What is the relationship between mystical Judaism and Rabbinic judaism?

Katie

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Why are they different and what do they have to do with each other?
 
funny that you ask, because the Zohar, which is the 'Bible' you can say of Kabbalah - mystical Judaism, was written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a Talmudic Rabbi.

Mystical Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism used to be more synonymous. Virtually every Rabbi used to learn Kabbalah. But after the disaster of Shabbetai Tzvi in 1666 (look that up - he was a false Messiah who fooled about half the Jewish nation and then converted to Islam), the Rabbis universally decided that true Kabbalah can be dangerous in the hands of the wrong people. Therefore, the unwritten rule is that one doesn't learn real Kabbalah until the age of 40. One can learn the basic concepts, but no real Kabbalah.

The Kabbalah of Madonna today is not real Kabbalah. It's nothing NEAR real Kabbalah.
 
answer: perhaps you should ask some of these at www.askmoses.com where you can talk with a rabbi. Our rabbis are in different time zones and might not catch your questions, young one.

answer: many rabbis have studied kabbalah, some haven't, some have only lightly.

answer: the rabbis I've read and talked to are find with kabbalah, some have studied it, most haven't felt called to do so. They all encourage study, questioning and dedication to study.
 
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