A Map of the Universe: An Introduction to the Study of Kabbalah
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About this ebook
Rabbi Max Weiman
Rabbi Max Weiman has studied Judaism in Israel and the U.S. since 1983. He spent time in a variety of traditional yeshivot, and received ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem through Yeshivat Aish HaTorah in 1992. At that point he began teaching for Aish, an international Jewish education movement. In 1999 he formed the Kabbalah Club and has been teaching via classes, email, newspaper articles, and a website www.kabbalahclub.com. His articles have appeared in the Jewish Press, Intermountain Jewish News, St. Louis Jewish Light, Pathfinder, Bulletin of the Astrological Association of St. Louis, and Today’s Astrologer and various websites. Another book of his, Kabbalah and Astrology, has been published this year by Jason Aronson Publishers. Rabbi Weiman lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife, Chava, and their six children.
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A Map of the Universe - Rabbi Max Weiman
Copyright © 2003 by Rabbi Max Weiman.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright
owner.
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Xlibris Corporation
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18065
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PREFACE
CHAPTER ONE
What is Kabbalah, and Why is it a Secret?
CHAPTER TWO
Man is a Microcosm of the Universe
CHAPTER THREE
Israel, the Torah, and God Are All One
CHAPTER FOUR
The Purpose of Creation is to Be One with God
CHAPTER FIVE
Our World is Traveling Towards Its Destiny
CHAPTER SIX
The Spiritual World Responds to the Physical World
CHAPTER SEVEN
All of Mankind is Interwoven and Interdependent
CHAPTER EIGHT
Good and Bad Things Happen to All People
CHAPTER NINE
Life is Filled with Challenges, Lessons, and Tikkunim
CHAPTER TEN
The Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet are the Building Blocks of Creation
IN CONCLUSION
NOTES
BIBLICAL SOURCES QUOTED
CLASSICAL SOURCES OF THE ORAL TRADITION QUOTED IN MAP OF THE UNIVERSE
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON WELL KNOWN KABBALISTS
GLOSSARY
OF HEBREW TERMS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This book is dedicated to Jess, Dude, Betz, Koob, Daniel, Burt,
and Arthur . . . wherever the heck they may be.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Almighty has been exceedingly kind with me by allowing me to be involved with Torah, and giving me so many blessings.
Thanks to my wife, Chava, for her support and inspiration.
All of my students help me clarify what I study by asking questions, and by forcing me to articulate the ideas I teach.
My colleagues help me by challenging my assumptions, and being a sounding board for ideas. In particular, I have been helped in this way by Rabbi Elazar Grunberger, Rabbi Shmuel Greenwald, Rabbi Gidon Nitsun, and Rabbi Ari Kahn.
My teachers gave me a methodology and an approach to Torah study that is beyond value. In particular, I would like to thank Rabbi Noah Weinberg, Rabbi Shlomo Rothenberg, and Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovitz. As well, I have been inspired by Rabbi Noah Orlowek and Rabbi Zelig Pliskin.
Thanks also to the fabulous support staff and volunteers of Aish St. Loius: Albert Glassman, editors Vickie Lecy, JoAnn Turner, and Tracy Bernstein, not to mention the computer and web work of Dovid Lecy and Lon Bliss.
Thanks to the staff at Xlibris.
PREFACE
Often people look for something unusual to teach them about that which is usual. This is what brought me into Harry’s Occult Shop in Philadelphia, PA one sunny day in 1982. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was looking for some truth about the world amidst the shrunken heads, incense, candles, and love potions in this dark musky store. Harry, a large muscular man with tattoos and a menacing look, was incongruously as nice and helpful as my neighborhood fish salesman in the nearby Italian market south of South Street. My only purchase from Harry was a book that fascinated me on Hebrew numerology. This was my introduction to Kabbalah. It wasn’t until years later after much study that I realized that the author of that book really didn’t have much knowledge of Kabbalah.
A year ago I began writing a series of essays as an introduction to the study of Kabbalah. It became apparent that they could be put together to form a book, and numerous people had asked for such a book. Anyone searching for truths in the world of Jewish mysticism will now have an introduction to that study to make their time better spent. The ideas presented in this book lay the groundwork for all advanced concepts in Kabbalah. They are the fundamentals. Before someone can truly understand things like angels, magic, and spiritual forces, he/she needs some background. This is it.
Certainly the kabbalists who are considered masters of this information know and understand clearly the five books of Moses, the eight major and twelve minor books of the prophets, the eleven books called Writings, as well as the sixty tractates of the Talmud, (the compendium of Jewish Law that was originally an oral tradition, written down about 500 C.E.)¹ There is much more to know than what is in this small book. To become a master kabbalist takes many years of study with proper teachers. This book is a jump-start to grasp essential ideas and perhaps some sophisticated concepts.
At this time there is an unprecedented desire for spirituality spreading throughout the world. For many, Kabbalah is filling that desire. Human beings need meaning. We know there’s more to the world than meets the eye. Our generation in particular is groping for the spiritual realm. There are those that suggest this is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Amos 8:11 that refers to a hunger not for bread
that will come to the world.² And there are those that say it’s merely a reaction people have nowadays to feeling overwhelmed by technology.
Books written by people who know little actual Kabbalah, and understand even less, are filling the market. They are not the answer. On the other hand, for the neophyte to turn to the older works is nearly impossible, since the traditional works are difficult to understand and rarely translated. Therefore the hope is that this book will fill in part of the gap of knowledge