Kabbalah

What is Universal Kabbalah
Universal Kabbalah is a vast repository of knowledge and teachings that have been passed on to humanity to allow mankind to disassemble the unhealthy walls we have built around ourselves and open our hearts to receive divine blessings. The Divine Spiritual Wisdom within Universal Kabbalah expands our consciousness and facilitates our awakening into higher truth and light, so that we may unconditionally give to all those who come to us asking for help and assistance. We must share our love and light in order to participate in the world’s awakening. Those who take these teachings deep into their hearts will feel enlightened and rejuvenated as their energy is nourished and they begin to experience their vastness.

A Host of Blessings
One of the first blessings Universal Kabbalah imparts to the student is an understanding of the laws of nature and how creation has unfolded. It gives us an understanding of where we came from, why we are here, and where we need to be going. Universal Kabbalah is to the West what Yogic wisdom is to the East. They are complimentary in nature, yet their knowledge may be transmitted in varying ways, through different imagery and using different applications—all aimed at helping mankind re-kindle the Divine spark within and return to the One Source. Universal Kabbalah is a most valid and valuable map, worthy of much contemplation, for it is not only an external map that enables us to recognize the surreal consciousness of the Divine in our external world; it is also a mirror that allows us to see the Divine within ourselves. This knowledge dispels ignorance, and is therefore a most potent medicine that allows us to elevate our mental, emotional, and physical states. Those who undertake this work knowingly and deliberately liberate their souls and gradually penetrate into the mysterious Arcane of divine creation.

Origin of Man
Before the Fall
According to Kabbalah, humankind is like a group of cells. Each person represents a cell or a unit in the body of Adamic Humanity, and the privation or darkness in which we dwell is a result of Human’s symbolic fall from an original state of glory and oneness with the Divine Being, for Man-God, known in Kabbalah as Adam Kadmon, was originally a unified being. Before the fall, this collective man had a glorious spiritual form and was living on a higher spiritual plane enjoying the most incredible privileges. After the misuse of free-will, Adam, or Man-God, was cast out of that higher plane and lost his pristine position and spiritual privileges. As a result of the fall, this unified being became fragmented, and the cells of that being are now the souls of the men and women we now refer to as humanity. As you can naturally deduce from the above, every man and woman is connected. We are each one cell of Adam Kadmon.

Laws of Nature
God Sits at the Tip of Our Tongue
One of the main goals of Universal Kabbalah is to help each person develop within him or herself an ever-increasing aptitude to hold more and more light. It is a well-known cosmic law that everything moves in a circle, and whatever forces we send out into the Universe will return to us in due course. It is often the simplest laws of nature that are neglected. For instance, each day, with the words that we use, we are either building or destroying ourselves and creating platforms for what will happen to us next. Therefore, one of the first, and yet often the hardest, laws of nature asks us to treat words as sacred, and carefully choose each utterance that leaves our mouths. In most cases, this requires that the mind itself be cleaned, for therein lie the seeds that blossom into speech. When men and women have conscious control over their speech, they choose to uplift and heal each other and create vibrations that are positive and constructive. This means getting past the smallness of “I” and growing into the vastness of “we”. As chaotic as the Universe may appear, nothing goes unnoticed or unbalanced, and those who use their words to project peace towards others turn themselves into co-creators of light that will be duly returned to them, even when least expected.

In addition to working constructively with our words, it is very important to avoid negativity and gossip, for these are qualities that will surely rob us of our Light and delay our progression towards self-healing.

Kindness, goodness, and compassion lead to happiness and health, because our inner souls are constructed with these qualities. They are the basis of our true nature. They carry the power that not only brings positive transformation, but also shields us from destructive forces. Focusing on the good and realizing the positive aspects of every situation leads to harmony. Behaviors such as racism, gossip, criticism, intolerance, selfishness, disloyalty, bigotry, along with all of our vices and passions, actually break the natural laws. These attitudes run contrary to the very structure of our souls, the world and the Universe. They excite the elements and cause catastrophes, disease and trouble of all kinds. Air, fire, water, and earth cannot remain harmonious in the presence of anarchy producing energy. In other words, the elements mimic the states of human and these elements exist in the Universe, on the earth and within our physical bodies. Just by exhibiting negative behavior, we devastate humankind collectively and individually.

By developing love and appreciation for the Laws of Nature and cultivating within ourselves the Light to uphold them, we attract a multitude of blessings into our lives and purify our spiritual bodies. The divine plan of the Creator unravels itself and the multitude of illusions that kept us shackled to past error dissipate until finally, we are free to see a greater Light that would have otherwise blinded our unchaste eyes.

Kabbalah & Relationships
Unseen Forces Behind Relationships
How can Universal Kabbalah help humankind when it comes to relationships? Universal Kabbalah not only provides us with practical applications and meditations, it also reveals to us the science of planetary influences so that we may understand first our personal vibration, second our partner’s vibration, and third, the vibration of both people as a unit. In addition to primary planetary influences, there are planetary cycles that not only individuals go through, but that couples go through. Life on the physical plane is not always easy and the more knowledge you have about why you act in certain ways and why your partner may act in certain ways cultivates within you a reservoir of understanding and compassion about how to properly perceive yourself, your partner, and your relationship.

Attracting the Blessings of God
There are different ‘glues’ that hold relationships together. At the lowest level, relationships are comfortably sustained by physical intercourse. In the next level the relationship is held together by common interests, and at the third level both individuals have grown beyond both of these levels and need another element to move the relationship to the divine state—the level of soul mate.

This stage is ruled by the Law of Cohesion. Imagine two drops of water side by side; they form one drop. When the love between a woman and man centers upon spirituality, it attracts the blessings of God. This forms the relationship that can successfully overcome any challenge and survive indefinitely. Both partners receive love and healing energy from each other as all the aforementioned levels are merged into one. This kind of relationship is mental, spiritual and physical—what each of us strives to achieve.

In order to get to this state, the negative patterns of each individual must be positively identified and addressed. Universal Kabbalah lays out, via contemplation on our planetary influences, tendencies, and characteristics, the map that we need to guide ourselves and our relationships towards harmony. Once you have mastered the map, the path to success is yours forever.

Reprinted from Rootlight.com

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History

Origins of Judaic mysticism

According to the traditional understanding, Kabbalah dates from Eden.[35] 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,

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.

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 Rebbe Nachman of Breslov’s Hitbodedut translated as “being alone” or “isolating oneself”, or by a different term describing the actual, desired goal of the practice—prophecy.

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 and Ma’aseh B’reshit 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 in 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.

Mystic elements of the Torah

According to adherents of Kabbalah, its origin begins with secrets that God revealed to Adam. According to a rabbinic midrash^[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.

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.

Mystical doctrines in the Talmudic era

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. To highlight the danger, in one Jewish aggadic ("legendary") anecdote, four prominent rabbis of the Mishnaic period (first century CE) are said to have visited the Orchard (that is, Paradise, pardes.

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”. 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".[43] For further analysis, see The Four Who Entered Paradise.

Middle Ages

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“, or 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 thirteenth century onward, Kabbalah began to be widely disseminated and it branched out into an extensive literature. Historians in the nineteenth 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 thirteenth 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.

Early Modern era: Lurianic Kabbalah

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.

Ban against studying Kabbalah

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

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.”

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.” 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 Kabblah, has never seen PaRDeS, and speaks as an ignoramous.”

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

Sefardi and Mizrahi

The Kabbalah of the Sefardi (Portuguese or Spanish) and Mizrahi (African/Asian) 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.

Maharal

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 twentieth 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.

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 Sabbateans, 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.

Frankists

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.

1700s

The eighteenth 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.

Modern Era

Orthodox

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 kabbala as prerequisite for one’s humanity.

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).

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 in New York.

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