The red bracelet: it graces the wrists of numerous celebrities--from Madonna to Britney Spears--who have converted to Kabbalah. But what is Kabbalah and how can women apply it to their own lives? In "A New Kabbalah for Women," bestselling author Perle Besserman shares a feminine approach to Kabbalah. Since the time of Moses, Jewish mysticism has been barred to women, and the feminine side of God has been forced underground. Now, many women are adapting traditional practices in radical new ways. Besserman is at the forefront of this revolution. Combining Kabbalistic practices with meditation and memoir, Besserman walks readers through step-by-step rituals to find their own personal connections to the divine.

The complexities of Kabbalah and Judaism are introduced and explored by Perle Besserman, who ranges from Judaism in Biblical times to the present day. She offers an investigation of the Kabbalah and its cosmology in the context of modern science and comparative religion, and explores different Jewish meditation techniques. These include breathing and movement exercises, meditations on Hebrew letters, and visualisation techniques. She also explores questions of gender in the patriarchal tradition, and the importance of the oral teaching tradition.

Sharon Berg, a middle-aged divorcee with two children has gainful employment working overtime for the mysterious Rabbi Joachim, spiritual director of the Center for Mystical Judaism.

Set in Coney Island, Sharon's efforts at making a life for herself and her children take readers on a journey though Hasidism as it exists today including its schools for children and the fundamentalist characters that run them.

When the Rabbi travels to Israel on a mission, and fails to return, Sharon must confront difficult choices and herself.

This beginner's guide to Jewish mystics of Europe and the Middle East features Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, the Baal Shem Tov, Abraham Abulafia and teachings from the Zohar. The text found in Shambala's pocket classic, The Way of the Jewish Mystics is also reproduced in this text.