Kabbalistic Experiences
Additionally, it is no coincidence that at this time we commemorate the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the main Kabbalistic work known as the Zohar, and celebrate his life and contributions to the world. Kabbalah is often referred to as the "secrets" of Torah. However, this is misunderstood. People think that they need to find a teacher to whisper the secrets in their ear. However, the teachings of Kabbalah are "secrets" not because they haven't been told to us; it's because they can't be told to us.
That is, the Kabbalists refer to the study of Kabbalah in the following manner: "You can take the student to the door, but he has to walk through it." Kabbalistic knowledge is not a piece of information like math or history. True Kabbalistic knowledge is experiential.
A good example of "experiential knowledge" is the experience of eating chocolate. You can explain to the outsider who has never eaten chocolate what it tastes like and what it feels like to eat chocolate; you can read off all the ingredients to him. But none of this will get him to the experience of chocolate. For the experience of chocolate, he has to take it in; he has to taste it.
Similarly, a person can have a philosophy about life and the reality of God in world, and that's good for the cold, raw, disconnected side of himself; that's good for the mind. But what about his feeling it? What about his living it? What about his experiencing it? What about his heart?
This is what Kabbalah is all about. It is the teachings of the Jewish phrase "ein od milvado"—"there's nothing other than God."
A person can learn this, talk about it, write books on it, and give discourses on it, but until he's living it in the inner chambers of his heart, he is still standing outside the door. He still hasn't walked in.
May God bless us during this period to assume the strengths, traits, and internalization of a Good Heart,and may we merit to receive the Torah in our own lives on the holiday of Shavuot!
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