The Poetry of Kabbalah

April 15, 2012
A measure of holiness, / a measure of power, so begins one of the earliest poems in this resplendent collection of the poetry of the Jewish mystical tradition. Cole, a poet, translator, and scholar whose many honors include a MacArthur fellowship, with assistance from coeditor Dykman, has created a dazzling treasury of verse spanning more than 1,500 years and accompanied by fascinating, illuminating commentary rich in history, biography, and literary expertise. Because the letters and words themselves are believed to be holy, the poems of the kabbalah not only depict a mystical process, they produce it. Here are simple hymns and cosmological masterpieces that precipitate a sense of transcendence. Fluent in the complex spiritual and cultural context of kabbalah poems from Palestine, Babylon, Ashkenaz, Spain, Turkey, North Africa, and Europe, Cole has brilliantly preserved their diverse prosodies and ecstatic lyricism in his supple translations, allowing readers to fully appreciate how they grapple with timeless concerns and engender transformation. As the great Hebrew poet Shelomoh Ibn Gabirol (circa 102156) wrote, From a sacred place they descend, / from the source of light they extend.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)