Kabbalah: religion and beliefs

¶ … Religion [...] Kabbalah and its origins, symbolism, and practice. Kabbalah has its origins in the Jewish faith, but today, it welcomes people of all faiths and cultures to study its principles. The study of Kabbalah is over 4,000 years old, but it is still practiced today, and it still exists roughly in the way it did 2,000 years ago.

Kabbalah's history goes back 4,000 years. The first written record of the practice is the Book of Formation, which is over 4,000 years old. It tries to make sense out of our lives and the universe. About 2,000 years ago, it was modified. The editors of a Kabbalah Web site note, "However, two thousand years ago, the main body of the teachings of Kabbalah, called the Zohar or the Book of Splendor, was revealed and manifested in Israel by mystic Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai" (Kabbalah.com). This Zohar literally translates the Jewish Torah (their Bible) chapter by chapter, explaining what the chapters mean and how they translate to people and the universe. Initially, the Zohar was written in the ancient language of Aramaic, and later translated into Hebrew. It was not until the 20th century that it was translated into English. "It was later brought to the public light in Spain by Rav Moses de Leon over seven hundred years ago, and further revealed through the Safed kabbalists and the Lurianic system of Kabbalah just over four hundred years ago" (Kabbalah.com). Today, the two groups still exist, and there are subtle differences between the two systems.

For many centuries, the only people that could study Kabbalah were Jewish scholars who were more than forty years old. Another writer notes, "There lived also Isaac Luria, the mystic philosopher who constructed a theosophic system based on the Kabbala. The Lurianic Kabbala invaded Poland in the seventeenth century; Polish rabbis and Kabbalists became its chief disseminators and interpreters" (Dawidowicz 9). This changed in 1968 when "Rav Berg (Rav is simply another way of saying Teacher) first became director of the Kabbalah Center. At that time, he and his wife insisted on opening the wisdom of Kabbalah to everyone, regardless of race, gender, or religious belief" (Kabbalah.com). It took time to change old habits, but today, the Center has twenty-five centers around the world, with over four million students. The Center defines Kabbalah this way. "The word Kabbalah means many different things to many different people. In a nutshell, it is an ancient wisdom that reveals how the universe and life work. On a literal level, the word Kabbalah means 'receiving.' it's the study of how to receive fulfillment in our lives" (Kaballah.com). That is why the study is now open to anyone who wants to learn more about improving their own lives.

There is much symbolism in Kabbalah. A major symbol is Israel. Another writer notes, "The redemption of the Shekhina in the Kabbala means, first and foremost, the redemption of Israel, its symbol" (Liebes 137). Another writer talks of the sexual symbolism in the work of the Zohar regarding Shekhina. She writes, "The Zohar is the first Jewish work to use explicitly sexual and familial imagery to describe God's relationship to the world. The imagery surrounding the Shekhinah is overtly sexual; she is called the bride of God and the bride of Israel" (Petry 118). The dragon symbol is also prevalent in the Kabbalah. Another writer states, "It is also the only constellation described in the oldest and one of the most diffused texts of the Kabbalah, the Sefer Yetzirah. The constellation of the Dragon is called the Teli, which is considered to be the Pole Serpent or the ?crooked serpent? Of Job" (De Leon-Jones 175). Along with many symbols, the Kabbalah urges other kinds of worship and tools to create a more positive life. Another important symbol is the red string. The editors of another Web site note, "The Red String is used for protection against the Evil Eye. The Evil Eye is a very powerful negative force. It refers to the unfriendly stares and unkind glances we sometimes get from people around us" (Kabbalah.com). Wearing a red string will help keep these evil eyes away, and the Web site even sells red string in its' online store.

Astrology is a key ingredient of Kabbalah, but not the traditional astrology we think of today. The Kabbalah zodiac is based on a different calendar, and the purpose of astrology is not to understand the different astrological signs and their meanings, but to take control over the negative aspects of the signs and create outcomes that are more positive. Dreams also play a large role in the Kabbalah. The Zohar believes that dreams allow people to get in touch with negative traits in their personality and make them better. Like Hindus, the Zohar teaches that people have many incarnations in this life, and they will come back many times before they get it "right" and ascend to nirvana or heaven.

The practice ultimately represents peace and harmony, and understanding the individual so they can understand the world around them. The Web site continues, "Kabbalah teaches universal principles that apply to all peoples of all faiths and all religions, regardless of ethnicity or where you come from. The beauty of studying Kabbalah is that you can't be forced to think in a particular way" (Kabbalah.com). Another Web site continues, "According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, reality consists of two forces, or qualities: the desire to receive and the desire to bestow, to give" (Kabbalah.info). Kabbalah teaches how to maintain healthy relationships with loved ones, children and friends, and it teaches spirituality on many levels. The Kabbalah teaches that the ultimate goal of anyone's life is to gain spiritual growth, no matter what spirituality you embrace. The editors continue, "The obstacles and challenges that appear in our lives are not really our 'enemies.' In fact, the difficulties we face were created to help us gain strength for the spiritual growth that is the true purpose of our lives" (Kabbalah.com). This spiritual growth continues throughout all the incarnations of life.