Showing results by author "Aryeh Kaplan" in All Categories

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan has translated Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts, and now brings its theoretical, meditative, and magical implications to light. He expounds on the dynamics of the spiritual domain, the worlds of the Sefirot, souls, and angels. When properly understood, Sefer Yetzirah becomes the instruction manual for a very special type of meditation meant to strengthen concentration and to aid the development of telekinetic and telepathic powers. 

The Kabbalah is divided into three branches—the theoretical, the meditative, and the magical. While many books, both in Hebrew and English, have explored the theoretical Kabbalah, very little has been published regarding the meditative methods of the various schools of Kabbalah. Aryeh Kaplan's landmark work reveals the methodology of the ancient Kabbalists and stresses the meditative techniques that were essential to their discipline, including:

This a lecture given by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan z'tl which discusses the question of the age of the Universe according to Torah thought: Is it around 6000 years old or billions? Rabbi Kaplan goes through various approaches to this question, and concludes with a view based on authoritative sources from over 700 years ago, which lead to a very satisfactory answer. Also briefly touching on other interesting topics, this audiobooklet is an important listen for anyone wanting a non-apologetic answer to this question.