See… i first heard about it when it was referenced in a number of rap songs. I looked it up some, but was only able to find very vague descriptions of it as an esoteric type of Jewish mysticism. But then i hear that Madonna and Britney Spears practice it… which totally threw me off. So what is it?
Kabbala is a form of Jewish mysticism, and is still legitimately practiced. However, the New Age people have taken it, the same way they’ve done with Sufi, and that’s what Madonna, Brittany, et al, are doing.
IANAR, but as I understand it Kabbalah is the study of Jewish scripture to discover the hidden meanings that are encoded within. The idea is that the surface meaning that can be understood by anyone who reads the text is only a cover for the real meaning that requires years of study to find. Of course nowadays there’s Kabbalah Lite, where someone else does the studying and passes on the nuggets of wisdom to a celebrity.
How the heck can they practise Kabbalah when they know nothing of Judaism in the first place??? They’re only fooling themselves thinking they’re practising Kabbalah! They don’t even know what they’re talking about!!! - Jinx
Gee, ya think? 
From Leo Rosten, The Joys of Yiddish, pp. 60-61:
"Cabalism was a movement of profound mystical faith fused to, and steped in, the superstitions and occult preoccupations of pre-Middle Ages. It was a minor but meaningful stream of thought and experience, a pious attempt to fathom the awesome, fearful mysteries of God and Creation. Originally, Cabalism meant the Oral Tradition; in the 12th century, Jewish mystics adopted the term, claiming an unbroken link between their ideas and those of ancient days.
Cabalists claimed that their revelation was part and parcel of Scripture. But cabalism’s divinations and abracadabra, its intricate numerology…remained in a shadowland until the eighth century A.D., when The Book of Formation appeared in Italy…
The cabalists held that reason alone could never penetrate the exalted mystical existence involved in their perception of God and His mysteries. Esoteric formulas, numerological acrobatics, theological mumbo jumbo went into the cabalists’efforts to apprehend God’s will. And many a cabalistic omen or prophecy excitedly hailed the imminent appearance of the Messiah and the Day of Judgment…
It is not hard to understand why such supernatural and mystical doctrines attracted so many Jews for so many years. Given the wretchedness, the poverty, the abiding terror under which Jews lived, many devout sould became convinced that they would be delivered from the terrible tribulations of the galut[exile from the Holy Land] only by the Messiah, who would[ come down to earth to usher in the Day of Judgment. One may ask: What else except the miraculous was there to place hope in? Heaven is the poor man’s last hope - and reward."
Obviously Leo Rosten is no Kabbalist, but the guy has a point with the last bit. And I’m sure quite a few bona fide Kabbalists would say that Madonna and Britney Spears are no Kabbalists, either.
(BTW I’m certainly no Judaic scholar, but I lovve this book - my dad gave it to me for my 12th birthday, and I probably learned more about Judaism fom it than from my useless years of Reform Sunday school. Hopefully someone more scholarly than I will be along shortly to give a more balanced explanation.)
The work “Kabalah” means “that which was received”; in this context, the meaning is “received Torah tradition.” In other words, the Kabalah is Jewish oral teaching that has been passed down from teacher to student through the generations.
As with all Jewish oral tradition (e.g., the more legalistic Talmud and the more narrative and parable-filled Midrash), the roots of its teachings are ultimately in the text of the Biblical (“Old” Testament) scriptures. The portion known as “Kabalah”, though, is more mystical in that it addresses the spiritual realities underlying all of creation, and its messages are more hidden in the scriptures than the messages derived in the Talmud and Midrash. Its teachings are supposed to be restricted only to one-on-one instruction (never in a class lecture setting), to married men over the age of 40 who are already accomplished in Talmudic knowledge.
Early books of Kabalah were very, very hard to understand and indeed could only be understood when taught in such a manner. This changed in the thirteenth century with the writing/re-discovery of the “Zohar”, a Midrashic book which incorporated much mystical teaching. The Zohar became the basis for most further Kabalistic writing and study, and in this era, certain Kabalistic concepts became incorporated into Judaic practice. These later writings are much more accessible, on a surface level, to non-scholars. The Hasidic movement made Kabalah even more mainstream.
As with many forms of religious mysticism, Kabalah has been co-opted by a “New Age” crowd looking for some level of spiritality divorced from the restraint in physical indulgence that has characterized mystical behavior throughout the ages. It does teach concepts gleaned from the true Kabalah, but omits those not suited to its audience, and, as such, is spiritually worthless.
I can understand why one would want to stick to those who already had a certain level of knowledge, but why the rest of the restrictions? Especially the one about “never in a class lecture setting”?
The thing about being 40 and married is because the study of Kabalah is supposed to be accompanied by physical self-restraint, and temptations against that are minimized when the practicioner can be assumed to be sexually satisfied.
The one-on-one is important because classroom teaching is always necessarily a compromise to the average student in the class…it runs the risk of those below the average level not understanding, and it runs the risk of not properly and fully teaching those who are above average. When dealing with such advanced spiritual secrets, it is best done according to the student’s level of comprehension, without compromising the material.
How do you know that they are not well versed in Judaism? Do you now what they do in their free time. These are two of the smartest people in the world. Have to you ever listened to meaning in the songs Ms. Spears co-wrote? Or listened to her in an interview? Please check out Ms. Spears’ website for more infomation on one the greatest minds of our time.
… not to be confused with Canabalism. Carry on… 
Zev Steinhardt
I’m guesing there are at least a few over-40, married guys out there wwho might take exception to that assumption. 
Why is this consideration more important for teaching Kabbalah than for teaching other material?
I note you don’t address the point about leaving out women.
Leo Rosten’s spelling, not mine. If you look under K, he cross-references to the spelling above. And besides, aren’t we essentially transliterating from the Hebrew alphabet anyway? Nobody ever agrees on transliteration systems.
Well, in Orthodox Judaism, women don’t really study Torah in general, let alone something as advanced as Kabbalah. It’s not really encouraged.
Huh. If Britney really understood the Kabbalah the way I do, she would pull her damn pants up.
:dubious:
::rereads::
:dubious:
See, now I have a hard time believing that she actually co-wrote anything. Plus, the lyrics have about the intellectual difficulty of Raffi.
Is it true that Kabbalah teaches “magical” techniques such as how to manufacture the legendary Golem?
Oh, I know, and it’s one of the things about Orthodox Judaism that really irks me. I was hoping for a somewhat more sophisticated explanation of why that’s the case.
Eva Luna:
Because when delving into deep mystical matters, minor mistakes and misunderstanding can lead to heresy or madness.
An unintentional omission, I assure you. Essentially, women are seldom taught Talmud at all, so they never reach the level of scholarship required for Kabalah.
ricksummon:
Yes, although such matters are more the province of the more ancient, obscure texts than of the Zohar and the Kabalah that is focused on its teachings (which is most of Kabalah today).