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Welcome to the Judaism community on Codidact!

Will you help us build our community of learners? Drop into our study hall, ask questions, help others with answers to their questions, share a d'var torah if you're so inclined, invite your friends, and join us in building this community together. Not an ask-the-rabbi service, just people at all levels learning together.

Comments on What should our policy be on Kabbalistic discussions?

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What should our policy be on Kabbalistic discussions?

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We do not expound...upon Creation in a group of two, nor upon the 'Matter of the Divine Chariot' even to an individual, unless he is wise and can intuit on his own. Whoever delves into four topics, it is fitting for him if he was never born: that which is Above [i.e. the upper levels of the Heavens], that which is Below [i.e. the lower levels of the Heavens], that which is before [i.e. before Creation], and that which is after [i.e. after the world expires]" (Chagigah 11b.6-7 with Rashi and Tosfos ad. loc.).

With this in mind: Where do we draw the line for how esoteric of a question we should allow? For instance, should questions regarding the Tanya or Zohar be allowed, but questions about Sefer Yetzirah be considered too esoteric?

(Cf. this Chabad article, which cites various opinions regarding what is considered too esoteric, if there even is such a limit.)

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General comments (2 comments)
General comments
Dani‭ wrote over 3 years ago

I'm sure asking a question about Sefer Yetzirah won't get too many answers :).

DonielF‭ wrote over 3 years ago

@Dani But we may very well receive questions about the Aleph Beis, which apparently is so deep that even Rashi defers to Sefer Yetzirah.