What is Kabbalah?קבלה
Kabbalah is the Jewish mystical tradition, centred on the Zohar and the later Lurianic writings, concerned with the inner structure of creation and the meaning behind the commandments.
Also written: Kabala, Cabala, Kabbala, Qabbalah
The Zohar is its foundational text, and it reached print in two competing editions between 1558 and 1560 — one at Mantua, one at Cremona — which is why early printings are described by city as well as date. The sixteenth-century school of the Arizal in Tzfas produced the systematic framework most later kabbalistic writing follows. The tradition also shaped mainstream practice, particularly in the liturgy and the customs surrounding it.
Traditional practice restricts serious kabbalistic study to those with substantial prior grounding, and listings in this category are generally aimed at readers who already know what they are looking for. Older and rarer printings appear here more often than in other categories.
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Sources
- Sefer ha-Zohar, Mantua and Cremona printings, 1558–1560 — the two competing first editions, set from different manuscript families
Related terms
- Chassidus — Chassidus is the body of thought and literature produced by the Chassidic movement, emphasising inner service, joy, and the mystical dimension of Torah.
- Machshava — Machshava is Jewish thought — the literature dealing with belief, providence, free will, and the reasons behind the commandments, as distinct from law or ethics.
- Manuscripts and Antique Seforim — Antique seforim and manuscripts are early printed or handwritten Jewish works valued for their age, rarity, and provenance rather than for everyday study use.