Fall 2004 « Biola Magazine « Biola University

What Should Every Christian Know About Kabbalah?

A form of Medieval Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah is one of the latest spiritual crazes. Famous followers reportedly include Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand and Madonna. To help explain Kabbalah, Biola Connections contacted Barney Kasdan, a Messianic Jew and the rabbi of Kehilat Ariel Messianic Synagogue in San Diego, Calif.

What does the word “Kabbalah” mean?

Kabbalah comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to receive.” This name is given to an immense body of Jewish mystical literature that was received by our forefathers throughout the ages. While God certainly gave the written revelation to the Jewish people in the text of the Hebrew Bible, some hold that God gave extra revelation orally that was transmitted from generation to generation. Although this esoteric literature can be easily traced to the rabbis of the middle ages, some adherents of Kabbalah insist that the revelation goes back through the Talmudic times, perhaps to Moses or Adam.

What does Kabbalah teach?

The essence of Kabbalah is to provide a spiritual link to God that adherents believe cannot be maintained through a rational approach alone. This philosophy seeks to understand God by using tools that are said to be beyond the human intellect. For example, where the Bible speaks in clear terms about Elohim (a Hebrew word for God) being the Creator, the Kabbalah holds to 10 mystical emanations — some masculine and some feminine — that proceed from the Creator. These are called the Ten Sefirot and include the crown, wisdom, understanding, love, power, beauty, victory, glory, foundation and kingdom. The ultimate goal of Kabbalah is to enable people to repair their sin-damaged souls and, by keeping the commandments, to repair the entire world. When all this is attained, the Messiah will finally be able come and complete the redemption of Israel.

How Does Kabbalah Compare to the Bible?

While some of the teachings may seem to parallel biblical doctrine, the catch is that, according to Kabbalah, true knowledge of God and the Sefirot can only be attained by mystical meditation, deep prayer, numerology, Bible codes and astrological signs. It is believed that every soul has a reflection of the Sefirot that only needs to be brought to life by some of these spiritual disciplines. In other words, the primary, historical meaning of a Scripture text is not as important as the mystical keys that can open up fresh revelation that is behind the text. In this sense, scholars have noted a historical connection between Kabbalah and ancient Gnosticism.

How Should Christians Respond to Kabbalah?

First, we must understand some of the spiritual problems contained in Kabbalah. Some are obvious, such as its appeal to mystical practices that are clearly denounced by the Torah (Deut.18:9-13). We have so much beautiful and clear truth written in the Word of God — the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament — that we should stay focused on what is sure as opposed to questionable speculations. As the Torah says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our sons forever, that we may do all the words of this Law” (Deut. 29:29). Believers in Messiah must resist the temptation to get sidetracked by teachings and theories that take our eyes off of Him.

Barney Kasdan’s books, God's Appointed Times and God's Appointed Customs, explain the Jewish backgrounds of the New Testament. Kasdan graduated from Biola with a B.A. in 1978 and from Talbot with an M.Div. in 1981. He also completed a year of post-graduate studies at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles.