In its developed form, and on the basis of the various works which, besides the Sefer Jezirah and the Zohar, may be regarded as authoritative sources, the religious philosophy of the Cabbala may be summarized as follows: (1) in regard to God, the Cabbala teaches that He is the original principle of All Being, with out end and without limitations. Hence the common.: designation of God in Cabbalistic works is En-Sof—i.e. without end. He is absolutely perfect and unchangeable. Human wisdom can not fathom His Being, and hence no definition can he given of Him nor any conception be formed of Him. lie is the Secret of Secrets, the First of the First, the Oldest of the Oldest, the Ultimate Principle.
(2) Creation. according to the Cabbala, is a process of emanation. There are ten divine emanations, known as the ten Sephiroth (lit. enumerations). The first four (as above set forth), Breath, Breath of Breaths or Air, Water, Fire, one emanating from the other. Upon these four Sephiroth follow six directions of space—height, depth, east, west, south, and north. Besides being called Sephiroth, they are also designated as tools used by God at crea tion. Out of air the intelligence in the universe is formed; out of water, the material world; out of fire, the spiritual universe (angels and the divine throne). At this point, however, dif ferences of opinion among Cabbalists and con siderable confusion of ideas arise. It is not made clear whether these ten Sephiroth repre sent real acts of creation or merely emanations by means of which His essence becomes clear to us; and, again, it is uncertain whether the Sephiroth are independent beings intermediate between God and the material world, or merely manifestations of the Divine Being himself. The ten Sephiroth in the developed Cabbala are de nominated: (1) Crown, (2) Wisdom, (3) In telligence, (4) Love, (5) Justice (also called Might and Fear), (6) Beauty (also called Mercy), (7) Victory, (8) Splendor, (9) Foun dation, (10) Kingdom. These ten Sephiroth are variously subdivided as Sephiroth of the• world and Sephiroth of construction, or into three groups as metaphysical, spiritual, and physical Sephiroth. The Sephiroth were com monly pictured by the Cabbalists under human form, and the tell emanations divided among his various organs and limbs, Crown rep resenting the head, Wisdom the brain, and In telligence the heart; while Love, Justice, and Beauty corresponded to the right arm, left arm, and breast respectively, with Victory, Splendor, and Foundation symbolized by the right and left thigh and the genital organs respectively. 'King dom' rests under his feet, while God towers above his head.
(3) There are two classes of Sephiroth: (a) Heavenly or Sephiroth of light; (b) Sephiroth of darkness and wickedness. The Sephiroth of darkness produce the evil demons. at the bead of whom stands Samael. Through the demons,. the work of creation is constantly threatened with destruction.
(4) The end of the powers of evil can be brought about through the triumph of morality and goodness among men; and that again is dependent upon the supremacy of the spirit of man over his desires. When the mind of man
is in full control, the Messiah will appear and restore the world to its original perfect state.
(5) Man himself is a type of a divine heaven ly man known as Adam Kadmon. He represents in his person the whole scheme of creation, and is, therefore, a microcosmos. All parts of the human body have, therefore, a symbolical sig nificance.
(6) As a means of penetrating into the di vine secrets, writing was 'revealed, and hence words, letters, vowels, and accents all symbolize certain teachings, the secrets of which are only revealed to those who can penetrate beneath the surface. It is in the combination of letters and endless meanings attached to the numerical value of such combinations that Cabbalistic writers indulge, each one trying to outdo the other in mystical interpretations.
From this rapid survey it is evident that various factors arc involved in Cabbalistic teach ings. The theory of emanation that lies at the basis is an echo of the Idealistic philosophy of Plato, in combination with Neo-Platonism.
Christian Gnosticism represents a :second fac tor that accounts for some of the mystical aspects of the Cabbala, while in its developed form traces of mystical ideas in Islam may be detected. The influence of Cabbalistic teachings on Judaism was fraught with serious consequences. It led to divisions, and to the formation of new sects, which shut themselves from the influence of cul ture and were hostile to reasoning that did not conform to Cabbalistic teaching; and when the Cabbala spread to the Christian world, its influ enee, though not so extensive, was most baneful, and checked for a time the progress of rational philosophic thought.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Latin translation of the Sefer Bibliography. Latin translation of the Sefer Jezirah. with five commentaries (Slantua, 1562) ; t:erman translation by Meyer (Leipzig, 1830) ; English translation by Kalisch (New York, 1877). Consult, also: Tholuck, Wichtige Stel b n des rabbinischen Bitches Sohar (Berlin, 1824) ; Joel. Die Reliqionsphilosophie des Sohar (Leipzig. 1349); Franck. La Kabbale (Paris, 1843) Jel!luck, Beitrayc zur Geschichte der Kabbala (Leipzig, : Ginsburg, The Kabbala (London, 1865) ; Rubin. Hcidentunt and Kabbala (Vienna. 13931: id.. "Kabbala." in Hamburger, Realencyklopildie fiir Rik/ unil Talmud, 11. (Strelitz, 1883) ; Bloch, "Die JUdisehe Mystik nod Kabbala." in Winter and Wiinselle, Jii,lisvhv Litteratur, Vol. III. (Trier, 1s961; "Kabbala," in Herzog, Real cncyklopiidie fiir protestantische Theologie and Kirche, 2d ed., Vol. IX. (Leipzig, 1901) ; Graetz, Geschichtc der Judea run den iiltesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenteart (Berlin and Leipzig, : Jost, Geschichte des Judentums und seiner Sekten (Leipzig. 1857-59) : Cassel, Gc $ehielitc der jiidisehcn Litteratztr (Berlin, 73) : Ueberweg, Grundri.ss der Geschichte der Philosophic (8th ed., Berlin, ; Ritter, Gesehiehte der Philosophic (12 vols., Hamburg, 1829-53) ; Tennemann, Geschiehte der Philo sophic (11 vols., Leipzig, 1798-1819).
CABEt3A DE VACA, Ica-na'sA dft vit'kit. See Csnecs en VACA. ALvAE.