The Israeli writer and the journalist after long-term studying a cabbala in Yeshivas of Jerusalem and Bney-Brack has stated the basic concepts and directions of this doctrine in the book. In the appendix - translation of the book «Sefer Yetsira» which text is a source of all Jewish mystical doctrines. In the book it is told not only about the ancient doctrine, existed two thousand, or one thousand, or even two hundred years ago, but about the alive spiritual tradition which have reached up to now.
content
from the Editor
introduction
Guide to the world of Kabbalah
Travel first . From Kabbalah to Hasidism
Travel the second.
What is not . What is Sephiroth ?
Travel the third. four of the world
Travel fourth . Adam's soul . How Kabbalah
considers the human soul
Travel the fifth. Name - open and hidden .
The names of God in Kabbalah
Travel on the 6th . Apple Kabbalah. language
and associations in Kabbalah
Travel seventh. Gematria - numerical
Analysis of letters and words
Travel eighth place. For thought. Kavanot -
the most important part of the Kabbalah
Travel ninth. Spirituality Kabbalah .. Travel tenth. Kabbalah and Dreams
Travel eleventh . Taste Commandments - an explanation of practice Judaism in accordance with the principles of Kabbalah
Travel twelfth . Heads and tails . What is more important - the Creator or the Creation ? The Jewish New Year in Kabbalah
Travel thirteenth . days of Awe
Travel fourteenth . " Ambient light ". Or Pnimi and op Makif . Sukkot in Kabbalah
Travel fifteenth . Calculus Omer
Travel sixteenth . "Gold Table" .
Proper nutrition on Kabbalah
Travel seventeenth . Practical Kabbalah ... Travel eighteenth . Astrology and Kabbalah . Travel nineteenth .
Secrets of the Jewish month
Travel twentieth . "Gold Water" . cabala
and Alchemy
Travel twenty-first . Live forever. cabala
and longevity
Twenty-second journey . "The stones of Grace ."
Gems in Kabbalah
Travel twenty-third . The course of Jewish
angelology
Travel twenty- fourth . The course of Jewish
demonology
apps
Travel twenty-fifth . Sefer Yetzirah (" Book of Creation ") - the fundamental work of Kabbalah
Travel on the 26th . cabbalistic
Guide to the Temple of Jerusalem
Do not trip at all, and the story of Rabbi Joseph della Reina . black dog
Selected Bibliography
Jewish terms, concepts , anniversaries
and the personalities mentioned in the book
introduction
If someone promises you a simple book on Kabbalah - and know that it is cheating and profanity . The book is about the ancient Jewish teachings can not be easy . Nevertheless, we have made every effort to ensure that the book you now hold in your hands has become as clear even to an untrained reader.
For starters try to understand what Kabbalah - or rather, what we call the Kabbalah in this book (because of any term, as you know , there may be multiple values ... ) .
The word "Kabbalah " is derived from the Hebrew verb lekabel - "to receive ." The laws and traditions , not explicitly mentioned in the Written Torah , but nonetheless have become part of the Jewish tradition called Kabbalah le- Moshe mi- Sinai - " received by Moses on Mount Sinai ." Information that is not in Scripture , but are listed in the Talmud ( eg , biblical values measures the weight and volume ) , also called "Kabbalah ." By the way , in the Talmud, the word is often used in the sense of "tradition ." We are in this book will be the word " Kabbalah" is used in its modern sense - as a body of knowledge about the spiritual part of the world and the process of creation.
About the time when born Kabbalah , too, there are disputes . Many Orthodox Jews believe that Kabbalah has existed since the time of Adam - in fact , he received from the angel Raziel's book , which became a classic of Kabbalistic literature today (I have in mind the " Book of the angel Raziel ") ! A yeshiva of Shem and Eber , where he studied forefather Yaakov ? The Zohar says that Jacob was trained on three books - "The Book of the First Man," " Book of Creation " and "The Book of Enoch ." And Jacob is studied Kabbalah ...
At the same time, skeptics will tell you that the basic Kabbalistic treatises , including the book of Zohar appeared rather late - almost in the XIII century, the new chronology . Consequently, the Kabbalah - the invention of the later (by the standards of Jewish history , of course) since ...
Indeed, we have no original ancient texts on Kabbalah . "Book of Creation " is credited to Abraham (although some believe that its author was Rabbi Akiva ), and the earlier comment , which has come down to us, refers to the X century a new era ( he wrote Lombard Kabbalist , a physician and astrologer Shab - tai Donolo ) . " Book of Enoch " refers to the I century BC ... But is it not clear that the basis of these texts are probably more ancient ideas ? The more so because the concept of spiritual beings ( angels and demons ) and
countering them ( amulets and talismans ) are still among the ancient Sumerians !
Let's look deeper into the story. One of the fundamental texts of the Kabbalah - "The Vision of the Prophet Iehez - kielya ", otherwise referred to as the "Vision of the Chariot " - in the book of the prophet Iehezkielya attributable to the V-VI centuries BC , well, I did not before. In the text of the Torah angels - that is the essence of which is also engaged in Kabbalah - repeatedly mentioned.
At excavations in Gamla ( settlement in the north of Israel) were found two amulets , which are copper plates with embossed text on them . Age amulets - at least two thousand years ... However, the text of them is not much different from that of today rabbis Kabbalists give the people who came to them for help ! Moreover , since two thousand years ago, such amulets existed and were in demand , it follows that tradition has existed for some time before that ! And knowing the conservative Jewish people in matters of tradition, one can assume that in any way at least several centuries ! So , speaking of the Kabbalah , we are dealing with one of the most ancient layers of knowledge ...
Attempts to introduce the skeptics Zohar writing early Middle Ages seem rather baseless. According to Jewish tradition, the Zohar, written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai , who lived in the I-II centuries of the new era. The writing is is ( in simple terms ) Kabbalistic commentary on the Pentateuch - of course , with numerous digressions. Text huge - about 2,500 pages Zohar is written in the vernacular of the time - Aramaic. According to tradition, Rabbi Shimon wrote it for 12 years in a cave near Peki'in ( village in the north of Israel) , which was hidden from the Roman authorities.
In its structure resembles the Talmud Zohar . Usually begins the conversation with a discussion of some verses from the Torah , usually Rabbi Shimon says : «A f Amnun Saba talked about it ... That's the way And Rabbi Yochanan said That's ... And Rabbi Meir 's what happened ... " The text of the Zohar - a kind of stream of memories and reflection, in which the focus is not so simple.
Until about the XIII century , this book was considered lost until it was unveiled Spanish Kabbalist Moses de Leon. Create Zohar try to attribute to him , although I think it's unlikely. Work Rabbi Shimon easier by the fact that the text is in large part account for his memories of the sayings and deeds of famous rabbis - his teachers , colleagues , and sometimes students. If the Zohar was written by Moses de Leon , he would have the entire text invent " out of my head ." Rabbi Shimon wrote the text of the spoken Aramaic - the time of Moses de Leon Aramaic for nearly a thousand years was a dead language . In addition, Jewish literature in Aramaic ( with the exception of the Talmud ) is extremely low. That is, if indeed written Zohar Moshe de Leon - it must be recognized as one of the greatest miracles in Jewish history ( the bottom of a half thousand pages of " thick ", the text content in a dead language ) . I am inclined to believe that the Zohar was still written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai , eat , and those incongruities contained in it ( anachronisms mixed up place names , etc.) should rather be attributed to scribal errors .
And yet - where the ancient texts of Kabbalah ? I must admit that most likely they have not been preserved . Kabbalah - the first secret doctrine , Phys gaya Torah , and some texts for a long time, only learned by heart (I'm guessing that by this kind of text applies "Book of Creation "). Those texts that were written , existed in single units . Therefore, by the extant fragments of texts about anything you can not judge . Surely mystical texts existed before, at the time of the Second Temple , and probably even earlier , but a few sheets of papyrus and parchment were not preserved ...
When I began to study Kabbalah , we immediately decided that I will refer to it as an ancient tradition - of the oral teachings. Of course , I read the book, but gave preference to the lectures and lessons learned rabbis , Kabbalists . If I have a question - first of all I was asking its tradition bearers and then searched for the answer in the books.
Sometimes I give a direct explanation , often in response to telling a story or a Hasidic parable . Some of these stories are written in this book for the first time - you will not find them is not something that the Russian, but even in Hebrew. Some of the stories are in the collections of Hasidic stories in a slightly different form, but it was important to convey to you , my readers , the story exactly as I heard it .
What is described in this book , the story is not about the Kabbalah as it was two thousand, or a thousand, or even two years ago. This is the tradition as it has reached our days , as it is understood by modern people like you or me .
What you will not find in this book ? In the first place - the history of Kabbalah as teaching. It is perfect ( although , in my opinion, in the form of several controversial ) set forth in the Book of Gershom Scholem's " Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism ." This book exists in the Russian translation, and should not have to retell it in your own words . Small historical part is still present - I would like the readers to a little more familiar with the appearance of the teachings of Hasidism ( Hasidic today - basic, the most numerous media tradition of Kabbalah , though there are still Kabbalists Sephardic and Yemenite ) .
And yet, I hope you will not find in the book of moralizing (at least , I tried to avoid it ) . The debate about who can and who can not study Kabbalah , I think quite meaningless. Some believe that non-Jews can not study Kabbalah ? And what is seen in practice the implementation of such a ban ? In this still would like the readers to clearly aware : Kabbalah - part of the Jewish tradition, including the tradition of halachic ( legal ) , and consider it in isolation from the practice of Judaism is simply impossible .
Sometimes you have to hear the opinion (especially from the ultra-Orthodox " Lithuanian " direction) that can not be studied Kabbalah to people under the age of 40 years. The ban came in my opinion, in the Middle Ages, when few people lived to 60, and the fortieth anniversary of the mean onset of old age . If approached with such standards, but today is not necessary to take up to 50-60 years of Kabbalah ... Although , again, in my opinion , it is better to study Kabbalah at the age of 30 , when there is a certain view of the world , but it has nothing more than " ossified ".
Also, there is no consensus as to whether it is possible to study Kabbalah women. In ancient times there was no system of female education, and even there is no commandment " daughters learning Torah." However, in our time, when the majority of women have secondary or even tertiary education when studying Torah all Jewish women who observe the tradition , hardly anyone will speak out against the serious study of Kabbalah women.
For whom this book is written ? For all those who are seriously interested in such an important part of world traditions like Kabbalah . Regardless of sex , age and nationality ( I would not like to have anyone wishing to obtain my book , checked the passport , blood type and shape of the skull) .
Before I lead you to the beautiful and mysterious world of Kabbalah , I want to thank those who helped me . First, the editor of the book Menachem Yaglom - for the truly titanic work that he had to carry out in an attempt to make the text more perfect. Second, Rabbi Jacob Raphael, my teacher in Kabbalah - for everything. This is a real keeper of traditions , Sephardi Kabbalist . Today, there are few such people . Third, Rabbi Yehuda Kalfona , 's multi-volume work "The book of the Kabbalah and its mysteries ." Reading his books gave me the idea that you need to write a good book on Kabbalah for reading in Russian .
And it turned out I have - to judge you.
English
Russian
