KWRBT,
The only contemporary Kabbalist Rabbi I read and listen to is Rabbi Bar Tzaddok who wrote a article called:
His website is
http://www.koshertorah.com How the Study of Halakha
Prepares One To Successfully
Study & Practice Kabbalah There are more people today studying Kabbalah than ever before.
At the same time there is less known about the Kabbalah than ever before.
Is there a relationship between the numbers and the ignorance?
Words of Contemplation
by Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok
Copyright © 1999 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved.
This is a topic well known amongst the practicing Kabbalists throughout the Torah
observant world, yet it is almost completely unknown outside of it. So many people have
jumped on the “Kabbalah bandwagon” recently.
Indeed Kabbalah has now become the religious “fad” of choice for the secular Israeli,
non-religious Jew and even a number of interested Gentiles. All of these different types
of people crave to learn the mysteries and secrets of the Torah. Yet, with all the
exposure that they have to what they have been told is Kabbalah, none of them have
even come close to the real thing.
None of them, and I mean NONE of them, even have a clue as to what real Kabbalah is
and wouldn’t recognize it even if it smacked one of them HARD right in the face.
Of course, there are very important spiritual reasons why this state of affairs is the way it
is. In all due respect, as wise King Solomon said, “there is nothing new under the sun”
(Kohelet 1:9). Even during the days of the First Temple, the number of dabblers in
Kabbalah was staggering. The results then were even worse than they are now.
It was these dangerous dabblings that led to the destruction of the Holy Temple, the
removal of the Divine Presence and the concealing of the holy Ark and Temple vessels
to this very day.
The dangerous dabblings in Kabbalah during the days of the First Temple is clear to
anyone who reads the section of the N’vi’im in the TaNaK (Bible). Then, in Biblical
times, Kabbalah wasn’t called Kabbalah. It had another name, it’s original and correct
name.
During First Temple times, Kabbalah, the study of Jewish metaphysics, was an integral
part of the training of the Biblical prophets. Kabbalah was a part of prophecy.
Our Sages teach that during First Temple times there were possibly over a million
students studying this prophetic-Kabbalistic material.1 Yet out of this vast, vast number
only a few dozen succeeded in becoming true prophets of HaShem.
Unfortunately, the number of false prophets and false prophecies were far more
numerous. It was these false Kabbalistic visions and teachings, coming from false
prophet-teachers that blinded the eyes of the nation and led them away from the true
path of repentance.
When this occurred the wrath of HaShem was sealed upon us. Thus, we see from
history that the study of false Kabbalah lulls its students into a sense of false security.
They begin to think that teshuva (repentance) is not of paramount importance as long as
they are studying Kabbalah.
At the same time this contamination & misalignment of the worlds arouses the wrath of
HaShem against these false teachers and their students. The result is devastating
punishment.
One cannot “play” with spiritual powers and expect not to be harmed by them when one
is not holy enough to interact with them correctly, as defined by Torah.
Let us explore why this is so. Indeed this state of false learning and false spiritual
practices is much worse than if nothing at all was studied or practiced. This requires an
explanation.
Prophecy is the study of how the human soul (and mind) broadens its horizons to
encompass and experience the reality of the Presence of G-d. In order for this lofty goal
to be achieved, many steps must be taken along the way. Each of these steps has to do
with the expansion of mental capacity and intellectual function.
Prophetic training educated its students and taught them how to think and how to clearly
recognize metaphysical reality from metaphysical falsehoods. This manner of training
was accomplished through the study of the physical laws, what we call today Jewish
Law, the Halakha.
It is taught throughout the TaNaK and all later Torah literature that there are two levels in
creation.3 We refer to these two as the physical and the spiritual. The two are integrally
connected. One “fits” over the other like a hand in a glove. The two dimensions interact
togther as body and soul. What occurs in the one affects the other.
The natural order of creation, therefore, is for both the physical and spiritual dimensions
to exist in complete harmony with one another. Yet, just as someone can abuse their
physical bodies and thus cause themselves both physical and spiritual harm, so too do
our physical actions in this world reverberate great help or harm in the spiritual plane.
Now, due to the fall of our father Adam collective mankind no longer has the ability to
consciously interact with the spiritual plane. We are, in essence, cut off from it.
If collective mankind was to remain cut off from its spiritual source and counterpart then
the physical world would no longer be able to survive. Mankind and our physical world
around us would disintegrate at the sub-atomic level. Nothing would be left. The world
would return to Tahu & Bohu as it was before creation.
The Holy One, blessed be He, in His great mercy, however, reestablished the link broken
by Adam. After his expulsion from Eden, Adam was given specific instructions as to how
to regain and maintain the spiritual world-physical world relationship. These instructions
were written down for him in a book that was delivered to him by HaShem’s faithful
messenger, Raziel HaMalakh.
Ten generations of mankind arose and only a small few followed the edicts as laid down
by father Adam. In the seventh generation from Adam, there arose a great and holy
soul, Hanokh Ben Yared. He lived 365 years and “was not” for G-d had taken him (ref.
Gen. 5:24).
Prior to Hanokh’s ascent into heaven, he also received a “book” which gave instructions
on Divine service.
These books of Adam and Hanokh were eventually passed down to Noah and from
Noah to his son Shem, eventually reaching our holy father Avraham. It was Avraham
was decided to speak out to the masses and instruct them in the ancient wisdom and to
restore their paths to HaShem.
Our Sages have taught that Avraham too wrote a book, some 400 chapters long,
explaining to the members of his generation the way of G-d and how to avoid idolatry.
All that we have left of this great work are five short and brief chapters that we today call
the “Sefer Yetzirah.”
This manual of knowledge was passed down to Avraham’s son Yitzhak and from Yitzhak
to Ya’aqob. Ya’aqob passed it onto his 12 sons, who, as we all know, went down into
Egypt.
The story of the exodus is well known to us all, as is the experience of our receiving the
Torah at Mt. Sinai. Yet, we must understand that the giving of the Torah at Sinai was
something G-d had planned from the very beginning of creation. Israel was the reason
for G-d’s originally creating the universe.
The role of Israel is to live the Torah and by doing so establishing the balance between
the physical and spiritual worlds. Adam, Hanokh, Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya’aqob, all
received instructions and guidance that were parts of the Torah, but Moshe Rabbeynu
received the whole package.
The Torah of Moshe would not only align the balance between the spiritual and physical
dimensions, it would enable mankind to cultivate the forces in the universe and to
harvest them, thereby making manifest all the best in creation.
As the Jewish people stood at Mt. Sinai the culmination of creation was at hand. The
entire universe had been waiting for this moment when Israel would receive the Torah
and, thereby, receive all the necessary instructions as to how best to operate creation.
The children of Israel had been prepared to recognize metaphysical reality and how best
to integrate it with the physical, thus completing the links in the chain of creation.
However, a “minor” problem arose. There were those members among the people who
didn’t achieve the spiritual insight to deal with an invisible universe and an abstract G-d.
While Moses was atop of Mt. Sinai receiving the Torah, this minority managed to
convince Aharon the Kohen to create for them a concrete form of abstract reality.
This might not sound like such a bad idea. After all, we all need assistance in perceiving
the invisible and concretizing the abstract. Well, G-d did not agree. Actually, G-d viewed
the sin of the Golden Calf as having nullified His purpose for creation.
Had it not been for the intercession of our teacher Moses, none of us would have ever
lived. Indeed, G-d had planned to scrap the world and start all over again. Moses
pleaded with G-d to give us another chance. So like with Adam before hand, G-d
forgave us and instructed Moses, giving him a book. This book, which we still read to
this day, is our holy Torah. Yet, the Kabbalists have taught us that the Torah we read
today is but a cloak and veil for the real concealed Torah.
The Torah that we read is multi-leveled. The Kabbalists instruct us that the Torah can be
compared to the layers of an onion. We see and interact with its surface. Yet, deep
beneath its surface lie layer upon layer of meanings and secret powers awaiting our
discovery.
The key to discovering the Torah’s latent powers lie within the recesses of the human
mind. As we cultivate and develop our individual human intelligence, we enable
ourselves to penetrate deeper and deeper into the Torah’s true depths.
Yet, alas for us humans, a species of lazy minds. If we would only invest the energy into
the cultivation of our deepest potentials, we would begin to see the wonders that G-d has
waiting for us. Thus, we were commanded to study the Torah by both day and by night.
The first thing that becomes apparent when studying the surface of the Torah is that
there appears to be many loose ends and unexplained things. In order to understand
the simple meaning of the Torah text one must delve deeper into the text in order to
discover its true meaning.
This requires of us effort, an effort of mind and an effort of time. This process of effort
and discovery is what we call “study.” Its purpose is to sharpen the mind, to enable it to
see the relationship between apparently unrelated things. Without this sharpening of
human intellectual abilities, the world will continue to remain a mystery to us and we will
remain as an enigma unto ourselves.
In order to penetrate into the depths of the Torah one must first peel away the surface
layers. This general rule is well understood and accepted. But who is willing to invest
the time and the mental effort to perform this great and heavy task? Only the holy Sages
rise up and accomplish this. They are the Rabbis who study the Torah, live it and
eventually are introduced to its secrets, which are the Kabbalah.
It is for this reason that one can never successfully study Kabbalah without first being an
expert in Halakha (Jewish Law). The Halakha is indeed the surface level of the Torah
referred to above. It is these very same levels that must be toiled over and peeled away
in order to get into the deeper layers. There are no shortcuts.Let me provide an example. One cannot one day have an I.Q. of 100 and then suddenly
jump to an I.Q. of 150 without going through the grades of 110, 120, 130 and 140. This
is simply the boundaries and limitations of nature. And indeed if one claims to have an
I.Q. of such a lofty number as 150, it would be rather apparent. It is evident by how one
talks, how one thinks and how one acts. In other words, it is not something that can be
faked. Either you have it or you don’t. It is the same thing with studying Torah, either
you have acquired the intellectual skills for deeper penetration or you haven’t. The ability
to study cannot be counterfeited. Either you have the brain for it or you don’t. If you do,
then you have the ability to penetrate into the depths of the Torah. If you don’t, then you
fool yourself if you believe otherwise.
This mistake of self-deception was what was so prevalent during First Temple times.
Many attempted to penetrate the surface layers of the Torah. Some tried extremely hard
and eventually succeeded. Others did not try hard enough. They slackened their efforts
and eventually deceived themselves into believing that they had accomplished
something that they did not. The true masters of Torah, the prophets, saw through these
charlatans and spoke out against them. Yet, human nature is as it is and deception rules
where there is a weak and lazy mind.
Rather than take the necessary steps, many chose to follow the path of the Golden Calf
and substituted surface for substance and delusion for discipline. This is what led to the
destruction of the holy First Temple. This is also why prophecy was removed from the
people at this time. If the prophetic schools had remained open, the scenario would
have quickly repeated itself and the result indeed would have been the destruction of the
world.
Prophecy and metaphysical Judaism, i.e., the Kabbalah were forced into hiding. If the
general public would not respect the holy path, they could not be allowed to walk it.
This can be compared to the use of a firearm. We live in a dangerous world and a
firearm is very useful and necessary. Yet, if one wishes to use it arbitrarily and not
simply for self-defense, then such a one is adding to the problem instead of helping to
solve it. So it is with metaphysical prophetic Torah, i.e. the Kabbalah. Unless one is
willing to learn it and use it correctly, one causes more harm than good. The masters of
the Torah system, therefore, have the obligation to protect the general Jewish public by
denying access to the holy powers to those who are not holy.
If this safeguard is violated, havoc is unleashed, upon mankind and upon the supernal
worlds.
Now, let us delve a little deeper into the secrets of the Kabbalah so as to understand
WHY this is all so.
The original sin of Adam, we remember, was his eating of the fruit from the Etz HaDa’at
Tov V’Ra (Tree of Knowledge, good and evil). By doing so, Adam descended into the
realm of good and evil. Prior to this, Adam existed harmoniously in Eden, the place that
is above evil.
As a result of the fall, Adam (collective mankind) became surrounded by good and evil
on all sides. Yet, this is no cause for alarm, for although evil surrounds us, it is still,
nonetheless, outside of us. We are not required to invite evil into our lives, thus harming
ourselves. There is, however, one minor problem.
When Adam partook of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, he was cast out of Eden
and not permitted to eat of the fruit of the Etz Haim (Tree of Life). This tree and its fruit
would have given Adam the instinctual ability to separate from evil.
In Eden, this was not needed because evil did not exist there. One is not prepared to
exit Eden, however, until one has tasted of the fruit of the Tree of Life. Now, collective
mankind has lost that opportunity. We exited Eden completely unprepared to face the
realities of what existed outside. That is why Adam was given his book from Raziel
HaMalakh.
Upon our descent into the physical realms, which the Torah refers to as “good and evil”
we are no longer equipped with sufficient spiritual knowledge to discern the difference
between good and evil. Thus we end up quite inadvertently inviting evil into our lives, all
the while believing it to be good. We find out only after it is too late and the damage to
ourselves is done.
In the realm of the sefirot, the Tree of Life refers to Hokhma, the sefirah of intuition and
spiritual, internal knowing. Hokhma provides us with an awareness of the invisible
worlds unseen and unable to be seen with the physical eye (or by any other means of
mere data gathering
The Tree of Knowledge refers to Binah; the sefirah of intellect where information is
received and processed from external sources through the five sensory organs. Binah
thus enables us to comprehend and interact with our external environment.
Thus, the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge limits our reception of information to the physical
plane, whereas the fruit of the Tree of Life connects one to the spiritual plane. It is this
level of connection that we lost upon our exile from Eden.
Mankind thus has an inherent handicap in his spiritual senses. Torah was given to us as
the means to rectify and overcome this. Yet, we must separate spiritual reality from
religious myth and explain just HOW the Torah operates to accomplish this task of tikkun
(rectification).
Indeed, the Torah is comprised of mitzvot, which are actions that we are to do and
actions that we are not to do. Even the books of Adam and Hanokh contained actions
and rituals of this nature. The mere performance of these mitzvot opens the channels
between the spiritual and physical worlds and enables Divine radiance to flow from
above to below. Thus, the performance of mitzvot provides for us the framework and
boundaries that safeguard us from the penetration of evil.
Nevertheless, we must do more than mere rote actions. These only open the channels
at the most basic of levels. We also must repair our initial blemish, which is the eating of
the fruit of the wrong Tree. As it was our knowledge that was blemished (from the Tree
of Knowledge) so must our knowledge (i.e., intellect) be repaired. Repair of knowledge
is defined as intellectual refinement. In other words, learning to be smart, very smart.
Tikun HaSekhel (rectifying the mind) requires of us humans to learn HOW to use our
minds.
Simple book learning and memorization is not enough for Tikun HaSekhel (rectifying the
mind). We are required to expand our thinking abilities and to comprehend all that we
study. If something comes along that we do not understand, we must make all efforts
possible to “break our skulls” in order to make sense out of the unclear and to make
order out of confusion.
Indeed the great Kabbalistic master, the Ari’zal would spend a great portion of his day
studying Talmud and other Torah legal texts. It is reported of him that he would break
out into a profuse sweat every day attempting to understand apparantly conflicting
Halakhic matters.
He would not stop his analysis of a Halakhic topic until he finally acheived full
comprenhension of the matter from beginning to end. The Ari’zal said that any difficulty
of understanding as well as any and all confusion have their source in the klipot (forces
of evil). Only by one pushing oneself to one’s intellectual limits and thereby discovering
the order in the chaos does one accomplish Tikun HaSekhel (rectifying the mind).
Indeed, in the introduction to his Sefer Etz Haim, Rabbi Haim Vital, the Ari’zal’s prime
disciple demands that any aspiring student of Kabbalah must first study Talmud and
Halakha for at least five years!When one’s mind has developed the necessary analytical skills to penetrate and resolve
all conflicts and apparent contradictions in the surface teachings of the Torah, only then
is one’s mind prepared to delve deeper beneath the Torah’s surface.
The study of Halakha exposes the human mind to a wide variety of real-life human
situations. Whether the examples come from the Talmud, the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of
Jewish Law) or other Torah sources, not all of them are clear and evident. Many times
Jewish Law is as confusing as is life itself. By one becoming a master of understanding
Jewish Law, one becomes a master of understanding life (i.e. the life we live here in the
physical world). Such a Torah Sage is called a “Hakham” (a wise man). For such a
Sage has mastered the skills of understanding Binah. His knowledge and perceptions of
physical reality are honed. He is now prepared to delve into metaphysical reality.As mentioned above the physical and spiritual dimensions lie on top of one another,
fitting over each other like a hand in glove. Once a Hakham has learned the mastery of
the Torah in this physical world, he is ready to encounter the Torah’s spiritual
counterpart. The Hakham applies all the lessons that he has learned from surface
Torah, coupled with his now fine tuned intellect and he is ready to grasp the invisible and
to see the unseen.
And how can he see the unseen? Because the Hakham knows the Halakha (ways) of
Torah! He knows its patterns, methods and laws, here in the physical world. All he need
now do is follow the same pattern of Halakha and of logic and the unseen spiritual Torah
will appear before his eyes.
But the secrets of the Torah will not appear before his physical eyes, they will only
appear to his inner eye, the spiritual “eye” that is now trained to perceive and understand
inner, intuitive Hokhma wisdom. Indeed a Sage is rightly called a Hakham (wise man).
For only a Hakham can approach Hokhma.
So, what becomes of one who attempts to delve into the depths of Torah by studying
Kabbalah before they have been properly prepared? Obviously, they become spiritually
lost. There is no other option or alternative.
Unless a person has learned to use his brain for himself, rectifying it through the study of
Torah and the observance of the mitzvot, no spiritual entity from the realm of Holiness
has the ability to make contact with him/her. Simply put, unless one has cultivated a
relationship with the Torah and the mitzvot here in this world, it is an impossible task to
connect with the Torah’s messengers who dwell in the spiritual realms. One simply
doesn’t have the mental faculty necessary to be able to connect with an Angel of
holiness. There can be no congruency of brain frequencies without the necessary
mental preparations and attunements to holiness.
Read the complete article at
http://koshertorah.com/PDF/Halakha%20Before%20Kabbalah.pdf
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