Kabbalah

This article is a work in progress and is not meant to be give a comprehensive understanding of this topic area.

First let us establish that Kabbalah is not a book.  Although there are many books on this topic, it is not a book in itself.  It is more of a field of study, similar to science, to understand the universe, the Creator, the plan of salvation, and our relationship to all of it and each other.

If you haven't spent the last 10yrs studying Torah, you probably shouldn't even be considering this area of study.
If you are thinking to yourself that you can handle it, your pretty smart, then you should probably not be considering this area of study.

Study in this field is rooted in Torah. If you have your New Testament memorized, but do not understand the importance of being a Torah observant person, the context of these teachings will be confusing and will not make sense.

I am not saying these things to be overly arrogant or pious, although I do recognize that it appears that way, but out of concern for your spiritual well being and your place in the Olam Haba (World to Come).

The ideas in Kabbalah, when taken out of their intended context, can lead a person to polytheism and a loss of faith. They can even be twisted into witchcraft - as is often the accusation by those who have not properly understood the subject. There are many leaders in the community today who insist that kabbalah is witchcraft. However, despite their personal experience, it is obvious that they did not understand something in their studies and in that lack of understanding were deceived. So in their experience, perhaps kabbalah was witchcraft due to the way they were applying it to their lives and their understanding of what they were studying.  However, it should not have been so.

Most people don't realize they are engaged in practical kabbalah in their regular practices. This last statement probably shocks you. Let me give some examples:

• When you rise in the morning and give thanks to Elohim for bringing you back from being so close to death and thank him for a new day.
• When you light the Sabbath candles on Friday night.
• When you eat Kosher foods and avoid non-foods that are presented as foods When you observer and keep the Sabbath and annual festivals
• When you perform or attempt to perform the commands of the Torah When you perform acts of chesed (mercy)
• When you perform acts of geveruah (judgement)
• When you pray for your friends and family
• When you pray for your enemies
• and more..

All of these are acts of practical kabbalah. They establish patterns of energy in the spiritual planes that tighten our bonds with Elohim and reflect back to us.   They establish your reward in the world to come as the scripture says:

Psalm 19:12 Moreover by them is Your servant warned; in keeping of them there is great reward.
Psalm 11:18 The wicked earns deceitful wages; but he that sows righteousness has a sure reward.
Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for persecuted they the prophets <which were before you>.

This is less a matter of salvation, but more a matter of where you will be and under what conditions you will be when salvation is manifest in the world to come.

Kabbalah in its basic functions help us to understand teh Creator of all things.  Because the Creator is beyond limits or boundries, the Creator is impossible for the human mind to envision.  In Hebrew this is referred to as Ein Sof, אין סוף.  Which means "no end".

The Zohar explains Ein Sof as:

Before He gave any shape to the world, before He produced any form, He was alone, without form and without resemblance to anything else. Who then can comprehend how He was before the Creation? Hence it is forbidden to lend Him any form or similitude, or even to call Him by His sacred name, or to indicate Him by a single letter or a single point. . . . But after He created the form of the Heavenly Man, He used him as a chariot wherein to descend, and He wishes to be called after His form, which is the sacred name 'YHWH'

Instead, we deal with the attributes of the creator that are made manifest to us within the reality that we perceive.  The attributes are actually listed in scripture in various places.  Within kabbalah these attributes are referred to as "Sephirot" Hebrew - סְפִירוֹת.

The sephiroth manifestations are espressed in three catagories:  Masculine, Feminine, and the balanced blending of the two.

A basic listing of the attributes follows - in no particular order:

• Keter/Daat - Crown/Knowledge
• Binah - Understanding
• Chokhmah - Wisdom
• Chesed - Mercy/Kindness
• Gevurah - Severity/Judgement
• Tiferet - Beauty
• Netzach - Eternity
• Hod - Splendor or Glory
• Yesod - Foundation
• Malkuth - Kingdom or Kingship

From here we will go into an explaination of each of the attributes and reference their place within the context of Scripture.  In this way the student can confirm that we are not just making this up or following after fables.