Some may believe that mystical study and practice can be found mostly if not exclusively in far eastern traditions such as Buddhism. However, there are many schools of thought and traditions which attempt to address a deeper reality. Our Jewish approach, Kabbalah, is ancient, well respected, and influential.

The wisdom of the Kabbalah is to understand the government of the Supreme Will and for what purpose God created all creatures, what God wants from them, what will come at the end of all the cycles of the universe, and how all these strange cycles are to be explained . This introduction to Kabbalah class will provide some insight into basic concepts used in Kabbalistic literature and analysis. Specifically, we will learn about the Sefirot, Partzufim and the Worlds (or multiverse as they have become known recently).

Sefirot are 10 interlinked characteristics that shape the divine world, the physical world, and the connections between them. Our class will examine each of these characteristics and how they weave together. Partzufim are harmonized constellations of sefirot that describe ways we perceive reality. These structures shape the ways we discuss how things happen in our world, and understand how they might be happening beyond our perception. This class will look at developing a working understanding of this structure. The objectively observed universe around us is only a part of an inconceivably vast system of Worlds. Most of these worlds are spiritual in their essence; they are of a different order from our known world. These Worlds do not necessarily exist somewhere else, rather they exist as different dimensions of being We will study 5 categories which are conventionally used to discuss the concept of Worlds.

This introduction to Kabbalah class is for any beginner interested in investigating Jewish mysticism. The class is also intended to assist anyone who wishes to join Har HaShem’s Kabbalah Reading Group class, which is currently in its seventh year.