What is the difference between kabbalah and kabbalah

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Virtual: Dorie Greenspan, "Baking with Dorie". Last Name. Email Format html text. However, Kabbalists also believe that true knowledge and understanding of that inner, mysterious process is obtainable, and through that knowledge, the greatest intimacy with God can be attained. The Zohar, a collection of written, mystical commentaries on the Torah, is considered to be the underpinning of Kabbalah.

Written in medieval Aramaic and medieval Hebrew, the Zohar is intended to guide Kabbalists in their spiritual journey, helping them attain the greater levels of connectedness with God that they desire. Kabbalistic thought often is considered Jewish mysticism. Its practitioners tend to view the Creator and the Creation as a continuum, rather than as discrete entities, and they desire to experience intimacy with God.

This desire is especially intense because of the powerful mystical sense of kinship that Kabbalists believe exists between God and humanity. Even mystics who refuse to describe such a fusion of God and man so boldly, still find the whole of Creation suffused in divinity, breaking down distinctions between God and the universe. It exists in each existent. There are three dimensions to almost all forms of Jewish mysticism, which are likely to be understood by only small numbers of people who possess specialized knowledge or interest in the topic:.

In Jewish tradition, there are three ways esoteric knowledge can be obtained:. The experiential dimension of Kabbalah involves the actual quest for mystical experience: a direct, intuitive, unmediated encounter with a close but concealed Deity. In their quest to encounter God, Jewish mystics live spiritually disciplined lives. Although neither formal nor informal monasticism is sanctioned by Jewish mysticism, experiential Kabbalists tend to be ascetics.

The practical dimension of Kabbalah involves rituals for gaining and exercising power to effect change in our world and in the celestial worlds beyond ours. The true master of this art fulfills the human potential to be a co-creator with God. Historians of Judaism identify many schools of Jewish esotericism across time, each with its own unique interests and beliefs. As noted above, Jewish mystics are not like monks or hermits.

Kabbalists tend to be part of social circles rather than lone seekers. From these mystical works, scholars have identified many distinctive mystical schools, including the Hechalot mystics, the German Pietists, the Zoharic Kabbalah, the ecstatic school of Abraham Abulafia, the teachings of Isaac Luria, and Chasidism.