Does Kabbalah Work?

Did Madonna really brainwash A-Rod? These were the questions I was asked yesterday on Entertainment Tonight as they explored the sex, romance and religion story of the moment. My answer to the second question was already explored in yesterday's posting, but the answer to the first may be more relevant to any of us who seek a meaningful spiritual path and a supportive community with whom to share it.

If by work, we mean, can the practice of certain rituals guarantee the outcomes we desire? I would say, no, Kabbalah doesn't work. Although there is even a stream of thought within Jewish mystical thought which says that can and does happen - that we can perform acts on earth which compel God to provide what we desire. Though even masters of that approach do not teach that everyone can get what they want if they "just insert prayer A into heaven B".

But if by work, we mean, are there practices which can transform our lives, get us more in touch with our own spiritual capacity, and give us a sense of greater wholeness? Then I would say, yes, Kabbalah can work. Let's take the example of the red thread which people, including my own mother, wear and associate with Kabbalah.

Anyone who believes that the wearing of that thread is a guarantor of full protection or good outcomes is likely to be deeply disappointed. But the idea that one could wear a simple thread which reminds them of God's presence and the fact that as people, we have the power to perform sacred acts which have profound and often unforeseen consequences is great.

The red thread is not an insurance policy; it is a token of relationship with something greater than yourself, and a statement to yourself and the world of your own sacredness and spiritual dignity. Not only is it vital that we all have such tokens in our lives, but this one is simply an adaptation of the ritual fringes, tzitzit, which Moses commands the newly freed Israelites to wear for precisely the same reasons. And I love that so many people have found their way to that consciousness through this new/old ritual.

I also want to thank Carolyn G., who responded so beautifully to yesterday's posting and the comments it evoked about the so-called over-popularization of Kabbalah and Jewish ritual. Here's what she wrote:

Saying that non-Jews who involve themselves in Kabbalah cheapens Kabbalah is like saying that non-religious people who involve themselves in learning about G-d cheapens G-d. Both are what they are. Neither can be cheapened by anything or anybody.

Listen to this wise woman! If the faiths we follow and the God we worship are truly infinite, then they can never be cheapened of diluted because each of those terms presumes a finite quantity which is made less valuable either because there is too much of it, or not enough. That is not a problem ever faced by that which is infinite.