Adin Steinsaltz's "The Thirteen Petalled Rose": A Comprehensive Exploration of Jewish Existence and Beliefs

Lalisrosse: Me gusto mucho un buen libro.

Mexico on Nov 02, 2023

Begin Anew.: My brain hurts.
There's mysticism, and then there's this - an academic description of The Answers. 4 stars instead of 5 purely because you need to read every sentence three times to understand it; it makes your brain fizz.

United Kingdom on Oct 24, 2017

Philip Blair: Love it

United Kingdom on Jun 01, 2017

Mads Jakobsen: Perfect

United Kingdom on Apr 15, 2017

AK: Great book for those who have never study in an authentic Chassidic or Jewish community

United Kingdom on Aug 29, 2016

Barbara Graver: Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is a Talmudic scholar with a real knack for rendering complex Kabbalistic concepts understandable. Although I have really just begun this study, I recommend his work, among with that of others such as Daniel Matt, to anyone with an interest in Kabbalah.

The Thirteen Petalled Rose is a relatively short book of just under 200 pages. It's content is divided into ten sections: Worlds, Divine Manifestation, The Soul Man, Holiness, Torah, The Way of Choice, The Human Image, Repentance, The Search for Oneself, and Mitzvot (commandments). While all of this information was wonderful, I found the author's presentation of the four worlds especially compelling.

Traditional Kabbalistic sources describe four known spiritual realms called, from higher to lower, Atzilut (emanation), Beriah (creation), Yetzirah (formation) and Assiyah (action). Steinsaltz expands on these traditional divisions quite clearly noting that there are many levels within each of the known spiritual realms as well as other lower realms not thought of as part of the four worlds as listed above.

Steinsaltz begins with our world, the world of action, explaining that this observed...

United States on Sep 24, 2012

Arnaut Daniel: Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is one of the most influential thinkers in Judaism today, and "The Thirteen Petalled Rose" is one of his most widely read books. As the author himself notes in the preface, "The Thirteen Petalled Rose" is not a book about kabbalah, but rather a book of kabbalah. It is a positive statement of kabbalah itself, not an academic study of what kabbalists have believed. Thus, it reads like a manifesto, or perhaps more accurately, a traditional kabbalist text. And indeed the book is rather conservative in its views. Steinsaltz's presentation of kabbalah is firmly rooted in kabbalist tradition, and the influence of kabbalist texts and authors such as the Zohar and Isaac Luria can be detected on nearly every page. At any rate, the history of kabbalah has been marked by extensive disagreement and innovation (though many orthodox and ultra-orthodox Jews may wish to deny or at least qualify this fact), and I would not object to novelty in a modern work of kabbalah.

There are some problems with the book. For example, Steinsaltz does not discuss the history of kabbalah, and he very rarely cites any sources. Moreover, Steinsaltz often states his views without...

United States on Aug 10, 2012