Let's focus on the essence:
קבלה
Kabbalah
receiving
receiving from where?
receiving from God
connecting
flesh with Spirit
mortal with eternal
activating and elevating our souls
living in light and love of our Source
Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism rooted in the Torah/teachings which Moses received from God. Kabbalah explores emanations of divine light from our incomprehensible Source shattering into sparks of unique purpose and interconnected destiny.
Many concepts which Jewish sages derive from the Word of God precede discoveries of modern science. Quantum physics finds intrinsic uncertainty at subatomic levels which relates to free will and ponders paradoxes that point to higher truth.
Here are some Kabbalistic terms for parallel findings from top-down spiritual revelation and bottom-up scientific investigation of the essence of existence:
אין סוף
Ein Sof
without end
unknowable infinite eternal Source
אביע
ABIA
I will express
Source expresses
אצילות בריאה יצירה עשייה
Atzilut Briah Yetzirah Asiyah
presence creation formation action
4 worlds flowing from Creator
דומם צומח חי מדבר
Domem Tzomeach Chai Medaber
inanimate growing alive speaking
ascending consciousness
from objects to plants to animals to humans
ספירות
Sefirot
spheres, levels
dimensions of reality, filtering of light, attributes of awareness
relate to soul, chakras, mind, emotions, body
Keter כתר crown
Chochmah חכמה wisdom
Binah בינה understanding
Daat דעת knowledge
Chesed חסד love
Gevurah גבורה power
Tiferet תפארת beauty
Netzach נצח eternity
Hod הוד glory
Yesod יסוד foundation
Malchut מלכות kingdom
השתלשלות
Hishtalshelut
progression
descending of immaterial, development of material
התלבשות
Hitlabshut
enclothement
ensheathment
of spiritual in physical, space in matter, energy in particles
התכללות
Hitkallelut
interinclusion
whole embedded in parts, indwelling transcendence
התקשרות
Hitkashrut
interpenetration
connection, relationship
כִּי בּוֹ אָנוּ חַיִּים וּמִתְנוֹעֲעִים וְקַיָּמִים,
כְּפִי שֶׁגַּם אֲחָדִים מִן הַחֲכָמִים אֶצְלְכֶם אָמְרוּ:
מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹצָאֵנוּ
מעשי השליחים יז:כח
For in Him we live and move and have our being,
as also some of the wise ones among you have said:
“From Him is our origin.”
Acts 17:28
One Kabbalah class I've participated in starts with meditation on profound Hebrew chants... then expands into visualizing travel through the heavens... feels like floating into la la land.
Another Kabbalah class begins deep in Torah exploring wonders of Creator and creation, providence and prophecy, faith and purpose... then narrows into rules... feels like being herded into a corral.
וְאֵין אוֹמְרִים,
הִנֵּה פֹּה הִיא,
וְהִנֵּה שָׁם הִיא,
כִּי הִנֵּה
מַלְכוּת הָאֱלֹהִים
בְּקִרְבְּכֶם הִיא.
הכרזת לוקס יז:כא
And none will say,
"Behold it is here,"
or "Behold it is there,"
for behold
the kingdom of God
is among/inside you.
Luke 17:21
It's important to keep it real. When we're drawn to darkness it's usually because there's something we need stashed away in the basement. As we reclaim vital hidden parts of ourselves and bring them into the light, our lives fill with color.
נֵר יְהוָה נִשְׁמַת אָדָם חֹפֵשׂ כָּל-חַדְרֵי-בָטֶן
משלי כ:כז
The spirit of man is the candle of HaShem;
searching all inner rooms.
Proverbs 20:27
Our universe, sky, earth, and bodies consist mostly of space. Science shows that every atom of every molecule contains far more space than particles. Could it be that the spiritual dimensions are somehow in this space?!?
The point here is:
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים
אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
בראשית א:א
In beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
God created both spiritual and material realms. The Source of all is simultaneously beyond and pervading space and time, far and near, forever and now. If space inside our bodies and throughout the universe is filled with the unseen spiritual realm, this is still creation and not Creator.
We want to be sure that:
our קבלה
our Kabbalah
our receiving
is not from:
our own desires and imagination
false teachings
dark entities in the spiritual realm
but is from:
the Word and Spirit of God
עַל כֵּן הִזָּהֵר,
שֶׁמָּא הָאוֹר שֶׁבְּךָ חֹשֶׁךְ הוּא.
וְאִם כָּל גּוּפְךָ אוֹר
וְאֵין בּוֹ שׁוּם פִּסַּת חֹשֶׁךְ -
יִהְיֶה מֵאִיר כֻּלּוֹ,
כְּפִי שֶׁהַמְּנוֹרָה בְּשַׁלְהַבְתָּהּ מְאִירָה לְךָ.
הכרזת לוקס יא:לה-לו
Therefore be careful,
that the light within you is not darkness.
And if your whole body is full of light,
and there is no darkness in it,
all of it will shine,
as when a menorah with its sparks illuminates you.
Luke 11:35-36
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