Question: If in the beginning there was only Kabbalah, then how did religions appear from it?
Answer: This happened exactly because they abandoned the continuous work of uniting (within a group, within a nation) and allowed egoism to appear in relationships between people. This caused the outer seal—Judaism to originate from Kabbalah [1]. Judaism regulates the outer actions that a person performs with his body (this is why it is called the “External Torah” – “Hitzhoniut aTorah”), whereas, Kabbalah refers only to inner actions (therefore, it is called the “Inner part of Torah” – “Pnimit aTorah”).
This means that Kabbalah shows how through uniting in the group [2] a person can achieve an elevation above his egoism and in this mutual annulment of egoism he can reveal the Creator [3]. The difference between Kabbalah and religion is not only in the action (whether it is mechanical or in intention) but also in the result (he hopes to receive a reward after death or he hopes to reveal the Creator in this life).
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Related Material:
The Wisdom Of Kabbalah Is Not A Religion [4]
What Is The Difference Between Kabbalah And Religion? [5]
Once Again About Religion… [6]