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Kabbalah/Questions Answered by Expert Rabbi Ari Shishler
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Loss of my child | 10/10/2011 |
| Q: From my understanding of some things you have written, G-d decided that my daughter should be ... A: What a heart-wrenching story. I really don't know what to say to someone who has gone through such a ... | |
| exorcisms | 8/29/2011 |
| Q: i was wondering if there were any exorcism routines that are rooted in kabbalah, and if so, i was ... A: Kabbalah does not routinely engage in exorcisms. It is a specialised field that is only undertaken ... | |
| The nature of human existence | 8/21/2011 |
| Q: I am not a Torah scholar and a ritious gentile.I would like to ask your expert advice on:rabbinical ... A: Lots of questions here, so I'll quickly run through each of them: 1. Rabbinical Judaism? You can't ... | |
| 72 names of God | 7/5/2011 |
| Q: I recently discovered the 72 names of God online and I wanted to know more about this... Is this an ... A: This is a sensitive and possibly controversial idea. Sure, Kabbalah discusses names of G-d, but some ... | |
| Giving and receiving | 7/2/2011 |
| Q: I've heard a million times "to be successful you must give to others without any execution of ... A: Great question! The Talmud reflects on the verse in the Torah "Aser Te'asser", which means "you ... | |
| Kabbalah/kether | 1/30/2011 |
| Q: ANSWER: Hi Unique Kabbalah describes a system of energies that is the core of all Existence. This ... A: Your dream seems very interesting indeed. Kabbalah does not focus on interpreting dreams unless they ... | |
| Kabbalah/kether | 1/28/2011 |
| Q: Hi can you please tell me about crown kether/ violet flame A: Kabbalah describes a system of energies that is the core of all Existence. This system is made up of ... | |
| Two strange words in the Zohar | 12/26/2010 |
| Q: I wonder if you know the meaning of the words (in arameic?) SAGDON (also SIGADON) and GILBA (also ... A: As is often the case in Kabbalah, the words you're referring to are non-literal. Sigadon and Gilba ... | |
| praying | 10/19/2010 |
| Q: shalom! should we pray standing, sitting or kneeling? I heard that reason roman chatholics pray ... A: We have various prayer poses that relate to different types of prayers. Generically, the best pose ... | |
| KABBALAH & JUDISUM &HOMOSEXUALITY | 9/30/2010 |
| Q: I am, a 65 yo male Christian. About 6 yrs.ago I started studing Kabbalah,Iam married and Gay I was ... A: From the way you have phrased your question, it seems that you know the answer to your own dilemma. ... | |
| Tsimtsum and omnipresence | 8/29/2010 |
| Q: How do we reconcile that G-d is in all His creation and the thought that G-d had to 'contract' to ... A: Tzimtzum and G-d's omniscience are complimentary, not contradictory concepts. The first premise is ... | |
| scripture | 8/10/2010 |
| Q: Shalom! How did the people on the time of Moses worship the Torah when it came after Moses? ANSWER: ... A: The Torah information that these people had was the LAWS of the Torah, not the history. That said, ... | |
| scripture | 8/8/2010 |
| Q: Shalom! How did the people on the time of Moses worship the Torah when it came after Moses? A: Moses was the one who brought the Torah from G-d to the people. So, I assume that you are asking how ... | |
| reincarnation | 6/29/2010 |
| Q: Shalom! If you start to remember who you were in your previous life and it hurts you then what ... A: Judaism discourages "past life regression", because we believe that G-d designed His world in such a ... | |
| Ain | 6/28/2010 |
| Q: In Kabbalah their are supposed to be three veils of negative existence, and Ain ( nothing) is the ... A: Kabbalah deals with esoteric and highly subtle concepts. Unlike physical concepts, these spiritual ... | |
| reincarnation | 6/26/2010 |
| Q: Shalom! If you start to remember who you were in your previous life and it hurts you then what ... A: Kabbalah teaches that we are all reincarnated souls and that many of our life experiences are a ... | |
| kabalarian name corrrection? | 3/16/2010 |
| Q: SIr, plz correct my name spelling to get good vibrations in life. name:sandesh middle name:kumar ... A: Although Kabbalah does teach that your name relates to your soul, we almost never interfere with a ... | |
| angels | 1/19/2010 |
| Q: How many angels are there, according to Kabbalah? A: Kabbalah does not attempt to define a number of angels. It does classify types of angels ... | |
| Book of Abraham | 10/28/2009 |
| Q: If you follow this link: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/abr/3 Its Chapter 3 of the Book of Abraham. It ... A: The language and style of this book is not at all like that of classical Jewish texts, indicating ... | |
| Kabbalah and teens | 9/17/2009 |
| Q: Can a 16 year old guy benefit from the study of Kabbalah? A: Kabbalah is very complex and obscure material and the average person cannot gain benefit from it. To ... | |
| Ashlag | 8/12/2009 |
| Q: I have a question about the legitimacy of teachings of Ashlag as it pertains to today's world. I ... A: For a start, I think you need to distinguish between Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag and Rabbi Baruch Ashalg ... | |
| kabbalah and family death | 8/8/2009 |
| Q: how does kabbalah view death spiritually? A: As you can well imagine, there are volumes of Kabbalistic writings on death and the soul's journey. ... | |
| Animals | 7/13/2009 |
| Q: I've just read an answer you gave to someone regarding the Angels and Archangels and let me say, I ... A: which I appreciate. As you can imagine, Kabbalah has reams of information about animals. I will ... | |
| whats the kabbalah total experience? | 3/14/2009 |
| Q: if my grandmother from my moms side is jewish that means im jewish which means that im a supreme.. ... A: If your mom's mom is Jewish, then so are you. I'm not sure what you mean by "supreme", but we do ... | |
| i need emergency help!!! | 2/4/2009 |
| Q: To whom it may concern with respect; my first name is: navid -- my last name : mofid my birthday is ... A: It seems that you have a number of serious issues that you are battling with. My suggestion would ... | |
| archangels | 12/15/2008 |
| Q: are the 4 archangels--michael, gavriel, uriel, and raphael associated with the 4 ... A: Angels are spiritual beings, which means we cannot really limit them to a particular "location". ... | |
| what is the different ?? | 11/15/2008 |
| Q: what is the different between hermetic and Judaic kabbalah ?? A: Jewish Kabbalah studies the nature of the soul and of G-d as well as the purpose of life. Hermetic ... | |
| kabbalah | 11/12/2008 |
| Q: I don't really know much about Kaballah. I have read that it is polytheistic and that it deals with ... A: There is a great amount of misconception out there about Kabbalah. Kabbalah is the Jewish mystical ... | |
| tree of life diagram | 8/12/2008 |
| Q: Is it true, to your knowledge, that the earliest diagram showing the sefirot on the tree of life is ... A: Great question! After some research and consultation with a friend who has a remarkable Kabbalah ... | |
| 13 petals -- 13 qualities of compassion | 4/6/2008 |
| Q: Please list the 13 qualities alluded to in the opening of the Zohar. In terms of red and white ... A: You can find a good explanation of the 13 attributes here: ... | |
| Questioning: Y--H having Total Omnipotence which contains Total Omniscience. | 3/29/2008 |
| Q: Greetings, I have asked this question of Christian experts, but could not find a soluble answer, ... A: I guess you could say that this is one of those questions that the human mind has grappled with for ... | |
| ritual or exercise to sleep less | 3/23/2008 |
| Q: I believe that to have more prana in our body we can sleep less (and even eat less). In my case, I ... A: That's an interesting question. Kabbalah does not encourage sleeping too little. In fact, a person ... | |
| Questions about Kabbalah | 2/8/2008 |
| Q: What form of schooling do children of this particular religion receive and starting at what age?, ... A: As I mentioned in my last response, Kabbalah is essentially the spiritual or mystical teachings of ... | |
| Views or opinions toward other religions | 2/8/2008 |
| Q: What are your views or opinions toward other religions? and How has religion shaped your life? A: Judaism tolerates different beliefs, we don't believe that you have to belong to the Jewish religion ... | |
| Challenges of Practicing Kabbalah | 2/8/2008 |
| Q: What are the challenges, if any, to practicing this particular religion? A: Kabbalah is not actually a religion per se. Over the last few years, people have tried to create a ... | |
| heaven and hell/ universal ltruth | 2/3/2008 |
| Q: does kabbalah believe there is a heaven and hell, or do they believe in the oversoul like ... A: Kabbalah does talk about (various dimensions of) "Heaven" and of "Hell", although both are very ... | |
| Kabbalah | 10/24/2007 |
| Q: I have read that in Kabbalah there is a belief which can be seen as being not monotheist. What I ... A: I think this is a perfect example of why Orthodox Jews get upset at the "Kabbalah" fad that's so ... | |
| Midrash in history | 9/21/2007 |
| Q: In Joseph Dan's excellent book "Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction" he says: "...The various ... A: This is an interesting question, thank you. Torah employs four fundamental interpretive methods: ... | |
| Very early Italian Kabbalists | 7/31/2007 |
| Q: I have seen a round Tree of Life made by very early Italian KBLists (circa 1200's, not the 1500's ... A: I got all caught up in the diagram, and forgot about the original question : ) Take a look here ... | |
| Very early Italian Kabbalists | 7/27/2007 |
| Q: I have seen a round Tree of Life made by very early Italian KBLists (circa 1200's, not the 1500's ... A: I have to admit that I have never seen that diagram before. It may be a depiction of what Kabbalah ... | |
| End of days in Kabbalah??? | 3/31/2007 |
| Q: Shalom Rabbi Shishler, What does Kabbalah tell about "The End of Days?" Are there exact references ... A: happy Pesach to you too. Kabbalah has many interesting references to the "End of Days". Seeing as ... | |
| Neshama and God's tests | 3/28/2007 |
| Q: Can you please tell me how one can know whether the events in their lives are tests by God or ... A: The first principle to keep in mind is that, whatever happens, comes from G-d. Sometimes what He ... | |
| We are love | 3/23/2007 |
| Q: I am doing some research for a book. The bible states that “God created man in His own image” (old ... A: Kabbalah understands the "image of G-d" as being a complex system involving 10 main energy centres, ... | |
| What does not touch it mean? | 3/23/2007 |
| Q: I was wondering why Cabbalah has claimed that they have found the tree of life. Does Cabbalah have ... A: The "Tree of Life" referred to in Kabbalah is a metaphoric term, representing the system of 10 ... | |
| College Interview | 2/28/2007 |
| Q: I have an assignment in witch I have to interview someone on a religion. To start off please tell ... A: Background: My family was not originally observant, but became observant when I was too young to ... | |
Rabbi Ari Shishler
Top Expert on this page
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
Monthly column in Jewish Life magazine, South Africa.
Jewish Tradition, South Africa.
Jewish Report, South Africa.
South African Union of Jewish Students annual Holiday guide.
Jewish Observer, South Africa.
Nshei Chabad Newsletter, NY.
Jewish Online Magazine.
www.chabad.org
Education/Credentials
Six years of tertiary education at Rabbinical seminaries in South Africa, Israel and New York.
Past/Present Clients
www.askmoses.com
www.chabad.org
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