Children
of Abraham
Richard L. Shafer[1]
“Kabbalah
is a word meaning ‘tradition,’” writes Leonora Leet. According to her, the ancient Hebraic
priesthood used ‘kabbalah’ to pass down the link between “…cosmic creation
[and] its goal in human transformation and the sacred science that could
demonstrate this purpose...”[2] This so-called sacred science focused on
geometry, sound and number, to show the unity
of the finite with the infinite. Leet
contends that she can show how these three areas underlie the creation account
in Genesis 1.
I am less interested in Leet’s academic
endeavors to prove her thesis than in her allusion to the unity of all creation. Last
month, I reported: “….Sufis see the unity of God in everything and everyone.[3] Others who aren’t Sufis do too. This month, we’ll glance at Kabbalah and the
world of Jewish mysticism.
“The basic teaching of mystics, dressed in
the garb of many traditions, is essentially this simple message: There is only One. All multiplicity of beings and their sense of
separateness or distance from one another are either illusion or represent a
less than ultimate truth.”[4] Green describes a world which is all GOD, and
we are a part of it. He writes, “In
order to discover God – or the real meaning or the essential Oneness of Being, we need to turn inward, to look more
deeply at ourselves and the world around us.”
“Like all spiritual traditions, Kabbalah
cannot really be taught; it must be experienced,” according to Perle Besserman.[5] Because of perceived threats in times past,
Jews who practiced this mysticism kept their practice secret; and only last
century has it become open enough for others to see and understand it.
As do Christians and Muslims, Kabbalists (Jews
who follow the mystical way) meditate:
“Meditating on the immanent God manifesting as self….is the key to the
practice of Kabbalah.”[6] One might concentrate on a bible verse, or on
a candle flame, flower, picture or place; or on sounds (chanting), smells,
tastes and body movements (dancing, for example). “Meditation is meant to transform us
from….ignorance to….wisdom, from….bondage to….freedom. Because Judaism does not derive from a
monastic tradition, it demands participation in the world.”[7]
Early on, Kabbalists “derived their visions
of the Throne of God from Ezekiel, chapters 1 and 10.”[8] (If it’s been a while for you, re-read those
chapters now, and think about them.)
Later, the Kabbalists arranged and re-arranged the Holy Name of God
(YHVH, or the Hebrew letters Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh); still later they focused on
liturgy and prayer, and in the 19th century, song and dance. Histories of Kabbalah are available in the
local public library, and from synagogues.
Jewish meditation goes back to about 400
BCE, but has historically been practiced only by the “elite.” Hence only they had access to the mystical
wisdom. Now the practice is becoming
more wide spread; more and more people are coming to believe that “there is
ultimately nothing except the Infinite One.”[9]
Copyright Richard L. Shafer 2005
[1] This is one
of a series of occasional columns in which the author, raised in the Christian
tradition, searches for common ground and common history among the teachings,
beliefs and practices of the Abrahamic faiths -- Islam, Christianity and Judaism
[2] Leet, Leonora, THE SECRET DOCTRINE OF THE
KABBALAH. Inner Traditions,
[3] Ahmed, Akbar S., ISLAM TODAY: A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO
THE MUSLIM WORLD. I.B. Tauris,
[4] Green, Arthur, EHLEH: A KABBALAH FOR TOMORROW. Jewish Lights Publishing,
[5] Besserman, Perle, THE SHAMBALA GUIDE TO KABBALAH AND
JEWISH MYSTICISM. Shambala,
[6] Ibid., p. 28
[7] MEDITATION FROM THE HEART OF JUDAISM, Avram Davis
Ed. Jewish Lights Publishing,
[8] Ibid., p. 2
[9] Ibid. P. 12