whats jewish kabala?

Answer 1

When Moses went up to receive the Ten Commandments, God gave him 3 things in addition to the tablets. The entire written Torah in oral form, the oral law - explanations of the written, later redacted into the Mishnah, and arcane knowledge of kabbalah.

The written and oral torah were disseminated to everyone. Kabbalah, on the other hand, was only passed down to those who demonstrated complete knowledge of the written and oral torah and had experienced a certain type of prophetic vision.

Like the oral law, kabbalah was never intended to be written down and only was done so when it became apparent that it might be lost as fewer and fewer were capable of learning it. It is written in heavily nuanced allegories and it's depths are impossible for the uninitiated to understand. It is, essentially, a pathway into the mind of God and if misused can lead to devastating consequences.

BTW: the 'pop' kabbalah that is taught in places like the Kabbalah Center and espoused by Madonna and the like is fluff gleaned from the plain meaning of bad translations of the kabbalistic writings and of little or no value.

Suffice it to say, that unless you're willing to spend decades mastering the basics, kabbalah is beyond the reach of most people.

Answer 2

A dangerous book of mysticism