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Kabbalists Are Not Ascetics

Question: Were there rich and poor Kabbalists, or is the spiritual way conditional on asceticism?

Answer: The spiritual path does not require asceticism.

In the Talmud, there is a story about two famous Kabbalists who were standing and looking at Jerusalem from a distance. One said to the other, “I have enough money to provide heat for this city for three years.”

That was a lot of money, especially 2,500 years ago. The second answered, “I have so much money that I could provide light for three years.” This suggests there were wealthy people among the Kabbalists.

A Kabbalist must work and earn money. At the same time, there is a prohibition against simply giving it away, except for necessary charity. Therefore, people accumulated a lot of money that was mainly donated for education [1] and knowledge.

Jews are the only people who never have been illiterate. Universal education, the opening of schools, was always promoted and was the main concern of the population.
[188563]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 3/27/16

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