Cabbalah and Judaism
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Was the oral tradition of the Cabbalah and it's magical ceremonies etc, seen as a renegade philosophy outside of Judaism or does it sit neatly with it? Cabbalistic magic still seems to be elitist i.e the masses of people in Judaism don't appear to be interested in the 4 worlds and the 32 paths etc.
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@gerry456 said
"Was the oral tradition of the Cabbalah and it's magical ceremonies etc, seen as a renegade philosophy outside of Judaism or does it sit neatly with it?"
I can't confirm that there ever were "rituals" connected with it. Kabbalah was viewed as deeper teachings, and approached something in the fashion of Gnana Yoga. Not reengage at all (at least, in classic times), and certainly not outside of Judaism.
As mentioned, where it fit within it is that after a man had fulfilled his duty on earth - married, produced children, raised them, and seen to the general ongoing provision of his family so that every hour of his day didn't needto be taken up with survival and family duties - he was entitled to go sit with the other mature men and a rabbi (in context, not really different from a guru) and study this deeper wisdom.
"Cabbalistic magic still seems to be elitist i.e the masses of people in Judaism don't appear to be interested in the 4 worlds and the 32 paths etc."
"Cabbalistic magic" appears to entirely a medieval and post-medieval European invention.
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Yes, as least primarily. (There may have been some exceptions.)
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@Hermitas said
"As I understand it, you had to be at least 40 and married before you could study it. So there seems to be a long tradition of the old men knowing things nobody else was even allowed to know about. So, side by side but secret, seems to me."
That's an ashkenazi tradition. For other groups, such as the sephardim, no such injunction exists. For example, it's a sephardic tradition to lay out the passover emblems in the figure of the tree of life..
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supposedly beginning in 1995 it became permissible to spread kabbalah and zohar to every person on earth...because we're supposed to be in a time when we have matured collectively as a race so that many will begin seeking for the deeper meaning of Torah...being very close to the Messianic Era of redemption when all humans will acknowledge G-d and His Torah as the expression of His will and guide for us to prosper and live in peace and communion with Him as Adam did originally in the garden prior to the fall... before, only a few souls who spent their whole lives in study and prayer and so on were ready for such endeavors and if someone wasn't ready then the higher wisdom would only hurt him/her rather than help so it was better to keep it secretive, etc. But as we began to approach the last days then depravity has gotten to such a level that it's very unlikely that the wisdom will fall in the wrong hands, because it will simply be rejected outright and get ridiculed by the majority of humans, but the select few that do hear the call, they will want to pursue it and study it online from places like azamra.org or inner.org for example and so it's available for those that want it and desire it and are ready for it, and so as long as one is ready and desiring of the higher wisdom then they can approach it without risk that they will misuse it, and only hurt themselves and others, etc.
Do what thou wilt.