The Jewish mystical tradition is diverse and rich, with various forms including moderate and intensive expressions. Moderate mysticism is intellectual in nature, while the main forms practiced in contemporary Judaism are esoteric Lurianic Kabbalah and its later commentaries, the variety of schools of Hasidic Judaism, and Neo-Hasidism (incorporating Neo-Kabbalah) in non-Orthodox Jewish denominations. Mysticism transcends time and space and refers to a reality not grasped by ordinary human cognition.
There are three types of mysticism in the history of Judaism: the ecstatic, contemplative, and esoteric. Although distinct, they frequently overlap in their practices. Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) is based on the public Revelation at Sinai, when the Torah was given to Israel. Biblical myths are found mainly in the first 11 chapters of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and are concerned with the creation of the world and the first man.
The Kabbalistic form of Jewish mysticism is divided into three general streams: the Theosophical/Speculative Kabbalah (seeking to understand and describe the divine realm), the Meditative/Ecstatic Kabbalah (seeking to achieve a mystical union with God), and the Practical Kabbalah (seeking to theurgically alter). The role of Kabbala and Hasidism in the thought and spirituality of contemporary Judaism is far from insignificant, though its importance is not as significant.
Mysticism and mystical experiences have been a part of Judaism since the earliest days, with the Torah containing many stories of mystical experiences. Rabbi Din is at the forefront of the current Jewish mystical renewal, with no updated or new-agey approach. Kabbalah, one of the most prominent forms of Jewish mysticism, emerged in the 12th century and has since become a central component of Jewish mystical experiences.
Mysticism is generally taken to describe primarily a certain category of religious experiences, and Judaism has its own mystic currents dating back to the Middle Ages. The mystical element as studied academically is still closely linked to extreme and intense forms of the consciousness of ultimate reality.
📹 Kabbalah – Merkabah Hekhalot and Sar Torah Mysticism – Ancient Chariot and Angelic Kabbalah
Jewish mysticism is one of the foundations for Western Esotericism and this video explores some of the earliest strata of those …
Is Ariana Grande in the Kabbalah?
Ariana Grande, a 21-year-old singer, has left the Catholic Church after her brother Frankie was rejected for being gay. She now practices Kabbalah, a Jewish sect that includes other A-listers like Madonna and Demi Moore. Grande has been a longtime supporter of her brother, who is openly gay and best known for his stint on Big Brother. She has stood up for Frankie when the Catholic Church wasn’t on board with his sexual orientation.
Grande and her brother visited a Kabbalah center in Florida, and they both had a connection with it. The siblings are now practicing members of the Kabbalah sect of Judaism, which includes other A-listers like Madonna and Demi Moore.
What is the mystical tradition stemming from Judaism?
Kabbalah, also known as mysticism or occult knowledge, is a Jewish tradition that focuses on the essence of God. Kabbalists believe that God moves in mysterious ways, but they also believe that true knowledge of this inner process is attainable and can lead to the greatest intimacy with God. The Zohar, a collection of mystical commentaries on the Torah, is considered the underpinning of Kabbalah.
Kabbalistic thought is often considered Jewish mysticism, as its practitioners view the Creator and Creation as a continuum rather than discrete entities. They desire intimacy with God due to the powerful mystical sense of kinship between God and humanity. Even mystics who refuse to describe such a fusion of God and man still find the whole of Creation suffused in divinity, breaking down distinctions between God and the universe. Moses Cordovero, a Kabbalist, states that the essence of divinity is found in every single thing, nothing but it exists.
Are there more Jews or Muslims in the world?
Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world, with 31% of the global population identifying as Christian. Islam is the second most prevalent religion, with 25% of the world’s population adhering to it. The Jewish population is the smallest, with only 0. 2% of the global population identifying as Jewish. The global religious landscape is characterized by a rich diversity of beliefs and practices. Islam holds a dominant position in the Middle East, while Buddhism is the predominant religion in Cambodia and Thailand, with over 95% of the population adhering to this faith.
What is a mystical movement in Judaism that started in the twelfth century called?
Kabbala, an oral tradition in Jewish mysticism, emerged in the 12th and following centuries. It claims to have secret knowledge of the unwritten Torah, which was communicated by God to Moses and Adam. Kabbala provided a means of approaching God directly, giving Judaism a religious dimension. The earliest roots of Kabbala can be traced to Merkava mysticism, which began in Palestine in the 1st century CE and focused on ecstatic and mystical contemplation of the divine throne.
The earliest known Jewish text on magic and cosmology, Sefer Yetzira, appeared between the 3rd and 6th century, explaining creation as a process involving the 10 divine numbers (sefirot) of God the Creator and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
The 12th-century Sefer ha-bahir, a major text of early Kabbala, had a profound and lasting influence on the development of Jewish esoteric mysticism and Judaism. The Bahir introduced notions such as the transmigration of souls and strengthened the foundations of Kabbala by providing extensive mystical symbolism.
How many types of Jews are there today?
Jewish groups can be identified by their homeland, language, naming patterns, and migration patterns. Ashkenazi, the largest Jewish ethnic group, originated in Central and Eastern Europe and settled in the German Rhine River Valley during the Middle Ages. Persecution led them east into Eastern Europe and Western Russia during the 17th century. Sephardi, the second largest Jewish group, settled in Southwestern Europe during the 1100s and were identified as Southern Jews.
During the Spanish Inquisition of the 1400s, they were forced to convert to Catholicism or flee, many fleeing to the Americas. These subcultures share a strong connection to the Jewish religion and biblical roots.
Was Jesus a mystic?
Jesus was a teacher of teachers and a mystic of mystics in various ways. His teachings and actions brought the British Empire to its knees, while his mystical poetry and passion for levitations and visions of fire inspired Saint Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Matthew Fox, a progressive theologian and Dominican priest, dedicated an entire book, “The Coming of the Cosmic Christ”, to the mysticism of Jesus. Jesus’ teachings and actions influenced many mystics, including Krisha, Buddha, Gandhi, Saint Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross.
What are the 4 worlds of Kabbalah?
The concept of “Worlds” refers to the emanation of creative lifeforce from the Ein Sof or Godhead through progressive, innumerable tzimtzumim or concealments. Kabbalists identified the names of these worlds from Isaiah 43:7, which are Beri’ah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation), Assiah (Action), and Atziluth (Emanation). Collectively, the Four Worlds are referred to as אבי״ע Aviyaʿ after their initial letters.
The Worlds are formed by the divine creative light or ohr, which is divine immanence. The ten sefirot “attributes” and their associated twelve partzufim or “personas” reflect this light in the Four Worlds, as do more specific Divine manifestations. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the partzufim interact dynamically, and sublime levels are clothed within lower existences, a concealed soul.
The Five Worlds are in descending order: Adam Kadmon (Cosmic Man), Atziluth (Emanation), Beri’ah (World of Creation), Yetzirah (Formation), Assiah (Action), and Assiah Gashmi (Physical Assiah).
Adam Kadmon signifies the first pristine emanation, still united with the Ein Sof. Atziluth is the realm of “Keter Elyon” or “Supernal Crown”, representing the divine light with no vessels, the manifestation of the specific Divine plan for existence within Creation. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the lights from Adam Kadmon precipitate Tohu and Tikun.
Atziluth is the realm of revelation, where the ten sefirot emerge in revelation, with Chochma (Wisdom) dominating. The last sefira, Malkuth (Kingdom), represents the “divine speech” of the first Genesis creation narrative, through which God created the universe.
Beriah is the realm of the “Divine Throne”, denoting the sefirot configuration of Atziluth descending into Beriah like a King on a Throne. The sefirah Binah (Understanding) predominates, representing Divine intellect. Yetzirah is the formation level, where created beings assume shape and form, with the emotional sefirot Chesed through Yesod predominating. The angels of Assiah function on the active level, as the sefirah Malkuth (fulfilment in Kingship) predominates.
Below spiritual Assiah is the physical universe, which encapsulates the final sefirot of Assiah, the physical universe with all its creations.
What are the mystical aspects of Judaism?
Mysticism and mystical experiences have been a part of Judaism since its earliest days. The Torah contains numerous stories of mystical experiences, including angel visits, prophetic dreams, and visions. The Talmud also discusses the existence of the soul and its attachment to the body. Jewish tradition claims that all Jews’ souls were present at the time of the Torah’s giving and agreed to the Covenant. The Talmud also mentions places similar to Christian heaven, purgatory, wandering souls, and reincarnation.
The Talmud contains vague hints of a mystical school of thought taught only to advanced students and not committed to writing. In the middle ages, many of these teachings were committed to writing in books like the Zohar, often asserted to be secret ancient writings.
Mysticism is open to personal interpretation, with some traditional Jews taking it seriously, such as Chasidic Judaism, and others taking it with a grain of salt. A prominent Orthodox Jew once said, “it’s nonsense, but it’s Jewish nonsense, and the study of anything Jewish, even nonsense, is worthwhile”.
Is Israel a Sephardic or Ashkenazi?
Approximately 85% of the global Jewish population are Ashkenazim, with the remaining 15% being Sephardim. Approximately ten percent of Ashkenazim reside in Israel, while eighty percent of Sephardim are located there. The Sephardic population constitutes 55% of the total Jewish population in Israel.
How many current followers of Judaism are there?
It is estimated that approximately 14 million Jews reside globally, with the majority concentrated in the United States and Israel. A person is considered Jewish if their mother is Jewish. The Tanakh, the Jewish sacred text, comprises the Torah, the first five books of the Bible which set forth the laws that Jews are expected to observe. The Torah, also referred to as the Pentateuch, is arranged in a somewhat distinct sequence compared to the other books that comprise the Old Testament.
How many levels are in Kabbalah?
Medieval Kabbalists believed that all things are connected to God through emanations, making all levels in creation part of a great, gradually descending chain of being. They agreed with the divine transcendence described by Jewish philosophy but only referring to the Ein Sof unknowable Godhead. They reinterpreted the theistic philosophical concept of creation from nothing, replacing God’s creative act with panentheistic continual self-emanation by the mystical Ayin Nothingness/No-thing.
The innumerable levels of descent divide into four comprehensive spiritual worlds: Atziluth (“Closeness” – Divine Wisdom), Beriah (“Creation” – Divine Understanding), Yetzirah (“Formation” – Divine Emotions), and Assiah (“Action” – Divine Activity). The Divine Persona/Anthropos is formed by these spiritual heavens.
Hasidic thought extends the divine immanence of Kabbalah by holding that God is all that really exists, with all else being completely undifferentiated from God’s perspective. This view can be defined as acosmic monistic panentheism, where God’s existence is higher than anything that this world can express, yet he includes all things of this world within his divine reality in perfect unity.
One of the problems considered in the Hebrew Kabbalah is the theological issue of the nature and origin of evil. Some Kabbalists conceive “evil” as a “quality of God”, asserting that negativity enters the essence of the Absolute. Foundational texts of Medieval Kabbalism conceived evil as a demonic parallel to the holy, called the Sitra Achra (the “Other Side”), and the qlippoth (shells/husks) that cover and conceal the holy.
📹 Mysticism in Every Book
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Years after leaving philosophy, your articles are making me see connections in medieval and early modern philosophy in a fascinating new light. Spinoza and Leibniz in particular I now want to re-read with a specifically esoteric framing in mind. I have often tried and failed to identify the best scholarly resources on 18th century free masonry and it’s connections to political liberalism. I hope that you will eventually get to masonic history and address this with regards to the American War of Independence, the Haitian revolution and the French Revolution.
This is so cool that you are doing this topic and in addition, putting it into the playlist JEWISH MAGIC! Last night, it was rolling thunderstorms coming in all night, and i fell asleep to this playlist but kept waking up and listening to you speak with the thunder and rain outside~ whoa what a cool night
Brilliant article, watched this after you brought it up in the recent article about Paul. I do agree you could redo it however not because there’s anything wrong but simply because as you’ve made articles over the years your delivery and oration skills have evolved from great to outstanding. Seriously you have some of the best delivery I’ve ever heard on these subjects in your most recent articles to such an extent my girlfriend asked about your website name because she wants to listen to your voice before she goes to bed at night! She finds my interest in esoteric history fascinating and loves chatting to me about whatever I’m studying at the time but generally she has a more direct approach to spirituality that is almost entirely based off direct experience without any reference to history, religion, philosophy or the mystic experience of others. So for her to want to listen to you talk about exactly all of those things is a huge win 😛
Recently found this website; absolutely fascinating stuff. I’ve always had an interest in the esoteric, and the odd things scattered throughout the Bible (especially things like Ezekiel’s vision and Isaiah’s vision found in the Old Testament or Tanakh). I was first introduced to “chariot mysticism” several year ago from a book by Peter Levenda, “Stairway to Heaven”. What would be a good book for someone who wants to dive deeper into the story of the 4 who entered the Pardes and a basic overview of the practices they used? I can’t read Hebrew much at all (and trust me, I’ve tried learning. I tried years before I married my wife, who is Jewish, and she has long forgotten whatever she had to learn for her Bot Mitzvah), so I hope there’s some decent translations out there. Again, great work here. I’d love to see a take on some modern magical groups and practices (like the Golden Dawn, and OTO) and what ideas and practices they use can be traced back to the Middle Ages or further.
I thought I’d left these interests behind decades ago, and now I’m developing head-canon that the power of your esoteric knowledge is bound to your identity in some mystical way, such that if you were to restyle your facial hair it would radically impact your expertise. For instance, a handlebar moustache might make you a master of motorcycle mechanics and road lore.
I had the inclination to look for articles about Ezekiel’s relation to Hekhalot mysticism today and amazingly I stumbled onto this article. Love it! Merkabah mysticism was the truly native Jewish mysticism, one of the greatest pinnacles of mysticism before the Christians came along. There is so much to learn from the Hekhalot texts
Trying to describe, let alone teach magic is like doing the same for LOVE. If someone else’s magic lesson we’re highly effective and deeply personal, then I might have received a more positive response to the flowers I bought for my wife. I think magic AND love lessons lose their potency over time. My OWN original inspirations for such energy management turn out to be easier, more simple, and certainly more personal. The MORE I exercise that muscle, the better it works and picks up where the old stuff leaves off. Thanks again!
I just noticed your go stones. You play go? Do you see anything spiritual about go? I ask because there was a project I was working on a year or two ago about creating an “enchanted” go table, something where both players are having to exchange energy as they build a ritual by placing and removing unique stones from the board. Honestly, after finding out about the Dee’s table, I plan to take inspiration for the set up. So it’s something of a shared spiritual experience that’s both collaborative and competitive.
As Dr. Sledge explained the concept of the ‘size of god’s body,” I kept thinking of Maimonides and his notion that god cannot even be said to “exist,” as s/he is beyond existence and the human experience of existence. I metaphorically patted myself on the shoulder when Dr. Sledge brought up precisely that point. Hmmm, maybe I am not that dumb after all.
I came here from Let’s Talk Religion’s reading of The City of Brass, and I eventually found myself perusal the YHWH origins article (highly informative to a non-Abrahamic monotheist like myself!) and the article about Metatron. I pivoted over here per your recommendation in that article for more context. Your content is phenomenal, and it brought to light a lot of ill-informed biases I’ve been clinging to one way or the other. Cheers for the excellent articles mate!
you are such a great teacher that spans the grand vastness and brings it to now, and how to inter-weave for a higher wider perspective that is truly needed; allowing the oneness of the human-interpreted Heavenly knowings of spirit-science-magic, alchemy, as a one world transcending all polarization and duality; acceptance, honouring, valuing all – how to simply appreciation and soak in it all and lead from a space of oneness as the one spirit in us all – nice, thank you
Are all of the instructions given in the texts to be abstract or imaginary, or are the to be physically exercised? What would be a good starting point as a newcomer to esotericism, mysticism and the occult? Then comes the biggest question – does magic actually work with physical manifestations? It seems to be a lot of commentary and wordings
I really hope you will consider interviewing Dr. Gabriele Boccacini, because he has developed such a detailed theory of the origins of Enochic Judaism dating back all the way to Ezekiel during the Babylonian period in his book: Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways Between Qumran and Enochic Judaism.
This is a very interesting topic. I would like to see you delve into the Similitudes of Enoch and into Enoch, since both of them appear to date back to either the 1st century BCE or the 1st century CE. Would also like to see you address the work of Gabriele Boccacini on the early history of Enochian Judaism.
Ik kende de merkabah niet maar op 31 Dec 2020 zag ik ineens uit het donker een rood licht verhikel verschijnen, het kwam heel dichtbij en de vorm was als dat ik nu weet een merkabah. Het was een rode energie met wat ik zag rode licht bollen en rode staven in die vorm, ineens splitste de onderpunt en bovenpunt binnenin langs elkaar en splitste het in 2..het was zo raar en ik kijk op de straat beneden of andere mensen het ook zagen maar nee, ze zagen niets..het verdween als achter een zwart Gordijn, paar minuten later mijn honden weer blaffen en ik weer kijken op mijn balkon, en jaaaa hoor daar kwam het weer aan maar nu in een andere vorm, als van een catamaran achtig ding en ook weer rode energie/ licht..zag geen metaal maar alleen vorm en licht energie..merkte dat het ook een andere atmosfeer had dan het geluid beneden op straat en weer was in de enige die het zag..verdween weer als achter een zwart gordijn..en ik hoor even later weer honden blaffen en ik kijken kwam het er weer aan..Ben er echt in de war van en weet niet wat ik ermee aan moet…was helemaal alleen probeer de wel via social media anderen te waarschuwen of ze ook dat zag en maar nee..Ben wel van twitter geblokt paar dagen erna maar kan hier toch niets met te maken hebben? Kan iemand mij zeggen wat God mij vertellen wil? Wat het kan betekenen om zo’n enorm ding 3x te zien op die avond..
So, like, all this talk about heavens maps pretty neatly onto buddhist Jhanas; even the bit about going past the cement waterfall is clearly about figuring out impermanence. The body of God left me scratching my head, though; but I think I figured it out. The “body of God” is the sensory cortical homunculus, which, with the strong perceptive abilities that you’ll need to get into Jhanas, you should be able to figure out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortical_homunculus#/media/File:Sensory_and_motor_homunculi.jpg
People should understand that the study of Zohar used to only happen after a person was very knowledgeable in Torah and Halacha, and they certainly kept the Torah. If a modern person hungers for a mystical experience, perhaps read stories of the Chassidim of old. It will inspire to keep mitzvot while showing how keeping mitzvot can take a person to a point where Hashem does real, open miracles for them. Hashem never stopped doing miracles. Maybe much of mankind stopped keeping the Torah, so that affects our standing with Hashem. Make a miracle for Hashem, and he will repay you in kind. Make your animal self keep Hashem’s laws. That is a big miracle and a big sacrifice. He won’t forget.