The Truth About Kabbalah: Separating Ancient Jewish Mysticism from Modern Imitations

In recent years, there has been an extraordinary boom in the study of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). Study groups and “Kabbalah centers” have sprung up everywhere, and in some circles of Israeli society, learning Kabbalah has even become a kind of trend or spiritual fashion statement. 

This rise in interest was in fact predicted in the Zohar, which teaches that before the coming of Mashiach, the hidden wisdom will spread throughout the world — so much so that even children will engage with it.

However, what passes today under the name of “Kabbalah” often has little or nothing to do with the authentic Jewish mystical tradition. Much of what the public encounters is a mix of pop psychology, self-help ideas, and vague spirituality dressed up in Hebrew terminology. These teachings only pretend to be connected to Kabbalah, but have almost nothing to do with the depth, structure, or holiness of the genuine mystical wisdom of Judaism.

Kabbalah Without Kabbalah

It’s not difficult to see how people are being misled. Generally, when we study something, we expect to understand it logically. When it comes to mysticism however, people expect mystery — and therefore often accept any poetic or obscure language as “deep truth.” Many so-called “Kabbalah teachers” exploit this expectation. They use the aura of mystery surrounding Kabbalah to sell whatever “spiritual material” they please.

To understand what true Kabbalah is, and what it is not, consider this analogy:

A physicist sits in his lab, smashing atoms at high speed and carefully recording the results. A scientist later analyzes those results, forming a broader picture of the forces at work, using metaphors such as “energy bridges” or “ten dimensions” to describe what cannot be directly seen. Then, a third person, full of imagination but with no scientific understanding, reads these metaphors and begins to invent wild stories about “infinite tunnels” and “cosmic portals.”

These three figures represent three approaches to Torah and Kabbalah:

• The physicist symbolizes the Torah scholar who studies law and text on the surface level.

• The scientist represents the true Kabbalist — one who understands that the visible world points to hidden spiritual systems and seeks to grasp the underlying unity.

• The third person symbolizes the pseudo-Kabbalists, who take metaphors literally and spin mystical fantasies disconnected from Torah and truth.

True Kabbalists understand that all language is limited, and words can only hint at the spiritual structures they perceive. Those who teach “Kabbalah” as a form of self-empowerment, energy manipulation, or personal enlightenment have divorced it entirely from its roots in Torah.

(Photo: Erez Ben Simon)

The Chain of Transmission

The term Kabbalah (“receiving”) emphasizes that this wisdom was received — passed down in an unbroken chain from teacher to student since Sinai. Its core principles were given by God along with the rest of the Torah, transmitted from generation to generation without alteration or personal invention.

While rational Torah commentary allows for interpretation and innovation within the framework of logic and tradition, Kabbalah does not permit personal theorizing. One cannot “invent” mystical meanings. It is a revealed system, not a philosophical speculation.

One of the earliest references to this hidden wisdom appears in Shemot 33:18–23, when Moshe asks to see God’s glory. God replies, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live... you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.” The Sages explain that Moshe sought to understand the mystery of divine justice — why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper, but was told that full understanding of God’s ways is impossible in this life. This passage, in essence, marks the beginning of the mystical quest: the desire to perceive not only the commandments but the inner workings of creation and providence.

God revealed to Moshe His “Thirteen Attributes of Mercy,” allowing humankind to access divine compassion through prayer and repentance. These spiritual principles became the foundation for later mystical tradition and its understanding of God’s names and attributes — not as magical formulas, but as symbolic expressions of divine action in the world.

The Hidden Torah

The Torah itself alludes to this deeper dimension: “You heard the sound of words but saw no form — only a voice.” (Devarim 4:12)

This verse reminds us that God is beyond form or image. Any attempt to represent Him visually or emotionally — even through well-meaning metaphors, risks misunderstanding. As the Talmud says: “One who prays, ‘Your mercy extends even to the bird’s nest,’ is silenced,” because he turns divine decrees into human emotions (Berachot 33b).

As Maimonides explained in The Guide for the Perplexed, all descriptions of God such as merciful, just, and patient, are figurative. They describe His actions as perceived by us, not any inner “traits” within Him.

From this we learn a critical rule for studying Kabbalah: mystical concepts must never be taken literally or anthropomorphically. The language of Kabbalah is metaphorical, a map for human understanding, but not a depiction of divine “forces” in the physical sense.

Therefore, anyone who wishes to study the deeper dimensions of Torah must do so under guidance, with humility, purity of heart, and moral refinement. Without the ethical and spiritual preparation required by the sages, one risks confusion and distortion.

The True Path to Kabbalah

The authentic study of Kabbalah demands more than curiosity or intellect. It requires a life of holiness, self-discipline, and mentorship under a recognized Torah scholar. Only when a person’s mind and heart are refined can they safely approach these mysteries — not for power or enlightenment, but for the sake of understanding God’s unity and serving Him in truth.

Anything less is not Kabbalah — it’s imitation.

Adapted from Aish.co.il