Yeah, I know. But you didn’t have to do it.
Sometimes just being nice is ok.
Whatever Smapti is or isn’t, I don’t know.
Just don’t read his updates. Ignore him, if that’s too hard. He not on the board much, shouldn’t be a problem.
You can’t fight every battle. You got She-ra Barbie to buy 
Here’s an example of a Christian tradition being appropriated by another culture:
Can’t say it bothers me, but I’m not religious.
I understand @DocCathode feels differently about this. What I do not understand is why he cares how strictly someone follows the rules of a made up ritual that seems to be more ‘inspired by’ Judaism than actually part of it.
And? My ancestral culture (such as I have one) would be German-American, and that was outright erased right down to changing street signs and personal names. The only reason nobody does anything like that is because it’s not even really remembered that it ever existed.
Mind, I don’t personally care but that’s because it was so thoroughly erased that basically no one has any emotional connection to it anymore.
I assumed he’s going through an existential crisis because of his health situation, and somehow he latched on to this in his search for a greater meaning in life
It’s the same principle. Practicing a religion similar to another’s is not disrespectful except in the eyes of fanatics disrespectful to all other religions, often including their own. Is making money from this? Is he publicly decrying someone else’s religion?
Emotional damage! Wow!
Instead of Kabbalah, I suggest we all engage in something we can all find both spiritually and physically uplifting. How about Yoga?
Against my better judgment I’m going to respond to this thread once and leave it at that, because I don’t want to get dragged into an argument that’s going to make me mad.
I feel like a lot of the objections arising here would have been avoided if I had said in my OP that I was doing an “occult” ritual instead of a “Kaballah” ritual. The Abramelin operation may have some roots in Kaballah and it bears some resemblance to an esoteric practice from the Talmudic era, but it is NOT an explicitly Jewish rite. As written, it is intended that it can be performed by anyone who is monotheist, whether they be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or even “pagan”. Abraham von Worms and Abramelin were probably not real people and the evidence suggests that the Book of Abramelin was probably written by a Christian occultist along the lines of John Dee. (The book’s Bible quotes cite the Latin Vulgate, for example.) I know of no modern Jewish sect where it is routinely practiced and in its modern practice it’s more closely associated with Aleister Crowley than any historical Jewish personage. I do not claim to be performing an authentic Jewish rite and I certainly don’t claim that I’m “improving” it. The process does involve studying Jewish texts and I’ve learned a lot from that, to the point where I am possibly considering joining a Reconstructionist synagogue and pursuing conversion after I complete the process, but that’s kind of a side benefit.
I don’t expect to gain magical powers or unlock a personal connection to God by doing this. I’m doing this because I believe the challenge will be good for my psyche and because I’ve read about the positive impact it’s had on other people who’ve carried it out, and because disconnecting from the outside world (to the extent that one can do so when one has to work for a living) feels healthy for the soul considering how messed up the world is right now. All I really want out of this is a better understanding of myself and to develop myself spiritually, and so far I believe it’s working. I chose to post about it here because I didn’t want people to think I’d suddenly disappeared because my health had gone south or I’d done something to harm myself or get myself in trouble with the law.
I hope that helps explain myself. I won’t be posting in this thread again.
A very large part of what he is doing wrong is not understanding basic Kabbalah. Kabbalah is based on a few basic things-
There is no God but the God of Abraham.
God gave the entirety of the Torah (even the parts that hadn’t happened yet) to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Hebrew is sacred and mystically potent in a way no other language is.
The Hebrew letters of the Torah (again the same as when given to Moses on Moun Sinia) reveal great mystical secrets and great power.
Rituals from the Kabbalah require emotional control, mental focus, fluency in Hebrew, and years of studying Talmud. They must be done exactly and with surgical precision.
If you believe you can change the rules or the ritual, you haven’t studied at all.
If you change from Hebrew to any other language, everything you do is worthless.
I did have do it. As I have repeatedly explained, I consider it wrong and disrespectful. There are a lot of things I consider wrong. Most of them are no longer allowed on the SDMB.
Except that is isn’t just him. In the thread, a few posters said I was the one being a jerk. Sure, it was cultural appropriation. But, we were having a good time!
The SDMB is very miuch one of my havens. The opinions and wellbeing of most of the Dopers matter very much to me. There are things I have to just put up with in my life. That should not be the case here.
That is true. I created an account today and am ready to log in and place my order at 9 am on the 18th!
Again, the word Kabbalah appears in the title of the thread. The fifteenth century book that the ritual is from claims it is ancient Jewish ritual.
Quite possibly. Again, though you have said you won’t be posting in this thread again. why did you choose this particular ritual? Why not a ritual from another religion or a secular practice?
This is my feeling. Is he culturally appropriating my traditions? Yes. Am I going to lose sleep over it? Not a lick.
You are asking him questions when he said he wasnt going to post again.
You seem to demand people cater to what you feel is proper or improper.
Is it really cultural appropriation that is being objected to, or is it blasphemy? (Maybe “heresy” is a better word.)
Quoted form the THINKING thread.
Wait, what? Is this what you meant to say, or is something missing? Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion.
Any time you deal with other people, you risk encountering things you just have to put up with. You’ve said your piece and you can’t change anything, so why spend more time on it?
I repeatedly asked that same question in the thread he started. He never answered. From the modnote, I do not believe I am allowed to ask in that thread again.
What exactly do you mean? I don’t recall anybody arguing that it was not cultural appropriation. There have been people arguing that cultural appropiation is not a big deal, or that it is never wrong or disrespectful at all.
Nah, it is cultural appropriation. IIRC Under Jewish law, only attempting to pronounce the ineffable name of God qualifies as blasphemy. Declaring you are the messiah is not blasphemy. You will just be asked to prove it.
That is what I meant to say. I should have clarified- this is according to Jewish law. Jewish law requires following 613 commandments. Jewish law does not require learning Kabbalah or performing its rituals ever.
Because, a few people are saying cultural appropriation is just fine.
Also, because I am the man of La Mancha and my dream is impossible.
Cultural appropriation is a nonsense term that immediately undercuts any argument that uses it. All cultures appropriate and assimilate aspects of other cultures. Every culture is already an amalgam of other cultures. Every religion is similarly a mixture of cultural traditions and new practices designed to stand out. Blasphemy is also a nonsense term that should never be applied to outsiders.
None of this is saying that particular examples cannot be on a scale from unseemly to insulting to outright hate. Cultures as well as individuals form opinions on what is acceptable and what is not, even though these are not necessarily consistent or coherent or sensible.
Since snapti claimed - I have no knowledge with what veracity - that his ritual is not even taken from a Jewish ritual but follows a different set of precepts, the accusation of cultural appropriation is even less, um, appropriate. I didn’t read the other thread; maybe he misrepresented himself there. Still, it’s a bracing reminder that the act of calling anything cultural appropriation is full of dangers in itself and maybe leads to worse consequences than the original deed.
Yeah, Alastair Crowley. Personally I could never get past the coprophagy
Obviously, I disagree.
Yeah, he did say that in his post in this thread.
The word Kabbalah appears in the title of his thread. Here he says “Kabbalah-based” and “a ritual apparently derived from early post-Temple-era Jewish mysticism”.
OK, that makes more sense. I’m a bit sensitive because I’ve several times gotten the attempted guilt trip from one of the more proselytizing sects of Judaism when I declined being on-call for a minyan. Besides, I just saw how disappointed you were when I told you that no, it was my Mom’s brother who was the last Kohen in my extended family.
As for obeying all the laws, my cousin the Rabbi is so reformed he has declared his favorite food is Chinese restaurant style pork spare ribs. (They were being served at whatever the rehearsal dinner equivalent is for a bar mitzvah.)
I agree with Smapti that he probably shouldn’t have used the word “Kabbalah”, and that what he’s doing isn’t, and doesn’t claim to be, Jewish enough to count as cultural appropriation. We didn’t invent prayer, meditation, or fasting. And if the result of this exposure to quasi-Jewish mysticism is that he’s considering converting, nu, who’s to complain? (still missing the smiley with peyes)
I disagree with “and doesn’t claim to be”. Again