Questions I received on the difference between religion and Kabbalah:

Question: Is studying Torah and keeping the Mitzvot the same thing as being religious?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: I don’t like the word religious if it means dogmatic, static, closed, etc.

My Answer: But the purpose of religion is to preserve, to statically observe. This is exactly the pleasure one feels from being religious!

Question: But the way that I have been studying Torah and practicing Mitzvot (commandments) with Chassidut and Kabbalah seems to be something powerful and important.

My Answer: There are no commandments in Kabbalah, other than equivalence with the Creator through “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Question: The Torah has a revealed component and a hidden component, and they operate together. Therefore doesn’t the continued studying Torah and practicing of Mitzvot (by Jewish people and those who feel drawn to it) operate as a platform or foundation for studying Kabbalah?

My Answer: No.

Question: Doesn’t the traditional practice safeguard the hidden Kabbalistic knowledge that has yet to be revealed?

My Answer: No.

Question: Or, are you saying that all of the old Torah ways need to be discarded like a shell and only the science of Kabbalah should be remain?

My Answer: Yes.

Question: I would like to clarify my question by saying that I have found the Kabbalah instruction on your websites to be wonderfully powerful, enriching and necessary. I see my feelings (conflicted, confused and invigorated) as part of my correction process and I ask these questions respectfully and in the spirit of growth and acceptance.

My Answer: Thank you!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Religion Is a Cultural Tradition, Kabbalah Is the Method of Correction
Laitman.com Post: Religion and Kabbalah Are Opposite
Kabbalah Today Article: New Jersey’s “Courier Post” Interviews Rav Michael Laitman, PhD
Article: “The Difference Between the Science of Kabbalah and Religion”

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