|
Traditionally, among Hebrew mystics, one was required to be afamily man of at least 40 years before a Rabbi would speak to you about it, and then at first in veiled terms. The topic has been the subject of much mis-understanding, I have been schooled in the layout of the TREE OF LIFE, although I do not claim to be a Kabbalist. On this page I will present a list of volumes that have appeared in the past 200 years, which puport to shed light on the subject. I strongly suggest that interested readers do a comparative research themselves. |
|
Teachings of Jewish mystics. the term encompasses all the esoteric teachings of Judaism which evolved from the time of the second Temple. More particularly, it refers to those forms which evolved in the Middle Ages (to be fair to those who reckon time by calandars OTHER than the one Developed in Rome, Middle Ages refers to a period on the Julian Calendar adjusted by monks for Pope Gregory of the Roman Catholic Church - Jesse). Kabbalah draws on the awareness of the transcendance of God, and yet of his *immanence. God can most closely be perceived through *contemplation and illumination. God both conceals and reveals himself. Through specualtion and revelation, the hidden life of God and his relationship with his creation can be more nearly understood. Because mystucal knowledge can be so easily misinterpreted its spread should be limited to those of a certain age and level of learning. |
|
Traditionally it was taught that the the kabbalah did not develop: it had been revealed in its perfection to *Adam, and new revelation was only given when original teaching was forgotten. Alternatively, it was thought that kabbalah was the secret part of the *oral law given to *Moses on Mount *Sinai. Once the halakhah was fixed, there was a tendency by the kabbalists to transform the lawfrom a code of conduct for the Jewish people to a universal secret law, and the mystical quest was to unravel the whole mystery of the relationship of God with the world. |
|
Although the influence of labbalah was limited in the area of halakhah, the kabbalists created fresh *aggadic material and completely re-interpreted much early *midrashic aggadot. The classic anthology of kabbalistic aggadah is Reuben Hoeshke's Yalkut Re'uveni (1660). Kabbalistic teaching and motifs entered the various *prayer books and thus spread to every *diaspora community. Nathan Hannover's Sha'arei Ziyyon (1662) lists prayers which include such doctrines as the transmigration of souls, the achievement of *tikkun, and the activities of powers of the upper world. Popular customs were also affected by kabbalah, and kabbalistic ideas were absorbed as folk beliefs. These customs and beliefs were decribed by Jacob Zemah in Shulhan Arukh ha-Ari (1661). Popular ethics were also influenced by kabbalism, as is evidenced by such works as Elijah de Vida's Reshit Hokhmah (1579). From the 15th century, attempts were made to harmonize kabbalistic ideas with Christian doctrines, and, although this tendency was derided by the Jewish kabbalists, it did serve to spread kabbalah beyond the Jewish community. K. von Rosenroth's version of kabbalah texts (Kabbala Denudata, 1677-84) led the way to a popular appropriation of kabbalah outside Judaism, at least in *Theosphy. |
|
From the late 18th century, scholarly work on kabbalah has frequently been polemical. It was felt that kabbalists had too much influence on Jewish life. Jacob Emden's (Mitapat Sefarim (1768) attempted to prove that many passages from the *Zohar were later interpolations and gre out of the author's struggle with Shabbateanism. Similarly, 19th century works were directed against the kabbalistic teachings of *hasidism. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, with the rise of *Zionism, there has been a growing interest in kabbalah, and in 1925 and international center for kabbalistic research was founded in the Hebrew University of *Jerusalem. |
|
A. Benison, The Zohar in Moslem and Christian Spain (1974); |
|
The HEADER above is a link...if you wish to peruse a song which owes its
sixth verse to the TREE of LIFE, click the title: Shadows of
FAME...it has been written, rehearsed and sung all over the United States,
since 1986. of a diagram |