The Flaming Sword and the Icy Shield: Why Mysticism is a Healthy Dose for Faith

Thank you for taking the time to respond. In response to your arguments, We must first establish that the Torah is rational. Its commandments emulate the Creator. Therefore, We must be careful when attributing strange notions not found in the Torah. Needless to say, Jews would not keep any commandments if they defied reason. Ibn Ezra in his parshas Yisro states, "if we had found a command and after careful study and consulting with the Rabbis we saw no way to understand it and perform it, We would abandon it". The mitzvahs are not inscrutable. Rambam, Who was an expert in halacha, Philosophy, And a personal physician to the Sultan, Wrote that the commandments were rational, As would be expected. Maimonides was convinced that the laws could be found in nature, Had it not been for the event of Sinai, As Abraham had done when he discovered G-d. He then goes on to explain the rationale behind each law in book three, Guide of the Perplexed. He states that every commandment contains three purposes: teaching moral lessons, Help improve people and improve society. On the nature of G-d, You write that G-d, The Ein Sof, Contracted (tzimtzum) Himself and sparked creation. Apply this notion to the Bible and it reads very differently. "I am God, I do not change" (Malachi, 3:6). This is because G-d is not part of the creation as G-d transcends the world. Since G-d does not exist in the world, He does not take part in it. Thus, There is no need for contracting. The reason this concept exists is that people fail to perceive the world outside their senses. But G-d does not live in Temples. Nor does He has to make room for the creation. Your consistency is off as well. In one place you write, "we can understand G-d's essence" and in another. "G-d is nothing - We cannot comprehend this. " This not only makes your arguments contradictory, But it also renders them unusable. You further write hat Kabbalist can influence the Divine Will of the Creator? But a Kabbalist is mortal, Having no real power of their own. And to say as some do, That demons can influence the Will of the Creator is an insult to Him. The claim that Kabbalist possesses some mystical powers is also absurd. As magic does not exist, The burden of proof would be on the mystics. In Yad Hachazaka, Hilchos Avoda Zarah, Chapter 11, Rambam outlines these acts under the category of idolatry. You must not lay claim that Kabbalist possesses a window to divine intervention. You then quote Buddhism which is an adoption of many fantasies. It is no surprise that most followers of Buddhism fall under the category of either being weak or insecure and are more often than not, Subjected to pain. It fails to deliver its promises and there is no room for morality in karma. Man is fallible and we must not abandon Torah in order to maintain their reputations. When considering Rabbi Ovadia (an advocate for reincarnation) or HaShem, One must ask which one is of authority. "Because not as My thought are your thoughts, And not as your acts are Mine. . . " (Isaiah, 55:7). In response to the Kabbalist claim that G-d has mutable layers, Please refer to the Tanya which states, Rather literally, That a piece of G-d was placed in Adam, Thus dividing G-d into parts. This is heretical. Rambam says G-d is formless, "And since God has no body, Nothing can occur to Him belonging to the occurrences of bodies, So that He might be divided and separated from another. " Maimonides, Laws of the Torah Fundamentals (1:7) and "(God possesses) no joining, Or division. " Maimonides. Laws of the Torah Fundamentals (1:11). G-d is One though not in the unity of one. G-d is not one in the sense that there is one apple because of the fact that G-d exists independently of the physical Creation, Almost metaphysical. It is also worth noting that angels and demons do not exist in the traditional sense. That is, Without clear definite shape. Talmudic sages have attributed demons to mere shadows and angels are a force of nature. Example here would be the Angel of Gravity and so on. In short, Magic does not exist. It has never been proven and therefore it is a mere fabrication of the wild imagination. Maimonides rejected the notion of magic as nonsensical. G-d desires that we use reason and His Torah when discerning Truths.