Respect and love; don't fear humanity, evil, etc. 2) Read Torah/Tanakh daily Otherwise you will not have any ground to stand on... and all of this mysticism will be vanity. Te Torah (Tanakh/Bible) is the most mystical, kabbalistic text you will ever contemplate. 3) Pray to the Eternal God with 'kavvanah' (intensity and meaning; contemplate every-single-word-when-speaking-it) Multiple times daily, anytime appropriate. 4) Don't believe everything you read and scrutinize it's meaning Te Kabbalistic texts are full of symbolism, just as the Torah is not simply meant to be literal. 5) Tread lightly into the meditation category Abulafa's methods can be harmful if not properly worked. Pay attention to R. Aryeh Kaplan's wisdom. 6) Don't bother with a lot of the so-called 'practical' methods (ma'asit) True 'magic' that you will be able to do, can only come from your own spiritual experiences; and "grimoires", burning incense to angels/stars, dark mirrors, etc... they are vanity, deception, and at times, idolatry. You may end up being given over to the sitra achra. 7) Don't be surprised when if you are alone with "revelations" of thoughts and connections. Te path of the mystic is narrow; most, do not understand. Nor do they care to. Physicality will do that to some souls. I hope this will enlighten the few that trully receive it. Factor in history, tradition, insights; yet above all, your own receiving of life's Torah. May you be blessed on this narrow path. And, to my fellow mystics, endlessly pursuing truth: I hope to see you in Olam Haba, perhaps our paths will intersect there. When all else fails you, turn frst to God, then turn to Torah. I recommend these books of David and Solomon; Psalms (Tehillim), Proverbs (Mishlei), and Ecclesiastes (Kohelet), in order to restore your soul, and bring peace to any troubles. Contents: BOOKS Start with and examine: Te 'Tanakh' is what is called in the Bible, the Old Testament and includes the Torah Tanakh (JPS, 1917 with Hebrew) Torah- Te Five Books of Moses (JPS, 2001) Major texts within Kabbalistic thinking: Sefer Yetzirah I suggest starting with Kaplan's version. Sefer Yesira (Hayman edition) Sefer Yetzirah (Kaplan edition) Te Bahir Without the commentary version, you will be lost Bahir (Kaplan without commentary) Te Bahir (Kaplan edition) Zohar I suggest the Soncino frst, the Kabbalah Centre, Giller, Wineman, and Matt for the missing sections Sefer Zohar (Soncino Edition-Second Edition) Sefer Zohar (Kabbalah Centre Edition) sections and scholarly works Giller - Reading the Zohar- Te Sacred Text of the Kabbalah Matt - Pritzker Zohar- Haqdamat (Excerpt 1) Matt - Pritzker Zohar- Haqdamat (Excerpt 2) Matt - Sections from the Zohar Wineman - Mystic Tales from the Zohar Wolfson - Luminal Darkness- Imaginal Gleanings from Zoharic Literature Wolski - A Journey into the Zohar- An Introduction to the Book of Radiance Various holy texts: Midrash, the Talmud, Merkavah/Hekhalot texts, Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha/Apocrypha, Books of Enoch, etc. Merkavah, Hekhalot mysticism 3 Enoch (Sefer Hekhalot, Odeberg transl.) Hekhalot Rabbati (English compilation) Hekhalot Rabbati (Smith, Scholem, Karr) Ma'aseh Merkavah (David transl.) Ma'aseh Merkavah Te Lesser Heavenly Halls (Hekaloth Zutarti) Dead Sea Scrolls, extra-Biblical writings OT Pseudepigrapha Vol.1 (Charlesworth) OT Pseudepigrapha Vol.2 (Charlesworth) Te Complete Dead Sea Scrolls (Vermes) Talmud, Midrash Talmud (Babylonian, Soncino) Ethics of the Fathers (ChaBaD transl.) Chronicles of Jerahmeel (Gaster) Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer (Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer the Great) Tanna Debe Eliyyahu- Te Lore of the School of Elijah Contents continued: from rabbis: Classic Kabbalistic texts from the masters of Jewish mysticism R. Aryeh Kaplan 1978 - Meditation and the Bible 1982 - Meditation and Kabbalah 1985 - Jewish Meditation- A Practical Guide Abulafa - Te Path of the Names Arizal - Apples From Te Orchard (weekly reading-Wisnefsky transl.) Eleazar of Worms - Te Ways of Metatron (Stein transl.) R. Chaim Vital - Shaarei Kedusha (edited) Rambam - Guide for the Perplexed Ramchal - Mesillat Yesharim- Path of the Just Te Essential Rabbi Nachman researchers-reference: Includes aggadah (legends, tales), other Kabbalah writings, history, research insights Dan - Te Early Kabbalah Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd Ed., 22 vols. In 1 (2007) Ginzberg - Legends of the Jews (2-Volume Set) Josephus - Te Antiquities of the Jews Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (1997) Schwartz - Tree of Souls- Te Mythology of Judaism Don Karr Kabbalah in English Revisited Notes on Editions of Sefer Yetzirah in English Notes on the Study of Early Kabbalah in English Notes on the Study of Later Kabbalah in English Notes on the Study of Merkabah Mysticism and Hekhalot Literature in English Notes on the Zohar in English Gershom Scholem Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition Origins of the Kabbalah AUDIO Various philosophies, explanations of kabbalistic Jewish mysticism Gershom Scholem - Tselem- Te Representation of the Astral Body (mp3 and pdf info) R. Adler on Jewish Magic (mp3 and pdf info) R. Markel - Kabbalah Seminar (ra fles, play with VLC media player) TTC - Jewish Mysticism (Kalman Bland, mp3 and pdf info) Further suggested reading, not included in torrent (sorry, I could not fnd them): Tishby Wisdom of the Zohar Matt Zohar: Pritzker edition, all volumes Gikatilla Gates of Light (Yale Press) Arizal, R. Vital Te Tree of Life (Menzi, Padeh transl.) Faierstein - Jewish Mystical Autobiographies Scholem Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism Liebes Studies in the Zohar Blumenthal Understanding Jewish Mysticism