Questions tagged [mysticism-kabbalah]
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.
110 questions from the last 365 days
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Why is Y-K-V-K which denotes mercy, more strict than saying Elokim which denotes justice?
Kabbalistically speaking, the name Elokim denotes strict justice, while the name Y-K-V-K denotes mercy. If this is the case, then why are we more strict not to say Hashem's name of mercy outside the ...
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Halachic source for R' Yitzchok Meir Morgenstern praying late [duplicate]
As we all know there are halachic times to pray. I recently discovered that R' Yitzchok is known (to some level) for praying late among other things.
I know he's a Mekubal and that's why he's one of ...
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Is Moshe Idel’s scholarship considered kosher by the Orthodox Jewish community [closed]
I’m curious whether the scholarship of Moshe Idel, a contemporary scholar of Kabbalah, is considered kosher (i.e., that his scholarship doesn't contradict the Mesorah) and reliable (i.e., that a ...
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Is it true that according to Kabbalah, everything that Yaakov Avinu did, Yosef also has to do, especially in the context of making 12 tribes?
I heard this on a YouTube class from Rabbi Daniel Glatstein that he said that everything that Yaakov Avinu did, Yosef also has to do, especially in the context of making 12 tribes. I've wanted to ...
- 181
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Penimiut of Gevura is "Rechovot" - what's the explanation?
I've seen an idea from the Besht several times, e.g. in Keter Shem Tov 1:62:
וז"ש אם תשקור. וכל הבארות אשר חפרו בימי אברהם שהם צנור החסד ואהבה
סתמום במות אברהם וישב יצחק ויחפור באר וצנור היראה ...
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Derivation of the number 600,000 in Zohar
I believe that there is a derivation of the 600,000 root souls of the Jewish people in the Zohar. My own Rav couldn't remember where exactly but he believes it is connected to the 6 emotional Sefirot (...
- 14.7k
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Earliest textual source for the concept of Holy Sparks?
What is the earliest known/cited textual source for the concept of holy sparks?
- 2,799
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Was the world really created by the Hebrew letters?
There’s a somewhat-famous Kabbalistic concept, recorded first in the Sefer Yetzirah, that Hashem created the world by using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Assuming Hebrew indeed evolved from an ...
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Is creation a "transmutation of the divine reality"?
Adin Steinsaltz in his book The Thirteen Petalled Rose says,
His creation being not the act of forming something out of nothing but the act of revelation. Creation is an emanation from the divine ...
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Are there Rabbinical commentaries on the symbolism of the altar fire revived by Nehemiah?
I gather that 2 Maccabees is outside the canon, but surely Rabbinical commentators were aware of it. With the goal of parsing out some of the symbolism seen in the following verses 1:23-28 (...
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Why does my Tikkun not have Chapter 19 (yud tet)?
I noticed my Artscroll Tikkun does not display certain chapters numbers correctly.
Yud heh -> vuv?
Yud vuv -> tet zayn (this makes sense)
Yud chet -> chet (18 is lucky, so why isn't this ...
- 21
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Askinu seudasa on Yom Tov
The Chabad nusach has a form of אתקינו סעודתא in kiddush (both day and night) for the shalosh regalim. However, it is not found in the machzor for Rosh Hashanah. I'm trying to find out if there are ...
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Meaning of "Av Harachamim"
Time-sensitive question (today is 29 Elul..!)
Artscroll translates the phrase "Av Harachamim" as "father of mercy".
What does this mean exactly? How can G-d be the Father of a ...
- 1,014
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What is כתיבת מלאכים, what is it for, and where does it derive from? [duplicate]
I have seen various writings called כתיבת מלאכים. In one case, I saw symbols in the end of Sefer Raziel haMalach written in a distinct script. In another case, a while back, I was in a shtieble and ...
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Was the concept "Arich Anpin" was influenced by Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3:12 and Midrash Tanchuma Pekudei 3:16?
Was the concept "Arich Anpin" (Keter,Hokhmah,Binah) was influenced by Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3:12 and Midrash Tanchuma Pekudei 3:16?
Pirke DeRabbi Eliezer 3:12 - There (in the north) is the ...
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Multidimensional person
Rabbeinu Ari writes :
כי כמו שמשה רבינו ע"ה הוא בבחי' הדעת העליון דז"א מצד אבא כן בלעם היה הרע שבמשה והיה כנגדו בדעת
...because, just as Moshe, our Rabbi A'H represents the aspect of the
Da'...
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Recommended books on Dybbuks and Shedim?
What books are suggested for studying the Jewish perspective on dybbuks and shedim? I am looking for books by Jewish Kabbalists/sages outside the Talmud/Zohar. Maybe their individual works.
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Interpretation of Amulet from Moroccan Rabbi
Rabbi Rafael Ochana (1850-1906), born in Morocco, wrote a book called Mareh HaYeladim (1899?) that has the following design for an amulet, as protection from demons (on p.50, kaf-hey in book):
Can ...
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Does mentioning someone’s sins somehow bring them before the heavenly court?
If someone has wronged you but you wish to forgive them. Should one avoid talking about what they’ve done to you?
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Is the term "Memra" (Word) in the Targum Jerusalem Deuteronomy 24:7 connected with Avot De Rabbi Natan 34:9 and Sefer Yetzirah 1:9?
Targum Jerusalem Deuteronomy 26:17 goes like this:
"You have chosen the Word of the Lord to be king over You this day, that he may be your God."
Does this unique concept called "Word&...
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Ramak's Pardes Rimonim English translation
I'm looking to see if anyone has translated the Pardes Rimonim of Moshe Cordovero into English.
I found a record online of a translation by Elyakim Getz, but I can't find any information about who he ...
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What are the meaning of some of these small letters in the Torah
BH
Hi, I remember — correct me if I’m wrong — that the aleph of the first word of Vayikra is small because Moshe’s humility because he said how can I be written at the beginning of such a holy book so ...
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Is there Maamar Tekhiyat HaMetim from the Rambam online version in English?
BH
Hi, do they have Maamar Techiyat HaMeitim by the Rambam somewhere online?
This is the Hebrew version https://www.sefaria.org/Iggerot_HaRambam%2C_Maamar_Tekhiyat_HaMetim.1?lang=bi&with=all&...
- 1,527
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Is it true that the Rebbe said if a person is getting something that isn't openly revealed as good they shouldn't say what did I do to deserve this
BH
Hi, Is it true that the Rebbe said if a person is getting something that isn't openly revealed as good they shouldn't say what did I do to deserve this? If he did say this what is the source?
- 1,527
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What is the Chaya?
The medresh (Bereshit Rabba 14:9 - see full passage, as well as related Midrash Devarim Rabba 2:37; see also Zohar I 206a-207b, for example) records that the soul is composed of 5 levels:
ואהבת את ה' ...
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Request for recomendation [closed]
I have multiple requests.
First on foremost can anyone recommend an index or sefer which points each parsha, inyan or yom tov to a list of places where the zohar talks about that topic?
Second, can ...
user38344
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Do people with special needs have a higher soul?
Is it true that people with special needs have a higher soul according to Kabbalah?
Is this only true for a Jewish soul or can it also be possible for a non-Jew (e.g. pre-convert, Noahide or any non-...
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Reconciling Geocentric vs. Heliocentric views
BH
I heard that the Geocentric view of the universe is held true by Rambam and Ptolemy. I also heard someone say that the Torah holds that the Heliocentric view is true although independent of the ...
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Are Jewish and non-Jewish souls equal? [closed]
I have two questions. 1. Are Jews and non-Jews born with the same number of souls and are both able to be equal in the eyes of Hashem? 2. Can the non-Jewish soul ever be equal to the soul of a Jew?
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Is it possible that a non-Jew could have a Jewish soul?
Some people feel a deep and inexplicable connection to Judaism, something that seems to go above nature, perhaps related to a past life or other metaphysical cause. Is there any basis in Jewish ...
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Sefaradim poskim and edot
With which edah among sefaradim is associated these poskim and what is the place of Kabbalah in their psakim :
Maran Rav Ovadia Yossef zl
Maran Mordekhai Eliyahu zl
HaRav Shalom Messas zl
HaRav Ben ...
- 207
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140
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Is Baal teshuvah really greater than a tzadik according to the Mittler rebbe
BH
Hi I heard correct me if I’m wrong that the Mittler Rebbe said that the tzaddik even though the Baal teshuvah is greater than him after his complete process of repentance can still get to a higher ...
- 1,527
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How to live in the times of Mashiach right now
BH
I heard that the Baal Shem Tov says that you are where your thoughts are. I also heard that certain big tzadikim, like Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, lived in a level of Torah in which the Temple was ...
- 1,527
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Did G-d foresee the sin of knowledge?
BH
I heard that if a person sinned, then all of his sins were Hashgacha pratit, after the fact, although before the fact, if there is something bad that a person knows, he shouldn't do it.
So did ...
- 1,527
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Chabad's position on learning the Alshich Hakodesh
I haven't seen the Alshich Hakodesh quoted much, if at all, by Chabad sources. That could simply be my bad memory, or it didn't occur within my scope of learning.
Given that the Alshich was a ...
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What is the deeper explanation of this passage in Iggeret Hakodesh (According to true Kabbalah or Chassidic explanation)
BH
Hi, so I started to read the Ramban's Iggeret Hakodesh's chapter on the intention of union trying to understand a specific section from of it. It says..
Ben Azzai was sitting and learning and a ...
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Whats the source of saying Al Cheit at night?
BH
Whats the source saying al chait every night at kiryat shma al hamita?
- 1,527
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How to reconcile the verse in Yeshaya 49:14 to the beginning of Shaar HaEmunah
BH
It says in Yishaya 49:14:
וַתֹּ֥אמֶר צִיּ֖וֹן עֲזָבַ֣נִי יְהֹוָ֑ה וַאדֹנָ֖י שְׁכֵחָֽנִי
whereas in Ner Mitzvah V'Torah Or (Shaar HaEmunah) it says:
וה' שכחני
Why does R. Dov-Ber Schneuri say ...
- 1,527
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Looking for sources on מגידות
I am looking for sources which describe the phenomena of מגידות.
I mean it in the sense of the experiences recorded in Maggid Mesharim, attributed to R. Yosef Karo.
So far I have:
The book "The ...
user15294
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Is the Book Shaar HaYichud a continuation of Shaar HaEmunah By the Mittler Rebbe?
BH
Hi in the Mittler Rebbes book translation on Sefaria translated by Rabbi Amiram Markel [1] it says that "it is through the delving of the concentration that one can come to the depth of the ...
- 1,527
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Getting rid of pride according to chassidic masters [closed]
BH
Hi, in the book The Great Magid pg 88 [1] it says: The succession to the seat of the Baal Shem Tov posed a problem. The master had not designated a successor in his will.
Each of the disciples had ...
- 1,527
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Rav Yosef Engel’s 20 books on Kabbalah?
Rav Yosef Engel (Polish rabbi and halakhist, 1859–1920) is reputed to have written over 20 works on Kabbalah.
What were these 20 works, which are still available, and what is the uniqueness of each?
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How can the kabbalistic significance of the 42 masaos (desert stops) be known to other Kabbalists in light of it having been unknown to Ramban?
Malbim writes (Bamidbar 33:5) that the Kabbalists say that the 42 stops of Bamidbar 33 correspond to the 42 letter name of HaShem (והמקובלים כתבו שמ״ב מסעות אלה היו מכוונים נגד שם של מ״ב.), see there ...
- 4,010
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2
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What is the History of the books Derech HaChaim and Netiv HaChaim?
BH
Hi,
In this picture after Shaar Hakollel it says Derech HaChaim is this book by or is was it written lezechut to Yaakov Melisa by Avraham David Lavut? What’s the history behind this? Also is Nervi ...
- 1,527
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What’s the part of the soul that enjoys existing and is that the part that has to get punished if it sins?
BH
Hi,
I heard that there is a part of the soul of man that enjoys simply existing is this the level of the Nefesh Elokit?
If yes which part is it of the Nefesh Ruach Neshama Chaya Or Yichida of the ...
- 1,527
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1
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67
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How do you reconcile Hashem knows everything from knowing himself and your thinking [closed]
BH
Hi so Rambam says Hashem knows everything from knowing himself Yesodei Torah 2:10, so when he does the action of knowing is this keter or daat?
Also how do you reconcile our knowing with Hashem's? ...
- 1,527
2
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71
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Colour spectrum before Newton's discoveries hinted at in the Kabbalah?
Sha'arei Tzedek 10 (c.1300):
ודע כי תחלת כל המראות לבן והוא מקבל כל הגוונים וסוף כל המראות שחור ואין אחריו גוון
Know that the beginning of all visions is white, which absorbs all colours, and the end ...
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3
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1
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199
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How do we know that even doimem is being recreated from the words inside of them every instant?
B"H
In the beginning of shar hayichud vihaemunah in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, it says a teaching (found also with slight variations on midrash tehillim on the verse) on the passuk "...
- 415
4
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1
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88
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Why does Kabbalah use the term "olamot" conjugated in the feminine when the Tanakh conjugates it as "olamim" in the masculine?
I'm curious why "olam" would be conjugated in the feminine throughout Kabbalah (as in the "arba'ah olamot") when as far as I know it is a masculine noun and is conjugated with the &...
- 41
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Shoresh Neshama
When we say shoresh neshama, is there a different root for each level of the soul (nefesh, ruach, neshama) or only for the level of the neshama?
For exemple, Arizal says that Nadav ben Aharon has only ...
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