The GD Kabbalah

smw

Bonner - Qabalah A Magical Primer

ToL seems good path for the search or connection.

That book seems excellent for the topic, although I don't have it.

I just bought it and I have had a quick look at the layout and intro ( it has been so hot to do anything!) it has a chapter on each of the 10 sephirah, looking very useful :) I had a skim of Geburah which led to an interesting dream image of vast Yellowy orange Giants, I couldn't see their heads or anything else from my position as their bodies filled the view. One large arm and hand was sorting out and choosing through piles of black iron twisted rings... All good then :laugh:
 

Aeon418

Having a withdrawal separation theme of God isn't as elegant for me as a theme of All.
Me neither. Luria's theories are brilliant, but they do seem a little self involved and convoluted. All that "mental hoop jumping" just to prove how a perfect and stainless deity could create a seemingly flawed and imperfect creation. On top of that it provides a reason for the suffering and mistreatment of God's "Chosen People."

Personally I find it all a bit Lovecraftian. We're all here in this 'flawed universe', created in a void of God's being, cut off from divinity within a bubble of anti-God. Within this bubble we are locked in mortal combat with the Cthulhu style remnants of a previous creation who exist on "the other side". And our only weapon against the Great Old Ones is the 613 mitzvot of the Torah! :eek:

But why go to all that trouble when you can explain the "appearance of evil" (and good) as a natural by-product of duality. See The Book of Thoth p.15
 

Zephyros

Well, Luria was operating inside a religious framework in which there are some lines you just don't cross. In this, instead of being an exploration, religious Kabbalah becomes a means of justification.
 

Aeon418

Well, Luria was operating inside a religious framework in which there are some lines you just don't cross. In this, instead of being an exploration, religious Kabbalah becomes a means of justification.
True, but even within those limits Luria was quite radical and daring. The shattering of the first Tree suggests that God can make mistakes. That's the sort of stuff that could get you burnt at the stake at one time, and possibly even today in certain parts of the world! :bugeyed:

The original act of Tzimtzum is said to be an act of severe DIN within the Ain Soph. Din is a title of Geburah which is sometimes considered the dark or destructive side of God. But this negative aspect is said to be caused by a "withdrawal" of Gods presence. But Geburah is also the source of 'free will'. So what was the motivation behind the Tzimtzum? A crisis within the godhead that required catharsis?

Either way you end with the "People of Israel" (in the ideal sense) charged with the task of Tikkun (restoration) through the correct performance of mitzvoth. This seems to have been taken a step further in Hasidism and their conception of the Tzaddik.
 

foolMoon

I just bought it and I have had a quick look at the layout and intro ( it has been so hot to do anything!) it has a chapter on each of the 10 sephirah, looking very useful :) I had a skim of Geburah which led to an interesting dream image of vast Yellowy orange Giants, I couldn't see their heads or anything else from my position as their bodies filled the view. One large arm and hand was sorting out and choosing through piles of black iron twisted rings... All good then :laugh:

Interesting. God isn't supposed to reveal his face. :)
 

smw

Interesting. God isn't supposed to reveal his face. :)

I'm kind of glad I didn't see their faces :laugh: I thought they were gods too because they were huge and without clothes, or at least bare arms and torsos that I could see. With the colour and ironworking too, Norse ones come to mind, though not a tradition I tend to think of usually. Iron is the metal of Geburah though and it struck me after that the rings that looked finger sized could be the size of a head for us.
 

foolMoon

I'm kind of glad I didn't see their faces :laugh: I thought they were gods too because they were huge and without clothes, or at least bare arms and torsos that I could see. With the colour and ironworking too, Norse ones come to mind, though not a tradition I tend to think of usually. Iron is the metal of Geburah though and it struck me after that the rings that looked finger sized could be the size of a head for us.

It would be interesting to keep trying to expand the path walking in ToL, to see what other sephirot would bring out what other corresponding images.