On learning Kabbalah

[Haelos]

Okay, to start things off, I have never once (until just now) researched Kabbalah in specific. It's come up several times throughout my studies, and I'd always made the plan to look into it, but the only thing I really recognize is the tree of life.. Anyway..

I typed it into google, checked out the first cheap looking website, and this is what I read:

"“Receiving,” as in receiving the truth of what is happening right now. The truth is, you are God reading about God, in the process of God becoming God. But chances are you don’t “receive” that truth fully, because of how your mind, body, and heart work. The forms of Kabbalah can help you really receive the truth of this moment."

I was taken aback by this statement, filled with some strange amount of joy, had to laugh a few times, and then realized how something finally said what I've needed to hear for a really long time.
Does this mean I understand it? As in, do I understand what Kabbalah is supposed to teach?
It says chances are, you won't fully receive this Truth, but to me, I feel like I am nothing but this truth.
As I'm typing this, I'm still shaking with utter emotion at the fact that statement was written, and I read it.

Somehow, I feel as though I already know a lot of what is in this system, but it's never been structured in any way.
Can anyone recommend a good place to start in this tradition? I've read it starts quite far in the past, and has various ages it resurfaced in heavily. But should I start as ancient as I can find, or is the recent information just as efficient and reliable? Any specific books as well?

Remember, I've never, until just before typing this post, searched specifically for this system.
Personally, I enjoy using ancient information (at least, as old as I can find) because it often has secrets hidden within the secrets of the context. It's also a lot of fun to try and decode Biblical Hebrew, translate that to half-legible English, and find whatever hidden secrets lie between the lining of the letters. Although, obviously, not-at-all practical.

If anyone took the time to read this, I'm sorry.

[Haelos]

Holy crap, why have I not researched this sooner? No wonder the entire Jewish race (yes race) has everything so figured out (I'm not racist, this is a fact).
I am completely down with reading stories. I'm so sick of all of this documentary-style crap, and trying to explain God with redundant paradoxical statements (no offense to the Tao Te Ching, it's a good read.)
Rather than just instructional texts (which I obviously don't mind) I'm interested in reading some of these fantastic myths and folklore books I've already been hearing about. And I suppose if you want to lay down some (non-paradoxical) philosophical texts, I would read them. And also love you.




Sorry occultforums for my double post. I don't expect to be forgiven, and if I'm extremely excited about adding another thought to my thread with no previous reply, it will probably happen in a new post. Though I can assure you, it will not get out of hand.

[palindrom]

hey : )

nice to see you so moved.

i'm learning hebrew since more than a year, reading the old testament every day. it's great. it's crazy. it's moving me big time. it's sooo fascinating. in the original, you get all these relations in between the words, which can tell you so much about the way the whole bible is interwoven - everything belongs together.
it's so intelligent, is't really crazy.
and the power of the letters, you get it for free while reading in hebrew - how cool is that?
the bible is the most magical book i've ever seen. it really works you while you work it.

i'm reading the books of the chassidian kabbalist friedrich weinreb. he wrote in dutch and german, but some of his books have been translated into english. this guy is the reason i started to learn hebrew, because, when i read what he has to say about the bible i was like "my god, this book can be understood!"
naturally, i'm just a little beginner, and i just know a bit about weinrebs specific branch of chassidian kabbalah. but to see that there is a key to the bible, which i always found to be a weird, troublesome, awkward book - to see this makes me really happy.
it's very powerful spiritual stuff.

so, if you wanna go for it - enjoy! [yay]

i think it's worth investing some time and effort...

greetings

pali

p.s.: the reason i started to look into a book about kabbalah at all was, that i tried to study the tree of life as you see it printed in magical books, and i had to admit that i had no chance whatsoever to understand what it might mean...

p.p.s.: now, when i read in regardie's "golden dawn", i at least recognize bits of the jewish tradition in it, which is fascinating - years more of learning about it all lie before me, and i'm really looking forward to it!

[Desecrated]

Sefer Yetzirah, Bahir, Sefer Raziel HaMalakh are all translated into english.

Pardes Rimonim and zohar is not yet fully translated.

Some of the Hekhalot literature has been translated.

Don't waste your time with any of the new age californa kabbalah crap. Get the real books and the approved commentaries.

[Haelos]

Sefer Yetzirah, Bahir, Sefer Raziel HaMalakh are all translated into english.

Pardes Rimonim and zohar is not yet fully translated.

Some of the Hekhalot literature has been translated.

Don't waste your time with any of the new age californa kabbalah crap. Get the real books and the approved commentaries.

Is there any particular reading order I should deal with these in?

I definitely try to stay away from the hippie sounding crap, but even a few of the newer and more eccentric books have some merit to them. IT just takes thorough sifting, which is something I'm not trying to do right now.

[Eremita]

Dion Fortune - The Mystical Qabalah.

It is far from a complete explanation of the system, but it is a fine introduction. A good starting point. [thumbup]

[edaen]

Kabbalah is an ancient wisdom that reveals how the universe and life work. It is an ancient paradigm for living. At literal level, Kabbalah meaning is "to receive.” It's the actually study of how to achieve fulfiller in our lives, fulfilment doesn't mean temporary happiness but a happiness that ever lasts till your life ends. It teaches us that all branches of life-health, relationship, career-basically originate from same trunk and the same root. The beauty of studying Kabbalah is that you can't be forced to think in a particular way. There are various books from where you can learn more about kabbalah like The essential kabbalah and honey from the rock.

[Haelos]

I've been watching a series of videos on the youtube channel kabbalahinfo, and they speak of the transcended masters of our reality.

They say, according to these masters, that the initial thought and intent (the blueprint, if you will,) of the universe was to create a creature and fill it with unbounded delight.
The question I pose to you is; When this happens (because it Will,) will existence simply be over, will we start again? What will happen? Will existence only end when every soul reaches this point?
I want to know what comes after. I feel as though I've reached enlightenment in this realm and plane. All I do is absorb knowledge, and I can see the symbols of the Sefirot lined in everything in reality.
But I haven't transcended anything, and I'm pretty terrified of the experience itself. I'd like to understand it a little bit more before I go rushing off towards another unknown destination. All I know is that dying hurts, and I don't want to sit on the brink again without knowing I'm going over the wall.

Does anyone know of any teachings from some of these "transcended masters"? I once saw a list of all of the humans whom reached liberation, but several of them were listed as being from the 1900's, and for some reason, I don't believe that to be true. Only about 3 had dates that weren't in the early 1900's, and about 4 had unlisted dates. I feel like a lot of writers from that era only barely knew what they were talking about. I don't know anything about the inner workings of any of these societies that have kept up since that time, but their outer circles seem like complete jokes. I don't particularly trust much information anyway...

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

The reading list really depends on what you want to learn about it - whether you want Kabbalah - ie. the strictly Jewish Platonism, Cabalah (ie. Christianized Kabbalah of the Renaissance), or Qabalah which is the theosophical/syncretic version which in its Hermetic form is the starting point for anything related to Golden Dawn magic.

If you're looking for the Jewish Kabbalah there have been some great suggestions thus far in the threads (ie. the source documents like Sephir Yetzira, Bahir, Zohar, etc.) as well as Arya Kaplan, Moshe Idel, and Gershom Scholem.

If you're looking for Hermetic Qabalah - Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah is a profound place to start, Gareth Knight's A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism is an expansion of that (ie. adding the 22 major trump of the tarot and explaining their path assignments on the 11th through 32nd paths of wisdom and explaining how to pathwork off of these) albeit the later book is a tome and it's rather expensive. A rather condensed but very useful book as I found it was Robert Wang's Qabalistic Tarot. Also, I'm sure you can't go wrong with Israel Regardie's books on the topic.

As for Christian Cabalah - it's included within Hermetic Qabalah but if you were looking for that in extract you'd probably be looking at Pico della Mirandola and perhaps Knorr von Rosenroth.

Regardless it's tough to find a modern mystic/magic order that doesn't either explicitly use the Tree of Life in its grade template or at least use words like Zelator, Theoricus, Practicus, Philosophus, etc. in its grading systems.

[Haelos]

The reading list really depends on what you want to learn about it - whether you want Kabbalah - ie. the strictly Jewish Platonism, Cabalah (ie. Christianized Kabbalah of the Renaissance), or Qabalah which is the theosophical/syncretic version which in its Hermetic form is the starting point for anything related to Golden Dawn magic.

If you're looking for the Jewish Kabbalah there have been some great suggestions thus far in the threads (ie. the source documents like Sephir Yetzira, Bahir, Zohar, etc.) as well as Arya Kaplan, Moshe Idel, and Gershom Scholem.

If you're looking for Hermetic Qabalah - Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah is a profound place to start, Gareth Knight's A Practical Guide to Qabalistic Symbolism is an expansion of that (ie. adding the 22 major trump of the tarot and explaining their path assignments on the 11th through 32nd paths of wisdom and explaining how to pathwork off of these) albeit the later book is a tome and it's rather expensive. A rather condensed but very useful book as I found it was Robert Wang's Qabalistic Tarot. Also, I'm sure you can't go wrong with Israel Regardie's books on the topic.

As for Christian Cabalah - it's included within Hermetic Qabalah but if you were looking for that in extract you'd probably be looking at Pico della Mirandola and perhaps Knorr von Rosenroth.

Regardless it's tough to find a modern mystic/magic order that doesn't either explicitly use the Tree of Life in its grade template or at least use words like Zelator, Theoricus, Practicus, Philosophus, etc. in its grading systems.

Thanks for all of your additions. I'll be giving those I haven't read a shot here soon. I'm interested in all branches of study, and I don't limit their teachings to any one practice or dogma.
I am looking more into the actual practical things you can do with it, but I'm always interested in theory and philosophy.
It makes sense that so many systems use the Sefirot, considering how all-encompassing they are. There is a lot hidden there, and while many practitioners of our current age look down on structured systems of teaching, this is what I need more right now.