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THE KABBALAH

BY SAMUEL A. BINION

HE mass of literature and of learning which the word Kabbalah designates is abstruse and difficult; but a knowledge of it is essential to an understanding of the Hebrew thought in the middle centuries of our era, and also of its influence in Europe during the same and later periods. The fascination which the doctrines grouped under the name Kabbalah had for the mystic, the theologian, and the philosopher, has hardly yet passed entirely away. The reason for this is obvious. This Hebrew esoteric philosophy sought to explain the INFINITE in terms comprehensible to men. The sublime names of God in the Old Testament awed the world, and the attributes attached to those Divine names enriched it. A study of the doctrines of the Kabbalah opened and illuminated the Bible. It enlarged the religious conception of the Christian world.

That the pure theosophy of the Kabbalah shared the fate of other theosophies, and was prostituted to wonder-working and to "practical" uses, was to be expected. It is the common fate of all theosophies. My subject divides itself into two branches: first, the Theoretical Kabbalah, an esoteric theosophy; and second, the Practical Kabbalah, the various treatises on which comprise the great majority of the books belonging to the subject: and I will try to state broadly what the Kabbalah is, and indicate its various stages and the uses made of it. The word Kabbalah (also spelled Cabala and Qabalah) is derived from the Hebrew verb kabbal (to receive). In addition to the received Hebrew Scripture designated as 'Torah Shebikthabh' (the Written Law), there is the Torah sheb'al* pěh' (the Oral or Traditional Law). The Rabbis affirm that both laws were derived from the same source, having been communicated to Moses by the Almighty on Mount Sinai.

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*NOTES. The a, e, i, o, preceded by an apostrophe ('), have each a peculiar sound which has no equivalent in Western languages. The approximate sound can only be produced by pronouncing the above-named vowels with the assistance of the soft palate and throat.

The Hebrew alphabet has no vowels. The vowel sounds are indicated by signs above or below the letters.

The Talmud declares (Tract. 'Pirke Abhoth' or Patristic Chapters, Chap. i., 1) that Mosheh kibbel (Moses received) the Law from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; that Joshua transmitted it to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets to the "Men of the Great Congregation," who flourished from the end of the sixth century B. C. till the time of Rabbi Shimeon Hatsadik (Simeon the Just), who was the last of the line, and died 300 B. C.

The famous Hebrew philosopher Maimonides, who died in the earlier part of the thirteenth century A. D., gives us the names of the receivers of the Oral Law' since Simeon the Just, as follows:Simeon the Just bequeathed the tradition to the Sophrim (Scribes); the Scribes to the Hakhamim (Wise Men) or Tanaim (Repeaters). The Hakhamim flourished between 70 and 220 A. D., and were the composers of the 'Mishna' (Repetition), which was compiled by Rabbi Jehudah the Holy, about the close of the second century A. D. By them it was transmitted to the Amorāïm (Speakers), the authors of the voluminous commentary on the 'Mishna' called 'Gemara' (Completion). The 'Mishna' and 'Gemara' form the great Jewish National Code of laws, ethics, and traditions known as the Talmud. This great work was completed by Rabina, Rab Ashi, and the latter's son Mar, the last of the Amorāïm, 365-427 A. D. The Amoraïm were succeeded by the Sabboraïm, or Rabbanan Sabboraï (Reasoners), who arranged, sifted, and gave the final touch to the great work. The Sabboraïm period is 500-689 A. D., followed by the Geônim (Magnificent or Eminent Men). The latter made no alteration in the letter nor in the text of the Talmud, but confined themselves to writing many works explanatory of it. The Geônim period is from 689 to 895 A. D.

Maimonides's reason for the composition of his magnum opus called 'Yad Hahazakah (Mighty Hand), or 'Mishnah Torah' (the Repeated Law), is as follows (Preface):-"On account of the troubles and persecutions, the wisdom of our learned men is lost and the knowledge of our sages is hidden; so that certain parts of the exposition of the 'Talmud' by the Geônim became obscured, and great confusion had arisen in their interpretation. . Therefore," he adds, "since the Rabbis in captivity cannot communicate on account of war and distance, with the help of my Creator, and being well versed in all those works, I have endeavored to collate and explain in the clearest possible manner all that which was said since the time of our Rabbi Jehudah the Holy" (i. e., since the compilation of the 'Mishna,' to the last of the Geônim).

Thus in the writings of the Rabbis, the entire Oral Law,' including the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmuds, Midrashim, etc., is designated as 'Kabbalah' (the Received Doctrines): but the name is now applied to that part of tradition which treats, first, of the