Teach51
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19 Mar 2020, 7:15 am
magz wrote:
Is Kabbalah as esoteric and hermetic as it is often portrayed?
Not at all. It is very scientific and practical. It is like a handbook to how the universe and the forces of nature work. I will look for a suitable link to explain. There are many silly offshoots that claim mysticism and tell fortunes but they are not serious.
Here magz this is my teacher and Rabbi introducing the concept.
https://youtu.be/pCXAvRoE2OY
19 Mar 2020, 9:52 am
19 Mar 2020, 11:00 am
Teach51
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19 Mar 2020, 11:23 am
IstominFan wrote:
Kitty hugs from IstominFan!
Thank you IstominFan. Hugs back
Teach51
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19 Mar 2020, 1:43 pm
Fnord wrote:
"Kabbalah" is Hebrew for "Tradition". But the cabala (one of many different spellings) has come to refer to a collection of mystical and ethical Jewish writings, mostly dating from the medieval period. It consists in good part of speculative and symbolical interpretations of Hebrew Scriptures.
There are several cabalistic traditions, some of which are noted for their messianic leanings. One of the more well-known 'messiahs' was Sabbatai Zevi who, in 1666, convinced a large part of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian world that he was the Messiah. His conversion to Islam is seen variously as a cowardly pseudo-conversion aimed at saving his life or as a necessary step in the redemption of the world.
There are several cabalistic traditions, some of which are noted for their messianic leanings. One of the more well-known 'messiahs' was Sabbatai Zevi who, in 1666, convinced a large part of the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian world that he was the Messiah. His conversion to Islam is seen variously as a cowardly pseudo-conversion aimed at saving his life or as a necessary step in the redemption of the world.
Actually Kabbalah means "reception" from the verb to receive לקבל
It is also the word for receipt or any customer service desk.
It also means קבלת התורה
The receiving of the Torah, meaning Light.
So the wisdom of kabbalah teaches how to receive Gods' Light and utilize it for the good of mankind. So there.
The first kabbalist was actually Adam, who was not created from earth, adamah, אדמה,he was the first monotheist, therefore recorded as the first man in Judaism, or in kabbalistic terms: He wasHa Adam Ha Rishon from the verb domeh דומה , or similar, meaning that he had an equivalence of form with the Creator. It is a bad translation from hebrew in the St James bible I believe. It is much more complex of course but this is my quarantine thread so that'll do.
19 Mar 2020, 2:03 pm
magz wrote:
Is Kabbalah as esoteric and hermetic as it is often portrayed?
Memory from my interest in my twenties here.
The reason why Kabbalah has those associations is down to some cherry-picked aspects and ideas being co-opted and repurposed by Victorian spiritual/magical societies, principally in London, and blended with their interpretations of Egyptian mythology and medieval alchemy.*
The most influential of these groups was The Order of The Golden Dawn: a lot of the foundations of modern New Age thought was laid by them, and notoriously by their erstwhile member and later foe Aliester Crowley.
The whole concept of there being a “new age” comes through him and his blending of Tarot with astrology and ideas he got from the Sepher Yetzirah.+
* Hermetic comes from “Hermes Trismogistus” one of the pseudonyms used by authors of medieval alchemical texts... that’s also where the phrase hermetically sealed in modern chemistry has its etymological origin.
+ That’s one of the earliest known Kabbalistic texts, it’s a brief, but intense, elaboration of the creation narrative in Genesis (unless my memory is glitching really badly... I read a lot of these works, mostly whilst very stoned... which was not a good idea... so it is possible I’m mixing up which text has what content)
Teach51
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19 Mar 2020, 5:37 pm
Karamazov wrote:
magz wrote:
Is Kabbalah as esoteric and hermetic as it is often portrayed?
Memory from my interest in my twenties here.
The reason why Kabbalah has those associations is down to some cherry-picked aspects and ideas being co-opted and repurposed by Victorian spiritual/magical societies, principally in London, and blended with their interpretations of Egyptian mythology and medieval alchemy.*
The most influential of these groups was The Order of The Golden Dawn: a lot of the foundations of modern New Age thought was laid by them, and notoriously by their erstwhile member and later foe Aliester Crowley.
The whole concept of there being a “new age” comes through him and his blending of Tarot with astrology and ideas he got from the Sepher Yetzirah.+
* Hermetic comes from “Hermes Trismogistus” one of the pseudonyms used by authors of medieval alchemical texts... that’s also where the phrase hermetically sealed in modern chemistry has its etymological origin.
+ That’s one of the earliest known Kabbalistic texts, it’s a brief, but intense, elaboration of the creation narrative in Genesis (unless my memory is glitching really badly... I read a lot of these works, mostly whilst very stoned... which was not a good idea... so it is possible I’m mixing up which text has what content)
Sounds very mysterious! There are many similar offshoots to what you describe but basically it is a fundamental basis to the jewish religion but we were forbidden to reveal that. My Rabbi has a practical scientific interpretation, it is an analysis of the Torah basically the rest is sensationalist mumbo jumbo.
19 Mar 2020, 5:57 pm
Teach51 wrote:
Sounds very mysterious! There are many similar offshoots to what you describe but basically it is a fundamental basis to the jewish religion but we were forbidden to reveal that. My Rabbi has a practical scientific interpretation, it is an analysis of the Torah basically the rest is sensationalist mumbo jumbo.
That parallels the conclusion I came to!
I realised the stuff I was into and reading was a hodgepodge of decontextualised and misunderstood fragments, and that the only genuine texts of anything I had were useless without the Torah, Talmud and Midrash in their original language, under guidance.
And that I was doing myself more harm than good by being an unintentionally disrespectful idiot in that regard
Teach51
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20 Mar 2020, 5:56 am
Karamazov wrote:
Teach51 wrote:
Sounds very mysterious! There are many similar offshoots to what you describe but basically it is a fundamental basis to the jewish religion but we were forbidden to reveal that. My Rabbi has a practical scientific interpretation, it is an analysis of the Torah basically the rest is sensationalist mumbo jumbo.
That parallels the conclusion I came to!
I realised the stuff I was into and reading was a hodgepodge of decontextualised and misunderstood fragments, and that the only genuine texts of anything I had were useless without the Torah, Talmud and Midrash in their original language, under guidance.
And that I was doing myself more harm than good by being an unintentionally disrespectful idiot in that regard
No darling, not an idiot, we are all on a quest to discover the meaning of life and the absolute truth. It's a process. You are lovely.
20 Mar 2020, 6:36 am
21 Mar 2020, 7:21 pm
This is day 5 of my voluntary quarantine for older folks. I am an extreme introvert, and being in quarantine doesn't stress me. But then I read an article on the Internet. It was a "Car & Driver" article that read "Every car you can still buy with a manual transmission". It listed 30 cars including mine. It showed a picture of my car.
Except my car is prettier. It is blue. It is also a hardtop convertible. But it is about 11 years old now. It only has around 25 thousand miles so it is almost new. I park it for the winter. But since I have officially deemed this now SPRING, it is time to move it out of the garage, give it a good scrubbing and waxing and then road trip.
Even though I am not bothered by the quarantine, my wife is. She is an extreme extrovert. Talking on the phone, video chatting, emailing just doesn't cut it. She craves close contact with other humans. The constant barrage about the coronavirus on the news is driving her crazy. So I need to fix this. It was an old custom to take a drive in the country. Even now many city folks head towards the country roads in the Fall to see the leaves turn different colors. So I think I will reverse that custom. After I get the car spic and span, I will take my wife for a drive and we will travel around the cities and gawk. I will leave my hardtop on, windows up and not leave the car. I consider that low risk. I hope it will restore the sense that the world is still there and will return to normalcy very soon. And besides I enjoy driving my car like a go-cart roaring through all 6 gears.
Teach51
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22 Mar 2020, 12:06 am
jimmy m wrote:
This is day 5 of my voluntary quarantine for older folks. I am an extreme introvert, and being in quarantine doesn't stress me. But then I read an article on the Internet. It was a "Car & Driver" article that read "Every car you can still buy with a manual transmission". It listed 30 cars including mine. It showed a picture of my car.
Except my car is prettier. It is blue. It is also a hardtop convertible. But it is about 11 years old now. It only has around 25 thousand miles so it is almost new. I park it for the winter. But since I have officially deemed this now SPRING, it is time to move it out of the garage, give it a good scrubbing and waxing and then road trip.
Even though I am not bothered by the quarantine, my wife is. She is an extreme extrovert. Talking on the phone, video chatting, emailing just doesn't cut it. She craves close contact with other humans. The constant barrage about the coronavirus on the news is driving her crazy. So I need to fix this. It was an old custom to take a drive in the country. Even now many city folks head towards the country roads in the Fall to see the leaves turn different colors. So I think I will reverse that custom. After I get the car spic and span, I will take my wife for a drive and we will travel around the cities and gawk. I will leave my hardtop on, windows up and not leave the car. I consider that low risk. I hope it will restore the sense that the world is still there and will return to normalcy very soon. And besides I enjoy driving my car like a go-cart roaring through all 6 gears.
Except my car is prettier. It is blue. It is also a hardtop convertible. But it is about 11 years old now. It only has around 25 thousand miles so it is almost new. I park it for the winter. But since I have officially deemed this now SPRING, it is time to move it out of the garage, give it a good scrubbing and waxing and then road trip.
Even though I am not bothered by the quarantine, my wife is. She is an extreme extrovert. Talking on the phone, video chatting, emailing just doesn't cut it. She craves close contact with other humans. The constant barrage about the coronavirus on the news is driving her crazy. So I need to fix this. It was an old custom to take a drive in the country. Even now many city folks head towards the country roads in the Fall to see the leaves turn different colors. So I think I will reverse that custom. After I get the car spic and span, I will take my wife for a drive and we will travel around the cities and gawk. I will leave my hardtop on, windows up and not leave the car. I consider that low risk. I hope it will restore the sense that the world is still there and will return to normalcy very soon. And besides I enjoy driving my car like a go-cart roaring through all 6 gears.
Awesome car Jimmy!
I am like your wife, I thrive on togetherness. I am entering my 3rd week of complete isolation, I fear I am going slightly mad. Thank God for Zoom, Whatsapp and Skype.
Sweetleaf
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22 Mar 2020, 12:34 am
jimmy m wrote:
This is day 5 of my voluntary quarantine for older folks. I am an extreme introvert, and being in quarantine doesn't stress me. But then I read an article on the Internet. It was a "Car & Driver" article that read "Every car you can still buy with a manual transmission". It listed 30 cars including mine. It showed a picture of my car.
Except my car is prettier. It is blue. It is also a hardtop convertible. But it is about 11 years old now. It only has around 25 thousand miles so it is almost new. I park it for the winter. But since I have officially deemed this now SPRING, it is time to move it out of the garage, give it a good scrubbing and waxing and then road trip.
Even though I am not bothered by the quarantine, my wife is. She is an extreme extrovert. Talking on the phone, video chatting, emailing just doesn't cut it. She craves close contact with other humans. The constant barrage about the coronavirus on the news is driving her crazy. So I need to fix this. It was an old custom to take a drive in the country. Even now many city folks head towards the country roads in the Fall to see the leaves turn different colors. So I think I will reverse that custom. After I get the car spic and span, I will take my wife for a drive and we will travel around the cities and gawk. I will leave my hardtop on, windows up and not leave the car. I consider that low risk. I hope it will restore the sense that the world is still there and will return to normalcy very soon. And besides I enjoy driving my car like a go-cart roaring through all 6 gears.
Except my car is prettier. It is blue. It is also a hardtop convertible. But it is about 11 years old now. It only has around 25 thousand miles so it is almost new. I park it for the winter. But since I have officially deemed this now SPRING, it is time to move it out of the garage, give it a good scrubbing and waxing and then road trip.
Even though I am not bothered by the quarantine, my wife is. She is an extreme extrovert. Talking on the phone, video chatting, emailing just doesn't cut it. She craves close contact with other humans. The constant barrage about the coronavirus on the news is driving her crazy. So I need to fix this. It was an old custom to take a drive in the country. Even now many city folks head towards the country roads in the Fall to see the leaves turn different colors. So I think I will reverse that custom. After I get the car spic and span, I will take my wife for a drive and we will travel around the cities and gawk. I will leave my hardtop on, windows up and not leave the car. I consider that low risk. I hope it will restore the sense that the world is still there and will return to normalcy very soon. And besides I enjoy driving my car like a go-cart roaring through all 6 gears.
Looks like a nice car, enjoy.
I just hope you aren't one of those weirdos who thinks its cool to rev up while slowly pulling up to a stop light or into a parking space. I find that quite silly makes more sense if you are actually meaning to speed up or are actually taking off from a parking space otherwise it always looks like the person is just trying too hard.
22 Mar 2020, 5:56 am
22 Mar 2020, 9:01 pm
xxZeromancerlovexx
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23 Mar 2020, 9:39 am
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