Behind the Celebrity: Gems from the Kabbalah 4 part course

21/03/2011
Randwick, March-April 2011

These days, Kabbalah is probably better known by its celebrity followers than by its spiritual teachings. How did this ancient Jewish mystical tradition become part of popular culture? And what is the modern relevance of this medieval philosophy?

Looking at Kabbalistic texts and ancient and modern artwork, this course, taught by Kabbalah scholar Dr. Orna Triguboff, will consider these questions and explore key Kabbalistic teachings from different Kabbalistic texts: Sefer Yetsirah – The Book of Creation; The Zohar – The Book of Radiance and the Etz Chayim – The Tree of Life, by Hayim Vital.

Each week we will explore a different aspect of the Kabbalah:

Week 1 - Mon 21st March: Fundamentals of Kabbalah
What is the Kabbalah, what does it say about the creation of the world, and what does it mean for humankind?

Week 2 - Mon 28th March: The Zohar and the Soul
Looking at this most famous Kabbalistic text, written in 13th Century Spain, we explore notions of the soul.

Week 3 - Mon 4th April: The Afterlife
Is there a heaven and a hell, and what happens to the soul after death?

Week 4 - Mon 11th April: The Golden Age of Kabbalah and Tikun Olam
Drawing on the teachings of the Ari (Isaac Luria), we explore the enduring ideas of repairing the soul (Tikun haNefesh) and repairing the world (Tikun Olam).

We will also explore the ancient and modern sketches, diagrams and artwork of the Kabbalists – from the ‘maps’ of divine worlds found in Renaissance manuscripts to paintings of the “anatomy of the soul” by modern-day Kabbalists in Israel.