Kabbalah and Consciousness and the Poetry of Allen Afterman

Book excerpt: According to Rodger Kamenetz, Allen Afterman’s Kabbalah and Consciousness makes the major traditions of Jewish mysticism more clear and profoundly revealing than any other work on the subject. Elie Wiesel says, “Poetry and mysticism are magnificently reconciled in Allen Afterman’s book on Kabbalah’s secret imagery and silent invocations.” Here also is Afterman’s poetry, described by Yehuda Amichai as “an almost private religious poetry for our post-religious age.” The book includes an important interview with the author.