[Avodah] Kabbalah's Legitimacy

[Michael Makovi]

Was: [Avodah] Does God Change His Mind?
This is a spin-off from Shiur Koma - specifically,
http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol25/v25n068.shtml#11

This is related to
http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol25/v25n010.shtml#10. No one replied
to that message, so I'll ask that anyone please weigh in and that
and/or on this. My ideas are beyond the pale, but it doesn't mean I
don't want to hear reproof.

Rambam was (IMHO) wrong that the text (Shiur Koma) was inauthentic, viz. a
viz. Chazalic authorship. But I never said that I myself am
comfortable with the theosophical tendencies which prevail in these
works.

I might compare this to my view of Kabbalah compared to Rav Hirsch's,
as interpreted by Rabbi Shelomoh Danziger (Rabbi Joseph Elias and
Dayan Grunfeld interpret Rav Hirsch to hold an opinion on Kabbalah
identical to the mainstream one). According to Rabbi Danziger, Rav
Hirsch rejects all theosophy and mysticism, and interprets Kabbalah as
an allegorical vehicle for rational truths. In other words, Rav Hirsch
accepts the Kabbalah per se, but has an entirely unique interpretation
of it; therefore, whenever Rav Hirsch uses the Zohar in his works, his
interpretation is always a completely rationalistic one, rejecting
that the Zohar actually means what it seems to mean.

See http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol16/v16n022.shtml#12 for Dayan
Grunfeld versus Rabbi Danziger

On other other hand: I completely agree with Rav Hirsch that theosophy
and mysticism are out of place in Judaism. But I disagree with him on
the Zohar's intent; from what I can tell, the Zohar and other
Kabbalistic works mean exactly what they seem to mean. My
interpretation of these works, per se, would be more in line with
Prof. Gershom Scholem and the Dor Daim.

So with Shiur Koma, I disagree with Rambam on the authenticity of the
work (just as I disagree with Rav Hirsch on the interpretation of the
intent of the Zohar), but agree with him that the ideas contained
therein are...troubling (just as I agree with Rav Hirsch that the
ideas of the literal p'shat of the Zohar are out of place in Judaism).

On http://www.aishdas.org/avodah/vol25/v25n010.shtml#10, I asked for
anyone to PLEASE weigh in on what I say. No one replied. So I'll ask
again. Thank you.

Mikha'el Makovi