Description
Kabbalah, Really?: What It Is, How It Helps – By Pinchas winston
KABBALAH MEANS RECEIPT. If you pay for something and get a receipt, it is a “kabbalah.” Likewise, if what you do or learn is the result of a tradition you have “received” from previous generations, it is also called a “kabbalah.” This term is therefore used for the ENTIRE Torah tradition, passed down to us generation after generation since Moshe Rabbeinu first received it from God Himself at Mt. Sinai.
Nevertheless, if you mention “Kabbalah,” it is usually understood to refer to ONE specific level of Torah learning: mysticism. Unless explained otherwise, people will assume that you are talking about something from the Zohar, or the writings of the Arizal.
What is mysticism? This is one definition:
The belief that it is possible to directly obtain truth or achieve communication with God or other forces controlling the universe by prayer and contemplation. (Cambridge Dictionary)
That’s it, only a BELIEF?
Actually, it’s a lot more than just a belief. It’s a REALITY, like the soul, for example. Although we lack the means to see and confirm a soul’s existence, it is clearly obvious that there is something more than just our bodies keeping us alive and bringing out the “better” in us. We may not be able to see a soul, but we certainly CAN see its footprints.
The same is true about mysticism. It can’t be observed in a laboratory, but it can be observed in everyday life. As well as we have PHYSICALLY explained the universe, there are still gaping holes in our knowledge, holes that can be filled only with mystical concepts, beginning with the origin of existence.
Some argue that mysticism is really just the product of an innate desire for higher meaning, and requires an active imagination. Humans can certainly be delusional and, perhaps, the argument goes, mysticism is part of that. After all, how many people throughout history have erroneously believed that they have spiritual powers?
This points to the major difference between general mysticism and TORAH mysticism. Torah mysticism is NOT the result of human intuition or experimentation. It is a “kabbalah,” a tradition, one that was given by God to Moshe Rabbeinu, and then handed down “mouth to ear” ever since.
Of course, such a statement only has weight if one already accepts that God spoke to man in the first place, and actually gave us Torah. But that’s a different discussion, perhaps one worthy to have ELSEWHERE before continuing any further in this book.
Unless, that is, one puts aside such questions and simply looks at what Kabbalah has to say. Then he or she would find, as many have over the ages, that Kabbalah itself proves the point. Quite frankly, no person WOULD ever or COULD ever make up something as vast, detailed, and convoluted as PURE Kabbalah.
It HAS to be true.
It HAS to be from God.
Anyhow, while many others debate the validity of these statements, and spend time and energy trying to undermine the authority of the kabbalistic tradition, others reap the benefits of its time-honored divine wisdom. They walk through the portal that others don’t even approach, and enter an entirely HOLIER and LOFTIER level of consciousness.
Because what you BELIEVE dictates what you SEE, and that directly impacts the SPIRITUAL QUALITY of your life. There are people who die rich without ever knowing why they were alive, while others have lived the most meaningful lives with few material comforts. It doesn’t come down to what you PHYSICALLY own, but what you SPIRITUALLY possess.
And the deeper and more accurately people understand life in this world, the deeper and more accurately they perceive reality. They see things that are there but which others cannot see, and they enjoy things that exist on a different spiritual plane that others don’t even sense.
The “others,” because of what they CANNOT see, may call mystical people delusional. But it is the mystical people, because of what they CAN see, who get the most out of life.
