Transcendence in Judiasm

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PistisSophia

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I do not believe that monotheism was the contribution of Judiasm. TRANSCENDENT religion by which the Jewish Tribe were caretakers, but to be followed by all and is a religion that lacks any type of worship of nature, ie., trees, sun gods, etc.
 
Abraham Came to a Different Conclusion

"There is hardly an animal in nature, from the Egyptian scarab to the Hindu elephant, that has not somewhere been worshiped as a god."
Will Durant, Our Oriental Heritage​

Somehow, Abraham came to a different conclusion. Where everyone saw diversity, Abraham saw unity. Where everyone saw countless phenomena with countless causes, Abraham saw one creation and one Creator. Where everyone saw a panoply of self-serving, and self-indulgent cosmic puppeteers, Abraham saw a flawless being who was pure kindness, who only gave and gave the greatest good.

To Abraham nothing could be clearer than the fact that everyone else was dead wrong. Abraham’s conception of life was one that envisioned higher aspirations; to Abraham life had meaning and purpose. To Abraham, there was something deeply noble to strive for in life. For Abraham, there was something to accomplish, something to strive for, somewhere to go in life.

Abraham didn’t just come to a different conclusion from everyone else about God. Rather, he was the only person whose thinking concluded with God. The difference between Abraham and every other person on earth was something like the difference between a toddler who trembles at the sound of thunder and is convinced that his mother’s skirt can protect him, and an adult who is awestruck by the grandeur of creation.
 
that's a very nice point. thank you from all the tribe members. i can't help but feel that judaism is a bit more complicated though. essential to normative judaism is exoteric (not transcendent) law. god says to abraham that he must circumcise himself, his son, and all of his generations. this is a very physical act. afterwards, moses arrives with the torah and this contains a great deal of specific legal obligations; most of which, have no seeming transcendent value. so, it seems there is a dialectical tension between this feeling of awe, which arises from the contact with the transcendent, and seemingly irrational legal minutia which dictates a great deal of daily jewish life. any attempt to wrest the legal tradition from judaism departs from the main concern of jews throughout our history: what does this transcendent being expect from us?

very sincerely,
-salonius
 
I'm not sure exactly what the term "transcendence" is supposed to mean. but the kabbalah which some consider the essence of Judaism teaches one to transcend ALL boundaries of this world. Kabbalists who reach a very high level of attainment begin to sense and live in the upper worlds which are eternal and perfect, while still living in this world which is not permanent. They transcend all boundaries of time and space. They still live in a human body, but they can sense their soul and know where they will go when they die. Death is not a big deal to them, it is more like changing their clothes. They sense the one TRUE reality, and see that Olam HaZeh (this world) is but a tiny fraction of this reality. This state is very difficult to reach constant effort must be applied with enormous amount of desire. Rav Laitman says it is the most difficult thing in the world to do, but the only thing that is truley worth doing.

The Torah which seems to be historical and worldly to some who read it is actually a roadmap to exit from the spiritual state of absolute selfishness, also know as Galut (exile), or Egypt and enter the spiritual state of absolute altruism called the Land of Israel. The acts of physical mitzvot seem to have no effect in this world. However, everything comes from above, this world is like a branch coming from the true spiritual world which is the root of everything. The true spiritual meaning of mitzvot has to do with the upper spiritual world, they appear to be random acts that have no significance whatsoever only because we have no contact with the upper world. Kabbalists state that the main purpose of physical mitzot is to remind us of the need to keep spiritual mitzvot.
 
kabbalah which some consider the essence of Judaism teaches one to transcend ALL boundaries of this world.
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without, of course this including the physical aspects of Torah. in other words, kabbalists still have to keep kosher and know halachah.

Kabbalists who reach a very high level of attainment begin to sense and live in the upper worlds which are eternal and perfect, while still living in this world which is not permanent.
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and, again, this path is not for everyone. we are talking about a *very* small number of people here (as few as 36, perhaps) because the discipline which might enable such attainment is extremely, extremely difficult.

They transcend all boundaries of time and space.
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surely not all. for example, they still grow old and die. i think this is crossing into hyperbole.

Rav Laitman says it is the most difficult thing in the world to do, but the only thing that is truley worth doing.
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i'm sure rav laitman does not include flying in the face of "elu devarim" - kibud av ve'em, gemilut chasadim, biqur holim and making shalom bein adam lehavero ubein ish le'ishto despite the study of Torah being keneged kulam.

The Torah which seems to be historical and worldly to some who read it is actually a roadmap to exit from the spiritual state of absolute selfishness, also know as Galut (exile), or Egypt and enter the spiritual state of absolute altruism called the Land of Israel.
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but it is also many other things. nistar may be the "inner dimension" but there are seventy faces of Torah. even the ba'al sulam's introduction to the zohar says that kabbalah should be studied by those who cannot study mishnah and gemara. and, furthermore, he distinguishes between ta'amim and sodot. the level you are talking on is, of course, the "big picture" - but the Torah is also about the nitty-gritty, the details of how we live.

Kabbalists state that the main purpose of physical mitzot is to remind us of the need to keep spiritual mitzvot.
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i couldn't agree more - with the proviso that the tiqqunim of 'olam ha-ba not lead us to neglect the tiqqunim of 'olam ha-zeh - let us not forget that the 'arousal' of the mayim duchrin is contingent in a certain sense upon the prior arousal of the mayim nuqvin.

b'shalom

bananabrain
 
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bannabrain, i pretty much agree with almost everything in your response

regarding transcending all boundaries in this world, its more that things like growing old and dying become insignificant, Rabash talks about how kabbalists who enter the spiritual world start viewing their body as something that does not belong to them, since they can perceive their soul which is much more important, and yes, transcending all these boundaries is not done by a lot of people
 
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