AboutRabbi Ari Shishler Expertise I'm happy to answer questions on Jewish belief, Jewish spirituality & Kabbalah.
Experience Rabbi, lecturer on Talmud and Jewish spirituality at Chabad House, Johannesburg, South Africa 1997-present.
Talmud teacher at local Jewish high school 1996- present.
Organizations Chabad Lubavitch.
Publications Jewish Tradition, South Africa.
Jewish Report, weekly newspaper, South Africa
SAUJS annual Holiday guide.
Education/Credentials Six years of tertiary education at Rabbinical seminaries in South Africa, Israel and New York.
Expert: Rabbi Ari Shishler Date: 2/8/2008 Subject: Questions about Kabbalah
Question What form of schooling do children of this particular religion receive and starting at what age?, Are women allowed to practice the same as men in your religion?, What are the important holidays and traditions of this religion?, Does you religion worship a Supreme Being or Devine One?, In what manner are marriage ceremonies performed?, Does your religion believe in divorce and re-marriage?, Is there a certain day of the week, etc. that you worship, if at all?
Answer Hi Jeannette
As I mentioned in my last response, Kabbalah is essentially the spiritual or mystical teachings of Judaism.
Within the Jewish world there are religious schools that incorporate Kabbalistic teachings in their tertiary education. Children generally don't learn outright Kabbalah, but much of what they are taught is based on Kabbalah.
Women and men both participate in religion, though they place emphasis on different areas of the religion. Kabbalah defines the different soul-natures of men and women respectively, so the way that woman and men practice the religion is based on those natures.
All the Jewish holidays are central to Kabbalah. These include the three "major" festivals of Passover (April-time), Shavuot (Late May/ June) and Sukkot (September/ October), Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Purim and Hanukah. You can find very good information on all of these festivals at www.chabad.org.
We worship a Supreme, Divine Being, the One of which everything else is a part.
All Jewish marriage ceremonies are very firmly designed by Kabbalah- though many Jewish people are unaware of this. The chupa canopy that the couple is married under, the bride's ring and the liturgy all has Kabbalistic significance.
Kabbalah calls on a person to use very moment of every day to bond with the Divine. Prayer is a very important component of the daily experience, and prayers are said in the morning, afternoon and evening.
The 24-hour period from Friday evening until Saturday night is considered the Sabbath, a day divorced from normal activities and dedicated to meditation, prayer and study.
As you can imagine, there is much more to it all, but this is a basic guideline.
