Kabbalah is the mystical teachings in Judaism that are mainly based on the Zohar (traditionally attributed to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai) and then later elaborated upon by others such as Rabbis Isaac Luria and Israel Baal Shem.
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Place to study Zohar
What is a good place for an American to learn Zohar in person (anywhere internationally)? (This question is for a friend who is much more learned than I am).
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Question on Terminology used in the Teaching of the Ari regarding Levels within the Highest Emanation
In Otzrot Hayyim, Sha'ar Tant"a (Ta'amim Nekudot Tagin Otiyot), in a description of Adam Kadmon, the first form taken by the line of light of the Infinite that enters the vacated space, it says that ...
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Demon or Sheidim
My son since birth never has been peaceful. At around 1 year old he would stand on his crib while sleeping fighting who knew what and crying and crying, I tried to calm him and soothe him. But that ...
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Clairvoyant Powers
Recently met a certain Rabbi with clairvoyant powers.
He was able to look at my name and tell me all sorts of spooky stuff. For example, that I have two mezuzas with problems. (I hired a sofer to ...
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Is there a list of Nusach -> Shevet correspondence?
It says in the introduction of the English Tehillas Hashem siddur (in the name of the Maggid of Mezeritch - Likutei Amarim 133) that each tribe has it's own Nusach (and the Nusach Arizal is the Shaar ...
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Belief in Yechidah
According to Chabad.org,
Yechidah connotes the essence of the soul--its unity with its source,
the singular essence of G-d. For the essence of the soul of man is
"literally a part of G-d ...
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Red string on Tefillin arm?
I've heard a man shouldn't wear anything on his left arm (as a bracelet, watch, etc) while having tefillin tied on. If this is true, would it be completely wrong to wear a red string on the left arm ...
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Is there a special significance of 4 directions as opposed to 6?
According to halacha, when a person says the word "echad" (אחד) in Shema:
בדלי"ת צריך להאריך יותר כדי שיעור שיחשוב שהקב"ה יחיד בעולמו ומושל בד' רוחות העולם
[One should] draw out the dale more ...
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Are there mystical underpinnings to Maccabi?
One of the explanations I have heard for the title מכבי is that it is an acronym for the pasuk 'מִי-כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם ה (Shemos 15:11). Is there any reason, mystical or otherwise that that pasuk (or ...
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From which side does Klipa come?
It says in some seforim, that Klipa "leeches" off the "right" side (since Gevura is about limitation, it can only give to one who is worthy, while Chesed, kindness, can give to everyone).
On the ...
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How did Chazal know they were right about “who is a Jew”?
My question is predicated on the assumption that Jews were created by God as fundamentally different from non-Jews. (I am referring, for example, to the idea that Jews have a special type of soul. And ...
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Ayin Hara - The evil eye - Hocus Pocus
There are people that do some sort of procedure with lead that they claim gets rid of Ayin Hara. Is this hocus pocus or true?
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Why can we not say the names of certain angels aloud?
I have found in certain kabbalistic documents that contain names of angels there is an instruction not to say the names of those angels aloud - example with names in parenthesis. I realize we are not ...
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Ohr HaChaim on Redemption because of Torah
I've heard that the Ohr HaChaim quotes the Zohar Chadash that we will be redeemed because of the merit of Mosheh and learning Torah.
Does such a comment exist in the Ohr HaChaim? If so, can someone ...
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Where did the book Otzrot Hayyim come from?
I've seen the book Otzrot Hayyim recommended as the best first text to use when starting to learn the system of the Ari. When was this book published and where did it come from? References to Kitvei ...
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What coin is this?
It is a little over an inch diameter, thicker and heavier than any coin would be. The lettering almost seems random....or maybe the middle word is a name?
Can someone help me identify this coin?
...
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English Translation of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin's Nefesh ha-Chaim?
I need to find an English translation of Nefesh Hachaim. Preferably one that is gratis on the World Wide Web. Thanks!
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Saying names of angels
I've heard you shouldn't say the names of angels, except for the four that surround us at night.
What's the source and reason for this? Is it halacha or kaballah?
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More info on tzerufei shemos (permutations of G-d's name) vis-a-vis months of the year?
I've seen some siddurim -- I think the Artscroll all-Hebrew Nusach Sefard -- that list one permutation of the name YKVK for each of the twelve months, and that one should have appropriate kavana when ...
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Is two hundred and ten a name of God?
Is there a name of God (derived through gematria, kabbalah or otherwise) associated with the number 210?
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What is the spiritual meaning of a kabalist?
I understand that a Guadol is a bal midot a talmid chacham a tsadik but what does it means in a rouchniut way to say that this rav is a great kabalist ? and why never Abraham, Yitzchak, Yacov, Moshe, ...
