabbi Ashlag in readable English while at the same time being true to the original text. They have added extra chapters explaining the basic concepts of Kabbalah so that the reader can fully understand Rabbi Ashlag's teachings even if they have no previous background in Kabbalah. The two Introductions to Kabbalah that are at the center of this book are miniature masterpieces, explaining the nature, meaning and purpose of human existence. I heartlily recommend this book to anyone who wants a proper and authentic understanding of Kabbalah. It is a modern classic that one can come back to again and again, constantly finding inspiration and insight. Peter Mond, Safed, Israel
