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For other Kabbalistic traditions see

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Kabbalah

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Kabbalah/Kabala (Hebrew: ‫ ַק ָּבלָה‬lit. "receiving"; often contemporary transliteration with a

'K' distinguishes from other, derivative traditions outside Judaism)[citation needed] is a discipline
and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. Its full
theosophical system emerged in 11th-13th century Southern France and Spain, later being
recast in 16th century Ottoman Palestine, though incorporating earlier Chaldean science,
and derivative Jewish mystical forms. In turn it became the central foundation of later
Jewish mystical development. Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the
relationship between an eternal and mysterious Creator and the mortal and finite universe
(His creation). While it is heavily used by some denominations, it is not a denomination in
and of itself; it is a set of scriptures that exist outside the traditional Jewish Scriptures.
Kabbalah seeks to define the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and
purpose of existence, and various other ontological questions. It also presents methods to
aid understanding of these concepts and to thereby attain spiritual realization. Kabbalah
originally developed entirely within the realm of Jewish thought and constantly uses
classical Jewish sources to explain and demonstrate its esoteric teachings. These teachings
are thus held by kabbalists to define the inner meaning of both the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)
and traditional rabbinic literature, their formerly concealed transmitted dimension, as well
as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.[1]

Contents
[hide]

 1 Overview
 2 Concepts
o 2.1 Kabbalistic understanding of God
o 2.2 Sefirot and the Divine Feminine
 2.2.1 Ten Sefirot as process of Creation
 2.2.2 Ten Sefirot as process of ethics
o 2.3 Human soul in Kabbalah
o 2.4 Tzimtzum
o 2.5 Mystical forms of Scriptural and Rabbinic exegesis
 3 Primary texts
 4 Scholarship
o 4.1 Claims for authority
 5 Criticism
o 5.1 Dualism
o 5.2 Perception of non-Jews
o 5.3 Orthodox Judaism
o 5.4 Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism
 6 History
o 6.1 Origins of Judaic mysticism
 6.1.1 Origins of terms
 6.1.2 Mystic elements of the Torah
o 6.2 Mystical doctrines in the Talmudic era
o 6.3 Middle Ages
o 6.4 Early Modern era: Lurianic Kabbalah
 6.4.1 Ban on studying Kabbalah
 6.4.2 Sefardi and Mizrahi
 6.4.3 Maharal
 6.4.4 Failure of Sabbatian Mysticism
 6.4.5 Frankists
  6.4.6 1700s
o 6.5 Modern era
 6.5.1 Orthodox
 6.5.2 Bnei Baruch
 6.5.3 Kabbalah Centre
o 6.6 Personalities in Kabbalah
 7 See also
 8 Notes
 9 References
 10 External links

[edit] Overview
According to the Zohar, a foundational text for kabbalistic thought, Torah study can
proceed along four levels of interpretation (exegesis).[2][3] These four levels are called
Pardes because their initial letters spell "PaRDeS" ("Orchard"):

 Peshat (lit. "simple"): the direct interpretations of meaning.

 Remez (lit. "hint[s]"): the allegoric meanings (through allusion).
 Derash (from Heb. darash: "inquire" or "seek"): midrashic (Rabbinic) meanings,
often with imaginative comparisons with similar words or verses.
 Sod (lit. "secret" or "mystery"): the inner, esoteric (metaphysical) meanings,
expressed in kabbalah.

Kabbalah is considered, by its followers, as a necessary part of the study of Torah – the
study of Torah (the "Teachings" of God, in the Tanach and Rabbinic literature) being an
inherent duty of observant Jews.[4] Kabbalah teaches doctrines that are accepted by some
Jews as the true meaning of Judaism while other Jews have rejected these doctrines as
heretical and antithetical to Judaism. After the Medieval Kabbalah, and especially after its
16th century development and synthesis, Kabbalah replaced "Hakira" (Jewish philosophy)
as the mainstream traditional Jewish theology, both in scholarly circles and in the popular
imagination. With the arrival of modernity, through the influence of Haskalah, this has
changed among non-Orthodox Jewish denominations, though its 20th century academic
study and cross-denominational spiritual applications (especially through Neo-Hasidism)
has reawakened a following beyond Orthodoxy.

The origins of the actual term Kabbalah are unknown and disputed to belong either to
Jewish philosopher Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021–1058) or else to the 13th century Spanish
Kabbalist Bahya ben Asher. While other terms have been used in many religious
documents from the 2nd century up to the present day, the term "Kabbalah" has become the
main descriptive of Jewish esoteric knowledge and practices. The Kabbalistic literature,
which served as the basis for the development of Kabbalistic thought, developed through a
theological tradition from Antiquity, as part of wider Rabbinic literature. Its theoretical
development can be characterised in alternative schools and successive stages. These
especially include the early works of the 1st-2nd centuries (such as the Heichalot texts and
the earliest existent book on Jewish esotericism Sefer Yetzirah); the Medieval flowering of
the 12th-13th century (of which the main book is the Zohar); and early-modern
developments, including the mystical revivals of 16th century Safed (especially of Isaac
Luria), and 18th century Eastern Europe (new Hasidic popularisations of Kabbalah).

According to Kabbalistic tradition, knowledge was transmitted orally by the Patriarchs,

prophets, and sages (Hakhamim in Hebrew), eventually to be "interwoven" into Jewish
religious writings and culture. According to this tradition, Kabbalah was, in around the 10th
century BC, an open knowledge practiced by over a million people in ancient Israel.[5]

Foreign conquests drove the Jewish spiritual leadership of the time (the Sanhedrin) to hide
the knowledge and make it secret, fearing that it might be misused if it fell into the wrong
hands.[6] The Sanhedrin leaders were also concerned that the practice of Kabbalah by Jews
deported on conquest to other countries (the Diaspora), unsupervised and unguided by the
masters, might lead them into wrong practice and forbidden ways. As a result, the Kabbalah
became secretive, forbidden and esoteric to Judaism ("Torat Ha’Sod" Hebrew: ‫)תורת הסוד‬
for two and a half millennia.

It is hard to clarify with any degree of certainty the exact concepts within Kabbalah. There
are several different schools of thought with very different outlooks; however, all are
accepted as correct.[7] Modern Halakhic authorities have tried to narrow the scope and
diversity within Kabbalah, by restricting study to certain texts, notably Zohar and the
teachings of Isaac Luria as passed down through Chaim (Hayyim) Vital.[8] However even
this qualification does little to limit the scope of understanding and expression, as included
in those works are commentaries on Abulafian writings, Sefer Yetzirah, Albotonian
writings, and the Berit Menuhah,[9] which is known to the kabbalistic elect and which, as
described more recently by Scholem, combined ecstatic with theosophical mysticism. It is
therefore important to bear in mind when discussing things such as the Sefirot and their
interactions that one is dealing with highly abstract concepts that at best can only be
understood intuitively.[10]

[edit] Concepts
[edit] Kabbalistic understanding of God

Main articles: Ein Sof, Ohr, Seder hishtalshelus, and Merkabah

See also: God in Judaism and Divine providence (Judaism)
Metaphorical representation of Divine emanation of successively constricted Olamot
(spiritual Worlds) within the surrounding Ein Sof (Divine Infinity)

In Kabbalah all Creation unfolds from Divine reality. This view is found also in Rationalist
Medieval Jewish philosophy (Hakira-"Investigation"), which offered a preceding, different
approach to Jewish theology. However, the descriptions of Divinity in the two schools of
thought differ, with Kabbalah elaborating a metaphysical structure of emanations from
God, while Hakira investigates the ability to describe God beyond only negative
descriptions. The Kabbalistic path, therefore, offers manifestations of Divinity that can be
perceived in metaphorical anthropomorphic language, giving mystical dveikus (fervour) to
the student. The two alternative approaches become united in intellectual articulations of
Hasidic thought, from an inner perspective in Jewish mysticism.[11] The most important
Medieval Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, famously summarised the Divine relation to
Creation:

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 the truth
of God's being.[12] ”
There has been traditional debate about whether Maimonides studied Kabbalah. Historical
Kabbalistic commentaries were written on his Guide for the Perplexed, revealing deeper
mystical layers beyond the regular Rationalist school.[13] Jewish philosophy questioned the
limits and meaning of Divine understanding from man's thought, in harmony with exoteric
Scriptural exegesis. In Kabbalah ("Received") understanding derives from Oral Torah
traditions of esoteric Scriptural exegesis. As a metaphysical alternative to Halachic exegesis
in Talmudical hermeneutics, Kabbalah similarly demonstrates its concepts from
interpretation of Biblical and Rabbinic texts. These then become systemised and
investigated philosophically. With the end of the scholarly culture of Muslim Spain, and the
later Jewish expulsion, Kabbalah replaced Hakirah as Judaism's mainstream theology.
In the Kabbalistic scheme, God is neither matter nor spirit, but is the creator of both. The
question of the Divine nature prompted Kabbalists to envision two aspects of God: (a) God
Himself, who is ultimately unknowable, and (b) the revealed aspect of God that created the
universe, preserves the universe, and interacts with mankind. Kabbalists speak of the first
aspect of God as Ein Sof (‫ ;)אין סוף‬this is translated as "the infinite", "endless", or "that
which has no limits". In this view, nothing can be said about the essence of God. This
aspect of God is impersonal. The second aspect of Divine emanations, however, is at least
partially accessible to human thought. Kabbalists believe that these two aspects are not
contradictory but, through the mechanism of progressive emanation, complement one
another (See Divine simplicity). The structure of these emanations has been characterized
in various ways: Sefirot (Divine attributes) and Partzufim (Divine "faces"); Four Worlds of
Creation in a Seder hishtalshelus (Descending Chain of realms), Azilut, Beriyah, Yitzirah,
and Asiyah; the Biblical vision by Ezekiel of the Merkabah (Divine angelic "Chariot").
These alternatives are harmonized in subsequent Kabbalistic systemisation. The central
metaphor of Ohr ("Light") is used to describe Divine emanations.

The Tetragrammaton in Phoenician (1100 BC to AD 300), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0)

and modern Hebrew scripts.

Medieval Kabbalists believed that all things are linked to God through these emanations,
making all levels in Creation part of one great, gradually descending chain of being.
Through this any lower creation reflects its particular characteristics in Supernal Divinity.
These descriptions reached their synthesis in 16th century CE Cordoveran Kabbalah. This
metaphysical explanation gave cosmic significance to the deeds of man, as the downward
flow of the Divine "Light" that creates our reality, is opened or restricted according to the
merits of each individual. Divine substenance in Creation is dependent on the traditional
mitzvah observances of Judaism. Subsequent Kabbalah of Isaac Luria describes a radical
origin to this depiction, where Creation unfolds from transcendent imbalance in Godliness,
and the purpose of life is the Messianic rectification of Divinity by man. Once each person
has completed their part of the rectification, the Messianic Era begins. In this, the mitzvot
redeem the supernal Divine Sparks in existence. Later interpretations in Hasidism, such as
by Schneur Zalman of Liadi, extend this radicalism by holding that God is all that really
exists, all else being completely undifferentiated from God's perspective. This view can be
defined as monistic panentheism. According to this philosophy, 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, so that the Creation effected no change in Him at all.
This paradox is dealt with at length in Habad texts.[14]

[edit] Sefirot and the Divine Feminine

Main articles: Sefirot and Shekhinah

Schematic tree of descending Sefirot in 3 columns

The Sefirot (‫ — ְספִירֹות‬singular Sefirah ‫ִירה‬

ָ ‫ ) ְספ‬are the ten emanations and attributes of God
with which He continually sustains the universe in existence. The word "sefirah" literally
means "counting", but early Kabbalists presented a number of other etymological
possibilities including: sefer (book), sippur (story), sappir (sapphire, brilliance, luminary),
separ (boundary), and safra (scribe). The term sefirah thus has complex connotations
within Kabbalah.[15] The central metaphor of Man's soul is used to describe the Sefirot. This
incorporates masculine and feminine aspects, after Genesis 1:27 ("God created man in His
own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them").
Corresponding to the last Sefirah in Creation is the indwelling Shechina (Feminine Divine
Presence). In the Sefirot, performance of Mitzvot (traditional Jewish observances) unites
the masculine and feminine aspects of supernal Divinity, and brings harmony to Creation.
The description of Divine manifestation through the 10 Sefirot is a defining feature of
Medieval Kabbalah, alongside their male and female aspects, and the concept of downward
flow of Divine Light through the chain of Creation. The Sefirot correspond to the Four
Worlds of this spiritual descent, Atziluth, Beri'ah, Yetzirah and Assiah.

[edit] Ten Sefirot as process of Creation

According to Lurianic cosmology, the Sefirot correspond to various levels of creation (ten
sefirot in each of the Four Worlds, and four worlds within each of the larger four worlds,
each containing ten sefirot, which themselves contain ten sefirot, to an infinite number of
possibilities),[16] and are emanated from the Creator for the purpose of creating the universe.
The Sefirot are considered revelations of the Creator's will (ratzon),[17] and they should not
be understood as ten different "gods" but as ten different ways the one God reveals His will
through the Emanations. It is not God who changes but the ability to perceive God that
changes.
The 10 Sefirot, arranged into the 3 columns, with the 22 Paths of Connection of three types

Altogether 11 sefirot are named. However Keter and Daat are unconscious and conscious
dimensions of one principle, conserving 10 forces. The names of the Sefirot in descending
order are:

 Keter (supernal crown, representing above-conscious will)

 Chochmah (the highest potential of thought)
 Binah (the understanding of the potential)
 Daat (intellect of knowledge)
 Chesed (sometimes referred to as Gedolah-greatness) (loving-kindness)
 Gevurah (sometimes referred to as Din-justice or Pachad-fear) (severity/strength)
 Rachamim also known as Tiphereth (mercy)
 Netzach (victory/eternity)
 Hod (glory/splendour)
 Yesod (foundation)
 Malkuth (kingdom)

[edit] Ten Sefirot as process of ethics

A hidden Kabbalistic practice focused on Kavanot (meditations) of Divine names. Angels

elevated or blocked prayers in the ascending Worlds. The names were seen as keys to gates
in Heaven, though simple tears of others could also open gates
Divine creation by means of the Ten Sefirot is an ethical process. They represent the
different aspects of Morality. Loving-Kindness is a possible moral justification found in
Chessed, and Gevurah is the Moral Justification of Justice and both are mediated by Mercy
which is Rachamim. However, these pillars of morality become immoral once they become
extremes. When Loving-Kindness become extreme it can lead to sexual depravity and lack
of Justice to the wicked. When Justice becomes extreme, it can lead to torture and the
Murder of innocents and unfair punishment.

"Righteous" humans (Tzadikim) ascend these ethical qualities of the Ten Sefirot by doing
righteous actions. If there were no "Righteous" humans, the blessings of God would
become completely hidden, and creation would cease to exist. While real human actions are
the "Foundation" (Yesod) of this universe (Malchut), these actions must accompany the
conscious intention of compassion. Compassionate actions are often impossible without
"Faith" (Emunah), meaning to trust that God always supports compassionate actions even
when God seems hidden. Ultimately, it is necessary to show compassion toward oneself too
in order to share compassion toward others. This "selfish" enjoyment of God's blessings but
only in order to empower oneself to assist others, is an important aspect of "Restriction",
and is considered a kind of golden mean in Kabbalah, corresponding to the Sefirah of
"Adornment" (Tiferet) being part of the "Middle Column".

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, wrote a book, Tomer Devorah (Palm Tree of Deborah), in
which he presents an ethical teaching of Judaism in the kabbalistic context of the Ten
Sefirot. Tomer Devorah, as a consequence, has become also a foundational Musar text.[18]

[edit] Human soul in Kabbalah

See also: Gilgul

Abraham Abulafia's meditation techniques included the "inner illumination of" the human
form.[19]
The Kabbalah posits that the human soul has three elements, the nefesh, ru'ach, and
neshamah. The nefesh is found in all humans, and enters the physical body at birth. It is the
source of one's physical and psychological nature. The next two parts of the soul are not
implanted at birth, but can be developed over time; their development depends on the
actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fully exist in people awakened
spiritually. A common way of explaining the three parts of the soul is as follows:

 Nefesh (‫)נפש‬: the lower part, or "animal part", of the soul. It is linked to instincts and
bodily cravings.
 Ruach (‫)רוח‬: the middle soul, the "spirit". It contains the moral virtues and the
ability to distinguish between good and evil.
 Neshamah (‫)נשמה‬: the higher soul, or "super-soul". This separates man from all
other life-forms. It is related to the intellect, and allows man to enjoy and benefit
from the afterlife. This part of the soul is provided at birth and allows one to have
some awareness of the existence and presence of God.

The Raaya Meheimna, a section of related teachings spread throughout the Zohar, discusses
fourth and fifth parts of the human soul, the chayyah and yehidah (first mentioned in the
Midrash Rabbah). Gershom Scholem writes that these "were considered to represent the
sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen
individuals". The Chayyah and the Yechidah do not enter into the body like the other three
—thus they received less attention in other sections of the Zohar.

 Chayyah (‫)חיה‬: The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the
divine life force itself.
 Yehidah (‫)יחידה‬: The highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a
union with God as is possible.

Both rabbinic and kabbalistic works posit that there are a few additional, non-permanent
states of the soul that people can develop on certain occasions. These extra souls, or extra
states of the soul, play no part in any afterlife scheme, but are mentioned for completeness:

 Ruach HaKodesh (‫"( )רוח הקודש‬spirit of holiness"): a state of the soul that makes
prophecy possible. Since the age of classical prophecy passed, no one (outside of
Israel) receives the soul of prophecy any longer. See the teachings of Abraham
Abulafia for differing views of this matter.
 Neshamah Yeseira: The "supplemental soul" that a Jew can experience on Shabbat.
It makes possible an enhanced spiritual enjoyment of the day. This exists only when
one is observing Shabbat; it can be lost and gained depending on one's observance.
 Neshamah Kedosha: Provided to Jews at the age of maturity (13 for boys, 12 for
girls), and is related to the study and fulfillment of the Torah commandments. It
exists only when one studies and follows Torah; it can be lost and gained depending
on one's study and observance.

[edit] Tzimtzum
Main articles: Tzimtzum and Lurianic Kabbalah

A Hasid practicing Dveikus: a deeply meditative state.

Tzimtzum is the primordial cosmic act whereby God "contracted" His infinite light, leaving
a "void" into which the light of existence was poured. This new doctrine of Isaac Luria in
the 16th century gave a new organisation of the previous Second-Temple and Medieval
Kabbalistic concepts of Angelic hierarchies and descending Worlds. The primal emanation
after the Tzimtzum in Lurianic Kabbalah led to an initial catastrophe called "Tohu"
(Chaos). This was reformed into "Tikkun olam" (Rectification) of our spiritual realms,
described in previous Kabbalah, becoming Atzilut (the World of Emanation), from which
the three lower Worlds, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, descended. This corresponds to the
reorganisation of the Sefirot into the Partsufim described in previous Kabbalah. The
Tzimtzum reconciles the infinite simplicity of the Ein Sof with the finite plurality of
Creation. From the subsequent catastrophe stems the possibility of self-aware Creation, and
also the Kelipot (impure "shells" in Medieval Kabbalah).

[edit] Mystical forms of Scriptural and Rabbinic exegesis

Main articles: Pardes (Jewish exegesis), Jewish commentaries on the Bible, and Rabbinic
literature
See also: Gematria, Notaricon, and Temurah (Kabbalah)

Kabbalah teaches that every Hebrew letter, word, number, even the accent on words of the
Hebrew Bible contains a hidden sense; and it teaches the methods of interpretation for
ascertaining these meanings. One such method is as follows:

As early as the 1st century BCE Jews believed that the Torah (first five books of the
Hebrew Bible) and wider canonical texts contained encoded messages and hidden
meanings. Gematria is one method for discovering its hidden meanings. Each letter in
Hebrew also represents a number; Hebrew, unlike many other languages, never developed a
separate numerical alphabet. By converting letters to numbers, Kabbalists were able to find
a hidden meaning in each word. This method of interpretation was used extensively by
various schools.

[edit] Primary texts

Title page of first printed edition of the Zohar, main sourcebook of Kabbalah, from Mantua
Italy in 1558
Main article: Kabbalah: Primary Texts
See also: Rabbinic literature

Like the rest of the Rabbinic literature, the texts of Kabbalah were once part of an ongoing
oral tradition, though, over the centuries, much of the oral tradition has been written down.

Jewish forms of esotericism existed over 2,000 years ago. Ben Sira (born c. 170 BCE)
warns against it, saying: "You shall have no business with secret things".[20] Nonetheless,
mystical studies were undertaken and resulted in mystical literature, the first being the
Apocalyptic literature of the second and first pre-Christian centuries and which contained
elements that carried over to later Kabbalah.

Throughout the centuries since, many texts have been produced, among them the ancient
descriptions of Sefer Yetzirah, the Heichalot mystical ascent literature, the Bahir, Sefer
Raziel HaMalakh and the Zohar, the main text of Kabbalistic exegesis. Classic mystical
Bible commentaries are included in fuller versions of the Mikraot Gedolot (Main
Commentators). Cordoveran systemisation is presented in Pardes Rimonim, philosophical
articulation in the works of the Maharal, and Lurianic rectification in Etz Chayim.
Subsequent interpretation of Lurianic Kabbalah was made in the writings of Shalom
Sharabi, in Nefesh HaChaim and the 20th century Sulam. Hasidism interpreted Kabbalistic
structures to their correspondence in inward perception.[21] The Hasidic development of
Kabbalah incorporates a successive stage of Jewish mysticism from historical Kabbalistic
metaphysics.[22]

[edit] Scholarship
Because it is by definition esoteric, no popular account (including an encyclopedia) can
provide a complete, precise, and accurate explanation of the Kabbalah. However, a number
of scholars from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, including Gershom Scholem, Joseph
Dan, Yehuda Liebes, Rachel Elior, and Moshe Idel,[23] as well as some from other locations,
such as Arthur Green and Daniel Matt,[24] have made Kabbalist texts objects of modern
scholarly scrutiny. Some scholars, notably Gershom Scholem and Martin Buber, have
argued that modern Hassidic Judaism represents a popularization of the Kabbalah.[25]
According to its adherents, intimate understanding and mastery of the Kabbalah brings one
spiritually closer to God and enriches one's experience of Jewish sacred texts and law.

[edit] Claims for authority

Historians have noted that most claims for the authority of Kabbalah involve an argument
of the antiquity of authority (see, e.g., Joseph Dan's discussion in his Circle of the Unique
Cherub). As a result, virtually all works pseudepigraphically claim, or are ascribed, ancient
authorship. For example, Sefer Raziel HaMalach, an astro-magical text partly based on a
magical manual of late antiquity, Sefer ha-Razim, was, according to the kabbalists,
transmitted to Adam by the angel Raziel after he was evicted from Eden.

Another famous work, the Sefer Yetzirah, supposedly dates back to the patriarch Abraham.
This tendency toward pseudepigraphy has its roots in Apocalyptic literature, which claims
that esoteric knowledge such as magic, divination and astrology was transmitted to humans
in the mythic past by the two angels, Aza and Azaz'el (in other places, Azaz'el and Uzaz'el)
who 'fell' from heaven (see Genesis 6:4).

[edit] Criticism
[edit] Dualism

Zodiac in a 6th century synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel.

Although Kabbalah propounds the Unity of God, one of the most serious and sustained
criticisms is that it may lead away from monotheism, and instead promote dualism, the
belief that there is a supernatural counterpart to God. The dualistic system holds that there
is a good power versus an evil power. There are two primary models of Gnostic-dualistic
cosmology: the first, which goes back to Zoroastrianism, believes creation is ontologically
divided between good and evil forces; the second, found largely in Greco-Roman
ideologies like Neo-Platonism, believes the universe knew a primordial harmony, but that a
cosmic disruption yielded a second, evil, dimension to reality. This second model
influenced the cosmology of the Kabbalah.

According to Kabbalistic cosmology, the Ten Sefirot correspond to ten levels of creation.
These levels of creation must not be understood as ten different "gods" but as ten different
ways of revealing God, one per level. It is not God who changes but the ability to perceive
God that changes.

While God may seem to exhibit dual natures (masculine-feminine, compassionate-

judgmental, creator-creation), all adherents of Kabbalah have consistently stressed the
ultimate unity of God. For example, in all discussions of Male and Female, the hidden
nature of God exists above it all without limit, being called the Infinite or the "No End"
(Ein Sof)—neither one nor the other, transcending any definition. The ability of God to
become hidden from perception is called "Restriction" (Tzimtzum). Hiddenness makes
creation possible because God can become "revealed" in a diversity of limited ways, which
then form the building blocks of creation.

Kabbalistic texts, including the Zohar, appear to affirm dualism, as they ascribe all evil to
the separation from holiness known as the Sitra Achra[26] ("the other side") which is
opposed to Sitra D’Kedushah, or the Side of Holiness.[27] The "left side" of divine
emanation is a negative mirror image of the "side of holiness" with which it was locked in
combat. [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Volume 6, "Dualism", p. 244]. While this evil aspect
exists within the divine structure of the Sefirot, the Zohar indicates that the Sitra Ahra has
no power over Ein Sof, and only exists as a necessary aspect of the creation of God to give
man free choice, and that evil is the consequence of this choice. It is not a supernatural
force opposed to God, but a reflection of the inner moral combat within mankind between
the dictates of morality and the surrender to one's basic instincts.

Rabbi Dr. David Gottlieb notes that many Kabbalists hold that the concepts of, e.g., a
Heavenly Court or the Sitra Ahra are only given to humanity by God as a working model to
understand His ways within our own epistemological limits. They reject the notion that a
satan or angels actually exist. Others hold that non-divine spiritual entities were indeed
created by God as a means for exacting his will.

According to Kabbalists, humans cannot yet understand the infinity of God. Rather, there is
God as revealed to humans (corresponding to Zeir Anpin), and the rest of the infinity of
God as remaining hidden from human experience (corresponding to Arich Anpin).[28] One
reading of this theology is monotheistic, similar to panentheism; another reading of the
same theology is that it is dualistic. Gershom Scholem writes:
 It is clear that with this postulate of an impersonal basic reality in God, which
“ becomes a person—or appears as a person—only in the process of Creation and
Revelation, Kabbalism abandons the personalistic basis of the Biblical
conception of God....It will not surprise us to find that speculation has run the
whole gamut—from attempts to re-transform the impersonal En-Sof into the
personal God of the Bible to the downright heretical doctrine of a genuine
dualism between the hidden Ein Sof and the personal Demiurge of Scripture.
 — Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism Shocken Books (p.11–12) ”
[edit] Perception of non-Jews

Many Kabbalistic sources contain statements to the effect that the Jewish soul is
ontologically different from the soul of non-Jews; for example, it is held by some that Jews
have three levels of soul, nefesh, ruach and neshamah while non-Jews have only nefesh.
The Zohar comments on the Biblical verse which states "Let the waters teem with swarms
of creatures that have a living soul" as follows: "The verse 'creatures that have a living
soul,' pertains to the Jews, for they are the children of God, and from God come their holy
souls....And the souls of the other nations, from where do they come? Rabbi Elazar says
that they have souls from the impure left side, and therefore they are all impure, defiling
anyone who comes near them" (Zohar commentary on Genesis).

Such theologically framed hostility may have been a response to some medieval
demonization of Jews which developed in some parts of Western and Christian society and
thought, starting with the Patristic writings.[29] According to Isaac Luria and other
commentators on the Zohar, righteous Gentiles do not have this demonic aspect and are in
many ways similar to Jewish souls. A number of prominent Kabbalists, e.g. Rabbi Pinchas
Eliyahu of Vilna, the author of Sefer ha-Brit, held that only some marginal elements in the
humanity represent these demonic forces. On the other hand, the souls of Jewish heretics
have much more satanic energy, than the worst of idol worshippers; this view is popular in
some Hasidic circles, especially Satmar Hasidim.

Some later Kabbalistic works build and elaborate on these ideas. One point of view is
represented by the Hasidic work Tanya, which stresses the uniqueness of the Jewish soul,[30]
in order to argue that Jews have an additional level of soul. While a non-Jew, according to
Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, can achieve a high level of spiritually, similar to an angel,
his soul is still fundamentally different in character, but not value, from a Jewish one.[31] A
similar view is found in Yehuda Halevi's medieval philosophical book Kuzari.

On the other hand, many prominent Kabbalists rejected this idea and believed in essential
equality of all human souls. Menahem Azariah da Fano, in his book Reincarnations of
souls, provides many examples of non-Jewish Biblical figures being reincarnated into Jews,
and vice versa; the contemporary Habad Rabbi and mystic Dov Ber Pinson teaches that
seemingly discriminatory statements in the Tanya and other Kabbalistic works are not to be
understood literally.[32]
Another prominent Habad Rabbi, Abraham Yehudah Khein, believed that spiritually
elevated Gentiles have essentially Jewish souls, "who just lack the formal conversion to
Judaism", and that unspiritual Jews are "Jewish merely by their birth documents".[33] The
great 20th century Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag viewed the terms "Jews" and "Gentile" as
different levels of perception, available to every human soul.

David Halperin[34] argues that the collapse of Kabbalah's influence among Western
European Jews over the course of the 17th and 18th century was a result of the cognitive
dissonance they experienced between the negative perception of Gentiles found in some
exponents of Kabbalah, and their own positive dealings with non-Jews, which were rapidly
expanding and improving during this period due to the influence of the Enlightenment.

However, a number of renown Kabbalists claimed the exact opposite. In their view,
Kabbalah transcends the borders of Judaism and can serve as a basis of inter-religious
theosophy and a universal religion. Rabbi Pinchas Elijah Hurwitz, a prominent Lithuanian-
Galician Kabbalist of the 18th century and a moderate proponent of the Haskalah, called for
brotherly love and solidarity between all nations, and believed that Kabbalah can empower
everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, with prophetic abilities.[35]

The works of Abraham Cohen de Herrera are full of references to Gentile mystical
philosophers. Such approach was particularly common among the Renaissance and post-
Renaissance Italian Jews. A number of Italian Kabbalists, e.g. Yohanan Alemanno, David
Messer Leon and Abraham Yagel, adhered to humanistic ideals and incorporated teachings
of various Christian and pagan mystics.

A prime representative of this humanist stream in Kabbalah was Rabbi Elijah Benamozegh,
who explicitly praised Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, as well as a whole
range of ancient pagan mystical systems. He believed that Kabbalah can reconcile the
differences between the world religions, which represent different facets and stages of the
universal human spirituality. In his writings, Benamozegh interprets the New Testament,
Hadith, Vedas, Avesta and pagan mysteries according to the Kabbalistic theosophy.[36]

For a different perspective, see Wolfson.[37] He provides numerous examples from the 17th
to the 20th centuries, which would challenge the view of Halperin cited above as well as
the notion that "modern Judaism" has rejected or dismissed this "outdated aspect" of the
religion and, he argues, there are still Kabbalists today who harbor this view. He argues
that, while it is accurate to say that many Jews do and would find this distinction offensive,
it is inaccurate to say that the idea has been totally rejected in all circles. As Wolfson has
argued, it is an ethical demand on the part of scholars to continue to be vigilant with regard
to this matter and in this way the tradition can be refined from within.

However, as explained above, many well known Kabbalists rejected the literal
interpretation of these seemingly discriminatory views. They argued that the term "Jew"
was to be interpreted metaphorically, as referring to the spiritual development of the soul,
rather than the superficial denomination of the individual, and they added a chain of
intermediary states between "Jews" and idol worshippers, or spiritualized the very
definition of "Jews" and "non-Jews" and argued that a soul can be re-incarnated in different
communities (whether Jewish or not) as much as within a single one.[32]

[edit] Orthodox Judaism

The idea that there are ten divine sefirot could evolve over time into the idea that "God is
One being, yet in that One being there are Ten" which opens up a debate about what the
"correct beliefs" in God should be, according to Judaism.

Rabbi Saadia Gaon teaches in his book Emunot v'Deot that Jews who believe in
reincarnation have adopted a non-Jewish belief.

Maimonides (12th century) rejected many of the texts of the Hekalot, particularly Shi'ur
Qomah whose starkly anthropomorphic vision of God he considered heretical.

Nachmanides (13th century) provides background to many Kabbalistic ideas. His works,
especially those in the Five books of Moses (Pentateuch) offer in-depth of various concepts.

Rabbi Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon, in the spirit of his father Maimonides, Rabbi
Saadiah Gaon, and other predecessors, explains at length in his book Milhhamot HaShem
that the Almighty is in no way literally within time or space nor physically outside time or
space, since time and space simply do not apply to His Being whatsoever. This is in
contrast to certain popular understandings of modern Kabbalah which teach a form of
panentheism, that His 'essence' is within everything.

Around the 1230s, Rabbi Meir ben Simon of Narbonne wrote an epistle (included in his
Milhhemet Mitzvah) against his contemporaries, the early Kabbalists, characterizing them
as blasphemers who even approach heresy. He particularly singled out the Sefer Bahir,
rejecting the attribution of its authorship to the tanna R. Nehhunya ben ha-Kanah and
describing some of its content as truly heretical.

Rabbi Yitzchak ben Sheshet Perfet (The Rivash), 1326–1408. Although as is evident from
his response on the topic (157) the Rivash was skeptical of certain interpretations of
Kabbalah popular in his time, it is equally evident that overall he did accept Kabbalah as
received Jewish wisdom, and attempted to defend it from attackers. To this end he cited and
rejected a certain philosopher who claimed that Kabbalah was "worse than Christianity", as
it made God into 10, not just into three. Most followers of Kabbalah have never followed
this interpretation of Kabbalah, on the grounds that the concept of the Christian Trinity
posits that there are three persons existing within the Godhead, one of whom became a
human being.[citation needed] In contrast, the mainstream understanding of the Kabbalistic Sefirot
holds that they have no mind or intelligence; further, they are not addressed in prayer and
they cannot become a human being. They are conduits for interaction, not persons or
beings. Nonetheless, many important poskim, such as Maimonidies in his work Mishneh
Torah, prohibit any use of mediators between oneself and the Creator as a form of idolatry.
Rabbi Leone di Modena, a 17th century Venetian critic of Kabbalah, wrote that if we were
to accept the Kabbalah, then the Christian trinity would indeed be compatible with Judaism,
as the Trinity closely resembles the Kabbalistic doctrine of the Sefirot. This critique was in
response to the knowledge that some European Jews of the period addressed individual
Sefirot in some of their prayers, although the practise was apparently uncommon.
Apologists explain that Jews may have been praying for and not necessarily to the aspects
of Godliness represented by the Sefirot.

Rabbi Yaakov Emden, 1697–1776, wrote the book Mitpahhath Sfarim (Veil of the Books),
a detailed critique of the Zohar in which he concludes that certain parts of the Zohar
contain heretical teaching and therefore could not have been written by Rabbi Shimon bar
Yochai. Opponents of his work claim[citation needed] that he wrote the book in a drunken stupor.
Emden's rationalistic approach to this work, however, makes neither intoxication nor stupor
seem plausible.

Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, an early 20th century Yemenite Jewish leader and grandfather of
Rabbi Yosef Qafih, also wrote a book entitled Milhhamoth HaShem (Wars of the L-RD)
against what he perceived as the false teachings of the Zohar and the false Kabbalah of
Isaac Luria. He is credited with spearheading the Dor Daim who continue in R. Yihhyah
Qafahh's view of Kabbalah into modern times.

Yeshayahu Leibowitz 1903–1994, brother of Nechama Leibowitz, though Modern

Orthodox in his world view, publicly shared the views expressed in R. Yihhyah Qafahh's
book Milhhamoth HaShem and elaborated upon these views in his many writings.

There is dispute among modern Haredim as to the status of Isaac Luria's, the Arizal's
Kabbalistic teachings. While a portion of Modern Orthodox Rabbis, Dor Daim and many
students of the Rambam, completely reject Arizal's Kabbalistic teachings, as well as deny
that the Zohar is authoritative, or from Shimon bar Yohai, all three of these groups
completely accept the existence and validity of Ma'aseh Merkavah and Ma'aseh B'resheet
mysticism. Their only disagreement concerns whether the Kabbalistic teachings
promulgated today are accurate representations of those esoteric teachings to which the
Talmud refers. Within the Haredi Jewish community one can find both rabbis who
sympathize with such a view,[citation needed] while not necessarily agreeing with it, as well as
rabbis who consider such a view absolute heresy.

[edit] Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism

Kabbalah tended to be rejected by most Jews in the Conservative and Reform movements,
though its influences were not completely eliminated. While it was generally not studied as
a discipline, the Kabbalistic Kabbalat Shabbat service remained part of liberal liturgy, as
did the Yedid Nefesh prayer. Nevertheless, in the 1960s, Rabbi Saul Lieberman of the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America is reputed to have introduced a lecture by
Scholem on Kabbalah with a statement that Kabbalah itself was "nonsense", but the
academic study of Kabbalah was "scholarship". This view became popular among many
Jews, who viewed the subject as worthy of study, but who did not accept Kabbalah as
teaching literal truths.

According to Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson (Dean of the Conservative Ziegler School of
Rabbinic Studies in the American Jewish University)

Many western Jews insisted that their future and their freedom required
“ shedding what they perceived as parochial orientalism. They fashioned a
Judaism that was decorous and strictly rational (according to 19th-century
European standards), denigrating Kabbalah as backward, superstitious, and
marginal.[38] ”
However, in the late 20th century and early 21st century there has been a revival in interest
in Kabbalah in all branches of liberal Judaism. The Kabbalistic 12th century prayer Anim
Zemirot was restored to the new Conservative Sim Shalom siddur, as was the B'rikh Shmeh
passage from the Zohar, and the mystical Ushpizin service welcoming to the Sukkah the
spirits of Jewish forbearers. Anim Zemirot and the 16th century mystical poem Lekhah
Dodi reappeared in the Reform Siddur Gates of Prayer in 1975. All Rabbinical seminaries
now teach several courses in Kabbalah—in Conservative Judaism, both the Jewish
Theological Seminary and the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies of the University of
Judaism in Los Angeles have fulltime instructors in Kabbalah and Hasidut, Eitan Fishbane
and Pinchas Geller, respectively. In the Reform movement Sharon Koren teaches at the
Hebrew Union College. Reform Rabbis like Herbert Weiner and Lawrence Kushner have
renewed interest in Kabbalah among Reform Jews. At the Reconstructionist Rabbinical
College, the only accredited seminary that has curricular requirements in Kabbalah, Joel
Hecker is the fulltime instructor teaching courses in Kabbalah and Hasidut.

According to Artson:

Ours is an age hungry for meaning, for a sense of belonging, for holiness. In
“ that search, we have returned to the very Kabbalah our predecessors scorned.
The stone that the builders rejected has become the head cornerstone (Psalm
118:22)... Kabbalah was the last universal theology adopted by the entire
Jewish people, hence faithfulness to our commitment to positive-historical
Judaism mandates a reverent receptivity to Kabbalah.[39] ”
The Reconstructionist movement, under the leadership of Arthur Green in the 1980s and
1990s, and with the influence of Zalman Schachter Shalomi, brought a strong openness to
Kabbalah and hasidic elements that then came to play prominent roles in the Kol ha-
Neshamah siddur series.

[edit] History
[edit] Origins of Judaic mysticism
According to the traditional understanding, Kabbalah dates from Eden.[40] It came down
from a remote past as a revelation to elect Tzadikim (righteous people), and, for the most
part, was preserved only by a privileged few. Talmudic Judaism records its view of the
proper protocol for teaching this wisdom, as well as many of its concepts, in the Talmud,
Tractate Hagigah, Ch.2.

Contemporary scholarship suggests that various schools of Jewish esotericism arose at

different periods of Jewish history, each reflecting not only prior forms of mysticism, but
also the intellectual and cultural milieu of that historical period. Answers to questions of
transmission, lineage, influence, and innovation vary greatly and cannot be easily
summarized.

[edit] Origins of terms

Originally, Kabbalistic knowledge was believed to be an integral part of the Judaism's oral
law (see also Aggadah), given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai around 13th century BCE,
though there is a view that Kabbalah began with Adam.

When the Israelites arrived at their destination and settled in Canaan, for a few centuries the
esoteric knowledge was referred to by its aspect practice—meditation Hitbonenut (Hebrew:
‫)התבוננות‬,[41] Rebbe Nachman of Breslov's Hitbodedut (Hebrew: ‫)התבודדות‬, translated as
"being alone" or "isolating oneself", or by a different term describing the actual, desired
goal of the practice—prophecy ("NeVu’a" Hebrew: ‫)נבואה‬.

During the 5th century BCE, when the works of the Tanakh were edited and canonized and
the secret knowledge encrypted within the various writings and scrolls ("Megilot"), the
knowledge was referred to as Ma'aseh Merkavah (Hebrew: ‫[)מעשה מרכבה‬42] and Ma'aseh
B'reshit (Hebrew: ‫)מעשה בראשית‬,[43] respectively "the act of the Chariot" and "the act of
Creation". Merkavah mysticism alluded to the encrypted knowledge within the book of the
prophet Ezekiel describing his vision of the "Divine Chariot". B'reshit mysticism referred to
the first chapter of Genesis (Hebrew: ‫ )בראשית‬in the Torah that is believed to contain secrets
of the creation of the universe and forces of nature. These terms are also mentioned in the
second chapter of the Talmudic tractate Haggigah.

[edit] Mystic elements of the Torah

Ezekiel and Isaiah had prophetic visions of the angelic Chariot and Divine Throne. Later
Kabbalah relates their narratives to the Four Worlds. In Judaism the only permitted images
of angels was on the Ark of the Covenant
According to adherents of Kabbalah, its origin begins with secrets that God revealed to
Adam. According to a rabbinic midrash[citation needed] God created the universe through the Ten
Sefirot. When read by later generations of Kabbalists, the Torah's description of the
creation in the Book of Genesis reveals mysteries about the godhead itself, the true nature
of Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the
Tree of Life, as well as the interaction of these supernal entities with the Serpent which
leads to disaster when they eat the forbidden fruit, as recorded in Genesis 2.[39]

The Bible provides ample additional material for mythic and mystical speculation. The
prophet Ezekiel's visions in particular attracted much mystical speculation, as did Isaiah's
Temple vision—Isaiah, Ch.6. Jacob's vision of the ladder to heaven provided another
example of esoteric experience. Moses' encounters with the Burning bush and God on
Mount Sinai are evidence of mystical events in the Tanakh that form the origin of Jewish
mystical beliefs.

The 72 letter name of God which is used in Jewish mysticism for meditation purposes is
derived from the Hebrew verbal utterance Moses spoke in the presence of an angel, while
the Sea of Reeds parted, allowing the Hebrews to escape their approaching attackers. The
miracle of the Exodus, which led to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and the
Jewish Orthodox view of the acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai, preceded the creation
of the first Jewish nation approximately three hundred years before King Saul.

[edit] Mystical doctrines in the Talmudic era

Grave of Rabbi Akiva in Tiberias. He features in Hekhalot mystical literature, and as one of
the four who entered the Pardes

The grave of Shimon bar Yochai in Meron before 1899. A Talmudic Tanna, he is the
mystical teacher in the central Kabbalistic work, the Zohar

In early rabbinic Judaism (the early centuries of the first millennium CE), the terms
Ma'aseh Bereshit ("Works of Creation") and Ma'aseh Merkabah ("Works of the Divine
Throne/Chariot") clearly indicate the Midrashic nature of these speculations; they are really
based upon Genesis 1 and Book of Ezekiel 1:4–28; while the names Sitrei Torah (Hidden
aspects of the Torah) (Talmud Hag. 13a) and Razei Torah (Torah secrets) (Ab. vi. 1)
indicate their character as secret lore. An additional term also expanded Jewish esoteric
knowledge, namely Chochmah Nistara (Hidden wisdom).

Talmudic doctrine forbade the public teaching of esoteric doctrines and warned of their
dangers. In the Mishnah (Hagigah 2:1), rabbis were warned to teach the mystical creation
doctrines only to one student at a time.[44] To highlight the danger, in one Jewish aggadic
("legendary") anecdote, four prominent rabbis of the Mishnaic period (1st century CE) are
said to have visited the Orchard (that is, Paradise, pardes, Hebrew: ‫ פרדס‬lit., orchard):

Four men entered pardes—Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher (Elisha ben Abuyah),
“ [45]
and Akiba. Ben Azzai looked and died; Ben Zoma looked and went mad;
”
Acher destroyed the plants; Akiba entered in peace and departed in peace.[46]

In notable readings of this legend, only Rabbi Akiba was fit to handle the study of mystical
doctrines. The Tosafot, medieval commentaries on the Talmud, say that the four sages "did
not go up literally, but it appeared to them as if they went up".[47] On the other hand, Rabbi
Louis Ginzberg, writes in the Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906) that the journey to
paradise "is to be taken literally and not allegorically".[48] For further analysis, see The Four
Who Entered Paradise.

[edit] Middle Ages

The Medieval era began esoteric circles of Kabbalistic dissemination in French Provence,
Andalusian Spain and Germany-Ashkenaz

The 13th century Nachmanides, a classic figure in Rabbinic theology, was an early
exponent of Kabbalah
From the 8th–11th century Sefer Yetzirah and Hekalot texts made their way into European
Jewish circles. Modern scholars have identified several mystical brotherhoods that
functioned in Europe starting in the 12th century. Some, such as the "Iyyun Circle" and the
"Unique Cherub Circle", were truly esoteric, remaining largely anonymous.

One well-known group was the "Hasidei Ashkenaz" (‫ )חסידי אשכנז‬or German Pietists. This
13th century movement arose mostly among a single scholarly family, the Kalonymus
family of the French and German Rhineland.

There were certain rishonim ("Elder Sages") of exoteric Judaism who are known to have
been experts in Kabbalah. One of the best known is Nahmanides (the Ramban) (1194–
1270) whose commentary on the Torah is considered to be based on Kabbalistic
knowledge. Bahya ben Asher (the Rabbeinu Behaye) (d. 1340) also combined Torah
commentary and Kabbalah. Another was Isaac the Blind (1160–1235), the teacher of
Nahmanides, who is widely argued to have written the first work of classic Kabbalah, the
Bahir.

Sefer Bahir and another work, the "Treatise of the Left Emanation", probably composed in
Spain by Isaac ben Isaac ha-Kohen, laid the groundwork for the composition of Sefer
Zohar, written by Moses de Leon and his mystical circle at the end of the 13th century, but
credited to the Talmudic sage Shimon bar Yochai, cf. Zohar. The Zohar proved to be the
first truly "popular" work of Kabbalah, and the most influential. From the 13th century
onward, Kabbalah began to be widely disseminated and it branched out into an extensive
literature. Historians in the 19th century, for example, Heinrich Graetz, argued that the
emergence into public view of Jewish esotericism at this time coincides with, and
represents a response to, the rising influence of the rationalist philosophy of Maimonides
and his followers. Gershom Scholem sought to undermine this view as part of his resistance
to seeing Kabbalah as merely a response to medieval Jewish rationalism. Arguing for a
gnostic influence has to be seen as part of this strategy. More recently, Moshe Idel and
Elliot Wolfson have independently argued that the impact of Maimonides can be seen in the
change from orality to writing in the 13th century. That is, Kabbalists committed to writing
many of their oral traditions in part as a response to the attempt of Maimonides to explain
the older esoteric subjects philosophically.

Most Orthodox Jews reject the idea that Kabbalah underwent significant historical
development or change such as has been proposed above. After the composition known as
the Zohar was presented to the public in the 13th century, the term "Kabbalah" began to
refer more specifically to teachings derived from, or related, to the Zohar. At an even later
time, the term began to generally be applied to Zoharic teachings as elaborated upon by
Isaac Luria Arizal. Historians generally date the start of Kabbalah as a major influence in
Jewish thought and practice with the publication of the Zohar and climaxing with the
spread of the Arizal's teachings. The majority of Haredi Jews accept the Zohar as the
representative of the Ma'aseh Merkavah and Ma'aseh B'reshit that are referred to in
Talmudic texts.[49]

[edit] Early Modern era: Lurianic Kabbalah

The mystical community in 16th century Safed invigorated wider Judaism with its
Cordoveran synthesis and Lurianic reorganisation
Main article: Isaac Luria

Following the upheavals and dislocations in the Jewish world as a result of the Spanish
Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, and the trauma of Anti-Semitism
during the Middle Ages, Jews began to search for signs of when the long-awaited Jewish
Messiah would come to comfort them in their painful exiles. Moses Cordovero and his
immediate circle popularized the teachings of the Zohar which had until then been only a
modestly influential work. The author of the Shulkhan Arukh (the Jewish "Code of Law"),
Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488–1575), was also a great scholar of Kabbalah and spread its
teachings during this era.

As part of that "search for meaning" in their lives, Kabbalah received its biggest boost in
the Jewish world with the explication of the Kabbalistic teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria
(1534–1572) by his disciples Rabbi Hayim Vital and Rabbi Israel Sarug, both of whom
published Luria's teachings (in variant forms) gaining them widespread popularity. Luria's
teachings came to rival the influence of the Zohar and Luria stands, alongside Moses de
Leon, as the most influential mystic in Jewish history.

[edit] Ban on studying Kabbalah

The ban against studying Kabbalah was lifted by the efforts of the 16th century Kabbalist
Rabbi Avraham Azulai (1570–1643).

I have found it written that all that has been decreed Above forbidding open
“ involvement in the Wisdom of Truth [Kabbalah] was [only meant for] the
limited time period until the year 5,250 (1490 C.E.). From then on after is
called the "Last Generation", and what was forbidden is [now] allowed. And
permission is granted to occupy ourselves in the [study of] Zohar. And from the
year 5,300 (1540 C.E.) it is most desirable that the masses both those great and
small [in Torah], should occupy themselves [in the study of Kabbalah], as it
says in the Raya M'hemna [a section of the Zohar]. And because in this merit
King Mashiach will come in the future—and not in any other merit—it is not
proper to be discouraged [from the study of Kabbalah]. (Rabbi Avraham
Azulai)[50] ”
The question however is whether the ban ever existed in the first place. Concerning the
above quote by Avraham Azulai, it has found many versions in English, another is this

From the year 1540 and onward, the basic levels of Kabbalah must be taught
“ publicly to everyone, young and old. Only through Kabbalah will we forever
”
eliminate war, destruction, and man's inhumanity to his fellow man.[51]

The lines concerning 1490 are also missing from the Hebrew edition of Hesed L'Avraham,
the source work that both of these quote from. Furthermore by Azulai's view the ban was
lifted thirty years before his birth. A time that would have corresponded with Rabbi Haim
Vital's publication of the teaching of Isaac Luria. Furthermore Rabbi Moshe Isserles only
understood there to be a minor restriction, in his words, "One's belly must be full of meat
and wine, discerning between the prohibited and the permitted."[52] He is supported by the
Bier Hetiv, the Pithei Teshuva as well as the Vilna Gaon. The Vilna Gaon says,

There was never any ban or enactment restricting the study of the wisdom of
“ Kabbalah. Any who says there is has never studied Kabbalah, has never seen
”
PaRDeS, and speaks as an ignoramous.[53]

Thus leaving the existence of a ban to be highly debated.

[edit] Sefardi and Mizrahi

The Kabbalah of the Sefardi (Portuguese or Spanish) and Mizrahi (Middle East, North
Africa, and the Caucasus) Torah scholars has a long history. Kabbalah in various forms was
widely studied, commented upon, and expanded by North African, Turkish, Yemenite, and
Asian scholars from the 16th century onward. It flourished among Sefardic Jews in Tzfat
(Safed), Israel even before the arrival of Isaac Luria, its most famous resident. The great
Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Arukh was part of the Tzfat school of Kabbalah.
Shlomo Alkabetz, author of the famous hymn Lekhah Dodi, taught there.

His disciple Moses ben Jacob Cordovero authored Sefer Pardes Rimonim, an organized,
exhaustive compilation of Kabbalistic teachings on a variety of subjects up to that point.
Rabbi Cordovero headed the Academy of Tzfat until his death, when Isaac Luria, also
known as the Ari, rose to prominence. Rabbi Moshe's disciple Eliyahu De Vidas authored
the classic work, Reishit Chochma, combining Kabbalistic and mussar (moral) teachings.
Chaim Vital also studied under Rabbi Cordovero, but with the arrival of Rabbi Luria
became his main disciple. Vital claimed to be the only one authorized to transmit the Ari's
teachings, though other disciples also published books presenting Luria's teachings.

[edit] Maharal
The 16th century Maharal of Prague articulated a mystical exegesis in philosophical
language

One of the most important teachers of Kabbalah, recognized as an authority by all serious
scholars up until the present time, was Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1525–1609) known
as the Maharal of Prague. Many of his written works survive and are studied for their deep
Kabbalistic insights. The Maharal is, perhaps, most famous outside of Jewish mysticism for
the legends of the golem of Prague, which he reportedly created. During the 20th century,
Rabbi Isaac Hutner (1906–1980) continued to spread the Maharal's teachings indirectly
through his own teachings and scholarly publications within the modern yeshiva world.

[edit] Failure of Sabbatian Mysticism

The spiritual and mystical yearnings of many Jews remained frustrated after the death of
Rabbi Isaac Luria and his disciples and colleagues. No hope was in sight for many
following the devastation and mass killings of the pogroms that followed in the wake the
Chmielnicki Uprising (1648–1654), and it was at this time that a controversial scholar of
the Kabbalah by the name of Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676) captured the hearts and minds of
the Jewish masses of that time with the promise of a newly minted "Messianic"
Millennialism in the form of his own personage.

His charisma, mystical teachings that included repeated pronunciations of the holy
Tetragrammaton in public, tied to an unstable personality, and with the help of his own
"prophet" Nathan of Gaza, convinced the Jewish masses that the "Jewish Messiah" had
finally come. It seemed that the esoteric teachings of Kabbalah had found their "champion"
and had triumphed, but this era of Jewish history unravelled when Zevi became an apostate
to Judaism by converting to Islam after he was arrested by the Ottoman Sultan and
threatened with execution for attempting a plan to conquer the world and rebuild the
Temple in Jerusalem.

Many of his followers, known as Sabbatians, continued to worship him in secret,

explaining his conversion not as an effort to save his life but to recover the sparks of the
holy in each religion, and most leading rabbis were always on guard to root them out. The
Donmeh movement in modern Turkey is a surviving remnant of the Sabbatian schism.
Due to the chaos caused in the Jewish world, the Rabbinic prohibition against studying
Kabbalah was well intact again, and established itself firmly within the Jewish religion.
One of the conditions allowing a man to study and engage himself in the Kabbalah was to
be of age forty. This age requirement came about during this period and is not Talmudic in
origin but Rabbinic. Many Jews are familiar with this ruling, but are not aware of its
origins. Moreover, the prohibition is not halakhic in nature. According to Moses
Cordovero, halakhically, one must be of age twenty to engage in the Kabbalah. Many
famous Kabbalists, including the ARI, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag,
were younger than twenty when they began.

[edit] Frankists

Main article: Jacob Frank

The Sabbatian movement was followed by that of the "Frankists" who were disciples of
another pseudo-mystic Jacob Frank (1726–1791) who eventually became an apostate to
Judaism by apparently converting to Catholicism. This era of disappointment did not stem
the Jewish masses' yearnings for "mystical" leadership.

[edit] 1700s

Image of the Vilna Gaon. Both Hasidic and Mitnagdic Judaism followed Lurianic Kabbalah
theology, but with differing practical emphasis and interpretation

Synagogue of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism, in Medzhybizh Ukraine. It gave a
new phase to Jewish mysticism, seeking its popularisation through internal correspondence

The 18th century saw an explosion of new efforts in the writing and spread of Kabbalah by
four well known rabbis working in different areas of Europe:
  Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760) in the area of Ukraine
spread teachings based on Rabbi Isaac Luria's foundations, simplifying the
Kabbalah for the common man. From him sprang the vast ongoing schools of
Hasidic Judaism, with each successive rebbe viewed by his "Hasidim" as continuing
the role of dispenser of mystical divine blessings and guidance.
 Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810), the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov,
revitalized and further expanded the latter's teachings, amassing a following of
thousands in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Poland. In a unique amalgam of
Hasidic and Mitnagid approaches, Rebbe Nachman emphasized study of both
Kabbalah and serious Torah scholarship to his disciples. His teachings also differed
from the way other Hasidic groups were developing, as he rejected the idea of
hereditary Hasidic dynasties and taught that each Hasid must "search for the tzaddik
('saintly/righteous person')" for himself—and within himself.
 Rabbi Elijah of Vilna (Vilna Gaon) (1720–1797), based in Lithuania, had his
teachings encoded and publicized by his disciples such as by Rabbi Chaim Volozhin
who published the mystical-ethical work Nefesh HaChaim. However, he was
staunchly opposed to the new Hasidic movement and warned against their public
displays of religious fervour inspired by the mystical teachings of their rabbis.
Although the Vilna Gaon was not in favor of the Hasidic movement, he did not
prohibit the study and engagement in the Kabbalah. This is evident from his
writings in the Even Shlema. "He that is able to understand secrets of the Torah and
does not try to understand them will be judged harshly, may God have mercy". (The
Vilna Gaon, Even Shlema, 8:24). "The Redemption will only come about through
learning Torah, and the essence of the Redemption depends upon learning
Kabbalah" (The Vilna Gaon, Even Shlema, 11:3).
 Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707–1746), based in Italy, was a precocious
Talmudic scholar who arrived at the startling conclusion that there was a need for
the public teaching and study of Kabbalah. He established a yeshiva for Kabbalah
study and actively recruited outstanding students and, in addition, wrote copious
manuscripts in an appealing clear Hebrew style, all of which gained the attention of
both admirers and rabbinical critics who feared another "Zevi (false messiah) in the
making". He was forced to close his school by his rabbinical opponents, hand over
and destroy many of his most precious unpublished kabbalistic writings, and go into
exile in the Netherlands. He eventually moved to the Land of Israel. Some of his
most important works such as Derekh Hashem survive and are used as a gateway to
the world of Jewish mysticism.

[edit] Modern era

[edit] Orthodox
Beit El Synagogue in Jerusalem. Eastern Judaism has a traditional chain of Kabbalah

The Kabbalah Tree (1985), oil on canvas by the Italian artist Davide Tonato

One of the most influential sources spreading Kabbalistic teachings have come from the
massive growth and spread of Hasidic Judaism, a movement begun by Yisroel ben Eliezer
(The Baal Shem Tov), but continued in many branches and streams until today. These
groups differ greatly in size, but all emphasize the study of mystical Hasidic texts, which
now consists of a vast literature devoted to elaborating upon the long chain of Kabbalistic
thought and methodology. No group emphasizes in-depth kabbalistic study, though, to the
extent of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, whose Rebbes delivered tens of thousands of
discourses, and whose students study these texts for three hours daily.

Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn of Lubavitch urged the study of Kabbalah as prerequisite for
one's humanity:

A person who is capable of comprehending the Seder hishtalshelus (kabbalistic

“ secrets concerning the higher spiritual spheres)—and fails to do so—cannot be
considered a human being. At every moment and time one must know where
his soul stands. It is a mitzvah (commandment) and an obligation to know the
seder hishtalshelus.[54] ”
The writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1864–1935) also stress Kabbalistic themes:

Due to the alienation from the 'secret of God' [i.e. Kabbalah], the higher
“ qualities of the depths of Godly life are reduced to trivia that do not penetrate ”
the depth of the soul. When this happens, the most mighty force is missing from
 the soul of nation and individual, and Exile finds favor essentially... We should
not negate any conception based on rectitude and awe of Heaven of any form—
only the aspect of such an approach that desires to negate the mysteries and
their great influence on the spirit of the nation. This is a tragedy that we must
combat with counsel and understanding, with holiness and courage.
 — Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook (Orot 2)

[edit] Bnei Baruch

Bnei Baruch is a group of Kabbalists, based in Israel. Study materials are available in over
25 languages. Michael Laitman established Bnei Baruch in 1991, following the passing of
his teacher, Baruch Ashlag. Laitman named his group Bnei Baruch (sons of Baruch) to
commemorate the memory of his mentor. Baruch Ashlag was the oldest son and successor
of the famous Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, who was author of a comprehensive
commentary on The Book of Zohar called The Sulam Commentary (The Ladder
Commentary).

[edit] Kabbalah Centre

Main article: Kabbalah Centre

The Kabbalah Centre was founded in the United States in 1965 as The National Research
Institute of Kabbalah by Philip Berg (born Feivel Gruberger) and Rav Yehuda Tzvi
Brandwein. After Brandwein's death, and after several years in Israel, Philip Berg and his
wife Karen Berg, re-established the U.S. Kabbalah Centre[55] in New York City.