[Avodah] Kabbala Fact or Fancy?

[Cantor Wolberg via Avodah]

I find the following fascinating. It is by Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim, an
orthodox rabbi who puts out a publication called Mesora. He actually says
that Kabala is alien to Judaism and that Judaism contains no mysticism.
Any thoughts?

"Ohr Maqif to enter between the two articles of clothing. As such,
the Qelipoth are not chased away from there. Memory issues are caused
by the Qelipoth and that is why we must be particular not to put on
two articles of clothing at the same time."

Rabbi:
Let's review this quote from the Ari:
+ Clothing is made from a holy source
+ Sins create Qelipoth, "husks of a bad source" that attach to clothing
+ Clothes have a surrounding light
+ This light chases away Qelipoth
+ Donning 2 garments simultaneously blocks the light and traps these
  Qelipoth near the person which harms memory

That's quite a theory!

Let's learn from God's actions to determine the truth here. God granted
man senses. His will is clear: accept what your senses tell you is
real, which by definition means God desires we reject what we don't
perceive. Thus, God does not wish we imagine a bridge to be sitting
before a high cliff, and that we continue driving to our death. God
wishes instead, that we accept our senses, that there is no bridge, and
that we drive in another direction. All 5 principles in the quote above
violate God's will, as they ask us to blindly accept nonsensical ideas.

People are insecure. This belief provides some imaginary access to an
"energy" that might protect a person in some manner. But God does not
wish that man live in a fantasy world. For fantasies are of the same
germ as idolatry, where a person imagines a power to exist, but without
evidence. And again, God desires we base our lives on evidence. Our
greatest teachers -- Moses and Maimonides -- stress that we trust
our senses:

Moses said:
"Guard yourselves and guard your souls exceedingly, lest you forget the
things your eyes saw...(Deut. 4:9)"
"All the signs and wonders which God has performed for you in Egypt as
your eyes have seen (Deut. 4:34)."
"You have been demonstrated to know that God is Elokim, there is no
other besides Him (Deut. 4:35)."
"From the heavens He made heard His voice to prove you, and on land He
showed you His great fire and His words you heard from amidst the fire
(Deut. 4:36)."

Maimonides said:
"It is not proper for a man to accept as trustworthy anything other than
one of these three things:
"1) clear proof deriving from man's reasoning;
"2) what is perceived through one of the five senses;
"3) what is received from the prophets or from the righteous.
"Every reasonable man ought to distinguish in his mind and thought all
the things that he accepts as trustworthy , and say: 'This I accept as
trustworthy because of tradition, and this because of sense-perception,
and this on grounds of reason.' Anyone who accepts as trustworthy
anything that is not of these three species, of him it is said: 'The
simple believes everything (Proverbs 14:15)'." Maimonides' "Letter to
the Community of Marseille"

As Moses taught, Torah is the authoritative source of God's truth,
and nowhere in Torah, Prophets or Writings are such delusional notions
suggested. Moses stressed we are to trust our senses, and reject what we
do not sense. We must reject what was stated above in the name of the Ari.

God is the only source of our fate...no other powers exist. This quote
you provided suggests otherwise.

Reward and Punishment is a primary Torah fundamental. If we follow God's
Torah, it is antithetical to His system of justice that we are harmed
by such innocuous actions of donning 2 garments at once.

I wonder if people would believe that when eating 2 foods at once,
a new power is generat- ed, a new light, that mystically secures
enormous wealth, and that we can leave our jobs. This would prove to
any intelligent person that they truly do not believe such nonsense.
This quote is harmful, for it rejects God's will that we adhere to
natural design, it opens the door to idolatrous thought, and it rejects
God's system of justice.

"Jewish" Mysticism
Mysticism refers to 1) the notion of causal relationships, or 2) the
imagined existence of things, when in either case, there is no support-
ing evidence, nor does reason comply with the claim. Thus, Judaism -- a
religion synonymous with reason and proof, and not founded on belief or
faith like all others -- truly contains no mysticism. Whatever today is
called "Jewish mysticism" is in fact alien cultural influence adopted by
"Jews," but in no way is mysticism part of "Judaism" -- it is not found
in the Bible, Prophets or Writings, or Talmud, our fundamen- tals sources.

If you search Mesora.org (www.mesora.org/search) you can locate
explanations of such Biblical stories, like Bilam and the donkey that
spoke, Saul and the witch, Rava creating a man, and other metaphors that
the Rabbis scripted as riddles and subtle lessons.