Schochet: Mystical Concepts in Chassidism (1998)

I just (re-)dsicovered the “10 best books” to study Kabbalah on Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum’s site (azamra.org). I found one on his list I was not familiar with: Mystical Concepts in Chassidism: An Introduction to Kabbalistic Concepts and Doctrines by Jacob Immanuel Schochet. Greenbaum’s recommendation reads, “[it] provides an excellent English-language explanation of the Lurianic system of the Kabbalah covering all its main terms and concepts by one of the leading Chabad scholars of our time.” One of the two reviewers at Amazon had this to say, “Exploring the revelations of the Tanya (a classic work of Jewish theology and mysticism that remains a core text of Chabad-Chassidism), and striving to integrate complex metaphorical and spiritual concepts in a manner accessible to readers of all backgrounds, Mystical Concepts In Chassidism is an immersion into a deeply held Judaic spiritual belief system.” Eventually, after I studied the Tanya in depth, I might venture to this book too. But for now it seems beyond my level.