David Chaim Smith's Books

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

Commentary on the First Three Chapters

By: David Chaim Smith

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The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

Commentary on the First Three Chapters

By: David Chaim Smith

A bold line-by-line reexamination of the first 3 chapters of Genesis that reveals the essential nature of mind and creativity • Deconstructs each line of Genesis chapters 1-3 with esoteric methods derived from the oral teachings of the Kabbalah • Reveals the sefirot, the Tree of Life, as the Divine blueprint of the creative process • Explains how Genesis reveals the Divinity of mind and consciousness Hidden within the first three chapters of Genesis rests one of the greatest jewels of Western mystical literature. For millennia religious literalism has dominated our understanding of the Bible, imprisoning its subtle inner wisdom within the most coarse and superficial aspects of the narrative. Generations have been led to believe that Genesis 1-3 is only a primitive proto-cosmic history, a mythological explanation of the human moral disposition, a religious fairy tale. But by accepting the text as pure kabbalistic metaphor, the mystical content of Genesis springs forth, revealing the Divine nature of creativity as well as a new understanding of the human mind. Deconstructing each line of Genesis 1-3 with esoteric methods derived from the oral teachings of the Kabbalah, David Chaim Smith reveals how the ten sefirot, collectively known as the Tree of Life, are not simply a linear hierarchy. They are a unified interdependent whole with ten interactive functions, forming the template through which creative diversity manifests. Through acts of creation and creativity, the mind expresses its Divine nature. Through our Divine creative power, we are able to touch upon Ain Sof (the infinite), the lifeblood of all creative expression. Smith’s line-by-line examination of Genesis 1-3 reveals a complete model not only of Divine creativity but also of the predicament of the human mind, of the Divine nature of consciousness as well as our inability to recognize the mind’s Divinity. With this new interpretation, which removes the concept of a Creator God, we are able to transcend the contrasting notions of “being” and “non-being” at the heart of conventional habits of perception and awaken a new mystical understanding of Unity and the fathomless depth of Divinity.

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Page Count

265

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

162055464X

ISBN 13

9781620554647

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

Commentary on the First Three Chapters

By: David Chaim Smith

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

Commentary on the First Three Chapters

By: David Chaim Smith

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

265

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

162055464X

ISBN 13

9781620554647

The Awakening Ground

A Guide to Contemplative Mysticism

By: David Chaim Smith

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The Awakening Ground

A Guide to Contemplative Mysticism

By: David Chaim Smith

Author David Chaim Smith offers a guide to the practice of mystical contemplation from the perspective of a highly unusual form of non-dual Kabbalah, unfettered by both religious mythology and psychological reductionism. The path articulates the ultimate quest for meaning, which seeks to pass through the clutter of the mind’s conceptual associations to nakedly and directly recognize the innate essentiality of all things known as the light of En (no) Sof (end), or the Infinite. Most mainstream conventional schools of Kabbalah hold such a radical aspiration to be inapproachable at best, and heretical at worst. • The work introduces six stages that articulate how the mind breaks through its own restrictive habitual reflexes to awaken to the ground of En Sof, which is the mind’s essential nature • Each stage is illustrated by the author’s own original works of art and line diagrams • Draws upon obscure sources such as the 13th-century Kabbalistic text Fountain of Wisdom, various alchemical and gnostic texts, and the writings of Isaac the Blind The author reveals how meaning never remains static--its nature is to move, transmit, and display--yet its precious potential becomes buried under layers of mental constructs. He explains how the mind’s habits and reflexes impose structures of containment that try to make sense out of phenomena, but these very structures actually obscure their essence completely. Smith’s experiential path to gnostic awakening reveals how, in the wake of the lesser concerns of the conceptual mind, primordial purity shines in resonances of vast poetic beauty, if a sensibility of wonder, awe, and delight is cultivated. Offering a step-by-step analysis to the ecstatic aspects of contemplative revelation, David Chaim Smith explores how to ride the razor’s edge of the paradox to coax the mind from the sleep of habituation towards the culmination of gnosis. Although the process is described within the traditional symbol system of kabbalah, its import is a truly radical exponent of extreme mysticism.

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Page Count

214

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1620555344

ISBN 13

9781620555347

The Awakening Ground

A Guide to Contemplative Mysticism

By: David Chaim Smith

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Awakening Ground

A Guide to Contemplative Mysticism

By: David Chaim Smith

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

214

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1620555344

ISBN 13

9781620555347

Book's by David Chaim Smith

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis

The Awakening Ground

The Awakening Ground

The Awakening Ground

The Awakening Ground

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