Books, Reviews, and Resources

Resources I recommend for Jewish practitioners, Mystics, and Folklorists; a running list

The Essentials:

• The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic, and Mysticism by Rav. Geoffrey Dennis: If you’re interested in studying Jewish Mysticism this should be the first book you ought to buy. It’s a massive collection of introductory lore on almost any topic you could want from crystals to angels, it’s got it.

• Sefaria.org: Sefaria is a massive online collection of Jewish texts covering a huge assortment of topics. I mainly use it for its copy of the William Davidson Talmud (see below). It also has a whole collection of books devoted to Jewish Mystic Tradition under their ‘Kabbalah’ tab, although it does have some pre-kabbalistic texts like the Hechalot Rabbati available. Much of the texts on their website are translated in English and Hebrew although not all simply given the huge number of texts on there. It’s also available as an App for both IOS and Android.

• The William Davidson Talmud: The William Davidson Talmud is considered the best translation of the Babylonian Talmud in English available. I’ve linked the copy from Sefaria which isn’t entirely translated but is being constantly expanded and having translations uploaded. The Talmud is not only packed full of Halakhah but also folklore and even rituals and segulot, mainly revolving around protective amulets and healing. (Plus the occasional demonic sight ritual)

• The Sefer HaMidot by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov: Before I start this one I will wholeheartedly admit I am biased here. I have a real soft spot for Breslov literature. However, I recommend this book on its own merits. It is packed full of Segulot, simple amulets, and other pieces of Hasidic wisdom presented so that the lay-person can use them to better their life. We see everything from mitzvah to pay special attention to for specific goals, to written charms, to lot casting. Read through it, I found it one of the best places to start!

• Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study In Folk Religion by Joshua Trachtenberg: Alright so, my thoughts on this book are rather mixed. On the one hand, it is packed full of useful information and is one of the first texts on the modern study of the field. On the other hand, being an academic text from the ’30s means that it is not always the easiest to follow. There are also parts of it that are rather dated and may no longer be current, much less politically correct by today’s standards. My biggest gripe would be that it feels very much as though it were written for a goyische audience, which of course it was, being an academic text from the ’30s. This means that it has a tendency to frame Jewish ideas under a Christian headspace. Despite all this, I would consider it a very worthwhile read for a new (or old for that matter!) student of the tradition. (Plus side time it being so old is that it is very inexpensive though!)

• Jewish Meditation | A Practical Guide by Aryeh Kaplan: This book is a great place to start with traditional Jewish meditation techniques. Rabbi Kaplan was an Orthodox Rabbi during his life and pronounced scholar. This book covers introductions to a plethora of meditative practices. Towards the end of the book it gets towards more advanced practices, DO NOT GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF, YOU’L REGRET IT! Take your time, go through the book and find practices that speak to you and that you have the experience to do safely.

• Faith and Folly: The Occult in Torah Perspective, by Yaakov Hillel: Alright so I’m gonna give this one to you straight. If you’re a Jewish practitioner chances are this book will feel very critical and I definitely got angry with having my practices called into scrutiny once or twice. However, I am incredibly glad I went and bought this book! This book is easily the most comprehensive and concise collection of Halahkhah surrounding Jewish mystic practice. Also, note that some of its interpretations are actually stricter than the normative Halachah. (Such as in regards to amulets). How you choose to apply the information in this book is up to you, however, it’ll give it to you in the most critical lens possible. While it is generally pretty good about citing its reasoning, it does have a few instances of simply saying a practice is forbidden without any evidence and registering the difference in these parts is an important part of any close read of the text. For example on the topic of cleromancy, it just out and says that telling the future with lots was forbidden without any citation while going on to begrudgingly condone bibliomancy. Overall, I’d say it is a useful guide to the Halahkhah of being a traditional Jewish Practitioner and would recommend it for those who care about that aspect in their craft. It also has some good explanations of the metaphysics on some practices.

[This list is NOT complete by any means, feel free to drop suggestions]

1st Hand Sources:

Note: This list is simply of original Jewish magical, theurgic, and cosmological texts. Not all of them are Halahkally acceptable and several are quite the opposite. They do, however, offer a look into the history of Jewish practice no matter their acceptability. The matter of whether to utilize the rituals found within is a personal one that I won’t speak to. No matter what, they are NOT designed for novices, and ignoring that could damn well be fatal!]

• The Habra de Moshe or The Sword of Moses: The Sword of Moses is a book of Jewish magic/angelic theurgy that first became available in the public eye in 1896 when Moses Gaster edited and released a handwritten manuscript from the 13th-14th century. The book very well could date to at least the 11th century as it is mentioned in a letter to Rav Hai Gaon at the time. The Sword begins by speaking about the structure of the heavens and introducing itself as being a record of the techniques Moses used to control the angelic host when he received the Torah. It then moves to a collection of prayers and hymns to use before utilizing the 'Sword’. It then offers several pages of angelic names which would appear almost as gibberish. The idea behind the sword is that by performing certain rituals and reading sections of the angelic names one could control the angelic host as Moses did to do the properly prepared adept’s bidding.

• The Sefer Ha-Razim or Book of Secrets: The Sefer Ha-Razim is a reconstructive text originally dating to the 3rd or 4th century CE and was later reconstructed by Mordecai Margalioth in 1966 from fragments found in the Cairo Geniza. In the lore of the book, it describes how the angel Raziel gave the book to Noah. The book is a collection of angelic invocations as well as a mystic cosmology of the heavenly realms. The text divides the angels into several encampments, watching serving a different purpose. Interestingly for a Jewish text, the book actually invokes and mentions multiple Hellenistic deities denoted to seemingly angelic status. This was not an uncommon practice in the Hellenistic influenced Judaism of the time, albeit heretical by modern standards. Parts of the manual found their way into the later Sefer Raziel HaMalach of the Middle Ages.

• The Sefer Raziel HaMalach or The Book of the Angel Raziel: According to its lore, The Sefer Raziel HaMalach, or as it’s more commonly called The Sefer Raziel was given to Adam after his departure from Eden by the Princely Angel Raziel. Surfacing notably staring in the medieval period, the medieval manuscript is often attributed to Rav Eleazar of Worms which eventually grew into the version we refer to now. The Sefer Raziel is in fact mentioned in the Sword of Moses. In the 13th Century, the book was translated into Latin in a modified form by Alfonso the 10th, as the Liber Razielis Archangeli which found its way into Solomonic magical circles and Hermetics (*cough* appropriation *cough* *cough*). In 1701, a version was set to be published in Amsterdam, the print having been set based on a handwritten manuscript. According to Aryeh Kaplan, the last known handwritten copy was lost in a fire, but not before it was transcribed onto printers plates. These plates were accidentally dropped and put in the wrong order as the printers did not actually read Hebrew. Nonetheless, the book was printed and today it is often kept in a sealed box or miniaturized as an amulet by orthodox communities. The version I linked to is the version that was printed in 1701 Amsterdam, if u can make heads or tails of it let me know!

• The Sefer Yetzirah: Composed in (c.200 BCE - c.200 CE). Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to Kabbalah. It describes how the universe was created by the God of Israel (a list of all of God's Hebrew names appears in the first sentence of the book) through 32 wondrous ways of wisdom. The book is traditionally ascribed to the patriarch Abraham. However, according to modern historians, the origin of the text is unknown and hotly debated. Some scholars believe it might have an early medieval origin, while others emphasize earlier traditions appearing in the book. The division of the letters into the three classes of vowels, mutes, and sonants also appears in Hellenic texts. The historical origin of the Sefer Yetzirah was placed by Reitzenstein in the 2nd century BCE. According to Benton, the Hebrew grammatical form places its origin closer to the period of the Mishnah, around the 2nd century CE. Nonetheless, the ascription of its authorship to the biblical patriarch Abraham shows the high esteem which it enjoyed for centuries. It may even be said that this work had a greater influence on the development of the Jewish mind than almost any other book after the completion of the Talmud. (Description credit to Sefaria)

Mini Reviews:

As for books I’ve personally read on the subject (not including ones listed previously) here are some of my thoughts on them.

• Rituals of Childhood by Ivan G Marcus: This is a nice book surrounding the religious and magical rituals that accompanied the childhood of children in medieval Ashkenazi communities. It has a whole section devoted to magically imbued food and much of the rituals described in it surround Potah, The Prince of Forgetfulness. (Note: I haven’t finished this book yet so this will be getting a more detailed review once i finish it)

• Practical Kabbalah by Rabbi Laibl Wolf: It’s proving a very good modern introduction to Kabbalah and the Meditations are just *chefs kiss* wonderful. I’m not very far into it but I’ll be sure to update. (Note: I haven’t finished this book yet so this will be getting a more detailed review once i finish it)

• Jewish Magic Before the Rise of Kabbalah by Yuval Harari: Description pending

• Ancient Jewish Magic by Gideon Bohak: Description pending

The Essential Kabbalah by Daniel C. Matt: Description pending

My Reading List:

Here is where I’ll be posting books that I will be reading in the future, once I read them I’ll publish a review in my personal category!

• Ritual Practices to Gain Power by Dr. Rebecca Lesses

• Meditation and Kabbalah by Aryeh Kaplan

• Shimmush Tehillim

• The Kabbalah of Food