AboutRobert Waxman Expertise Any questions relating to ancient or modern Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. Also, any questions relating to comparisons between Kabbalah and other religions or philosophies. Questions about spirituality including cosmology, numerology (gematria), hidden meanings of the Bible, what happens after death, the purpose of life, the eternal validity of the soul, the importance of the inner voice and parallels with modern science.
Experience Author of "Kabbalah Simply Stated" published by Paragon House. The book is distributed in 12 countries. Author of "The Seven Fundamental Propositions of Kabbalah" and "The Power of AWE!". Studied Kabbalah with Rabbi Azriel Abraham of Jerusalem from 1985 -1998. I've been teaching Kabbalah since 1999 as a series entitled, "Kabbalah According To The Scholars" (Scholem, Kaplan & Tisby). Thousands have attended my classes over the years. I have (4) on-going classes in Sarasota, FL and many private students by phone. Many guest speaking presentations are given throughout the year. At my last speaking engagement in Greenacres, FL at Temple Beth Tikvah, over 650 people attended. Please see my current biography at: www.kabalist.com
Organizations President of The Kabbalah Education Network.
Publications (3) Books, many original articles that can be found on the internet (ezine, netterweb, searchwarp, etc.) "Beyond Madonna - Kabbalah according to the Great Scholars" and "Beyond The Da Vinci Code", see: www.robertwaxman.org for more articles.
Education/Credentials Graduate of American University in Philosophy and Psychology. Graduate work at Columbia University. Currently pursuing PhD in Philosophy of Religion. Graduate of The School of Practical Philosophy in NYC and certified by The American Seminar Leader's Association. Host of the Kabbalah WebRing on the internet.
Awards and Honors Many certificates of appreciation from various organizations where I've given presentations.
Past/Present clients Longboat Key Education Center, The Open Center, Unity of Sarasota, Center For Positive Living, (5) Jewish Community Centers in South Florida, many synogogues, churches, interfaith groups and religious/philosophical organizations.
Expert: Robert Waxman Date: 5/16/2008 Subject: polytheism
Question Hi,
I have read that according to the tenets of Kabbalah there is more than one God. Is this correct?
-A.J.
Answer Hi A.J.,
Thank you for your question concerning polytheism, and the question of the (10) names of 'God' in Kabbalah and the Hebrew Bible.
Actually, Judaism's great contribution to religious consciousness is the establishment of monotheism (even though the Egyptians tried it for awhile under Pharaoh Aknahten, but it didn't last). Since Kabbalah is an esoteric interpretation of Judaism, the same holds true about the monotheistic nature of the 'One God' concept.
Kabbalah is a purely monotheistic philosophy, however, there are various names given to (10) aspects of The Godhead which correspond to The Tree of Life (a standard framework in Kabbalah).
'The One Divine Source' is called Ain-Soph. IT is a pure abstraction of 'everything there is, was and shall be'. We can try to use words to describe IT such as; infinite, omniscient and omnipresent, but IT cannot be comprehended by the finite mind. Ain-Soph is 'The One Source of All' - beyond time and matter. IT can be viewed as 'The One Realty' or the One mysterious, unknowable intelligence that exists as ITSELF 'before the beginning' of the universe. IT can be symbolized as abstract space, ceaseless motion and endless duration.
There comes a moment when Ain-Soph begins to differentiate ITSELF, and through a process of expansion and contraction of primordial light, a 'Big Bang' occurs (like Einstein's theory). As ethereal forms of matter come into Being, the first emanation of light begins to descend which is called I AM (Eheyeh). This is the highest name of 'God' in the manifested universe. The descension of light continues (tzim-tzum) into (10) aspects: Yah, Elohim, El, YHVH, YHVH Elohim, Elohim Tzaboath, YHVH Tzabaoth, El Chai, Adonai/Shekinah).
So, it may appear that there are (10) gods - and your point is well-taken - however, all (10) names are qualities (attributes) of the One God concept, which is descending from pure spirit into denser forms of light (matter).
These (10) aspects emanate from Ain-Soph. As an analogy, as a ray of light goes through a prism, various colors appear as aspects of one clear ray. This 'one clear ray' can be compared to the first emanation of 'God's light': "I AM" (who Moses speaks with on Mt. Horeb; Ex. 3:14). However, Ain-Soph exists before the clear ray of light as ITSELF before the first emanation (I AM). So, Ain-Soph is the One source of all light, and everything contained within the light.
The purpose of these ten emanations (gods) is to symbolize the descension of various aspects of light which science call dimensions. One of the newest theories in quantum physics is called "M-Theory" which theorizes (10) parallel universes plus one additional dimension representing "time". There is an interesting correlation here between religion and science. On the Tree of Life - there is an eleventh sphere which is called Da'ath (knowledge) which also symbolizes the movement from 'duration' into 'physical time'. So, this analogy between science and religion is a compelling argument for the concept of (10)multidimensional aspects of light corresponding to (10) parallel universes.
In Kabbalah, 'Light' is one of the most important metaphysical teachings - because in Genesis, the seeds of the universe don't begin to germinate until the famous phrase "Let There Be Light".
This is a complex topic, and if you're interested in learning more about this subject, please read "Sepher Yetzirah" by Aryeh Kaplan.
A.J. - I hope this information has been helpful for you, and I wish you all the best, Bob Waxman
