I usually don’t talk much about politics and religion due to their sensitive nature. But I was recently moved to do some research on Kabbalah after finding out that a number of celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher, Mick Jagger, Ariana Grande, Alex Rodriguez, and Lucy Liu are all associated with the Kabbalah Center.
So, yeah, I naturally wanted to find out stuff about it such as whether it was an actual religion, what its teachings are, how it was founded, and if there had been any controversies. Here is what I found out:
✦ Kabbalah isn’t a religion on its own. In fact, Kabbalah teachings tend to separate it from the basic meaning of religion (for example, how most religions view the idea of a Creator) and is viewed as a science instead.
✦ Kabbalah evolved out of the broader religion of Judaism and is referred to as Jewish mysticism, which means it has elements of magic.
✦ One of the well-known symbols of Kabbalah is the wearing of a red string bracelet, which is said to ward off bad luck.
✦ The teachings of Kabbalah are geared towards unraveling certain mysteries of life, including the approach to finding happiness. Studying the various teachings of Kabbalah can take an entire lifetime to fully understand.
✦ It was started around the 12th – 13th century among Jews and spread to parts of Europe, including Spain and Italy. Later on, in the 16th century, Rabbi Isaac Luria perfected the teachings of Kabbalah in Safed, Palestine, and is now considered the father of modern Kabbalah.
✦ I didn’t find much in terms of controversies as it relates to Kabbalah but learned that there are a bunch of different texts, including the Lurianic texts and the Zohar, which all have their own interpretations of the movement.
Personally, I was raised in the Catholic faith. However, I have never formally embraced a religion or specific teachings; I just try to keep a good balance. For me, I just believe in the existence of positive and negative vibrations. I try to do as many good deeds as possible because everything you do comes back to you, one way or another. It’s that simple for me. What about you?
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3 Comments. Leave new
Oh really? These guys are part of it? Well, we are all free to choose whatever part we take so no judgments here. As long as one finds happiness and does no wrong, I think such a person’s religion shouldn’t be much of a problem.
I’m a Catholic too and I’m super proud of that. But this Kabbalah stuff is looking all different to me and the magic aspect is something. Well, I’m not sure which is right or wrong or the best or not but all I do know is that we should be all nice in our religion and not use it to oppress or intimidate others. If one is good and comfortable with what they do, then I see no issues.
Hmm. Just hearing Kabbalah for the first time and did you say it’s a religion? We sure have a lot of stuff going on around but it’s kinda ironical that it doesn’t reduce the ills we find. Very delicate topic and I love to stay far away if I can too just so you don’t get into trouble when attempting to make your point.