Six Tips for Kabbalist Bardonists

 

In this post, I want to share six tips for those interested in using Kabbalistic teachings to accelerate their progress through IIH. But before I give these tips, there are two clarifications I should make.

(#1) In writing this post, I have those interested in traditional Jewish Kabbalah in mind. This post was not written for those interested specifically in Hermetic Qabalah, which is a different matter. Traditional Jewish Kabbalah is a component of my spirituality, but Hermetic Qabalah isn’t, so I rarely write about it.

(#2) In writing this post, I have those working through the beginning steps of IIH in mind. Some of the tips I will give may not be as relevant to those on the advanced steps. For example, since a Kabbalist Bardonist on the advanced steps of IIH would likely already have developed the virtues discussed in texts like Mesilat Yesharim and Tomer Devorah, daily study of these texts may not be as important. However, such a Bardonist should still study these texts periodically.

Having made those two clarifications, let’s begin.

Tip #1: Develop hishtavut.

Until you have developed hishtavut, developing hishtavut should be your highest priority. It should certainly be given higher priority than learning about the concept of tzimtzum, the concept of the ten sephiroth, the concept of the four olamot, etc. Possessing hishtavut will give you a big advantage when it comes to any stage of your magical training, including the beginning stages. Learning about tzimtzum, the ten sephiroth, and the four olamot, on the other hand, will not provide you with any advantage when it comes to working through the beginning stages if you are following Bardon’s training system. It is hard to argue that knowing about tzimtzum will make you better at conscious eating, or that knowing Malkuth is below Yesod will help you introspect, or that knowing one of the four olamat is named Assiah will make pore breathing easier. But with hishtavut comes maturity, and with maturity the gates to the mysteries will open.

Tip #2: Study Musar texts every day.

Study Musar texts like Mesilat Yesharim and Tomer Devorah every day. This is not my advice. This is the Baal Shem Tov’s advice and can be found in the very first section of Tzava’at Harivash. Until you cultivate the virtues discussed in these texts, you should spend much more time studying them than other texts like the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, even if those other texts may seem more fascinating. Throughout his writings, Bardon often mentions the importance of becoming a virtuous and ethical person. Musar texts can provide valuable guidance for doing this.

Tip #3: Figure out what must be done to attain bitul hayesh.

In the epilogue of IIH, Bardon calls his system a “path to, and union with, God.” Bitul hayesh is the key to uniting with God. Some version of this concept exists in many mystical traditions, and is a key part of esoteric Christianity. Do your best to understand what bitul hayesh is and what must be done to achieve it.

Tip #4: Practice hitbodedut every day.

Hitbodedut is an extremely important spiritual practice. Without hitbodedut, or at least regular prayer, Kabbalah becomes more of an intellectual discipline than a truly spiritual/mystical one. An intellectual discipline cannot take a person to God. In fact, it may take him farther away from God. A person may learn about concepts like tzimzum, the ten sephiroth, the four olamot, etc. and think himself knowledgeable, therefore growing in pride. During hitbodedut, we have an honest conversation with God. Honesty begets humility, which is conducive to spiritual progress because it allows us to merit God’s guidance in our magical training (Psalm 25:9). Prayer in general is a good spiritual practice, and the Baal Shem Tov and Nachman of Breslov taught extensively about it. But of all the forms of prayer, Nachman of Breslov singled out hitbodedut as being especially important.

Tip #5: Live a righteous life.

A tzadik is to Kabbalah what a living saint is to Christian mysticism and a wali is to Sufism. The word tzadik literally just means “righteous person.” Obviously, making an effort to live a righteous life is an important part of the endeavor to become a righteous person, and therefore a tzadik. To live a righteous life, one must overcome the yetzer hara. There is a lot of really helpful information in Likutei Moharan on how to accomplish this. For those who are interested in Christian mysticism as well as Kabbalah, John of the Cross’s book Ascent of Mount Carmel also contains a lot of really helpful information. Every true magician is a tzadik, because to be a magician is to be a purified channel through which God’s grace and blessings can flow into the world. According to Kabbalistic teachings, this is the role of a tzadik.

Tip #6: Avoid lashon hara unless you have a good reason not to.

In Kabbalah, speech is considered a spiritual tool of immense power. Therefore, it should not be abused. To engage in lashon hara unnecessarily is to abuse it. Likutei Moharan contains many warnings about the spiritual dangers of abusing speech in this manner. Several of those warnings are collected in the chapter about speech in The Essential Rabbi Nachman, including the following one.

Speaking derogatorily about other people reinforces the hold of fantasy and illusion over us. When people use bad language and speak derogatorily about others, their spiritual awareness and understanding are withdrawn from them and they fall from the love of God and descend into animalistic passions and desires. The source of these passions and desires is man's faculty of imagination, which is part of his animal nature. Imagination feeds on falsehood and slander and is directly opposed to the faculty of memory with which we keep our true situation in this life and our eternal destiny in the forefront of our minds.

During our magical training, we are trying to sublimate and rise above our animalistic passions and desires, not descend further into them. This is why it is imperative that the Kabbalist Bardonist (or any Bardonist really) avoid speaking derogatorily about others to the best extent that they can. Rabbi Nachman, by the way, is certainly not the only person to emphasize the importance of avoiding derogatory speech. Shimon bar Yochai, the alleged author of the Zohar, once said that it is better for a person to throw himself into a fiery furnace than to embarrass his neighbor in public (Ketubot 67b). Joseph, who is considered the archetypal example of a tzadik in Kabbalah, went to great lengths to avoid shaming others. Rather than using speech to shame others, one should use speech to say prayers to God.