What Is Jewish Mysticism Known As Kabbalah?

Kabbalah, an ancient Jewish mysticism, emerged in the 12th century and has become a central component of Jewish mystical thought. It deals with the essence of God and involves interpretation of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. The most important Kabbalistic text is the Zohar, written during the 12th century. Kabbalah means “received” and refers to the received wisdom of theology of Jewish practice built upon teachings handed down through generations from Sinai.

The historical event of Sinai attests to the divine source and nature of the Torah and Jewish mysticism. In contemporary Judaism, the only main forms of Jewish mysticism practiced are esoteric Lurianic Kabbalah and its later commentaries, the variety of esoteric methods, disciplines, and schools of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist in Judaism is called a Mekubbal. Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought in Jewish mysticism, incorporating many aspects of Jewish thought.

Mysticism was taught only to those who had already learned Torah and Talmud. Kabbalah is an oral tradition that refers to the received wisdom of theology of Jewish practice built upon teachings handed down through generations from Sinai. Kabbalah means “received tradition”, a term previously used in other Judaic contexts but adopted by Medieval Kabbalists as their own.

Is Kabbalah from Talmud?

The Talmud is a commentary on the Jewish Bible, while Kabbalah is a form of Jewish mysticism that draws inspiration from the Jewish Bible.

What is Kabbalah in Islam?

Islamic scholars possess a vast treasure of divine wisdom, known as masoret or kabbalah, which was transmitted orally from Muhammad to his disciples. Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. Members of an institution with an active account can access content through IP-based access, which is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses.

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What celebrities practice Kabbalah?

Celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Demi Moore, James Van Der Beek, Marla Maples, Madonna, Ariana Grande, and Frankie Grande have been associated with the London Kabbalah Centre. Celebrities like Britney Spears, Diane Keaton, Roseanne Barr, and others have been associated with the Centre. However, a BBC news article reported that senior figure Eliyahu Yardeni made controversial comments about the Holocaust and claimed that the spring water sold by the Centre had a curative effect on cancer.

Who is Yahweh in Kabbalah?

The name Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, is a tetragrammaton consisting of the Hebrew consonants Yod, Heh, Waw, and Heh. After the Babylonian Exile (6th century BC), Jews stopped using Yahweh due to its universality and the sacred nature of the divine name. The Hebrew noun Elohim, meaning “God”, replaced Yahweh to demonstrate Israel’s sovereignty over all others. The divine name was also considered too sacred to be uttered, so it was replaced in synagogue rituals by the Hebrew word Adonai (“My Lord”), translated as Kyrios (“Lord”) in the Septuagint.

The Masoretes, who worked to reproduce the original Hebrew Bible, added the vowel signs of Adonai or Elohim to “YHWH”. Latin-speaking Christian scholars replaced the Y with an I or a J, resulting in the artificial Latinized name Jehovah (JeHoWaH). As the name spread throughout medieval Europe, the initial letter J was pronounced according to the local vernacular language.

What celebrities studied Kabbalah?

The Kabbalah Centre International is a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, California, that offers courses on the Zohar and Kabbalistic teachings online and through its regional and city-based centers and study groups worldwide. The organization was founded in the United States in 1965 as a publishing house called “The National Institute for the Research in Kabbalah” by Philip Berg and Rabbi Levi Isaac Krakovsky. The center was likely encouraged by his Rebbe and former wife’s uncle Yehuda Tzvi Brandwein to aid the funding of Brandwein’s Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

The unique aspect of Kol Yehuda is that students focus on kabbalistic study, receiving a salary to cover their living expenses. After Brandwein’s death, Philip Berg and his wife Karen Berg re-established the independent U. S. Kabbalah Centre in New York City. The Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles was opened in 1984, and after Berg’s death, Karen and Michael Berg acted as directors and spiritual teachers of the organization. The Kabbalah Centre is a registered non-profit with over fifty branches worldwide, including major ones in Los Angeles, New York City, London, and Toronto.

What is an example of a Kabbalah?

The Code of Jewish Law mandates daily prayer, which has become a normative practice. Kabbalists explore the hidden aspects of Jewish traditions to uncover deeper meanings and significance. They may chant one word of a prayer repeatedly to achieve a trance-like state or meditate on one line of a prayer in the woods at midnight. Kabbalists often expose a universal marrow of religious practice, while still incorporating Jewish teachings and practice.

Kabbalah makes mainstream Jewish practices feel more universal, making them more accessible to everyday people. The study and practice of Kabbalah can help people understand and appreciate the deeper meanings and significance of religious practices.

Who is God in Kabbalah?

Kabbalah posits that God is Ein Sof, or “withoutend”, without spatial or timely boundaries and gender. He is transcendent and cannot be understood by humans. To allow humans access to God’s power, God created ten sefirot, emanations of divine energy, which represent manifestations of God in the human world. These sefirot are like channels that bring power to the universe in a form that humans can and need to use.

The ten sefirot correspond in descending order to qualities of God, including both feminine and masculine qualities. None is separate from the others and are connected to the entire universe, affected by everything good and evil done by humanity. Each sefirah grows out of the previous one, with Keter being the beginning, Chokhmah being wisdom, Binah being the highest feminine emanation, Chesed being kindness and greatness, Geburah being mercy, Tipheret being glory, Netzach being masculine firmness, victory, might, Hod being feminine majesty and splendor, Yesod being the foundation, and Malkut being the kingdom.

The connections between the sefirot are described as sulam, a ladder, or etz, a living tree upside down. The roots are Ein Sof, the infinite God, the kingdom, the trunk, the foundation, and the crown at the top. Da’ath is a secret sphere of knowledge existing in the Kabbalistic tree, where Binah and Chokmah create a circulation of positive and negative energies throughout the tree.

Configuring the sefirot into partzufim, profiles, or figures of human likeness supports the notion that humans were made in the image and likeness of God, with each sefirah corresponding to a limb or organ.

What is the difference between the Torah and the Kabbalah?

Kabbalah represents the esoteric, mystical dimension of the Torah, comprising Moses’ purported oral tradition.

Who created the Kabbalah?

The Zohar, or Book of Splendor, is the central text of Kabbalah, attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, but modern scholars date it to Moses de Leon of 13th-century Spain. Kabbalah gained a resurgence in the 16th century under Yosef Caro, who attracted leading Kabbalists to Safed, northern Israel, after the Spanish expulsion of Jews. This period saw Safed becoming a leading center for Kabbalah study.

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 is the Jewish mysticism of Kabbalah?

The Kabbalistic form of Jewish mysticism is divided into three general streams: Theosophical/Speculative Kabbalah, Meditative/Ecstatic Kabbalah, and Practical Kabbalah. These three methods of mystical involvement are found throughout the pre-Kabbalistic and post-Kabbalistic stages of Jewish mystical development. Theosophical Kabbalah is distinguished from other forms of mysticism by its doctrinal form as a mystical “philosophy” of Gnosis esoteric knowledge.

Meditative Kabbalah shares similarities with general mysticism, aiming to unite individuals intuitively with God. Theurgic Practical Kabbalah in Judaism, censored and restricted by mainstream Jewish Kabbalists, shares similarities with non-Jewish Hermetic Qabalah magical Western Esotericism. However, it is censored and forgotten in contemporary times due to its potential to degenerate into impure and forbidden magic. As a result, it has formed a minor tradition in Jewish mystical history.