| About the 10th century,
a book appeared in the Near East called “Sefer
Yezira” (Book of Formation). It is the first
major work of Kabbalistic tradition, ascribed to Abraham
the Patriarch. In it the “sefirot” are
described as “ten sefirot of bli-mah”
(nothingness) and along with the 22 letters of the
Hebrew alphabet are seen as the foundation of creation
described in this strange, terse book, reminiscent
of the Neo-Pythagoreans (number and letter mysticism).
Kabbalah reached its utmost heights in the late 1200’s
in the most famous and important Jewish mystical treatise
of all time, the “Sefer HaZohar” (Book
of Splendor) written by Moses de Leon of Guadalajara
(near Madrid). This work is attributed to Rabbi Simeon
Bar Yahai, a Talmudic Rabbi of the second century.
Not long after it appeared, it was clear that the
Zohar was to become the canonical work of Jewish mysticism:
indeed, it is referred to as “The Holy Zohar.”
The Zohar developed mythical tendencies within Judaism.
It is basically a mystical-poetic Midrash (meaning
interpretation) of the Torah, the Song of Songs, The
Book of Ruth and the Book of Lamentations. Essentially,
the Zohar concentrates on G-d’s life as made
up by the sefirot as reflected in the created world
and in relation to the fate of the Jew in this world,
as well as in the world of the souls. The book interprets
the biblical texts philosophically and allegorically
and stresses the “secret meaning” of every
word of the holy texts, and of all of the commandments.
In this way, as Gershom Scholem writes, “Inner
perception and the way to ‘communion’
(with G-d) are connected with the preservation of
the traditional framework.” Thus Jewish values
were retrained, while at the same time a very bold
speculative framework of the Divine Nature is put
forth.
The catastrophic expulsion of the Jews from Spain
in 1492 led to new turning points within Kabbalah
as it responded to this disaster by rushing towards
Messianism and the popularization of Kabbalah. About
40 years after the expulsion, a profound “renewal
of Kabbalah” took place with the foundation
of a center which was to exert the most powerful influence
on Jews throughout Europe, Asia and North Africa since
the Zohar (and by way of the Zohar, since all Kabbalah
since the Zohar is in some basic sense, a further
interpretation of the Zohar). This movement is known
as “Lurianic Kabbalah” after the name
of its most important personality, Rabbi Isaac Luria,
the “Ari” in the early 16th century. According
to Luria, the world came into being as the result
of a process of G-d “contracting” (tzimtzum)
and leaving space for the existence of something other
than himself. There was, however, a catastrophic explosion
of the vessels of Divine Light, involved in the process
of the flow of Divine Energy (light) which was part
of creation. Ultimately, “tikkun” or transformation
needed to take place, a process in which the spiritual
lights released with the shattering of the vessels
would be liberated from the effects of evil, “klippot.”
This tikkun was to take place not necessarily at one
time as a Messianic event, rather on the individual,
cosmic and Divine levels simultaneously since they
are interrelated. Clearly, this cosmology, theology,
and ideology grew directly out to the traumatic experience
of the Expulsion.
What all Kabbalists have in common is a belief in
what Scholem calls “The Torah as the mystical
name of G-d and the Torah as a living organism.”
In addition, there is a tradition of “Practical
Kabbalah” – mostly white magic. And there
is black magic as well, but this is condemned by many
Kabbalists themselves. However, the many amulets and
charms using Holy names for magical purposes show
that practical Kabbalah was and still is an important
aspect of Jewish mysticism. The practical aspects
of Kabbalah may explain some of the attraction to
Kabbalah today. The essence of Kabbalah has always
been the combination of the Practical and the Theoretical,
the latter maintaining special status and usually
practiced by a small elite engaged in mystical observance
of commandments, Torah study and traditional Jewish
prayer as aforementioned – by means of the Kavannot.
This is the essence of Kabbalah, in its struggle for
Tikkun of the individual, the cosmos and G-d himself
– something in which all of us can take part.
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