Re: Fwd: Spiritrave "Dancing the Tree of Life": February 20

[Kober, Gary <Gkober...>]

Dear Ari:

While, even though as a Torah-observant Jew (of the non-aggressive
variety), I wasn't offended by your advertising of the "spiritrave",
having long ago participated myself in some pretty zany events of a
similar nature, I found your characterization of the kabbalah fairly
surprising, i.e.  "the codified drug- (or alcohol-) induced ravings of
earlier Jewish non-conformists" (?!). Somebody correct me if I'm
mistaken, but I was under the impression that the Kabbalists throughout
Jewish history were highly involved members, if not leaders, of their
communities and were thoroughly entrenched in the normative halachic
tradition, certainly not outside it. Most were noted as much, if not
more, for their contributions to the "meat and potatoes" of Jewish
scholarship, i.e.  Torah commentary, Talmudic law, Jewish ethics, etc,
as they were for their "mystical" writings, e.g. Shneur Zalman of Liadi,
the Vilna Gaon,  the Ramchal, the Maharal of Prague, the Arizal, Yosef
Caro (of Shulchan Aruch fame), the Ramban, the Rambam, R' Akiva, Shimon
bar Yochai, to name a few.

Gary
 

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