1. The Kabbalah, Talmud, Torah, & Zohar
Heron Haile
Kat Wilson

2. The Kabbalah Applies to the whole range of Jewish mystical activity
Understanding God
Basis of
Talmud
Torah
Zohar
Medieval Kabbalists
En Sof (That Which Is Without Limit)
Professor Gershom Scholem
Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel
The Kabbalah is the study of mystical activity in Jewish culture to help explain the unknown and better understand God rather than just follow on what God wants from man. The Kabbalah is the basis for Talmud which is the Oral Law of Judaism. From the Talmud came the Torah which is the Written Law, developing from a rebellion that claimed the lives of over a million Jewish lives in CE. Since many teachers of the Talmud had perished in the uprising against the Romans, the Jews did not want it to be forgotten so they created the Torah. The Torah is better known as the “Old Testament” believed to have been given to Moses by God himself on Mount Sinai. But the most famous work of the Kabbalah is the Zohar by Moses De Leon who claimed that the book incorporated the mystical writings of the second-century rabbi Simeon bar Yochai. The Zohar is written in the language of the Talmud called Aramaic; annonating the five books of the Torah. Medieval Kabbalists were accustomed to discussing God as the En Sof meaning That Which Is Without Limit. Basically God was unknown and inaccessible to man. The late Professor Gershom Scholem was a great scholar and historian of Kabbalah history. He was inspired by a successful German rabbi who hadn’t read a mystical text with intriguing tiles that he had procured for some time. The professor thought to asked himself what he could become if he actually read the books.

3. The Talmud Oral law of Judaism Has its own language- Aramaic
Written down after the Great Revolt against the Romans in Palestine in CE
The Written Law became known as the Torah
Rabbi Judah
Mishna
The Talmud is the Oral Law of Judaism passed down to generations for centuries. It has its own language because it was passed down verbally called Aramaic. After the Great Revolt against the Roman Empire in Palestine, the Jewish community had suffered a terrible loss. They had lost over a million lives and they were afraid that the Oral Law would be forgotten unless it was written down. The Mishna is one of the first books where the Talmud was written down on by Rabbi Judah. The structure was 63 tractates and systematically codified.

4. The Torah Includes first five books of the Bible:
Bereishith (Genesis)- “The Book of Beginnings”
Shemoth (Exodus)- “Exit” or “Departure”
Vayiqra (Leviticus)- “The Book of Holiness”
Bamidbar (Numbers)- “Wilderness Wanderings”
Devarim (Deuteronomy)- “Reiteration and Reviewing”
Theme of blessing & cursing
Theme of redemption & deliverance
Theme of holiness/Sacrifice and sanctification
Theme of rebellion and disbelief/God’s care
“Watch yourself lest you forget; teach children”

5. The Zohar
Collection of commentaries on the Torah intended as a spiritual guide for people who have achieved spiritual enlightenment.
Rabbi Shimm Bar Yochai
Origin of the soul
Cannot be fully understood or felt directly
Soul achieves what the Kabbalah refers to as the highest level of spiritual wholeness.
Requires preconception of spirituality in order to be somewhat tangible.

6. Connection Judaism Spiritual Teachings
Kabbalah and Zohar- Understanding

7. Work Cited Tracey, Rick R., “Torah”, jewfaq.org, Oct. 21, 2013
Keathley, J Hampton III, “The Law: The First Five Books”, Bible.org, Oct.21, 2013
“kabbalah”, jewishvirtuallibrary.org, Oct.21, 2013
Work Cited