The Legenday Kabbala

The meaning of Kabbala, translated from Hebrew, means something
received and handed down. This definition resonates. Knowledge of magic,
after all, is handed down from generation to generation, from magician
to magician, and from teacher to disciple. Prior to xerography and
personal computers, most magical knowledge was transmitted in this
primitive, semi-private, and intimate means. Word-of-mouth reigned
supreme and to a certain extent still does.

The magic scene in the Seventies was a blooming, buzzing place, atwitter
with contentiousness and creativity. Close-up magic, particularly with
cards, was becoming better. Tricks were becoming more interesting,
finessed, and sophisticated. Many magicians became knowledgeable and
expert: Fast-Company Men, too hip for each other, too hip for most
rooms, and too hip for their own good. Magic for magicians took hold and
had to be magician-proof. Card problems were subjected to new and
stringent conditions and restrictions and strategies of
misdirection-within-misdirection were the order of the day. This was the
world Kabbala wanted to explore, exploit, and harvest.

The Kabbala (1971-81) was part of the information pipe-line, a
supplement, complement, and co-conspirator. Although it did not start
out to be an alternative voice, it became combative counterpoint to Pallbearers Review and Epilogue.

Most of the material collected in this book is still vital, interesting,
and useful. Certain routines are prototypal members of a special class,
not masterpieces or blockbusters in the hyperbolic sense, but solid,
practical, thought-provoking effects.