[ATB]

Kabbalah is a deep and rich mystical tradition that has been around for some time. The earliest written evidence of the tradition comes from Spain in the 14th century; however, many Kabbalists believe the history of their beliefs goes back much farther, and that they were transmitted orally for many centuries. There is some evidence to suggest that this may be at least patially true. For example, though it is not specifically mentioned in any ancient Jewish texts, there are many similarities between the beliefs of the Kabbalah and some of the mystical writings found in the library of the Qumran community (the 'Dead Sea Scrolls'). Also, there are many parallels between the Kabbalah and the various bodies of mystical teachings that originated from Ptolemaic Egypt during the time of the cosmopolitan Helenistic middle east. Compare, for example, the Kabbalistic 'Zohar' (written in 14th century spain) with the Hermetic 'Discourse on the Ogdoad and Ennead' (a Coptic text discovered with the Nag Hammadi cache, from Egypt early in the 1st millenium). It is likely that Jewish mysticism both contributed to and was affected by this period of religious and cultural synthesis; which is interesting, as the two threads of thought were to meet again in 15th century Italy and, combined, have a considerable impact on the Renaissance mindset. There are many facets to the Kabbalah - it consists of a great deal more than the Hebrew letter numerology alluded to by the previous responder (this particulat branch is known as Gematria). Some of these are closely tied to Hebrew language and Jewish culture, and others have been popular amongst Christian mystics and other non-Jewish parties long before the advent of the current holywood obsession.

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Name : ATB, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Hermeticist, Age : 30, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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