Jewish mysticism, a part of Jewish tradition, has evolved from early Hekhalot texts to medieval spirituality and East European shtetls. It is based on the public Revelation at Sinai, when the Torah was given to Israel, and is characterized by its transcendent nature. The Jewish mystical tradition is rich and diverse, with various expressions divided into moderate and intensive types.
Kabbalah, also known as “mysticism” or “occult knowledge”, is a part of Jewish tradition that deals with the essence of God. It includes sacred texts, esoteric works, and opposition to secular practices. Baʿal Shem Ṭov, the founder of Ḥasidism, is considered the primary form of Jewish mysticism. Kabbalah, also known as Qabalah, is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought in Jewish mysticism.
The first forms of Jewish mysticism emerged in the early centuries of the first millennium, with Merkavah mysticism being the most common early form. Kabbalah encompasses many Jewish texts, beliefs, and practices, including meditation, mystical/metaphorical readings of Torah, and an approach to understanding the world.
There are three types of mysticism in the history of Judaism: the ecstatic, contemplative, and esoteric. Although they are distinct, they frequently overlap. The primary form of Jewish mysticism is the ecstatic form, which focuses on the divine source and nature of the Torah.
📹 What is Jewish Mysticism? (Kabbalah)
We continue our series on mysticism by exploring Judaism and its mystical tradition, including the famous Kabbalah but also …
What is a synonym for Jewish mysticism?
The term “Kabalism” is analogous to the concept of mysticism and is intimately associated with a multitude of other religious practices, including Cabala, Pietism, Quietism, and Spiritualism.
What is the key text of Jewish mysticism called?
The Sefer ha-zohar, also known as the “Book of Splendour” in Hebrew, is a 13th-century book that is the classic text of esoteric Jewish mysticism, or Kabbala. Esoteric Kabbala is an oral tradition that claims to secret knowledge of the unwritten Torah, which was communicated by God to Moses and Adam. It provides 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 centuries, 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, also known as the Book of Brightness, was a major text of early Kabbala, whose influence on the development of Jewish esoteric mysticism and Judaism was profound and lasting. The Bahir introduced notions such as the transmigration of souls (gilgul) and strengthened the foundations of Kabbala by providing it with extensive mystical symbolism.
What do Jews think of Kabbalah?
Kabbalah, a Jewish mysticism, is considered a necessary part of the study of Torah and is distinct from earlier Merkabah mystical concepts and methods. Theosophical Kabbalah, which emerged in the Middle Ages, focuses on understanding and describing the divine realm using imaginative and mythic symbols of human psychological experience. This theosophy implies the innate, centrally important theurgic influence of human conduct on redeeming or damaging the spiritual realms.
Meditative-Ecstatic Kabbalah, exemplified by Abraham Abulafia and Isaac of Acre, strives to achieve a mystical union with God or nullification of the meditator in God’s Active intellect. Abraham Abulafia’s “Prophetic Kabbalah” was the supreme example of this, building upon the philosophy of Maimonides. Practical Kabbalah, on the other hand, aims to alter both the Divine realms and the World using practical methods.
Theosophical interpretations of worship see its redemptive role as harmonising heavenly forces, while Practical Kabbalah involves white-magical acts and was censored by Kabbalists for only those completely pure of intent. It formed a separate minor tradition shunned from Kabbalah until the Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt and the required state of ritual purity is attainable.
Moshe Idel writes that these three basic models can be discerned operating and competing throughout the whole history of Jewish mysticism, beyond the particular Kabbalistic background of the Middle Ages.
What is the mystical form of Judaism called?
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, and through understanding this inner process, they can attain the greatest intimacy with God. The Zohar, a collection of written, mystical commentaries on the Torah, is considered the underpinning of Kabbalah. Written in medieval Aramaic and Hebrew, the Zohar guides Kabbalists in their spiritual journey, helping them attain the connectedness they desire.
Kabbalistic thought is often considered Jewish mysticism, with practitioners viewing 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.
What is esoteric 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.
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 Kabbalah in simple words?
Jewish theosophy, mysticism, and thaumaturgy is a medieval and modern system of Jewish theology, mysticism, and thaumaturgy. It is marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture. It is also a traditional, esoteric, occult, or secret matter. In code, artists often include references to alchemy, astrology, and kabbalah, a mystical branch of Judaism. Isaac Luria expounded the kabbalah after the expulsion from Spain, while Joseph Caro updated the practical application of halakhah in the Shulchan Aruch code of laws.
Gershom Scholem, a pioneering scholar of kabbalah, was one of many public intellectuals who felt Arendt lost track of the human reality of the Holocaust amid her argument. Arendt was incarcerated for gambling, cheating tourists, flagrant libertinism in the face of the Venetian Inquisition, and heretical interests in alchemy and the kabbalah.
What is the name of the Jewish magic?
Practical Kabbalah is a branch of Jewish mystical tradition that focuses on the use of magic. It was considered permitted white magic by its practitioners, reserved for the elite, who could separate its spiritual source from evil realms if performed under holy and pure circumstances. However, due to the prohibition of impure magic, it remained a minor tradition in Jewish history. Practical Kabbalah teachings include the use of Divine and angelic names for amulets and incantations.
Although mentioned in historical texts, most Kabbalists believe its use is forbidden. It is contrasted with the mainstream Kabbalah tradition of Kabbalah Iyunit, which seeks to explain the nature of God and existence through theological study and Jewish meditative techniques. According to Gershom Scholem, many teachings of practical Kabbalah predate and are independent of theoretical Kabbalah.
What is the symbol of the Jewish mysticism?
The Star of David is a symbol of Judaism and the Jewish people, believed to be the shield or emblem of King David. Jewish lore links the symbol to the “Seal of Solomon”, a magical signet ring used by King Solomon to control demons and spirits. The symbol is also linked to a magic shield owned by King David that protected him from enemies. Following Jewish emancipation after the French Revolution, Jewish communities chose the Star of David as their symbol, and it is found on the Flag of Israel. Lions often appear as heraldic supporters, especially of the Tablets of Law.
What are the two types of Jewish mysticism?
Contemporary Judaism primarily practices esoteric Lurianic Kabbalah and its later commentaries, various schools of Hasidic Judaism, and Neo-Hasidism in non-Orthodox Jewish denominations. Academic studies of Jewish mysticism, particularly since Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, distinguish between different forms of mysticism practiced in different eras of Jewish history. Kabbalah, which emerged in 12th-century southwestern Europe, is the most well-known form, but it is not the only typological form.
Previous forms include Merkabah mysticism (c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE) and Ashkenazi Hasidim (early 13th century). Kabbalah means “received tradition”, a term previously used in other Judaic contexts. Medieval Kabbalists adopted the term to express their belief in revealing the ancient hidden esoteric tradition of the Torah. Alternative views on the origin of the Zohar, the main text of Kabbalah, attributed to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in the 2nd century CE, have opened up the study of Jewish mysticism.
Traditional Kabbalists view Kabbalah as originating in Tannaic times, redacting the Oral Torah, while academic scholars view it as a synthesis from the Middle Ages, incorporating earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, possible continuations of ancient esoteric traditions, and medieval philosophical elements.
Is Kabbalah mysticism?
Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah are not interchangeable, but they are related belief systems that explore the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Kabbalah aims to understand the Torah’s mysterious aspects, such as the creation story and Ezekiel’s chariot. The course aims to teach students about these aspects and their importance. The course aims to provide students with insights into the Jewish Bible and its teachings, allowing them to better understand and apply their faith.
📹 How did Kabbalah Begin? Brief History of Jewish Mysticism
Some say Kabbalah goes all the way back to the beginning of time. Others say the first century. Here, we present a historical …
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On Baal Shem, Jewish mystic and healer “When Baal Shem was dying, somebody asked, “Are you prepared to meet the Lord?” He said, “I have always been ready. It is not a question of becoming ready now — I have always been ready. Any moment he could have called me!” The man asked, “What is your readiness?” Baal Shem said, “I know a few beautiful jokes — I will tell him those jokes. And I know he will enjoy them and he will laugh with me. And what else can I offer to him? The whole world is his, the whole universe is his, I am his, so what can I offer to him? Just a few jokes!” Baal Shem is one of the great buddhas who has come out of the Jewish tradition, one of the most loved by his disciples. He was the founder of Hassidism.”
Thank you for the article. Great quality as always! Only if the people in your comment sections could share some of the same intellectual care, openness and empathy that you have lol A lot of people are wanting to jump to judging if they agree or disagree or if its right or wrong rather than “entertaining” the premises or appreciating the beautiful complexities that make up any wisdom tradition. Your handling of these topics is admirable, and I feel like if there is one main lesson I get from your content it is that
The fact that “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” was not in the intro is a missed opportunity in my mind. The popular phrase: “God is in his kingdom, all is right with the world” stands directly opposed to the general stance of Calvinism and related principles in Christianity which assert the world to be fallen. Via Paul, most of Christianity has adopted the curious belief that the Earth is either somehow not part of God’s kingdom or is some kind of diabolical experiment. In a more literal sense, some denominations believe this to be hell and the devil is not just manifest temptation/sin/anti-divine, but takes on the role of a sort of demiurge of gnosticism. I was always really fun at sunday school as I somehow both tend to ‘be christian’ and yet reject damn near everything taught, refocusing it through a different lens. Without an understanding of mysticism and the beliefs of the era, most of the biblical scripture cannot be understood. Consider Matthew 6 – more specifically verse 25 through the end, though the whole chapter works this way. Christians often use this in a broken and distorted form, removing verse 33 from the context and using it to refer to Paul’s doctrine of an otherworldly kingdom of God – seek the afterlife and all will be good. However, the immediate statement before is “the gentiles seek these things and your heavenly father knows you need them all” – referencing, prior, the sparrow and other aspects of nature. The gentiles were non-jews, who were debatably seen as fellow humans from the perspective of israelites, but certainly in a state of idol worship.
I read a good book on Maraaba, and the heck a lot mystics in Judaism. The original thumbnail that you gave of the Mystic milking malkuth is the supreme secret given. He’s a guy looking like his milking, a cow and his milking Malkuth! All the way from the top right? I am that I am has sent you. That’s the top.
Loved the article! if i may, i would like to sugest a theme i belive you would love to look into and maybe give us your perspectives on. As a brazilian, it is very common for us to hear about the “terreiros”, originally – and still, bu not only – the places of worship created by the enslaved people in the diaspora, but, afterwards, also the places where “samba” came to be. While samba came in popular taste, the brazilian religions of african matrix are still persecuted by the christian majority of our country, even if it dictates some of our most common traditions, like wearing white (or other colors, each with a meaning of a desire) and jumping 7 waves in new year – a ritual for Yemanja, the yoruba goddess of the seas (rivers, originally), not to talk about the food we eat and the music we listen to. Music and dance is a big part of those religions (also cooking, eating and drinking), for the rituals are celebrated as a happy gathering to recive the entities. A big part of this religions is about music, wich is a central part of the cult (the music, called “pontos”, played and singed by the “ogãs”, that calls the “orixas”, the gods or spirits of nature), and a big chunk of brazilian music have strong influences from this african rythms, intrinsecly related with these religions. If you want to get a taste, i reccomend the Afro Sambas, by Baden Powell – youtube.com/watch?v=IxM04Y4XSFs – a samba, as the name says it, with a lot of bossa nova influence (i feel you’ll really dig this one); or Ponto de Nanã, by Mariene de Castro –
Yes! I love both yours and Justin’s websites, so cool to see you both doing these together, I thought I heard him mention that on Esoterica… so awesome… my grandfather was Jewish and practiced their forms of mysticism, he was a wizard of sorts and I miss our talks about religion and magick. You both help to fill that void
Brilliant article, thanks guys! Just wondering if you have any personal preferred interpretation of Abulafia’s thoughts between Moshe Idel’s and Gershom Scholem’s? I know they’re both very prominent scholars in their field and as such disagree here and there, so if there’s anything you think worth mentioning that’d be appreciated. Thanks again, all the best
Wonderfull dance of the oposites in these movements, some to the asceticsm and others to hedonism or the sacralization of the body, is like choosing the path of Dionisus or of Apolo, choose your path, let others choose their path and we can all be reunited and the sumit and what a wonder to listen all the others tales and adventures.
These “visions” are all inner visions that advanced practitioners would experience inside during meditation. These are all practical methods and not beliefs. You can observe basically the same method in every culture. This is “Die while living” or Surat Shabad Yoga. You need a Perfect Master, who initiates into this path. Then you have to progress within by withdrawing attention from the outer faculties and concentrating all your attention on the third eye. Once you get there you can see the Radiant Form of your Master and you can talk with him like you would talk here in the Physical world. Your Master then drives you through the Higher Planes and drives you back to your Eternal Home. This is the most fascinating journey, the only real journey. All of these “visions” describe this very journey.
Shekinah the divine feminine sounds very much like Shakti/Prakriti in Hinduism, the more eminent (and feminine) aspect of the Divine while the Purusha/Shiva is the more detached transcendental perfected aspect which is more “absorbed in its own delight”. It’s crazy how much the mystical traditions of a lot of religions (or in the case of Islam, Sufism) sound so similar when the exoteric parts are so different or even opposed to each other. Soul being a part of God and getting rid of the ego to unite with the Divine also sounds very much like Hindu thought. That is essentially Moksha. Also seeing every thing as God’s work and so essentially divine is very familiar.
This is an important article for me because it answers some of the questions I had about the existence of Jewish mysticism before Sabbatai Zevi. And I wanted to know if there were any similarities between Jewish mysticism and Gnosticism, and it appears that there is? If you agree or disagree then I would like to hear some opinions.
I want to learn about these wicked occultists that are everywhere but it’s so difficult to sit back & listen when their freak off springs are in the comments hyping this stuff up. Demon worshippers, the worshippers of the star of remphan will all have to answer eventually, I pray I’m alive during that time
You should do a article on how there’s two groups of Jews. I just read Churchills article how he pointed out there’s nationalist or Zionist Jews believing in a homeland and there were Jews that didn’t look for an after life but wanted to rule this world so you got the communist atheist Jews that helped start the Soviet Union. Once I read that it’s like oh that’s why the Uk and the U.S. backed Israel. It’s a way to promote democracy and capitalism not really a race movement at all rather a way to fight against communism which a lot of Jews promoted. Like I just googled it and Marx was a Jew. It’s like wow. I never knew there were communist Jews just always was taught there were Zionist Jews.
Ein Sof – if nothing can be said of something, there is nothing about which to say. This entire idea seems manifestly self-contradictory to the god these people actually purport to believe in, and seems to be a very flawed way to preserve the idea of a god with the absolute lack of evidence that it exists, based on the assertions of prior generations who actively believed in a very personal, flawed, emotional, and limited god (one which can be hid from, fooled, etc. as per other biblical accounts) who takes an active part in the world. This is building a house of cards in a tornado.
Merkaba, as chariot,.. at least the way I learned it was a “vehicle” or “vessel”. Oh, the star tetrahedron, the three demential place of a shape. Are there curves, or are there not? Yeah, chariot, you may choose to translate it as, but there’s something more there. Like cymatics and sand dancing upon paper because underlying principle supercede expectation. So is the life of a human. Enjoy it
“He must put his heads between his knees and he must speak incantaions.,” 😅😅😅 Are we sure the angels dont just put funny stuff for people to do at least here or there? Cus gods got these men talking to their own butts. AND I FIND THAT HILARIOUS. God and the angels deserve a hearty laugh now and then. I mean…humans are….humans. humans are funny. Imagine perusal us. Id throw my hamds up and walk away. Thats why i aint god. Lol. But i absolutely would have little humans that amused me amd made me laugh and smile.
I have the mystical kabalaah from Dion fortune it’s really eye opening I learned that God is an infinite light that has different colors like think and everyone has gived God a different names and sees god different one divine mind different levels and connections call him God or call him Amon Ra or Allah or Brahma it dosent matter the divine mind is infinite and has many names I thank the Lord that I finded the tree of life May the gnosis of the tree of life guide’s me with the holly names of the Monad
Two threads – how much to reveal and how much to conceal. Because no one 2000 years ago was presumptuous enough to pretend they know who and what the Messiah really was without going through the pain of inventing black holes again with REAL science. Go, and sin no more spreading spiritual bypassing Djinn cult nonsense! Happy Karma!
Thank you for this and happy new year! Imagine if embodying and manifesting the attributes of the divine sefirot – being a kind, loving and caring person – were the primary concern of mainstream Israel, rather than belligerent, genocidal Zionism flowing from traumatised chutzpah. How different the world would be today. Especially if Evangelical Christians and countless similar groups were to do the same within their traditions. All of us, ultimately. We really could create a beautiful world.
Maimonides also encouraged his followers to pray for the death of all Christians on a daily basis, which I notice you failed to mention. There’s a reason his writings were burned, and there’s a reason none of his works could ever hold up to even the slightest bit of intellectual scrutiny. In every disputation of the Middle Ages, the rabbis always failed to defend their “sacred” texts when challenged by Christians. This is exactly why many scholars of the Talmud and Zohar ended up converting to Catholicism, because Jewish mysticism is nonsense and is indefensible when faced with scholarly critique. For example: Nicholas Donin (who converted to Catholicism, led the Disputation of Paris, and joined the Franciscan Order), Solomon ha-Levi (who later converted to Catholicism and became Paul de Santa Maria, also known as Paul of Burgos, Archbishop of Burgos), Yehosua ben Yosef (who also converted to Catholicism and became Geronimo de Santa Fe, otherwise known in Latin as Hieronymus de Sancte Fide), David Paul Drach (a French teacher of the Talmud who converted to Catholicism), Francis Libermann (another Jewish convert to Catholicism, who later founded the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary), and Israel Zolli (the chief rabbi of Rome, who converted to Catholicism in 1945, adopting the name Eugenio in honor of Pope Pius XII). I encourage everyone to look up the Disputation of Paris and the Disputation of Tortosa, or just read The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit by Dr. E. Michael Jones, which is available at Fidelity Press.
As much as I love the work of you and Dr Sledge, the Seekers of Unity is not convincing as an authority. One of the key characteristics of a true expert is to make the complex seem simple. The SoU uses sesquipedalian language, and when attempting to deconstruct it to find the meaning I’m left with very little. His association with you and Dr Sledge lowers your credibility in my opinion. Both you and Dr Sledge are clear, concise and parsimonious, I can always understand you. After perusal a SoU article I’m left wondering what was he trying to say. And why you and Dr Sledge like his incomprehensible ramblings.
I am continually astounded with the arrogance of Jewish mystics and how that seems to trickle down to mainstream, even atheistic Jews. Jews: God made vessels of himself to contain himself, but he was so incompetent that he broke himself, and these broken pieces of himself cause evil in the world. So Jews have to heal the world and heal God. Really. I am awaiting the fulfillment of Ezekiel 36:31 but I don’t see it happening in my lifetime.