Kabbalah, also spelled Qabalah (pronounced kə-BAH-lə or KAB-ə-lə), is a secret or hidden way of learning and thinking within Jewish mysticism. It helps explain the deeper meanings of Jewish religious texts and traditions. A person who studies Kabbalah is called a Mekubbal, which means "receiver" in Hebrew.
Kabbalists created ways to share the main texts of Kabbalah within Jewish tradition. They often use the Hebrew Bible and writings from Jewish rabbis to explain their teachings. These teachings help explain the hidden meanings of Jewish religious books and the importance of Jewish traditions and practices.
Kabbalah began in the 12th to 13th centuries in a region called Occitania, specifically in an area known as Languedoc. It was developed by Jewish scholars called the Hachmei Provence. A key early text is the Bahir. Later, Jewish people moved to other areas, such as Catalonia and Spain, and Kabbalah spread to places like the Rhineland, where it was studied by Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg. During the Golden Age of al-Andalus (Spain), a major Kabbalah text called the Zohar was written by Moses de León in the late 13th century. In the 16th century, Kabbalah was studied again in Ottoman Palestine during a time of renewed Jewish mysticism.
Isaac Luria, a 16th-century scholar, is known as the father of modern Kabbalah. His ideas, called Lurianic Kabbalah, influenced the later development of Hasidic Judaism in the 18th century. In the 20th century, a Jewish historian named Gershom Scholem helped scholars study Kabbalah more deeply.
The most important Kabbalah texts from the medieval Jewish tradition include the Bahir, Zohar, Pardes Rimonim, and Etz Chayim ("Ein Sof"). Earlier writings, like the Hekhalot literature, and a text called the Sefer Yetzirah, are also important. The Sefer Yetzirah is a short document written between 200 and 600 CE. It describes an early idea about the universe using letters and numbers, which later influenced major Kabbalah texts. Some parts of the Sefer Yetzirah resemble writings from the Lesser Hekhalot, such as the Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva, which may have been inspired by teachings from a Jewish scholar named Joshua ben Levi.
History of Jewish mysticism
The history of Jewish mysticism includes many secret and spiritual practices that help people understand God and the hidden parts of life. This tradition has changed a lot over thousands of years, shaped by different times, cultures, and religions. One of the most important forms of Jewish mysticism is Kabbalah, which began in the 12th century and became a major part of Jewish mystical ideas. Other early forms of mysticism, such as prophetic and apocalyptic mysticism, appear in the Bible and later writings.
Jewish mysticism started during the time of the Bible, when figures like Elijah and Ezekiel had visions of God. This tradition continued during the apocalyptic period, with books like 1 Enoch and the Book of Daniel describing complex ideas about angels and the end of the world. Texts called Hekhalot and Merkabah, from the 2nd century to the early medieval period, expanded these ideas, focusing on visions of heavenly places and the divine chariot.
During the medieval period, Kabbalah became more organized, especially in Southern France, Occitania, and Spain. Important books like the Bahir and the Zohar were written during this time, helping to develop Kabbalistic ideas. These teachings explored the nature of God, the structure of the universe, and how the world was created. People like Moses de León helped spread these teachings, which used symbols and stories from the Torah to explain deep spiritual ideas.
In the early modern period, Lurianic Kabbalah, created by Isaac Luria in the 16th century, introduced new ideas like Tzimtzum (the idea that God "contracted" to make space for the world) and Tikkun (the idea of repairing the world through spiritual actions). These ideas had a lasting influence on Jewish thought. In the 18th century, Hasidism, a movement that made Kabbalistic ideas more accessible, grew in popularity. Hasidism focused on personal spiritual experiences and finding God in daily life.
Traditions
According to the Zohar, a key text in Kabbalistic teachings, studying the Torah can be understood through four levels of interpretation. These levels are called the pardesim, a Hebrew word meaning "orchard," which symbolizes the different layers of meaning in Torah study.
Kabbalah is seen by its followers as an important part of studying the Torah. The Torah includes the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and rabbinic writings, and studying it is considered a duty for observant Jews.
Modern scholars who study Jewish mysticism use the term "Kabbalah" to describe specific beliefs that became clear in the Middle Ages. These beliefs differ from earlier mystical traditions, such as Merkabah mysticism. Scholars divide Kabbalistic ideas into three main traditions: the medieval-Zoharic Kabbalah, the early-modern Lurianic Kabbalah, and the Meditative-Ecstatic Kabbalah. A fourth tradition, Practical Kabbalah, focuses on magical goals. These traditions have existed throughout Jewish mystical history and can be identified by their focus on God.
According to Kabbalistic belief, early Kabbalistic knowledge was shared orally by leaders like the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Sages. Over time, this knowledge became part of Jewish religious writings and culture. Some sources suggest that early Kabbalah was widely practiced in ancient Israel around the 10th century BCE. However, due to foreign invasions, Jewish leaders, such as the Sanhedrin, hid this knowledge to prevent it from being misused.
It is difficult to fully understand the exact ideas in Kabbalah because there are many different schools of thought with varying views. Modern Jewish legal authorities have limited Kabbalah study to specific texts, such as the Zohar and the teachings of Isaac Luria, as recorded by Hayyim ben Joseph Vital. Even so, these texts include references to other writings, such as those by Abulafia, the Sefer Yetzirah, and the Berit Menuhah, which blend mystical and philosophical ideas. These concepts are highly abstract and can only be grasped through intuition.
From the Renaissance period onward, Jewish Kabbalah texts were studied by non-Jewish scholars, including Christian Hebraists and Hermetic occultists. These groups created their own traditions, such as Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah, which mixed Jewish ideas with other beliefs. As Christian Kabbalah declined during the Enlightenment, Hermetic Kabbalah remained a hidden part of Western esoteric traditions. These non-Jewish adaptations linked Kabbalah to magic, alchemy, and divination, which are not accepted in Judaism. In Judaism, Practical Kabbalah was a minor, limited tradition practiced only by a few. Today, many books about Kabbalah come from non-Jewish New Age and occult traditions, which do not accurately represent Jewish Kabbalah. Academic and traditional Jewish sources now focus on translating and explaining Jewish Kabbalah to a broader audience.
Concepts
The meaning of Kabbalah changes depending on the traditions and goals of the people who use it. In ancient Hebrew, the word originally meant "reception" or "tradition" and referred to sacred writings written after the five books of the Torah. After the Talmud was written, the term came to describe the Oral Law, which includes the Talmud itself and the ongoing study and discussion of sacred texts. In the writings of Eleazar of Worms around 1350, Kabbalah referred to practices involving spirits, such as calling on demons and angels by using their secret names. Later, in medieval Jewish texts like the Bahir, the Zohar, and Etz Hayim, Kabbalah took on new meanings. These books described Kabbalah as the ongoing flow of divine revelation, which must remain hidden and secret in every generation. When Kabbalah was used to describe a collection of mystical writings by medieval Jews, it referred to these books and the ideas they expressed. Later, the term was used in Western esoteric traditions, such as Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah, which influenced European occult practices. However, Jewish Kabbalah is a set of teachings meant to explain the relationship between the eternal, unchanging God—called Ein Sof ("The Infinite")—and the created, finite world.
Kabbalists believed God has two aspects: (a) God's true nature, which is completely beyond human understanding, unknowable, and limitless, and (b) God's revealed form, through which He creates, sustains, and interacts with humans. The first aspect is called Ein Sof, which means "without end." Nothing about Ein Sof can be fully understood. The second aspect, however, is the part of God that can be perceived and interacts with the world. Kabbalists believed these two aspects are not opposites but work together to reveal the hidden nature of God.
The term Ein Sof was not used directly in the Torah because it is too great to be named. Ein Sof is not a holy name in Judaism, as no name could fully describe it. Even calling it "No End" is only a way to describe it in relation to creation. However, the Torah includes passages where God speaks in the first person, such as the first word of the Ten Commandments. This refers to the simple, unchanging essence of God (called Atzmus Ein Sof) that exists beyond the idea of being infinite or finite. In contrast, Ein Sof describes God as the infinite source of life that keeps all creation existing. The Zohar, a key Kabbalistic text, interprets the beginning of the Genesis story as describing how God created the world through the Ein Sof. It describes the beginning of creation as a spark of darkness emerging from Ein Sof, leading to the formation of colors and light.
Kabbalists used many symbols to explain how God's presence is revealed in the world. These include the Sephirot (divine attributes), Partzufim (divine "faces"), Ohr (spiritual light), the Names of God, the supernal Torah, Olamot (spiritual worlds), a Divine Tree, Archetypal Man, the Angelic Chariot, male and female aspects, layers of reality, and the 613 channels ("limbs" of the King) and divine Souls of Man. These symbols help describe different levels of God's presence, from the innermost to the outermost. Kabbalists debated whether these symbols should be seen as direct references or as metaphors. The Zohar described symbolism as something that "touches yet does not touch" its meaning.
The Sephirot (also spelled "sefirot") are ten divine attributes or emanations through which God sustains the universe. These attributes are parts of God's nature that reveal themselves in different ways. The Zohar and other Kabbalistic texts explain how the Sephirot emerged from the hidden potential of Ein Sof until they appeared in the physical world. Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, known as "the Ramak," described how God created the details of the physical world from the unity of divine light through the ten Sephirot.
In Lurianic cosmology, the Sephirot are linked to different levels of creation. Each of the four spiritual worlds contains ten Sephirot, and each Sephirah also contains ten Sephirot, creating an infinite number of possibilities. The Sephirot represent God's will (ratzon) and should not be seen as ten separate gods but as ten ways God reveals His will through the Sephirot. It is not God who changes, but the way humans can perceive God.
The creation of the world through the Ten Sephirot is an ethical process. The Sephirot represent different moral qualities. For example, Chessed (Loving-Kindness) and Gevurah (Justice) are two key aspects. Both are balanced by Rachamim (Mercy). However, these qualities can become harmful if taken to extremes. Excessive loving-kindness may lead to unfairness and harm, while excessive justice may result in harsh punishment and cruelty.
The tzadikim, or "righteous" people, act in ways that align with the ethical qualities of the Sephirot. Without tzadikim, the blessings of God would become hidden, and the world would stop existing. Human actions are the "Foundation" (Yesod) of the universe (Malkuth), but they must be guided by compassion. Compassionate actions require faith (Emunah), trusting that God supports them even when He seems distant. Finally, showing compassion to oneself is also important for maintaining balance.
Cognition, mysticism, or values
The academic study of Jewish mysticism was started by Gershom Scholem, who focused on the intellectual side of Kabbalistic symbols, seeing them as theoretical ideas. However, modern scholars like Moshe Idel and Elliot R. Wolfson have explored how Kabbalistic experiences can be understood through close study of historical texts. Wolfson explained that medieval Kabbalists, who were part of small groups of mystics, believed that understanding symbols through thought was less important than experiencing them directly. During the medieval period, Jewish philosophers debated the role of imagination in Biblical prophecy and the relationship between the sephirot (divine aspects) and God. These Kabbalists saw the sephirot as tools for prophecy. Because Judaism forbids physical images of God, and because the Hebrew Bible and midrash use human-like descriptions of God, Kabbalists imagined the sephirot as a way to visualize the divine. This internal visualization of the divine sephirot, called Anthropos, involved a process of mental transformation that revealed the hidden connections between Kabbalah and ideas about spiritual unification. Earlier academic views that separated Theosophical Kabbalah from the ecstatic and prophetic traditions of Abulafia overstated the differences between these groups, which were more about whether prophecy was seen as visual or verbal/auditory. Throughout the history of Jewish mysticism, many great mystics claimed to receive new teachings from Elijah the Prophet, the souls of earlier sages, the soul of the Mishnah, visions during sleep, and messages from heavenly messengers. Stories in texts like Praises of the Ari and Praises of the Besht describe traditions of psychic abilities, spiritual knowledge, and prayers to God on behalf of the community. Kabbalistic and Hasidic writings aim to connect religious study and theory with spiritual practice, including the creation of new mystical insights from the Torah. The symbols used in Kabbalah to answer philosophical questions also encourage deep thought, intuition, and emotional engagement.
Sanford Drob explains how Kabbalistic symbols reflect the idea that opposites can coexist. For example, the infinite divine source, Ein Sof, exists beyond the concepts of existence and non-existence. The sephirot help explain the philosophical challenge of how one divine being can become many. Humans are both divine and human, and the concept of Tzimtzum (the divine contraction) is both real and an illusion from different perspectives. Good and evil depend on each other, and existence is both limited and complete in different realms. God experiences humanity as the "Other," and humanity completes the divine image. In Kabbalah, ideas like Theism, Panentheism, and Humanism are not opposites but parts of a larger balance. A Hasidic thinker named Aaron HaLevi ben Moses of Staroselye said that truth is only fully understood when seen in contrast with its opposite.
The Kabbalah uses symbols and stories that can be interpreted in many ways, combining ideas from philosophy, Jewish theology, psychology, mysticism, and Jewish teachings. These symbols can be seen as questions that also contain their own answers. For example, the sephirah Chokmah (Wisdom) is interpreted as asking "What power is this?" Other lists of the sephirot begin with Keter (Will) or Chokmah (Wisdom), showing a philosophical debate about whether Jewish laws are based on reason or divine will, and whether study or good deeds are more important. Messianic redemption requires both ethical actions and spiritual contemplation. Drob argues that trying to define Kabbalah as having only one meaning leads to its own breakdown, as Kabbalah itself includes ideas of self-destruction and infinite possibilities. The infinite nature of the divine, expressed through many forms, avoids the dangers of nihilism or the rejection of Jewish traditions.
Primary texts
Like other rabbinic writings, Kabbalah texts were originally part of an oral tradition. However, over time, many of these oral teachings were written down.
Jewish secret knowledge existed more than 2,000 years ago. Ben Sira, who was born around 170 BCE, warned against it, saying, "Do not deal with secret things." Despite this warning, people studied mysticism, leading to mystical writings. The earliest of these was Apocalyptic literature from the second and first centuries BCE, which included ideas that later influenced Kabbalah.
Throughout the centuries, many texts were created. These include ancient writings such as Sefer Yetzirah, the Heichalot mystical ascent literature, Bahir, Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, and the Zohar, which is the main Kabbalistic text. Classic mystical Bible commentaries are included in expanded versions of the Mikraot Gedolot. The Cordoveran system is explained in Pardes Rimonim, philosophical ideas are found in the works of the Maharal, and Lurianic teachings are detailed in Etz Chayim. Later, Lurianic Kabbalah was further explained in writings by Shalom Sharabi, in Nefesh HaChaim, and in the 20th-century work Sulam. Hasidism connected Kabbalistic ideas to inner spiritual experiences. The Hasidic approach to Kabbalah includes a new stage of Jewish mysticism that follows earlier Kabbalistic beliefs.
Scholarship
In the 19th century, a group of historians called the "Wissenschaft des Judentums" studied Judaism using only rational methods, influenced by the Haskalah movement, which aimed to modernize Jewish life. They ignored the mystical teachings of kabbalah and excluded them from Jewish history. By the mid-20th century, Gershom Scholem challenged this view. He showed that Jewish mysticism, including texts like Heichalot, Kabbalistic works, and Hasidic writings, was important for understanding Jewish history. Scholem believed that mystical ideas were as vital as rational ones and that they helped shape Jewish communities over time. His book Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941) remains a key reference for studying Jewish mysticism across all historical periods.
While some scholars have criticized or suggested changes to Scholem’s work, his analysis of Jewish mysticism is still widely respected for its depth and scope, even after many years of additional research. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been a major center for this research, with scholars like Scholem, Isaiah Tishby, Joseph Dan, Yehuda Liebes, Rachel Elior, and Moshe Idel. In America and Britain, other scholars such as Alexander Altmann, Arthur Green, Lawrence Fine, Elliot Wolfson, Daniel Matt, Louis Jacobs, and Ada Rapoport-Albert have also contributed to the study of Jewish mysticism.
Moshe Idel has explored the Ecstatic Kabbalah and encouraged new ways of studying Jewish mysticism, including using fields like psychology, anthropology, and comparative studies, in addition to traditional methods.
In his work Revelation & Tradition as Religious Categories, Scholem explained how authority in Jewish tradition is determined. This document, originally written as a letter to Walter Benjamin in 1933, was later published as part of Scholem’s collection of writings. It is difficult to summarize but is respected even by those who do not believe in religious traditions. A similar idea about authority appears in Scholem’s book Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. Scholem also noted that Kabbalists often described receiving authority through conversations with the Prophet Elijah, who they believed protected Jewish traditions.
Early Kabbalistic texts, such as the Bahir and Zohar, often claimed to be ancient works, even though they were written later. For example, the Sefer Raziel HaMalach was said to have been given by the angel Raziel to Adam after he was expelled from Eden. Another text, the Sefer Yetzirah, was attributed to Abraham, even though its earliest versions did not claim this. This practice of claiming ancient origins comes from earlier Jewish writings, like the Book of Enoch, which described angels teaching humans in the distant past.
In addition to claiming ancient texts, early Kabbalists also described receiving direct revelations from divine sources, such as Elijah the Prophet or the souls of ancient Jewish sages. Some scholars, like Arthur Green, suggest that the Zohar, a major Kabbalistic text, may have been written by medieval Spanish mystics who believed they were continuing the work of an earlier group of mystics in ancient Galilee. Similarly, Isaac Luria, a later Kabbalist, recreated a traditional gathering called the Idra, where his students sat in positions linked to their past lives as students of the ancient mystic Shimon bar Yochai.
Criticism
One perspective is presented in the Chabad Hasidic text Tanya (1797), which argues that Jews have a unique type of soul. According to its author, Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), non-Jews can reach a high level of spirituality, like an angel, but their souls differ fundamentally from Jewish souls. A similar idea appears in the early medieval book Kuzari, written by Judah Halevi (1075–1141). Another rabbi, Abraham Yehudah Khein (1878–1957), believed that spiritually advanced non-Jews have Jewish souls but lack formal conversion to Judaism, while unspiritual Jews are considered Jewish only by birth documents.
David Halperin explains that Kabbalah’s influence among Western European Jews declined in the 17th and 18th centuries because some Kabbalists viewed non-Jews negatively, which conflicted with Jews’ positive interactions with non-Jews during this time. These interactions improved due to the Haskala, a Jewish Enlightenment movement. Pinchas Elijah Hurwitz, an 18th-century Kabbalist and supporter of the Haskala, promoted love and unity among all nations and believed Kabbalah could give spiritual power to both Jews and non-Jews.
The works of Abraham Cohen de Herrera (1570–1635) often mention non-Jewish mystical thinkers. This was common among Renaissance and post-Renaissance Italian Jews. Late medieval and Renaissance Italian Kabbalists, such as Yohanan Alemanno, David Messer Leon, and Abraham Yagel, embraced humanistic ideas and included teachings from Christian and pagan mystics.
Elijah Benamozegh, a key figure in Kabbalah’s humanist tradition, praised Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and ancient pagan mystical systems. He believed Kabbalah could unite world religions, which he saw as different stages of human spirituality. In his writings, Benamozegh interpreted religious texts like the New Testament, Hadith, Vedas, and Avesta using Kabbalistic ideas.
Elliot R. Wolfson shows that modern Judaism has not fully rejected Kabbalah’s older ideas. He notes that some Kabbalists today still hold these views, even though many Jews find them offensive. Wolfson argues that scholars should remain careful about these ideas to refine Jewish tradition.
The idea that God has ten divine aspects, called sephirot, evolved into the belief that God is one being with ten aspects. This raised questions about correct beliefs about God in Judaism. Early Kabbalists debated whether the sephirot were essential parts of God or tools for expressing God’s will. Modern Kabbalah, based on the work of Cordovero and Isaac Luria in the 16th century, says the sephirot’s forms are created, but their inner light comes from God’s infinite essence, called Ohr Ein Sof.
Maimonides (12th century), known for his rational approach to Judaism, rejected some pre-Kabbalistic texts, like Shi'ur Qomah, which described God in human-like terms. He lived during Kabbalah’s early development. Scholars today see Kabbalah’s work as a response to misunderstandings of Maimonides’ ideas in his Guide for the Perplexed, which focused on philosophy over religious rituals. Kabbalists disagreed with Maimonides’ comparison of Jewish mystical teachings to Greek philosophy.
Nachmanides (13th century), a medieval rabbi who opposed Maimonides’ rationalism, influenced many Kabbalistic ideas. A book called Gevuras Aryeh, written in 1915, explains Nachmanides’ Kabbalistic ideas in his commentary on the Torah.
Abraham Maimonides, following his father Maimonides and others, argued in Milḥamot HaShem that God is not bound by time or space. He emphasized God’s singular, transcendent nature. Kabbalah’s Panentheism, as taught by Cordovero and Hasidic thought, agrees that God’s essence is beyond all expressions but believes that the world exists as a reflection of God’s being. In Hasidic thought, the world is not part of God’s reality from God’s perspective but is real from its own.
In the 1230s, Rabbi Meir ben Simon of Narbonne wrote a letter criticizing early Kabbalists, calling them blasphemers. He specifically rejected the Sefer Bahir, a Kabbalistic text, and accused it of containing heretical ideas.
Leon of Modena, a 17th-century critic of Kabbalah, noted that accepting Kabbalah might make the Christian Trinity compatible with Judaism, as the Trinity resembles the Kabbalistic sephirot. However, he pointed out that some Jews prayed to the sephirot, a practice that was rare. Kabbalists clarified that prayers are directed to God’s essence, not the sephirot, to avoid dividing God’s unity.
Yaakov Emden (1697–1776), an Orthodox Kabbalist who respected the Zohar, wrote Mitpaḥath Sfarim to critique the Zohar, arguing that parts of it contained heretical ideas and could not have been written by Shimon bar Yochai.
The Vilna Gaon (1720–1797) deeply respected the Zohar and the teachings of Isaac Luria, carefully editing classic Jewish texts.
Contemporary study
The teaching of classic mystical Kabbalah texts and practices remained traditional until recent times. These teachings were passed down in Judaism from teacher to student or studied by leading rabbinic scholars. This changed in the 20th century, due to intentional reforms and the growing openness to sharing knowledge. Today, Kabbalah is studied in four distinct, though sometimes overlapping, ways.
The traditional method, used among Jews since the 16th century, continues in small study groups. To participate, a person must be Jewish or a convert and join a group of Kabbalists under the guidance of a rabbi. Since the 18th century, these groups are often led by Hasidic rabbis, though other groups exist among Sephardi-Mizrachi and Lithuanian scholars. In addition to elite, historical Kabbalah, the public texts of Hasidic thought explain Kabbalistic ideas for broader spiritual use, focusing on how people understand the concept of God being both separate from and present in the world.
A second, newer approach is used by modern Jewish organizations and writers who aim to share Kabbalah with everyone, regardless of background. This began in the 1960s with increased Western interest in mysticism. These groups come from different Jewish traditions and range from serious theological study to simplified versions that use terms from New Age spirituality. They often focus on universal themes rather than specific Jewish teachings.
A third way involves non-Jewish groups, such as Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, and the Golden Dawn, which combine Jewish Kabbalah with Christian, occult, or New Age ideas. These groups are part of Western esoteric traditions and have different goals than Jewish Kabbalah. They do not accurately represent Jewish spiritual beliefs, and vice versa.
Since the mid-20th century, academic study of Jewish mysticism has become a major field in university Jewish studies. In the 19th century, early historians of Judaism ignored or dismissed Kabbalah, but scholars like Gershom Scholem and his followers later showed that Kabbalah is an important part of Jewish history. Today, academic research on Kabbalah is widely shared with the public.
In recent decades, Kabbalah has gained new interest, with modern groups and individuals exploring its teachings. These interpretations often connect traditional Kabbalah with modern ideas. Some focus on universal themes, while others mix spirituality with popular culture, attracting people from many backgrounds. These modern views show how Kabbalah remains relevant today.
Bnei Baruch is a group of Kabbalah students based in Israel. Study materials are available in over 25 languages online or for printing. Michael Laitman started Bnei Baruch in 1991 after the death of his teacher, Rav Baruch Ashlag. He named the group Bnei Baruch (sons of Baruch) to honor his mentor. The group emphasizes studying only "authentic sources" from Kabbalists in the direct teacher-student tradition.
The Kabbalah Centre was founded in the United States in 1965 as The National Research Institute of Kabbalah by Philip Berg and Rav Yehuda Tzvi Brandwein, a student of Yehuda Ashlag. Later, Philip Berg and his wife reorganized the group as the worldwide Kabbalah Centre. The organization's leaders strongly reject Orthodox Jewish identity.
The Kabbalah Society, led by Warren Kenton, focuses on pre-Lurianic Medieval Kabbalah, presenting it in a universalist style. Traditional Kabbalists, however, study earlier Kabbalah through later Lurianism and the systemizations of 16th-century Safed.
The New Kabbalah, created by Sanford L. Drob, is an academic study of Lurianic symbolism through modern and postmodern thought. It aims to make Kabbalah relevant today by connecting it with modern philosophy and psychology. This approach helps secular disciplines understand ideas that were once hidden in Kabbalistic myths.
The Kabbalah of Information, described in the 2018 book From Infinity to Man by Eduard Shyfrin, claims that "In the beginning He created information," rephrasing the idea that God created primordial matter.
Since the 18th century, Jewish mysticism has continued in Hasidic Judaism, turning Kabbalah into a social revival. Groups like Chabad-Lubavitch and Breslav provide spiritual resources and teachings for secular Jews. Chabad-Lubavitch emphasizes explaining Kabbalah through rational analogies, uniting the spiritual and material, and showing how both come from the same divine source.
From the early 20th century, Neo-Hasidism has influenced modern Jewish denominations, including Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionalist groups. Scholars like Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Arthur Green, Lawrence Kushner, and Herbert Weiner have promoted non-fundamentalist study of Kabbalah and Hasidism. Academic research on Jewish mysticism has led to new interpretations of Kabbalistic ideas. Arthur Green’s translations of Hillel Zeitlin’s writings show how Zeitlin influenced Neo-Hasidism. Reform rabbi Herbert Weiner’s book Nine and a Half Mystics: The Kabbalah Today (1969) also contributed to modern interest in Kabbalah.
Cathar and Mandaean parallels
In several important parts of his study on the Kabbalah, Gershom Scholem examines evidence showing that medieval Kabbalists in Provence may have influenced or been influenced by the Cathar heresy, which was also common in the same region during the time the earliest Kabbalah texts were written. In his book Jewish Influence on Christian Reform Movements, Louis I. Newman wrote, "Similar ideas can be found in Cathar beliefs and the Kabbalah, and it is possible that Jewish and non-Jewish mystics shared ideas at times." Earlier in the same book, Newman noted:
That the strong Jewish culture in Languedoc had grown powerful enough to promote its own ideas, creating an environment where religious movements that challenged traditional beliefs could easily develop. Close contact between Christian rulers and Jewish officials and friends encouraged a mindset that led to the rejection of traditional religious teachings. Because they were unwilling to accept Jewish ideas, these rulers and common people turned instead to Catharism, which was spreading in their areas.
Nathaniel Deutsch wrote:
At first, interactions between Mandaeans and Jewish mystics in Babylonia from Late Antiquity to the medieval period led to shared beliefs about magic and angels. During this time, similarities between Mandaeism and Hekhalot mysticism likely developed. At some point, both Mandaeans and Jews in Babylonia began creating similar ideas about the origin of the universe and spiritual beliefs, using similar terms and images. It is unclear whether Jewish ideas influenced Mandaeans, Mandaeans influenced Jews, or both groups influenced each other. Regardless of the source, these traditions eventually appeared in secret Mandaean writings and in the Kabbalah.
R.J. Zwi Werblowsky suggests that Mandaeism shares more similarities with the Kabbalah than with Merkabah mysticism, especially in ideas about the origin of the universe and imagery related to sexuality. Texts such as The Thousand and Twelve Questions, Scroll of Exalted Kingship, and Alma Rišaia Rba connect the alphabet to the creation of the world, a concept also found in Sefer Yetzirah and The Bahir.
Names for uthras (angels or guardians) used by Mandaeans have been found in Jewish magical texts. For example, the name Abatur appears in a Jewish incantation bowl in the form Abiṭur. Another example is Pāṯaḥil (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: פתחיאל), which seems to be a version of Ptahil in Mandaeism. This name is listed in Sefer HaRazim among other angels who are said to stand on the ninth step of the second firmament.