"The Secret Doctrine of Israel" is sometimes called the mystical doctrine, better known as the "Kabbalah". It arose in the Middle Ages at the intersection of the Jewish doctrine, the philosophical ideas of Neoplatonism and Gnosticism.
Originating in Judaism, the ideas of Kabbalah influenced the European thinkers of the Renaissance - Paracelsus, Agrippa of Nettesheim, Pico de la Mirandola and others.
History of Kabbalah
One of the distant sources of this mystical teaching can be considered the "Book of Creation" in Hebrew. The exact time of the creation of this treatise is unknown, but presumably it was written no earlier than the 3rd century and no later than the 8th century.
The emergence of the Kabbalistic teaching as such took place in the 13th century. in Spain. It was then in Castile that the Jewish thinker Moshe de Leon wrote the treatise "The Book of Shining", which he presented as a work of the sage Simon ben Yochai, who lived in the II century.
The works of Rabbi Yitzhak Luria Ashkenazi, also known as Ari, who lived in the 16th century, played a special role in the formation of the Kabbalistic teaching.
Initially, Kabbalah developed as a secret teaching intended for a narrow circle of the elite, but at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. Kabbalist Abraham Azoulay, who lived in Morocco, proclaimed the abolition of restrictions on her study.
Kabbalistic teaching
The main idea of Kabbalah is a view of the Torah as a special mystical code, the meaning of which must be revealed. This will allow you to comprehend the laws of nature, from the discrepancy of which all the troubles of individuals and humanity as a whole occur.
Each soul has its own purpose in the material and spiritual world. Until the soul has realized it and fulfilled it, it is doomed to an endless series of incarnations. When the soul has reached its goal, it comes to a special state - Gmar Tikun. Achieving this state is the main goal of studying Kabbalah.
The Creator is presented as absolute infinity, except for which there is nothing (En-Sof). This divine uncertainty pours itself out in objects, limiting itself to 10 emanations - the so-called. Sephiroth. Their totality - the Sephiroth tree - forms the mystical body of Adam Kadman, a perfect being, in which the potential of the universe is concentrated.
The Sephiroth are divided into three upper (Sephiroth of the mind) and three lower (Sephiroth of the senses). The former include Keter (crown), Hochma (wisdom) and Bina (understanding), the lower ones - Hesed (mercy), Gevura (valor), Tipheret (splendor), Netzach (eternity), Hod (glory), Yesod (basis) and Malchut (kingdom). In addition, Daat (the keys of knowledge) stands out - the invisible Sephiroth.
Above Keter is the “simple light” emanating from the Creator. Malchut corresponds to the material world. Ascending, the soul can reach the sphere of Bina, but further elevation is impossible without reaching the state of Gmar Tikkun.
The tree is divided into two parts: the right (male) and the left (female). The male part, which has the ability to give, includes Hochma, Hesed, and Netzach, and the female part, which has the desire to receive, includes Bina, Gevura, and Hod. The rest of the spheres belong to the middle line - Israel, which symbolizes the balance between giving and receiving.
The 10 Sephiroth were created by the Creator in order to hide the Creator's perfection from man, who was created as a vessel that receives the Creator's light.
The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are of particular importance in Kabbalistic teaching. It is believed that in the process of pronouncing them, the world was created.
