The term "Kabbalah" has become a buzzword. May people talk about it, some try to study it. What is it at its essence?
I would suggest that the essence of Kabbalah is the study of relationships. At its root is the relationship between God and Creation and between God and Man. However it branches out into examining the relationship between various spiritual entities, between people and the spiritual world, between man and man, as well as between man and the world in which he lives.
The Hebrew root of the word Kabbalah is קבל. We also find this root used in the context of creating a relationship between two things. One example is found in Shemos 36:12 when the Torah discusses the weaving of tapestries with which to cover the Mishkan which are then to be connected with loops. קבילות to the loops on the opposite tapestry. A similar usage is found in many other places.
At the edge of each tapestry was a set of loops that were מ
Why was the study of Kabbalah traditionally discouraged for most people?
Think about relationships. Imagine if someone were to ask you why you love your spouse. Can you possibly give the essential answer? What will you say, that your spouse is beautiful? Oh, so beauty is love? Or they are are smart, or funny or any other adjective you could use. While each of these may be a significant element in your relationship and contribute to the love you feel, none of them are truly love. The essential truth of the relationship cannot be expressed in words. To whatever extent you can speak of it, you are missing the true essence.
This is why so many people misconstrue love. They are seeing the superficial trappings of love and mistaking them for love.
The same holds true for Kabbalah. All of the descriptions within Kabbalastic works are only able to explain certain aspects of the relationships described above, but at the end of the day, the essential relationship can never be explicitly defined. They are all sign points and frameworks to help direct us to discovering a relationship with God, but none of them actually describe the relationship. It is up to each individual to discover the relationship.
Some people have misconstrued the descriptions found within Kabbalistic works and understood them to be the essential elements rather than just symbols and parables to help reach the truth. At times this has led as far as idol worship, which takes spiritual concepts and assigns them physical attributes. It was felt that it was necessary for any student of Kabbalah to be well grounded in all areas of Torah thought so he not make any of these errors.
I would suggest that the essence of Kabbalah is the study of relationships. At its root is the relationship between God and Creation and between God and Man. However it branches out into examining the relationship between various spiritual entities, between people and the spiritual world, between man and man, as well as between man and the world in which he lives.
The Hebrew root of the word Kabbalah is קבל. We also find this root used in the context of creating a relationship between two things. One example is found in Shemos 36:12 when the Torah discusses the weaving of tapestries with which to cover the Mishkan which are then to be connected with loops. קבילות to the loops on the opposite tapestry. A similar usage is found in many other places.
Why was the study of Kabbalah traditionally discouraged for most people?
Think about relationships. Imagine if someone were to ask you why you love your spouse. Can you possibly give the essential answer? What will you say, that your spouse is beautiful? Oh, so beauty is love? Or they are are smart, or funny or any other adjective you could use. While each of these may be a significant element in your relationship and contribute to the love you feel, none of them are truly love. The essential truth of the relationship cannot be expressed in words. To whatever extent you can speak of it, you are missing the true essence.
This is why so many people misconstrue love. They are seeing the superficial trappings of love and mistaking them for love.
The same holds true for Kabbalah. All of the descriptions within Kabbalastic works are only able to explain certain aspects of the relationships described above, but at the end of the day, the essential relationship can never be explicitly defined. They are all sign points and frameworks to help direct us to discovering a relationship with God, but none of them actually describe the relationship. It is up to each individual to discover the relationship.
Some people have misconstrued the descriptions found within Kabbalistic works and understood them to be the essential elements rather than just symbols and parables to help reach the truth. At times this has led as far as idol worship, which takes spiritual concepts and assigns them physical attributes. It was felt that it was necessary for any student of Kabbalah to be well grounded in all areas of Torah thought so he not make any of these errors.
No comments:
Post a Comment