Estimates of the Kabbalah.—In the Kabbalah, as in all mys tic systems, excesses and extravagances sometimes arose. Hence modern scholars such as Graetz, influenced ultimately by the ra tionalism of Maimonides which had no patience with the emo tions, have looked askance at Kabbalah and decried it. The trend of the last century was almost unmitigated disapproval. But latterly a more temperate verdict has succeeded to the one-sided judgment of the past. The Kabbalah is being studied instead of being condemned. The library catalogues of the last generation were content to label Kabbalist works as "collectanea": the present age is identifying, classifying and seeking to interpret them. Interest is being devoted to Kabbalah and, especially in Jerusalem and in Germany, much useful work is being done: manuscripts are being collected and critical texts are being pro duced. Two of the leaders in the new movement are R. Eisler and G. Scholem and a new aspect of Kabbalah is in process of being revealed. The reader is cautioned against accepting many of the categorical statements of the past century without reference to present-day views.