- Question:
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- Modern Kabbalists-There are many stories of "Kabbalists"
today who can foretell events, like predicting when a couple will have
a baby, or tell people about themselves things that only they could
have known, such as previous experiences, or give blessings that only
after the blessing, come to fruition. What is the true perspective on
these Kabbalists? Do they really contain the true Kabbalah? Is the
Zohar a source for them to claim their connection to mysticism on? Or
is it like avodah zora ?(but, then, how does one explain the true
stories?)
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Response:
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- I have heard of people going to kabbalists, and are told that they
will get married in the coming year. One such person who went to a
kabbalist was told this, and did not get married as he was
"foretold". It is amusing that only the favorable stories
get circulated. There are twice as many unfavorable ones.
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- Know one thing clearly, Kabbalists are human. They have no more
power than anyone else. People go to them against Jewish law (b'issur)
to satisfy their insecurities. They want to know what gender their
child is, or what business to go into, or who to marry. This is
against halacha, and against the chumash. It only serves to satisfy
the insecurity emotion. Nothing more.
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- As for the so called "true" stories, I never heard of
anyone claiming that a kabbalist did a miracle in front of him. Its
always second hand knowledge. Viz, "I HEARD that he does
....."
- For the rest of their stories, many times a kabbalist will say a
general statement about a person, seeing that a person's personality
is, for example, hot tempered. The kabbalist will note this and say,
"you lost a job not too long ago". The kabbalist is merely
putting 2 and 2 together. The person is hot tempered, loses control,
probably has conflicts with others (his employer is a likely
candidate), and the rest is simple logic. Now, have a kabbalist say
this to a needy and insecure person, and he will think the kabbalist
is a teller of secret things, a holy man, a spiritual leader. It
doesn't take much for some people to go off excited, thinking they
have found a special person. Finding someone like this satisfies very
basic desires, but it's all in the person's head, not in reality.
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- The Rambam, Yad Hachazaka, Hilchos Avoda Zarah, Chapter 11, clearly
outlines all that kabbalists do today, and Rambam subsumes these acts
under idolatry.
- See also Deuteronomy, 18:13, 14, "You should be perfect with
Hashem your G-d. For these nations which you inherit, to fortune
tellers and enchanters do they listen, and you (the Jews) not so (has)
Hashem your G-d given." G-d admonishes us from following
enchanters and fortune tellers. Regardless if they are Jewish. Being
Jewish, and having a title of Rabbi does not entitle one carte blanch
to act against the Torah.
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- Know from all this that mysticism has never been, and will never be
part of the system which G-d gave, regardless of the number of people
performing such prohibited acts. We must follow the Torah, not what
the masses sinfully choose.
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- G-d never validated enchanters or fortune tellers. Therefore, we
must abhor them as G-d does.
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