Kabbalah Decks, Part 2
/Edward Hoffman is the author of some excellent books on Kabbalah.:
Opening the Inner Gates: New Paths in Kabbalah and Psychology
The Heavenly Ladder: Kabbalistic Techniques for Inner Growth
The Way of Splendor: Jewish Mysticism and Modern Psychology
His Kabbalah Deck comes beautifully packaged, and it includes individual cards for each of the 22 Hebrew letters and 10 cards, one for each of the 10 Sephirot—making up the 32 paths of wisdom. Additionally there are 3 blank cards because some of the exercises he suggests require using the cards to spell out a word—and sometimes those words require the same letter in two places. Rather than provide more cards, the blanks are meant to stand in for this practice. It also comes with a 147-page book, with explanations of the meanings of the letters and the Sephirot, as well as divinatory exercises.
However, i find myself confused by some of the things Hoffman writes in the accompanying book. He writes about the 5 “mother” letters. This is not correct. The Sefer Yetzirah identifies 3 mother letters. But Hoffman calls the “double” letters mothers. When you make such an error, for me it throws into question all the other information presented.
The cards themselves are not as beautiful as the box. The stock is a little flimsy. The gold color printed on the white background, with small type, isn’t very legible. Further, the instructions he presents for the spiritual exercises and divinatory practices are repetitive. in comparison with the Kabbalah Cards deck created by Ron Feldman, Hoffman’s deck can’t really compete. This is a shame, because Hoffman clearly has a deep practice and in depth knowledge that he shares in his other books. However, Feldman’s deck is out of print, and Hoffman’s deck is available. I can recommend using it for study. It can be useful in many ways while studying the letters and Sephirot. But bear in mind, there will be errors, and this can’t be used as a substitute tarot deck.
Edward Hoffman’s Kabbalah Deck is beautifully packaged