Quote:
Originally Posted by Shadowex3
I've met a LOT of people who were messianic or gentiles that were self proclaimed "noahides" trying to convert that have the exact same misconceptions you mentioned, and even more, because they try to jump straight to torah and talmud study and just get their head broke. I think the wierdest stuff comes from anyone dicking with the kabbalah that starts thinking it's as "official" as the torah.
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You don't really have to be 40 to study Kabbalah, but it really isn't for beginners. You have to really be able to understand when and where to apply Kabbalistic knowledge, and to get that what is at the most mystical levels of understanding isn't always something that can be brought up into the light for everyday uses. I always teach that there is a pyramid of knowledge that must be built up: first Torah knowledge, along with knowledge of the commentaries; then liturgy (history, text, and practice); then Talmud and the skills of Rabbinic thought; then halakhah (practical law) and aggadah (exegetical parable); then legal theory and various philosophies (mussar [moralistic homiletics), Hasidut [ecstatic semi-mystical theology], and modern Jewish thought); and only when one has achieved a certain level of competence with all those things, Kabbalah.
Failure to understand context is, IMO, responsible for many, if not most, causal errors in understanding and interpretation when it comes to sacred text and theology.