Questions & Answers

Article from Primedia's Spirit Guide:  INTO THE MYSTIC   It's Been Around For 2,000 Years, Yet It's All The Rage In Hollywood.   What Exactly Is Kabbalah?  By Elaine G. Flores and Tara Shaffer    Rays Of Light:   A Q&A with Bob Waxman, kabbalist, lecturer and best-selling author of Kabbalah Simply Stated (Paragon House).   Spirit Guide: What is the goal of kabbalah?   BOB WAXMAN: To help people understand the hidden meanings of the Bible and the concealed mysteries of the universe. Through kabbalah, people can uncover the secrets of life, creation, the soul, and they'll have a greater understanding of their own life's purpose. When they discover this divine truth within themselves, that basically is the divine wisdom of God. The idea behind kabbalah is that unless your inner core is intact, your experience of joy will be temporary or conditional, depending upon outside events. True lasting happiness can only be found within one's self.   Spirit Guide: Should one be Jewish to study kabbalah?   WAXMAN: Absolutely not. Kabbalah is for anyone who believes in unity, love and compassion.   Spirit Guide: Why do you think kabbalah has become so popular, especially with celebs?   WAXMAN: Celebrities are people, just like anybody else. The question is, why would anybody be attracted to kabbalistic teachings? Many people have been disappointed with organized religion, are looking for other answers and have found them in kabbalah. There's a great interest among Americans in philosophies that in the past have been swept under the rug or were not seriously considered because they weren't part of an organized movement.    Spirit Guide: In your view, what is the best way to undertake kabbalistic study?   WAXMAN: Some organizations have taken some of the basic kabbalistic ideas and have written sort of like a Reader's Digest version, so that everybody can understand it. The danger there is that you may oversimplify to the point where it becomes just a self-help manual on how to live a good life. If people really want to learn the truth about kabbalah, the best way is to study books by the scholars who are critically acclaimed, world-renowned and spent their lives at universities. But Kabbalah should be made simple to understand. I wrote my book, Kabbalah Simply Stated, because of an urgent need for the simplification of kabbalistic teachings.  ##     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------      ##