kabbalah

American  

[kab-uh-luh, kuh-bah-] / ˈkæb ə lə, kəˈbɑ- /

Also cabbala, or cabala

noun

1. a system of esoteric theosophy and theurgy developed by rabbis, reaching its peak about the 12th and 13th centuries, and influencing certain medieval and Renaissance Christian thinkers. It was based on a mystical method of interpreting Scripture by which initiates claimed to penetrate sacred mysteries. Among its central doctrines are: all creation is an emanation from the Deity and the soul exists from eternity.

2. any occult or secret doctrine or science.

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kabbalah British  

/ ˈkæbəˌlɪzəm, kəˈbɑːlə /

noun

1. an ancient Jewish mystical tradition based on an esoteric interpretation of the Old Testament

2. any secret or occult doctrine or science

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Other Word Forms

• kabbalism noun
• kabbalist noun
• kabbalistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of kabbalah

First recorded in 1515–25; from Medieval Latin cabbala, from Hebrew qabbālāh “tradition,” literally, “something received,” i.e., “handed down”; cabal ( def. )

Example Sentences

Walking to synagogue in Safed, a hill town above the Sea of Galilee known for centuries as a center of kabbalah, or ancient Jewish mysticism, he said he still didn’t feel great about the gun.

From New York Times • May 23, 2024

The practice is so mainstream that millions of Argentines likely practice some sort of cábala, a word that derives from kabbalah, a Jewish mystical tradition.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2022

These range from the kabbalah to perhaps his favored poet, Paul Celan.

From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2022

Treister’s neat, colorful works on paper feature flying saucers and stars laid out in a kabbalah tree-of-life diagram, and blueprints for imagined scientific systems and extraterrestrial architecture.

From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2021

The kabbalah was much more than number crunching; it was a tradition so mystical that some scholars say that it bears a striking resemblance to Hinduism.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife