Becoming Jewish - Jewish Mysticism

Mysticism and mystical experiences have been a part of Judaism since the earliest days. The Torah contains many stories of mystical experiences. The Talmud speaks about the existence of the soul and when it becomes attached to the body. Jewish tradition tells that the souls of all Jews were in existence at the time of the giving of the Torah. These souls were present at Mount Sinai and agreed to the Covenant.

There are many stories of places like heaven (Gan Eden) and "purgatory" (Gehenna), of wandering souls and reincarnation. The Talmud contains vague hints of a mystical school of thought that was taught only to the most advanced students and was not committed to writing. There are several references in ancient sources to the work of creation and the work of the chariot (of Ezekiel's vision), the two primary subjects of mystical thought at the time. In the middle ages, many of these mystical teachings were committed to writing in books like the Zohar. Many of these writings were asserted to be secret ancient writings or compilations of secret ancient writings.

Kabbalah
Note: This is only a general background of Jewish mysticism. In order for one to learn Kabbalah/Zohar a person must: be at least 40 years of age, be a Jew, be thoroughly knowledgeable in the Written Torah and Oral Torah, and be accepted by a teacher who is a master of Kabbalah.

Kabbalah is one of the most grossly misunderstood parts of Judaism. Much of what is being peddled as Kabbalah in this day is only new-age mystical beliefs that have very little to do with the true Kabbalah. The vast majority of the people who teach this brand of Kabbalah are neither Jewish nor masters of Kabbalah. These misunderstandings stem largely from the fact that the teachings of Kabbalah have been so badly distorted by mystics and occultists. Kabbalah was popular among Christian intellectuals during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, who reinterpreted its doctrines to fit into their dogma. In more recent times, many have wrenched Kabalistic symbolism out of context for use in tarot card readings and other forms of divination and magic that were never a part of the original Jewish teachings. Today, many well-known celebrities have popularized a new age pop-psychology distortion of Kabbalah that has more in common with the writings of Deepak Chopra than with any authentic Jewish source. There are a number of stories that discourage the pursuit of such knowledge and power as dangerous and irresponsible. If you see any books on the subject of "practical Kabbalah," you can safely dismiss them as not authentic Jewish tradition because, as these stories demonstrate, this kind of knowledge was traditionally thought to be far too dangerous to be distributed blindly to the masses.

There are certainly many traditional Jewish stories that involve the use of hidden knowledge to affect the world in ways that could be described as magic. The Talmud and other sources ascribe supernatural activities to many great rabbis. Some rabbis pronounced a name of G-d and ascended into heaven to consult with the G-d and the angels on issues of great public concern. One scholar is said to have created an artificial man by reciting various names of G-d. Much later stories tell of a rabbi who created a man out of clay (a golem) and brought it to life by putting in its mouth a piece of paper with a name of G-d on it. However, this area of Kabbalah is not something that is practiced by the average Jew, or even the average rabbi. It is important to note that all of these magical effects were achieved through the power of G-d, generally by calling upon the name of G-d. These practices are no more evil than the miracles of the prophets.

One of the better known, fundamental concepts of kabalistic thought is the concept of G-d as Ein Sof, the Ten Sefirot, and the kabalistic tree of life. According to Kabbalah, the true essence of G-d is so transcendent that it cannot be described, except with reference to what it is not. This true essence of G-d is known as Ein Sof, which literally means "without end," which encompasses the idea of His lack of boundaries in both time and space. In this truest form, the Ein Sof is so transcendent that It cannot have any direct interaction with the universe. The Ein Sof interacts with the universe through ten emanations from this essence, known as the Ten Sefirot. The Ten Sefirot include both masculine and feminine qualities. Kabbalah pays a great deal of attention to the feminine aspects of G-d. The Sefirot are not separate deities, as some might think by taking this too literally. They are intimately a part of G-d, and yet they are in contact with the universe in a way that the Ein Sof is not. The Sefirot connect with everything in the universe, including humanity. The good and evil that we do resonates through the Sefirot and affects the entire universe, up to and including G-d Himself.

Keter (the crown), Chokhmah (wisdom), Binah (intuition, understanding), Chesed (mercy) or Gedulah (greatness), Gevurah (strength), Tiferet (glory), Netzach (victory), Hod (majesty), Yesod (foundation) and Malkut (sovereignty). The middle five qualities are mentioned explicitly and in order at I Chronicles 29:11: Yours, O L-rd, is the greatness (gedulah), the strength (gevurah), the glory (tiferet), the power (netzach), and the splendor (hod).

Omer Attributes
The Sefirat Ha'Omer (counting of the omer) begins the second day of Pesach and lasts for 49 days - ending with Shavuot . It is a remembrance of the time when wheat was brought as an offering to the Temple. There are seven basic human emotional attributes and each week of the Sefirat Ha'Omer is dedicated to one of these emotional attributes. Each day is also dedicated to a combination of these attributes.

1 Chesed of Chesed	2 Gevurah of Chesed	3 Tiferet of Chesed	4 Netzach of Chesed	5 Hod of Chesed	6 Yesod of Chesed	7 Malchut of Chesed
8 Chesed of Gevurah	9 Gevurah of Gevurah	10 Tiferet of Gevurah	11 Netzach of Gevurah	12 Hod of Gevurah	13 Yesod of Gevurah	14 Malchut of Gevurah
15 Chesed of Tiferet	16 Gevurah of Tiferet	17 Tiferet of Tiferet	18 Netzach of Tiferet	19 Hod of Tiferet	20 Yesod of Tiferet	21 Malchut of Tiferet
22 Chesed of Netzach	23 Gevurah of Netzach	24 Tiferet of Netzach	25 Netzach of Netzach	26 Hod of Netzach	27 Yesod of Netzach	28 Malchut of Netzach
29 Chesed of Hod	30 Gevurah of Hod	31 Tiferet of Hod	32 Netzach of Hod	33 Hod of Hod	34 Yesod of Hod	35 Malchut of Hod
36 Chesed of Yesod	37 Gevurah of Yesod	38 Tiferet of Yesod	39 Netzach of Yesod	40 Hod of Yesod	41 Yesod of Yesod	42 Malchut of Yesod
43 Chesed of Malchut	44 Gevurah of Malchut	45 Tiferet of Malchut	46 Netzach of Malchut	47 Hod of Malchut	48 Yesod of Malchut	49 Malchut of Malchut

Tanya
The Likkutei Amarim is a collection of Chasidic writings written by Schneur Zalman, the founder of Chabad in 1797. It is commonly known by its first word - Tanya. The Tanya deals with psychology, mysticism, and kabbalah from a Chasidic viewpoint and Rabbi Zalman's philosophy. The Tanya describes five levels of divine service - complete tzaddik, incomplete tzaddik, intermediate one, incomplete evil person, and complete evil person. As published in 1814, the Tanya is made up of five sections - The Book of the Average Man, The Gateway of Unity and Belief, Letter of Repentance, Letter of Holiness, and Last Thesis.

Astrological Sign	Jewish Month	Hebrew Tribe	Hebrew Letter		Comment
Aries	Nissan	Judah	Hey	ה	Month of correct talking - walking in right speech
Taurus	Iyar	Issachar	Vav	ו	Month of correct thought - walking in truth
Gemini	Sivan	Zebulun	Zayin	ז	Month of correct movement - walking the the way of Torah
Cancer	Tammuz	Reuben	Chet	ח	Month of correct sight - focus on the positive
Leo	Av	Simeon	Tet	ט	Month of correct hearing - making the lowest levels into good
Virgo	Elul	Gad	Yud	י	Month of correct action - regretting our misdeeds and resolving toward positive deed
Libra	Tishrei	Ephraim	Lamed	ל	Month of correct feeling - wish for positive outcome from our relationship to G-d
Scorpio	Cheshvan	Manessah	Nun	נ	Month of correct smell - reach toward heightened sense of spirituality
Saggitarius	Kislev	Benjamin	Samech	ס	Month of correct relaxation and correct action - focus on sleep which comes from our dedication during waking hours
Capricorn	Tevet	Dan	Ayin	ע	Month of correct anger - rejection of the negative
Aquarius	Shevat	Asher	Tsadi	צ	Month of correct eating - purifying attitudes toward materiality
Pisces	Adar	Naphtali	Kof	כ	Month of correct laughter - transform obstacle into opportunity

Each Hebrew letter represents a number. Gematria is the calculation of the numerical equivalence of letters, words, or phrases. Based upon these calculations, insight is gained into concepts and relationships between words and ideas. The assumption behind Gematria is that the world was created through G-d's speech and each letter represents a creative force. There are four ways to calculate equivalence between the letters.¹
Absolute Value:
Each Hebrew letter is given a numerical value between one (aleph) and 400 (tav). The final forms of kaf (ך), mem (ם), nun (ן), fey (ף), and tsade (ץ) are equal to the numerical value of the standard form of the letter (כ, מ, נ, פ, צ). According to an alternative version, these final letters are equivalent to 500 (kaf sofit), 600 (mem sofit), 700 (nun sofit), 800 (fey sofit), and 900 (tsade sofit) with aleph also representing 1000.

Ordinal Value:
Each Hebrew letter is given an equivalent number between 1 (aleph) and 22 (tav). The final form letters are given numbers equivalent from 23 (kaf) and 27 (tsade).

Reduced Value:
Each Hebrew letter is reduced to a single-digit number. The letters aleph, yud, and kof all represent number one. The letters bet, kaf, and resh all represent number two. The letters gimmel, lamed, and shin all represent number three. The letters dalet, mem, and tav all represent number four. The letters hey and nun (as well as the kaf sofit under some circumstances) represent number five. The letters vav and samech (as well as the mem sofit under some circumstances) represent number six. The letters zayin and ayin (as well as nun sofit under some circumstances) represent number seven. The letters chet and pey (as well as fey sofit under some circumstances) represent number eight. The letters tet and tsade (as well as tsade sofit under some circumstances) represent number nine.

Human Soul
According to Kabbalah, there are five levela of the human soul. The Zohar speaks of three levels of the human soul: nefesh, ruach, and neshamah. The nefesh is the "animal soul" that is linked to human metabolism, bodily cravings, and instincts. The ruach is the connection between the nefesh and neshamah and is linked to human emotions and feelings. The neshamah is the level of the soul that connects humans to G-d and leads humans to perform good deeds, be pious and humble, and to seek knowledge and achievements in the spiritual realm. The Raaya Meheimna (a later addition to the Zohar) speaks of two additional levels of the human soul. The chayah is the level of the human soul that permits one to have an awareness of G-d. The Yehidah is the highest level of the soul which allows humans to achieve as full a union with G-d as possible. When a person dies, it may take up to seven days for the souls to realize the body is dead. During this time, the souls stay near the grave or pass between the grave and the home of the deceased. The nefesh stays with the physical body until the body is completely decomposed.

Rabbinic and Kabbalistic sources also mention three other non-permanent human souls: ruach hakodesh, neshama yeseira, and neshama kedosha. The ruach hakodesh is the soul that makes prophecy possible. Since the time of prophecy has passed, this soul is no longer available to humans. The neshamah yeseira is the "second soul" that a Jew can experience on Shabbat which enhances the spiritual connection to the day. The neshamah kedosha is given to the bar/bat mitzvah and is related to the study and fulfillment of the mitzvot. This soul only exists within a human that studies and follows Torah. In addition, Kabbalists also mention that when humans sleep, 59 of the 60 parts of our soul leave the body and travel to the heavenly realm to recharge