Four periods
- First, +/- 1500 BC (or 'BCE') to 200 BC : around polytheism
- Second: 200 BC - 500 AD : Roman and Greek occupation
- 500 AD - French/American revolution : dispersian of the Jews, no homeland, no common lands. They are tolerated in other countries. Most other religious are monotheistic.
- French/American revolution - now : the modern era, during which the Jews are persecuted and murdered in WW II and during which they come in contact with "notheistic" like Buddhism.
The worship and offerings used to be completely silent. To start using words, the Bible, prayers, was a very significant change. Words have meaning. Words bring you closer to God.
Jewish mysticism is "down and inwards", as opposed to Christianity and the Islam who are "up and outwards"
It is "normal" mysticism, God is found everywhere, in every day life, also down here on earth.
He gives some interpretations of scripture, for example the Song of Songs, where breasts are actually Mozes, leading the people out of Egypt, and Aäron, the first priest, as they should "nourish" the people. This makes kinda sense. But his interpretation of "Where many women have been virtuous, you were the most virtuous of them all" refers to Mozes again, being most virtuous as compared to Abel, Jacob, etc. He does not, though, explain the "logic" of referring to those people and Mozes as women.
Between Earth and the divine being of God there are 7 heavens.
Three layers:
- the senses, the memory, storing "real" things
- the creativity, which can combine memories and create new things out of them
- the intellect, which is the highest level, the most according to God
God created the universe starting at the highest level (the "intellect"). Man has to find God starting the other way around.
"Appalaphian" methods, divised by "Appalaphia" (??) around the 12th century, try to disentangle the soul, to free the mind from its associations, so behind the real objects, behind the words and sounds, the divine can be glimpsed.
It's interesting, but often he gives explanations, or tells how certain mystics described the essence of God, or how many heavens there are, without hinting at how *they* came to those conclusions.
More about layers:: the Torah to the stories and the words, is like God to the universe: God needs the universe, like wine needs a jug, in order not to spill, not to (how audacious!) go sour.
Kabbalist consider evil a "necessity": "Without evil, chickens would not lay eggs, houses would not be built". We need to be prompted, otherwise nothing happens.
