Theprimary texts ofKabbalah were allegedly once part of an ongoingoral tradition. The written texts are obscure and difficult for readers who are unfamiliar withJewish spirituality which assumes extensive knowledge of theTanakh (Hebrew Bible),Midrash (Jewishhermeneutic tradition) andhalakha (Jewish religious law).
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For kabbalists, ten utterances inGenesis with which God created the world are linked to the tensefirot—the divine structure of all being.[1] According to theZohar and theSefer ha-Yihud, the Torah is synonymous with God.[2] More specifically, in theSefer ha-Yihud, the letters in the Torah are the forms of God. The kabbalist looks beyond the literal aspects of the text, to find the hidden mystical meaning. The text not only offers traditions and ways of thinking, but it also reveals the reality of God.[1] One of the first Jewish philosophers,Philo of Alexandria (20BCE-40), said thatAbraham knew the essential Torah, before it was given, because Abraham was himself a philosopher: he observed the world around him and looked inside himself to discover the laws of nature. While this is not strictly speaking a mystical notion, it does introduce the idea of an inner Torah that underlies the written word. Much later, in the 19th century, theSfas Emes, aHasidicrebbe, made the assertion that it was actually Abraham's deeds that became Torah. The Torah is thus seen as an ongoing story played out through the lives of theNation of Israel.[1] The Torah is an important text because even the most minor traditions of the Kabbalah will acknowledge its aspects of the divine.[2]
Jewish forms ofesotericism existed over 2,000 years ago.Ben Sira warns against it, saying: "You shall have no business with secret things".[3] Nonetheless, mystical studies were undertaken and resulted in mystical literature. The first to appear within Judaism was theApocalyptic literature of the second and first pre-Christian centuries and which contained elements that carried over to later Kabbalah. According toJosephus, such writings were in the possession of theEssenes and were jealously guarded by them against disclosure, for which they claimed a certain antiquity (seePhilo,De Vita Contemplativa, iii., andHippolytus,Refutation of all Heresies, ix. 27).
That books containing secret lore were kept hidden away by (or for) the "enlightened" is stated in2 Esdras xiv. 45–46, where Pseudo-Ezra is told to publish the twenty-four books of the canon openly that the worthy and the unworthy may alike read, but to keep the seventy other books hidden in order to "deliver them only to such as be wise" (compareDan. xii. 10); for in them are the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge.
Instructive for the study of the development of Jewish mysticism is theBook ofJubilees written around the time ofJohn Hyrcanus. It refers to mysterious writings of Jared, Cain, and Noah, and presents Abraham as the renewer, and Levi as the permanent guardian, of these ancient writings. It offers acosmogony based upon the twenty-two letters of theHebrew alphabet, connected with Jewish chronology and Messianology, while at the same time insisting upon the heptad (7) as the holy number, rather than upon the decadic (10) system adopted by the later haggadists and observable in theSefer Yetzirah. The Pythagorean idea of the creative powers of numbers and letters was shared withSefer Yetzirah and was known in the time of theMishnah before 200 CE.
Early elements of Jewishmysticism can be found in the non-Biblical texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, such as theSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Some parts of theTalmud and theMidrash also focus on the esoteric and mystical, particularlyHagigah 12b-14b. Many esoteric texts, among themHekalot Rabbati,Sefer HaKana,Sefer P'liyah,Midrash Otiyot d'Rabbi Akiva, theBahir, and theZohar, claim to be from theTannaitic era (10-220 CE), but all of these works, with the exception ofHekhalot, were actually composed 800-1,000 years later.
Kabbalists attributeSefer Yetzirah to the patriarchAbraham, though the text itself offers no claim as to authorship and modern scholars consider it medieval. This book, which is noted for its early use of the word "sefirot", became the object of systematic study by medieval mystics.[4]: 216–217
Hekhalot literature (Hekhalot, "Palaces") are not a single text. Rather, they are a genre of writings with shared characteristics. These texts focus primarily either on how to achieve a heavenly ascent through theHekhalot and what to expect there, or on drawing down angelic spirits to interact and help the adept. There are several larger documents of the hekhalot, such asHekhalot Rabbati, in which six of the seven palaces of God are described,Hekhalot Zutarti,Shi'ur Qomah and sixth-century3 Enoch, as well as hundreds of small documents, many little more than fragments.
Sefer Yetzirah (סֵפֶר יְצִירָה) ("Book of Creation"), also known asHilkhot Yetzira ("Laws of Creation"), is a primary source of Kabbalistic teaching. The first commentaries on this small book were written in the 10th century, a book by the title is mentioned in theTalmud, and its linguistic organization of the Hebrew alphabet could be from as early as the 2nd century. Its historical origins remain obscure, although Kabbalists believe that it was authored byAbraham and edited byRabbi Akiva. It exists today in a number of editions, up to 2,500 words long (about the size of a pamphlet). It organizes the cosmos into "32 paths of wisdom", comprising "10 sefirot" (numbers, not theSefirot of later Kabbalah) and "22 letters" of the Hebrew alphabet. It uses this structure to organize cosmic phenomena ranging from the seasons of the calendar to the emotions of the intellect, and is essentially an index of cosmic correspondences.[5]
Bahir (בהיר) ("Illumination"), also known asMidrash of RabbiNehunya ben HaKana - a book of special interest to students of Kabbalah because it serves as a kind of epitome that surveys the essential concepts of the subsequent literature of Kabbalah. It is about 12,000 words (about the size of a magazine). Despite its name "Illumination", it is notoriously cryptic and difficult to understand (but not impossible). Much of it is written in parables, one after the other. TheBahir opens with a quote attributed to Nehunya ben HaKana, a Talmudic sage of the 1st century, and the rest of the book is an unfolding discussion about the quote. Jewish tradition considers the whole book to be written in the spirit of Nehunya (or even literally written by him). It was first mentioned inProvence in 1176. Historians suspectIsaac the Blind wrote the book at this time, probably incorporating some pre-existing traditions.[6]
Sefer Raziel HaMalakh (ספר רזיאל המלאך, "Book ofRaziel the Angel") is a collection of esoteric writings, probably compiled and edited by the same hand, but originally not the work of one author.
Leopold Zunz ("G. V." 2d ed., p. 176) distinguishes three main parts: (1) the Book Ha-Malbush; (2) the Great Raziel; (3) the Book of Secrets, or the Book of Noah. These three parts are still distinguishable—2b–7a, 7b–33b, 34a and b. After these follow two shorter parts entitled "Creation" and "Shi'ur Ḳomah," and after 41a come formulas for amulets and incantations.[7]
Sefer haḤesheq (Hebrew:ספר החשק "Book of Delight"), a kabbalistic treatise dealing with the Divine names and their efficacy in mystical practices. Passed down byAbraham Abulafia, the information distinguishes between the various methods of kabbalistic transmission to later generations. Abulafia opposes the method he received to the Talmudic and theosophical Sefirotic methods.
In order to understand my intention regarding [the meaning of] Qolot [voices] I shall hand down to you the known Qabbalot, some of them having been received from mouth to mouth from the sages of [our] generation, and others that I have received from the books named Sifrei Qabbalah composed by the ancient sages, the Kabbalists, blessed be their memory, concerning the wondrous topics; and other [traditions) bestowed on me by God, blessed be He, which came to me from ThY in the form of the Daughter of the Voice, [Bat Qol],these being the higher Qabbalot.[8]
Zohar (זהר) ("Splendor") – the most important text of Kabbalah, which mainstream Judaism believes has achieved canonical status as part of the Oral Torah. Although kabbalists attribute it toSimeon ben Yohai, modern academics have speculated that its origin may be the medieval era,c. 1285 CE, and was at least largely composed byMoses de Leon. De Leon himself denied this claim, as recorded by Issac of Acco's investigation, recorded in Sefer Yuchasin.[9] It is a mystical commentary on the Torah, written in an artificial[10] mixture of theBabylonian Aramaic dialects[11][12][13][14] inTargum Onkelos[12][13][14] and the Talmud.[11][12][13][14]
Pardes Rimonim (inHebrew: פרדס רימונים) (Garden of Pomegranates) – the magnum opus ofMoshe Cordovero (1522–1570), published in the 16th century. It is the main source of Cordoverian Kabbalah, a comprehensive interpretation of the Zohar and a friendly rival of the Lurianic interpretation.
Etz Hayim (in Hebrew: עץ חיים) ("Tree [of] Life") is a text of the teachings ofIsaac Luria collected by his discipleChaim Vital. It is the primary interpretation and synthesis ofLurianic Kabbalah. It was first published inSafed in the 16th century. It consists of the primary introduction to the remainder of the Lurianic system.[15][16] TheShemona She'arim (eight gates): is the full Lurianic system as arranged by Shmuel Vital, the son of Haim Vital.Eitz Hayim is the only work published within Hayim Vital's lifetime, the rest of his writings were buried with him in an unedited form. Supposedly Shmuel Vital had a dream that he was to exhume his father's grave and remove certain writings leaving the others buried.[17][18] Shmuel Vital went on then to redact and publish the works as the Eight Gates which are then, at times subdivided into other works:[19][20]
Sephardi andMizrahi Kabbalists endeavor to study all eight gates.Etz Hayim is published standard in a single volume three part arrangement, the initial two parts published by Haim Vital, with a third part,Nahar Shalom by RabbiShalom Sharabi, being now considered the third part.Ashkenazi Kabbalists often tend to focus only on Eitz Haim, with explanations of the RaMHaL (RabbiMoshe Haim Luzzato).[21] However this is not always the case. There are Yeshivot such asShaar Shmayim that deal with the works of Haim Vital in their entirety.[22]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
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