A pinch of Kabalah I think is a good idea. I liked the Eitz Chaim of the Ari. But it can be a trap. The Ari (Isaac Luria) himself warned against learning Kabalah for people that have not finished Shas[Talmud]. There are a few books of the Ari that deal with verses of Torah and at the end of the Torah you will find a few paragraphs from the Ari warning that although Kabalah is a good thing but it is very dangerous for one that is not properly prepared.
I have seen what happens to most people when they learn Jewish mysticism without some kind of mental and emotional stolidity. They definitely get messianic delusions.
There is one rule: never learn Jewish mysticism from Ashkenazim. The teachings of the Shatz got mixed up with there. [And the more kosher they claim and the more "halacha" they keep, the more you find the Dark Side hidden there..]
Sometimes you can find that people that are against Kabalah have just as many delusions also. They think being against Kabalah makes them better that others. Or they think that makes them qualified to teach it. My approach is to learn Torah which is a big subject and Kabbalah is side thing. Anyway anything advertised as "Jewish Mysticism" is pretty much guaranteed to be from the Dark Side. A legitimate kabalist will never advertise or teach it in public.
In any case I was impressed by the Bava Sali family. Sometimes people just want a little advice or a blessing from some person they feel has a little bit of inspiration from the realm of holiness and as far as that goes I think anyone from the Bava Sali family is good. [They don't all have last name Abuzaira, or Abuchatzaeira. The Buso family is also from Bava Sali--from his daughter Abigail Buso]
I have seen what happens to most people when they learn Jewish mysticism without some kind of mental and emotional stolidity. They definitely get messianic delusions.
There is one rule: never learn Jewish mysticism from Ashkenazim. The teachings of the Shatz got mixed up with there. [And the more kosher they claim and the more "halacha" they keep, the more you find the Dark Side hidden there..]
Sometimes you can find that people that are against Kabalah have just as many delusions also. They think being against Kabalah makes them better that others. Or they think that makes them qualified to teach it. My approach is to learn Torah which is a big subject and Kabbalah is side thing. Anyway anything advertised as "Jewish Mysticism" is pretty much guaranteed to be from the Dark Side. A legitimate kabalist will never advertise or teach it in public.
In any case I was impressed by the Bava Sali family. Sometimes people just want a little advice or a blessing from some person they feel has a little bit of inspiration from the realm of holiness and as far as that goes I think anyone from the Bava Sali family is good. [They don't all have last name Abuzaira, or Abuchatzaeira. The Buso family is also from Bava Sali--from his daughter Abigail Buso]
