Dreams of Being Eaten Alive: The Literary Core of the Kabbalah

"The most important thing to say about the Kabbalah is that it is always the wrong idea to clarify it," writes David Rosenberg. This sentence comes near the end of his strange and beautiful book, Dreams of Being Eaten Alive: The Literary Core of the Kabbalah. The book is a brief exploration of sexuality, spirituality, and psychology. It is sufficiently grounded in biblical tradition to be understood by theological conservatives, and sufficiently unconventional in tone to appeal to theological liberals. "Yes, [Kabbalah] offers meanings," Rosenberg concedes, "but, of even more relevance today, it presents a way of searching for meaning. It ranges from dreams to fear and desire, putting aside all boundaries and taboos in the search for what is truly alive." The book begins and ends with essays entitled, "How to Read the Kabbalah" and "How to Receive the Kabbalah," both of which are less instructional than exemplary. Rosenberg describes his own longings for and experiences of epiphanic moments in waking life that have the feverish and all-consuming qualities of the most vivid dreams. Between these essays lies the real meat of the book, Rosenberg's own translation of the Kabbalah. (His previously published translations include The Book of J and The Poet's Bible.) In this rendering, Kabbalah is an urgent and sensuous book, with valuable (if vague) instructions for living faithfully and greatly. Here's just one example of its simultaneously unsettling and comforting lessons: "Now watch closely. A dream must be interpreted, or else it remains an unread letter.... Forget a dream and no enrichment from its interpretation will come to you." --Michael Joseph Gross