Catering To Kabbalah

RELIGION IN THE NEWS

Now, Religion in the News. A report and comment on religious trends and comments being covered by the media. This week’s item is from Middle East Times, July 26, 2007, with a headline: Israel Reels in Kabbalah Enthusiast. The following are excerpts: Far from the Hollywood glitz of Kabbalah’s celebrity alcolites, ordinary people are flocking to Safed, Israel’s capital of ancient Jewish mysticism, on a quest for spiritual meaning. The accent center organizes popular seminars to study kabbalah, as champion by media messiah Madonna, increasingly attracting Jews and non Jews looking for spirituality and disenchanted with the vagaries of modern life. Madonna happened to be a vehicle of god, says Rabbi Mordechai Siev, who directs the English language program at the center in Safed, extolling the magnetism of a Jewish Sabbath in the slightly down market Israeli town. The center is open to Jewish and non Jewish people from all over the world, and they come to check out mystical experiences, he says, adding that plunging into religious text allows Kabbalah enthusiasts to connect to themselves. Sheree Sharan, 31, has been interested in Cabala for two years, and came from Chicago for a 4-day seminar to “get some energy” and search for the hidden meaning that she believes is lost in the materialism of the West. Her understanding is that Kabbalah teaches you about the power you have inside, how to control your inner instinct, how to make sense of emotions. Our generation seems to be searching for meaning for goals and answers. An esoteric offshoot of Judaism, Kabbalah’s origins can be traced back to the 12^th and 13^th centuries when its central text, the Zohar, was penned. By tradition Kabbalah was taught only to a select few—namely pious Jewish males over the age of forty, who had spent a lifetime being immersed in the study of Hebrew text. It’s followers believe that understanding and mastering the Kabbalistic teachings would bring one closer to God, and allow greater insight into God’s creation.

Tom:

Dave, here we go again with mysticism. It seems, if you look at all the religions of the world, they all have mysticism. They say, Well, what about Islam? Well, they have the Sufies, they have the whirling dervishers who whip themselves into a frenzy into an altered state of consciousness. So you could say there is definitely a link in all the religions outside of biblical Christianity, especially in this sense, in the very subjective, experiential sense. You’ve got Madonna, you’ve got everyone being drawn to some degree into this mysticism.

Dave:

Well, because they don’t really want to know God.

Tom:

Although they make that claim, Dave. They’re seeking God, they’re seeking—but they find themselves, don’t they, or they say they are finding themselves.

Dave:

That’s exactly what they say, I’m trying to connect with myself. So, they find out that self is God, that was the lie of the serpent in the Garden. They don’t want to know the God who created them, who will tell them what’s wrong with them, who will tell them that they are sinners, that there’s no way they can regenerate themselves,no way they can merit forgiveness from God. You can’t merit forgiveness from a judge by keeping the law perfectly in the future.

Tom:

No accountability to the Creator of the universe, to the One who created them.

Dave:

That’s right. They want some kind of a spiritual feeling—If I could just feel, you know. Now Christians make the same mistake—If I could just feel the presence of God, if I could just feel that Jesus Christ was in my heart, if I could just somehow, I want some spiritual feeling, and I just can’t get it through this intellect. Well, the scripture says that—well, let’s take Paul, 2 Timothy:3:16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
See All...: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…”—now you’re talking about the scripture. In fact, Jesus said: You continue in my Word, then are you my disciples indeed; you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. We are set free by the truth. So, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for—(what’s it to be used for? Work up your feelings?)—doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness: That the man (woman, boy, girl) of God may be perfect, (that means mature, complete) thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Now the Bible tells us that it’s—well, it says, The entrance of thy Word giveth light. That I need understanding, I need to, not just feel God’s presence, He wants to reveal Himself to me, and this is the opposite, for example, of Allah. Allah is unknowable. But the God of the Bible says He wants us to know Him. In fact, Jesus said, John 17, “…this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” So the Bible is all about coming to a sound, clear understanding of who God is. What’s wrong between us and Him? We have to recognize this. We preach the gospel.

Tom:

Now Dave, I’ve seen you, I’ve heard you at conferences, and not all the time, but sometimes I’ve seen you moved to tears. So there are emotions involved when you are preaching and you’re teaching.

Dave:

Of course.

Tom:

So what’s the difference?

Dave:

Because it comes to us through truth. We are gripped by the truth. When I think of what Christ suffered for me, I can’t even begin to comprehend, but when I realize He left glory, He didn’t have to do this, because He loved me, and He was willing to take the penalty for my sins. I’m not trying to get a feeling of being forgiven or a feeling, you know, that somehow isn’t it wonderful what Christ did if I could just feel it. No, I must understand it.The Bible talks about understanding, talks about doctrine, about truth.

Tom:

So then your emotions are a by-product. It’s like the cart after the horse. It’s going to come, but if you seek that first, you’re going to be on a subjective search that’s never lead you to truth, it’ll always be caught up in experience.

Dave:

That’s well said, Tom, absolutely.