B"H

Inner Dimension Weekly Torah Message
for the weekly Torah portion of "Mishpatim"

65#15

Introduction to the Study of Kabbalah (part 1)

Kabbalah: The Union of Wisdom and Prophecy

The numerical value of the word “kabbalah”¹ in Hebrew, is 137. Surprisingly this is one of the most important numbers today in modern physics. As a pure (dimensionless²) number it is known as the “inverse of the fine structure constant” and expresses an important property of space related to creation.

137 is also the value of the sum of two very important words that relate to Kabbalah: “wisdom”³ = 73 and “prophecy”⁴ = 64. Kabbalah can therefore be understood as the union (or “marriage”) of wisdom and prophecy.

Historically, Kabbalah developed out of the prophetic tradition that existed in Judaism up to the second Temple period (beginning in the 4 th century BCE). Though the prophetic spirit that had dwelt in the prophets continued to “hover” above the Jewish people, it was no longer manifest directly. Instead, the spirit of wisdom manifested the Divine in the form of the Oral Torah (the oral tradition), the body of Rabbinic knowledge that began developing in the second Temple period and continues to this day. The meeting of wisdom (the mind, intellect) and prophecy (the spirit which still remains) and their union is what produces and defines the essence of Kabbalah.

In the Kabbalistic conceptual scheme, “wisdom” corresponds to the sefirah of wisdom, otherwise known as the “Father” principle (Abba) and “prophecy” corresponds to the sefirah of understanding or the “Mother” principle (Ima). Wisdom and understanding are described in the Zohar as “two companions that never part.” Thus, Kabbalah represents the union of wisdom and prophecy in the collective Jewish soul; whenever we study Kabbalah, the inner wisdom of the Torah, we reveal this union.

It is important to clarify that Kabbalah is not a separate discipline from the traditional study of the Torah, it is rather the Torah’s inner soul (nishmata de’orayta, in the language of the Zohar and the Arizal).

Oftentimes a union of two things is represented in Kabbalah as an acronym composed of their initial letters. In this case, “wisdom” in Hebrew starts with the letter chet “prophecy” begins with the letter nun; so their acronym spells the Hebrew word “chen,” which means “grace,” in the sense of beauty. Grace in particular refers to symmetric beauty, i.e., the type of beauty that we perceive in symmetry. This observation ties in with the fact that the inner wisdom of the Torah, Kabbalah is referred to as “chochmat ha’chen,” which we would literally translate as the wisdom of chen. Chen here is an acronym for another two words: concealed wisdom (chochmah nistara). But, following our analysis here, Kabbalah is called chen because it is the union of wisdom and prophecy.

Because it comrpises both wisdom and prophecy, Kabbalah, the inner soul of the Torah is best suited to provide us with a vision of the perfected, utopian future that the world will enjoy once the Mashiach is revealed. Studying Kabbalah provides us both at the individual and the collective levels with the consciousness and strength of character needed to envision this future, and work towards it even during the greatest hours of darkness.

Notes

1. kuf = 100; bet = 2; lamed = 30; hei = 5.

2. “dimensionless” means that this number is not a measure of any quantity, for example: distance (meters) or time (seconds) or energy (joules), etc., or ratio between units (like speed: meters per second, etc.).

3. chet = 8; kaf = 20; mem = 40; hei = 5.

4. nun = 50; bet = 2; vav = 6; alef = 1; hei = 5

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Misphatim

ANNOUNCEMENT

Women’s Rosh Chodesh (new moon of) First Adar Lecture

10:30am Tuesday (29th of Shevat; February 8th)

Rachel’s Tomb, Jerusalem

Next week Rabbi Ginsburgh will be holding a special Rosh Chodesh (first day of the Jewish month) lecture for women, in English, at Rachel’s Tomb in Jerusalem .

Rosh Chodesh is uniquely related to women and femininity, as it is the day on which the moon is “reborn,” just as the cosmic feminine aspect is reborn in each of us every month.

Though this is tentatively a one-time event, with your support it can become a tradition.

The Inner Dimension (www.inner.org) website will post the lecture in downloadable (mp3) format on the same day, and a written summary will be provided.

What better way to start the new Jewish month than with an in-depth study of the energies and promise that it holds for our renewal and success.

In Kabbalah and Chassidut, Rachel is the archetypal figure representing the moon and therefore her tomb is the most appropriate place to hold this “new moon” lecture. In fact, “Rachel’s tomb” (matzevet Rachel) in Hebrew is equal to 770.

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