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The New
Kabbalah The New Kabbalah is a philosophy
and Jewish theology grounded in the union between traditional Jewish
mysticism and modern rational thought. Rooted in the visionary mythos of
Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-72), and interpreted through such modern and
postmodern thinkers as Freud, Jung, Hegel, Wittgenstein and Derrida, the New
Kabbalah seeks to uncover and further develop the philosophical and
psychological significance of Kabbalistic symbols and ideas. In addition, the
New Kabbalah is enriched by comparative studies and dialog between Jewish
mysticism and other religious and philosophical traditions, including
Hinduism, Buddhism, Platonism, and Gnosticism. The New Kabbalah is born out
of the conviction that the theosophical system of Luria and his followers
promotes an open economy of thought, dialog and criticism, while at the same
time providing a comprehensive account of the world and humanity's role
within it that is intellectually, morally and spiritually vital for us today.
The New Kabbalah seeks to
build upon the recent explosion in contemporary Kabbalah scholarship by
formulating a Kabbalistic approach to philosophy, theology and psychology.
The New Kabbalah is open, multi-perspectival and pluralistic, and while it is
rooted firmly in Judaism, it seeks dialog, participation and constructive
criticism from those of all backgrounds and disciplines. This site is not
affiliated with any "movement," but seeks to promote respectful
dialog across the full spectrum of Jewish affiliation and non-affiliation. If you
entered this site via a search engine, and there are no "flash
contents" on the left hand side of your screen, the site will function
better if you click here and go directly to www.newkabbalah.com and follow the
instructions at the bottom of your screen to either enter the site or load
Flash 4, if you do not already have it. All material on New
Kabbalah website (c)2000 by Click here
for An Interview with Sanford Drob on Kabbalah
and Psychotherapy. Click here for pdf version . Contents Click here for REVIEWS of Dr. Drob's books
on the New Kabbalah. A general description
of the Lurianic Kabbalah, with links providing interpretations of key
Lurianic symbols and ideas, and discussions of the relationship between
Jewish mysticism and various systems of ancient and modern thought. Books Articles Interviews Dialog Send
Email to the author or post your own views, constructive criticism, or ideas
pertaining to the themes discussed on this website and related publications. New Projects Some
ideas for collaborations on new projects relevant to the New Kabbalah. Jung and the Kabbalah Previous publications and work in progress pertaining
to the author's research on Carl Gustav Jung and Jewish Mysticism. Jewish Review Author Bio A
brief biographical sketch of Sanford Drob. Information regarding Dr. Drob's Lectures and Workshops. Links Links to other websites relevant to the
New Kabbalah. Tikkun/Tzedakah
S. Drob,
Jung’s Kabbalistic Visions (Journal of Jungian Theory and Practice,
Journal of Jungian Theory and Practice, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp 33-54). Jung’s 1944 Kabbalistic
Visions, which he described as “the most tremendous things I have ever
experienced”, are discussed against
the background of Jung’s earlier provocative remarks about Jewish psychology
and National Socialism, Jung’s attitude towards the Jewish sources of his own
theories, Jung’s interest in Jewish mysticism, and from the perspective
of both Jungian and Kabbalistic dream theory I myself was, so it seemed, in the Pardes
Rimmonim, the garden of pomegranates, and the
wedding of Tifereth with Malchuth
was taking place. Or else I was Rabbi
Simon ben Jochai, whose wedding in the afterlife
was being celebrated. It was the
mystic marriage as it appears in the Cabbalistic tradition. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was. I could only think continually, “Now this
is the garden of pomegranates! Now this is the marriage of Malchuth with Tifereth!” I do not know exactly what part I played in
it. At bottom it was I myself: I was
the marriage. And my beatitude was that of a blissful wedding (C. G. Jung,
Memories, dreams, reflections (A. Jaffe, Ed.). S. Drob, 19 Kabbalistic Ideas:
Philosophical Implications of the New Kabbalah Click here for pdf version The author describes 19
Kabbalistic Ideas that form the foundation of his current thinking regarding
the New Kabbalah. How the Kabbalistic
conception of the Absolute (Ein-sof) must lead us to a conception of the
divine and religion in general that is entirely free of dogma. Contemporary scholarship on
the Kabbalah has focused considerable attention on the Kabbalist's views of
language and interpretation. One reason for this is, as Moshe Idel and others have observed, is that there is an
important affinity between the Kabbalistic conception of infinite layers of
meaning in scripture and contemporary philosophical ideas regarding the
infinite interpretability of both texts and the world. In this essay the
author shows how a careful consideration of Kabbalistic notions of
"infinite interpretation" can not only lead to a new understanding
of the relevance of Kabbalah to contemporary thought, but also to a radical new
understanding of the Kabbalah's attitude toward "Torah" and
religious life. Dialog on the Kabbalistic
significance of wearing a red string that has been tied around the tomb of
Rachel. S.
Drob: Ein-Sof, Nothingness and the Problem of Creation Ex Nihilo Dialog on the Kabbalistic Kabbalistic equation of Ein-sof
with "Nothingness" and the problem of creation out of nothingness. S.
Drob: The Lurianic Metaphors, Creativity, and the
Structure of Language. Click here for pdf version The author shows how the
Lurianic metaphors of Ayin, Ein-sof,
Tzimtzum, Sefirot, Shevirah, and Tikkun, provide
an account of both human and divine creativity and language. S.
Drob: The Coincidence of Opposites in Jewish Mysticism.. The discusses the role of
the opposites in Jewish mysticism, considers the Kabbalistic notion that the divine
is the union of all contraries, and argues that the Jewish Mysticism points
to a way of thinking that permits one to embrace even ideas and perspectives
that appear to contradict one another (e.g. that God created humanity and
that humanity creates God). In S.
Drob: A Rational Mystical Ascent the author makes use of the notion
of coincidentia oppositorum to
develop the theme of a rational-mystical ascent to the absolute. Click here for pdf version Those interested in how an
application of the coincidentia
oppositorum idea to the problem of arriving at a comprehensive
understanding of the human psyche are directed to: S. Drob:
Fragmentation In Contemporary Psychology: A Dialectical Solution. Click here for pdf
version The author discusses the
multi-paradigmatic state of contemporary psychology and offers a dialectical
solution inspired by his study of Hegelian philosophy and the history of mysticism.
Readers may also be
interested in: S. Drob: The Dilemma of Contemporary Psychiatry, which
also explores the fragmentation and multi-paradigmatic state of psychiatry
and clinical psychology. Click here for pdf version S.
Drob, “Under Construction”: The Kabbalistic Tree: Value Firmament of the New
Kabbalah The author is in the
process of developing a New Kabbalistic "Tree of Life" which
interprets Isaac Luria's theosophical system from an axiological point of
view. Each branch or "leaf" on the "Tree of Life"
represents a value that is implicit in Luria's theosophy. The values are
depicted in the opening table/tree and the author's detailed explanations
will appear as notes below. Click here for New Kabbalah discussion of the World Trade
Center and Pentagon Terrorist Attacks (Posted S. Drob;
God, Values and the Democratic Party Sanford L. Drob, Ph.D. is on the Faculty of the doctorate
program in Clinical Psychology at |
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