Kabbalah

The practice of Kabbalah, often called Jewish mysticism, can be traced back to ancient Babylon. It's been described as a map of the unseen forces that shape our lives and how these forces are structured. Traditionalists believe that only men over the age of 40 who had knowledge of Jewish religious laws could gain a true understanding of the scriptures. Nevertheless, many Kabbalists are female and younger than 40 years old. The Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles, California offers Kabbalistic teachings to men and women, regardless of their age. Individuals don't have to understand Hebrew or be familiar with Jewish texts to start taking courses at the center, nevertheless, advanced Jewish scholars will find the texts that the Kabbalah Centre publishes,…

Author David Ariel offers Kabbalah: The Mystic Quest in Judaism as a comprehensive guide to understanding the complex practice of Jewish mysticism. The introductory chapter provides a background on mysticism itself, theories within different researcher perspectives, and a relation of mystic experiences to the Jewish religion. In this paper, the author’s main ideas are summarized before analysis and reflection. William James, looking at the psychology of religious experiences of the individual,…

Kabbalah is basically the study of the Torah, to uncover the deeper, hidden meanings. Once the providence of elite rabbinical scholars with years of yeshiva training, it was assumed that only they could decode God's answers to the existential questions of man. Kabbalah's teaching were first written down in the 13th century, in a collection of books called the Zohar. The founders of the Kabbalah Centre, Philip and Karen Berg, did something revolutionary; they opened ancient Jewish mysticism to…

“Tradition is a guide and not a jailer.” (W. Somerset Maugham) This quote demonstrates that tradition can be changed, similar to the way Hasidism changed traditional Judaism. Hasidism began in Southeast Poland-Lithuania and sparked a revolution in Judaism. The breakup of Judaism paired with the lack of trust in Jewish leaders, lead Hasidism to form and pave a new way for Judaism. Kabbalah, Mass enthusiasm and ecstasy acted as the foundation for the movement and fear of separatism lead many…

concentration camps, Elie is pious in his studies of Jewish mysticism. Elie is taught by Moishe the Beadle who lives in penury. Throughout the time Elie spent in concentration camps, he describes two specific accounts of hangings. The hanging that affects the prisoners is the hanging of the young Pipel. As the event is occurring, Elie begins to question God’s intentions. However, in the end of the memoir, Elie thanks God for his survival. In the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel’s faith in God…

They were each a devoted, kind, and tremendously gifted Torah leader. Both the holy Baal Shem Tov and the holy Goan of Vilna were masters of the written and oral law, learned and knew the secrets of Kabbalah, and taught their respective opinion in a humble and unassuming manner. The styles of leadership they each practiced can easily be differentiated based on the content of the teachings Baal Shem Tov and those of the Goan. Whereas the Baal Shem Tov focused on connecting to each Jew, proving…

“The ghetto was ruled by neither German nor Jew; it was ruled by delusion. (Wiesel 11).” In our society there cannot be a loss of innocence without gain of knowledge. No thinks that bad things will happen to them until they do. At the beginning of the work, his faith in God is so strong that when asked why he prays to God, he answers, “Why did I pray? Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” But during the Holocaust, Elie struggles to hold on to his faith. In the beginning of the book it is learned…

sacrifices its children to be eaten by heathens (Ezek 16:20). Still, in spite of everything, God, in due course, forgives the beings conduct and continues to try to guide this wayward soul. (Ezek 16:15-63). This similar disloyal character of this creature is occasionally demonstrated in other areas in the Old Testament. Noticeably, the sexual disposition of humans appears to be the major concern throughout the entire text; inevitably the Bible as a whole, is a momentous testament of how…

Genesis 2 and 3 might seem that it focuses on the creation of the world as we know. However, if we look beyond this storyline, we can see that Genesis 2 and 3 is actually about how God tests Mankind. The testing is not to see Mankind fail, but rather, how Mankind can improve. Throughout the entirety of Genesis 2 and 3, we see that The Garden of Eden was made by God that one may test Mankind. We can see this through the order of creation, how Mankind gets tested, and from how the punishments are…

In Genesis 3, the tree of knowledge has no point in the garden of Eden except to test Mankind. This could only have happened if they were to be tempted by the Snake which . If this is indeed the case, are God and the Snake are working together or even the same being? God must be coordinating with the Snake in order to test Mankind’s obedience to Him. I came to this conclusion when after carefully reading the text, I could find no purpose for the tree other than to be a test for Mankind. Placing…