From Divine Names To Dolphins and Sexual PDF
From Divine Names To Dolphins and Sexual PDF
From Divine Names To Dolphins and Sexual PDF
INTRODUCTION 3
PART I 8
3. CONCLUSION OF PART 1 74
PART II 80
4. INTRODUCTION TO PART II 80
BIBLIOGRAPHY 155
References to websites 168
The Kabbalah Centre 168
The Kamadon Academy 169
Samael Aun Weor 169
RÉSUMÉ 170
Introduction
Introduction
-3-
Introduction
-4-
Introduction
-5-
Introduction
-6-
Introduction
-7-
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
Part I
Language and Higher Knowledge: A
Contribution to the Demarcation of
Western Esotericism and Kabbalah
-8-
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
-9-
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
religionist views prevalent in the group, a point that has later been
subject to critique 13 . It should be pointed out however, that the
religionist writings of Faivre are restricted to the earlier part of his
scholarship. Also, I will maintain that the importance of the works by
Yates and Faivre for the establishment of the academic study of
Western esotericism cannot be overemphasized. Thus the following
critical discussion should mainly be seen as aimed at the problem in
question of the present thesis; namely the inclusion of Kabbalah in the
demarcation of Western esotericism. It is the theoretical frameworks
proposed by these scholars which are under scrutiny here and not their
contributions in general.
Overall, Faivre regards Western esotericism as a certain “form of
thought”14 that can be identified through six characteristics of which
the first four are intrinsic and the last two secondary for a certain
phenomenon to belong to the field of Western esotericism. These can
be summarized as follows15:
- 10 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
15 The full description can be found in Faivre: Access: p. 10-15 and Faivre and Needleman:
Modern Esoteric Spirituality, p. xiv-xxii.
16 Faivre: ‘Kocku von Stuckrad’, p. 208. (Emphasis by Faivre).
- 11 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
17 For a discussion and refutation of the narrative of a monolithic Christian West see
Meyerson and English (eds.): Christians, Muslims, and Jews; Nederman: Worlds of Difference and
Popkin (ed.): Jewish Christians.
I do contend that Western Europe is and has been dominantly Christian. However, while
recognizing this, it is still possible to see other cultural input as inherent to the social reality of
Western Europe, thus shifting the focus from cultural plurality to cultural pluralism. There is a
subtle but important difference between seeing Western culture as 1)“Christian pluralistic”
where “Christianity” is a broad cultural system that can even encompass rivaling religious
systems, or 2) pluralistic but dominantly Christian. This gives the rivaling religious systems a
more autonomous status even being minorities, a fact that I find of immense importance.
18 Stuckrad: ’Esoteric Discourse’.
- 12 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
Christianity’ fits the argument that esotericism stands outside Christianity’ (Stuckrad: Western
Esotericism, p. 83, n. 15).
21 Neugebauer-Wölk: ’Esoterik’, p. 137-143 and Stuckrad: ‘Western Esotericism’, p. 83-84.
22 Hanegraaff: ’The Dreams of Theology’.
- 13 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 14 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 15 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
34 Stuckrad: ‘Western Esotericism’, p. 79. However the use of “certain” would for Snoek be a
way to mark out the “fuzzy” character of the classes involved in the definition. See Snoek:
‘Defining ‘Rituals’’, esp. p. 12-14. In my opinion this is only useful in the process of making a
definition and not in the “final” solution.
- 16 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 17 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 18 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
Now I can fully agree with this statement, however I do not believe that
there is any way out of this problem. Certainly, it is important to be
aware of the notion of history as a social construct but it is naïve to
believe that historiography can fully avoid this. Admittedly, Hanegraaff
lessens the radicalism of an entirely objective historiography in his
description of the term as an ‘attempt to describe, as accurately as
possible, what actually happened’ 42 . Still his agenda seems rather
unrealistic:
- 19 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
45 Hammer: ‘Esotericism’.
46 Stuckrad: ‘Western Esotericism’, p. 80. See also Stuckrad: Western esotericism ch. 1 and
‘Western Esotericism’ p. 88-94.
47 Stuckrad: ‘Western Esotericism’, p. 88.
- 20 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 21 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 22 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
There is hardly need for comments to a statement like this, other than
this is exactly why the academic study of esotericism might have a
difficult task in gaining acknowledgement within the study of religions
in general.
Among the different approaches and definitions of Western esotericism
that have been under scrutiny in the present chapter the one proposed
by Stuckrad seems to me to provide the most fruitful framework and to
be the most consistent.
- 23 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 24 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
55 It is a very simplified picture I have given on the system of the sefirot. I will refer to the
following for a more subtle picture of this complex divine realm: Tishby: Zohar pp.269-308,
Scholem: Major Trends, p.205-243, Scholem: On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead; ‘Shekhinah’
p.140-197, Scholem: Kabbalah p.96-116 and Wolfson: Through a Speculum that Shines. The latter
presents a special emphasis on the sefirot as the visual representation of god in the
imagination. It should be noted that this is the presentation of the sefirot to be found from the
Bahir and on. The sefirot appearing in the Sefer Yetzirah has a totally different, much more static
function, strictly tied to the process of creation through the Hebrew language.
- 25 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
Sha’arei Orah (Gates of Light). Da’at resides between the three upper
sefirot: Keter, Hokhmah and Binah and the seven lower: Hesed, Gevurah,
Tiferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod and Malkhut and denotes a certain hidden
knowledge necessary in order to reach the upper triad. There are
explicit erotic connotations to the word Da’at since this is the biblical
word used for sexual intercourse. In kabbalistic rendering it becomes a
symbol of the higher knowledge which is achieved when the erotic
fusion between the masculine and feminine aspects of the sefirot is
completed and Malkhut is filled with the divine light.
Origins of Kabbalah, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, Kabbalah and On the Mystical Shape of the
Godhead.
58 Idel: Kabbalah, p. 23.
- 26 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
Scholem’s focus was the kabbalistic works which revolved around the
doctrine of the ten sefirot, the doctrine that has been designated as the
theosophical Kabbalah. Scholem viewed Kabbalah as an intellectual,
theoretical pursuit and this was what he wanted to promote. Those
texts that did not fit into this narrative were bypassed in silence. A
reason for this choice was that Scholem wanted to see Kabbalah as an
intellectual elitist type of Judaism, that is, as an elevated form of pious
religiosity. A more practical and especially magical involvement did not
fit into this picture. Thus the definition of Kabbalah rested on the
concept of the doctrine of the ten sefirot, a definition that excluded
several important kabbalistic works, in particular those of the prophetic
or ecstatic kabbalist Abraham Abulafia 59 . However, Scholem does
consider Abulafia to be kabbalist, thus showing an example of the
inconsistency in Scholem’s theory. Joseph Dan adheres to Scholem’s
restrictive definition of Kabbalah, as he regards the doctrine of the ten
sefirot as pivotal to all kabbalistic texts. He states, regarding the text
Ma’ayan ha Hokhmah (Fountain of Wisdom) that will be analysed in a
subsequent chapter of this thesis:
59 The scholar who has made a great effort to include ecstatic Kabbalah in his approaches
and definitions of Kabbalah is primarily Moshe Idel who has published extensively on
Abulafia and ecstatic/ prophetic Kabbalah and mysticism. See among others: Messianic
Mystics, The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia, and Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah. A more
nuanced view of the Kabbalah of Abulafia is also found in Wolfson: Abraham Abulafia. On
Scholem’s views on Abulafia see Idel: ‘The Contribution of Abraham Abulafia’.
60 Dan: The Early Kabbalah, p. 26.
- 27 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
61 Sefer ha Bahir is generally considered one of the earliest kabbalistic writings and is probably
written in the last half of the 12th century in Provence. See Abrams: The Book Bahir (in
Hebrew) for the best edition and study of the text. Other editions are Saverio Campanini: The
Book Bahir, a critical edition of Flavius Mithridates Latin translation, providing Hebrew, Latin
and English translation of the text. Scholem: Das Buch Bahir and Aryeh Kaplan’s English
translation (though his commentaries are not reliable): The Bahir.
62 See chapter 2.4: The Fountain of Wisdom.
63 Though not itself a kabbalistic work, the Sefer Yetzirah, probably composed somewhere
between the 4th and the 9th century CE has been of immense importance in medieval
kabbalistic literature. It was in this text the notion of the ten sefirot first appeared, though in
another guise than the one developed by the later kabbalists. For the latest and best edition,
translation and commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah see Peter Hayman: Sefer Yesira. See also
below, chapter 2.1.
64 See below. Idel: ‘Defining Kabbalah’.
65 Wolfson: Abraham Abulafia, p. 6 (emphasis by Wolfson).
- 28 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
66 Wolfson: Abraham Abulafia, part II, especially p. 104-106. See also Wolfson: ‘The
doctrine of Sefirot’.
67 Idel: ‘Defining Kabbalah’, p. 101.
68 In his book Kabbalah, Dan does not even mention the medieval Ashkenazi Kabbalah.
69 For a representation of Scholem’s and Dan’s views on the Ashkenaz see Dan: ‘Ashkenazi
Hasidim’.
70 Eleazar of Worm’s book Sefer ha-Shem (the Book of the Name) is a perfect example of an
Ashkenazic kabbalistic text concerning the theurgical and theosophical aspects and uses of
the divine names.
- 29 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
71 Laura: The Ashkenazi Kabbalah, p. 42. If the esoteric mode of transmission is seen as
referring to the dialectics between the hidden and the revealed as suggested in Stuckrad’s
definition of esotericism, we get very close to a comprehensive definition of Kabbalah. For
the esoteric dialectics of transmission of secret teachings in Kabbalah see Wolfson:
‘Kabbalah’.
72 Wolfson: ‘Beyond the Spoken Word’ and Idel: ‘Transmission’.
- 30 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
73 Laura: The Ashkenazi Kabbalah, p. 43. It is interesting to note that Joseph Dan takes the
total opposite stand and regards the theosophical doctrines to be the core of kabbalistic
esotericism (Dan: ‘Christian Kabbalah’ p. 121 and 128). However, this is not surprising
when recalling his definition of Kabbalah as the traditions concerning the ten sefirot.
74 Dan: ’In Quest of a Historical Definition’.
75 Dan: ’Christian Kabbalah’.
- 31 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 32 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 33 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
82 First published in Reshit ha-Kabbalah in 1938, then in the enlarged German version Ursprung
und Anfänge der Kabbalah in 1962 and finally in Origins of Kabbalah in 1987. Please note that
the first Hebrew version was published before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library in
1945. He later elaborated further on this thesis in ‘Merkabah Mysticism and Jewish
Gnosticism’, published in Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism 1941 and in Jewish Gnosticism,
Merkabah Mysticism and Talmudic Tradition in 1960.
83 The subject has been thoroughly treated by Nathaniel Deutsch in his The Gnostic
Imagination, though the force of this book lies in its account of Scholem’s treatment of the
problem and its examination of the sources from Antiquity, rather than a convincing theory
regarding the seemingly gnostic inspiration in medieval Kabbalah.
See also Dan: ‘Gershom Scholem’s Reconstruction’, Idel: Kabbalah, p. 115 – 117, Wolfson:
‘Review of Gershom Scholem’, and Abrams: ‘Jewish Gnosticism’.
84 Tishby: The wisdom of the Zohar, p. 236.
85 Dan: ’Jewish Gnosticism’. Dan has discussed the problem of Kabbalah and gnosticism in
- 34 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 35 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
1.2.4 Summary
In the preceding chapters I have discussed different definitions and
approaches to Western esotericism and Kabbalah and reached the best
possible working definitions of both. I will briefly summarize the
chosen definitions before continuing to the discussion of mysticism.
- 36 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 37 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
see Hanegraaff: ‘On the Construction’ p. 52-54 for another presentation of Dan.
93 This is a highly problematic statement since it excludes many eastern forms of mysticism
like that presented by Nagarjuna or the mystical aspects of Daoism, to take a few examples.
94 King: Orientalism, ch. 1.
- 38 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
95 This has been presented, among others, by Rudolph Otto who saw the mystical
experiences as experiences of the “Holy” that he believed to be behind all religions. See Otto:
Mysticism. More recently Frits Staal has promoted the idea of a universal mysticism, though
from a different angle. Staal argues that the common mystical experiences in different
cultures can be explained from a psychological point of view in that the human
consciousness generates similar experiences and only the interpretation of these experiences
is culturally conditioned, see. Staal: Exploring Mysticism. Staal also argues that a student of
mysticism inevitably has to become a practitioner of mysticism him/herself to be able to
understand mysticism properly (Staal: Exploring Mysticism p. 154.) This also shows Staal’s
perception of the mystical experience as being trans-subjective since he believes the actual
experience to be the same from one person to another. However, this cannot be defended
from an academic viewpoint, since it is not possible to detach the interpretation from the
experience itself. We have to accept that the only acces to mystical experiences are the
descriptions of various sorts, not the experiences themselves.
96 Katz: ‘The ‘Conservative’ Character of Mystical Experience’.
- 39 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
This, however, only moves the problem from one place to another. It
evades the problematic focus on ‘experience’ but ends up in the even
more ambiguous term of ‘religious consciousness’. The same problem
arises in Moshe Idel’s definition of mysticism as ‘intensified
religiosity’98, since one is left to wonder how it is possible to measure
the degree of intensity or consciousness? This cannot be a theoretically
adequate criterion for defining mysticism. What might be appropriate is
to see mysticism as a certain religious activity. The mystical praxis
establishes a privileged speech situation, and what might be
characteristic of mystical speaking situations is the emphasis on a
rhetoric of transcendence, in which the mystic inscribes him/ herself.
Instead of focusing on a unio mystica, as many definitions of mysticism
do, this approach gives a broader concept of the mystical praxis.
Michael Sells calls the climax of this mystical activity for the ‘meaning
event’, a very useful concept taking the place of unio mystica. Additionally
it indicates a point of apprehension, that is, the ‘moment when the
meaning has become identical or fused with the act of predication’99.
This removes the focus from the experience itself, which we do not
have any access to, and places it on the description and/ or
interpretation of the experience. This also facilitates the use of the
- 40 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
After the preceding discussions of the definition and use of the terms
esotericism, Kabbalah, Gnosticism and currently mysticism, it can be of
no surprise that I find Huss’ argument overreacting and simplistic. I can
fully agree with the first and basic problem of mixing religious practice
- 41 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 42 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 43 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 44 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 45 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
In Hebrew there is no word for mysticism. What is used is the word sod,
which literally means ”secret”, though usually in combination with
another word, e.g. sod ha-torah (secret of the Torah). Regarding
Kabbalah this word has been translated both as mysticism and as
esotericism, trying to denote a sense of social exclusivity. There is thus
no explicit differentiation made between mystical Kabbalah and esoteric
Kabbalah. However, by the proposed definitions of esotericism,
Kabbalah and mysticism respectively, I do believe it possible to discern
the different types of discourse in a given text. What is most important
in distinguishing mysticism from esotericism is the constitutive element
of esoteric discourse, namely the claim of a higher knowledge. This is
not necessarily involved in mystical activity, but it is by no means
excluded. Thus a given text can be both mystical and esoteric, but with
the proper analytical tool it is possible to clarify which levels are
mystical and which esoteric. Our definition of Kabbalah as transmitter
of esoteric teachings places Kabbalah in the centre of the field of
esotericism, yet as stated, this does not exclude mystical material since
the higher knowledge that is transmitted in the kabbalistic texts often is
achieved by means of mystical praxis.
Before turning to an example of esoteric discourse in two kabbalistic
texts, I will address the question of Kabbalah and esotericism a bit
further.
- 46 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
And he answers:
The need for written texts goes hand in hand with the growing
interest in the Kabbalistic approach to Judaism, and
demonstrates clearly the impossibility of restricting the doctrines
to an intellectual elite111.
- 47 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
- 48 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
115 This is mainly the case with Hames’ use of the term. Wolfson seems to see esotericism as
the dialectics between the hidden and the revealed.
116 Goldberg: ’Wisdom’, p. 13.
117 Goldberg: ’Wisdom’, p. 14.
- 49 -
A Discussion of Vague Terminologies
This conclusion was taken to its extreme in the very short but highly
influential text, the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation). As previously noted
it was in this text that the concept of the sefirot was introduced, however
- 50 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
only in its basic meaning of “ciphers”. The main concern of this small
book was to give a precise representation of the process of creation as
expounded in Genesis. However, the scope was something radically
different from just a mishnahic exegesis. The purpose of the explanation
of the act of creation was nothing less than possibility of reproducing
the divine creation. With the words of Joseph Dan:
The thirty-two paths are the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet
combined with the ten numbers by which god created everything. As
the Sefer Yetzirah states in the first chapter:
Yah, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the Living God,
God Almighty, high and exalted, dwelling for ever, and
holy is his name, carved out thirty-two wondrous paths of
wisdom. He created is universe with three groups of letters
(separim): with seper and seper and seper122.
- 51 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
- 52 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
- 53 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
When Abraham our father came, and looked, and saw, and
investigated, and understood, and carved, and combined,
and hewed, and pondered, and succeded, the Lord of All
was revealed to him […] He bound twenty-two letters into
his language, and the Holy One revealed to him the
secret126.
This is also one of the key paragraphs for the reinterpretation given by
Abraham Abulafia who understood it such as prophesies could be
achieved through repeating what the biblical Abraham did. Thus his
ecstatic practices involved the seemingly random recitation of the
Hebrew letters until the sought experience was achieved. The Zohar on
the other hand made a quite different point from the paragraph. Here
Abraham was seen as the one who through his piousness became
worthy to study the oral Torah with god in his celestial academy.
In the Zohar the process of creation as it is expounded in the Sefer
Yetzirah is restated but the notion of the ten sefirot is put into a fullblown
mythical narrative. In this way all of Torah is seen as an explanation of
the inner life of the godhead as it unfolds in the sefirotic realm and the
creation is understood through sefirotic symbolism:
- 54 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
The concealed of all concealed is Ein Sof which becomes Keter, the first
emanation when it is just about to be revealed. The single point is the
second sefirah, Hokhmah, the primordial point from where all creation
begins. In the drawing, engraving and carving all the subsequent sefirot
were prefigured within the divine thought before emerging in the
process of creation. The one hidden design is the third sefirah, Binah
from which the seven lower and more revealed sefirot emanates. This is
also why the upper triad of the sefirot, personified in Binah is called מי,
since she is so concealed that she is beyond naming. Only in
combination with the seven lower sefirot connected in the single name
אלהcan she be named with the name achieved by combining the two
words, that is, אלהים. This name is said to be polysemous as it denotes
other sefirot than just Binah, most notably the Shekhinah.
This short introduction to the concept of the Hebrew language as the
means of creation serves as a background for the following discussion
of the esoteric implications of this understanding of language. The Sefer
Yetzirah and the Zohar can in this exposition be seen as two extremities
both in time and meaning, ranging from late Antiquity to the golden
days of Kabbalah in the thirteenth century and from the concise
“scientific” character of the first to the lengthy theosophical and highly
symbolic representations in the latter. Between these two extremes we
find the two texts I will focus on in the final chapters of this part of the
thesis. But first I will engage in a more general examination of the role
of language in the medieval Kabbalah and especially how language
127 Haqdamat Sefer ha-Zohar 1:2a, in Sefer ha Zohar, Pritzker edition vol. I, p.8.
- 55 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
comes to serve as both the goal and the means of absolute or higher
knowledge.
This idea has been the object of much rumination and one of the
interpretations was to see the white fire as the garments of god, or even
more radical, the very skin of god on which the pre-existent Torah was
128 Moshe Idel has treated this subject extensively in Idel: Absorbing Perfections, especially in
chapter 2.
129 I suspect this word has been inserted by Scholem himself since, there is no word for
- 56 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
written131. This makes it possible for the kabbalist to look behind the
written text and focus on the backgrund, the white fire, and thereby see
god himself. This is elaborated among others by Jacob ha-Kohen in his
Explanation of the Letters:
When I said to you that the white form and not the black
exterior form in the aleph []אcorresponds to the exaltedness
of the Holy One, blessed be He, I said this to you as a
principle and a great secret: The white form corresponds
to the white robe132.
- 57 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
- 58 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
examination, but it lacks one vital aspect with its focus on the effect or
goal of language, namely the concept of the infinite layers of meaning
within language in general and the Torah in particular.
Joseph Dan draws the distinction between communicative and non-
communicative language, and magical versus mystical uses of language.
Concerning the divine names he argues:
- 59 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
- 60 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
140 This distinction is made by Blickstein in his: Between Philosophy and Mysticism, which is an
Light follow his choice of transliteration, even though it is at times not consistent. Besides
Weinstein’s edition I have consulted the Hebrew original in the Gershom Scholem Collection
at the National Library of Jerusalem: 1561 (cat. nr. R261).
- 61 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
in, thus they end up being defined as one, for they are
united together as one142.
The two names in question are Elohim Tzavaot and YHVH Tzavaot
corresponding to the sefirot Netzah and Hod. The reason for them
being joined together is that in these two the divine light from the
upper realm of the tree is collected and conducts the gathered light into
Yesod and from there to Malkhut.
The book is written as a guide from a master to his student or at least
fellow kabbalist143 where the reader is instructed in using the divine
names to achieve his goals. The short introduction is one of the most
important parts of the book and indeed gives the framework into which
the rest of the text is to be understood. Therefore I will quote the
beginning at length:
Gikatilla reveals to his student how the divine names can be used to
gain access to divine realms otherwise unattainable to man. These
realms are considered guarded by dreadful creatures that are to be
overcome to reach the intended destination in the upper spheres. This
can be done through correct knowledge of the divine names attributed
to each level. At this point Gikatilla polemicizes with those who claim
that it is the mere mentioning of the appropriate name that will help the
person in his theurgical task: “The verse does not promise safety by
- 62 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
- 63 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
The decrees could come from the sefirah of Binah, but the one who
knows how to ascend properly will be able to pass these decrees and
proceed to the highest sefirah, Keter; it all depends of knowing to which
names and thereby sefirot one should direct the prayers. That the ‘strong
decrees’ would stem from Binah seems to indicate Gikatilla’s
indeptedness to Isaac ha-Kohen. Kohen explains in his Treatise of the Left
Emanation how the Sitra Ahra (The Other Side) emerges from
emanations brought forth from Binah.
The metaphor of seeing the sefirotic realm arranged as a tree is distinct in
the Gates of Light. It shows the name YHVH as the trunk, the name
EHYE148 as the roots with all the other names as branches to the tree
and some as the treetop. This is exemplified in the following:
Know that all His Names are carried and included with the
unique Name which is YHVH, some of which may be
analogized to roots, some to branches, and others to the
treetop. His unique Name, may He be Blessed, stands in
the centre and is called the centre line, while the other
Names are interconnected like a tree with roots and
branches.149
It should be noted though, that the tree is upside down, so that the
roots have their firmament in the uppermost realm and the treetop
reaches toward the human world. The names are the foundations of the
world and the names by which the world was created. The inherent
potential residing in these names therefore places a heavy burden of
responsibility on the one who knows them. To utter a name at the
wrong circumstances will shake the divine realms and thereby also the
human world. And the unique name YHVH, as it contains all other
names, is of course the most potent of them all and therefore usually
148 EHYE would be better transliterated EHYH (Hebrew: )אהיהmeaning “I am”, the name
that God uses to identify himself when he reveals himself to Moses in the desert (Exodus
3:14). EHYH also refers to the highest sefirah Keter.
149 Gates of Light p. 159-160.
- 64 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
ineffable. But a passage of the Gates of Light seems to alter this usual
prohibition against uttering exactly this divine Name:
- 65 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
But Da’at is not only a sphere encompassing all the other spheres, it is
the symbol of the middle pillar of the sefirotic tree. This also shows how
it is possible for it to reach all the way from Malkhut to Keter and
beyond.
The importance of language can be seen in the perception of the
difference between Moses and the other prophets. Moses is the only
one who receives verbal revelation whereas all the other prophets only
receive visionary revelations. Thus Moses is the only one who has seen
154See Reuchlin: On the Art of the Kabbalah, Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica: Philosophia
Symbolica and below n. 122.
- 66 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
the name YHVH without all the other names as garments, that is, he
has seen god as he is behind the veils of names and cognomens. This
provides the notion of language a status much higher than the notion of
vision and consequently implies that absolute knowledge is to be sought
within language and not in visions.
The idea of seeing the Torah as made up of the divine names enables
the kabbalist to do a whole new form of exegesis so as to find deeper
levels of meaning within the text. The names show in which state of
emanation god reveals himself in the specific passage. Knowledge of
the divine names and the pathways of the sefirotic realm provide the
kabbalist with the means of personal advantages but also with the
obligation to act according to the divine will. It is the theurgical task for
the one who knows the way, to restore the primordial balance within
the godhead:
- 67 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
according to the divine will and perform the theurgic aspects of the
mitzvot. However, it is not only a tool, since the acquisition of the right
knowledge of the language implies a higher knowledge of the divine
which is only accessible through and within the language of the torah and
the divine names.
In the next text we also see the emphasis on the proper understanding
of divine language as identifiable with higher knowledge. It is the short
treatise Fountain of Wisdom, which will be analysed in the following
chapter.
157 Verman: The Books of Contemplation. Joseph Dan gives another translation of the Fountain of
Wisdom in The Early Kabbalah, but it is based only on a single manuscript, wherefore I chose
the version given by Verman. The editions consulted in the Gershom Scholem Collection at
the National Library in Jerusalem are: Amsterdam 1651 (cat. nr. 942), Venice 1601 (cat. nr.
- 68 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
the angel Pe’eli158 who then revealed them to Moses159. This gives an
authority to the text that is even stronger than the usual pseudepigraphy
as employed by attributing the teaching to ancient rabbis. What the
readers should understand is that this text is a divine revelation
revealing the divine secrets without other intermediaries than Moses
himself. This text takes the doctrine of the Sefer Yezirah to its most
radical interpretation. Not only is everything created from and by the
Hebrew letters, here every part of creation is considered to have its own
language which can be learned through contemplation of the 231 gates
of wisdom also taken from the Sefer Yezirah. The following is one of the
most essential passages of the Fountain of Wisdom, wherefore it is quoted
at length:
175), Berlin 1651 (cat. nr. 147), N.N. (cat. nr. 152), Tzernowich 1863 (cat. nr. 155) and
Warsaw 1885 (cat. nr. 160).
158 Can be translated as “God’s mouth” or “wondrous”, depending on the vocalization.
159 The idea of Moses receiving more than just the written Torah on the Mount Sinai, is one
- 69 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
- 70 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
The increase and flow of divine light could very well be the kind of
restorative process that we later see in Zoharic theurgy, where it is the
goal of the kabbalist to study the torah and observe the mitzvot in order
to re-establish the cosmic balance within the godhead; a theme we also
noted in the Gates of Light. The overflow of divine light can, in the
symbolic world of the sefirot, only reach the human world when the
divine realm is in balance. Thus, the goal of the theurgical kabbalists
was to reestablish the harmony in the world of the sefirot. It was possible
when he, through the study of Torah, had understood the divine
mysteries. Then he then obliged to carry out the theurgical task which
was the meaning of human existence: That is, the uttermost purpose of
Kabbalistic work was to bring back the original balance within the
godhead:
- 71 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
- 72 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
This text is a redaction of the Fountain of Wisdom and where, in the first
example, the combination, sum etc. are parts of the tikkun which thus
becomes the congregative designation for the different praxis; the
tikkun of the second example is the beginning of the series of practices
and attitude toward the divine names. In both texts tikkun is closely
linked to experiential knowledge as a part of the daily liturgical activity,
where tikkun can be seen as the foundation for the proper perception
and performance of language.
In the Circle of Contemplation higher knowledge is identified with
tikkun and tikkun is accomplished by a mystical dissolution of dialectical
boundaries:
- 73 -
The Concept of Language in Medieval Kabbalah
3. Conclusion of Part 1
In the preceding chapters I have dealt with the theoretical construction
of central terminologies as well as with textual analysis.
I have chosen to use the typologies necessary for the present study in a
broad and elastic sense. That is, they do not exclude each other, but
merely show a certain discursive aspect within the text, group, current
etc. It is, however, still important to distinguish the different layers of
discourse, and to do this it is necessary to have the proper analytical
tools. Therefore I think it is of utmost importance to disentangle the
different scholarly constructs from the confusion of the current state.
Theoretically adequate definitions are essential to this pursuit and
therefore this has been a main goal of the first chapters of the thesis.
The definitions of Western esotericism have revolved around two
major problems: 1) The notion of “Western” as denoting a monolithic
Christian European culture where Islam and Judaism are only seen as
minor influences upon rather than integrated parts of Western culture
(Faivre, Neugebauer-Wölk), 2) The acknowledgement of a pluralistic
- 74 -
Conclusion of Part I
- 75 -
Conclusion of Part I
- 76 -
Conclusion of Part I
- 77 -
Conclusion of Part I
- 78 -
Conclusion of Part I
- 79 -
Introduction to Part II
Part II
Contemporary Kabbalah: A New (?) Field
of Study
4. Introduction to Part II
I will now turn to contemporary examples of movements that use
Kabbalah as a constitutive element in their religious systems. I have
chosen the following cases in an attempt to present the huge divergence
of uses of kabbalistic material. Thus, some of the currents which will be
examined will prove to comply with the definition of Kabbalah as it was
reached in the previous part of the thesis. However there will also be
some of the movements that cannot be termed Kabbalah but rather can
be designated as New Age movements which to a lesser extend makes
use of kabbalistic material.
When examining contemporary Kabbalah it is important to keep in
mind that Kabbalah should be understood in the widest possible sense,
sometimes indicating only the self identification of the respective group,
rather than any historical affinity with the medieval Kabbalah presented
in the beginning of this thesis. My emphasis on this is not an attempt to
argue that there exist a “true” or “original” Kabbalah but it should
rather be seen as an attempt to clarify the different uses of Kabbalah.
For example we can see that in many instances of New Age Kabbalah,
the term “Kabbalah” simply denotes an ancient esoteric teaching used
in order to provide the group with authenticity and authority. One
could as a heuristic model see the chosen groups arranged on a scale
from the clearest kabbalistic to the most eclectic. According to this we
would have:
- 80 -
Introduction to Part II
• Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff
• The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
• The Kamadon Academy
These four cases could be further divided into what I would term
1)”Contemporary Kabbalah” to which the Kabbalah Centre would
belong, 2) “Occult Kabbalah” to which Neutzsky-Wulff belongs and
finally 3) “New Age Kabbalah” which is exemplified by Samael Aun
Weor and the Kamadon Academy. Obviously this is an extremely
eclectic selection, but due to the enormous popularity of Kabbalah
within contemporary esotericism and occultism a thorough treatment
of all the variations would be an impossible task. I have tried to give a
representative overview of the different directions the use of kabbalistic
discourses have taken in recent years.
- 81 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
- 82 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
- 83 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
evident in the famous 900 theses that Pico della Mirandola published in
1486 and presented to the pope in Rome. 13 of the 900 theses were
condemned, but interestingly none of these belonged to the kabbalistic
theses.
47 theses belong to the category “Cabalistic conclusions according to
the secret doctrine of the Hebrew Cabalist wisemen, whose memory
should always be honoured” 175 . 72 theses belong to the category
“Cabalistic conclusions according to my own opinion, strongly
confirming the Christian religion using the Hebrew wisemen’s own
principles”176. That so large a percentage of the theses were devoted to
Kabbalah shows how great valued this tradition was to Pico and it is
evident that Pico contributed immensely to the spread of Christian
Kabbalah in Europe. A key figure for this was Pico’s helper Flavius
Mithridates, a Jew who had converted to Christianity and taught Pico
Hebrew while also translating several kabbalistic texts177.
The next important figure in the history of Christian Kabbalah is Pico’s
student Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522) who wrote one of the most
important works for modern occultist Kabbalah, namely De Arte
Kabbalistica from 1517. As Pico, Reuchlin saw in Kabbalah the
foundation and proof of Christianity as the “True Religion”. His earlier
book De Verbo Mirifico exposes the three scriptural religions as basically
identical and interestingly the kabbalistic arguments are shown to be the
most convincing. De Verbo Mirifico is structured around a conversation
between three scholars, a Christian, a Muslim and a Jew. An important
detail is that the Jewish scholar is called Simon, named after the
mythical author of the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. Though a
contributions are the commentaries and introduction to the 900 theses by S.A Farmer in his
edition of the text: Farmer: Syncretism in the West. Another valuable source is Saverio
Campanini: The Book Bahir. A critical edition with commentaries of the Hebrew text with
- 84 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
Mithridate’s Latin translation and further provided with an English translation by the editor
in collaboration with Giulio Busi.
178 It is in this place that the mythic author of the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, is buried.
Thus it is still a place of worship for many contemporary kabbalists who ventures on
pilgrimage to the site.
179 See my chapter on the Fountain of Wisdom where tikkun is related to the proper usage of the
Hebrew language.
- 85 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
180 Much has been written on the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria. A short but profound overview
can be found in Scholem: Major Trends, seventh lecture p. 244-286. A comprehensive edition
of all Scholem’s writings on Luria is Daniel Abrams (ed.): Lurianic Kabbalah (in Hebrew).
181 I will get back to the teachings of Isaac Luria in the chapter on the Kabbalah Centre.
- 86 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
for manuscripts for the king’s library. He translated the Sefer Yetzirah,
the Sha’arei Orah, large parts of the Zohar and several other kabbalistic
works while also composing kabbalistic texts himself as his Or ha
Menorah (Light of the Menorah) During his work on the Zohar he was
accompanied by a woman whom he termed the “Venetian Virgin” and
identified with the feminine messiah – the second Eve and the
embodiment of the Shekhinah. She lived an intense mystical life and
received continuous revelations which Postel saw confirmed on every
page of the Zohar. Shortly after the death of the Venetian Virgin, Postel
fell seriously ill. When he recovered, he saw himself as radically
transmuted, having
The theories proposed by Postel was evidently quite radical for his time
and the only reason he escaped the inquisition with his life was that he
was declared officially insane by the court in Venice. For the last years
of his life he was confined to stay in the monastery of St Martin des
Champs, where he kept writing and teaching until his death.
John Dee claimed to have become friends with Postel and if this is true
Dee would have had direct access to at least Postel’s translation of Sefer
Yetzirah183. It is certain from Dee’s library catalogue that he collected
everything possible connected to Kabbalah though mostly books by the
Christian kabbalists184. Dee took the search for an original language one
step further when he through angelic revelations or rather
conversations received the “True Language” of the angels, namely the
Enochian language. The culmination of Dee’s search for the true
language was his “discovery” of the monas hieroglyphica, a symbol
- 87 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
- 88 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
- 89 -
Kabbalah in Western Esoteric Traditions:
A Very Short Overview
leading the way to the coming messiah. One of his famous sayings was
that it is a mitzvah always to be happy. As a response to this his
followers today can be found dancing and singing to loud dance music
in the streets of Jerusalem. Instead of the original lyrics they chant
either the rabbi’s name or their mantra which is ‘Na Nah Nahma
Nahman meUman’188. These were the last words of the rabbi, spoken just
before he died and perceived to contain the secret key to the mysteries
of the universe. Furthermore the mantra contains an inherent efficacy
so chanting it or writing it as graffiti in the streets slowly cleanses the
world of impurity and thus preparing the coming of the messiah.
Many contemporary orthodox Jewish communities offer Kabbalah
study groups and entire Yeshivas (religious schools), especially in
Jerusalem, are devoted to the study of Kabbalah. Outside strictly Jewish
circles Kabbalah has upheld the status it was given in the renaissance as
an ancient wisdom tradition applicable to almost any other tradition.
This can be witnessed in the role of Kabbalah in the teachings of widely
different types of esoteric movements, from initatory orders like the
Dragon Rouge to the theosophy of Helena Blavatsky or the rosy red
New Age healers. A common trait for many of the non-Jewish
adoptions of Kabbalah is the very sporadic knowledge of traditional
kabbalistic material and the emphasis on the single notion of the Tree
of Life. In the following chapters a selection of the different more or
less kabbalistic movements will be analyzed.
188 In Hebrew this is: נ נח נחמ נחמנ מאומן. Nah man meUman literally means Nah man
- 90 -
The Academic Study of Contemporary Kabbalah
189 Within the last few years two conferences have been arranged dedicated the topic of
contemporary Kabbalah: One in Amsterdam, July 2007 and one in Israel, May 2008.
Furthermore several research projects have been undertaken both in and outside Israel and
already a few books have been published or are at least coming soon. These are for example
Jody Myers: Kabbalah and the Spiritual Quest from 2007 and the forthcoming publication
Kabbalah and Modernity edited by Boaz Huss, Marco Pasi and Kocku von Stuckrad, expected
late 2008.
190 Huss: ’Authorized Guardians’.
191 Huss: ’Authorized Guardians’, p. 108.
- 91 -
The Academic Study of Contemporary Kabbalah
Note also that Scholem does not include the possibility of mysticism outside the three major
scriptural religions, a stance which has been followed by Joseph Dan. See my discussion in
chapter 1.3.
193 Huss: ‘Authorized Guardians’, p. 109.
194 Scholem: Major Trends, p. 2. As Boaz Huss ads, Scholem later writes in a note to this
lecture that ‘No words should be wasted on the subject of Crowley’s “Kabbalistic” writings
[…] (ibid. p. 353. Quoted in Huss: ‘Authorized Guardians’, p. 115, n.38).
- 92 -
The Academic Study of Contemporary Kabbalah
- 93 -
The Academic Study of Contemporary Kabbalah
- 94 -
The Kabbalah Centre
The acclaimed connection to Isaac Luria and Shimon Bar Yohai as the
direct lineage of the Centre is not surprisingly an important part of the
Centre’s strategy of authorization and self legitimization. Since
Kabbalah cannot be separated from the act and history of transmission,
this is an extremely important factor for a kabbalistic movement. Now,
one thing is to construct a spiritual lineage using actual historical
persons as pinpoints as the Kabbalah Centre does. Another is to
reinstate the mythical authorship of the Zohar to Shimon Bar Yohai
thus bringing the origins of Kabbalah back to Antiquity. As shown by
Olav Hammer, this extensive use of emic historiography is a common
trait of esoteric traditions which transform pieces of actual history into
what is needed for the organization to establish its legitimization. As
he writes:
The Kabbalah Centre does not only use pieces of actual historical facts
such as the existence of the two rabbis, they combine these details with
already well established mythologized narratives regarding the historical
figures. Thus they reconfirm the claim made by Moses de Léon in 13th
century Spain that the Zohar was an ancient document handed down
- 95 -
The Kabbalah Centre
through generations from the well esteemed rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai. A
statement which has been upheld by kabbalists ever since despite
numerous convincing scholarly arguments that the book could never
have been written by Shimon Bar Yohai199. The authenticity of the
pseudepigraphic work was also upheld by Isaac Luria himself who
proposed a direct lineage between himself and Bar Yohai. While
holding on to a traditional kabbalistic account of transmission, the
interpretation of the material as promoted by the Kabbalah Centre is
radically different from that of Luria. The Kabbalah Centre relies
heavily on the Lurianic tradition especially in the interpretation of
Yehuda Ashlag, however an entirely new perspective is added as a
fundamental part of their Kabbalah:
199 See the splendid discussion by Arthur Green in the introduction to the first volume of the
Zohar, Pritzker edition.
200 www.Kabbalah.com/03.php (accessed February 2nd 2008)
- 96 -
The Kabbalah Centre
201 Here as well as in the remaing the thesis I use the term New Age in accordance with
Hanegraaff: ‘The New Age Movement’.
202 Jody Myers: Kabbalah, p. 18
203 Cohen and Cohen (eds.): In the Shadow, p. 38-42.
204 A concept invented by Luria as a cosmogonic event, resulting in the divine sparks being
captured in the human body and in a larger framework in an unbalance in the divine realm.
This is what tiqqun is supposed to overcome.
205 Myers: Kabbalah, p.19.
- 97 -
The Kabbalah Centre
- 98 -
The Kabbalah Centre
207 Myers offers an introduction to the controversy between Krakovsky and Berg in Myers:
Kabbalah, p.30-31.
208 Berg: Kabbalah for the Layman, p. 11 and Myers: Kabbalah, p. 51.
209 Myers: Kabbalah, p. 54-55.
- 99 -
The Kabbalah Centre
Baruch Ashlag and his more orthodox teaching. With Laitman’s final
outbreak from the Kabbalah Centre several members followed him and
joined Laitman’s own kabbalistic movement called Bnei Baruch which
still exist210. Despite the internal crisis of the Kabbalah Centre in Israel,
its popularity in America was increasing especially among non-Jews and
secular Jews. Parallel and maybe as a consequence of the shift in
audience Berg grew progressively polemic against orthodox rabbis
accusing them of denying important kabbalistic teachings to the seeking
students and for restricting the transmission of Kabbalah to their own
narrow religious circles211.
The teaching of the Kabbalah Centre is aimed at two different kinds of
audience. The first is a very narrow Jewish group that observes
orthodox Jewish practices and is highly dedicated to the religious
education within the Centre. The other and more dominant group
consists of more loosely connected people whose engagement range
from attending a course or meditation session now and then, buying a
book or two and maybe wearing a red string around their wrist to the
dedicated followers who attend service every Friday and Saturday,
participate in the high holiday retreats and generally follow the more
expanded education program offered by the Centre without necessarily
being Jewish.
At the core of the Kabbalah Centre’s teaching we find a number of
“spiritual tools”, that is, kabbalistic tools for increasing ones spiritual
level. The most important ones revolve around the doctrine of the
famous red string which followers wear around their wrist to remove
evil, the seventy two names of god, and finally the text of the Zohar. In
the next chapters I will focus on each of these subjects.
- 100 -
The Kabbalah Centre
This reflects the general anthropology of the Centre that perceives the
human being as essentially receiving and giving different types of
energies. The goal is not surprisingly to be able to only give and receive
positive energy and avoid the bad energies. What is interesting in this is
the explicit turn towards a typical New Age rhetoric instead of
traditional kabbalistic terms. Not only is the emphasis on energies
which can be manipulated through spiritual elevation a common trait in
much New Age rhetoric, the very perception of the spiritual teachings
and tools as being technology or science213 is a very important key to
the universalization of the Kabbalah Centre’s teachings. It has to be
recognizable and appealing to a certain audience, namely the “spiritual
seekers” of the New Age milieu. I do not think one should
underestimate the importance of the highly competitive character of the
spiritual market and its influence on the different movements’ choice of
rhetoric and self promotion.
- 101 -
The Kabbalah Centre
The red string itself symbolizes danger and evil since in the Zohar red is
associated with the sefirah Gevurah 214 which represents god’s stern
judgment and is the point, at least according to the Zohar where evil is
attached to the godhead as a parallel system to the holy sefirot; the Sitra
Ahra, literally the Other Side. By wearing the red string one gains control
over these chaotic forces but not every piece of red string will do. It has
to be properly prepared in order to gain its efficacy and furthermore
one has to observe a specific ritual for tying the string around the wrist.
The Kabbalah Centre explains that to infuse the red thread with
protective energy they take it to the tomb of Rachel, the biblical
matriarch, and wind it around the tomb. The protective forces that
she stood for alive is thus transferred to the woolen string wound
around her tomb since ‘according to Kabbalah, the burial sites of the
righteous are a portal to the energy they created in their lifetimes215’.
When the string is impregnated with Rachel’s protective energies it is
sold in small packages with a specific guide to the ritual fastening of the
string around the wrist.
It says that the string should be placed around the left wrist as this is
where the energies enter the body and thus:
convincingly demonstrates how contemporary science provides New Age Movements with
their basic legitimization.
214 See for example Zohar II, 20a-20b. Midrash ha Ne’elam in Tishby: Wisdom of the Zohar III p.
930-932.
215 www.Kabbalah.com/13.php (accessed April 17, 2008)
216 www.Kabbalah.com/13.php (accessed April 16, 2008).
- 102 -
The Kabbalah Centre
The reason why the “Red String Technology” holds such a central
position within the practice of the Kabbalah Centre can be found in
their interpretation of the cosmogony and anthropogony of Isaac Luria.
According to Luria all creation began when the only existing “thing”
Ein Sof (without end) made a contraction, leaving an empty space. This
is the process which in kabbalistic terminology is called tzimtzum. In this
empty space the primordial man Adam Kadmon was formed out of light
emanating from Ein Sof and from him the light flowed into special
vessels. The divine light however proved too powerful for the vessels
and they broke into pieces unleashing the sparks of light. Some of these
sparks attached themselves to the fragments of the vessels which then
became the kelippot, evil shells whereas others entered human bodies,
forming semi-divine beings. Thus the human being consists of a divine
soul trapped in a material body, living in a chaotic world where the link
to the divine has been broken. The fragmented nature of the material
world is a mirror of the state of the divine realm and the theurgical task
of the kabbalist was to restore the divine balance by observing the
mitzvot and engaging in restorative meditations. The individual purpose
was to make sure that the divine soul could in death be re-integrated
with its divine source, but this was only possible for the extreme
righteous man, the tzaddiq. For those who had not gained the spiritual
elevation necessary for this the soul would be reincarnated, a process
which in kabbalistic rendering is referred to as gilgul, until complete
righteousness would be achieved.
This detour around Luria’s highly mythologized interpretation of
kabbalistic material is meant to show the context in which the Kabbalah
Centre inscribes itself. It is in this context that the remaining discussion
of the Centre should be seen.
- 103 -
The Kabbalah Centre
ְ יט וִַ ַ ע ַמ ְל
19 And the angel of god, who
ַהה ֵֹל ְ ִל ְפנֵי,
ָה ֱאל ִֹהי went before the camp of Israel,
removed and went behind
,ְ ֵל
ֶ ַו,ַמ ֲחנֵה יִ ְ ָר ֵאל them; and the pillar of cloud
יה
; וִַ ַ ע ַע ד ֶ ח ֵרֲ ֵמ removed from before them,
, ַו ַ ֲעמֹד,
ֵיהֶ ִמ ְ"נ,!ֶָה ָענ and stood behind them;
.
יה ֶ ח ֵרֲ ֵמ
י! ַמ ֲחנֵה$ֵ כ ַו ָבֹא 20 and it came between the
בי! ַמ ֲחנֵה ֵ ,
ִִמ ְצ ַרי camp of Egypt and the camp of
Israel; and there was the cloud
!ָ וַיְ ִהי ֶה ָענ,יִ ְ ָר ֵאל and the darkness here, yet gave
)ָאר ֶאת ֶ ַו,ְ 'ֶֹ וְ ַהח it light by night there; and the
217 See Peter Schäfer: Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur and Hekhalot Studien and more notably the
brilliant analysis of the magical and theurgical aspects of this literary corpus in Michael
Swartz: Scholastic Magic.
218 Huss: ‘All You Need Is LAV’, p. 612-613.
- 104 -
The Kabbalah Centre
ַה ָ*יְ ָלה; וְ לֹא) ָק ַרב זֶה one came not near the other all
.ל) ַה ָ*יְ ָלה-ָ ,ֶאל)זֶה the night.
- 105 -
The Kabbalah Centre
restrict himself to the tradition of the seventy two divine names but
extended his usage to include for example the doctrine of seeing the
whole Torah as consisting of one single divine name.
The Kabbalah Centre reaffirms the inherent efficacy of the names in
stating that the names themselves radiate divine power just by being
watched:
219http://store.Kabbalah.com/product_info.php?cPath=150_202&vcats=150&page=2&pro
- 106 -
The Kabbalah Centre
221http://store.Kabbalah.com/product_info.php?cPath=150_202&vcats=150&page=2&pro
- 107 -
The Kabbalah Centre
As is well known the pop star Madonna is involved with the Kabbalah
Centre and their teachings have made their way into her creative work.
Thus we find the name LAV an essential element in her video
performance of the theme song for the James Bond movie ‘Die
Another Day’222. The movie shows Madonna with the Hebrew letters
לאוtattooed on her right arm, being tortured in a prison similar to the
one James Bond is held in in the movie. The location shifts between
this and a fencing dueling scene displaying a white and a black
Madonna fighting each other (In the movie Madonna plays the role as a
fencing instructor named Verity!). As the fighting increases in intensity
the imprisoned Madonna straps her arms in tefillin, the leatherstraps
Jewish men binds around their arms and forehead before prayer, just
before she is tied to an electric chair. In the end of the video the white
Madonna kills the black Madonna and simultaneously the electric chair
is empowered, leaving a thick cloud of smoke in the room. When her
executioner enters the room the chair is empty but the name לאו
appears in flaming letters on its back while we see Madonna escaping
down the corridor 223 . Among the lyrics to the song we find the
important sentences: ‘I’m gonna break the cycle, I’m gonna shake up
the system, I’m gonna destroy my ego’. The connection between the
lyrics and the divine name is unmistaken and Huss arrives at the
following conclusion:
222 In his article ‘All You Need is LAV’ Boaz Huss offers a splendid analysis of the music
video. Thus the following is more or less a summary of his main points.
223 The video can be found on Youtube:
- 108 -
The Kabbalah Centre
the lyrics of the song, the victory over the evil powers is
contingent upon an internal victory, a destruction of the
ego, the victory of the white Madonna (the divine light, the
will to bestow) over the black Madonna (the evil side, the
will to receive, the ego). This victory can be achieved
through the power of the letters LAV224.
- 109 -
The Kabbalah Centre
Besides the red string and the divine names another important spiritual
tool is promoted by the Kabbalah Centre. This is the medieval literary
masterpiece, the Sefer ha Zohar, meaning the Book of Splendor. The Zohar
was written in the late thirteenth century as a pseudepigraphic work
mainly by the Spanish kabbalist Moses de Leon. He presented the work
as being an ancient work by the rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and now he
was able to pass piece by piece of this sacred authoritative teaching on
to his own students. It developed into a huge compilation of kabbalistic
exegeses on the Torah written in the style of ancient midrashim combined
with legendary tales of the lives and teachings of the ancient, honored
rabbis. It quickly achieved a canonical status among the kabbalists, a
status which has been maintained until today. Despite the academic
consensus about the pseudepigraphic character of the book, most of
the contemporary kabbalist adhere to the alleged authorship of the
- 110 -
The Kabbalah Centre
Zohar as being Shimon bar Yohai and not Moses de Leon. This is also
the case with the Kabbalah Centre who even promotes the Zohar to a
far greater extend than the Torah itself. Where the Zohar holds a place
on their website as part of the central teachings of the center and a
whole section of their online store is devoted to the book itself in
different languages and various commentaries on it, hardly any
references to the Torah are found. Only in their store it is possible to
buy a two volume Hebrew commentary on the Torah by Yehudah Berg.
Furthermore, in practice the Zohar has gained a similar function as the
Torah in that a special chart is given of when to read which portion of
the Zohar over a period of one year, exactly as it is common practice in
a traditional Jewish synagogue to read a designated chapter of the Torah
each Shabbat.
As with the divine names, the Kabbalah Centre emphasizes that
understanding of the language is of minor importance. The efficacy of
the Zohar is embedded in the physical representation of the letters, not
just in its literary meaning:
The reason for the elevated status of the Zohar compared to the Torah
can be found in the Kabbalah Centre’s distinction between Judaism and
Kabbalah, where Judaism is a closely defined religion opposed to
Kabbalah which is perceived as universal wisdom. Thus studying the
Torah is only relevant for the very small circle of orthodox Jews
attending the higher educational programs within the Centre, whereas
the Zohar is available for everybody. It is highly interesting to note how
- 111 -
The Kabbalah Centre
- 112 -
The Kabbalah Centre
The Zohar actually functions in the same way as the divine names and
they compliment each other in the everyday practice of the Kabbalah
Centre attendee. Different sections of the book is said to be connected
to different spiritual functions just as the names of god and both the
book and the names are perceived to pave the way for the spiritual
perfection of the individual and thus for the world itself. The theurgical
utility of the Zohar is a reminiscent of the teachings of Yehuda Ashlag
who thought of himself as being the one who had completed the
understanding of the Zohar and made it available to all of humankind231.
Ashlag was convinced that he lived in the messianic age, a time where
the connections between the physical and the divine worlds were closer
than ever, and he saw it as his task to bring the knowledge of god and
of Kabbalah out into the world. And to this, the understanding and
spreading of the Zohar was mandatory for the complete spiritual
fulfillment of the physical world. In the Kabbalah Centre the Zohar
along with the divine names become the key tools to achieve the
individual and thus cosmological completion and purification.
230 http://store.Kabbalah.com/product_info.php?cPath=164&vcats=164&products_id=258
- 113 -
The Kabbalah Centre
- 114 -
The Kabbalah Centre
- 115 -
The Kabbalah Centre
problems of defining “religion” are well known and it will not get any
easier by the employment of an extra category as “spirituality”. It only
extends the definitiorial quest to comprise two fuzzy categories instead
of just one. An example of a definition of “spiritual” which in my view
does not distinguish itself from any definition of “religion” is the
following from Robert Wuthnow:
I do not think that this definition by any means differentiates itself from
any other type of religion and consequently it confuses more than
clarifies. Within the study of contemporary Kabbalah the designation of
“spirituality” is also prevalent. As Boaz Huss writes:
their basic agreement that a distinction of the two terms is of intrinsic value to the academic
study of contemporary religion, an assumption that I do not contend.
237 Wuthnow: After Heaven, p. vii-viii.
238 Huss: ’The New Age of Kabbalah’, p. 118.
- 116 -
The Kabbalah Centre
7.6 Summary
In the previous discussion I have shown how the Kabbalah Centre
places itself in two traditions. The substance of their teaching belongs
to quite traditional kabbalistic doctrines which however have been
interpreted in a New Age rhetoric. As a consequence they base their
teaching on such traditional kabbalistic subjects as the divine names, the
Zohar and speculations about the use of amulets but the usage of these
teachings have been transformed into tools for spiritual purification and
everyday improvements. Still as the final quotation will show, the
selfevolvement is deeply imbedded in traditional Lurianic doctrines:
- 117 -
The Kamadon Academy and the Melchizedek Method
Level 1 & 2:
• Activating the Hologram of Love 3 Breath Merkaba lightbody.
• Accessing the time-space continuum through the spine.
• Instant holographic chakra balance.
• Encoding the five sacred key languages of Egyptian, Hebrew,
Sanskrit, Tibetan & Chinese through the pineal gland.
• Opening dimensional doorways to time travel with teleportation.
• Retrieving beneficial aspects and talents from past lives on Earth
and other planets.
• Amplifying the 33rd Degree Energies of your Adam Kadmon
light body with rotational light colour rays.
• Opening up the ancient seals of wisdom within the Great
Pyramid and the Sphinx.
Level 3 & 4:
• Opening your Superconsciousness to Star Languages and God’s
Light Mansion Galaxy Worlds.
- 118 -
The Kamadon Academy and the Melchizedek Method
- 119 -
The Kamadon Academy and the Melchizedek Method
Strangely, the functionality of the Hebrew letters and the divine names
(mainly YHVH) is not connected to Kabbalah but has a status of its
own. Thus we find the following from the text Keys of Enoch:
- 120 -
The Kamadon Academy and the Melchizedek Method
247www.kamadonacademy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&Itemi
- 121 -
The Kamadon Academy and the Melchizedek Method
249www.kamadonacademy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153&Itemi
- 122 -
The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
of Jesus on the Moon251. He tells of his initiations of fire (i.e the sexual
fire) that allows him to get rid of his egos and earthly attachments. He
describes an early meeting with a highly illuminated master who
explains to Weor what his mission on earth should be: You will have to
draw the mulitudes, and form the Army of World Salvation to initiate
the new Aquarian Era [...] Your specific mission is to create Men, to
teach the people to fabricate the astral, mental and causal bodies so that
they can incarnate the Human Soul252.
- 123 -
The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
Since long ago, all the spiritualist brethren of the world have
been waiting for the great Avatar of Aquarius; listen, do not wait
for another messenger, because I am the Initiator of the new
era254.
Then, let it not be strange for you that the future Earth will have
light and wisdom. However, the present moment is the critical
moment, my dear brothers and sisters; these are terrible times.
People of other planets of infinite space know the present state
in which we are living; it is clear that they will assist us.
However, only those who deserve it will be saved255.
According to this lecture the end of the world will happen in the year
2500, due to kabbalistic readings of the numbers:
- 124 -
The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
However, in other texts the date is set according to the Maya calendar
and arrives at the year 2043257.
According to his Christmas message of 1952 the single path to
redemption is walking on the “razor’s edge”, which is the direct path of
sexual magic. Only in this way can one become “christified” and thus
eligible for salvation258.
In the following years Weor managed to publish extensively on a wide
range of esoteric subject, though all with the pivotal aspect of sexual
magic. He also established the AGEAC (Asociación Gnóstica de
Estudios Antropológicos Culturales y Científicos), a school with the
purpose of spreading the gnostic teachings to all humankind. The
organization still exists today with branches all over the world.
However several other institutions also claim to be the proper heirs of
Weor’s gnostic teachings and this seems to sometimes cause tensions
between the different groups. Weor himself did not claim monopoly
over one single school. A multitude of schools could exist as long as
they kept to his teachings and kept three initiatic chambers,
corresponding to the three mountains of his initiatic autobiography.
It is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction in the records of the life of
Weor. This is due to the material available which mainly consists of
more or less hagiographic description given by his followers on one
hand and Weor’s autobiographical statements on the other. Not even
the amount of books written by Weor is it possible to find a consensus
of. Some claim that he has written 49 books and some claim 70259. Be
this as it may, it is beyond any doubt that he was very productive and
wanted his teachings to reach any corner of the world. For this reason
he chose to deny all copyright on the material, a fact that facilitates the
257 This is different from most other interpretations of the end of the world according to the
Maya calendar which usually arrives at the year 2012. See Sacha Defesche: ‘The 2012
Phenomenon’.
258 Weor: ‘Christmas Message 1952’.
- 125 -
The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
research, since most of his books are spread in various languages on the
internet.
With the words of Weor himself, we can say that he presents a
“doctrine of synthesis”. He sees all religions as expressions of a single
universal truth, but he himself is the one to present the correct path to
this truth. This path, as already stated is the practice of sexual magic by
which one becomes “christified” and a “real (conscious) human being”.
In the following chapter I will clarify which role Kabbalah plays in this
sexual magical doctrine.
- 126 -
The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
In the doctrine of Weor every human being incarnates the ten sefirot.
These should be “activated” through the practice of sexual magic in
order to awaken the sefirotic crown, i.e. the three upper sefirot261.
The sefirotic tree is seen as a map of the universes, both the created,
material universe and the inner universe of the human soul. The three
upper sefirot: Keter, Hochmah and Binah serves as the first, second and
third Logos respectively, corresponding to the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit. The third Logos, Binah, is then further divided into a
feminine and masculine principle, serving as the divine Mother and
Father.
The seven lower sefirot is seen as corresponding to the seven different
bodies of the human being262:
The sefirot are counted with two numbers each in order to show how
they are stepwise emanated from Ein Sof and meanwhile function as a
ladder to be reached from below. Thus Malchut is both number one, as
the first step from the physical world and number ten, as the final
divine emanation. According to Weor the initiant should descend in his
own inner worlds in order to ascend the sefirotic tree. This can only be
done with the practice of sexual magic, a practice he calls the Arcanum
- 127 -
The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
A.Z.F. The purpose of this is to move from one type of body to the
next, the final goal being the solar body which is achieved when the
practitioner reaches the three upper sefirot: the divine Logos. When this
ascend is accomplished it results in a second birth, the birth of the solar
body. Only when reaching this state one can call him/ herself a Human
Being263.
The second sefirah Hochmah is said to be the second Logos, the Christ.
Christ is not seen as an individual being but rather as a cosmic entity or
principle:
- 128 -
The Gnostic Teachings of Samael Aun Weor
9.3 Summary
Weor inscribes himself in a conglomerate of different esoteric traditions
and characteristically describes his own teaching as a doctrine of
synthesis. As is the case with the Kamadon Academy Weor does not
seem to have any direct knowledge of traditional kabbalistic materials.
But due to his lifelong involvement with esoteric movements that make
use of basic kabbalistic teachings he does indeed show a greater
knowledge of kabbalistic doctrines than what is to be found in the
Melchizedek Method. The main components of Weor’s teaching derive
from Tantra and Kabbalah as they are found in the rendering of early
modern occultism and theosophy. However in the doctrine of synthesis
these two esoteric currents have gained a wholly new context by being
incorporated into an apocalyptic setting.
265 This chapter will appear in the forthcoming book Kabbalah and Modernity edited by Boaz
Huss, Marco Pasi and Kocku von Stuckrad. See Thejls: ‘Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff’ in the
bibliography.
- 129 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
- 130 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
266 All citations are translated from Danish by me. Where Hebrew terms appear I have chosen to keep
Neutzsky-Wulff’s transliteration even though they sometimes diverge from my own. All emphasis and
capitalizations are in original.
267 Neutzsky-Wulff: ’Kabbala 1’.
- 131 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
The manual for this is the book Det overnaturlige (The Supernatural). As
Neutzsky-Wulff says in the introduction:
- 132 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
They put away their clothes, which they will never get back and
spend a couple of days in the cage which will later function as
qodhesh haqqodashim [holy of holies]for those who will be
elected priestesses. It is a case made of ironbars, one meter high
and wide and one and a half in length. After this their
disciplinary training begins.
They receive an erotic version of the maiden’s uniform, which in
its simple form is the peplos of the priestess […] Furthermore
they have to be at their master’s sexual disposal.271
The means of discipline are whipping, hand, neck and foot fetters,
bridle and the pillory:
The collar reduces the slave to a pet; the handcuffs make her
give up resistance towards sexual advances and the foot fetters
- 133 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
However, they are more than disciplinary tools since the consequence
of this treatment is the experience of transcendence. To Neutzsky-
Wulff the relationship between the master and his slave is that of
ultimate love with absolute mutual devotion and while he becomes her
god she will be his gateway to the divine. It is in Neutzsky-Wulff’s
interpretation in this relationship that the world comes into being.
What men are to do in order to transcend is much more complicated. It
is not enough to be the master of the woman and thus to be her god.
The man has to go the long way of studying and slowly changing his
own mindset and reality perception. A key to this lies in the book Rum
(Space273) from 2001 which is written as to be read like a kabbalistic
treatise with several layers of meaning and different possibilities of
interpretation. One of the ways to read the book is through the use of
gematria and with the aid of this method find one’s way through the
different cross-references spread throughout the book. However, the
gematria is not restricted to the traditional numerical values of Hebrew
words and letters. It is broadened as to also correspond to other
religious systems, so that when examining the Hebrew letter nun, the
significance is not only imbedded in its numerical value but also in its
association to the Egyptian god of chaos “Nun”.
This, of course makes the book a challenge to the reader and it is
expected from the author’s side, that the reader is acquainted with his
former works. Without former knowledge of Neutzsky-Wulff’s work
Rum would probably not make much sense, but rather give an
impression of a rambling mess of separate parallel stories without much
connection. As such the books by Neutzsky-Wulff can be said to
- 134 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
present a sort of textual initiation. Rum and Det Overnaturlige are the
representatives of the higher knowledge necessary for the initiate to
begin the ritual practice. The earlier books provide the theoretical
background whereas these latter two are more or less ritual manuals
hidden behind literary narratives in the case of Rum and mythological
readings in that of Det Overnaturlige. If they are studied thoroughly and
seriously enough and the guidelines are followed the reader/ initiate
should be able to reach a state of expanded reality perception and
furthermore, to be able to control and form this reality. The books have
been accompanied by a series of articles in Neutzsky-Wulff’s magazine
Bathos meant to facilitate the shift from theory to practice that the two
books propose. It is mainly aimed at the male initiate that do not have a
(female) mystagogue to manage the initiation. In her place the initiate
must attract a succubus, a female entity which can replace the mystagogue.
The guide ‘Transcendens for Dummies’ (‘Transcendence for
Dummies’) suggests the arrangement of an adytum, a restricted room
only meant for the work on transcendence. The room ought to be as
sound and light proof as possible and sparsely furnished with only a
mattress covered with leather and a set of fetters to make the
impression of being in a cell convincing. The initiate should only step
into the room naked and after a shower and should stay in the room for
a fixed amount of time, maybe from sunset to sunrise or even longer
locked to the fetters in the wall. Obviously this kind of sense
deprivation has psychological consequences. As Neutzsky-Wulff
explains, the mind will defend itself and try to make the initiate
abandon the project and return to the safe and ordinary perception of
reality. Thus one might expect boredom followed by anxiety and
feelings of blind and numbness. To overcome this it is of utmost
importance to respect the scheduled time of the stay in the adytum. The
acknowledgement of being a prison or a slave is mandatory to achieve
the experience of transcendence since it will not only be a recognition
- 135 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
from the side of the initiate but also on the side of the transcendent
entities the actualization of which the whole ritual is aimed at. This
leads to one of the major points in the teachings of Neutzsky-Wulff.
That transcendence and descendence are two sides of the same coin
and it is thus necessary for the initiate to transcend that at the same
time an entity descend. The female entity is tempted to approach the
initiate and thus descend by the fact that he is a prisoner. The initiate
will become her slave but in the process be able to control his
experiences of transcendence and actively navigate in the expanded
realms of reality.274
The relationship between the “ordinary” reality and the transcendence
is explained as follows:
Neither the theurge nor the entity exist in any “real” sense, only
the self-manifesting nothing which, following the same rules,
adopts the role as object. The difference between everyday
experience and transcendence is not that they have two different
worlds as object, but that only the latter is an experience in the
proper sense of the word (by which reality is generated) whereas
the first is illusory (images and signs).275
274 Neutzsky-Wulff: ’Transcendens for Dummies’ 12-14 in Bathos 46, p. 4-17, 34-49 and 60-69.
275 Neutzsky-Wulff: ’Transcendens for Dummies’ 12, in Bathos 46, p. 4.
- 136 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
triad of the sefirot Keter, H okhmah and Binah is seen as lying even below
respectively the negative and positive side of the limbic system where
- 137 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
Hod and Netzah could more specifically be the negative and positive
centre of approval in hippocampus. Tiferet matches hypothalamus, Yesod
the thalamic filter and finally Malkhut parallels cerebrum where the
projection of the physical world takes place.
Each of the ten sefirot is understood to exhibit individual geographical
characteristics and also to be inhabited by certain types of entities
belonging to each sefirah. The two lowest sefirot are most elaborate
described as the following examples from two transcendence accounts
show.
Malkhut
Malkhut is explained to be like a fairytale place, the forest that you as
the main character of a fairytale are entering in order to find “the wise
woman”, “the evil witch” or “the troll”278. These supernatural figures
are entities that descend simultaneously as the mystic ascends.
A myste of NW gives the following description of Malkhut, a description
which is matched by other transcendence accounts:
- 138 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
be able to enter the next sefirot. This can be a name or a number which
can be subject to gematria upon returning to the “ordinary” world.
Similar to the woman in a cage the male initiate who spend his time in
the adytum might experience what Neutzsky-Wulff terms precipitate
transcendence to Malkhut. With time she/ he will be able to transcend
consciously and to control the experience so she can continue to the
next sefirah Yesod:
Yesod
In Yesod the circumstances are not as cozy. You might be
pinned on a cross or a tree, put in a cage, raped by ten
raving beasts or boiled, cut to pieces and vacuum packed.
Here, the trick is not to be afraid or panic. It is easier than
it sounds like, as the prefrontal cortex (where the fear for
these kind of totally harmless things belongs) is on stand-
by so to speak or works on your/ the transcendence’s side.
Let yourself be killed, raped and humiliated, preferably
without too much murmur (that makes them so sad). Try
to be an object or an animal, then in time you will pass the
test and continue to Rachamim.280
In Yesod the temple service truly begins and it is where the initiate can
attract the upper transcendent entities through her sexual service. Here
the myste has the responsibility of the actualization of the world(s), of
her own transcendence and of the descendence of the “supernatural”
entities. In Malkhut the myste is still a novice who has to learn how to
navigate, still not quite aware of the territory in which she is situated but
if she has managed to proceed to Yesod she commits herself to the
duties of the priestess or as a myste states, she has become a female
tzaddiq, :
280 Anonymous (1): Transcendence Account. Rachamim is another name for the sefirah Tiferet.
- 139 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
- 140 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
- 141 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
Asprem continues to show how Crowley in his book Liber 777 uses
Kabbalah as a basic system of classification into which all religious
phenomena might be applied and is thus used as a taxonomical
device 287 . Furthermore we might consider the first of the seven
definitory theses of Kabbalah that Crowley presents in his appendix to
Liber 777:
Qabalah is:
a) A language fitted to describe certain classes of phenomena,
and to express certain classes of ideas which escape regular
phraseology…
b) An unsectarian and elastic terminology by means of which it
is possible to equate the mental processes of people
apparently diverse…
c) A system of symbolism which enables thinkers to formulate
their ideas with complete precision…288
p. 138.
289 See especially Crowley: The Wake World and Neutzsky-Wulff: UFO and RUM.
- 142 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
- 143 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
- 144 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
but at the core of its teachings still has quite traditional Jewish
Kabbalistic themes. The designation of Neutzsky-Wulff as a New Age
representative seems even more arbitrary as he has nothing whatsoever
to do with what is usually characteristic of the New Age milieu. Most
importantly, the notion of the coming of a new age is entirely absent in
Neutzsky-Wulff’s teachings. Regarding his use of Kabbalah it is, like the
Kabbalah Centre, grounded in traditional Kabbalistic practice, though
interpreted in a radically creative manner. These cases seem to indicate
how New Age is used as a sort of terminological garbage bin instead of
an analytical tool. What the Kabbalah Centre and Neutzsky-Wulff do is
to take from the traditional Kabbalah what is useful to them and put it
into new frameworks and new representations. As Wouter Hanegraaff
points out innovation and new interpretations are needed for a tradition
to continue. ‘Perfect understanding’ he says ‘would logically imply the
death of tradition’293. In its outset Medieval Kabbalah itself was highly
creative in its interpretation of ancient Jewish material so it can be to no
surprise that contemporary Kabbalah is just as innovative with regard to
their interpretations of the available sources. Moreover Medieval
Kabbalah was not a unified movement. Rather there were many
varieties of what was termed to be Kabbalah. Though there by no
means is agreement among Kabbalah scholarship exactly as to how to
demarcate Medieval Kabbalah, as least there is agreement on the fact
that diverse currents existed within what can be defined as Kabbalah.
So when it is possible to speak of theosophical, ecstatic, practical or
magical Kabbalah within the field of Medieval Jewish Kabbalah and
also acknowledge the later currents of Christian Kabbalah it ought not
to be of great trouble to establish new taxonomies within contemporary
Kabbalah. As such, concepts like occult Kabbalah and New Age
Kabbalah can be used as analytical tools without negative connotations
- 145 -
Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff and the
Neurological Landscape of the Sefirot
- 146 -
Conclusion of Part II
- 147 -
Final Discussion and Conclusive Words
- 148 -
Final Discussion and Conclusive Words
294 This part of the discussion has been published in a slightly other version in Thejls: ‘The
- 149 -
Final Discussion and Conclusive Words
- 150 -
Final Discussion and Conclusive Words
- 151 -
Final Discussion and Conclusive Words
tool for gaining absolute knowledge. But not only this. The actual
knowledge is contained within the very same perception of language so
that language becomes both the means and the object of higher
knowledge.
In the second part of the thesis I turned to the study of contemporary
renderings of Kabbalah. First of all I discussed the academic
scholarship, or rather the lack of it, on contemporary Kabbalah. Here I
found that much of the disinterest in contemporary formations of
Kabbalah is due to the attitude of Gershom Scholem. In being the
biggest authority on the field Scholem’s dismissal of contemporary
Kabbalah had a huge effect on the subsequent scholarship. Thus,
nobody bothered to study contemporary Kabbalah. This means that
there is still a vast field of study which I have only touched upon in the
present thesis. However, what I have hoped to show is that
contemporary Kabbalah in its various guises is certainly an interesting
and important field of study both for Western history of religions in
general and for the study of Western esotericism in particular.
What is interesting to note is how much the academic scholarship on
Kabbalah has influenced the formation of contemporary Kabbalah.
Since the academic study of Kabbalah until recently has focused on the
doctrine of the ten sefirot as constitutive for Kabbalah, it is exactly this
doctrine which has come to be known among religious groups in the
process of constructing their tradition. This, combined with the fact
that without any knowledge of Hebrew the doctrine of the sefirot has
probably been the easiest accessible doctrine of Kabbalah, have had the
effect of identifying Kabbalah more or less with the doctrine of the ten
sefirot, at least in popular understanding. After all it was to a large extend
texts concerned with the sefirot that was translated in Knorr von
Rosenroth’s Kabbalah Denudata. This becomes evident when we turn
towards groups with only a superficial knowledge of the primary
sources of traditional Kabbalah. Their founders’ main source of
- 152 -
Final Discussion and Conclusive Words
- 153 -
Final Discussion and Conclusive Words
- 154 -
Bibliography
Bibliography
The bibliography contains both source material and academic literature.
At the end there is a special section for web references.
- 155 -
Bibliography
Cohen, Mark and Yedidah Cohen (eds.): In the Shadow of the Ladder:
Introductions to Kabbalah by Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag. Safed,
Nehorah Press 2002.
Crowley, Aleister: Liber 777 in Israel Regardie (ed.): 777 and other
Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley, first published as The
Qabalah of Aleister Crowley, York Beach, Maine: Samuel
Weiser 1987.
- 156 -
Bibliography
‘The Name of God, the Name of the Rose, and the Concept of
language in Jewish Mysticism’ in: Ibid. p. 131-160.
- 157 -
Bibliography
Farmer, Stephen A.: Syncretism in the West: Pico’s 900 Theses (1486). The
Evolution of Traditional Religious and Philosophical Systems, Tempe,
Arizona Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at
Arizona State University 1998.
- 158 -
Bibliography
- 159 -
Bibliography
Huss, Boaz: ‘All You Need is LAV’ in The Jewish Quarterly Review 95:4
(2005), p. 611-624.
Håkansson, Håkan: Seeing the Word: John Dee and Renaissance Occultism,
Lund, Ugglan Minervaserien, Lund University 2001.
- 160 -
Bibliography
Jensen, Jeppe Sinding: The Study of Religion in a New Key: Theoretical and
Philosophical Soundings in the Comparative and General Study of
Religion, Aarhus, Aarhus University Press 2003.
- 161 -
Bibliography
King, Richard: ‘Orientalism and Religion: Postcolonial Theory, India and ‘the
Mystic East’’, London, Routledge 1999.
ha-Kohen, Isaac ben Jacob: Treatise on the Left Emanation, in: Joseph
Dan: The Early Kabbalah, Mahwah New Jersey, Paulist
Press 1986.
ha-Kohen, Jacob ben Jacob: Explanation of the Letters, in: Joseph Dan:
The Early Kabbalah, Mahwah New Jersey, Paulist Press
1986.
León-Jones, Karen Silvia de: Giordano Bruno and the Kabbalah: Prophets,
Magicians and Rabbis, New Haven/ London, Yale University
Press 1997
Lewis, James R.: ‘Science and the New Age’ in Daren Kemp and
James R. Lewis (eds.): Handbook of New Age, Leiden, Brill
2007, p. 207-230.
- 162 -
Bibliography
Myers, Jody: Kabbalah and the Spiritual Quest: The Kabbalah Centre in
America, Westport: Praeger Publishers 2007.
- 163 -
Bibliography
Das Buch Bahir: Ein Schriftdenkmal aus der Frühzeit der Kabbala auf
Grund der kritischen Neuausgaben, Leipzig, W. Drugulin 1923.
- 164 -
Bibliography
Sefer ha-Zohar in: Isaiah Tishby: The Wisdom of the Zohar, an Anthology of
Texts, Oxford University Press 1989.
Sefer ha-Zohar in: Daniel Matt: The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, Stanford,
Stanford University Press 2004-2006.
Snoek, Jan A. M.: ‘Defining ‘Rituals’’ in Jens Kreinath, Jan Snoek and
Michael Stausberg (eds.): Theorizing Rituals: Issues, Topics,
Approaches, Concepts, Leiden, Brill 2006, p. 3-14.
- 165 -
Bibliography
Sutcliffe, Steven and Bowman, Marion (eds.): Beyond the New Age:
Exploring Alternative Spirituality, Edinburgh, Edinburgh
University Press 2001.
Swartz, Michael D.: Scholastic Magic: Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish
Mysticism, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1996.
Tishby, Isaiah: The Wisdom of the Zohar (three vols.), Oxford University
Press 1989.
- 166 -
Bibliography
The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah, nn, Thelema
Press 2006.
- 167 -
Bibliography
References to websites
The following web references are arranged according to the chapters in
which they appear.
- 168 -
Bibliography
- 169 -
Résumé
Résumé
A Master’s Thesis presented to the Department of History of Religions, University
of Copenhagen May 2008 by Sara Møldrup Thejls.
- 170 -
Résumé
- 171 -