Mystical teachings of the Hebrew Letters provide inspiration and guidance in a new edition of this well-loved book and card set.
The Hebrew alphabet, the Aleph-Beit, is said by the Kabbalists to embody wonderful and miraculous powers. The Hebrew word for letter, ot, also means “sign” or “wonder” or “miracle.” A New Oracle of Kabbalah explores ancient teachings regarding the letters and how these teachings can be made practical in our contemporary lives.
This book is a source of guidance and perspective, insight and inspiration. It’s rooted in the past and time-tested tradition, but at the same time is attuned to the present. The Oracle does not tell you what to do or prescribes a specific course of action for you, but rather gently opens up possibilities for you to explore on your own.
Oracle of Kabbalah: Mystical Teachings of the Hebrew Letters has inspired thousands of people since it was first published in 2001. The book takes arcane teachings of Jewish mysticism and, with humor, clarity, and depth, makes them available to modern readers.
Your Kickstarter pledge will help rebirth this divination book back into the world. I invite your support.
How can you benefit from A New Oracle of Kabbalah?
Insight: Receive new perspectives on the issues or questions you are pondering.
Guidance: Gain greater clarity as you consider various actions or decisions.
Transformation: This book will provoke and encourage you to be more fully yourself.
More intimate relationships with people, places, and the Holy: Heal feelings of separateness and aloneness.
Greater appreciation for the Mystery: By the time you finish this book, you will have a greater appreciation for the unknown.
Deeper affinity for your ancestors, no matter their religious traditions or ethnicities: Many readers find that the book brings them closer to their ancestors, no matter where those ancestors are from.
A New Birth
The first edition was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2001. It met with wide acclaim, and people around the world continue to write and tell me how the book changed their lives, and has inspired and guided them.
When the remaining inventory of the first edition, about 4,000 copies, was accidentally destroyed by an error at the publisher’s warehouse, the rights to the book reverted to me.
I write in the preface to A New Oracle of Kabbalah, “I feel strongly that the being of this book wants to be in the world. The book wants to be read and pondered and criticized and used by sincere spiritual seekers and explorers. I feel I owe it to the book itself, as well as to the people who read it, to set this volume out into the world, like launching a boat onto the current, hoping for the best as it drifts out towards the vast ocean where the tides of Chance move unpredictably yet inexorably.”
St. Martin’s Press was not interested in publishing a second edition. And the world of publishing is undergoing big changes these days. White Cloud Press, a well-respected small publishing house in Ashland, Oregon, has agreed to publish the new edition. White Cloud has developed a collaborative publishing model that supports the efforts of authors to ensure that more high-quality books covering a broader range of inspirational, thought-provoking topics are available to readers.
This collaborative model includes creative funding strategies like Kickstarter to, well, kickstart the creativity of authors and get new works into print and out into the world. With your help, A New Oracle of Kabbalah will sprout back into life in a new, invigorated form.
What’s new in the new edition?
NEW CONTENT
A New Oracle of Kabbalah includes brand new content, including directions for how to use multiple letters to create oracular “spreads.” I feel the new version has a deeper and broader perspective than that of the original book.
Read a sample chapter from A New Oracle of Kabbalah here.
NEW ART
Shoshannah Brombacher’s evocative hand-drawn artwork gives us a more intimate feeling for the letters. And her beautiful, colorful cover brings great vibrancy and movement to the book as a whole.
FOREWORD BY RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO
The new edition also has a brilliant and enlightening Foreword by renowned rabbi and author, Rami Shapiro. His newest book is Embracing the Divine Feminine: The Song of Songs Annotated and Explained.
NEW DIVINATION CARDS
For financial reasons, we will not be able to publish the book along with an enclosed deck of Hebrew letter cards. However, we will be publishing an accompanying deck of cards that people can purchase separately.
Project Budget
The funds raised through this Kickstarter campaign will pay for part of the costs of:
• Cover design, art, proofreading, Foreword: $2,640
• Printing 3,000 copies, interior design, ebook design, project management: $9,660
• Design and printing of card deck: $3,000
• Permissions: $400
• Kickstarter, credit card processing fees and interest: $1,300
As you might calculate, this comes to a total of $17,000. I am seeking to raise part of this amount through this Kickstarter campaign. I will pay the balance from my own funds (a.k.a. credit cards) and possibly other patrons. Any funds raised beyond the goal will offset my own investment and decrease my credit card debt.
For more information on A New Oracle of Kabbalah, visit http://oracleofkabbalah.com.
The Publishing Team
Richard Seidman In addition to A New Oracle of Kabbalah, I write children’s books and screenplays for family films. I’m the founder and former executive director of the Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit organization, Friends of Trees. For more about me, click the “See full bio” link in the upper right of this page.
Shoshannah Brombacher, a renowned Jewish artist and scribe from Holland, now living in Brooklyn, New York, is creating all new art work for the cover, the interior, and the accompanying deck of Hebrew letter cards.
Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an award–winning author of over thirty books on religion and spirituality. He received rabbinical ordination from the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, and holds a PhD from Union Graduate School. A congregational rabbi for 20 years, Rabbi Rami currently co–directs One River Wisdom School and writes a regular column for Spirituality and Health magazine called “Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler.”
White Cloud Press will be coordinating the printing and distribution of the new publication.
Rewards
You can receive rewards for backing this project at various levels. I welcome your support at whatever level works for you.
Holy Chutzpah
Writing this book was an act of holy chutzpah on my part, as I am not an “expert” in Kabbalah. But I do have the gift of synergizing divergent paths and making arcane teachings accessible to many people. My “beginner’s mind” gives this material a fresh feeling, one that appeals to both Jews and non-Jews, and which has inspired many readers since the initial publication.
I invite your support of this new edition. I am deeply grateful for any amount you can pledge toward this project.
Thank you for contributing to this Kickstarter campaign and helping launch A New Oracle of Kabbalah: Mystical Teachings of the Hebrew Letters!
All blessings, Richard Seidman
P.S. The niggun, or wordless song, in the video sung by Rabbi Aryeh Hirschfield, zt”l, was written by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, zt”l.
The hero of my kids’ book, “World Cup Mouse,” has a saying, “Where there’s a mouse, there’s a way!” Even though I’m not a mouse, I am stubborn and resourceful. That’s how I was able to found Friends of Trees on a shoestring and lay the groundwork for it to become the thriving organization it now is twenty-six years later.
And stubbornness and resourcefulness saw me through to getting a black belt in Karate at the age of sixty after eighteen years of training in the martial arts.
I have no doubt that whatever unexpected obstacles arise, my team and I will be able to deal with them and have “A New Oracle of Kabbalah” successfully published and distributed. I feel that the book itself is working with us to achieve this goal.
Thank you again for your support!