There
is a well known story likely set in Medieval times. A young Torah
scholar approached a master of Kabbalah and requested to be educated
in the mysteries.
The
master asked, “Is it the same to you if someone speaks nicely to
you or insults you?”
The
young scholar replied, “No, it’s not the same at all. I like it when
someone speaks nicely to me and I dislike being insulted”.
“Then
you are not yet ready”, cautioned the master.
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Today,
we see that so many enter into the gates of Kabbalah study without
such steep qualifications. What has changed over time?
To
appreciate what changed, it’s important to first understand that at
its heart Kabbalah is continuation of the prophetic experience.
Therefore, it concerns itself with God’s names and revelations.
Though these experiences are no longer available on the levels at
which the Biblical prophets had accessed them, generally speaking the
tradition still continues on through the generations. Ultimately,
just like the prophets of old, one can still cleave to the Shechinah,
God’s manifest presence. However, the connection occurs in a lower
spiritual world within the realms of holiness than it had back in the
days of the Biblical prophets; a mere shadow of what once was.
This
kind of access requires meditative instruction and living one’s
life in heightened purity, which allows the initiate to remain openly
continuous with the spiritual realms of holiness. Apparently, from
the above story, the indication that one was ready to enter into such
a life calling could be garnered from one’s relationship with God’s
Oneness. Was the belief in the Oneness just in one’s head or was it
a visceral experience as well? If visceral, then no matter occurred
in life, it should be accepted happily and with total equanimity. If
this was the standard at the threshold, one can only imagine what
must have been required once inside the door.
Over
time, a conceptual language has developed around this core of
Kabbalah. It was a slow process and developed in layers; layer upon
layer. Kabbalah is a branch of Oral Torah. Part of the process of Oral Torah allows for teachings
inherently present, but latent, within the body of Torah to get
exposed and articulated. This is how Rabbi Akivah learned piles upon
piles of Torah Law from each and every crownlet in the Torah scroll.
(see
Menachot
29b)
Similarly,
generation after generation of Kabbalists teased concepts out of the
mystical tradition.
Once
the process had started, a later period would typically add a layer
of conceptual clarity to what an earlier one had taught. Initially,
conceptual language surrounding the core experience was intended just
as a kind of ladder leading back to the experiential. However, in
time the developing conceptual side of the tradition had reached a
level of clarity where it began to serve another function as well,
slowly becoming an unofficial philosophy of Judaism.
At
the time the above story took place, some level of the conceptual
language had already existed. But, it was only developed to the level
where it was meant to serve as a ladder into the experiential.
Today’s students of Kabbalah have the benefit of centuries of
conceptual layering which allow for Kabbalah to be studied
theoretically. To study theory, the standards at the threshold do not
need to be so steep. This is why today, the study has become more
accessible. In fact, it seems like the theoretical study is what will
help us enter the messianic era with compassion; as it provides an educational foundation for what the Messiah will teach.
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