Product Description

Sometime, somewhere, someone is searching for answers . . .
. . . in a thirteenth-century castle
. . . on a train to a concentration camp
. . . in a New York city apartment

Hidden within the binding of an ancient text that has been passed down through the ages lies the answer to one of the heart’s eternal questions. When the text falls into the hands of Rabbi Kalman Stern, he has no idea that his lonely life of intellectual pursuits is about to change once he opens the book. Soon afterward, he meets astronomer Isabel Benveniste, a woman of science who stirs his soul as no woman has for many years. But Kalman has much to learn before he can unlock his heart and let true love into his life. The key lies in the mysterious document he finds inside the Zohar, the master text of the Kabbalah.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15195 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-09
• Released on: 2007-10-09
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Booklist
Although Kabbalah has become one of today's pop-cultural buzzwords (yo, Madonna!), neither this mystical branch of Judaism nor its masterwork, the Zohar, a mystical commentary on the Torah, are well understood. In his first novel, Kushner bypasses the instructive tone used in his nonfiction and plunges into the heart of Kabbalah, opening up the topic so that stories about time, history, and love come swirling out. On one level, this is the story of Rabbi Kalman Stern, a failure, certainly, in love; deserted by his wife, he has not opened himself to a woman in 20 years. The most important thing in his life is a 1697 printing of the Zohar. A letter hidden inside the book, which offers startling insights into creation, heightens his search for meaning both in the outside world and in his own life, where an astronomer, Isabel Benveniste, is pecking at his shell. But Stern's is not the only story unfolding in this multileveled novel. A Kabbalastic scholar in thirteenth-century Spain meets an inspirational woman of intellect and beauty. A young man on a train to a concentration camp learns from an authority on the Zohar. Everything circles back on itself, paralleling the way the Zohar suggests the world is structured. As much meditation as mindbender, this is a book that one experiences rather than merely reads. Not everything works--the ending is predictable, bordering on hackneyed. But Lawrence poses many challenging questions, and the answers will be as individual as the readers. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“This one is a gem.” —David Mamet, playwright

“Lawrence Kushner . . . revolutionizes our understanding of God, and shows how we discover our true nature by opening ourselves to love.” —Daniel C. Matt, author of The Essential Kabbalah

“Part damn-good storytelling, part mind-bending magic, Kabbalah isn’t really a novel; it’s an experience of Jewish mysticism—seductive, cerebral, and humorous, told in a wholly unique and beautiful voice.” —Debbie Danielpour Chapel

“Like all creative spiritual thinkers, Rabbi Kushner . . . blends humor, suspense, and the sublime in a contemporary amalgam of magical realism and the traditional religious fable.” —Bernard Horn, author of Facing the Fires: Conversations with A.B. Yehoshua

About the Author

LAWRENCE KUSHNER is a rabbi, writer, and teacher who has authored over a dozen books on Jewish mysticism and spirituality. He is a regular contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and the New York Times. Kushner currently lives in San Francisco with his wife, Karen.

Customer Reviews

Kabbalah: A Love Story
This is a terrific story. The story is a little complex, but difficult to leave once you get into it. I found it very thought provoking and satisfying. I loved it!

Kabbalah: A Love Story
A wonderful connection between the teachings of Kabbalah and a modern love story. The book makes the complex easier to understand. Our book group has decided to make this book our topic of discussion at our next meeting.

Very, very good
As I write this, I have not finished reading this book. However, I am impressed with Mr. Kushner's abilities. The novel works on many levels. It works as a stand-alone story with excellent nattarive structure and character development. To a more sophisticated reader, the novel's resonances with Kabblistic text and thought are hard to escape. However, I'm under the strong impression a reader can develop a deep appreciation of Mr. Kushner's work without being a scholar in Jewish thought.