Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi (English name Warren Kenton, 8 January 1933 - 21 September 2020) was an author of books on the Toledano Tradition of

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

, a teacher of the discipline, with a worldwide following, and a founding member of the

Kabbalah Society The Kabbalah Society is a London-based organisation that was founded in the early 1970s to promote what is known as the Toledano Tradition of Kabbalah, initially researched and first taught by Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi. Currently, it is also taught by ...

Early life

Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi was born, on 8 January 1933, into a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish family in London, England, where he continued to live and work, along with his wife, Rebekah. On his father's side of the family, he was descended from a rabbinical

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

line with roots in

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

which was, at the turn of the 20th century, a province of Russi

On his mother's side, he was descended from a Polish

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

family

His Ashkenazi great-grandfather was Zerah Barnet, who helped found the Orthodox Meah Shearim district, just outside the Old City of Jerusalem, and a Hebrew yeshiva in Jaffa. Many of his publications are issued under his Hebrew name, Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, a contraction of his full family name of Z'ev ben Shimon ben Joshua Haham-Halevi. The name Haham is applied to a lineage of teachers in

culture; it means "wise one." Both his paternal and maternal families were

Levite Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...

s, according to family records. When his grandfather migrated to England in 1900 the surname Haham was recorded as Kaufman; it was later changed to Kento

When World War Two began, he and his family moved to a small village just beyond

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

. He attended primary and secondary schools in the town, but he later moved back to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as a student at

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of t ...

and the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, studying painting during his time there. He remained in London for the rest of his life. After college he kept up his artwork, some of which was commissioned. Further work included working in general and psychiatric hospitals, as well as in a theatre workshop and at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

.
Besides theatre work and practising graphic desig

he also taught at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, RADA and the Architectural Association. He ran workshops for the

Wrekin Trust The Wrekin Trust was a charity (Charity number: 262303) founded by Sir George Trevelyan in 1971, under the active encouragement of Air Marshal Victor Goddard Air Marshal Sir Robert Victor Goddard, (6 February 1897 – 21 January 1987) was a ...

and lectured at the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

, the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

and the

Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture The Prince's Foundation (formerly the Prince of Wales's Institute of Architecture until 2001, the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment until 2012, and the Prince's Foundation for Building Community until 2018) is an educational charity est ...

Later Career: Kabbalistic work

He first started studying Kabbalah at the age of 25 and was a student and tutor of Kabbalah for more than 60 years, beginning to teach in 1971. During this time he visited nearly all the old major centres of Kabbalah in Europe, North Africa and Israel, while specialising in the Toledano Tradition, a form that derives from the

which developed in early medieval Spain and France and which included among its focal points the towns of Lunel,

Posquières Vauvert (; oc, Vauverd) is a commune in the far south of the Gard department in southern France. It was known as ''Posquières'' in the Middle Ages. The commune comprises the town of Vauvert and the villages of Gallician and Montcalm.

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

br>
and the city of Toledo, Spain, Toledo. These and other centres flowered, producing among their practitioners of

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and

Isaac the Blind Isaac the Blind ( he, רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר ''Rabbī Yīṣḥaq Saggī Nəhōr'', literally "Rabbi Isaac, blind person"; c. 1160–1235 in Provence, France), was a French rabbi and a famous writer on Kabbalah (Jewi ...

Azriel of Gerona Azriel ibn Menahem ibn Ibrahim al-Tarās (Arabic: عزريل بن مناحيم بن ابراهيم التاراس ''Azrēyl bin Mināḥīm ben Ibrāhim āl-Tārās''; Hebrew: עזריאל בן מנחם בן אברהם אלתראס ''ʿÁzrīyʾēl ...

, Ezra ben Solomo

and

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

. During this period Kabbalists incorporated into their expositions and exegeses a degree of

Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...

emanationism, first introduced into Spain by

Solomon ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...

, that conformed to the requirements of

Jewish theology Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcil ...

and philosophy. To some extent, in medieval times, it conflicted with the Aristotelian approach to

Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcile ...

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

and his followers. As defined by the Provencal/Catalan Kabbalists, emanationism was concerned with how the transcendent God, called

Ein Sof Ein Sof, or Eyn Sof (, he, '; meaning "infinite", ), in Kabbalah, is understood as God prior to any self-manifestation in the production of any spiritual realm, probably derived from Solomon ibn Gabirol's ( 1021 – 1070) term, "the Endless O ...

by Kabbalists, caused potentialities to flow into Existence via what became named as the 10

Sephirot Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and ...

in order to bring about Creation. A fellow of the

Temenos Academy The Temenos Academy, or Temenos Academy of Integral Studies, is an educational charity in London which aims to offer education in philosophy and the arts in what it calls "the light of the sacred traditions of East and West". The academy's bac ...

, UK, instituted by the poet,

Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine CBE (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was a British poet, critic, and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently P ...

, Halevi regularly lectured there

He taught groups on every continent, including at Interface Boston, the New York Open Centre; The Centre for Psychological Astrology, UK;

Omega Institute Omega Institute for Holistic Studies is a non-profit educational retreat center located in Rhinebeck, New York. Founded in 1977 by Elizabeth Lesser and Stephan Rechtschaffen, inspired by Sufi mystic, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and his ecu ...

; New York Kabbalah Society; the Jungian Institute of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Karen Kabbalah, Atlanta, as well as in synagogues and at rabbinical colleges. He was the Director of Tutors for the

and for many years ran a series of Kabbalah courses at

Regent's College Regent's University London (formerly Regent's College) is a private university located in London, England. It is part of Galileo Global Education, Europe’s largest higher education provider. Regent's University London was established in 1984 ...

in London. He traveled widely and ran a continuing series of ''Way of Kabbalah'' courses and lectures held in many countries, including America, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Holland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Scotland and Spain, though few of his lectures have been published and fewer still are online; similarly with his articles. Over the years, he also took part in a series of interviews for various media. Halevi was as well known a writer as he was a teacher of

, having published 18 books, including a kabbalistic novel and books on

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

and kabbalistic astrology. Contemporary astrologers such as Judy Hall refer to the work he has done on the latter

In the earlier part of his career he wrote a number of books on

stagecraft Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and p ...

. Both he and his work on the Toledano Tradition are publicly recognized,Kathleen Raine, Light Magazine, Spring 1989 and his work has now been translated into sixteen languages, to date, including

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. He also set up an annual Summer School, aided by his wife, which regularly included students from around the world, and he started up an annual series of workshops in London. At his home, he also held regular weekly meetings, during term time, of the London Kabbalah Group. This part of his work continued for many years. Halevi was one of the founder members of the

, which was set up to encourage the study of late C12th and early C13th Kabbalah in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He died at his home in London, 21 September 2020, after a short illness.

Influence

;

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

In an introduction to the Sacred Web Conference, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, 23/24 September 2006 at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

in 2006,

, a Patron of the Temenos Academy, said, when talking of the tension between Tradition and

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

This dilemma is captured in ancient notions of balance and harmony; notions that are, for example, expressed in many guises in that wonderful Kabbalistic diagram of the
Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
. As the Temenos Fellow, Warren Kenton, so beautifully explains in his lectures to the students of the Academy, the teaching of the Tree of Life is that the "active" and the "passive" aspects of life, which on their own may lead to imbalance and disharmony, must be, can only be, brought together in harmony by the influx into our lives of the Divine and the Sacred. Whether or not we interpret this image as an explanation of an outer or an inner orientation, it is in this way, and only in this way, that the forces, or characteristics, of expansion and constraint can be brought into balanc

/blockquote> There is a DVD that includes this portion of the King's talk on the World Wisdom website

;Kathleen Raine The poet,
Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine CBE (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was a British poet, critic, and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently P ...
, had this to say about Halevi's work:
A feature of this author's system not found in others (although doubtless it is traditional though not universally taught) is the beautiful way in which the interfaces of each 'world' overlap with the one above (or below). Thus, the highest experiences of the physical world overlap the lower part of the next world (the psychological]: and again psyche's highest experiences of the individual soul coincide with spiritual regions of the transpersonal world of universal forms. So from illumination to illumination we reascend the 'ladder' by which each of us 'came down to earth from heaven'. The awe-inspiring sublimity of the Kabbalistic universe at once convinces and comforts. It is our destiny to descend and to fulfil some task, learn some lesson in the natural world; as it is to follow the path of return, to reascend from world to world, no matter how many lifetimes this may take us before we return to our true home, 'the kingdom of Heaven'. ''Kathleen Raine, Light Magazine, Spring 1989.''
;Sinéad O'Connor Singer
Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...
wrote in the inner sleeve notes to the album, ''
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got ''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' is the second album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released in March 1990 on Ensign/Chrysalis Records. It contains O'Connor's version of the Prince song "Nothing Compares 2 U", which was released as a sin ...
'', "Special thanks to Selina Marshall +
Warren Kenton Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi (English name Warren Kenton, 8 January 1933 - 21 September 2020) was an author of books on the Toledano Tradition of Kabbalah, a teacher of the discipline, with a worldwide following, and a founding member of the Kabbal ...
for showing me that all I'd need was inside me." ;Charles Thomson Artist
Charles Thomson Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Patriot leader in Philadelphia during the American Revolution and the secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson ...
said, "I studied Kabbalah under a teacher called Warren Kenton, who said there was a lot of humour at the spiritual level, and I think that's true

Bibliography
;Early books on Stagecraft * ''Introducing Stagecraft,'' (as Warren Kenton), Drake Publishers, c.1971 * ''Play Begins: A Documentary-Novel upon the Mounting of a Play,'' (as Warren Kenton), Elek Books. 1971 * ''Stage Properties and How to Make Them,'' (as Warren Kenton), Pitman, 1978 ;Subsequent books on Kabbalah * ''An Introduction to the Cabala: Tree of Life,'' Rider, 1972; Samuel Weiser, 1991 * ''Adam and the Kabbalistic Tree,'' Rider, London 1974 * ''A Kabbalistic Universe,'' Samuel Weiser, 1977; Gateway, 1988 * ''Kabbalah: A Tradition of Hidden Knowledge'' Thames and Hudson, 1979 * ''Kabbalah and Exodus,'' Rider, 1980, Samuel Weiser, 1988 and Gateway Books, 1993 * ''The Work of the Kabbalist,'' Gateway, 1984; Samuel Weiser, 1993 * ''The School of the Soul,'' Gateway Books, 1985 * ''Psychology and Kabbalah'' Samuel Weiser, 1986; Gateway, 1991 * ''The Way of Kabbalah,'' Gateway Books, 1991 * ''Kabbalah: The Divine Plan,'' Harper Collins, 1996 * ''Introduction to the World of Kabbalah,'' Kabbalah Society: Tree of Life Publishing (UK), 2008 * ''The Path of a Kabbalist: An Autobiography,'' Kabbalah Society: Tree of Life Publishing (UK), 2009 * ''A Kabbalistic View of History,'' Kabbalah Society: Tree of Life Publishing (UK), 2013 * ''Kabbalistic Contemplations,'' pub. Bet El Trust (UK), 2021 ;Astrological works * ''As Above so Below: A Study in Cosmic Progression,'' (as Warren Kenton), Stuart and Watkins, 1969 * ''Astrology: The Celestial Mirror,'' (as Warren Kenton), Thames and Hudson, 1974 * ''Astrology and Kabbalah'', pub. Urania Trust, 2000: formerly published as ''The Anatomy of Fate'', Gateway Books, 1978 ;Kabbalistic novel * ''The Anointed,'' Penguin Arcana, 1987. ;Audio CDs * ''Way of Kabbalah Meditations,'' Tree of Life Publishing (UK), 2004

Reception
A professor of Kabbalah at
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
has bemoaned the hijacking of kabba'lah by various
New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
authors and gave Halevi as an example.
Joseph Dan Joseph Dan (, 1935 – 23 July 2022) was an Israeli scholar of Jewish mysticism. He taught for over 40 years in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was the first incumbent of the Gershom Scholem Chair ...
, in his work ''The Heart and the Fountain: An Anthology of Jewish Mystical Experiences'', wrote in footnote 57 to the introduction: :Another distressing phenomenon is connected with the numerous books concerning kabbalah, its history, nature, and traditions, as instruction for modern living, published by "Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi" who is a nice English gentleman from Hampstead who does not know any Hebrew. His books were used as authentic, scholarly source by many, including
Simo Parpola Simo Kaarlo Antero Parpola (born 4 July 1943) is a Finnish Assyriologist specializing in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Professor emeritus of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki (retired fall 2009). Career Simo Parpola studied Assyriology, C ...
.

References

Further reading
Dan, Joseph, ''Jewish Mysticism and Jewish Ethics'', pub. J. Aronson Inc., 2nd edition, 1977
Dan, Joseph, ''The Early Kabbalah'', pub. Paulist Press, 1986
Gerzon, Gila, ''Kabbalah: Gates of Knowledge'', pub. Aur Tiferet, 2020
Goodman, Len, ed., ''Neoplatonism and Jewish Thought'', pub. Albany: SUNY Press, 1992
Halevi, Z'ev ben Shimon, ''A Kabbalistic Universe'', pub. Bet El Trust, revised edition, 2016
Scholem, Gershom, ''Origins of the Kabbalah'', pub. Princeton Paperbacks, 1991
Scholem, Gershom, ''ha-Qabbalah be-Gerona'', ed. J. Ben-Shlomo, pub. Jerusalem, 1964

External links

The Kabbalah Society (Toledano tradition)Video conversationHis books in SpanishThe Temenos AcademyArtworkDevelopment of Halevi's work as it relates to Judaism and in the everyday world
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halevi, Z'ev Ben Shimon 1933 births 2020 deaths Writers from London English Sephardi Jews British people of Moldovan-Jewish descent Kabbalists English religious writers English astrologers 20th-century astrologers 21st-century astrologers Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art