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Kabbalah

The Kabbalah is an erudite system of profound knowledge that explains the mechanics of creation, the architecture of the universe, the nature of beings seen and unseen (including angels), and the philosophical meaning of life and existence. This body of sublime teachings is considered by some scholars as comprising the essence of the Hebrew faith. However, the roots of the Kabbalah predate Judaism, extending all the way back into the obscure beginnings of humanity. Advanced mystics agree that the Kabbalah is perhaps the highest and most scholarly and learned of all the ancient sciences.

Origins of Kabbalah

There are various theories about the origin of Kabbalah. One popular theory associates Kabbalah with the prophet Moses. According to this theory, Moses climbed the sacred mountain three times.

At each instance, he stayed there for forty days, communing with the Lord and receiving His instructions for humanity. In the first forty days, Moses received the Law, which all the people of Israel later came to know about. In the next forty days, he received the Soul of the Law (called the Mishna), which was later revealed only to the holy priests and teachers. Finally, in his last forty days in the holy mountain, he received the Soul of the Soul of the Law, and this was the Kabbalah in its pristine form. Only the most advanced and worthiest initiates were taught the secret principles of this sublime body of wisdom.

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As students of esotericism know, Moses was an Initiate of the Egyptian mysteries. After completing years of instruction in an Egyptian mystery school, he in fact became its venerable High Priest. Afterwards, Moses returned to his native land to propagate the high wisdom he had learned from

the Egyptians. Not surprisingly, therefore, the Kabbalistic teachings which Moses transmitted contained elements of Egyptian philosophy, theology, magic and other Egyptian arts such as astronomy, healing and mathematics. Indeed, comparisons between Kabbalist thought and ancient Egyptian wisdom reveal close parallels between the two. All these give credence to the theory that Kabbalah originated from the ancient Egyptian mystery schools, thousands of years before the coming of Christ.

 

Another version has it that Kabbalah came into existence on the very creation of the universe. The earliest Kabbalists subscribed to this view. They believed that God first revealed the principles of Kabbalah to a group of His angels. After the fall of man, the angels taught Adam the Kabbalah in the hope that with its wisdom, man might rise and reclaim his lost status. It was the Angel Raziel who initiated Adam into the mysteries of Kabbalah. In the succeeding generations, the Angel Raphael in turn taught the Kabbalah to Isaac, the Angel Metatron to Moses, and the Angel Michael to David.

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Teachings of Kabbalah

Kabbalah is, and has always been, a living tradition. While its core teachings remain unchanged, its practice has been continually enriched with the wisdom and experience of generations after generations of Kabbalists.

            

Two of the most important writings of Kabbalah are the Sepher Yetzirah (The Book of Formation), and the Sepher ha Zohar (The Book of Splendor). The Book of Formation is the oldest Kabbalist treatise, whose original source, some scholars say, is the prophet Abraham. It mainly discusses creation. In so doing, it also reveals the mystical symbolism of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Meanwhile, The Book of Splendor discourses on the Creator, angels, souls, and cosmogony.

 

The study of Kabbalah is divided into three main areas. The first area is called Dogmatic or 

Theoretical Kabbalah which is concerned with the scholarly analysis of the principles revealed in the Zohar, the Sepher Yetzirahand other manuscripts. It studies creation, the architecture of the universe, angels and other spiritual beings, pre-existence & reincarnation, the Tree of Life, & philosophical questions on life, humanity & divinity.

Another area, called Practical Kabbalah, delves into the domain of white magic. It teaches techniques that can evoke supernatural powers using magical rituals, amulets, divine names, mantras and incantations. It also teaches the connection between letters and numbers and the modes of their interrelation. 

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A third area is called Meditative Kabbalah, and this is a middle ground between Dogmatic and Practical Kabbalah. It encourages intellectual study, but relies more on meditative techniques for direct insight into divine wisdom, as well as for the development of the practitioner's physical, mental, psychic and spiritual constitution.

 

In Kabbalist study, a central theme is the Tree of Life comprised of the Ten Sephira. This is used to explain how the universe was created; moreover, it is a key to understanding the architecture of the universe as well as the structure of the first or Heavenly Man, Adam Kadmon. The Tree of the Sephira represents both the vast universe around us (the macrocosm) and man (the microcosm).

Famous Hermeticists

The list below enumerates a few of the world’s most famous Kabbalists, Martinists, Rosicrucians, Alchemists or Theurgists who have made important contributions in various fields:

  • Apolinario Mabini

  • Count Cagliostro

  • Dante Alighieri

  • Dr. John Dalton

  • Dr. John Dee

  • Emilio Aguinaldo

  • Emilio Jacinto

  • Helena P. Blavatsky

  • Isaac Newton

  • Jacob Boehme

  • Leonardo da Vinci

  • Michael Faraday

  • Robert Boyle

  • Pythagoras

  • Rene Descartes

  • Nicholas Flamel

  • Paracelsus

  • Roger Bacon

  • Sir Christopher Wren

  • Thomas Aquinas

  • Thomas Jefferson

  • Thomas Vaughan

  • William Blake

Rosicrucian Society, Order of the Hermetic Gold and Rose

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