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May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting

May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review

Popularization of Kabbalah: 20 Menachem-Av 1558 CE

By Rabbi Yonason Goldson


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Whether Jewish of non-Jewish, people everywhere have developed a fascination, even an obsession, with Jewish mysticism — what has colloquially become known as Kabbalah. In popular usage, the term is something of a misnomer. Kabbalah, literally reception — actually refers to the national revelation at Sinai 3320 years ago when the Jewish people received the Torah in its entirety, both Written and Oral, as given over by the Almighty to His servant Moses.


The Torah communicates the divine word on four distinct levels of meaning. The first is the simple level, or p'shat, which refers to the most basic interpretation of the words: the letter of the law, the events of history, and the moral ideals that make Judaism a way of life rather than merely a religion. The second level is called remez, or allegorical understanding, through which the Torah teaches the deeper philosophical underpinnings of spirituality.


The third level is called drush; this refers to the analytical or exegetical process of deducing the subtleties and nuances of Jewish law and practice through the scholarly examination of textual anomalies — all according to a process of deduction taught to Moses at Sinai.


The final level is called sod (pronounced with a long "o"). This is the level of the secret, or mystical, teachings of Torah, relating to the nature of higher worlds and divine emissaries, ritual purity, and the afterlife. Such is the depth of these mystical secrets that, according to tradition, one who attempts to plumb their depths without sufficient grounding in the first three levels risks blinding his mind's eye by exposure to the unfiltered radiance of divine light. The Talmud records cases of sages who revealed mysteries too profound and drove themselves insane.


Despite these dangers, for centuries the attraction of spiritual clarity and proximity to the divine has drawn scholars and laymen to the study of Jewish mysticism. This is what we call Kabbalah. And, according to Talmudic teachings, the origins of kabbalistic teachings as they have been handed down provide a story as tantalizing as the mystical secrets themselves. N

THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW REVELATION
During the height of the Roman oppression in the second century CE, it happened that the Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai overheard another scholar praising the works of the Romans. Rabbi Shimon replied with indignation: "Anything they have done was only for their own benefit. They have constructed roads only to send harlots into them, bath houses only for their own indulgence, and bridges only to exact tolls." When the Romans learned of Rabbi Shimon's criticisms, they sentenced him to death.


Rabbi Shimon fled with his son, Rabbi Elazar, into the wilderness. For twelve years they hid in a cave, sustained only by a spring and a carob tree, both of which sprang miraculously from the earth. With no distractions from the outside world, they delved deeper and deeper into the secrets of the Torah, ultimately uncovering the profound mystical insights recorded a thousand years later in the Zohar, the kabbalistic Book of Splendor.


At the end of the twelve years, Rabbi Shimon learned that the Romans had annulled the decree against him. However, when Rabbi Shimon and his son emerged from the cave and returned to civilization, they were aghast to discover that Jews were engaged, not in the study of Torah, but in such mundane activities and plowing and harvesting. Incensed by this lack of devotion to Torah, each of them caused the earth to burst into flames wherever he directed his gaze.


"Have you come out to destroy My world?" asked a heavenly voice. "Go back into the cave." After a year, they emerged once again. This time, although the gaze of Rabbi Elazar set fire to the land, the gaze of Rabbi Shimon healed all the damage. "It is enough, my son," said Rabbi Shimon, "that you and I learn Torah." And so the two of them returned to live among their community.


During their 12 years in the cave, Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Elazar had developed such an intense passion for Torah study that they could neither understand nor tolerate any Jew capable of devoting even an instant to any other activity. In such a state of mind, they could not function as members of Jewish society. They needed even more time to learn how to maintain their lofty spiritual level while living among Jews who had to strike a more pragmatic balance between the spiritual and the material.

TWO PATHS TO A SPIRITUAL LIFE
What Rabbi Shimon came to understand during his final year in the cave was that every Jew serves the Almighty in differently: some as farmers observing the laws of agriculture, some as merchants observing the laws of business, some through Torah study itself, and most through a combination of different ways. At the level that Rabbi Shimon and his son had attained, they at first found it incomprehensible that anyone could squander time on material pursuits, even within the context of Torah observance. But it is not possible, nor even desirable, for every Jew to aspire to become a Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. In the end, Rabbi Shimon came to appreciate that every Jew can fulfill his own unique potential by serving G-d according to his own abilities and his own temperament.


This, however, did not temper Rabbi Shimon's own approach, and he guided his Talmudic academy according to his ideal of Torah bli derech eretz — Torah with no worldly involvement. According to Rabbi Shimon's philosophy, any scholar possessing a combination of Talmudic brilliance, academic diligence, and absolute faith in the Almighty could commit himself to total immersion in Torah study and count on G-d to sustain him through the mysterious ways of divine providence.


Many tried and failed to follow the path of Rabbi Shimon. Those who did not succeed (along with those not inclined to try) became disciples of Rabbi Yishmoel, whose guiding philosophy was Torah im derech eretz — Torah together with worldly involvement. These two academies were not in competition; rather, by providing the opportunity for different individuals to study and develop according to their own individual natures, they collaborated in producing a new generation of Torah scholars, diverse in style but united in their passion and commitment.


For over a thousand years, the mystical traditions uncovered by Rabbi Shimon and his son were handed down orally, from teacher to student. Parts of the tradition may have been written down, but these writings were kept secret and guarded carefully, ensuring that only those scholars with sufficient intellectual, moral, and spiritual capacity would become custodians of the secret discipline. Over time, however, as scholars could no longer retain mastery over such profound and complex teachings, the time arrived for the Kabbalah to be set down in writing.

MIXED BLESSING
Around the year 1300, it is believed that the Spanish kabbalist Moshe de Leon began circulating the first complete text of the Zohar, although the actual source of his manuscript remains uncertain. However, the Zohar became widely disseminated only with the publication of the Mantua and Cremona edition, on the 20th day of the month of Av in 1558 CE.


The popularizing of Kabbalah has been a double-edged sword. Christian scholars cited it either as proof of Jewish heresy or proof of Christian doctrinal authenticity. As with so many jewels of great value, overexposure cheapened the priceless teachings of Rabbi Shimon in the eyes of many, while rabbinic leaders feared the consequences of its misinterpretation and misuse.


In our times, evidence of their fears is obvious, as pop-Kabbalah centers run by charlatans portray Kabbalah as little better than hocus-pocus. However, those who sincerely seek the hidden wisdom of the divine word can find it — if they have the discipline to do what is necessary to succeed: acquire knowledge of the revealed word first, and cultivate the discerning judgment to find authentic teachers.


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JWR contributor Rabbi Yonason Goldson teaches at Block Yeshiva High School in St. Louis, MO, where he also writes and lectures. Visit him at http://torahideals.wordpress.com. Comment by clicking here.


Previously:

Ezra the Scribe returns from exile
King Jeroboam of Israel prevents pilgrimage to Jerusalem
First printed Torah commentary
Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch
The Septuagint
End of the Great Flood
First Day of Creation
Reprise at Sinai
Tu B'Av: Repentance and the foundations of love
Sin of the Golden Calf: Understanding the how and why and resulting Divine punishment
The day the sun stood still
Nemirov massacres and the Chmielnicki uprising
Independent Judea under Shimon HaMaccabee
The Great Revolt begins
Dedication of new walls of Jerusalem

© 2006, Rabbi Yonason Goldson