Ask about Kabbalah

[KLP]

If I remember, klp, teresa did ask the group for input into exactly how to describe each of the forums. New Paths is for information about different faiths and denominations (including agnositicism and atheism) but it is not the place for objecting to or arguing about the pros and cons. It is 'all positive', basically.
...

Agri, there is no need to depend on your memory as to what New Paths is about for it is clearly stated. Since what you claim to be engaged in is general religious education and that not being part of the forum guidelines, I was merely asking if this non-journey general education would eventually be open to include the fullness of a discussion of pros and cons. Obviously that is not the case. Please continue with your book review.

[teresa]

I was merely asking if this non-journey general education would eventually be open to include the fullness of a discussion of pros and cons. Obviously that is not the case.

Yes, that's important for folks on the board to understand. A topic that is posted in a Support and Agreement forum is NEVER open for a discussion of pros and cons. On the other hand, there is no rule that stops you or others from starting a clearly labeled topic discussion of Kabalah in one of the Differing Views forums. Agricola (and others) could then choose to join in that conversation or avoid it.

[KLP]

I was merely asking if this non-journey general education would eventually be open to include the fullness of a discussion of pros and cons. Obviously that is not the case.

Yes, that's important for folks on the board to understand. A topic that is posted in a Support and Agreement forum is NEVER open for a discussion of pros and cons. On the other hand, there is no rule that stops you or others from starting a clearly labeled topic discussion of Kabalah in one the Differing Views forums. Agricola (and others) could then choose to join in that conversation or avoid it.

Thanks

[agricola]

It seems to me that in this forum, there is really nothing to object TO - I mean, what would someone object to? that the person writing about (for instance) Methodists didn't get Methodists right?

This forum is about WHAT people believe, not about WHETHER people who believe it are right or wrong or whatever.

Since we do have several members who have joined the same denominations, and each person has a different pov, then maybe person A might say 'my Greek Orthodox church believes XYZ' and person B says 'my Greek Orthodox church believes a bit differently about Z and here is why'. That is certainly educational, but it isn't the same as a debate and argument. Just a different view.

Now if anybody here has studied kabbalah (and as far as I know, nobody has) and thinks that Frankiel is wrong about something, or that I haven't explained it right, then certainly they can post a comment about that, and we can clarify.

[agricola]

Whatever.
Enough digression though! I will continue tomorrow. Anybody have (relevant to kabbalah/Frankiel's explanation) comments at this point? Questions about previous material to clarify something?

[agricola]

Chapter 7: Realizing your Intent

Okay - going to try to just put this quote out, because I can't do much better -

The energy of the next sefirah on the Path of Remembering, Tiferet - Splendor, is always calling to us. It is our purpose in life, our personal connection to divine vision. But we spend many years...just growing up and establishing ourselves in life. Most people are not ready to answer the call of Splendor until sometime in early to middle adulthood and many of us not until we are elders....
Usually by this time we also have some sense of where our personal configuration emerged. We may be able to see our place in the dynamic of our family of origin...We can observe our stumbling blocks in social relations...We have a sense of ourselves, although we sometimes hamper ourselves with criticism....Hopefully, we are also able to see something of our society's place in history.
All this means that we have begun to master the four lowest sefirot.

Anyway, this sefirah is the one that gives us that little internal question we ask ourselves in the middle of the night, in the middle of our lives: 'is this all there is?'

Call it 'midlife crisis time': people are restless. They've spent their lives to this point acquiring 'things' but suddenly things don't seem to be nearly as important as they used to be. People start searching for something else. Often, they find a teacher.

At the beginning you may find your teacher by going to the religious group of your choice and meeting all the 'experts' (priests, ministers, rabbis and so on). Frequently, the person you choose turns out to be simply the person who introduces you to the workings of the tradition. He or she is a gatekeeper. As you move on, the teachers you need will often appear in a more indirect way and may not even be professionals. Sometimes they will be in your life for a long time, sometimes only for brief encounters. It is almost as if they can't be consciously sought. As the old saying goes, "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

Naturally, there is a danger in this, because you might be so enamored of your teacher that you just turn into a little echo. A good teacher will not let that happen. But we learn lessons from all sorts of encounters, and not all teachers are necessarily good - so be careful.

A good teacher will introduce you to a practice. The practice guarantees that ultimately you will not be a mere imitation of your teacher. The practice will also be something that has been passed down in an authentic tradition. The various traditions usually suggest methods of self-examination and self-transformation: charitable acts, physical discipline, prayer, confession, meditation, ritual, and ceremony. We will look briefly at these approaches.

Well, Frankiel will - I'll try to be even briefer!

[agricola]

Frankiel - a practice is not a rule - your religious faith may have certain rules - for instance, it may say about charitable giving is that you should give 10%. That's a rule.
But if you take on 'charitable giving' as a PRACTICE, then you will take that rule and internalize it, you will try to make charitable giving 'yours'. You will try to become the sort of person who just about represents charitable giving to everyone - you won't be just following a rule.

Most or all religious faiths have similar categories and practices. Frankiel encourages the reader to look within their own traditions for practices that fit into these categories, which can be your own personal path to inner meaning and fulfillment - YOUR expression of 'Tiferet' (which means Splendor, but also means Truth). What is 'true' to YOU?

Having or taking on a practice is a way of 'refining' the self and 'joining' yourself to the divine (to God).

examples of categories:
1)study and reflection
Obviously, you need to first figure out what these categories ARE, so the first step will almost always include 'study and reflection'. But this is also a category in itself. Maybe 'study' is your personal 'practice'. The aim of this practice should be spiritual growth, of course (that is what Tiferet is all about) so just learning things isn't the end/goal. It needs to be internalized (and probably, shared and passed on to others).

2)prayer -
both a ritual/ceremony, and a personal address to God. If you make 'prayer' your personal practice, then you have to work at it. Become comfortable 'talking' to God. Create your own prayers (written) maybe after learning something specific in your studies. This 'binds' your mind to the subject at hand, says the Kabbalah. Prayer is/should be an emotional experience - you dig deep into your heart and speak 'truth' - emotional truth, empathetic truth. (To me, study and reflection is easy, but prayer is hard - SUPER hard)

3) meditation -
this is like prayer, or is a complement to prayer - our prayers go 'up' to God, meditation is a preparation to receive what comes 'down' from God. Meditation should help us learn to be aware, to contemplate, to visualize...
(Kabbalists are big on meditation - lots of familiar practices are used: silent meditation, breathing methods, fasting, visualization, even mantras (it isn't called that in Judaism but that is what it is - a word or phrase repeated to aid in reaching a meditative state).

4) Rituals and ceremonies- (including music and dance)
Some people find personal meaning in rituals and ceremonies. Frankiel notes that reforming movements in religions tend to throw these out the door (Protestantism, Reform Judaism). But some people really resonate to seasonal, regular, monthly - 'ritual times'. Look for instance at the modern grown of the Wiccan and other reconstructionist type faiths: most or all have many regular rituals tied to moon phases, the seasons of the year - Samhain, Yule and so forth.
Frankiel notes that rituals have a deeper dimension in the sefirah of Binah - the sefirah that holds a template or pattern. Rituals give these univeral patters a physical form. Rituals are full of metaphor, symbols, etc -
Example -

rituals using trees or symbols of trees, which occur in many traditions. Judaism's menorah...is the image of a tree, the Tree of Life is a metaphor for the Torah, and...the kabbalists elaborated the structure of a tree to explain the entire cosmos.

Christians borrowed a tree from pagan traditions -

sacred trees suggest life, growth, a connection between earth and heaven...

5) Confession -
Also connected to prayer and to traditional rituals. Sometimes people are either too hard on themselves, OR they never want to acknowledge their problems or mistakes at all. Judaism has the annual Yom Kippur ritual of confession. Roman Catholics have the requirement of confession prior to taking communion. And then there are all those '12 step programs' which include 'confession' to the group, plus apologizing to people who you've hurt.

the main point is fine-tuning, not browbeating, yourself. Clear sight is the aim, while accepting that each of us is imperfect.

6) charity (in Judaism, tzedaka)

The point of this practice on a spiritual level is to teach us to give more and more of ourselves, so that we recognize that our life is not ours...Samson Raphael Hirsch wrote "You have nothing so long as you have it only for yourself...you only possess something when you share it.."

Frankiel:

The main forms of charity are connected to the sefirot directly above Splendor, namely Expansiveness and Restraint. When we act with Expansiveness flowing through us, we are giving and supporting others. When we act from Restraint, we are practicing non-injury to others and to our environments. Both these activities may involve an element of self-sacrifice.

7) Physical discipline -
some traditions - fasting, celibacy (non-Jewish traditions - that's not something Judaism does), regular conscious exercise (like Shaolin monks who practice martial arts as a spiritual discipline).

Many spiritual practices include a body discipline, such as yoga or t'ai chi. ...Kabbalah did not develop a distinctive or universal practices...Rabbis concerned about health advocated ordinary physical exercise..

.(walking, for instance)

8) Community -
the practice of being active in your (religious) community could be a 'practice'. This is sometimes a tough one because it isn't exactly a well defined path - what, exactly, is 'being active in your community' actually involve? Frankiel seems to say this is a practice that might be good for people who like to do things independently instead of getting involved in a group activity of some kind.

[agricola]

So - basically, any of those practices might be a way that someone can internalize, act upon, and work with as a method to enhance their spiritual life - to find that 'meaning' that answers that midnight question ('is this all there is?')

Remember that each of these activities has more than one result - so be mindful of what you are putting into your chosen practice - and WHY you do it - if you give to charity because you like getting the recognition, that might not be the 'highest' result - there's nothing inherently WRONG with enjoying getting praised for giving, and certainly giving itself is 'good'. But if your original intent was to develop yourself spiritually, maybe that is getting off track.

I'm reminded strongly here of Jesus telling his guys that people who pray or donate in public and get recognized for it 'they have their reward' in the here and now, but it is better to pray in secret/give in secret, because that gets you closer to God. SAME IDEA.


Any of those practices can be 'empty' of spiritual meaning, or they can be very meaningful. If ritual 'feels' empty to you, then maybe that isn't your particular practice - OR since you aren't getting something out of it, you might want to examine yourself and find out 'why'.

[agricola]

Ditto if you find yourself excessively ATTACHED to a particular practice - it is important (for youself) to understand 'why'.

Is it about ego, painting the right face for the outside world? Or is our fascination hinting at something deeper we need to learn about ourselves? If we love external rituals, perhaps it is because we need to develop our own sense of ceremony and the movements of energy. If we throw ourselves into charitable work, it may be because we need to develop our heart-connection with others....The key here is to become aware of what each discipline, each external thing we receive, touches within us.

[KLP]

It seems to me that in this forum, there is really nothing to object TO - I mean, what would someone object to? that the person writing about (for instance) Methodists didn't get Methodists right?
....

well, since you asked I will respond. Who said anything about objecting TO anything. But there is a lot of stuff in the media and celebs and others and their variations on Kabballah and what it supposedly promises and can be used for. I know you think that no one else knows enough about anything to have a comment, but perhaps that is not the case. Off the top of my head I would think maybe a discussion of occultism, cultism, the making of money off of the rather recent "religion" called Kabballah might be of interest for a completely rounded discussion. But again, we have made clear that while this not a thread about anyone's journey or sharing and there is no support possible, it is made clear that other discussing aspects and current Kabballah in the culture is not welcome. No problem. But since you stated you don't think anything else could be discussed I thought I would just mention what comes to mind. Thanks for asking.