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Category: Kabbalah

  • New Age Mysticism

    It’s hard to avoid the fact of celebrities learning Kabbalah, that ancient discipline of Jewish mysticism. Stars like Madonna, Britney, Gwyneth, and Demi are all wearing red string bracelets and studying the mystic texts. By now, you can’t help but wonder: what’s the deal?? Why is the study of Kabbalah all the rage? Perhaps more important is the basic question: what is Kabbalah?

    New Age Mysticism

     

    Hidden Meaning

    In essence, the study of Kabbalah relates to the hidden meaning found in the words of the bible. It also concerns itself with the relationship between man and his Creator. The Kabbalah treats the subject of the human soul and the nature of the Divine. According to Jewish tradition, the study of Kabbalah is reserved for only the most learned and pious of scholars. These scholars would be getting on in years, since the study of the Kabbalistic texts is not permitted until a man has reached the emotional maturation of a 40 year old.

    Oral Tradition

    The word Kabbalah translates into English as “reception,” and refers to receiving the revealed inner meanings of the Divine. The ideas expounded in the kabbalistic texts go back 2000 years and were transmitted by word of mouth. By the late 12th century, the oral tradition had become a written one, and the important texts, such as the Zohar, were being published in Spain.

    Pinchas Giller, a professor of Jewish thought at the University of Judaism in Bel-Air, CA, and an expert on Kabbalah posits that celebrities are attracted to the study of Kabbalah because the texts speak to fulfilling specific needs. “I think that performing artists are attracted to the Kabbalah’s images of struggle, the overcoming of impediments and the underlying instability of present-day existence,” Giller said. “These anxieties are at the root of much traditional Kabbalistic writing and inform the popular writings of the Kabbalah Centre.”

    Spiritual Transformation

    Professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson of Arizona State University, a student of the relationship between philosophy and Kabbalah remarks that the burgeoning field of Kabbalah study has nothing to do with tradition, but rather speaks to filling spiritual needs, which has made the study of Kabbalah attractive to both Jews and non-Jews. Tirosh-Samuelson’s philosophy on the subject of popular Kabbalah is three-pronged:

    *Kabbalah involves the attainment of perfection and spiritual transformation for the individual so there is a psychological motivation for deep study.

    *Kabbalah is artistic and employs the visual, not in a physical sense, but in the privacy of the human mind of t

    he Kabbalah practitioner.

    *Kabbalah treats the topic of human and Divine sexuality, so there is an aspect of titillation.

    New Imagery

    As Tirosh-Samuelson puts it, “The combination of the emotional, the imaginative and the sexual makes Kabbalah extremely attractive to artists, who are seeking new imagery or who are displeased with the shallowness and emptiness of American consumerist culture.”

     

  • The History Of The Book Of Splendor

    The Book of Splendor, known in Hebrew as the Zohar, is the main text around which kabbalistic, or Jewish mystical study revolves. The Zohar was written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, also known by his acronym, the Rashbi. The Rashbi lived during the

    The History Of The Book Of SplendorRoman occupation of Israel.

    Roman Occupation

    The Roman occupation was a difficult test of endurance for religious Jews, since the Romans were bent on executing Torah scholars. The Rashbi’s mentor, Rabbi Akiva, was a Jewish martyr who died at the hands of the Roman occupier. Word came to th

    e Rashbi that his life was in danger. In order to flee Roman religious persecution, he and his son Elazar fled to a cave, where they lived in hiding for thirteen years.

    According to Jewish tradition, the Rashbi was given Divine Inspiration during his sojourn in the cave, and as a result, he was able to write the book held as sacred by so many: the Zohar.

    Deeper Meaning

    The Zohar expounds on the five books of Moses and is written in Aramaic. The work attempts to find a deeper meaning within the biblical text. While the Zohar is not the oldest kabbalistic work, it is considered to be the most comprehensive of the mystical writings. Most of the later kabbalistic authorities based their writings upon the Zohar, including the famed kabbalist, Isaac Luria, who was known by the acronym: Arizal.

    The Zohar was not given broad attention until the 13th century. Until that time, only a few individuals were allowed to study its secrets. In the 13th century, the Zohar was published by Rabbi Moses de Leon, a leading kabbalist in Spain. There is a tradition that Nachmanides, who lived from around 1194-1270, and was also a renowned kabbalist, entrusted the Zohar to his son, who was tr

    aveling by ship from Israel to Catalonia. Somehow the ship was diverted and the Zohar landed in the hands of de Leon.

    Secret Vault

    Some have the tradition that the Zohar was hidden in a secret vault for one thousand years. The manuscript was discovered by an Arabian king who had no idea what the text revealed. The king sent the manuscript to Toledo to be deciphered.

    Another version of the Zohar’s meanderings has it that the Spanish conquistadors found the manuscript of the Zohar mixed in with a great many other manuscripts in an academy situated in Heidelberg. No matter which tale is the one which holds the truth, the authenticity of the text has never been in question.

     

  • Divine Energy

    In kabbalistic thought, a Sephira is a channel for the Divine energy we know as the life-force. The Kabbalah describes an intermediate stage that came about as an emanation of God’s infinite light and which was created during the process of Creation. This intermediate stage consists of ten channels and is experienced by human beings as finite reality. These channels are known as the Ten Sephirot.

    Three Axes

    Divine Energy

     

    The Ten Sephirot as outlined by the Kabbalah can be charted and include three axes: right, middle, and left. Even though Kabbalistic thought speaks of 10 sephirot, Kabbalistic literature makes reference to 11 of these emanations. The reason for this dichotomy is due to the fact that one Sephira, Keter (Crown), and another Sephira, Da’at (Knowledge), are considered to be different dimensions of one force.

    Keter is considered to be the subconscious of the soul. When this force takes on the shape of the conscious, it manifests as the Sephira of Da’at. When one lists the Sephirot, one lists either Da’at or Keter and not both, since these are in essence, the same Sephira. However, it is possible to utilize all eleven of the Sephirot at one and the same time.

    Human Form

    Kabbalistic texts depict the Sephirot as running in a vertical manner across three axes or “Kavim,” running parallel to each other. Each axis stands for an aspect of the Divine influence as it affects Creation. The literature refers to the depiction of the Ten Sephirot as a “Sulam” (ladder) an “Etz” (tree) or a “Tzelem Elokim” (image of God). The latter expression is a reference to chart’s resemblance to the human form, which according to the biblical text, was created according to the image of God. Continuing with this same analogy, each Sephira is linked to specific organs or limbs corresponding to their position within the Sephirotic structure.

    Common Theme

    The Sephirot interact through a series of interconnecting channels or “Tzinorot.” These channels illustrate the way in which Divine energy imbues all of Creation. The connections show how the Sephirot can interconnect to create subgroups. All the subgroups containing a given Sephira will reflect a common theme.

    The Sephirot are divided into three groupings of three. Each group of three consists of three levels: right,

    center, left. The first group of three concerns the powers of the mind and includes Da’at or Keter, Chochmah (Wisdom), and Binah (Intuition). The second group of three consists of the heart’s emotions as they exist prior to any action. This grouping consists of Chessed (Loving kindness), Gevurah (Courage), and Tiferet (Glory). The third group of three is concerned with behavior and actions and consists of Netzach (Eternity), Hod (Majesty), Yesod (Basis). This last grouping also concerns the emotions, but only as they become manifest through behavior.

    The endpoint is Malchut (Kingdom) and is sometimes seen as an extension of the third group of three and sometimes as an independent state of being that takes in the energies of the other Sephirot and is what emerges as a result of all the soul has experienced.

     

  • Central Beliefs In Kabbalah

    According to the traditional kabbalistic school of thought, all thoughts and ideas stem from the foundation that is God. Therefore, the belief in God is central to the study of Kabbalah. Traditional kabbalists hearken to the words of Maimonides as written in

    Central Beliefs In Kabbalah

    the work called the Mishneh Torah: “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom is to know that there is God who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, and the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from th

    e truth of God’s being.”
    God’s Nature

    In tandem with this line of thinking is the idea that since God is the creator of both spirit and matter, He cannot be either of these things. This begs the question: “what is the nature of God?” Kabbalists believe that there are two sides or aspects to God. The first aspect is known as Ein Sof. This is a Hebrew expression that translates to “endless” or “infinite.”  This aspect of God is not accessible to human beings and is impersonal.

    Ten Sephirot

    The second aspect of God can be accessed by human thought, at least in part. Kabbalistic thought holds that the two divine aspects complement each other through a process of emanations. The emanations have been characterized according to various schools of thought with later systems incorporating the various models into one. The various structures used to denote these emanations are: Four Worlds, Ten Spheres (Sephirot, or Sefirot), and Faces.

    Divine Energy

    The singular of the word Sephirot is Sephira. A sephira is a channel through which divine energy can flow. It is believed that during creation, the unending light that emanates from God created something that humans experience as a finite reality. Th

    e 10 Sephirot represent ten divine emanations, each possessing individual names and which represent the hidden knowledge that is called Kabbalah.

    Larger Chain

    There is a school of kabbalistic thought that believes the emanations serve to link all things to God. This line of thinking, as characterized by such scholars as Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, believes that all beings are a part of a larger chain of being. Another school of thought, as recorded by the Chabad Lubavitch founder and Chassidic scholar Schneur Zalman of Liadi, holds that God is all that exists and that all exists as a part of His whole.

     

  • Origins Of Jewish Mysticism

    There are two different versions relating to the origins of the term: “Kabbalah.” Some authorities

    Origins Of Jewish Mysticismbelieve the term originated with Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021-1058), while others subscribe to the theory that it was the 13th century CE Spanish kabbalist, Bahya ben Asher, who coined the moniker. Until the term came into common usage, many other terms were employed to describe this field of Je

    wish mysticism.

    Contemplative Kabbalah

    Kabbalistic literature is divided between early works produced in the 1st or 2nd century CE and later works which date back to the 13th century CE. The major kabbalistic work hails from the latter era and is known as the Zohar (lit. Illumination). This work is the basis for the type of Kabbalah known as Kabbalah Iyunit, or Contemplative Kabbalah.

    Tradition has it that Kabbalah knowledge was handed down to the Jewish patriarchs, prophets, and sages by word of mouth with the intention that this knowledge become an integral part of the school of divine Jewish thought and literature. Today, most traditional kabbalistic study focuses on the study of the Zohar and the works of the renowned kabbalist, Isaac Luria, known by his Hebrew acronym, the Arizal, as transmitted through the work of the scribe, editor and rabbi, Chaim Vital. The Arizal’s work includes commentaries on earlier kabbalistic works.

    Buried Works

    The codification of the Arizal’s work by Chaim Vital involved many revisions, resulting in several versions of the same works. When Vital took ill in Safed in 1587 CE, his brother, Moshe, permitted Chaim’s dear friend, the biblical namesake Joshua Ben Nun to borrow some 600 pages of manuscript on short-term loan. Ben Nun was an enterprising fellow who hired 100 scribes to copy the manuscripts, and the goal was accomplished within 3 days time. The text resulting from Ben Nun’s venture was filled with errors, but was accorded the honor of being circulated among the leading kabbalists of the time. The original text, along with the rest of his work, was buried with Chaim Vital upon his death.

    Dream And Exhumation

    After the death of Chaim Vital in 1620, his son Shmuel Vital, dreamed that he was meant to remove certain writings from the grave of his father, while leaving other works buried. The dream and subsequent exhumation of his father’s grave occurred in the year 1650. Shmuel Vital recovered the same work that had been transcribed by Ben Nun’s scribes and set to work on his own redaction. His version of his father’s work was divided into eight sections and is known as the Shmoneh She’arim (lit. Eight Gates). The work was first circulated in manuscript form in the year 1660 CE. Between the years 1863-1898, the book was published in Jerusalem in the form of seven volumes. This version, known as the mehadura kamma, is considered to be the one that is true to Chaim Vital’s visionary codification of the Arizal’s commentary on the Zohar.

     

  • What Is Kabbalah?

    Kabbalah is the Hebrew word for “receiving,” and is the mystical branch of Jewish wisdom.

    What Is Kabbalah?Kabbalah consists of teachings which are meant to help finite mortals to understand their relationship to their Creator, whose nature is believed to be infinite, eternal, and unfathomable. Kabbalists believe that understanding existence and the relationships between things which exist is the path to spiritual attainment.

    A Paradox

    Kabbalah attempts to address this paradox between the finite and infinite natures of man and God by furthering the individual’s understanding of the nature of the world and of human beings, as well as the meaning of our existence and our own nature. Scholars of Kabbalah are in essence, concerned with ontology: the study of existence and things which exist. The discipline als

    o offers methods by which one can gain understanding of such concepts.

    Classic Kabbalah is rooted in Jewish thought and references classic Jewish sources to explain, prove, and illustrate concepts. Traditional Jewish kabbalists believe that the mystic teachings, in turn, help to define the deeper meaning of biblical texts, rabbinic writings, and the meaning of the various Jewish religious observances.

    The Orchard

    The Zohar is considered to be the main kabbalistic work and this book is studied on four different levels. The levels

    are labeled with the Hebrew acronym “PaRDeS” which means: “orchard.” The four levels include:

    *Pshat (plain meaning or lit. “simple”)-the literal meaning of the text

    *Remez (lit. the “hint”)-This is the allegorical meaning to which the text alludes

    *Drash (derivative of the Hebrew word “darash”—to seek or inquire)-Comparative meaning as found through rabbinic teachings (midrashic literature, the midrash)

    *Sod (lit. “secret”)-this is the hidden or inner meaning of the words and is the foundation of kabbalistic study

    Modern Environment

    Observant Jews faithful to the strictest form of Judaism believe the Kabbalah to be part and parcel of the study of the Torah, or divine Jewish doctrine. However, classic Torah study deems Kabbalah as the final discipline learned upon the mastery of all the other Torah works. It is rare to achieve this level of mastery, and most traditional Jews never reach this point in their studies. To be overeager to reach this level is considered outré by many Jews. The exception to this rule is the Chassidim, who believe that in the current world, mysticism is meant to be studied early in order to imbue scholars with a sense of the Torah’s deeper meanings and to give joy to everyday life, which serves to aid in the preservation of faith in a harsh and difficult modern environment.

  • Rabbi Isaac Luria: The ARI

    Background

    The most revered figure in the Kabbalistic World, next to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, is Rabbi Isaac Luria, The ARI. Known as “The Lion”, the ARI arrived in Tzfat in the mid-16th century and his presence, in addition to the developments that he brought to the study of Kabbalah, assured that Tzfat would forever more be known as the “City of Kabbalah” throughout the Jewish World.

    HaARI And Kabbalah

     

    The ARI was already a revered Torah scholar when he arrived in Tzfat. His custom was to sit in a small cave in the Elijah HaNavi synagogue (today the ARI Sepharadi synagogue) and learn new insights into Kabbalistic thought while studying with Elijah the Prophet.

    Jews believe that God gave the Torah to the Children of Israel on Mount Sinai. Religious Jews believe that the Torah is God’s Word, both in its recitation of the origins of the Jewish people and the commandments that God expects the Jews to keep. A simple reading of these Five Books of Moses spells out the early years of the world and of the Jewish religion, from Adam and Eve through Noah and the Flood, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph’s descent into Egypt, the Children of Israel’s years of slavery, and their Exodus from Egypt and travels towards the Land of Israel.

    Understanding Kabbalah

    But Kabbalist thought brings one to a deeper level of understanding of what God is telling us in the Torah. It encourages one to explore the true essence of God, and the ARI further refined this study to encourage us to explore how we can strengthen our relationship with God and with our fellow man through understanding God’s attributes, how He has created the world, and the various elements that He left in the world for us to understand.

    The ARI explained this through conceptualizing the various elements that make up the world. One conceptua

    lization, the Sephirot, explains how the Divine descended into the physical world during creation, and continues to influence the physical world. These Sephirot, characteristics, are:

    Keter is Thought
    Chokhmah is Wisdom
    Binah is Understanding
    Chesed is Mercy
    Gevurah in Power
    Tifereth is Glory
    Netzach is Victory
    Hod is Identifying with God

    Yesod is Foundation
    Malkuth is Kingdom

    Paths connect the Sephirot to each other, and represent our subjective experiences as we move from one state or condition to another.

    The ARI’s Influence

    The ARI brought the study of reincarnation into Jewish consciousness, as well as the idea of how a soul rectifies some lacking or mistake from its life on earth in order to be released from the earth and continue on to its reward in heaven. He was also involved in traveling around the North, marking gravesites of scholars and Jewish leaders who died thousands of years ago – those graves are sites for pilgrims today to gather and pray. Included is the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mt. Meron, who is believed to have written the Book of Zohar, the base for studying Kabbalah, in the 1st century A.D.

    Many Jewish customs and traditions which are today celebrated throughout the Jewish world by Ashkanazi and Sepharadi communities alike began in Tzfat with the ARI’s leadership – Kabbalat Shabbat service, the Tu B’shevat Seder, the Lag B’Omer pilgrimage to Rabbi Bar Yochai’s gravesite, and many others.

    The teachings of the ARI had a tremendous effect on the development of the Hassidic movement, and Hassidim revere him – on his Yartzeit, anniversary of his death, every year, tens of thousands of Hassidim flock to his gravesite to pay their respects. The ARI lived in Tzfat for 3 years, but his legacy has lasted almost 500 years, and strengthens with time.

  • Kabbalah

    A great reason to decide to journey to the city of Safed is to become more aquainted with the mystical religious text known as the Kabbalah.  Here in our Kabbalah section you can find out more about this inspiring book and prepare yourself to become immersed in the teachings of the Kabbalah.

    Discovering Kabbalah

    Kabbalah and Mysticism

     

    Many people come to Safed in order to learn more about the mystical meanings of Kabbalah.

    To help spark your interest check out our articles on the history of Kabbalah, what is Kabbalah, what is Kabbalah study, who was the HaAri, Kabbalah in the 8th-13th centuries, and mystic doctrines of Kabbalah.

    Kabbalah Concepts

    Also check out our articles on Kabbalistic concepts, the ten sephirot, the zohar, sex and the Kabbalah, the human soul and Kabbalah, the unity of God in the Kabblah, and Kabbalah secrets revealed.  Get all of the information you need to get on the road to becoming a great Kabbalah scholar.

    Studying The Kabbalah

    There are many ways to study Kabbalah and many groups who teach this mystical text in different ways.  Learn more about popular Kabbalah and the many other ways of studying and understanding Kabbalah.

     

     

  • The Ari Sephardic Synagogue

    HaAri’s Favorite Place

    The Ari Sephardic Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Safed. Historical sources refer to this building as early as 1522, and tell us that the synagogue was used by North African Jews and was known at the time as the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue. During his time in Safed during the 16th century, the Ari frequently prayed in this synagogue, preferring this location over others mainly due to the fact that its windows looked out onto Mt. Meron and the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai.

    It is said that the Ari liked to sit in a little alcove on the eastern side of the synagogue, studying Kabbalah, and that while he was absorbed in his studies, the prophet Elijah, his personal Maggid, appeared. The synagogue was apparently given its present name in the seventeenth century in order to honor the Ari.

    Despite its ancient, fortress-like appearance, not much of the original synagogue is left. Most of the structure was destroyed in the massive earthquakes that struck Safed in 1759 and 1837. In 1840, the Italian Jewish philanthropist Yitzhak Guetta donated money for the renovation of the synagogue and a plaque commemorating his efforts hangs above the entrance to the building.

    The Synagogue’s Role In The War Of Independence

    As the last building situated on the edge of the Jewish quarter, facing out to one of Safed’s Arab quarters, the synagogue was an important defensive position prior to and during Israel’s War of Independence. During the siege of Safed in 1948, the defenders removed the Torah scrolls from the synagogue and bored holes in the walls for surveillance and shooting. Access to the synagogue was possible only via trenches that led down to the building from the Jewish quarter. The military position that was set up in the synagogue was one of the main obstacles to the Arab invasion of the Jewish quarter during the war.

    In the years that followed the establishment of the State of Israel, the building fell into a state of neglect. In the 1980’s and ‘90s, radical changes were made in the vicinity surround the synagogue when the large complex of the Braslav Hasidim was constructed. Today, the synagogue is finally being renovated as part of the Safed tourism development project. At present, this beautiful synagogue is open only a few hours daily for Torah lessons, but it has a regular Minyan on Shabbat.