What is Kabbalah?
Upon hearing the word Kabbalah many may immediately think of Madonna, mysticism and perhaps the red string. While the ancient wisdom may have gotten a more public acknowledgement in the last decade, the wisdom is ancient perhaps even dating back as much as 5000 years. This knowledge is said to come from Abraham all the way through Moses, Jesus and most recently notorious, Rav and Karen Berg who opened this knowledge to the world forty years ago.
Many may be familiar with the term, but what exactly is Kabbalah? According to a July 24, 2008 lecture given at the Kabbalah Centre of New York, located at 155 E. 48th street, Kabbalah is the ‘blueprint of the soul.’ This understanding is meant for the holder to awaken the power of their essence. According to the teachings of Kabbalah, each individual has a unique destiny to achieve happiness beyond their wildest desire.
Three Types of Wisdom
In the teaching of this ancient wisdom, it is believed that there are three types of desire. The first is immediate desire, perhaps something that would answer the question ‘what was the first thing I wanted when I woke up this morning?’ The second type of yearning is knowledge which would answer the question, ‘what do I want to know?’ The last type of aspiration would answer the question, ‘what is the most important facet of my life?’ Kabbalah seeks to answer each of these questions in order for the learner to gain a better understanding of themselves and what their purpose is in life.
Kabbalah is not something that one can be taught overnight. As a matter of fact this ongoing study takes years, often decades. Though there is a vast amount of information to attain, it is relatively understandable that is there are no hidden agendas. However, Kabbalists, or those who study and practice Kabbalah will tell you that learning is the easy part; it is the application to daily life that is the challenge. The biggest complexity for many is the required change of one’s self. Though many have the desire to study Kabbalah, few have the aspiration to look deep into their being and admit that they need to change some things about themselves. It is the ability to change and transform one’s self that sets apart those who study Kabbalah and those who fully practice it.
Though Kabbalah is often associated with ancient Judaism it is not a religion. Many practicing Kabbalists come from all walks of life. One can walk into the Kabbalah Centre of Manhattan and meet Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, just to name a few. The reason is because all faiths stem from the following basic ideas; ‘What happened before the Big Bang Theory? Why evolution? Why are we here (in other words what is our purpose)?’ Essentially the answer sought is to the question, ‘What was the movement that caused the Big Bang Theory?’ The answer is found in this idea; ‘If you have creation, there has to be a Creator.’ This basic principal allows all faiths to gather and study the wisdom of Kabbalah. There is no exclusive name for this Creator, it is called by many therefore Kabbalah is not limited to one religion.
Once a person begins practicing what they have learned, miracles begin to occur. To break this principal into the simplest form, adhere to the following; learn the wisdom, do what you have learned, and the miracles will come.
For anyone looking to begin a study of Kabbalah, a good starting place is any one of the numerous Kabbalah Centres around the country.www.kabbalah.com/kabbalah/ For women in particular, a good starting place is God Wears Lipstick, by Karen Berg.
