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Kabbalah (, literally "receiving/tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought that originated in Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist in Judaism is called a ''Mekubbal'' ((ヘブライ語:מְקוּבָּל)). Kabbalah's definition varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it,〔''Kabbalah: A very short introduction'', Joseph Dan, Oxford University Press, Chapter 1 "The term and its uses"〕 from its religious origin as an integral part of Judaism, to its later Christian, New Age, and Occultist syncretic adaptations. Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal, and mysterious Ein Sof (infinity) and the mortal and finite universe (God's creation). While it is heavily used by some denominations, it is not a religious denomination in itself. It forms the foundations of mystical religious interpretation. Kabbalah seeks to define the nature of the universe and the human being, the nature and purpose of existence, and various other ontological questions. It also presents methods to aid understanding of the concepts and thereby attain spiritual realisation. Kabbalah originally developed within the realm of Jewish thought, and kabbalists often use classical Jewish sources to explain and demonstrate its esoteric teachings. These teachings are held by followers in Judaism to define the inner meaning of both the Hebrew Bible and traditional Rabbinic literature and their formerly concealed transmitted dimension, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.〔("Imbued with Holiness" ) - The relationship of the esoteric to the exoteric in the fourfold Pardes interpretation of Torah and existence. From www.kabbalaonline.org〕 Traditional practitioners believe its earliest origins pre-date world religions, forming the primordial blueprint for Creation's philosophies, religions, sciences, arts, and political systems. Historically, Kabbalah emerged, after earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th- to 13th-century Southern France and Spain, becoming reinterpreted in the Jewish mystical renaissance of 16th-century Ottoman Palestine. It was popularised in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century onwards. Twentieth-century interest in Kabbalah has inspired cross-denominational Jewish renewal and contributed to wider non-Jewish contemporary spirituality, as well as engaging its flourishing emergence and historical re-emphasis through newly established academic investigation. == Overview == According to the Zohar, a foundational text for kabbalistic thought, Torah study can proceed along four levels of interpretation (exegesis).〔Shnei Luchot HaBrit, R. Isaiah Horowitz, Toldot Adam, Beit haChokhma, 14〕 These four levels are called ''pardes'' from their initial letters (PRDS , orchard). * ''Peshat'' ( lit. "simple"): the direct interpretations of meaning. * ''Remez'' ( lit. "hint()"): the allegoric meanings (through allusion). * ''Derash'' ( from Heb. ''darash'': "inquire" or "seek"): midrashic (Rabbinic) meanings, often with imaginative comparisons with similar words or verses. * ''Sod'' ( lit. "secret" or "mystery"): the inner, esoteric (metaphysical) meanings, expressed in kabbalah. Kabbalah is considered by its followers as a necessary part of the study of Torah – the study of Torah (the ''Tanakh'' and Rabbinic literature) being an inherent duty of observant Jews. Modern academic-historical study of Jewish mysticism reserves the term "kabbalah" to designate the particular, distinctive doctrines that textually emerged fully expressed in the Middle Ages, as distinct from the earlier Merkabah mystical concepts and methods.〔''Kabbalah: A very short introduction'', Joseph Dan, Oxford University Press, Chapters on "the emergence of Medieval Kabbalah" and "doctrines of Medieval Kabbalah"〕 According to this descriptive categorisation, both versions of Kabbalistic theory, the medieval-Zoharic and the early-modern Lurianic together comprise the theosophical tradition in Kabbalah, while the meditative-ecstatic Kabbalah incorporates a parallel inter-related Medieval tradition. A third tradition, related but more shunned, involves the magical aims of Practical Kabbalah. Moshe Idel, for example, writes that these 3 basic models can be discerned operating and competing throughout the whole history of Jewish mysticism, beyond the particular Kabbalistic background of the Middle Ages.〔Moshe Idel, '' Hasidism: Between Ecstasy and Magic'', p. 31〕 They can be readily distinguished by their basic intent with respect to God: * The Theosophical tradition of ''Theoretical Kabbalah'' (the main focus of the Zohar and Luria) seeks to understand and describe the divine realm. As an alternative to rationalist Jewish philosophy, particularly Maimonides' Aristotelianism, this speculation became the central component of Kabbalah * The Ecstatic tradition of ''Meditative Kabbalah'' (exemplified by Abulafia and Isaac of Acre) strives to achieve a mystical union with God. Abraham Abulafia's "Prophetic Kabbalah" was the supreme example of this, though marginal in Kabbalistic development, and his alternative to the program of theosophical Kabbalah * The Magico-theurgical tradition of ''Practical Kabbalah'' (in often unpublished manuscripts) endeavours to alter both the Divine realms and the World. While some interpretations of prayer see its role as manipulating heavenly forces, Practical Kabbalah properly involved white-magical acts, and was censored by kabbalists for only those completely pure of intent. Consequently, it formed a separate minor tradition shunned from Kabbalah According to traditional belief, early kabbalistic knowledge was transmitted orally by the Patriarchs, prophets, and sages (hakhamim in Hebrew), eventually to be "interwoven" into Jewish religious writings and culture. According to this view, early kabbalah was, in around the 10th century BC, an open knowledge practiced by over a million people in ancient Israel.〔''Megillah 14a, Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:22, Ruth Rabbah 1:2, Aryeh Kaplan ''Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide'' pp.44–48''〕 Foreign conquests drove the Jewish spiritual leadership of the time (the Sanhedrin) to hide the knowledge and make it secret, fearing that it might be misused if it fell into the wrong hands.〔Yehuda Ashlag; ''Preface to the Wisdom of Truth'' p.12 section 30 and p.105 bottom section of the left column as preface to the "Talmud Eser HaSfirot"〕 It is hard to clarify with any degree of certainty the exact concepts within kabbalah. There are several different schools of thought with very different outlooks; however, all are accepted as correct.〔See ''Shem Mashmaon'' by Rabbi Shimon Agasi. It is a commentary on Otzrot Haim by Haim Vital. In the introduction he list five major schools of thought as to how to understand the Haim Vital's understanding of the concept of ''Tzimtzum''.〕 Modern halakhic authorities have tried to narrow the scope and diversity within kabbalah, by restricting study to certain texts, notably Zohar and the teachings of Isaac Luria as passed down through Hayyim ben Joseph Vital.〔See ''Yechveh Daat'' Vol 3, section 47 by Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef〕 However, even this qualification does little to limit the scope of understanding and expression, as included in those works are commentaries on Abulafian writings, ''Sefer Yetzirah'', Albotonian writings, and the ''Berit Menuhah'',〔See ''Ktavim Hadashim'' published by Rabbi Yaakov Hillel of Ahavat Shalom for a sampling of works by Haim Vital attributed to Isaac Luria that deal with other works.〕 which is known to the kabbalistic elect and which, as described more recently by Gershom Scholem, combined ecstatic with theosophical mysticism. It is therefore important to bear in mind when discussing things such as the ''sefirot'' and their interactions that one is dealing with highly abstract concepts that at best can only be understood intuitively. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kabbalah」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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