The Science of Kabbalah

[pohaikawahine]

Received both books yesterday and started to look at some background on Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (who wrote both books).... it is said he had complete mastery of the entire Biblical, Rabbinic and Kabbalistic literature, was educted in sicence and literature, and was the author of three full length plays..... he arroused a lot of opposition at the time (1700's) and about 60 years ago "a huge cache of letters was found which describes at length in his own words, the persecution that he endured" .... he is considered one of the most brilliant philosophers and Kabbalist of the 18th century .... (I want to see if I can find more information on his letters) ....

pretty good credentials and I look forward to reading the books ....

there is a reference to the "water flowing from the Holy of Holies" .... "by the entrance (oh by the way I'm quoting from 'Secrets of the Future Temple') to the Inner House is a small path where the sweetest waters flow. Let me tell you where these waters come from and where they are going. These waters come from the innermost place of delight, a place of the most powerful Mercy (Rachamim). For that reason, as these waters come out, their direction of flow is to the south (Chesed). They then flow out of the Temple." this reference really caught my attention because the Song of Songs speaks of "an enclosed garden is my sister, my bride, a hidden well, a sealed spring .... you are a fountain in the garden, a well of living waters that stream from Lebanon" and I was looking for a deeper meaning to this reference .... seems to me that the water that flows from the HOly of Holies would be related to the seven streams that flow from Lebanon ....dauer and/or bb do you think they might be connected in meaning or not???? aloha nui, poh

[flowperson]

aloha e poh:

So nice to hear from you again. The name of the 18th century Rabbi caught my eye. I'd be interested to know whether or not he was of Italian heritage. It is well known that there were Jews in Italy from early times, mostly in the hill regions of the central spine in the south near Naples. His name "Luzzatto" looks and sounds Italian to me, and if he was, this might shed some light on that obscure history of Jews in Italy. I've known Italians by the name of "Luzetti". Most Italian family names, as you may know, end in a, o, or i. Some of my ancestors came from that region, so it would be of particular interest to me.

I also have some things to share on your "holy of holies" statements concerning the nature of the "sweet waters", but I'll wait until I have more time and Dauer and/or BB have had a chance to bring their knowledge to the discussion. Perhaps Karimarie could bring something to the table also.

10 min later:
I just checked Jewish Enclyclopedia.com and found a whole bunch of references to "Luzzatto", who were an extended family of important Italian scholars and Cabalists in Italy beginning early in the 16th century. But I didn't have time to do any reading. I'll leave that up to your expert self.

'till next time...flow....

[pohaikawahine]

Hi flow - always a pleasure to hear from you .... please feel free to share your thoughts on the holy of holies .... and trust me, I am no expert on these matters .... what I can do well is interpret symbols and meanings because it is what I have done for well over 40 years on chants and legends within my own culture .... but back to Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto .... yes he was born in Padua, Italy and later settled in Amsterdam .... then he went to Israel (Eretz Yisrael) .... I actually learned about his works from a posting from Dauer .... I was first drawn to Kabbalah when I saw the "tree of life" because it looked almost identical to an ancient Hawaiian cross .... and from there I have been deeply drawn toward Judiasm because of the power and beauty of the symbols in the Torah .... like Hawaiian-nei, Judiasm is much more a "way of life" than a religion per se .... I have my own interpretations of readings from material related to Kabbalah and not everyone may agree with them, but I am blessed to have the opportunity to share them and sometimes get feedback ....

I have a particularily strong interest in the symbol of sevens, so of course the seven streams I give focus to .... in The Zohar as I understand the Ocean of Binah becomes seven rivers .... we also use the concept of seven (which also represents the completion of a cycle) but symbolize it in the constellation of the Pleiades and its seven visible stars .... but the inner meaning is related to seven energy centers within the human body .... I also work intimately with the number twelve and its many meanings .... and things like the lightening bolt or strike that represents wisdom .... the lightening strike is the ultimate symbol for the connection of heaven and earth which is also inherent in the Kabbalah tree of life ....

I read something that said "the Zohar ceases to be what it is when it is translated because of the symbolization of the language" .... well there is also symbolization in the "sounds" of a language .... so many of the oral traditions must be preserved because the written knowledge is many times compromised .... and as we well know subject to so many different interpretations when we are unable to return to the source ....

I also read that Moses de Leon (who may have written the Zohar in the 13th Century .... much debate on this topic) was a homilectical rather than a systematic thinker .... he worked with mystical allegorizations in his interpretation of the Torah .... it seems to me, and I could be wrong, that one could say the same thing for Rabbi Moshe Chiam Luzzatto .... his book "138 Openings of Wisdom" reflect this type of insight into the prophecies reflected in the Torah which in the simplist term would probably be G-d's plan for our future when we wake from the deep sleep and return from the exile .... this plan is reflected in many cultural paths of wisdom and knowledge, but is so dramatic and powerful in the Torah .... just a few thoughts to share .... he hawai'i au, poh