Hot answers tagged mysticism-kabbalah
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While Sefer Yetzirah does give a basic outline in creating a Golem(though arguably that is not the primary purpose of those parts), it does not give a specific formula. Much of that is relegated to the commentaries, and even there the procedure is patchy at best.
The most detailed instructions can be found in the commentaries of Avraham Abulafia and an ...
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There is a little known Chassidic text published in 1834 entitled Pri Yitzchak that details all 613 Mitzvot and the corresponding limbs for positive mitzvot and 365 Gidim for negative commandments. It has not been translated from the Hebrew. It is a very sophisticated work.
He uses the list of halachic limbs listed in the Mishna, and uses the Rambam's list ...
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See "The Soul of a Jew, the Soul of a Non-Jew: Two Views "(mp3) by Rabbi Chanan Balk.
Tanya posits that all humans possess a nefesh bahamit ("animalistic soul") whereas only Jews possess a nefesh elokit ("G-dly soul"), whatever that means. But there are other opinions.
Rabbi Balk consulted several major rabbis, all of them affiliated with the Beth Din of ...
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The proper way to study Kabbalah is with prior knowledge of Tanach, Talmud, Yad HaChazaka, and Shulchan Aruch (not including the introduction books to Kabbalah- some of the Ben Ish Hai's books, some of the Ramak, a lot of Rav Ashlag, and Rav Frisch). Without a massive knowledge of the aforementioned, Kabbalah won't do you any good, quite the contrary it can ...
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Sorcery and witchcraft are explicitly forbidden by the Torah. Period. However, there are other methods of manipulating nature that do not fall into the category of "sorcery". For example, when a prophet or a tzaddik performs a miracle, they do it with G-d's implicit help and/or permission.
Mystically, the difference between these two methods (sorcery and ...
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As I've heard it, it involves opening a Tanach to a random verse; I heard something it specifically being some Amsterdam printing of the Tanach (anyone back me up here?). There are some famous stories about its use, though these may be no more than hearsay:
One rabbi who got the verse, "do not use witchcraft or divinations!"
When Rabbi Joseph Breuer was ...
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Unless we assume it is all allegory, the Talmud is replete with references to Mazikin, aka Sheidim, and they sure sound real.
Rabbis even had conversations with them (e.g.Chullin 105b), provided a way to see them (Berachot 6a), overheard them (Succa 28a) and established laws based on their existence (e.g. Berachot 3b and Pesachim 100b).
King Solomon and ...
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The Gemara writes: "Abaye said, 'The laws about sorcery parallel the laws of [forbidden labor] on Shabbos. Some of them [i.e., some acts, are punishable] by stoning; some of them [leave the perpetrator] exempt [from stoning,] but [are nonetheless] forbidden; and some of them [are] permissible in the first place....[Actions that are] permissible in the first ...
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Shirei Musar Haskel - שירי מוסר השכל - page 39 mentions that in a few locations - (see for example) in the Peirush of Rabbi Moshe Butril to Sefer Yetzira he mentions Rav Hai Gaon as the author of Sefer Hakemitza which is on Kabala.
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The Chida (based on the Maharikash) permits opening a Torah and acting on the first verse that comes up, basing his ruling on the story of Yoshiahu who found a Torah rolled to a verse.
PS. He came before the Gra, so "Gorel Hagra" technically is a misnomer.
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Rabbi Haim Vital in his introduction to Sefer Eitz Haim gives three pre-requisites to learn Kabbalah,
1) A person must be married
2) A person must have learned Gemarra for five years
3) A person must be 20 years of age.
Rav Ovadyah Hedayya(He was the Chief Kabbalist of Israel, as well as the Av Beit Din of Jerusalem, and Rav Ovadyah Yosef's Rav) in his seer ...
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Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 179:5 (citing Sanhedrin 90a and 101a), states:
הלוחש על המכה או על החולה ורוקק ואחר
כך קורא פסוק מן התורה אין לו חלק
לעוה"ב ואם אינו רוקק איסורא מיהא איכא
ואם יש בו סכנת נפשות הכל מותר.
תינוק שנפגע אין קורין עליו פסוק ואין מניחין עליו ס"ת.
"One who whispers over a wound or over a sick person, expectorates, and ...
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Biblical mitzvos are in bold. Items that are minhagim or otherwise are not mitzvos are listed for completeness but are not bold. -- Each is followed by the corresponding (set of) body part(s)
30 days of blowing shofar (in Elul) -- 30 in the feet
10 offerings brought on Rosh Hashana -- 10 in the ankles
2 approaches to the aron(?) -- 2 in the shins
5 people ...
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Try this article at Chabad.org, which quotes (in translation) the classic sources on the subject.
Briefly, it's the idea that Hashem first created the ten sefiros as the "world of Tohu," as independent entities, where each one is is exclusively "thus and no other way" - i.e., chesed ("kindness") is pure chesed, gevurah ("severity") is pure gevurah, etc.; ...
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First as far as being posek al pi Kabbalah the inyan is only L'Humra not L'kula. For instance the Zohar says one needs only to wait a half hour between eating meat and eating milk, but we do not hold that way.
Aside from that the list becomes quite extensive as Chanoch also said, from the Ramban down to today amongst Sephardi poskim. Of the modern Sephardi ...
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The source is Pesochim 111a and Horayos 13b where it says that it's koshoh leshikchoh (harms one's memory). Regarding relatives, Sefer Shemiras Haguf Vehanefesh page 333 brings from one sefer that it is mutar (allowed) (because the reason it is koshoh leshikchoh (harms one's memory) is because one diverts his attention from Torah to an Ervah, (so it doesn't ...
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The classic Sefer Chareidim by R' Elazar Azikri (d.1600) catalogs all the mitzvos according to body parts. (R' Elazar Azikri was also the author of the poem, Yedid Nefesh.) An abbreviated version, Kitzur Sefer Chareidim, was written by R' Avraham Danzig, author of the Chayei Adam. The sefer does not attempt to establish a precise one-for-one match for each ...
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The main text, Hekhalot Rabbatai can be found translated online with notes as to where to find printed Hebrew editions (the most often cited sefer is batei midrashot by Wertheimer). There is not a firm consensus among scholars as to when it was written but there is general agreement to a range of 200-800 C.E. Souce. I have not found a source that discusses ...
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In Shu"t Mei'ein Omer pg 274 (not sure what volume, but it isn't volume 6, 7 or 8), a close student of Rav Ovadiah Yosef reports that a man once asked him if he needs to destroy a building he bought because it used to contain a synagogue of Dor De'im, a sect of Temani Jews who stick to strict Maimonidian philosophy and practice, and reject most if not all of ...
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By the way, generally a "Talmudist" means someone who studies the Talmud; the rabbis who wrote the Talmud are known as The Sages, Hazal (an acronym for "our sages of blessed memory"), or the Tannaim (those before the year 200) and Amoraim (from 200 to 500).
Okay, let's back up here.
The reading of Deuteronomy is a very nuanced one, which your translation ...
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The place to look for info on the Goral HaGra is the three volume HaGaon: R' Eliyahu MiVilna by Dov Eliach. Unfortunately for those who do not own it yet, it might be out of print.
Here is a relevant article from Yated on the Goral that bases itself on R' Eliach's book.
I just discovered a sefer called "Goral HaGra" that deals with this subject ...
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As others have said, the Shach (the Sifsei Cohen), says that one must be 40 before they can learn kabbalah.
Others disagree:
Even though there is an opinion that one should not begin to study Kabbalah until the age of 40, the great masters of Kabbalah and Chassidut did not agree with this opinion. Some of the greatest teachers of Kabbalah--including the ...
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In this article from The Seforim Blog, under the heading "Bibliomancy", it says:
Another interesting method found in this sefer is the method of gorel using a Chumash to find out what to do:
ואני הצעיר הכותב קבלתי שצריך לעשות הגורל הנז' בחומש מכתיבת יד שאין בו כי אם חמשה חומשי תורה ואפילו לא הפטרות. והשלך שבעה שביעיות שהם מט, ומן שער החמישים יוצא ...
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Hanna, I am so sorry that both your son and you have had to go through this for so long. You must love your son very much. Some of the symptoms you have described sound like your son may have a disorder, many of which are treatable or manageable. Like Dave said, have your son seen by his primary care doctor for a referral to a psychiatrist. If you cannot ...
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It is hard to tell what you mean by "the core teachings of mysticism".
There is a part of Jewish tradition called "kabbala", but it is mostly reserved to be learned by people who have previous experience with other parts of Judaism, primarily Jewish Law.
If you would like to pursue more knowledge in the teachings of Judaism, and are not interested in the ...
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Hacham Ovadia in Yechave Da'at 4:47 quotes Morenu Harav Haim Vital (1543-1620) who speaks about this concept in Sha'ar Hagilgulim (Hakdama 11) and in his introduction to Sha'ar Hamitzvot. He seems to get it from the Zohar Parashat Balak (202a) which says:
והיה כעץ שתול על פלגי מים, מה אילן זה יש בו שרשים ויש בו ענפים ויש בו
עלים ויש בו פרחים ויש בו מוח ...
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The Lubavitcher Rebbe strongly suggested (Sha'rey Halacha Uminhag Chelek Gimmel pg. 233, English translation here) that children not be surrounded by even pictures or toys of impure animals. He explains the tremendous impact visual stimuli has on a person's mind both for good and bad, and how children are particularly susceptible since the impressions formed ...
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Aside from the advice of seeking the help of a medical professional, the Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Patiya writes at great length on this subject, as well as the remedy in his popular sefer Minhat Yehuda Parshat Miketz letter 47. The Pshat of his remedy is to say Kriat Shema Al HaMita with the utmost kavvanah. He also gives another small prayer to banish ...
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Actually the Arizal doesn't speak on this topic. The order that is followed by the mekubalim is derived from the Zohar parashat Emor 103b and through onto 104. The Matok UMdvash commentary also claims that the Remak in his commentary discusses the issue(neither are online that I know of). However as to the Ushpizin and their order the Arizal himself is ...
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The Shulchan Aruch Harav says that the reason one is prohibited (and it says that the prohibition is in force nowadays) is because of the "evil spirit" there (and not because of Tznius).
Therefore, at first glace, there should be no difference whether the two women are related to him or not.
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