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: 8/18/2006 Subject: kabbalah
Question I've heard that the kabbala contains a book called the Zohar and this book can not be read by every one because of the knowledge that it contains and if an ordinary person reads it then he might go crazy. Is this rumor true?
Answer Hi Christina,
I've been on vacation and just returned home today to find your question waiting.
You have a good question about the Zohar. There's alot of misinformation out there about this book.
"Sepher Ha Zohar", means, "The Book of Splendor". It was written approx. 1290 CE by Moses DeLeon of Grenada, Spain.
In the 1500's CE, the very religious Kabalists, would meditate on a single paragraph of The Zohar for a whole month. There are unsubstantiated rumors that a few Kabalists in Safed, Israel became mentally unbalanced as a result of such intense meditation.
There is no historical evidence that this claim is true. Many scholars believe that the "main stream" Rabbi's invented this story to keep people away from Kabbalah because they wanted "rational" thought to replace mysticism in modern Judaism.
As far as I know, there isn't any truth to the rumor that people went "crazy" by meditating on The Zohar. I think if anyone meditates for a whole month on a paragraph from any book, they may a little "crazy" to begin with.
In my view, reading the Zohar for yourself is a good place to start. The best translation I know of is entitled, "The Wisdom Of The Zohar" by David Goodstein & Isaiah Tishby. It's not an easy book to read, but it's well worth the effort. You may also want to read authors who have interpreted the teachings of The Zohar.
Here's an interesting link that will provide you with an overview of The Zohar:
