Kabbalah is a doctrine of esoteric knowledge
concerning God, God's creation of the universe and the laws of nature, and the path by which adult religious Jews can learn
these secrets.
Kabbalah stresses the reasons and understanding of the commandments
in the Torah, and the cause of events described in the Torah. Kabbalah includes the understanding of the spiritual sph
Kabbalah is a doctrine of esoteric knowledge
concerning God, God's creation of the universe and the laws of nature, and the path by which adult religious Jews can learn
these secrets.
Kabbalah stresses the reasons and understanding of the commandments
in the Torah, and the cause of events described in the Torah. Kabbalah includes the understanding of the spiritual spheres
of creation, and the ways by which God administers the existence of the universe.
According to Jewish tradition, this knowledge has come down as a
revelation to elect saints from a remote past, and preserved only by a privileged few. It is considered part of the Jewish
Oral Law, although this is not agreed upon by many medieval Talmudic scholars, as well as a minority of current Orthodox rabbis.
Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) teaches that God is neither matter nor
spirit. Rather God is the creator of both, but is himself neither. But if God is so different than his creation, how can there
be any interaction between the Creator and the created? This question prompted Kabbalists to envision two aspects of God,
(a) God himself, who in the end is unknowable, and (b) the revealed aspect of God who created the universe, preserves the
universe, and interacts with mankind. Kabbalists believe that these two aspects are not contradictory but complement one another.
See Divine simplicity; Tzimtzum.
Some Kabbalistic scholars, such as Moses ben Jacob Cordovero and
Schneur Zalman of Liadi (founder of Lubavitch (Chabad) Hasidism), hold that the first aspect of God is all that there really
exists; all else is completely nullified to God and therefore an illusion. Depending on how this is explained, such a view
can result in panentheism, or pantheism. However, most other Jews who believe in Kabbalah hold that there is an aspect of
God that is revealed to the world.
Kabbalists speak of the first aspect of God as Ein Sof (אין
סוף); this is translated as "the infinite", "endless", or "that which has no limits". In this view, nothing
can be said about this aspect of God. This aspect of God is impersonal.
Most forms of Kabbalah teach that the Sefirot are not distinct from
the Ein Sof, but are somehow within it in a potential manner. Kabbalists speak of the second aspect of God as being seen by
the universe as ten emanations from God; these emanations are called sefirot. See also Kabbalistic use of the Tetragrammaton.
The sefirot mediate the interaction of the ultimate unknowable God
with the physical and spiritual world. Some explain the sefirot as stages of the creative process whereby God, from His own
infinite being, created the progression of realms which culminated in our finite and physical universe. Others suggest that
the sefirot may be thought of as analogous to the fundamental laws of physics. Just as gravity, electro-magnetism, the strong
nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force allow for interactions between matter and energy, the ten sefirot allow for interaction
between God and the universe.
A Greek Orthodox theological view
The Kabbalah's idea of emanations
can be compared to the distinction made by fourteenth-century Greek Orthodox theologian Gregory Palamas. Palamas drew a distinction
between God's essence and energies, affirming that God was unknowable in His essence, but knowable in His energies. Palamas
never enumerated God's energies, but described them as ways that God could act in the universe, and particularly on people,
from the light shining from the face of Moses after Moses descended Mt. Sinai, to the light surrounding Moses, Elijah and
Jesus on Mt. Tabor during the transfiguration of Jesus. For Palamas, God's energies were not some other thing separate from
God, but were God; however the idea of energies was kept distinct from the idea of the three persons of the Trinity.
eres of creation, and the ways by which God administers the existence of the universe.
According to Jewish tradition, this knowledge has come down as a
revelation to elect saints from a remote past, and preserved only by a privileged few. It is considered part of the Jewish
Oral Law, although this is not agreed upon by many medieval Talmudic scholars, as well as a minority of current Orthodox rabbis.
Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) teaches that God is neither matter nor
spirit. Rather God is the creator of both, but is himself neither. But if God is so different than his creation, how can there
be any interaction between the Creator and the created? This question prompted Kabbalists to envision two aspects of God,
(a) God himself, who in the end is unknowable, and (b) the revealed aspect of God who created the universe, preserves the
universe, and interacts with mankind. Kabbalists believe that these two aspects are not contradictory but complement one another.
See Divine simplicity; Tzimtzum.
Some Kabbalistic scholars, such as Moses ben Jacob Cordovero and
Schneur Zalman of Liadi (founder of Lubavitch (Chabad) Hasidism), hold that the first aspect of God is all that there really
exists; all else is completely nullified to God and therefore an illusion. Depending on how this is explained, such a view
can result in panentheism, or pantheism. However, most other Jews who believe in Kabbalah hold that there is an aspect of
God that is revealed to the world.
Kabbalists speak of the first aspect of God as Ein Sof (אין
סוף); this is translated as "the infinite", "endless", or "that which has no limits". In this view, nothing
can be said about this aspect of God. This aspect of God is impersonal.
Most forms of Kabbalah teach that the Sefirot are not distinct from
the Ein Sof, but are somehow within it in a potential manner. Kabbalists speak of the second aspect of God as being seen by
the universe as ten emanations from God; these emanations are called sefirot. See also Kabbalistic use of the Tetragrammaton.
The sefirot mediate the interaction of the ultimate unknowable God
with the physical and spiritual world. Some explain the sefirot as stages of the creative process whereby God, from His own
infinite being, created the progression of realms which culminated in our finite and physical universe. Others suggest that
the sefirot may be thought of as analogous to the fundamental laws of physics. Just as gravity, electro-magnetism, the strong
nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force allow for interactions between matter and energy, the ten sefirot allow for interaction
between God and the universe.
A Greek Orthodox theological view
The Kabbalah's idea of
emanations can be compared to the distinction made by fourteenth-century Greek Orthodox theologian Gregory Palamas. Palamas
drew a distinction between God's essence and energies, affirming that God was unknowable in His essence, but knowable in His
energies. Palamas never enumerated God's energies, but described them as ways that God could act in the universe, and particularly
on people, from the light shining from the face of Moses after Moses descended Mt. Sinai, to the light surrounding Moses,
Elijah and Jesus on Mt. Tabor during the transfiguration of Jesus. For Palamas, God's energies were not some other thing separate
from God, but were God; however the idea of energies was kept distinct from the idea of the three persons of the Trinity.
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