The S&P Avoids Kabbalah. Can We Learn From It?

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What is the difference between the subject matter of Ma'aseh Merkavah (The work of the Chariot) and the subject matter of Ma'aseh Bereshit (The Work of Genesis-Creation)?

We do not expound on the subject matter of Ma'aseh Merkavah to a even a single individual - unless he is wise and capable of understanding by his own knowledge and insights, [in which instance,] he is given initial principles.

[In contrast,] the subject matter of Ma'aseh Bereshit may be taught to an individual even though he is incapable of comprehending it with his own knowledge and isights. He may be informed about everything that he can possibly know about these matters.

Why are they not taught publicly? Because not every person has the broad capacity for comprehension necessary to grasp the interpretation and the explanation of these matters thoroughly.

(13) The subjects in these four chapters of these five commandments, are the same which the early sages speak of as "Paradise", saying: "Four entered Paradise" (Haggigah 14), who, though great men in Israel and great scholars, not all of them had the intellectual power to know and grasp all these matters clearly;

And I say that no one should walk in "Paradise" unless he be filled with "bread and meat", that is to say: one must know what is forbidden and what is permitted and similar to these of the rest of the commandments. And, although these matters were pronounced by the sages "small things", for they said: "The Great Thing is the Works of the Chariot, and the small thing is the discussions of Abaye and Raba,(³Sukkah, 28a.) G.

Nevertheless, it is appropriate to begin with these (small things) for they "settle" the mind -- i.e. ground the mind in reason; moreover, they are the great goodness which the Holy One, blessed is He, provided for civilising this world, so that the life of the world to Come may also be inherited. Everyone is capable of knowing these [small things] young and old, man and woman, one of broad thinking and one of limited thinking.

With regard to the verse: “He has made me dwell in dark places, as those that have been long dead” (Lamentations 3:6), Rabbi Yirmeya says: This is the Talmud of Babylonia, which is not as clear as the Talmud of Eretz Yisrael.

And Bezalel made the Ark...(Ex. 37:1)

[When God Created the World...]

Ribbi Yehuda said: He first created the Light and then the universe, as a king who wanted to construct a palace in a dark place would first set up spotlights and then begin building.

Ribbi Nehemia said: First He created the universe and then Light, as a king who builds a palace and then crowns it with light.

Ribbi Levi son of Ribbi said:

The Holy One said to Moshe: "You shall make a Menora of pure gold". Moshe said, How shall we make it?...Moshe found it difficult to understand and when he descended the mountain he forgot.

He ascended again and said, "My Master -- how do I make it, again?" God told him...but even so Moshe forgot again as soon as he came down.

So he went back up and said, "My Master -- I forgot! God explained it again, but he still found it difficult to grasp...

[God] then took a menora of fire and showed him how to make it, still, it was hard for Moshe to grasp.

The Holy One said, "Go to Bezalel -- he will make it!"

So Moshe told Bezalel, who fabricated it on the spot. Moshe was astounded, and said, "So many times He showed it to me and I could not figure out how to do it -- and you, without ever seeing it, comprehended it on your own! Were you standing in the shadow (bezel) of God (El) when He showed me?!

(9) When you enter the land that God your Lord is giving you, you are not to learn to do according to the abhorrent acts of those nations. (10) There is not to be found among you one having his son or his daughter cross through fire, an augurer of augury, a hidden-sorcerer, a diviner, or an enchanter, (11) or a tier of magical tying-knots, or a seeker of ghosts or favorable spirits, or an inquirer of the dead. (12) For abhorrent to God is anyone who does these things, and because of these abhorrent acts God your Lord is dispossessing them from before you! (13) Wholehearted shall you be with God your Lord.

(12) He who speaks an incantation upon a wound or reads a verse from the Torah for it, or one who reads a verse so that a baby should not be frightened, or who puts a Torah scroll or tefilin (phylacteries) upon a child so that he might fall asleep,

not only are the people who do these things included among the enchanters and charmers but also among those who deny the Torah, for they are employing the words of the Torah as a cure for the body, when they are only remedies for the soul.

as it is said: "And they shall be life for your soul" (Pro. 3.22).

But a healthy person who reads verses of the Torah or chapters of the Psalms, so that the merit of the reading will stand as a protection from hardships that might come, is permitted.

(4) It is a prevalent custom to write the Shaddai on the back of the Mezuzah, opposite the blank space between the two sections. As this word is written on the outside, the practice is unobjectionable.

However, those who write names of angels, holy names, a Biblical text or inscriptions usual on seals, within the Mezuzah, are among those who have no portion in the world to come.

For these fools not only fail to fulfill the commandment but also treat an important precept that expresses the Unity of God, the love of Him, and His worship, as if it were an amulet to promote their own personal interests; for, according to their foolish minds, the Mezuzah is something that will secure for them advantage in the vanities of the world.