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My name is Brett, I’m currently taking Kabbalah Revealed and want to study Hebrew for its spiritual significance. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of Kabbalah through the study of the Hebrew language.
I’m amazed at how similar Kabbalah is with Gnosticism. But instead of the wisdom of God (Sophia) running amuck and vicariously creating all of us through the Demiurge, we are the negative, or Egoic, reflection of the Upper Force. I’m also very curious as to what these 5 worlds are, exactly. Are these other worlds related to the Sephirot? Or how do these 5 worlds interact with or relate to the 10 emanations of the Sephirot?
My take is that these 5 worlds are a Kabbalistic cosmology, of sorts, like in Neoplatonism these upper worlds become purer and purer, closer to the true nature of the Upper Force or “the Endless.” And the worlds closer to us are coarser and less pure reflections of the Upper Force. Until you get down to us at the lowest or most impure form (i.e. the material world). However, in Neoplatonism this progression of higher realms from the material to the spiritual is very gradual, but in Gnosticism is very abrupt. I bet the Kabbalistic view lies somewhere in between these two extremes.
Further correlations to Gnosticism I found mind-blowing:
Our goal is to reunite with this Upper Force, or Ein Soph (to become like it): similar in Gnosticism through Gnosis our divine sparks are reunited with the Alien God to restore it to wholeness.
Autogenes Christ is the Adam Kadmon in the Gnostic system, which is a salvific figure (a spiritual psychopomp through which Gnosis is attained).
The Demiurge in Gnosticism can be thought of as the Cosmic ego in which our own egos are reflections of it.One interesting tidbit is that “the One” in Gnosticism seems to be in a crisis as in our world. It is often said that the Gnostic system is like this: “God went mad and became us.” Our goal then, is to heal this fracturing of the consciousness of the One to a state of wholeness. In Kabbalah, I don’t perceive the Upper Force as being in a state of crisis or explicitly needing our help. The Upper Force seems a bit indifferent, or quietly waiting for us to evolve to a state where we need it and want to unite with it.
Can’t wait to learn more about the metaphysical orientation of the Kabbalah!
Hi, my name is Brett. I currently reside in Cleveland, Ohio. I’m looking for a solid foundation in Kabbalah on which to build a lifetime of study.
Hi, my name is Brett. I currently reside in Cleveland, Ohio. I’ve been interested in western esotericism for a long time, but wanted a more formal training in the science of Kabbalah. I’m looking for a good, solid foundation on which to build knowledge for further Kabbalistic studies. I hope this course jump starts my knowledge for a lifelong commitment to studying Kabbalah.
