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Overview

What is Kabbalah?

Kabbalah: A General

Introduction

The Meaning of "God"

Three Streams of Kabbalah

Kabbalah as a Spiritual

Practice

Theosophical Kabbalah

Introduction

ight and the Sefirot

Keter! ochmah! and #inah

esed! Ge$urah! and Tiferet

%et&ach! od! and 'esod

Malchut

($il: Traditional )ie*s

($il: Kabbalistic )ie*s

'esh and A+in

,our Worlds

Prophetic Kabbalah

Introduction

Sefer 'et&irah: anguage as

-reation

Abraham Abulafia

#asic Meditation Techni.ues

Practical Kabbalah

Introduction

Afterlife and /eincarnation

0emons! 0+bbu1s! 2

Golems

Key Figures

Moshe -ordo$ero

Shimon bar 'ochai

Abraham Abulafia

The #aal Shem To$

Isaac uria

3acob ,ran1

Sabbetai T&$i

Texts and Studies

The (pistle of the #aal

Shem To$

Resources/Learning More

Print this Page4 Glossar+4 in1s4 About This Site

esh and !yinor" #eing and $othingness

There is no more fundamental

binarism than +esh and a+in!

something and nothing5 'esh

means! simpl+! e$er+thing that

there is5 A+in is %othing5 God

is both5

To approach the 0i$ine in

+esh! *e +earn for God6s lo$e5

i1e the Sufis! *e pine for the

,riend7 li1e the indus! *e

en$ision God in manifold

m+thologies and forms5 To

approach the 0i$ine in a+in!

*e learn to allo* thought to

cease! and simpl+ open

oursel$es to the great

emptiness *hich is the true

nature of e$er+ thing5

ere is /abbi Arthur Green! in

one of his earlier *ritings! on

ayin:

In all change and gro*th! sa+ the masters! the m+sterious ayinis present5 There

is an ungraspable instant in the midst of all transformation *hen that *hich is

about to be transformed is no longer that *hich it had been until that moment!

but has not +et emerged as its transformed self7 that moment belongs to the a+in

*ithin God5 Since change and transformation are constant! ho*e$er! in fact all

moments are moments of contact *ith the a+in! a contact that man is usuall+

too blind to ac1no*ledge5 The height of contemplati$e pra+er is seen as such a

transforming moment! but one that is mar1ed b+ a*areness5 The *orshiper is

no longer himself! for he is full+ absorbed! in that moment! in the %othingnessof di$init+5 In that moment of absorption the *orshiper is transformed: as he

continues his $erbal pra+er! it is no longer he *ho spea1s! but rather the

Presence *ho spea1s through him5 In that pra+erful return to the source! the

human being has reached his highest state! becoming nought but the passi$e

instrument for the e$er self8proclaiming praise of God5 Through his lips the

di$ine *ord is spo1en5

Arthur Green! Your Word is Fire

,or those ne* to Kabbalah! the principle that e$er+thing is essentiall+ empt+ ma+ seem

remar1abl+ similar to #uddhism and other contemplati$e paths5 So be it5Ayinis the

ultimate /ealit+ of all things5 %othing has separate! real e9istence5

Ayin! nothingness! is more e9istent than all the being of the *orld5

0a$id ben Abraham ha8a$an! ;th centur+ gina de earn Kabbalah 4 'esh and A+in

@B@CBD@;file:BBB-:BEsersBEsuarioBApp0ataBocalBTempBo*BA/F/-FD05htm

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About Jay Michaelson

Why is Kabbalah Kept

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Modes of Learnin

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'n both Buddhist and Kabbalistic cosmoloies) a reat deal of time is spent e*plainin

ho$ the $orldseemsto e*ist as it does+ !or the Kabbalists) this e*planation in(ol(es the

emanation of the ten sefirot, the e(olution of God from -othin+ But the Kabbalah)

aain like Buddhism) emphasi.es that this e(olution is one of appearance only+ 't did not

happen at some point in time) and no$ it/s o(er and the $orld e*ists+ "ime itself is part

of the 0$orld1 $hich e*ists only as illusion+ 'n the -o$) in the present moment) $here

is time?

"he Kabbalah also shares $ith some schools of Buddhism a contemplati(e in2uiry into

yeshand ayin+ Because it is so beautiful) and similar to the Kabbalistic method) ' $ould

like to 2uote "hich -hat 3anh/s $ell4kno$n e*position of the interrelatedness of all

thins) 0'nterbein)1 in its entirety+ 5't $as meant to be $ritten on paper) not a computer

screen+++6

'f you are a poet) you $ill see clearly that there is a cloud floatin in this sheet

of paper+ Without a cloud) there $ill be no rain7 $ithout rain) the trees cannot

ro$7 and $ithout trees) $e cannot make paper+ "he cloud is essential for the

paper to e*ist+ 'f the cloud is not here) the sheet of paper cannot be here either+

So $e can say that the cloud and the paper inter4are+ 0'nterbein1 is a $ord that

is not in the dictionary yet) but if $e combine the prefi* 0inter41 $ith the (erb0to be)1 $e ha(e a ne$ (erb) 0inter4be+1 'f $e look into this sheet of paper e(en

more deeply) $e can see the sunshine in it+ Without sunshine) the forest cannot

ro$+ 'n fact) nothin can ro$ $ithout sunshine+ And so) $e kno$ that the

sunshine is also in this sheet of paper+ "he paper and the sunshine inter4are+

And if $e continue to look) $e can see the loer $ho cut the tree and brouht

it to the mill to be transformed into paper+ And $e see $heat+ We kno$ that the

loer cannot e*ist $ithout his daily bread) and therefore the $heat that became

his bread is also in this sheet of paper+ "he loer/s father and mother are in it

too+ When $e look in this $ay) $e see that $ithout all of these thins) this sheet

of paper cannot e*ist+ Lookin e(en more deeply) $e can see oursel(es in this

sheet of paper too+ "his is not difficult to see because $hen $e look at a sheet

of paper) it is part of our perception+ 8our mind is here and mine is also+ So $e

can say that e(erythin is in here $ith this sheet of paper+ We cannot point out

one thin that is not here9time) space) the earth) the rain) the minerals in the

soil) the sunshine) the cloud) the ri(er) the heat+ :(erythin co4e*ists $ithin this

sheet of paper+ "hat is $hy ' think the $ord 0inter4be1 should be in the

dictionary+ 0"o be1 is to inter4be+ We cannot ;ust be by oursel(es alone+ We

ha(e to inter4be $ith e(ery other thin+ "his sheet of paper is) because

e(erythin else is+

Suppose $e try to return one of the elements to its source+ Suppose $e return

the sunshine to the sun+

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-othinness+ But $hat isit? Where are the la$s of physics $ritten? A seed contains

molecules of