There is the true meaning of the word and then there is the made up translation.
- The word Kabbalah (קבלה) means in modern Hebrew reception (in hotels in Israel, the reception area is called Kabbalah). In the context of the study of Kabbalah or the knowledge of it, it means “that which has been received”. For most of history Kabbalah was transmitted orally, just like Jewish oral law prior to the Mishneh.
- There is the fake translation and meaning of the word that is made up by charlatans. Most people in modern society, especially non-Jews or those not raised in an Jewish observant household, will usually be told a made up version of Kabbalah because the scammer needs to sell them something that feels good.
Charlatans claim that Kabbalah can solve all problems in a persons life. If there was any system today that can do that, everyone would study and follow it. Life is complex and the personal life of a person is even more complex because as you try to help a person events might cause even more changes and hardships.
If you listened to the best feel good Kabbalah lecture right now, and then went to the the main books on Kabbalah (The Zohar, the works of the Ari HaKadoesh (AKA Arizal / Holy Ari) and other fundamental works) you will find that the lecture you listened to sounded great, but it has nothing to do with Kabbalah.
All the feel good stuff is wonderful but you can find that in most religions or new age systems or even some cults. Kabbalah is to amazing for you to allow your emotions to be overtaken by a scammer and start trying to implement things that will waste your time and just make you feel good temporarily.
If you know someone that talks about Kabbalah and they make you feel good, ask them to show you in any of the fundamental Kabbalah texts where it says anything they just said (directly). They won’t be able to. Let that sink in for a minute. You were made to feel good, you loved what you heard, you believed that it is Kabbalah that you heard, and all you got was nothing more than some feel good ideas you can find anywhere else.
This is not to say Kabbalah cannot transform someone’s life in astonishing ways extremely fast, it could, and has. However, the preaching about love and oneness is pretty, but we don’t need Kabbalah for that, we have the Torah. Our Torah is full of messages about loving one another, helping another etc. Do we need Kabbalah to tell us that? Really?
I came across so called Kabbalists talking about how if a couple studies Kabbalah they can solve marriage issues because Kabbalah teaches we are really one. How pretty, I am sure divorce lawyers are praying that more couples don’t discover this Kabbalistic secret. Again, if it feels good AND sounds like something you hear preaching in many religions or cults, it’s not Kabbalah, it’s a charlatan preying on your emotions.
I am setting this site up to discuss what Kabbalah teaches that is applicable for practical life. Much of Kabbalah is theoretical, my focus is practical kabbalah. Not to read into things, but to actually translate and share what it says. I only covers things you can apply in your life.
If you are a person that feels that you are being blocked, you feel handcuffed, you feel that you keep making terrible decisions that seemed so perfect but end up hurting you, Kabbalah has some actionable methods to change that. It has nothing to do with with jumping and dancing, it has nothing to do with red strings, pouring of lead or worshipping papers with names on them (prefer not to elaborate on this now).
The Torah is the word of God, it all starts there. Some basic teachings in the Torah is that:
- What makes humans special is God breathed a living soul into us. (Genesis / Beresheit 2:7 )
- God’s breath sustains all life. “If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath, all life would cease, and humanity would turn to dust.” (Job / Iyov 34:14-15)
See, no Kabbalah, just basic Torah teaches us, that God sustains life. All humans have this special connection that goes above regular life as mentioned in the first point.
But who cares about this, how does this change anything at all. In fact, it just sounds like some feel good speech and gives you nothing at all to work with. You are right. Kabbalah takes the written word of God in the Torah and shares what has been shared orally. The ideas are to give a person the tools, powerful tools, to break the darkness, and to transform right away.
You know what else the Torah teaches? That even humans in their most perfect state, Adam and Eve, did what they were told not to do. How is this possible? And if these perfect humans strayed, what chance do we have? It makes one wonder, is our default setting to do things to hurt ourselves? If you feel that this is a bad thought, consider what God had to say on this in Chapter 6 of Genesis:
“God saw how great was human wickedness on earth—how every plan devised by the human mind was nothing but evil all the time. And God regretted having made humankind on earth. With a sorrow heart, God said, “I will remove from the earth humankind which I created…”
After the flood, we know what happened with Noah and how he turned to wine and what happened after that (Gen. 9). Again, we see even someone like Noah, that found favor with God, made a bad decision right after God saved him and his family to restart the human population.
The first thing is that you need to stop feeling that you have been selected to have hardships. From the first days on mankind, the best of the best, made bad choices and they had a lot less temptation and confusion compared to today. You do not need Kabbalah to tell you this.
Kabbalah acknowledges without apologizing the evilness and difficulties we all have to fight. There is no easy way out from what seems like a complete trap, but there is a way within our reach. It requires to rethink our place on this planet and to understand the force that keeps messing us up.
A force that messes us up? Now that sounds terrible and certainly sounds real goyish / cultish / newage. However, in the very first few chapters of the book of Job we read that Job was perfect and God gave permission to Satan to mess him up REALLY bad. At the end, God does not give Job a clear answer why he allowed it to happen. (Midrashic answers, feel good drivel I know too, but if you are still reading you are past that phase).
To start escaping the mess, one will have to discover what God means when he tells us to “cleave to him” (I know the Rashi and Midrash, don’t contact me about it, this is not about that). You will have to discover the meaning of walking with God (Enoch, Abraham….)
By now you are expecting a link to buy something, a book, a coaching system etc. You will not find it on this site. The site is about giving back, sharing what I discovered that I hope can help you too. I was into the feel good side of Kabbalah nonsense. I escaped. I decided to study the root works. I was blessed that Hebrew and Aramaic are languages that were part of my study growing up. When I started reading what it says versus what others claimed it says, everything changed. I recognize most people cannot read the actual text. I decided to start the journey of taking the parts that involve practical use share it and show the sources.
Most of Kabbalistic texts are full of ideas that are not for practical use. Theories is not what I cover, not because I do not respect them, I just prefer to cover things that people can apply.
Do you have to learn theoretical Kabbalah?
No!
To use a computer, do you need a computer science degree? To use a car, do you need to know how an engine works?
All you need to know is that the product you use is build by someone that knows. If it was built by someone that didn’t truly understand it, you will wonder why your computer or car is breaking down.
Practical Kabbalah was crafted a very long time ago by those that understood the theoretical side of Kabbalah. When you understand the actual building blocks of creation, life and energy forces, you can structure methods that anyone can use in the same way a engineer can build a product without the user understanding how it works.
How difficult is it to start practicing the teachings in Kabbalah?
The basic teachings are applicable to all and you can start right now with something basic but powerful.
Most people when they pray to God they place limitations on their requests without realizing it. They also engage in something God hates, they dictate, meaning, they are saying they know the outcomes of all and they can tell God what he must do. Some of the biggest problems in life we create and in many cases it was things we prayed for.
Here are some steps:
- Start by thinking about God. God is the creator, not the created. God is not bound by space or time. God can do anything this second and you do not have to understand how. You are not God. You have made serious mistakes thinking that you knew what is good for you. God can fix those mistakes regardless if your brain that is prone to make mistakes can think of a way how God can do it, or not. In fact, pray for Wisdom, when King Solomon choose that, he was rewarded. Praying for wisdom and meaning it is an admission that you do not have the wisdom now, therefore trusting God 100% and we never have enough wisdom.
- Think of something you want, anything. If you are choosing something that is reasonable, for the sake of wanting to try this, you missed the first point. God is not a human, you ask from the creator anything and you don’t place limitations. DO NOT THINK OF WAYS GOD CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN. Doing so is despised. For example, if you want to find the perfect mate, don’t dictate how they should look, their financial status or anything else. You will start by thinking about the first point, and proceed to ask God to send you the perfect mate for you. How and when God does it, is not your business. Adding a time frame is also not something you do.
- The point is, you are training your mind to accept that the all knowing creator knows what is good for you and knows when the time is right. You are praying to show that you recognize God above all and have complete trust.
- Once done, most people will say “ok, let’s see if this works”. This is wrong. You should believe and go on with your life. If you followed the steps correctly, there is a good chance you will start seeing results very quick. God doesn’t always work in simple ways.
How is that Kabbalah?
Before you move on to other ideas in kabbalah, you need to train yourself to have a specific type of relationship with the creator. Nothing in Kabbalah will work for you if you cannot train your mind to have that style relationship. Details matter.
There are small moments in life that change a person. God can bring change on a person quickly and do it without pain. It starts with trust in God and humility. Start by making a list of the things you have done in life that you were certain are good and ended up in disaster. Reflect on that list. Next make a list (this one might have nothing on it or very little) of things that you thought are no good and ended up good. Reflect on that. Finally, make a list of things that happened that were good for you that you didn’t think about beforehand. The last list will be the most important part of your kabbalah journey.
More info will follow. Stay tuned.
Now please read about Kabbalah Magic