Kabbalah by Perle Besserman, Perle S. Epstein (2001, Paperback, Reprint)

This book, subtitled "The Way of the Jewish Mystic," is a reprint of a classic that had a tremendous influence on Jewish spirituality seekers in the 1970s. Like so many Jews of that era, Perle Epstein (now Besserman) began her own search among the teachers of Eastern religions. After writing on Buddhism and Zen, she decided to explore the mysticism of her own Jewish background -- known as Kabbalah. Although it is hard to believe nowadays, there was almost nothing about Kabbalah available in English at the time. Epstein met with and interviewed many of the major kabbalah teachers of her day, in both Israel and the USA. The result was this excellent introductory book. It's especially good for people who are coming at kabbalah from the perspective of Eastern philosophies, because she draws parallels between the ashrams of the East and some of the historical Jewish spiritual communities, such was the group gathered around Rabbi Isaac Luria in Safed, Israel in the 16th century (which Epstein calls a "Jewish Shangri La.") . Her writing style is clear and straight forward, focusing on techniques rather than academe. Some readers might find it somewhat dated, in that it has a certain "hippie" feel to it, but I still recommend it as a basic introduction