Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
134th out of 356 books
—
60 voters
God Is a Verb
Since medieval times, the mystical tradition of Kabbalah was restricted to qualified men over forty�because it was believed that only the most mature and pious could grasp its complexity and profound, life-changing implications. More recently, Kabbalah nearly disappeared�as most of its practitioners perished in the Holocaust. Now this powerful spiritual tradition, after ce...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
September 1st 1998
by Riverhead Trade
(first published August 25th 1997)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
473)
I spent Friday night and today reading the first half of this book, two of the four sections. It is a MIND OPENER. For years I have struggled with many aspects of Judaism, things I did not understand, difficult question about life, and all those questions that ache in the back of our minds but we somehow never quite come to answers that we understand. This book gives an excellent introductory explanation about Kabbalah, but goes far beyond that. The author also explains many aspects of Judaism a...more
This book is a delicate treat that I reread slowly to savor each image. As a Gnostic leaning Christian, my experience of Rabbi Cooper's peaceful mysticism is that he brings me closer to the roots of Rabbi Jesus. The highlight of the book for me was the insight Cooper provides into understanding Jewish symbols such as the chariot as metaphor. An excellent read for anyone studying the Bible or wanting to relax into peaceful mysticism. Cooper does a wonderful job contextualizing Mystical Judaism.
view all 5 comments
Rabbi Cooper's God is a Verb is a bit uneven, but in the end I found myself disposed toward giving it a positive review. Among other things, it is probably this most egregiously mis-titled book I have ever read. The title comes from Rabbi Cooper's concept that God should be seen not as a being but as a process, which he calls "God-ing." Of course, if I may geek with the grammar for a moment, "God-ing," as the name of a process, is not a verb but a noun. Granted, "God is a Participial Noun," does...more
Regardless of how much the specific beliefs resonate with you, I recommend this book for anyone who would like to understand more about Kabbalah. It is fascinating to me how much commonality there is between the mystic sides of most faith traditions. What it so often boils down to is that "All That Groks is God". I believe that. Thank you, Robert A. Heinlein.
Parts One and Two were my favorite parts of the book, discussing what Kabbalah is, some history, and just a fascinating look at this faith...more
Parts One and Two were my favorite parts of the book, discussing what Kabbalah is, some history, and just a fascinating look at this faith...more
I've been studying Kabbalah for about a year now, and for the most part all of my study's have come from the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles, CA, and out of that center 90% of books that I have are from Michael & Yehuda Berg; which are both AMAZING teachers, writers, and mentors; so you could never go wrong picking up any one of there books. With that being said this book by Rabbi David Cooper is so far the most AMAZING book on Kabbalah that I've ever had the privilege to read. I started read...more
The fact that praise from Jack Kornfield and Ram Dass appears on the cover of Rabbi David Cooper’s “God Is a Verb” means:
a) Cooper’s publisher was trying to market the book to “spiritual seekers” all of stripes, not just Jews.
b) The book is based more on Eastern philosophy than on Judaism.
I would say a) is obviously true, but I’m not so sure about b).
Most of “God is a Verb” is actually grounded in Jewish sources, particularly The Zohar, the main text of Kabbalah. And Cooper doesn’t shy away from...more
a) Cooper’s publisher was trying to market the book to “spiritual seekers” all of stripes, not just Jews.
b) The book is based more on Eastern philosophy than on Judaism.
I would say a) is obviously true, but I’m not so sure about b).
Most of “God is a Verb” is actually grounded in Jewish sources, particularly The Zohar, the main text of Kabbalah. And Cooper doesn’t shy away from...more
A really well done introduction to Kabbalah and mystical judaism. Cooper introduces readers to aspects of Kabbalah that are rarely spoken about and often unknown by the general public. I enjoyed the writing style used by Cooper. His philosophical explanations are often accompanied by 'stories' which explain complex subject via a simple proverb. Cooper also includes a number of guidelines for those readers looking to expand their meditative practice.
(recommended by Patrick)
Yes, it's finally switched from "Currently reading" to the "read" shelf, but this is one of those books one will always be "currently reading"... A wonderful introduction to Kabbalah that demystifies the mysticism a bit, and true to Kabbalah form ends up raising as many questions as it answers. Which is, you know, the point of life. We're all constantly in motion, each day brings an entirely new set of circumstances. Kabbalah reminds me a lot of a fractal - highly struct...more
Yes, it's finally switched from "Currently reading" to the "read" shelf, but this is one of those books one will always be "currently reading"... A wonderful introduction to Kabbalah that demystifies the mysticism a bit, and true to Kabbalah form ends up raising as many questions as it answers. Which is, you know, the point of life. We're all constantly in motion, each day brings an entirely new set of circumstances. Kabbalah reminds me a lot of a fractal - highly struct...more
Kabalah is forbidden in Israel to be practiced by Jews under the age of 40 for its scarey way of turning people insane. yes this book changed my life. For non- jews and jews alike it presents a way of living that lets you take the world into your hands and create the environment around you with ease that is scarey.
God-ing. The idea that God is not a thing or a being, but, rather a process. Made my belief stronger and gave me a better understanding of what we are to do.
It's good, but I've been reading it for a long time. It's not the kind of book that you finish in one reading.
Among the best books I've ever read. I refer to this constantly.
Sep 24, 2012
Xavier
added it
Eye-opening book! Very esoteric, metaphysical content!
Aug 17, 2009
Mor Balaban
added it
this book is slowly changing my life :)
Cool idea
I don't want to say that this book will open up a spiritual highway from you to God, it's not a book about shortcuts. It's purpose is to illuminate, a guarded Jewish mysticism, to shed light on a little unknown. There is a wealth of spiritual enlightenment, read it with a grain of salt, the Truth is found in bits and pieces.
Just put those thoughts of Madonna and Demi Moore and Britney Spears (*shudder*) out of your mind...I'm gearing up for the Hebrew classes I am starting in November---can't wait!
Very cerebral, and abstract, but with links to the concrete world. I love this book because each time I read it I come away with something different.
A great intro to the Kabbalah. Lovely stories about poignant Rabbis and their walk of faith via stories of their faith/mysticism in Judaism
I reread this book frequently. It is that good and interesting.
Jan 12, 2010
Elijah
added it
I like this book. There are a lot of stories and meditations.
Greatly assisted me in wrapping my brain around my beliefs in God.
Give money away to anyone who asks. It's easy.
It is a good overview of jewish mysticism.
Religion
-Kabbalah
-Kabbalah
This is a great book!
Helps the reader learn to perceive the life and Judaism in a different more aware light. Very interesting and insightful.
May 18, 2013
Claudia
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
