The Universal Meaning of the Kabbalah

Schaya, Leo: - Leo Schaya (1916-1985) was born in Switzerland, where he received a traditional Jewish upbringing. From his early youth he devoted himself to the study of the great metaphysical doctrines of East and West, particularly the works of neo-Platonism, Sufism, and Advaita Vedanta. Along with some other writers in the so-called Traditionalist/Perennialist school, Schaya is noted for his grasp of sometimes difficult metaphysical concepts and his ability to summarize and interpret the writings of ancient and medieval sages for current readers. In 1958, he published his much heralded book The Universal Meaning of the Kabbalah on the metaphysical and esoteric wisdom of the Jewish Kabbalah, which remains one of the most often quoted books on the subject. He also wrote a book on the transcendent unity of all three Abrahamic faiths. More recently (2014), a collection of articles on Jewish esoteric tradition entitled Universal Aspects of the Kabbalah and Judaism was published.