Kabbalah

Kabbalah or Qabalah (/kəˈbɑːlə, ˈkæbələ/ kə-BAH-lə, KAB-ə-lə; Hebrew: קַבָּלָה, romanized: Qabbālā, lit. 'reception, tradition')[1][lower-alpha 1] is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism.[2] A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal (מְקוּבָּל, Məqūbbāl, 'receiver').[2] The definition of Kabbalah varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it,[3] from its origin in medieval Judaism to its later adaptations in Western esotericism (Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah). Jewish Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God—the mysterious Ein Sof (אֵין סוֹף, "The Infinite")[4][5]—and the mortal, finite universe (God's creation).[2][4] It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism.[2][6]

Part of a series on
Kabbalah
Concepts Ein Sof Tzimtzum Ohr Ayin and Yesh Sefirot Four Worlds Seder hishtalshelut Tree of Life The path of the flaming sword Merkavah Jewish angelic hierarchy Shekhinah Partzufim Qliphoth Tohu and Tikun Sparks of holiness Messianic rectification Gilgul Kabbalistic astrology Gematria Notarikon Temurah Names of God in Judaism Shemhamphorasch Tzadik Tzadikim Nistarim Anthropomorphism in Kabbalah Panentheism
History Pre-Kabbalistic Jewish mysticism Tannaim Heichalot Sefer Yetzirah Chassidei Ashkenaz Medieval Bahir Toledano tradition Prophetic Kabbalah Zohar Kabbalistic commentaries on the Bible Mainstream displacement of rationalism with Kabbalah Renaissance Selective influence on Western thought Hermetic Qabalah Mysticism after Spanish expulsion Mystics of 16th-century Safed Cordoveran Kabbalah Lurianic Kabbalah Maharal's thought Popular Kabbalistic Mussar Early modern Baal Shem-Nistarim Sabbatean mystical heresies Emden–Eybeschutz controversy Immigration to the Land of Israel Traditional Oriental Kabbalists Beit El Synagogue Eastern European Judaism Hasidic Judaism / philosophy Lithuanian Jews Hasidic-Mitnagdic schism Modern Hasidic dynasties Mysticism in religious Zionism Academic interest in Jewish mysticism Non-Orthodox interest in Jewish mysticism English James Lees'
Practices Torah study Mystical exegesis Mitzvot Minhag Customary immersion in mikveh Meditation Kavanot Teshuvah Deveikut Prayer Nusach Tikkun Chatzot Tikkun Leil Shavuot Pilgrimage to Tzadik Pilgrimage to holy grave Lag BaOmer at Meron Asceticism Practical Kabbalah
People 100s Four Who Entered the Pardes Simeon bar Yochai 1100s Isaac the Blind Azriel 1200s Nahmanides Abraham Abulafia Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla Moses de Leon Menahem Recanati 1300s Bahya ben Asher 1400s 1500s Meir ibn Gabbai Joseph Karo Shlomo Alkabetz Moshe Alshich Moshe Cordovero Isaac Luria Chaim Vital Judah Loew ben Bezalel 1600s Isaiah Horowitz Abraham Azulai 1700s Chaim ibn Attar Baal Shem Tov Dov Ber of Mezeritch Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Shalom Sharabi Vilna Gaon Chaim Joseph David Azulai Nathan Adler Schneur Zalman of Liadi Chaim Volozhin 1800s Nachman of Breslov Ben Ish Chai Shlomo Eliyashiv 1900s Abraham Isaac Kook Yehuda Ashlag Baba Sali Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Role History Torah Tanakh Prophecy Ruach HaKodesh Pardes exegesis Talmudical hermeneutics Midrash Jewish commentaries on the Bible Oral Torah Eras of Rabbinic Judaism Generational descent in Halacha Generational ascent in Kabbalah Rabbinic literature Talmudic theology Halakha Aggadah Hakira Classic Mussar literature Ashkenazi Judaism Sephardi Judaism Modern Jewish philosophies Jewish studies Topics God in Judaism Divine transcendence Divine immanence Free will Divine providence Kabbalistic reasons for the 613 Mitzvot Jewish principles of faith Jewish eschatology Primary texts
v t e

Part of a series on
Judaism
Movements Orthodox Haredi Hasidic Modern Conservative Conservadox Reform Karaite Reconstructionist Renewal Humanistic Haymanot
Philosophy Principles of faith Kabbalah Messiah Ethics Chosenness God Names Musar movement
Texts Tanakh Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Ḥumash Siddur Piyutim Zohar Rabbinic Mishnah Talmud Midrash Tosefta
Law Mishneh Torah Tur Shulchan Aruch Mishnah Berurah Aruch HaShulchan Kashrut Tzniut Tzedakah Niddah Noahide laws
Holy cities/places Jerusalem Safed Hebron Tiberias Synagogue Beth midrash Mikveh Sukkah Chevra kadisha Holy Temple Tabernacle
Important figures Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses Aaron David Solomon Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah Rabbinic sages Chazal Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim
Religious roles Rabbi Rebbe Posek Hazzan Dayan Rosh yeshiva Mohel Kohen
Culture and education Brit Zeved habat Pidyon haben Bar and Bat Mitzvah Marriage Bereavement Yeshiva Kolel Cheder
Ritual objects Sefer Torah Tallit Tefillin Tzitzit Kippah Mezuzah Menorah Shofar Four species Etrog Lulav Hadass Arava Kittel Gartel
Prayers Shema (Sh'ma) Amidah Aleinu Kaddish Minyan Birkat Hamazon Shehecheyanu Hallel Havdalah Tachanun Kol Nidre Selichot (S'lichot)
Major holidays Rosh Hashana Yom Kippur Sukkot Pesach Shavuot Purim Hanukkah
Other religions Christianity Hinduism Islam Mormonism Samaritanism Abrahamic religions Judeo-Christian Pluralism
Related topics Jews Zionism Israel Criticism Antisemitism Anti-Judaism Holocaust theology Music Jesus Muhammad
Judaism portal
v t e

Part of a series on
Esotericism
Key concepts Western esotericism Eastern esotericism Mysticism Gnosis Correspondences Magic Astrology Alchemy Meditation Theosophy Theurgy Spiritual Hierarchy Hermeticism Kabbalah Occult Transcendental Unity of Religions Metaphysics Mystical theology
Esoteric rites Initiation Transmission Rites of passage Purification Divination Astral projection Invocation Evocation Visualization Egregore Propitiation Sacrifice Exorcism
Esoteric societies Sufi tariqas Philadelphian Society Freemasonry S.R.I.A. Élus Coëns Rosicrucians OTO Golden Dawn Thelemic Order
Notable figures Pythagoras Plato Hermes Trismegistus Dionysius Ibn Arabi Paracelsus Dee Böhme Lévi Blavatsky Waite Mathers Hall Crowley Gurdjieff Guénon Evola Schuon Steiner Jung
v t e

Jewish Kabbalists originally developed their own transmission of sacred texts within the realm of Jewish tradition[2][6] and often use classical Jewish scriptures to explain and demonstrate its mystical teachings. These teachings are held by Kabbalists to define the inner meaning of both the Hebrew Bible and traditional rabbinic literature and their formerly concealed transmitted dimension, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.[7]

Traditional practitioners believe its earliest origins pre-date world religions, forming the primordial blueprint for Creation's philosophies, religions, sciences, arts, and political systems.[8] Historically, Kabbalah emerged from earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th- to 13th-century Spain and Southern France,[2][6] and was reinterpreted during the Jewish mystical renaissance in 16th-century Ottoman Palestine.[2] The Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah, was composed in the late 13th century. Isaac Luria (16th century) is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah; Lurianic Kabbalah was popularised in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century onwards.[2] During the 20th century, academic interest in Kabbalistic texts led primarily by the Jewish historian Gershom Scholem has inspired the development of historical research on Kabbalah in the field of Judaic studies.[9][10]

Though innumerable glosses, marginalia, commentaries, precedent works, satellite texts and other minor works contribute to an understanding of the Kabbalah as an evolving tradition, the major texts in the main line of Jewish mysticism that inarguably fall under the heading 'Kabbalah' are the Bahir, Zohar, Pardes Rimonim, and Etz Chayim ('Ein Sof').[11] The early Hekhalot writings are acknowledged as ancestral to the sensibilities of Kabbalah[12][11] and the Sefer Yetzirah--a brief document of only few pages written centuries before the high and late medieval works, detailing an alphanumeric vision of cosmology--may be understood as a kind of prelude to the canon of Kabbalah.[11]