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I don't suppose we need an RPG sourcebook to tell us that it's tough to be Jewish. A cursory glance at the history of the Jews is pretty much all the proof of that you need. Kabbalah: Mythic Judaism, a sourcebook for Ars Magica, gives examples of some of the hardships that Jews have suffered through the ages. But it also gives us a look at the joy of the medieval Jewish life, and the power their magi (the Kabbalist Rabbis) possessed.

A sourcebook like this is obviously a very… unusual undertaking. It would be very easy to go very wrong with something as sensitive as a real-world religion. The authors seem to be the right men for this job; two of whom are Jewish (the third one might be. 'Bank' isn't that obvious a name, and his background isn't mentioned in his bio), and one is a Rabbinical student.

The book is wonderfully detailed and very informative, giving AM players & GM's an opportunity to bring a new flavour of magician into their games.

The book has a rather large hurdle to overcome. Most people, gamers included, don't know a hell of a lot about religions and lifestyles outside their own. How, then, can they be expected to role-play a medieval Rabbi?

Kabbalah tries to overcome this difficulty by presenting to the readers a quick section on life as a Jew in the Middle Ages. The Gentiles among us are given an introduction to the Jewish lifestyle, describing what the Jews believe, the situation Jews find themselves in in medieval times, how they live, and the major branches of Judaism.

We're given a Cole's Notes version of the Sefirot, which are the ten aspects of the divine, and are located on the branches of the Tree of Life, and a quickie intro to Gematria, which is the art of divining meaning from a text by examining its letters (think The Bible Code).

Of course, this is all well and good, but let's be honest: We want Golems, right? The authors don't disappoint. The book gives full game rules for using Kabbalist magi as PC's. There's a template for creating PC's and rules for Purity, an attribute that shows how spiritually perfect the Rabbi is. And, yes, there's Golem creation rules as well as rules for Merkavah, the summoning and control of supernatural creatures, from fairies to angels (and… The other guys).

As well, Rabbis can suffer from hubris, which is what happens when your Purity dips below safe levels. One bad side effect? Evil Golems!

The game also supplies us with a pair of companions for Rabbis, the Baal Shem and the Necromancers. It concludes by supplying us with, among others, a few of the great Rabbis of the medieval period, and a few angels and demons and other beasties.

The book gives some more info on Kabbalist/Hermetic relations, and concludes with a Glossary (very useful, especially for a Goy like me).

The book meets the high standards we've come to expect from Atlas Games, and opens up a brand new section of the Mythic middle ages.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Kabbalah: Mythic Judaism
Author: David Honigsberg, Adam Bank, and Jeremiah Genest Category: game Company/Publisher: Atlas Games Cost: $21.95 Page count: 158 ISBN: 1-887801-65-0 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 06/12/98. Genre tags: none	I don't suppose we need an RPG sourcebook to tell us that it's tough to be Jewish. A cursory glance at the history of the Jews is pretty much all the proof of that you need. Kabbalah: Mythic Judaism, a sourcebook for Ars Magica, gives examples of some of the hardships that Jews have suffered through the ages. But it also gives us a look at the joy of the medieval Jewish life, and the power their magi (the Kabbalist Rabbis) possessed. A sourcebook like this is obviously a very… unusual undertaking. It would be very easy to go very wrong with something as sensitive as a real-world religion. The authors seem to be the right men for this job; two of whom are Jewish (the third one might be. 'Bank' isn't that obvious a name, and his background isn't mentioned in his bio), and one is a Rabbinical student. The book is wonderfully detailed and very informative, giving AM players & GM's an opportunity to bring a new flavour of magician into their games. The book has a rather large hurdle to overcome. Most people, gamers included, don't know a hell of a lot about religions and lifestyles outside their own. How, then, can they be expected to role-play a medieval Rabbi? Kabbalah tries to overcome this difficulty by presenting to the readers a quick section on life as a Jew in the Middle Ages. The Gentiles among us are given an introduction to the Jewish lifestyle, describing what the Jews believe, the situation Jews find themselves in in medieval times, how they live, and the major branches of Judaism. We're given a Cole's Notes version of the Sefirot, which are the ten aspects of the divine, and are located on the branches of the Tree of Life, and a quickie intro to Gematria, which is the art of divining meaning from a text by examining its letters (think The Bible Code). Of course, this is all well and good, but let's be honest: We want Golems, right? The authors don't disappoint. The book gives full game rules for using Kabbalist magi as PC's. There's a template for creating PC's and rules for Purity, an attribute that shows how spiritually perfect the Rabbi is. And, yes, there's Golem creation rules as well as rules for Merkavah, the summoning and control of supernatural creatures, from fairies to angels (and… The other guys). As well, Rabbis can suffer from hubris, which is what happens when your Purity dips below safe levels. One bad side effect? Evil Golems! The game also supplies us with a pair of companions for Rabbis, the Baal Shem and the Necromancers. It concludes by supplying us with, among others, a few of the great Rabbis of the medieval period, and a few angels and demons and other beasties. The book gives some more info on Kabbalist/Hermetic relations, and concludes with a Glossary (very useful, especially for a Goy like me). The book meets the high standards we've come to expect from Atlas Games, and opens up a brand new section of the Mythic middle ages. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)