Why Study Kabbalah?

Stand Still

The Rav teaches that when you’re not sure whether to go right or left, stand still.

When there is a question of what move to make, it is usually best to let the situation evolve until you have a clear answer.
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Unique

We are each given unique gifts to assist us in carrying out our individual life’s purpose. This is why it doesn’t pay to compare ourselves to the person next to us.

Comparisons keep you from being the best version of yourself.

What you have to offer no one else ever can, because no one else is you.
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Why Study Kabbalah?

Many people have asked me the question: What is the purpose of studying Kabbalah?

In general, we study for the knowledge we need to grow and to evolve. And we study to find the answers to our questions.

But why study spirituality in particular? Why study Kabbalah? The reason we study Kabbalah is not just to learn, but to apply what we learn to our lives. We study to gain wisdom, and wisdom is the combination of what we learn and what we do.

Studying spirituality is all about taking what we learn from our books and classes and then assimilating and molding this knowledge into a pattern of life. If we do this, then we can grow into the spiritual people that we want to be.

It's true that we might come across some wonderful lessons in books and scriptures of all faiths, and in the moment we read them, we become involved in them. For example, when we open up a book of poetry—a book of something that's really beautiful and fundamentally meaningful—we feel very good when we are reading it. We feel sort of in tune and in line with ourselves.

But we have to look at not only what we read at any given moment, but what we can take from our study and how we can apply it to the way we live our lives. When we take what we read, along with its regulations and restrictions, its beatitudes and its nonjudgmental elements, and we turn it into knowledge that we use in our lives, then we can truly see the results of our study. 

The bottom line is that our study will flourish only when we actually take what we learn and use it in our day-to-day lives.

Incidentally, as I was wrapping up this post, I received an email from a student of the Kabbalah Centre who shared with me how studying Kabbalah has taken her personal religious faith to another level. I found it interesting and wanted to share it with you. 

“I am a very curious muslim and I always used to read the Quran and think ok, I don’t understand what it is trying to say but I will just trust and believe. After I fully grasped the big bang theory, bread of shame etc to the best of my ability. I started to read the Quran again and I feel I understand MUCH MUCH deeper and in a deeper light... the meaning of it.”

I’d love to hear how you have brought this wisdom into your own lives.

Love and Light,
Karen