Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi

Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, born Warren Kenton (1933-2020), was a British writer and teacher who dedicated much of his life to the study and dissemination of Kabbalah. He was a founding member of the Kabbalah Society and published extensively under his Hebrew name. Halevi's early career involved various artistic and therapeutic roles, including work in theatre and graphic design. He began his self-taught journey into Kabbalah at age 25, later teaching and lecturing internationally on the subject. His approach focused on the Toledano Tradition, a branch of Sephardi Kabbalah originating from medieval Spain and France.

Halevi taught Kabbalah to a global audience, conducting courses and lectures across continents and at institutions like the Temenos Academy. His published works include books on Kabbalah, astrology, and stagecraft. While recognized for his contributions by figures such as King Charles III and Kathleen Raine, his work also faced criticism from some academic circles for its presentation of Kabbalah to a modern audience. He passed away in London in 2020.

Halevi's deep engagement with Kabbalah began at age 25, driven by a self-directed study he attributed to spiritual guidance. He started teaching in 1969, initially by posting notices inviting interested individuals to group meetings at his London flat, a method he likened to Gurdjieff's approach. He developed a particular focus on the Toledano Tradition, a significant stream of Kabbalah that emerged in medieval Spain and France, with key centers in towns like Girona and Toledo. This tradition incorporated Neoplatonic emanationism, explaining the divine creation process through the ten Sephirot, a concept that contrasted with the Aristotelian philosophy of thinkers like Maimonides. Halevi's studies led him to visit major historical centers of Kabbalah across Europe, North Africa, and Israel.

As a teacher, Halevi reached a wide international audience, lecturing and running courses on every continent. He was associated with institutions such as the Temenos Academy, founded by Kathleen Raine, and taught at various centers including the New York Open Centre and the Jungian Institute of Santa Fe. His extensive travels facilitated the spread of his 'Way of Kabbalah' courses globally. Halevi was also instrumental in founding the Kabbalah Society, an organization aimed at promoting the study of early Kabbalah from Provence and Spain. His wife, Rebekah Kenton, assisted him in organizing an annual Summer School that drew students from around the world.

Halevi authored eighteen books, encompassing Kabbalah, kabbalistic astrology, and a kabbalistic novel, alongside earlier works on stagecraft written under his birth name, Warren Kenton. His writings on Kabbalah have been translated into sixteen languages. His work received acknowledgment from notable figures; King Charles III referenced Halevi's explanations of the Tree of Life in a speech on tradition and modernism, and poet Kathleen Raine praised the nuanced structure of his Kabbalistic cosmology. Artist Charles Thomson and singer Sinéad O'Connor also cited his influence. However, his work was also critiqued by some academics, like Professor Joseph Dan, who expressed concern about Kabbalah being presented by authors perceived as lacking Hebrew proficiency.

“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'.”

“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.”

“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.”