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Correspondence

Apr. 29, 1992

Letter to Dr. Eckstein about "Metaphysical Drift" (1992)

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Notes on R. Kook and Kabbalah

Kabbalah affirms two aspects of God – the Absolute and the Relational, the Unknowable and the Knowable – expressed in the polarity between Kudsha Brich Hu (KBH) and the Shekhinah, or between transcendence and immanence. The Shekhinah is the divine spark that vitalizes all existence. When unacknowledged, it is “silenced” – unrecognized – and thus, as it were, separated from KBH. This condition is termed alma de’piruda – the world of separation. Humanity’s function is tikkun – the restoration of divine harmony, the reuniting of KBH and the Shekhinah into alma de’yihuda, the world of unification. Hence the Kabbalistic intention formula: le-shem yihud Kudsha Brich Hu u-Shechinteih. Shabbat, too, expresses this reunion – symbolized in concepts like onah and in the mystical hymn Lekha Dodi. R. Kook, influenced by Hasidic teachings, extended this principle beyond mitzvot into the realm of reshut (the permissible or adiaphorous). Thus, he envisioned the unification of God through the world and the world through God. Modernity, by contrast, is characterized by fragmentation (pirud) and lack of yihud: division of labor reduces the craftsman to a functionary rather than a whole artisan; professional specialization narrows human identity; literature often reflects fractured experience – with today’s overemphasis on sexuality as one example; and, in the post-Hiroshima world, we witness the fission of man’s soul and the atomization of spirit. R. Kook’s goal was to re-unify the world through God and the whole personality through divine service. While acknowledging the need for specialization, he cautioned against its dominance in formulating a final worldview – it can lead to distorted conclusions. Similarly, in Jewish thought, Halakhah and Aggadah must be integrated; reverence and love, intellect and emotion must coexist. As the vort from Pirkei Avot teaches: Heveh dan et kol ha-adam le-kaf zekhut – judge the whole person, not just fragmented parts.Ask ChatGPT
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Correspondence

Exchange with Dr. Eckstein about His Book "Metaphysical Drift: Love and Judaism" (1992)

Dear Norman: I am pleased to send you the enclosed book. There are very few readers whose comments on it I would appreciate as much as yours. I hope all is well with you and the family. You have my best wishes for a חג כשר ושמח. As ever, Jerry
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Correspondence

Letter to Morton Rossman about Introductory Materials on Kabbalah (1970)

Dear Mr. Rossman, The introductory course to the Kabbalah that I offer in the Erna Michael College is, because of the nature of the material, rather esoteric. There is not too much that you can read on it in English. Nevertheless, I might recommend, in addition to Gershom Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, the book "The Kabbalah" and the Zohar by Christian Ginsburg. However, the latter book has already been superseded by the former, which remains the classic in the field.For Hebrew, the best introductory volumes are the introductions by the late Rabbi Ashlag to his commentary on the Zohar and on the writings of the Ari. Both have been reprinted recently, and are available from any bookseller.In addition, you might try two classical introductions to the Kabbalah, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero's *Pardes Rimonim* and Rabbi Joseph Irgas' *Shomer Emunim*. Frankly, I do not know if they are available for sale from the University Library, but any of the booksellers in the Lower East Side of Manhattan would have them.You might also try to obtain from the same booksellers a copy of Hillel Zeitlin's *In the World of the Kabbalah* (*Be-Olam ha-Kabbalah*).The end of the volume by Cordovero does contain a kind of glossary of Kabbalistic terms, but in order to understand it you already have to know something about the Kabbalah.I hope I have been able to answer your letter at least to some degree of satisfaction.Sincerely yours,Rabbi Norman Lamm
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