FELDMAN DANIEL QABALAH THE MYSTICAL HERITAGE OF THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM
itical purity? furthermore, the word rabbi does not appear anywhere in the torah, and was not an official title or position until after rabbinical academies were established in the fifth century bce. how did the pharisaic rabbinical sect secure its position of dominance and orthodox authority over judaism by the time of the late hasmonean period? what was the advent of master 3' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% yeshuvah (jesus) really about xa call for a new direction in judaism or for a return to its original roots? was master mohammed really the last in the line of the shemite prophets, and the qur an its final revelation? when regarded outside the context of the dogmas that developed to support the orthodox authority of their respective conventional religions, do the mysticalqabalah, mystical christi
ally, an oral tradition. this oral tradition not only outlined a rigorous routine of lifestyle and conduct, but also created special learning and knowledge that was the exclusive domain of the members of the sect. in this way, a community of such learned men developed. their special knowledge drew an excess of reverential regard from the masses of people who were not privy to it, for which master yeshuvah (jesus) and later master muhammad chastised them. the masses hence became the laity outside of this elite community of pharisees. the intense and complicated levitical focus of the rabbinical sect developed from the codes of behavior and traditions institutionalized by the priesthood (kohanim) of the centralized temples in jerusalem. the strict codes reflected the extraordinary level of l
binate emerged as the dominant sect in judaism, occupying the seat of its orthodox authority. it peaked with the virtual political and economic control of the temple of jerusalem by the sadducees and pharisees in the hasmonean period, after the liberation of jerusalem by the maccabees. the many warnings and stern admonitions pronounced by a succession of hebrew prophets went unheeded. when master yeshuvah came, he berated the widespread corruption and abuse of power among the sadducees and pharisees, and struck out against the moneychangers within the temple (which had become the biggest bank in the middle east. the dominance of the pharisaic rabbinical sect solidified even further in the diaspora after the destruction of the second temple in 70 ce. except for the karaite and sabbataian mo
all are starting to appear. few jews give much thought to the idea that the religion of their desert hebrew forebears might have been radically different in practice than rabbinical judaism. the word rabbi is not to be found in the hebrewtorah and only finds limited usage in the entire tanakh (torah, prophets, and writings, where it is used to denote tribal leaders and other authorities.5 master yeshuvah told his disciples not to take the title rabbi, and taught that the lord hvhy is the only true rabbi.6 the anthropological and linguistic elements that shaped the nomadic israelite tribes are topics of much conjecture and dialogue among ancient near eastern scholars from a variety of disciplines. the first book of the torah (called torah b reshith) says that abraham came from ur of the ch
lace at the table. at the same time, none of them should assume that they have been assigned an exclusive licensing agreement or that only their watch tells the correct time* 4 #4 '0' mysticalchristianity is an outgrowth of the same universalspirituality found in the hebrewtradition as the mysticalqabalah. christianity began as a sect of judaism that sprang from the messianic advent of master yeshuvah, who was born a jew and lived in a jewish culture. all of his apostles and early disciples were also jews. master yeshuvah, as with every appearance of messiah, brought a fresh transmission of universalmysticalspirituality clothed in the context of the historical setting, cultural milieu, environment, language, characteristic worldview, and prevailing body of discourse among the people
stles and early disciples were also jews. master yeshuvah, as with every appearance of messiah, brought a fresh transmission of universalmysticalspirituality clothed in the context of the historical setting, cultural milieu, environment, language, characteristic worldview, and prevailing body of discourse among the people to whom it was being delivered. the mainstream of jews at the time master yeshuvah appeared had been expecting a savior of the jewishpeople who would deliver them from roman oppression through an apocalyptic process. this contrasted with the jewishmystical community, which had been anticipating a messianic advent with the spiritual mission of reuniting israel with their lord hvhy, and a returning to the true religion of the children of abraham. master yeshuvah himself
ant factions, resulting in the marginalization and suppression of the mysticalelement as being in opposition to accepted doctrine. as soon as paul entered the picture, a dichotomy arose among the early christian devotees between those coming from a traditional jewish background and the growing group of gentilechristians. in this regard, it is interesting to consider the letter written by master yeshuvah s brother james, the leader of the jerusalemchurch, as an indicator of the opposition that emerged to some of paul s central teachings.19 3' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% the diversity of perspectives of the early followers of master yeshuvah was later replaced by the monolithic homogeneity imposed by emperors to make christianity a uniform religion throughout their empires. as the pauline gentile f
that rabbinical judaism assimilated and obscurated the mysticalqabalah. the essential jewishness of early christianity was virtually wiped out by the massive revisionism of the pauline gentiles. we will have to wait for further windfall discoveries of source documents to be able to establish a clear picture of what happened during the earliest stages of christianity after the departure of master yeshuvah. like the hebrewqabalah, mysticalchristianity has remained alive through lineages of accomplished souls who ascended its paths and passed on its teachings and practices. a new generation of christians is seeking to revisit the mystical origins of christianity. this interest has been fueled by the discovery of the deadsea scrolls, the recovery of an almost intact copy of the long-lost g
almost intact copy of the long-lost gospel of thomas at nag hammadi,20 and a growing interest in the enigmatic revelation of john spurred by the advent of a new millennium. many christians are also finding new meaning and inspiration in the testimonials left by christiansaints and mystics of their experiences on the path. these documents, along with new interpretations of the teachings of master yeshuvah in the peshitta, are reinforcing the understanding that the mysticalelement flourished in the early church, and that the entire history of christianity is replete with mystics. many of the ideas and practices of the mysticalqabalah are reflected in those of mysticalchristianity. the mysteries of the last supper and the crucifixion have long been compared with the mystical significance
ial from the nabiyim (the prophets, the remaining remnants of the seferim hachanokh (books of enoch ben yared, and the shi r qoma (measure of the divine body) from the sefer raziel hagadol (book of the secrets of raziel the great) e the qur an, the song of allah transmitted through master mohammed e the peshitta (gospels, including the gospel of thomas) describing the life and teachings of master yeshuvah, and the revelation of john e the etz hachayyim (tree of life) dictated by rabbi yitza aq luria to chayyim vital( the five component books of the torah (hrvt) are conventionally known outside of judaism as genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. in this book, the five books of the torah shall be named according to their traditional titles. hence, the first book is called tor
the verse: the engraving of all engravings appears as a long serpent. and extends this way and that. the tail is in the head. the head goes around to the shoulders. passing and indignant. guarding and concealing, revealing itself in a thousand short days. 22" f" 2' 8: 4 2 f# ezra hebrew yosher in the tzimtzum surrounded by leviathan '0-,8. 3' unlike master mosheh and the prophetmohammed, master yeshuvah did not record a revelation to be handed down after his departure from humanform. he did not come to start a new religion, but to fulfill and revitalize an old one. master yeshuvah was a jew born to jewish parents; a messianic messenger and redeemer awaited and yearned for by faithful jews. his life was his message, and it can only truly be understood in jewish terms. upon interrogation
on, but to fulfill and revitalize an old one. master yeshuvah was a jew born to jewish parents; a messianic messenger and redeemer awaited and yearned for by faithful jews. his life was his message, and it can only truly be understood in jewish terms. upon interrogation, the head rabbi could find no fault in him. what was there to dispute? when asked what the first of all commandments was, master yeshuvah (like rabbi hillel did a century before him) unhesitatingly pronounced it to be the shema, the affirmation of unity from torah doverim upon 4' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% which the entire jewishreligion is built. in order of importance after the shema, he cited the root injunction from torah to love and acknowledge the innate divinity of all beings: shem ayn yisroel hvhy elohenu hvhy echad vuh-aha
vhy elohenu hvhy echad vuh-ahavta et hvhy elohenu, buh-khol levavkha, oo-vuh-khol nafshekha, oo-vuh-khol muhodekha. 23 name ayn israelyhvh thy elohimyhvh one. and you shall love yhvh your elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. followed by, vuh-ahavta leh-re akha kamokha. and thou shall love your neighbor as your self. 24 but when one reads the stories of master yeshuvah s life and teachings as explicated in the four gospels of the conventional peshitta, it is no longer a jewish story that is found there, but preponderantly an admixture of theology developed almost exclusively by gentiles. master yeshuvah had come to reestablish and enliven the universalmysticalspirituality that was always present in judaism, but had become largely forgotten and covered
orce of christianity from its jewish roots ensued. fragmented communities of christians with different and competing views and agendas quickly crystallized, some composed largely of palestinian or hellenistic jewishchristians, and others of gentiles from a wide variety of backgrounds whose only knowledge of ancient scripture came from the greek septuagint. starting about forty years after master yeshuvah appeared to pass from his physical body, a variety of narratives attributed to close disciples began to appear. in addition to the four accounts that were canonized by the emerging orthodoxy into the peshitta, the gospel of thomas, the gospel of peter" f" 2' 8: 45 the gospel of philip, the secretgospel of mark, the gospel of mary magdalena, and other works are still extant in whole or pa
tion to the four accounts that were canonized by the emerging orthodoxy into the peshitta, the gospel of thomas, the gospel of peter" f" 2' 8: 45 the gospel of philip, the secretgospel of mark, the gospel of mary magdalena, and other works are still extant in whole or part. are the four books contained in the current version of the peshitta accurate renditions of the life and teachings of master yeshuvah, as recorded by four of his closest disciples? that would be highly unlikely. until the gospel of mark appeared several years after the destruction of the second temple in 70 ce, virtually all information concerning master yeshuvah was passed down as an oral tradition, largely in the form of sayings (l. logia) attributed to him. oral traditions are notoriously prone to distortions and emb
fted changes. some investigators attribute an additional source for the gospel of luke, dubbed the q source. support is growing to include the gospel of thomas in the peshitta as one of the original canonized gospels.25 the single most prominent source that all four shared was the greek translation of the tanakh, called the septuagint, which the christians had transformed into a book about master yeshuvah well before any of the gospel narratives appeared. while the qumran community and other pre-christian groups read oracular meanings into the tanakh in a more general sense, the christians did so in a very specialized way. long held traditional jewish meanings for verses in the tanakh were replaced by forced interpretations that supported master yeshuvah as the fulfillment of the torah, th
l justification of gospel narratives. finally, for various reasons, all of the primary religious texts have suffered from corruption, errors in transcription, omissions' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% and additions as they were passed down over the centuries. the earliest texts of the canonized gospels only go back to the fourth and fifth centuries ce. so, does this mean that the essential teachings of master yeshuvah are lost to the world? definitely not! again, it is important to remember that master yeshuvah did not come to deliver a new message but to renew an old one. he did not come to replace the torah, but to demonstrate its essence through his life. hence, the hebrew scriptures, even without interpretations skewed to support a developing theology, and the mysticalqabalah provide us with the n
torah, but to demonstrate its essence through his life. hence, the hebrew scriptures, even without interpretations skewed to support a developing theology, and the mysticalqabalah provide us with the necessary keys to identify the many gems placed in the setting of the quasi-fictionalized gospel narratives. the gospels of john and thomas, in particular, make it clear that the teachings of master yeshuvah were firmly rooted in the continuum of shemite mysticalspirituality. secondly, there are universal characteristics of messianic appearances that cross all religious boundaries. from time to time in the histories of all religions, the one ineffable ground of being has taken humanform to reawaken faith, revitalize the universalteachings upon which they are all based, and renew the effica
xtraordinary. while many of the appearances of messiah are accompanied by a written revelation or set of teachings, in each case it may be said that the message they came to bring was demonstrated most directly and most poignantly by their lives. and while each of those life stories was unique, they all shared a number of things in common that we may apply in considering the divine life of master yeshuvah. these commonalties will be discussed in more detail in chapter three in the section on the nature of messianic appearance within the context of the mysticalqabalah. finally, like every livingtradition, the spiritualpower of the transmission does not depend primarily upon the written documents, but in the b rakha (spiritual blessing) of perfect trees and the grace of the divine to quic
l power of the transmission does not depend primarily upon the written documents, but in the b rakha (spiritual blessing) of perfect trees and the grace of the divine to quicken one s holyspirit" f" 2' 8 (ruach ha qodesh. mysticalchristianity has maintained a continuous lineage of known and mostly unknown saints and mystics over the centuries, who have faithfully passed on the essence of master yeshuvah s mysticalspirituality. despite later distrust and suppression by pauline orthodoxy, mysticism flourished in the early church. master yeshuvah taught one set of teachings openly to the public, and another set of secretteachings privately to his most advanced disciples. the gospels themselves attest to this, and clement of alexandria wrote about such a secretteaching as late as the thir