Talk:Kabbalah

Please discuss changes--and we don't really need a set of links to WP articles. PFoster 18:25, 1 December 2008 (EST)

Age restriction
''Please keep in mind that Kabbalah in its original form is very complicated and probably nothing like Madonna has been told about it - according to traditional Orthodox Judaism, women shouldn't be studying it at all! Nor, for that matter, should anyone under 40.''

Is there any source for this claim about the age? After all, mathematics is a young man's game... 16:47, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

According to many rabbis and kabbalahic texts you need a strong background in jewish law and a certain level of maturity to under stand kabbalah because it is easily misunderstood. Plus, due to the fact that living past 40 was probabley none to common in the 300's it could have been a way to enhance the mystique of the practicioners. --BenB (talk) 03:39, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Some rabbis require you to be 40 and a married man, some say that it is the duty of all Jews to study the Kabbalah. Dolphinjamez (talk) 02:20, 17 January 2017 (UTC)

Religion?
Most of the advertisements I hear for Kabbalah state that it's open to people of all religions. It is connected to Judaism, yes, but is it considered a religion by anyone else?

Plus, as we learned from Scientology, once you advertise a religion, it's not a religion anymore. Stilldeciding (talk) 01:02, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism. Some variants combine it with other things, such as Christianity, or Hermeticism, but traditional Kabbalah is not taught to gentiles. Dolphinjamez (talk) 02:20, 17 January 2017 (UTC)

Bad Information
I generally really enjoy this website. However, as a Jewish scholar, and long time student of Jewish mysticism, I have to say most of your information dealing with Judaism is inaccurate.

First off not all schools of Jewish mysticism practice or follow Kabbalah. However, most people unfamiliar with Jewish mysticism will call any form of Jewish mysticism or Jewish mystical practice as Kabbalah; it is not. A good source material in understanding the different forms of Jewish mysticism is, "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism" by Gershom Sholem.

My two biggest mistakes with this article are, one; the concept of having to be 40 and single to practice Jewish mysticism, although common, it is seldom observed. Even some of the greatest Jewish mystics of all time died before the age of 40. Two; all of Judaism believes in the concept of rebirth and reincarnation, even though it is seldom taught. The concept is known as gilgul, and can be found in the Torah and the Talmud. Kabbalah does not talk or focus on it at all. However, a different mystical school started by Issac Luria, or the Ari, does talk about gilgul at great length. The Ari's ideas of gilgul, and what Torah meant by this word are quite different from the traditional view of reincarnation. In a dissertation by Rabbi Zvi Ish-Shalom, he suggest that J. K. Rowling used the Ari's concept of gilgul for the base of her idea for horcrux's.

After flipping through several of your pages on Judaism, I know greatly doubt the accuracy of this entire website.
 * Reincarnation is post-talmudic, in the Talmud there neither hide nor hair of it.--Arisboch ☞✍☜☞✉☜ ∈)☼(∋ 00:42, 10 November 2015 (UTC)

I agree. This article explains nothing of Kabbalah's teachings. Dolphinjamez (talk) 02:20, 17 January 2017 (UTC)