The Modern Face of Ancient Jewish Mysticism

From Madonna to Mick Jagger to Ariana Grande: The Lure of Kabbalah

What is it about Kabbalah that seems to draw celebrity followers? You may have spotted the iconic red string bracelets that symbolize Kabballah on the wrists of actors like Gwyneth Paltrow and Lindsay Lohan and musicians from Madonna to Mick Jagger to pop singer Ariana Grande. The Wicked star turned to its teachings for a more grounded perspective on life and says it has helped her life unfold in “a beautiful way.”

While it’s easy to dismiss Kabbalah as just another Hollywood or social media trend, the reality is these modern-day followers are tapping into a religious tradition that’s both introspective and highly spiritual. These “stars” appear to be searching for the same thing we all are: a way to make sense of a chaotic world through a spiritual lens that is both ancient and surprisingly relevant to today.

Kabbalah is an ancient Jewish mystical tradition.

It’s based on a mystical interpretation of the Bible and according to Wikipedia it seeks to understand the relationship between the infinite, eternal Divine and our finite, mortal universe. Is root purpose is to achieve a direct, intimate experience of the Divine. One way it does this is by recognizing that everything in the material world is actually a manifestation of God.

The study of Kabbalah has historically been seen as “heavy lifting,” the type of deep subject that can take decades of intense, monastic study just to scratch the surface. Since most of us don’t have thirty or forty years to spend in a library, fortunately, I’ve found a short cut—a way to close the gap between Kabbalah’s high-level mystical concepts and the desire to be closer to God in everyday life.

This is where the work of Daniel C. Matt comes in. The scholar has spent his life immersed in these texts and was able to condense his knowledge into a readable book titled The Essential Kabbalah. Matt points out that the word kabbalah means “receiving” or “that which has been received.” And while it refers to knowledge being received through study, Matt writes that it also means that if one is truly receptive:

Wisdom appears simultaneously, unprecedented, taking you by surprise. The spiritual seeker soon discovers that he or she is not exploring something “up there,” but rather the beyond that lies within.

In the lightly edited passages that follow, I’ve focused on Matt’s writings on experiencing the divine in everyday life and grouped them by category. You may notice that this practice has similarities to both meditation and centering prayer. It serves as additional proof that there are common threads within all faiths, and that ultimately, we are all trying to connect with the same divine source.

Lessons from Kabbalah on the Direct Experience of God

Knowledge

• When you contemplate the Creator, realize that his encampment extends beyond, infinitely beyond, and so, too, in front of you and behind you, east and west, north and south. God is in you and all around you.
• Be aware that God fashioned everything and is within everything. There is nothing else.
• All your physical and mental powers and your essential being depend on the divine elements within. You are simply a channel for the divine.

Preparation

• Select a special place where no one in the world can hear your voice. Be totally alone. Sit in one spot in the room or the loft, and do not reveal your secret to anyone.
• As you prepare to speak with your Creator, to seek the revelation of his power, be careful to empty your mind of all mundane vanities.
• If it is at night, light many candles, until your eyes shine brightly.
• If your mind races, return to the place you were before the thought. Return to the site of oneness.
• If you wish your intention to be true, imagine that you are light. All around you, in every corner and on every side, is light…a radiant light…up above, the light of the Presence. The light is unfathomable and endless.
• Place in front of the eyes of your mind the letters of God’s name, as if they were written in Hebrew script.
• Remember God and God’s love constantly.

Guidance

• Interpret what you hear in an uplifting manner, approximating it as best you can.
• When you see that you have achieved a little, concentrate more deeply in your meditation, until you experience a pure spirit speaking within.
• Search and discover the source of your soul, so that you can fulfill it and restore it to its source, its essence. The more you fulfill yourself, the closer you approach your authentic self.
• The desire to act and work, the passion to create and to restore yourself, the yearning for silence and for the inner shout of joy—these all band together in your spirit, and you become holy.
• When you train yourself to hear the voice of God in everything, you attain the quintessence of the human spirit…by training yourself to hear the voice of God in everything, the voice reveals itself to your mind as well.
• When you desire to eat or drink, or to fulfill other worldly desires, focus your awareness on the love of God…elevate the physical desire to spiritual desire…draw out the holy spark that dwells within. You bring forth holy sparks from the material world. There is no greater path than this.
• In the end, the Blessed Holy One will guide you on the path that it wishes and impart holiness to you. You are walking in the presence of God while being right here in the world. You become a dwelling place of the divine.