Kabbalah and the Secret
Hello Rabbi,
I am currently a student in a Heder yeshiva and I would like to know exactly what your approach is regarding Kabbalah and the Secret Doctrine (if you have a well-organized article on the subject, I would be happy if you could direct me to it). I have a hard time with all the things I see coming out of there. On the one hand, it sounds strange and delusional to me, all the things that appear in places like the Zohar - the opposite of the rational approach that I believe Judaism is supposed to take. On the other hand, it is also clear to me that if I believe that the Torah came from God, it makes sense that there would be different layers that may seem illogical to the casual observer. Ultimately, I believe that there is something beyond the simple written text, but how am I supposed to know what is true and what are things that were invented or simply superstitions that came into being over time?
It's hard for me to answer, since I don't have a real systematic mishnah on this matter. My impression is that Kabbalah is a collection of spiritual intuitions of people that have developed over the years. They have value and point to interesting connections between things, but they are not binding on the law. If something of this has been accepted within the framework of the law, it can have the status of a custom, without detracting from any other custom, of course.
And all this is not because I assume that the commandments must be understood. There are quite a few commandments and laws that are not understood, and I assume that they have some explanation that I do not understand. But it is still not necessary to say that Kabbalah is the correct explanation that came down from Sinai. I am not impressed that it came down from Sinai (perhaps some very fundamental principles).
As a general rule, be respectful and suspicious. If there is something that really bothers you or you are convinced for some reason that it is not right – don't do it.
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