Kabbalah - Merkabah Hekhalot and Sar Torah Mysticism - Ancient Chariot and Angelic Kabbalah
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- Опубликовано: 30 апр 2020
- Jewish mysticism is one of the foundations for Western Esotericism and this video explores some of the earliest strata of those mystical texts. In the Merkaba (chariot) / Hekhalot (palaces) texts mystics describe the terrifying and awe-inspiring descent - not ascent - into the divine palaces, meet with fearsome angels, gain control over angelic power, become transformed into beings of fire, and mount the very throne of G-d to carefully measure the vasts dimensions of the divine body. This video also explores the Sar Torah (Torah Prince) literature where mystics engage in Jewish theurgy in order to gain immediate knowledge of legal, magical, and religious lore. We also setup a future discussion of early Jewish magical texts such as the Sefer haRazim (The Book of Secrets) and the most obscure, taciturn, and amazing Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation).
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Recommended Readings:
James Davila - Hekhalot Literature in Translation: Major Texts of Merkavah Mysticism - 978-9004252158
James Davila - Descenders to the Chariot: The People Behind the Hekhalot Literature - 978-9004115415
Vita Daphna Arbel - Beholders of Divine Secrets: Mysticism and Myth in the Hekhalot and Merkavah Literature - 978-0791457245
Gershom Scholem - Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism - 978-0805210422
Menachem Kellner - Maimonides' Confrontation with Mysticism - 978-1904113294
Michael D. Swartz - Scholastic Magic: Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism - 978-0691010984 (Great text mostly dealing with Sar Torah Mysticism)
#merkavah #kabbalah #hekhalot
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Please! This video is too dense and interesting, and deserves to be split into several videos/classes.
What’s the significance of the “descending not ascending”? Like what exactly is meant there ?
Hello Dr. Sledge
Is there a book or video you could recommend for a history of Magic, from the beginnings, I imagine in Africa to current practices today?
Dr. are those Go stones in those bowls behind you?
Dr. Sledge, do you have a private E-mail in order for me to write to you regarding "what to do's" with a Lifetime, (of mine), of Kabbahlist-Themed Encounters/ Remembrances ? I am a Tibetan Buddhist Nygmapa (Old School) Nagkpa (Householder) Yogi of 35 years. Kabbahlist-Themed Motifs (Heightened Visionary, Sometimes Heightened Energetic Descensions) have occured since I was 10 years old.
This channel is like a treasure trove of high-quality information
...and I haven't seen any ads either!
ideal for whom? new to the channel
Amen!!
-"like"
@@SeaCryptWeave ideal for EVERYONE
I'm so glad someone out there is extremely down to earth and doesn't just throw random weird buzz words. I'm trying to deeply listen to every single video u have
Concentrating in school was impossible, but for some reason your videos are so captivating. I can't help but to listen, and learn! Thank you.
I found school as our public schools administer a so called education today a waste of time over time. But, there came a day when a poor broken righteous widow's son humbly on knees bent face towards the ground with arms out hands open wide to receive. Said, why is it when i go to a Bible study, church service, to Mass, a revival or convention, take Bible classes or courses. That they are saying one thing out of YOUR word but, it's speaking to me a little different. Something's wrong. I want to know YOUR truth GOD. I don't want to know the world's truth or a church's truth or a man's truth. I want to know YOUR truth. You teach me LORD. Send me the Set Apart Spirit to teach me, the Ruach ha Qodesh. Send people in my life to teach me. Send me books to teach me.
I didn't have any great epiphany that day. But, what my GOD did do was, give me a thirst and hunger to study and show myself approved..... I know I've come a long way since that prayer. A hunger and thirst that hasn't been abated. The more i learn about the Biblical Hebrew Language and Letters, the Torah, Midrash, Kabbalah, Kabbalistic Astrology and Ancient Philosophy of Number ? The more the Torah has opened her window to reveal her secrets to me and at last invited me to sit at her table to dine. Eat of her bread and drink of her mixed wine.
Years after leaving philosophy, your videos are making me see connections in medieval and early modern philosophy in a fascinating new light. Spinoza and Leibniz in particular I now want to re-read with a specifically esoteric framing in mind.
I have often tried and failed to identify the best scholarly resources on 18th century free masonry and it's connections to political liberalism. I hope that you will eventually get to masonic history and address this with regards to the American War of Independence, the Haitian revolution and the French Revolution.
That masonic piece is super important. Also, the esoteric dimension of philosophy is super important. I'm looking forward to making more episodes on it!
Wonderful!
I have always been interested in Jewish mysticism pre-Kabbalah but found that the academic literature was lacking (seems I was looking in the wrong place).
Looking forward to more videos on related subjects!
Thanks - The mysticism(s) prior to the Kabbalah are fascinating especially, for me, the "special cherub" group and the Iyyun Circle in that they are so diverse. In some ways its a pity that the Kabbalah subsumed them all. One can wonder what such a plurality would have looked like if it had persisted!
Hey Filip..👋👋
@@HyderAli-mz7uw Hi!
@@TheEsotericaChannel l was not raised that way
Brilliant video, watched this after you brought it up in the recent video about Paul. I do agree you could redo it however not because there's anything wrong but simply because as you've made videos over the years your delivery and oration skills have evolved from great to outstanding. Seriously you have some of the best delivery I've ever heard on these subjects in your most recent videos to such an extent my girlfriend asked about your channel name because she wants to listen to your voice before she goes to bed at night! She finds my interest in esoteric history fascinating and loves chatting to me about whatever I'm studying at the time but generally she has a more direct approach to spirituality that is almost entirely based off direct experience without any reference to history, religion, philosophy or the mystic experience of others. So for her to want to listen to you talk about exactly all of those things is a huge win :P
YESSS the 2 Corinthians passage popped right out of the page at me, I'm glad that an actual scholar noticed it too.
This is so cool that you are doing this topic and in addition, putting it into the playlist JEWISH MAGIC!
Last night, it was rolling thunderstorms coming in all night, and i fell asleep to this playlist but kept waking up and listening to you speak with the thunder and rain outside~ whoa what a cool night
So Maimonides really was trying to create a rational philosophy that balanced out those deeply abstract mystical texts before his time. That makes his text make soooo much sense. Thank you!
I had the inclination to look for videos about Ezekiel's relation to Hekhalot mysticism today and amazingly I stumbled onto this video. Love it!
Merkabah mysticism was the truly native Jewish mysticism, one of the greatest pinnacles of mysticism before the Christians came along. There is so much to learn from the Hekhalot texts
Glad you enjoyed the video - hope you learned something new!
Mysticism manifests from Divine knowledge (Religion) - it is the flower the blossoms from the tree. The new age and the occult promotes the use of mysticism without the religion. Removing the essence taking only the substance.
Can't believe i didn't notice this until now. Loved the Paul video and Can't wait for this
Hi Dr Sledge, re-viewing this before jumping into the kabbalah series. I liked the opening you used for these the best. Then I know I haven't missed anything at the start.
You sure have come a ways in your delivery, u keep getting better. Peace 🙏.
Best channel ever tbh
I came here from Let's Talk Religion's reading of The City of Brass, and I eventually found myself watching the YHWH origins video (highly informative to a non-Abrahamic monotheist like myself!) and the video about Metatron. I pivoted over here per your recommendation in that video for more context. Your content is phenomenal, and it brought to light a lot of ill-informed biases I've been clinging to one way or the other. Cheers for the excellent videos mate!
I went through college when personal computers and the Internet were in the near future. Scholarship has been empowered beyond the wildest dreams of those of us who earned our bachelor's degrees in '91.
I'm doing construction while listening to this, and it's like we are all on the same job.
I find your channel wonderful with such a wealth of information and scholarship. Thank you! I've taken entire classes on mysticism and this video hits a home run!
This channel is like a breath of fresh air.
I thought I'd left these interests behind decades ago, and now I'm developing head-canon that the power of your esoteric knowledge is bound to your identity in some mystical way, such that if you were to restyle your facial hair it would radically impact your expertise. For instance, a handlebar moustache might make you a master of motorcycle mechanics and road lore.
Wonderfull, luv this channel and its deep and informative , refreshing. Salut from Porto, Portugal
This has become one of my favorite topics in the area of mysticism, it's just so epic.
29:46 Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! Also for your book recommendations, it helps greatly , as people like me are get an idea where to start.
Been watching for a while thank you for your content!! And also I love your Go set!! 🥰🫶🏻
Another great show
Thank you so much for those resource references. I've been searching for these for quite a while.
Glad to help!
Facinating information! Thanks for this channel.
This man is brilliant!
Thanks for another great video. Keep up the great work!👍👍👍
Thanks friend!
@@TheEsotericaChannel Rambam Talmud Babylonian
Thanks!
I am a little bit in between I could hear them I could hear the other side.
That's what led me to you.
Thank you for the information that you always send out
Great analysis and presentation! So much to drive deeper into!
Glad you found it insightful!
Keep getting new agey recommendations on “merkaba” and had no idea what that meant. Glad to go back to the primary sources with you to find out. Great video as always!
Tremendously informative, thank you very much!
you are such a great teacher that spans the grand vastness and brings it to now, and how to inter-weave for a higher wider perspective that is truly needed; allowing the oneness of the human-interpreted Heavenly knowings of spirit-science-magic, alchemy, as a one world transcending all polarization and duality; acceptance, honouring, valuing all - how to simply appreciation and soak in it all and lead from a space of oneness as the one spirit in us all - nice, thank you
I just want to express gratitude & appreciation for what you do, and the way you do it 🙏 you spoil us non-patrons
Thank you very much for your recommendations
Nice Go set in the background!
Justin, love your clips. Do you agree with Davila's assessment that the practices of the "Descenders" can be reasonably classified as "shamanic" in nature? I'm sure you can appreciate what this term implies.
I serisouly can't thank you enough for for your wrok and scholarship!
Recently found this channel; absolutely fascinating stuff. I’ve always had an interest in the esoteric, and the odd things scattered throughout the Bible (especially things like Ezekiel’s vision and Isaiah’s vision found in the Old Testament or Tanakh). I was first introduced to “chariot mysticism” several year ago from a book by Peter Levenda, “Stairway to Heaven”. What would be a good book for someone who wants to dive deeper into the story of the 4 who entered the Pardes and a basic overview of the practices they used? I can’t read Hebrew much at all (and trust me, I’ve tried learning. I tried years before I married my wife, who is Jewish, and she has long forgotten whatever she had to learn for her Bot Mitzvah), so I hope there’s some decent translations out there.
Again, great work here. I’d love to see a take on some modern magical groups and practices (like the Golden Dawn, and OTO) and what ideas and practices they use can be traced back to the Middle Ages or further.
Thank you my friend
Great video.
Great content! Have you considered a “descent to the divine throne“ D&D campaign?
Mind blown….love that I this work exists!
Well. This might be good. I will study my Hebrew Vocabulary as I listen to you. Thank you for existing. Just starting your video now
I'm really enjoying your videos. Can we get a glimpse of sharmen in talmudic times from people like Choni the circle-maker?
Dude i like your library # very cool 😎
great stuff
Thank you!
Thank you for watching - hope you stick around!
What do you make of Leo Baeck's comparison of the Sefer Yetsirah with the mathematical theology of Proclus?
Espectacular!!!!!
9th time watching this video each time is fantastic and I get a little better at understanding all this crazy awesome literature
What resources do you suggest regarding the Christian Merkabah tradition?
Magic is to philosophy as cubism is to realist paintings, steel art but is cover in the fog of your own interpretation, just my opinion, great work doc
This is a very interesting topic. I would like to see you delve into the Similitudes of (1) Enoch and into (2) Enoch, since both of them appear to date back to either the 1st century BCE or the 1st century CE. Would also like to see you address the work of Gabriele Boccacini on the early history of Enochian Judaism.
Do you have a good book recommendation for the Pardes legend? What scholarly treatments do you recommend?
Great point about Jewish "shamans." Also, if as you say, Maimonides tried to steer the focus away from these texts, do we have a sense of why he would want to do that?
Thanks ! I think that given his Aristotelian bent and his religious commitments the idea of G-d having a body was not only illogical in the extreme but also blasphemous. So I think he felt, as leader of the Jewish world at that time, that he had to show that it was incorrect, why it was, and provide an alternative view all of which the Guide is meant to do. That's my read, at least.
@@TheEsotericaChannel Right on, thank you for responding. I'm learning a lot on your channel!
@Beauty by Roxie Respect for the transcendent nature of the divine, if there is such a thing.
Very, very interesting! Say, where can I read more on the subject of Metatron?
A great place to start is Segal's Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism - 978-1602585492 along with the studies mentioned in this episode.
Inspiring
I really hope you will consider interviewing Dr. Gabriele Boccacini, because he has developed such a detailed theory of the origins of Enochic Judaism dating back all the way to Ezekiel during the Babylonian period in his book: Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways Between Qumran and Enochic Judaism.
Please update us on the channel concerning this 🙏 revisit the topic again now that it's 2023. I require a pointing of direction where to go and seeking.
As Dr. Sledge explained the concept of the 'size of god's body," I kept thinking of Maimonides and his notion that god cannot even be said to "exist," as s/he is beyond existence and the human experience of existence. I metaphorically patted myself on the shoulder when Dr. Sledge brought up precisely that point. Hmmm, maybe I am not that dumb after all.
Now I feel dumb asking for a video on Kabbalah in the comments of a newer video. This belongs higher up the search results for sure!
I would be interested in a presentation of the Hermetic Qabalah.
Shalom aleichem. Do you find Sefer Raziel to be an authentic grimoire ? I was thinking of purchasing it but I am reluctant as to if it's just another scribble of the profane.
Aleichem/n shalom! I suppose it depends on what you mean by 'authentic.' It's certainly a very old expression of Jewish magic and astrology and I would suspect that much of the material reaches back at least a millennium or so. I can't personally vouch for the accuracy or the efficacy of the magic and astrological concepts in it. Allegedly simply having the text prevents house-fires. No house I have lived in with a copy has burned down (B"H!). Hope this helps, if you have any specific questions about the text feel free to let me know!
@ESOTERICA
An elderly orthodox man I met hinted there was a yearly Merkabah ritual he observed. He was a Lubavicher. This was about 2 years ago. Can you shed any light on that?
love you thank you
Love it.....
Thanks! Glad you like it!
Great video and channel! could you recommend me some books on exorcism from scholarly sources?
The standard text here is a little dated by good - Possession and Exorcism: Among Primitive Races, in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and Modern Times - by Traugott K. Oesterreich -978-0883560358. Though there are many more specific studies. I'll be doing a video on the Dybbuk and Jewish exorcism at some point soon!
@@TheEsotericaChannel thank you so much it'll help me prepare for my thesis in my final year!
Where can one find a text about their practices????
than you
Are all of the instructions given in the texts to be abstract or imaginary, or are the to be physically exercised? What would be a good starting point as a newcomer to esotericism, mysticism and the occult? Then comes the biggest question - does magic actually work with physical manifestations? It seems to be a lot of commentary and wordings
How are you not tempted to try these meditations, and then give a trip report of how it was???
i dont speak hebrew. but i think instead of descent to the throne, it is also meant as an inherit to the throne. inherit is a form of descent cuz its passed down not built up. and is the aliyah and the yeridah really opposites? or does it not appear because they are hiding that they are the same?
Yep, they are opposites. The writer(s) of these texts clearly knew the difference and employ yerida/yordei for reasons we don't fully understand.
I just noticed your go stones. You play go? Do you see anything spiritual about go?
I ask because there was a project I was working on a year or two ago about creating an "enchanted" go table, something where both players are having to exchange energy as they build a ritual by placing and removing unique stones from the board. Honestly, after finding out about the Dee's table, I plan to take inspiration for the set up. So it's something of a shared spiritual experience that's both collaborative and competitive.
I do play though not as much these days, sadly
@@TheEsotericaChannel I feel that. I need to play more too. Haven't even lost my first 100 games yet.
Oh Joseph Dan is greaaaat.
Trying to describe, let alone teach magic is like doing the same for LOVE. If someone else’s magic lesson we’re highly effective and deeply personal, then I might have received a more positive response to the flowers I bought for my wife. I think magic AND love lessons lose their potency over time. My OWN original inspirations for such energy management turn out to be easier, more simple, and certainly more personal. The MORE I exercise that muscle, the better it works and picks up where the old stuff leaves off. Thanks again!
19:05 🤣 Priceless, thank you
why would closing your eyes save you from annihilation? like raiders of the lost arc?
I think there was a golem banging to get in.
Several times 😅
Ik kende de merkabah niet maar op 31 Dec 2020 zag ik ineens uit het donker een rood licht verhikel verschijnen, het kwam heel dichtbij en de vorm was als dat ik nu weet een merkabah. Het was een rode energie met wat ik zag rode licht bollen en rode staven in die vorm, ineens splitste de onderpunt en bovenpunt binnenin langs elkaar en splitste het in 2..het was zo raar en ik kijk op de straat beneden of andere mensen het ook zagen maar nee, ze zagen niets..het verdween als achter een zwart Gordijn, paar minuten later mijn honden weer blaffen en ik weer kijken op mijn balkon, en jaaaa hoor daar kwam het weer aan maar nu in een andere vorm, als van een catamaran achtig ding en ook weer rode energie/ licht..zag geen metaal maar alleen vorm en licht energie..merkte dat het ook een andere atmosfeer had dan het geluid beneden op straat en weer was in de enige die het zag..verdween weer als achter een zwart gordijn..en ik hoor even later weer honden blaffen en ik kijken kwam het er weer aan..Ben er echt in de war van en weet niet wat ik ermee aan moet...was helemaal alleen probeer de wel via social media anderen te waarschuwen of ze ook dat zag en maar nee..Ben wel van twitter geblokt paar dagen erna maar kan hier toch niets met te maken hebben? Kan iemand mij zeggen wat God mij vertellen wil? Wat het kan betekenen om zo'n enorm ding 3x te zien op die avond..
i would say islamic mysticism is absolutely foundational to western esotericism as well..particularly during the victorian era
What if I were to tell you I have seen the divine chariot descend and was invited to the mountain to experience it?
Mosses ? 😅
Do you know anything about the religion that worships Pazuzu? Is that even the deities name?
I don't think anyone worshipped Pazuzu, but they did use amulets of him to scare off other demons, especially his sister Lamashtu.
I think I heard you say that in another of your vodeos. It sounded to me like any religion associated to him would be ancesor and nature magic.
@@jeremiahlarkins618 Nah, he was 'popular' in Babylonian religion as a demon of the winds and usually a bringer of sickness, usually fever.
ok, heard. So, kinda nature, but limited? You said lamashtu was lilith and was seen as a demon who would inflict infant deaths right? Would believers in pazuzu use him for their death myths, or would they use a different entity? Possibly lilith? Were they polytheistic? What kind of demons would be viewed as bathroom demons? I remeber Religion for Breakfast did an episode of his show that, if my memory serves, claimed ancient Greeks and Romans believed in "toilet demons"... I can't actually think of any better words to describe the concept... Have you done any research about something like that? Im not sure why, but the idea struck me as novel. Maybe It'll help my toilet humor.
I love thier reason but I wish you well.
If you’d been my Hebrew school teacher I’d actually have paid attention, but also the curriculum we were given absolutely sucked like cool I can stumble through Hebrew phonetically *if* it has vowels that’s useful
Why is it that the visions of Ezekiel, and even the call of Isaiah, are downplayed as early examples of Jewish mysticism?
11:55 Which stoner doom band used this as an album cover?
would you like to study what I had build?
Nice go stones.
Thanks - pretty nice Yunzi stones :)
🙏
What does the Torah mean when it says, and im paraphrasing, to stay away from magic and the occult?
Where does it say that, in Hebrew?
@@TheEsotericaChannel As far as I'm aware, it forbids trances, astrology, interpreting omens, sorcery, incantations, consulting mediums, and speaking with the dead. koseim, me’onein, menacheish, mechashsheif, chover, shoel ov veyid’oni, doreish hameisim. Exodus 22:17, Leviticus 20:27, Deuteronomy 18:9-13. I think it is because practicing the occult (witchcraft, divination, magick) is a form of idolatry. It is acknowledging and using the power of spirits separate from G-d.
Is there any consensus on what those words mean?
@@TheEsotericaChannel I think so. I haven't heard any other interpretation. Would you happen to have a video explaining this?
Have a whole video on Israelite magic
I like to consider Western esotericism to be anything west of India, so this includes Persian, Islamic, Jewish, Christian, and pagan philosophy and mysticism, as they all are the core foundations of modern abrahamic faith.
Where as Asian mysticism and tantra have less of an impact on Western faith
Just noticed the Go pebbles...
why are brill texts so expensive? it feels like brill is trying to sort of... restrict? access to scholarly works that would greatly benefit people who probably don't have the money to shell out for the texts.
Esotérica is inner knowledge, astrólogy, angeology, etc... is exoteric, occultism if you want but related to the outer world, out of man microcosmos...
The solar body, maybe. Sun as the head. Our solar system. Also being our body, the micro image, energetically speaking. All in all, the great mystery.
'You could do 50 videos on Sefer Yetzirah'
R. Ariel Bar Tzadok has a like 96 video series on Sefer Yetzirah.
e x a c t l y
you weren't kidding!! ruclips.net/p/PLXuHX_wtTrSJgWj4yADAMl5E8bymFXcG4