http://danyaruttenberg.net/2005/11/20/well-if-darcy-is-gevurah/ Danya Ruttenberg's website Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:57:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 http://danyaruttenberg.net/2005/11/20/well-if-darcy-is-gevurah/#comment-534 Rebecca Wed, 07 Dec 2005 16:45:00 +0000 http://danyaruttenberg.net/2005/11/20/well-if-darcy-is-gevurah/#comment-534 I intend to write an article sometime soon about the positive reasons for anthropomorphism..... it's gotten an awfully bad press since about 1000 C.E., and I think it needs a defense. I intend to write an article sometime soon about the positive reasons for anthropomorphism….. it’s gotten an awfully bad press since about 1000 C.E., and I think it needs a defense.

]]> http://danyaruttenberg.net/2005/11/20/well-if-darcy-is-gevurah/#comment-533 The RetiKhah Sat, 26 Nov 2005 04:55:00 +0000 http://danyaruttenberg.net/2005/11/20/well-if-darcy-is-gevurah/#comment-533 I agree that it makes me twitchy to talk about the various kabbalistic cosmologies as if they were real - I prefer my kabbalah nicely diluted into chassidut (or taken more rationally/musar-ish by the likes of people like Moshe Cordevero), but if we're honest, we have to admit that it's pretty clear that many of the kabbalists saw no problem with building these elaborate structures and considered them real. I think that's why I would have to agree with the rationalists that kabbala was a Xianizing influence (rather than the kabalists counter claims, nuh-uh, it was you! to the rationalists). Still, there's a lot of interesting stuff in there, if you can sift out the psychedelic haze. Now that there's a regular demand for kabbala in our shuls, I try to help people understand that the kabbala center is teaching narishkeit - that what the kabalists were actually doing was building a complicated cosmology which reflected their experience of pain and exile as well as a meditative practise to assist them in this endevor (heavily influenced by Platonism - just tell me Abulafia wasn't a Platonist!!) that kabala was in essence an intellectual exercise designed to pour meaning into the living out of a halachic obligation system. I agree that it makes me twitchy to talk about the various kabbalistic cosmologies as if they were real - I prefer my kabbalah nicely diluted into chassidut (or taken more rationally/musar-ish by the likes of people like Moshe Cordevero), but if we’re honest, we have to admit that it’s pretty clear that many of the kabbalists saw no problem with building these elaborate structures and considered them real.
I think that’s why I would have to agree with the rationalists that kabbala was a Xianizing influence (rather than the kabalists counter claims, nuh-uh, it was you! to the rationalists).
Still, there’s a lot of interesting stuff in there, if you can sift out the psychedelic haze. Now that there’s a regular demand for kabbala in our shuls, I try to help people understand that the kabbala center is teaching narishkeit - that what the kabalists were actually doing was building a complicated cosmology which reflected their experience of pain and exile as well as a meditative practise to assist them in this endevor (heavily influenced by Platonism - just tell me Abulafia wasn’t a Platonist!!) that kabala was in essence an intellectual exercise designed to pour meaning into the living out of a halachic obligation system.

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