Mysticism<strong>KABBALA</strong>: THE FLAWS OFZOHARRABBI MOSHE BEN-CHAIMINTRODUCTION"Listen Israel, Adonai is our God,Adonai is One (Deut. 6:4)."God is perfectly clear: God is one. Heis not many. There is a single, indivisiblecause of the universe. Yet, despite thisclarity, and as demonstrated by theGolden Calf worshippers, man hasdifficulty worshipping a metaphysicalGod. His insecurities catapult himtowards idol creation, worship, and theinvention of theories and practices thatconflict with God's words. Trinitarianism,polytheism and all forms of idolatryare additional expressions of man'sfantasies; not the Torah's words.Even when God tells Moses to Hisattributes of mercy (Exod. 34:6,7) theseattributes are not independent beings,God forbid. God refers to His "mercy,appeasement, long-suffering, abundantkindness and truth…etc." as attributes,not as "separate beings." God holds nodiscourse with these attributes, for infact, He is One. These references to actsthat man calls "mercy" and "kindness"are merely concessions to man's feeblenature. We need to know that God is notcruel, so He tells us He is "kind." Weneed to understand that God does notseek quick punishment, so He tells usHe is long-suffering, offering man timeto repent prior to punishment. And wemust know that these are not positivetraits, "for man cannot know God whilealive (Exod. 33:20)." There is nothingpositive we can understand about God.Maimonides and other great mindshave discussed this.In contrast, Zohar attempts todescribe God, despite God's words toMoses above that He is unknowable.Zohar pays no attention to God'swarning, and corruptly invents "sephiroth"(godly emanations) and viewsthem as independent beings: "The king(Abba) said to Imma: 'Did I not say toyou that Adam is destined to sin?' Atthat time he (Abba) drove man away,and he drove away Imma with him(Zohar, Genesis 22)." Here, Zohardepicts God's emanations or sephirothas both Abba and Imma, two distinctbeings with their own opposing wills.But sephiroth are not found in God'swords, or in the words of His Prophets.Therefore, sephiroth is an invention ofhuman fantasy, with no reflection onTorah or on reality.Kabbalists attempt to gain credibilityfor the Zohar by attributing it to RavShimon bar Yochai, as if anything anyRabbi says is a validation of reality. Infact, the Rabbis themselves arguethroughout the Talmud, admitting theerrors of their peers. Therefore, thetactic of attribution is of no value, astruths must be proven based on theirown merit, and fallacy rejected by thesame token. Furthermore, the attributionto Rav Shimon bar Yochai hasalready been rejected. Chassam Sofer,who was not an anti-kabbalist, said thefollowing to the students of his Yeshiva:"Of the vast Zohar, only a small portionthat would make up a very small book offew pages, is attributable to R. Shimonben Yohai." (Quoted by talmidim of theChassam Sofer, as stated by Gaon haRavEliezer Lippman Nizetz, "MeiMenachot", daf 43 ammud 2)(continued on next page)4 | WWW.MESORA.ORG/JEWISHTIMES JAN. 25, 2013
MysticismAn even stronger statement is foundby Rav Eliezer Pilklush, the outstandingtalmid of the Nodeh BeYehudah, andsubsequently the Rav of Prague:"I swear by Hashem's Torah that in theZohar there are many f<strong>org</strong>eries anddestructive statements that have beenadded. One page of the Talmud Bavli[containing] the discussions of Abaye andRava is more holy than the entire Zohar --the [authenticating] seal of R. Shimon benYohai is not affixed to them (i.e., to thewords of the Zohar). ... Anyone with halfa mind must admit this, for a number ofTannaim and Amoraim are mentionedwho lived many years after R. Shimon benYohai ... [This has been] explained by theGaon Rabbi Yaakov Emden who declaredthat [unidentified] hands have been atwork on it (i.e., the Zohar)."The Rivash wrote:"I have also informed you that myteacher Harav Rabbi Peretz Hakkohennever at all used to speak or think of thoseSephiroth. I also heard from his mouththat Harav Rabbi Shimshon of Chinon(the author of Sefer HaKerithuth), whowas greater than all others of his generationused to say: I pray with the intent ofthis child, i.e., in rejection of the opinion ofthe kabbalists, who pray sometimes to oneSefirah and sometimes to another Sefirah,according to the subject of the prayer ...And all this is a very bizarre thing in theeyes of those who are not kabbalists as theyare, and they (i.e., the non-kabbalists)consider this a belief in dualism (i.e., beliefin two or more deities). I once heard one ofthe philosophical (i.e., non-kabbalistic)persons denigrate the kabbalists by saying:"The Christians believe in trinity, (i.e., theunion of three), and the kabbalists believein the union of ten [Sephiroth]."Kabbala cites the order of the progressiveemanation of the ten Sephiroth,generally presented by the kabbalists asfollows: Kether, Binah, Hokhmah,Gevurah, Hesed, Tifereth, Hod, Netzah,Yesod, and Malkhuth, also calledShekhinah. According to Zohar III, llb,70a: "He is they, and they are He." Thistrinitarian/polytheistic approach doesnot explain sephiroth, but incoherentlysays a plurality equates to a singularity.However, God said, "God is one." UnlikeZohar, we have these words as part ofour <strong>Mesora</strong>. And unlike Zohar, God'swords make sense.PURPOSE OF THIS ESSAYThe purpose of this essay is todetermine what God said, to make itclear that God's words are limited, andthat we must accept His words overman's words. To this end, I intend tooffer arguments to bolster your intellectualconviction and courage in thistruth, so it overpowers your emotionalneed to be accepted by your peers, whomay deviate. Please be sensitive to yourfeelings as you read on. No doubt, youwill read ideas that conflict with yourpresent views, and the views of many ofyour peers and perhaps teachers andRabbis. I urge you be open to acceptingthat you may harbor incorrect ideas.Torah study requires a commitment tohonesty first, not to men, Rabbis, books,no matter how old or widely acceptedthey might be. Clearly, throughout time,Zohar and Kabbala have met withstrong opposition. Both sides cannot becorrect. The only method to arrive attruth, is first, to desire it and search for ituntil it is found, to be diligent in yoursearch, and to follow reason and proofover emotional tendencies or followingwhat is familiar or popular. If you candedicate yourself to this search, toseeking a conclusion and not abandoningthe search or tiring…please read on.But if you have already made up yourmind, you need not waste your time.WHATS IS TRUEAND WHAT IS NOTWe are not bound to accept as Torahtruths, any matter, except those foundin Moses' Five Books (Chumash),Prophets, Writings and the Oral Law.For these alone did God give to Moses atSinai; these alone are absolute Torahtruths. Therefore, notions located in theZohar, Kabbala or other human works,do not impose obligatory acceptance. Inall works other than the four mentionedabove, we must agree only to what isproven and true, regardless of itsauthor. Everything false, or unproven,must be rejected, regardless of itsauthor. Regarding this, Maimonideswrote:"Know, my masters, that it is not properfor a man to accept as trustworthyanything other than one of these threethings. The first is a thing for which thereis a clear proof deriving from man’sreasoning—such as arithmetic’ geometry,and astronomy. The second is a thing that aman perceives through one of the fivesenses—such as when he knows withcertainty that this is red and this is blackand the like through the sight of his eye; oras when he tastes that this is bitter and thisis sweet; or as when he feels that this is hotand this is cold; or as when he hears thatthis sound is clear and this sound isindistinct; or as when he smells that this isa pleasing smell and this is a displeasingsmell and the like. The third is a thing thata man receives from the prophets or fromthe righteous. Every reasonable man oughtto distinguish in his mind and thought allthe things that he accepts as trustworthy,and say: “This I accept as trustworthybecause of tradition, and this because ofsense-perception, and this on grounds ofreason.” Anyone who accepts as trustworthyanything that is not of these threespecies, of him it is said: “The simplebelieves everything” (Prov. 14:15)."("Letter to the Community of Marseilles","Letter on Astrology")We accept as our "<strong>Mesora</strong>" only thoseauthentically-proved transmissions,that are traceable to Sinai. However,what is not in our <strong>Mesora</strong> from Sinai, isnot obligatory. Something withoutproven origin from Sinai is not part ofthe <strong>Mesora</strong>. Zohar and Kabbala are nottraceable to Sinai, and is less than 1000years old. This of course does not meaneverything in Zohar or Kabbala is false.If an idea is true, it does not matterwhere it is found. The same applies ifthe notion is false. Thus, calling an idea"part of Zohar or Kabbala", does notvalidate it as true. Certainly, when anidea in Zohar or Kabbala, or any work,contradicts the four works above, wereject it.(continued on page 7)WWW.MESORA.ORG/JEWISHTIMES JAN. 25, 2013 | 5
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