[Benjamin]

'Is Kabbalah a religion, a cult, or the new fad for celebrities?' No, yes, and yes. In the middle ages, Judaism, along with Christianity and Islam, all developed complex mystical traditions, based on preexisting ideas in each religion. These mystical formulations of religion sought to answer basic theological and cosmological questions: How did God create the world? Is the world part of God or separate? How can humans relate to God and see God in the world? What is our role in the world? Kabbalah, which is Hebrew for 'received [tradition]' is one such mystical tradition. In actuality, Kabbalah has many different variations. In the 1600s, Rabbi Yitzchok Luria developed a Kabbalistic theology/philosophy which became the dominant form. In essence, Lurianic Kabbalah describes the world as developing from a perfect unity with God. The universe 'shattered,' and various emanations of God (qualities) appeared in this imperfect world in different ways. It gets really confusing really fast. In essence, though, Luria proposed that traditional Jewish practice (kosher, keeping the Sabbath, honest business practice, and so forth) could redeem the world and move it closer to the unity with God it once had. In that sense, it is a part of mainstream Judaism as we know it today, though one which is considered too complex to be addressed to non-scholars. (In the same way that the average person has little interest or capacity to study Western philosophy in depth.) Zoom forward to the 1960s. The Age of Aquarius. Mystic crystal revelations. All that new age-y stuff. Americans and others sought quick-fix, feel-good spirituality, and many were obliged to offer it. The Kabbalah Center--that organization in the news with all the celebs--repackaged some of the Kabbalistic ideas with new age standards. The result is a new age cult/fad which has some of the trappings (and hence, some of the gravitas) of mainstream Judaism. By and large, though, it has no real connections to Judaism and its real mystical traditions.

User Detail :  

Name : Benjamin, Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : St. Louis, State : MO Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Author]

Posts