Traces of psychological approaches within Translation Studies

Dear Gail:

You will hear of the Cabala, or Kabala as it’s often spelled, in your study on spirituality. The Cabala is a kind of system of occult theosophy or mystical interpretation of the scriptures among the Jewish rabbis or certain medieval religionists. At first it was handed down orally through chosen individuals, but later committed to writing.

It treats of the nature of God and the universe and teaches that God is the original principle of all being, that creation is the process of emanation and that the powers of evil can be brought to an end by the triumph of morality and goodness through the supremacy of man’s spirit over his desires. That is, when man’s mind is in full control, the Messiah will come and restore the world to a perfect state; that man is a microcosm and that writing was revealed as a means of penetrating into the divine mysteries.

The Cabalists therefore assumed that every letter, word, number, and accent of the Scriptures, contains a hidden sense; claims to know the method of interpretation for ascertaining these occult meanings; and pretends to foretell events by these methods, so the Cabala is thus the source of much medieval and modern magic and demonology.

Therefore, it is the secret of esoteric doctrine or the science in general of magic; it is a mystic art and a mystery which many people study and use. One of the oldest schools of magic, “The Order of Golden Dawn,” is an offshoot of the Cabala—it was founded in the 12th century—and handed down verbally until recently; then it was placed in writing and is taught by occult schools of magic today scattered here and there. Many famous people have belonged to this

school—William Butler Yeats; George Moore; Russell and others; in fact, Shaw may well have been one of its followers.

One of the best books in the library on this school is given indirectly in “The Unicorn,” by Virginia Moore; it is a study of Yeats’ life along these lines.

The mysticism originated in Spain in the 12th century as the current for mystic teachings in Judaism—referred to the Bible and Talmud. Its original teachings were from the Essenes, a mystical band of persons and there are references to this group in the Bible, however, I can’t point it out at the moment, offhand. H. Spencer Lewis authored a book, “The Mystical Side of Christianity,” or similar name, and it gives a lot of attention to this group.

The origin of Cabalism is said to have been given to Isaac, the Blind, son of Abraham of Pospuieres, and a couple of others. It was a compilation of those mystic teachings which had been handed down in the Jewish faith. You will soon learn that every orthodox faith has a mystical side.

The Cabala is primarily concerned with two problems: (1) How to reconcile the relation of God, the most exalted and spiritual Being, to the gross, materialistic world. (2) How could such a Being create a material world, and approximately when did matter come?

The solution of these problems can be comprised in one word: mediation. Mediation means there are mediators between God and the world, by means of which relation is carried out. This is not new; it was taught in the ancient times by Philo. The content, however, is different. The mediators were identified differently through the ages as angels, as powers of God embodied in the letters of the alphabet, or as hyperoslatized powers, called Sephiroth. It is the Sephiroth on which the Cabala centers.

The Cabalist says the essence of God is unknown. He is

En Sof, the endless; however, He must reveal himself to the world and the mind of man! The doctrine therefore posits between God and the world and man, in ten manifestations or power and media of His will, called Sephiroth. These are:

(1) The Divine Crown, the Absolute Himself, (2) The Divine Wisdom, (3) The Divine Understanding, (4) The Divine Kindness, (5) The Divine Power, (6) Glory, which is morality, (7) Might or victory, (8) Splendor of nature, (9) Foundation, or the basis of nature, like the atom, (10) Kingship, the harmonizer of all nine Manifestations.

God is said to reveal himself to man through all these ten manifestations.

The principle book of the Cabala is the Zohar (splendor).

It was written and published by Moses ben Shem Tob de Leon, a Spanish Jew, at the end of the 13th century; as a result of his mediumship with the spirit of Simos ben Yohas, a master, of the 2nd century. He is supposed to have sat in trance and received the information, which was from this spirit. Also, in the 16th century an Isaac Luria Ashkeniaji, who lived in Palestine, published an interpretation of the Cabala which has been accepted as a realistic manuscript, and is reported to have had great influence on the Jewish masses for centuries. Many of the Jews are followers of the Cabala, because it solves so many of their metaphysical problems, so it is claimed. I have some of the manuscripts from the “Order of the Golden Dawn,” in case you would like to read them. But take them objectively for to become involved in any occult thought at this stage will only delay your growth.

The word Cabala is derived from the root QBL, meaning

“to receive.” The secret system sprang from weariness of the dead letter, and represented a revolt against the petrified Judaism of the rabbis. Pico de Mirandola, one of the great

intellectuals of the 15th century, and Savonarola, a contemporary and church martyr, were both Cabalists. Much of the Masonry mysticism comes from the Cabala. Rossetti, Swedenborg, and a half-hundred other famous names belonged to this secret society. In the movie, “Joan of Angels,” you may remember that the priest asked the rabbi if there are angels, and the rabbi replied, “Yes!” The rabbi was following the Cabalistic theory on angels—as the mediators between God and man!

The Jewish metaphysical thinkers in the early times would not associate with the Greeks, because their line of inquiry was completely different. They went in for demonology, the evil eye, magic, divination, dream prophecies, and cures. Since the Talmud legislates for everything, the average Jew cannot make any movement unless he is certain that this is the way the law designates. In the old days, it was a hidebound way of living, so some few got together and decided to break the laws so they could have a fresh beginning, and this was the way in which the Cabala got its start. It was a sort of reform in the Jewish religion. All orthodox religions have the same type of history—look at those about which I’ve previously listed briefly. The Jewish history claims that the evil spirits were created by Adam during his separation from Eve when God punished him.

Cabalism has a charm and incantation for everything—even how to find a mate or become wealthy!

More later.

Sincerely, Paul

41. Gnosticism