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The definition of Kabbalah varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it. [28] According to its earliest and original usage in ancient Hebrew it means 'reception' or 'tradition', and in this context it tends to refer to any sacred writing composed after (or otherwise outside of) the five books of the Torah. [29]
Kabbalah means "received tradition", a term which was previously used in other Judaic contexts, but the Medieval Kabbalists adopted it as a term for their own doctrine in order to express the belief that they were not innovating, but were merely revealing the ancient hidden esoteric tradition of the Torah.
Practical Kabbalah is mentioned in historical texts, but most Kabbalists have taught that its use is forbidden. [3] It is contrasted with the mainstream tradition in Kabbalah of Kabbalah Iyunit (contemplative Kabbalah), that seeks to explain the nature of God and the nature of existence through theological study and Jewish meditative techniques.
This was the classic time when various different interpretations of an esoteric meaning to Torah were articulated among Jewish thinkers. [16] Abulafia interpreted Theosophical Kabbalah's Sephirot Divine attributes, not as supernal hypostases which he opposed, but in psychological terms.
Kabbalah's beginnings date to the Middle Ages, originating in the Bahir [4] and the Zohar. [5] Although the earliest extant Hebrew kabbalistic manuscripts dating to the late 13th century contain diagrams, including one labelled "Tree of Wisdom," the now-iconic tree of life emerged during the fourteenth century.
Sefirot (/ s f ɪ ˈ r oʊ t, ˈ s f ɪr oʊ t /; Hebrew: סְפִירוֹת, romanized: səp̄īrōṯ, plural of Koinē Greek: σφαῖρα, lit. 'sphere' [1]), [2] meaning emanations, are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, [3] through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained descent of ...
In Kabbalah, the level of the Ma'ohr is represented by the higher Hebrew name of God, the Tetragrammaton, and the Ohr is the revelation of that level. Similarly, the lower name of God, Elohim , represents the Nartik , and the light that stems thereof is the Ohr HaNartik , and as such, it lacks a higher level of nullification, enabling it to ...
Ayin (Hebrew: אַיִן, lit. 'nothingness', related to אֵין ʾên, lit. ' not ') is an important concept in Kabbalah and Hasidic philosophy.It is contrasted with the term Yesh (Hebrew: יֵשׁ, lit.