2,569 texts · Page 15 of 54
The great Kabbalist Baal HaSulam, in his introduction to the Zohar, speaks directly to that feeling. He paints a vivid picture of a soul yearning for connection, a connection that'...
It turns out, in Kabbalah, it absolutely is! Today, we're going to delve into a fascinating, albeit complex, concept from the Sulam commentary, which unveils hidden meanings within...
Today, we're dipping back into the world of Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, one of the key texts of early Jewish mysticism. It's a wild ride, full of visions and intense ...
We often think of prayer as something we do, a connection we forge with the Divine. But what if I told you that our prayers, our songs, our moments of pure, unadulterated praise ac...
The Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, one of the central texts of the Heikhalot literature, offers us just such a glimpse, a breathtaking vision of King David's ascent to t...
Jewish tradition understands that feeling. Deeply. There's this passage in Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a text from the Heikhalot literature – mystical writings explor...
The ancient mystical text, Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, which translates roughly to "The Greater Palaces," gives us a peek behind the curtain, into the celestial realm...
It's a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, into the very heart of holiness. The text describes a powerful scene, a testament to the unbreakable bond between God and His people. I...
The ancient mystics of the Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) texts, specifically here in Heikhalot Rabbati 13, believed there was. They weren't shy about going straight to the sourc...
Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a fascinating text from the Heikhalot literature – a collection of Jewish mystical writings that explore heavenly palaces and divine encou...
The time for Minchah, the afternoon prayer. And God, the King majestic, is sitting on His throne. But He's not just sitting there. He's praising the beasts. Not just any beasts, mi...
In it, we find a powerful scene, a moment of intense advocacy before the very throne of God. Imagine this: A voice rising, filled with both awe and a desperate plea. "King fearful,...
This: three times a day, a spectacle of "wonderful loftiness and strange lordship" unfolds. Think of it as a cosmic performance, a display of exaltation and splendor, happening con...
The Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a key text in the Heikhalot literature – a collection of mystical Jewish writings describing ascents to the divine throne – gives us a...
That feeling, that jolt, might just echo a tale from the mystical heart of Jewish tradition. We're diving into the world of the Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a text bri...
The ancient mystical text, Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, offers us a glimpse into just that. It's a journey through the heavenly palaces, the heikhalot (היכלות), and it...
In the Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, an angel is granted power and special access to the highest heaven. A horn blasts from beyond the sky, a signal, and even the highe...
Really sit with that for a moment. How do you even begin to describe the indescribable? How do you put words to something that transcends all language? Well, the ancient mystics wr...
The ancient mystics did, and they wrote about it in ways that still resonate today. They weren't just writing poetry; they were trying to grasp the ungraspable: the nature of God. ...
You've brushed up against the world of the Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) literature, the mystical ascent to God's throne room. And within that, we find passages like this one fr...
That’s the feeling I get when I think about the Merkabah (the Divine Chariot). The Merkabah, meaning "chariot" in Hebrew, isn’t just any chariot. It's the divine chariot Ezekiel sa...
The Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a text within the Heikhalot literature – those mystical explorations of heavenly palaces and divine encounters – gives us a glimpse in...
You're not alone. Our ancestors wrestled with this too, and some of their most beautiful attempts to capture the unimaginable can be found in texts like Heikhalot (the heavenly pal...
That's the kind of intimacy we find in Heikhalot (the heavenly palaces) Rabbati, a mystical text that gives us a peek into the heavenly realms. In one particularly striking passage...
Our guide for this journey is none other than Rabbi Akiva, a towering figure in Jewish tradition. He had a vision, a glimpse into the celestial realms, which is recorded in Heikhal...
Ever stumble upon something amazing, something truly profound, and then find a little... well, let's call it "extra" clinging to the edges? That's kind of how some feel about the Z...
We’ve all been there, especially when delving into ancient texts. Think about Rabbi Akiva, one of the most influential sages in Jewish history, asking Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, auth...
Holding admiration and critique in the same breath. Well, it's a dance that Jewish scholars have been doing for centuries. Take the author of the Mitpachat Sefarim, for instance. H...
In Mitpachat Sefarim, a collection of Jewish writings whose name literally means "wrapping of books," we find a raw, unflinching look at a generation seemingly gone astray. The aut...
After all his hard work, "a foolish, silly, and wicked person" – a "son of a worthless one," no less! – criticized his work. The critic, he says, is an "empty-headed fool, all sinn...
That feeling… it's not new. Generations have felt it. And sometimes, you hear echoes of their struggles, their fears, and their hopes in the most unexpected places. Take, for examp...
It's considered by many to be the most important work in the whole mystical tradition. Even the holy Ari – Rabbi Isaac Luria, may his memory be a blessing – a man who, it's said, p...
Let’s talk about one such word. We’re diving into the Zohar, that cornerstone of Jewish mysticism. Specifically, we're looking at how it interprets Ezekiel's famous vision of the d...
There's a beautiful custom, a minhag, for the faithful – the tamim in Hebrew – to eat lots of fruit on a particular day, celebrating them with words of praise. And that day is Tu B...
Jewish tradition has some pretty strong feelings about that, especially when it comes to something as simple as eating. Think about biting into a juicy piece of fruit. It's delicio...
Maybe there's more to that feeling than you realize. Jewish tradition, particularly through the lens of Kabbalah, teaches us that even the simple act of eating is laden with spirit...
More than just wasting food, Jewish tradition suggests there's something deeper at play. Something…cosmic. It’s a notion found in the mystical text Peri Etz Hadar, a fascinating ex...
That’s the idea behind a beautiful, if somewhat hidden, tradition in Jewish mysticism: consciously engaging with the spiritual root of what we eat. We’ve talked before about the po...
It's more than just a snack; it's a connection to something ancient and deeply spiritual. Peri Etz Hadar, a profound work, delves into the mystical significance of the natural worl...
It's one that the ancient prayers, particularly those connected to seeking blessing and abundance, address head-on. : we ask for blessing, but we also ask for protection from that ...
It's more than just a simple pleasure; it's a connection to something profound. This blessing, this goodness, isn't just about the taste in our mouths. It's about the health that f...
There's a powerful verse in Isaiah (55:13) that paints such a vivid picture: “Instead of a briar, a cypress will arise, instead of the nettle, a myrtle will arise. And it will be a...
The prophet Isaiah did, and his vision is breathtaking. "The arid desert will be glad and the wilderness will rejoice and blossom like a rose, it shall greatly flower and also rejo...
There's a beautiful prayer, a verse from (Psalm 90:17), that speaks directly to that feeling: "May the favor of the Lord, our God, be upon us, establish the work of our hands for u...
When it comes to Peri Etz Hadar – the "Fruit of the Goodly Tree," that is, the etrog – that feeling goes into overdrive. It's a whole system for elevating what we eat. Specifically...
Just a quick "borei peri ha-etz" (Creator of the fruit of the tree) and we're off to eating. But what if I told you that even something as ordinary as grapes or figs could be a doo...
To the mystical world of fruit, intention, and the Divine Names. Let's start with carobs. That slightly sweet, almost chocolatey taste? The Zohar, in 3:216b within Ra’aya Mehemna, ...
The ancient mystics certainly did. They saw the natural world, including the orchard, as a living tapestry woven with divine threads. Let's peel back a layer of that wisdom, focusi...
