The Kabbalah is divided into three branches—the theoretical, the meditative, and the magical. While many books, both in Hebrew and English, have explored the theoretical Kabbalah, very little has been published regarding the meditative methods of the various schools of Kabbalah. Aryeh Kaplan's landmark work, reveals the methodology of the ancient Kabbalists and stresses the meditative techniques that were essential to their discipline, including:

• The use of pictures or letter designs as objects of meditation.
• The repetition of specific words or phrases, such as the divine names, to produce profound meditative states.
  

In addition, Meditation and Kabbalah presents relevant portions of such meditative texts as:

• The Grellier Hekhalot, Textbook of the Merkava School
• The works of Abraham Abulafia
• Joseph Gikatalia's Gales of Light
• The Glltes of Holiness
• Gale of The Holy Spirit, Textbook of the Lurianic School
  

Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan (1934-1983), was an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and translator known for his knowledge of physics and kabbalah. He was lauded as an original thinker and prolific writer and is most well-known for his translations of the Torah and for his writings on Kabbalah and Jewish philosophy.