From "Inner Space" and "Meditation and Kabbala" by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan

Meet theoretical, meditative, and practical Kabbala

The study of Kabbala is divided into three basic areas: the theoretical, the meditative, and the practical.

The theoretical deals with the form of the mysteries, teaching the structure of the angelic domains as well as of the  sefirot, or divine emanations. With great success, it deals with problems posed by the many schools of philosophy, and it provides a conceptual framework into which all theological ideas can be fitted. It also provides a framework through which the mechanism of both the meditative and practical Kabbala can be understood. The vast majority of Kabbala texts and Kabbala study today deals with the theoretical Kabbala.
" The practical Kabbala...was a kind of white magic..." 
 

The practical Kabbala, on the other hand, was a kind of white magic, dealing with the use of techniques that could evoke supernatural powers. It involved the use of divine names and incantations, amulets and talismans, as well as chiromancy, physiognomy and astrology. Many theoretical Kabbalists, led by the Ari, frowned on the use of such techniques, labeling them as dangerous and spiritually demeaning. As a result, only a very small number of texts have survived at all.

The theoretical Kabbala essentially gives us a description of the spiritual realm. Practical Kabbala tells you how to get into this inner space. Very often, the theoretical Kabbala is an important guide once you are in there. Otherwise, it is like taking off in a plane; you need maps and charts to make sure you will be able to land. The theoretical Kabbala gives you these landmarks; in other words, which world you are in, whether on the side of good or of evil, etc.
" Kabbala cannot stand by itself without the entire corpus of the revealed  Torah..." 
 

The meditative Kabbala stands between these two extremes. Some of the earliest meditative methods border on the practical Kabbala, and their use is discouraged by the latter masters, especially those of the Ari's school. Within this category are the few surviving texts from the Talmudic period. The same is true of the teachings of the Thirteenth Century master, Rabbi Abraham Abulafia, whose meditative works have never been printed and survive only in manuscript.

An important point which is often lost is that Kabbala cannot stand by itself without the entire corpus of the revealed Torah; it is an integral part of the Torah. There is not a single Kabalistic work which does not contain quotations from the Bible, the Talmud and the  Midrash and require a profound knowledge of all of these. Bible, Talmud, Midrash and Kabbala all work together.

Editor's note: Even students without a thorough knowledge of "the entire corpus of the revealed Torah" can grasp, and benefit from, basic kabbalistic concepts. This site's introductory section is created for that purpose. To begin learning the fundamentals of Kabbalah, go to our Beginning Kabbalah Tutorial.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan was the Bronx-born renowned author of over 50 books. In addition to his brilliant success as a youthful prodigy in various yeshivas, as a university graduate student, he was described in a scientific "Who's Who" as the most promising young physicist in America. In the field of Kabbala in English, he translated and elucidated two of the oldest and most important texts: Sefer Yetzira and Sefer Habahir, and his Meditation and Kabbala is still the classic in the field. The Jewish people suffered a tragic loss when he passed away suddenly in 1983 at the age of 48.

Reprinted with permission from KabbalaOnline.org. To learn more about Kabbala, please visit www.KabbalaOnline.org.