I’ve been fascinated by the Kabbalah for for about as long as I can remember. This 23 volume collection of books you see above is “universally recognized as the definitive work on the Kabbalah”, according to the publishers. It’s for this reason that I decided to finally purchase my own set of books and why I am interested in reading it now for my own personal edification. It’s time to stop just reading ABOUT Kabbalah from online sources and just read it for myself and form my own opinions. How far I’ll go in the series remains to be seen but so long as I am still interested, I EAGERLY welcome the open and frank discussion about it’s “teachings” or content with anyone who is interested in debating or discussing it with me either privately or publicly. I invite you to read along with me and give me your own thoughts.
I will warn you up front that as a former Christian and Messianic, you can imagine that I have a LOT of preconceived notions about what the Bible is or isn’t that will undoubtedly taint my review of Kabbalah. I’ll be liberally sharing my personal opinions throughout the series but I want to be clear that my commentary will not be the best way for you yourself to learn what Kabbalah is. My opinions will CLEARLY be biased and not an accurate depiction of hard core Kabbalah. Just keep in mind this is not a scholarly discussion after all, but a COMMENTARY and as such I will comment on whatever I feel is important or not.
Right in the Introduction of the Zohar we are told that the the writings are written in a kind of code (metaphors, parables, and cryptic language) that at first conceals the truth but later reveals it. This is not at all unlike all so-called Secret Societies or mystery religions. I’m reminding of Albert Pike’s comments about Freemasonry that states that members of the organization are literally lied to about the true meaning of their own symbols until they reach higher levels within the order. Unfortunately this means it could make my initial reading and first impression severely inaccurate. After all, the true meaning is hidden from a first reading. I highly doubt I’ll even be completing ONE full read through of all 23 volumes, much less multiple passes to get past the cryptic language and concealed truth but I’d like to make this an ongoing study if I can.
It is also said in the introduction that merely looking at the original language of the Kabbalah (in Aramaic) conveys spiritual power and understanding. In other words, one does not need to know how to READ Aramaic as it is simply good enough to SEE the language and let the images of the letters and words sync into your psyche. My set of volumes contains both the Aramaic transcript as well as the English translation. I cannot read Hebrew or Aramaic but I can at least see it so there’s that.
There are a lot of things here I could comment on already and really hope I don’t bore you to death with random thoughts. First off is a reaffirmation of a legend that suggests that Hebrew (or Aramaic?) is the “original” language of creation before the languages were “confused” at the tower of Babel. As such, the language itself is supposedly “magical” and conveys the power of God or creation in images. This agrees with a separate (non-Hebrew) but still ancient near eastern writing of a king of the near east that claimed he could still read the original language before the flood. Was there ever really a single universal original language? Its’ an interesting thought that I ponder from time to time. Who really did have the first written language and was it ever universal?
There is no doubt in my mind that the alphabet was monumental in the evolution of man’s consciousness. At it’s core, the alphabet is merely a collection of symbols which have been arranged in such a way as to carry meaning. We can merely look at the symbols of “B” and “A” and “D” and know that when we put those three symbols together, things are “Bad” much like a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in the middle of it may convey a warning of some kind. Seeing these symbols lets the one who is initiated into their meaning immediately understand that there is meaning behind the symbols and beckons us to pay attention that things may be dangerous or bad. All of us reading this paragraph now have been initiated into a sort of secret society of those who have learned the meaning of the symbols you are reading now. To someone who does not read and write in English, all of these symbols will appear as gibberish. You are part of a select club of those who know the meaning. Similarly, I believe the entire Kabbalah is a collection of symbols and meaning that only those initiated into their meanings can fully understand. Thus we, like the person who doesn’t read or write in English, can see symbols of Kabbalism everywhere but it will appear to us as non-sensible gibberish until we become enlightened to their true meaning.
I personally believe these symbols of Kabbalah are everywhere around us in our society today. They are built into the masonry of our governmental buildings, printing in symbols on our money, hidden in symbols in modern science and academia, and even disguised in symbols and stories portrayed in popular movies coming out of Hollywood such as the Matrix, many of which are often written by those initiated into the “secrets” of Kabbalah. For those initiated, these symbols on buildings, money, in science or in our movies convey deeper meaning to those initiated. With any luck, my reading of the Zohar will begin to teach me the true meaning of some of those signs and symbols.