Q&A: On Kabbalah and Its Customs
On Kabbalah and Its Customs
Question
The Rabbi wrote in a responsum that he sometimes accepts kabbalistic principles, but in his view there is no need to be concerned about kabbalistic customs that were not incorporated into Jewish law. My question is: a. Could you give an example of a kabbalistic principle that the Rabbi does accept and sees as correct and true? b. Do principles that the Rabbi accepts also affect customs connected to that principle, such that the Rabbi practices them? Could you also please give an example of such a custom, if there is one? c. Is the Rabbi bound by customs that stem from principles he does not accept but that entered Jewish law (following a halakhic decisor who presumably did accept them…)? And if the Rabbi does practice them, is that by virtue of custom, in which case seemingly it could be permitted to set it aside like a custom? Thank you in advance for your valuable time
Answer
This is not really a question of what is correct and true, because I have no way to judge that. But by the law of custom, this has a certain validity; it is no worse than any other custom. Customs that did enter include different prayer liturgies (the Ari’s rite), bed orientation, and the like. There are laws in the Shulchan Arukh whose basis is in the Zohar and in the writings of kabbalists. I do not think it has no validity; rather, it has the validity of a custom at most. And if it contradicts Jewish law, it is void. And as is well known, this is what the Magen Avraham wrote as well in the laws of tefillin.