[Avodah] kabbalah - a Torah concept?

[Daniel Eidensohn]

It was recently pointed out to me that the Torah does not contain the 
word "kibail" - received. The concept of mesora is typically expressed 
by "kabblah".  A brief survey seems to indicate that transmission that 
continues to be a manifestation of the source is expressed by this term. 
Thus our mesorah from Sinai is our kabbala. It seems to be qualitatively 
different than saying something was given or taken whereby the object is 
either in one domain or the other. In other words in Torah terminolgy 
the Torah was given. Thus it is not in Heaven anymore but in the domain 
of man on earth. In contrast in the terms of Chazal the concept of 
kabbala would connote that the Torah of Heaven was transmitted through 
Moshe to us - but it is still in Heaven. Thus kabbala increases the 
participation but does not constitute an absolute transfer. We also find 
that the Prophets are referred to as "divrei kabbala" and we know that 
Torah can not be learned from divrei kabbala. "Kabbala" seems to be a 
neoplatonic understanding of reality. As in Kabbala itself - everything 
is contained in everything else. Without the term kabbala - reality is 
as you see it and it is not a manifestation of a deeper reality.

What I am trying to clarify is whether the concept of "kabbala" is 
expressed in the Torah at all - even it the term "kabbala" doesn't 
appear. Does the term "kabbala" indicate a radical change in 
understanding relationships that is alien to the peshat of the Torah? Or 
am I simply making too much out of the issue.

Daniel Eidensohn