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Kabbalah's Best Kept Secret?

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Page 1: Kabbalah's Best Kept Secret?

Hebrew Streams

The following article ÒKabbalahÕs Best Kept SecretÓ was published by the Jews ForJesus organization in 2010.

By making it available here on this website, I am not endorsing its content orpromoting its conclusions. It is provided only as an example of how Kabbalisticmaterials are being interpreted by some Messianic Jewish scholars.

In contrast to the articleÕs thesis, I have written about the misuse and dangers ofemploying the Kabbalah and other gnostic or occultic Jewish materials in attemptingto validate what the author(s) believes is New Testament doctrine.

My rejoinder Ñ called ÒHow Jewish is the Trinity? (A Critique of a MessianicDocument)Ó [PDF, hot link] Ñ comments on a pamphlet written by ArnoldFruchtenbaum of Ariel Ministries.

Paul SumnerFebruary 2013

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Issues Volume 18Number 2 <http://www.jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/18_02>February 3, 2010

KabbalahÕs Best Kept Secret?

ÒGod as a Trinity? No way!Ó

ÒWe Jews donÕt believe in the idea of a divine incarnation!Ó

ÒAnd we donÕt believe in vicarious atonement!Ó

ÒA New Testament?! Are you meshugge?!Ó

For many Jews, these statements are givens. Orare they?

Over the last several decades, the Jewishspiritual scene has witnessed a resurgence ofpopularity in the mystical tradition of secretwisdom known as kabbalah. Hidden away incorners of the tradition and ignored bycontemporary popularizations are stunningparallels to a number of doctrines that mostreligious Jewish people consider anathema,doctrines that are analogous to New Testamentteachings.

However, the parallels did not go withoutnotice when more Jews were kabbalah literate.In 1696, one mystical rabbi (Aharon ben MosheHa-Kohen of Krakow) became a believer inYÕshua (Jesus) based on his study of kabbalah.He wrote three Hebrew manuscript volumesdetailing the numerous parallels he foundbetween the New Testament and the Zohar (theclassic core text of Jewish mysticism).Yochannan Rittangel (d. 1652), the firsttranslator of the Jewish mystical work SeferYetzirah, was one of several Jewish believers inYÕshua to disseminate Jewish mystical wisdomto a wider audience.

In the early twentieth century, Feivel Levertoff(d. 1954) was one of the translators of what isstill the premier English version of the Zohar(published by the highly-respected Jewish press,Soncino). A yeshiva-trained Hassidic Jew and a

third-generation descendent of Rabbi ShneurZalman of Liada (the founder of ChabadLubavitch), Levertoff came to believe in YÕshuaas the Messiah through parallels he foundbetween the New Testament and his Jewishmystical faith.

The Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre, one ofthe best-known popularizers of kabbalah today,frequently makes admiring mention of a non-Jewish scholar of kabbalistic wisdom, Pico dellaMirandola (1463-1494). However, the CentreÕsspokespersons, books and presentations nevermention his ultimate conclusion based on yearsof exploring the mysterious secrets of kabbalisticwisdom: ÒThere is no knowledge that proves theDivinity of the Messiah better than . . .kabbalah.Ó [1]

A Compound Unity

The keystone of traditional Judaism is that Godis One. A belief in a multiplicity in the Godheadseems to be beyond the pale for many Jews. Yetkabbalah teaches that God is indeed acompound unity.

The over-arching narrative of Jewish mysticismis that the infinite, radically transcendent Ein Sof(ÒEndlessÓ One) is revealed through the Sefirot.[2] Sefirot are vessels or spheres related to theCreator only through resemblance, [3] and arethe ten most common names for the varyingaspects of Divinity. Though they are one with

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the Creator, they are also the CreatorÕs garmentsand the Òbeams of light which it sends out.Ó [4]

The singular, Sefirah, shares a root with the wordsippur; ÒcommunicationÓ or Òtelling.Ó [5] TheSefirot are thus seen as the aspects or attributesof the Creator by means of which Deitycommunicates with creation. [6]

Knowledge of the lowest seven of the Sefirot isderived from King DavidÕs address to God in 1Chronicles 29:11: ÒYours, O God, are theGreatness (Gedulah), the Power (Gevurah), andthe Glory (Tiferet), the Victory (Netzach), andthe Splendor (Hod), for all that is in heaven andearth (Yesod), Yours O God is the Kingdom(Malkuth; sic; Heb=Mamlachah).Ó Two of theremaining three Sefirot, Chokhmah and Binah(Wisdom and Understanding), are one of themost frequent pairings of attributes of Godfound throughout the Hebrew Bible. Thehighest Sefirah, Keter, or Crown, signifies GodÕsrule and authority as King of Kings.

As Levertoff, Rabbi Aharon and many othershave found, this is not such a far cry from themetaphors used in the New Testament. Bothkabbalah and the New Testament hold that Godcommunicates the sublime interrelationships ofhis various components to limited human beingsin terms they can understand from their ownexperience Ñ concepts like the Sefirot, or likethe New TestamentÕs Father, Son and HolySpirit.

Not unlike the New Testament (which speaks ofOne God in three ÒpersonsÓ), kabbalistsrecognize multiple Ògrades,Ó ÒdegreesÓ orÒbeingsÓ in the Godhead. Expressions ofmultiplicitous unity (of God, humans, and otherentities) are frequent in kabbalistic literature andseemingly pose no theological obstacle toorthodox Jewish mystics:

Said R. Eleazar: ÒAs the four sections of thewalnut are united at one side and separatedat the other, so are all the parts of theCelestial Chariot united in perfect union, and

yet each part fulfils a special purpose . . .Ó[7]

Now the tree of life ramifies into variousdegrees, all differing from one another,although forming a unity, in the shape ofbranches, leaves . . . and roots.Ó [8]

This kind of mystical logic not only prevails inmedieval documents like the Zohar, but alsopersists to the present. The Tanya, thefundamental text of modern Chabad Hassidicphilosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman, states:

“He and His vivications are one, He and Hiscausations are one. . . . They are all Divinity.Ó [9]

ÒHe and His Name are One . . .Ó [10]

Such thinking has been current in Judaism for along time. Orthodox Jewish scholar RaphaelPatai notes that the Holy Spirit, identified bythe rabbis with the Shekhinah (the ÒdwellingÓ orÒabodeÓ of the glory of God), was seen as asecond person in the Godhead even in the earlyTalmudic period. [11]

But the mystics went beyond merely recognizinga two-in-oneness, stating that the Sefirot areactually organized into three Òpillars.Ó To thekabbalists, GodÕs ultimate nature is a three-in-oneness:

“Hear, O Israel, Adonai [12] Eloheinu Adonaiis one.Ó These three are one. . . . The mysteryof the audible voice is similar to this, forthough it is one yet it consists of threeelements? fire, air, and water. . . . Even so itis with the mystery of the threefold Divinemanifestations designated by Adonai EloheinuAdonai Ñ three modes which yest form oneunity. [13]

Embodiment and Incarnation

Would a Jew ever embrace the idea of Godincarnate? Many kabbalists do!

Kabbalah teaches that the human body is anoutward expression of the indwelling soul, and

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that all material things are manifestations ofspiritual realities extruding into our universe.[14] However, God has a special way ofrevealing himself in our world:

R. Jose said: ÒHow are we to understandthe words, Ôand they saw the God of IsraelÓ?. . . . They saw the light of the Shekinah,namely him who is called Ôthe YouthÕ(Metatron . . . ), and who ministers to theShekinah in the heavenly Sanctuary.Ó [15]

Nachmanides (1194-1270) holds that theShekhinah can mitgashem (incarnate) in ananthropomorphic shape. As an Ashkenazictradition has it, ÒKnow that . . . ÔAn angel of theLord appeared to him in a blazing fire out of abushÕ . . . refers to God Himself.Ó [16]Sometimes, the title malakh ha-kavod (Angel ofthe Glory) is applied to the Shekhinah inkabbalistic texts. [17]

The term Metatron, described as Òthe Youth,ÓÒthe Angel of the GloryÓ and Òthe body of theShekhinah,Ó is a Latin title translating the GreekPraecursor, or Forerunner Ñ the same word usedof YÕshua in Hebrews 6:20. It means lord,leader, guide, one who shows the way, or goes inadvance.

The explanation of ÒThey saw the glory of GodÓgiven by Rabbi Jose is evocative of the NewTestament passages describing YÕshua as Òtheradiance of the ShekhinahÓ (Hebrews 1:3), andas the ÒForerunnerÓ ministering high priest inthe heavenly tabernacle upon which Mosesmodeled the sanctuary (Hebrews 6:20-8:5).

Several kabbalistic texts reveal that Metatron isnot merely an angel, but a manifestation of theShekhinah in human form; in other words, Godhimself. For example:

And R. Tam commented that the Holy Oneblessed be He is himself called Metatron, as issaid in the Pesiqta: Òand the Lord walkedbefore them all the day.Ó The Holy One said,ÒI was the guide [Heb. Metatron] for mychildren,Ó that is, their guard. [18]

Metatron is also spoken of as Òthe voice of GodÓin a reference of Midrash Tehillim [19] to thepassage penned by King David: ÒThe voice ofthe Lord was over the waters . . .Ó (Psalm 29:3).Keeping in mind that Metatronis held bykabbalists to be the embodiment of theShekhinah, note the following observation byChabad founder Rabbi Zalman:

[It] has been stated in the Zohar and EtzChayim, that the Shechinah . . . is called theÒword of GodÓ . . . as in the case of humanbeings, by way of example, speech reveals tothe hearers the speakerÕs secret and hiddenthought. [20]

This passage uncannily reminds one of theopening lines of the Gospel of JohnÕs descriptionof YÕshua: ÒIn the beginning was the Word, andthe Word was with God, and the Word wasGod. He was with God in the beginning. . . .The Word became a human being and lived withus, and we saw his Shekhinah.Ó [21]

So, for both the traditional kabbalists and theNew Testament, the Forerunner is identicalwith the Angel of the Glory, the Name of God,and is the Word of God incarnate. What doesthe following passage from the Zohar indicateabout the identity of this Forerunner?: ÒTheÔspirit of God which hovered over the face ofthe watersÕ is the spirit of the Messiah.Ó [22]

Could these kabbalists actually be saying that theGodhead is somehow mysteriously composed ofthree personalities which are, in fact, really OneÑ one of whom is the Word of God in humanform, Messiah, the Forerunner-High Priestserving in heaven and embodying the HolySpirit? ArenÕt these the same things the NewTestament says about YÕshua? Consider furtherthe following, from R. Yitchaq of Acre:

It is MoSheH [Messiah] the High Priest,anointed by the oil, the supernal holyunction, the true Messiah, who will cometoday, if we listen to the voice of his Master,whose Name is found in him, he will redeemus. . . . . ÒIn all their affliction he was

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afflicted, and the angel of His face savedthemÓ [Isa. 63:91) and ÒAnd the spirit of theLord shall rest upon himÓ [Isa. 11:2]. Those[verses] and all similar to them hint atMetatron [the Forerunner], the Prince of theFace . . . . [The] sheep, which is the innocentlamb is Ñ in its entirety Ñ good, and it isMoSheH, the Prince of Mercy.Ó [23]

Do the mystics ever give a name to theMetatron, this Forerunner, the Prince of theFace, High Priest, Word of God incarnate,Lamb who is afflicted in all their affliction,Messiah? A medieval Rosh Hashanah prayer says:

May it be Thy will that the sounding of theshofar may be embroidered in Thy HeavenlyCurtain by the Angel who is appointed for it,as Thou has accepted the prayers by the handof Elijah of blessed memory and throughYeshua the Prince of the Face. [24]

Yehudah Liebes, Professor of Jewish Mysticismand Kabbalah in the Department of JewishThought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,traces references to YÕshua in traditional Jewishliturgy to Jewish believers in Jesus in the firstcentury A.D.! [25] Daniel Abrams of Bar-IlanUniversity writes of LiebesÕs observations,ÒYehuda Liebes has brought to our attention thestriking identification of Metatron with Jesus inthe liturgy.Ó [26]

The Mediator

Many Jews today reject the idea of a go-betweento make us right with God. The kabbalists,however, have a different view.

Kabbalists see the angelic Prince of the Face asintermediary between God and his people.Recalling R. Yitzhaq of AcreÕs equating of theafflicted Forerunner with the Messiah who savesIsrael, the following passage from the Zoharalmost sounds like an epitome of the NewTestamentÕs assertions about YÕshuaÕs mediating,vicarious atonement:

When the Messiah hears of the greatsuffering of Israel in their dispersion, and of

the wicked amongst them who seek not toknow their Master, he weeps aloud . . . as itis written: ÒBut he was wounded because ofour transgression, he was crushed because ofour iniquitiesÓ (Isaiah 53:5). . . . The Messiah. . . calls for all the diseases and pains andsufferings of Israel, bidding them settle onhimself, which they do. . . . As long as Israelwere in the Holy Land, by means of theTemple service and sacrifices they averted allevil diseases and afflictions from the world.Now it is the Messiah who is the means ofaverting them from mankind. [27]

Investigating the Secret for Yourself

Do these passages from the mystics prove theNew Testament is correct, that YÕshua isMessiah of Israel, God in the flesh, who makesatonement for our sins? No. But they dodemonstrate that there have been Jews (many,famous kabbalists), whose orthodoxy no onewould question, who held beliefs startlingly likethose that Jewish believers in YÕshua affirm.

If this exploration of kabbalah has piqued yourcuriosity, why not explore what the NewTestament has to say about these things? In theHebrew Bible, God states that he will establish aNew Covenant: ÒSee, a time is coming declaresthe Lord when I will make a new covenant withthe house of Israel and the house of JudahÓ(Jeremiah 31:31).

The Hebrew word brit, translated here asÒcovenant,Ó may also be translated ÔTestament.ÕThe kabbalistic text Otiot deÕRabbi Akiba saysregarding this passage: ÒAnd the Holy One . . .will expound to them the meanings of a newTora which He will give them through theMessiah.Ó [28]

Jewish mystics for Jesus, kabbalists who actuallybelieve in a Triune God, a bodily incarnation ofthe Deity, and a vicariously atoning Messiah?Who knew?! Feeling like youÕve been let in on apretty well-kept secret? Could YÕshua, thePrince of the Face who sits on GodÕs throne, the

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Messiah, be the biggest mystery youÕve yet tounriddle?

End Notes

1. Pico Della Mirandola, Opera Omnia (Basle,1572), I, p. 105, no. 9, quoted in Charles B.Schmitt, et al., The Cambridge History ofRenaissance Philosophy (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1991), p. 270.

2. Daniel C. Matt, The Essential Kabbalah: TheHeart of Jewish Mysticism (San Francisco: HarperSan Francisco, 1996), pp. 7-10, and Gershom G.Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (NewYork: Schoken Books, 1954), p. 206.

3. Aryeh Kaplan, The Bahir (Boston: WeiserBooks, 1989), p. 88.

4. Scholem, op. cit., p. 214.

5. Aryeh Kaplan, Sefer Yetzirah: The Book ofCreation (San Francisco: Weiser Books, 1997),p. 21.

6. Kaplan, Sefer Yetzirah, p. 21.

7. Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 15b.

8. Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 193a.

9. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liada, LikuteiAmarim/Tanya (Brooklyn, NY: KehotPublication Society, 1996), Igeret Hakodesh,Ch. 20, p. 497.

10. Ibid., Igeret Hakodesh, Ch. 7, p. 425 n. 5.

11. Raphael Patai ÒThe Shekhinah,Ó The Journalof Religion 44:4 (1964): 286.

12. The spelling TETRAGRAMMATON hasbeen modified to Adonai in these passages toreflect current usage.

13. Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Raya Mehemna,Page 43b.

14. Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 65b;Tanya, Shaar Hayichud, Chapter 1.

15. Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 82a.

16. Elliot R. Wolfson, Through a Speculum ThatShines: Vision and Imagination in Medieval JewishMysticism (Princeton: Princeton UniversityPress, 1994), p. 256, italics added.

17. Wolfson, op. cit., p. 262.

18. Daniel Abrams ÒThe Boundaries of DivineOntology: The Inclusion and Exclusion ofMetatron in the Godhead,Ó The HarvardTheological Review 87:3 (1994): 299, 300.

19. George F. Moore ÒIntermediaries in JewishThought,Ó The Harvard Theological Review 15:1(1922): 63.

20. Zalman, Likutei Amarim, Ch. 52, p. 273.

21. John 1:1, 2, 14, SternÕs Jewish New Testament.

22. Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page240a.

23. Sefer ÔOtzar Hayyim, in Moshe Idel,Messianic Mystics (New Haven, CT: YaleUniversity Press, 2000), pp. 303, 304.

24. Machzor Rosh Hashanah vÕYom KippurimkÕMinhag Sefarad (New York: Hebrew PublishingCompany), prayer translated by RachmielFrydland. (EditorÕs note: You can view oneversion of this prayer in Hebrew athttp://www.afii.org/OJB.pdf [OrthodoxJewish Bible], page 1227.)

25. Yehudah Liebes, ÒWho Makes the Horn ofJesus to Flourish,Ó Immanuel 21 (Summer 1987):67, footnote 28.

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26. Daniel Abrams, ÔÔThe Boundaries of DivineOntology: The Inclusion and Exclusion ofMetatron in the Godhead,ÕÕ Harvard TheologicalReview 87.3 (1994): 317.

27. Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page212a.

28. Midrash Otiot de ÔRabbi Akiba, Beit ha-Midrash 3.27-29, quoted by Raphael Patai inThe Messiah Texts (Detroit: Wayne StateUniversity Press, 1979), p. 252.

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