# what exactly is Kabbalah? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467 "2004-07-04T06:18:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/21 "2004-07-05T04:26:58Z")
Eva Luna: > [@](#): > > 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. Didn’t see this message of yours when I posted the above reply, sorry. The answer basically is that Orthodox Jews believe that G-d gave men and women different roles to play in the develpment of the Jewish nation, and that women are better suited to the job of maintaining the home than working outside it. Naturally, to the twenty-first-century American mind, raised on the idea that “separate but equal” is anathema, this comes across as sexist, but the concept is quite valid in Jewish theology…in fact, one might say it necessarily follows from the belief that G-d created everything with a purpose in mind. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/22 "2004-07-05T05:09:17Z")
> [@ricksummon](#): > > Is it true that Kabbalah teaches “magical” techniques such as how to manufacture the legendary Golem? Normally the tetragrammaton isn’t written down by observant Jews; does that apply to the English transliteration of it? Is it unacceptable to write Y… or is that only when you’re writing in Hebrew? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/23 "2004-07-05T12:27:47Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > Normally the tetragrammaton isn’t written down by observant Jews; does that apply to the English transliteration of it? Is it unacceptable to write Y… or is that only when you’re writing in Hebrew? Techncally, no - there is nothing holy about either English or the Latin alphabet, so you can basically use it to write whatever you want in it. However, to many religious (and less religious) Jews, reading and writing it down in any language makes them acutely uncomfortable by association, so they try to avoid it whenever they can. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/24 "2004-07-05T13:30:41Z")
> [@ricksummon](#): > > Is it true that Kabbalah teaches “magical” techniques such as how to manufacture the legendary Golem? [GO-GO! Golem Rangers! Click HERE for Do-It-Yourself Golems.](http://golem.plush.org/) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/25 "2004-07-05T14:14:12Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > 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 They’re probably using “recipes” like adding the number value of letters, and refering to some book for interpretation. As a divinatory method or somesuch… ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/26 "2004-07-05T14:19:07Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Eva Luna: > > Because when delving into deep mystical matters, minor mistakes and misunderstanding can lead to heresy or madness. Madness??? Are you sure you’re not mistaking Kabalah with the Necronomicon? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/27 "2004-07-05T14:36:53Z")
clairobscur: > [@](#): > > Madness??? Are you sure you’re not mistaking Kabalah with the Necronomicon? I assure you, I’m not. There’s a story in the Talmud that says that four great Rabbis went into a session to study the mysteries of the heavenly chariot (Ezekiel chapter 1…this is the root of much Kabalistic understanding of the heavenly spheres, and because it’s so heavily mystical, the standard Jewish Scriptural interpreters say very little on that section) and that of them, one died, one wemt mad, one became heretic, and one, the great Rabbi Akiva, emerged intact. The reason given is that none of the others had properly prepared themselves for interfacing with the divine. No doubt much of the lore of the Necronimicon and similar modern works of mysticism and faux mysticism owe much to Kabalah. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467/28 "2004-07-05T18:27:44Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Madness??? Are you sure you’re not mistaking Kabalah with the Necronomicon? Besides the story **CMKeller** mentioned, there are tales in which some one begs and pleads until the teacher tells them how to pronounce the true name of G-d, or eavesdrops on the teacher and learns it. They say the name, mispronounce it, and demons devour their soul. Many people have some understanding of Gemmatri, the numerology previously mentioned, or the tree of life (which shows up alot in the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion), or have heard about golems. But, as I understand it (which isn’t much since I have intentionally avoided study of the subject- if it doesn’t work, I’d just be wasting my time. If it does work, a man with with ADD and impulse control problems shouldn’t be messing around with it) these are just superficial things. As **CMKeller** said the true goal is to ‘interface with the divine’, to fully know and understand G-d. Being able to make golems or predict the future are just byproducts of that understanding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-kabbalah/253467.md?page=1)