What Is Authentic Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism)?

At the present time, there are many different types of esoteric philosophies that are masquerading as Kabbalah. To get to the bottom of how "real" Kabbalah began, it is important to understand the history of this fascinating Jewish mystical tradition.

According to scholars, there is no evidence that Kabbalah started at the time of Abraham (circa. 2,000 BCE) or Moses (circa. 1350 BCE). Since Moses grew-up as a "Prince of Egypt" in Pharaoh's court, it is more likely that he knew more about "The Egyptian Book of The Dead" than he did about Hebrew esoteric philosophy. There may have been some sort of "oral tradition" that began about this time, but there is no evidence of this claim either. So, rather than speculate about what Moses might have known - let's turn to Kabbalistic scholarship to find the answer about when "real" Kabbalah started.

According to Gershom Scholem (a world renowned, critically-acclaimed scholar), the Jewish mystical philosophy known as "Kabbalah" began in Provence, France in circa. 1200 CE. Most of earliest Kabbalistic texts were written during this period (Sefer Ha-Bahir, Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, etc.), and the earliest known Kabbalists include Abraham ben David (Rabad) and Isaac the Blind. The one textual exception is the Sefer Yetzirah, which according to scholars may have been written at an earlier time (circa. 600 CE).

In 1275 CE, Moses DeLeon authored the "magnum opus" of Kabbalah - "The Zohar." According to Scholem,

Unfortunately, the most voluminous kabbalistic work of the 13th century, The Zohar, namely, the complex of writings included within it, must be entirely eliminated from this discussion of the origin or early stages of the Kabbalah. The contention has often been made, and is still frequently repeated, that The Zohar contains texts of great antiquity whose identification and analysis would thus be of the greatest relevance to understanding the origins of kabbalah. However, I have presented the results of an extensive and detailed investigation of this work and demonstrated that there is unfortunately no basis for assuming that the Zohar contains any ancient texts. The entire work belongs to the last quarter of the 13th century and is of no use to discussing the origins of the Kabbalah.

So, based on Scholem's conclusions (and many other modern scholars), the "real" history of Kabbalah begins about 800 - 900 years ago. Therefore, the "real" Kabbalah began as a mystical movement that was intended to: 1) interpret the symbolism of the Torah (in language and in numbers), 2) instruct the Kabbalist as to how to "repair or correct" impurities within oneself (tikkun) and in the universe, 3) how to achieve a state of transcendence by experiencing the God-force (through mystical meditation - kavvanah) and, 4) and provide an explanation of the afterlife that includes the notion of "revolution of souls," which is similar to the concept of reincarnation (Gilgul Neshamot / גלגול הנשמות). Of course, there are many more important teachings - but, this is just a preliminary overview.

Today, there are many interpretations of Kabbalah available to everyone. An individual does not need to be Jewish or belong to any religion to study and practice Kabbalistic methods. There is no prohibition toward any human being from believing in Kabbalah. However, it is helpful to have an understanding of the Torah and the Talmud when studying this subject.

The "truest" type of Kabbalah is what you believe after you've studied its fundamental principles. If you're delving into this subject for the first time - you may want to start with books by Rabbi David Cooper, and then, move on to Aryeh Kaplan and Gershom Scholem. There is also plenty of reliable information available on Rabbi Michael Laitman's website that is of great value.

As for having a belief in the God of the Bible - that's a subjective belief that each person decides for themselves. Personally, I think that agnostics and atheists could benefit from learning Kabbalah, and they may not believe in any form of a personal God at all. The reason I say this is because Kabbalah proposes that individuals need to search within themselves to find the spark of "the Infinite" (Ein-Sof), which is referred to as "yechidah." When the Kabbalist is able to achieve a state of oneness between this spark and the Infinite (through meditation - kavvanah), then the "real" meaning of Kabbalah begins to unfold.