Religious Jewish Views
See also: KabbalahIn Rabbinic Judaism, an entire body of literature collectively known as Kabbalah has been dedicated to the content eventually defined by some as occult science. The Kabbalah includes the tracts named Sefer Yetzirah, the Zohar, Pardes Rimonim, and Eitz Chaim.
Although there is a popular myth that one must be a 40 year old Jewish man, and learned in the Talmud before one is allowed to delve into Kabbalah, Chaim Vital says exactly the opposite in his introduction to Etz Chaim. There he argues that it is incumbent on everyone to learn Kabbalah - even those who are unable to understand the Talmud. Further, the father of the Lurianic School of Kabbalah, Isaac Luria (known as the Ari HaKadosh, or the Holy Lion) was not yet 40 years old when he passed away.
Read more about this topic: Occult, Religion and The Occult
Famous quotes containing the words religious, jewish and/or views:
“Friendship demands a religious treatment. We talk of choosing our friends, but friends are self-elected. Reverence is a great part of it.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I know that I will always be expected to have extra insight into black texts—especially texts by black women. A working-class Jewish woman from Brooklyn could become an expert on Shakespeare or Baudelaire, my students seemed to believe, if she mastered the language, the texts, and the critical literature. But they would not grant that a middle-class white man could ever be a trusted authority on Toni Morrison.”
—Claire Oberon Garcia, African American scholar and educator. Chronicle of Higher Education, p. B2 (July 27, 1994)
“The universe is wider than our views of it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)