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There is nothing more uniquely characteristic of the style of Jewish religious life than the great love Jews have for holy books. [Str73]

This list provides a collection of sources on mysticism and spirituality in Judaism. It contains material from multiple movements: ranging from non-traditional approaches to very traditional approaches. As with any part of the reading list, you would be best to consult your local Rabbi to best determine the books appropriate for you. Note that for some of these areas, in particular Kaballah, there has traditionally been great caution. This is deep material here, folks. Make sure you have your water wings :-). Note that no book can substitute for a formal course of instruction guided by one's Rabbi.

For those interested in Jewish Mystical Literature, one place to start your exploration is Cherub Press (http://cherub-press.com/), a publisher of studies and editions of Jewish Mystical Literature.

In general, throughout the reading lists, North American (US/Canada) terms are used to refer to the movements of Judaism. Outside of North American, Reform is Progressive or Liberal Judaism; Conservative is Masorti or Neolog, and Orthodoxy is often just "Judaism". Even with this, there are differences in practice, position, and ritual between US/Canada Reform and other progressive/liberal movements (such as UK Progressive/ Liberal), and between US/Canada Conservative and the conservative/Masorti movement elsewhere. Where appropriate, these differences will be highlighted.

The soc.culture.jewish Reading Lists have associations with Amazon.com and Artscroll. The presence of an Amazon () or Artscroll () tag on a list item means the item is available from the indicated vendor. There is always the possibility that the items status has changed since the tag was added; in particular, items may have moved to special order, backorder, or on-order status. If you have corrections to the tag, or want to provide a synopsis of the book, please drop a note to maintainer@scjfaq.org.

Our goal is to keep this list useful for its readers. To that end, suggestions of books to add to the list are always welcome. In your suggestion, please be as complete as possible; we need author, title, publisher, publishing date, and ISBN number. We also welcome a one paragraph short summary of why the book is of interest. Please send your suggestions to the FAQ maintainer at maintainer@scjfaq.org.

The soc.culture.jewish Reading Lists have associations with Amazon.com and Artscroll. The presence of an Amazon () or Artscroll () tag on a list item means the item is available from the indicated vendor. There is always the possibility that the items status has changed since the tag was added; in particular, items may have moved to special order, backorder, or on-order status. If you have corrections to the tag, or want to provide a synopsis of the book, please drop a note to maintainer@scjfaq.org.

© (c) 1993-2001 Daniel P. Faigin <maintainer@scjfaq.org>