by J. Abelson (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1913)
The Kabbalah in the context of the history of Jewish Mysticism.

IT might strike the average reader as exceedingly odd that any attempt should be made at writing a book on Jewish mysticism. The prevailing opinion–among theologians as well as in the mind of the ordinary man–seems to be that Judaism and mysticism stand at the opposite poles of thought, and that, therefore, such a phrase as Jewish mysticism is a glaring and indefensible contradiction in terms. It is to be hoped that the contents of this little book will show the utter falsity of this view.

This work is designed to give the reader a bird’s eye view of the salient features in Jewish mysticism rather than a solid presentation of the subject as a whole. Should the reader be stimulated into a deeper study of the subject, the bibliography at the end of the book will lead the reader to the missing parts. Contents: some early elements, Essenism; Merkabah (chariot) mysticism; Philo, metatron, wisdom; kingdom of heaven, fellowship, Shechinah; book of Yetsirah; some general features of the Zohar mysticism; ten Sefirot; the soul.

CONTENTS
Introduction
I. Some early elements: Essenism
II. The Merkabah (Chariot) Mysticism
III. Philo: Metatron: Wisdom
IV. Kingdom of Heaven: Fellowship: Shechinah
V. The Book ‘Yetsirah’
VI. Some General Features of the ‘Zohar’ Mysticism
VII. The Ten Sefirot
VIII. The Soul
Concluding Note

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