Essay Sample on Mysticism and Isaac Luria: Exploring Spiritual Life

Introduction

Mysticism is described as a spiritual discipline focusing at the union with the divine, through deep meditation, Mysticism was derived from a Greek term, "mustikos" meaning initiated. For the life of Kabbalah, their mystic world would start in the morning with a prayer, accompanied by a guitar. The essay will research on the spiritual life of mystic Isaac Luria.

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The teachings, and practices of Isaac Luria, also the preeminent Safed Kabbalist of the sixteenth century were acknowledged with great enthusiasm in majority parts of the early contemporary Jewish world, particularly in Italy, Turkey, and Germany (MacGregor 1). Lurianism (teachings and practices of Isaac Luria) definitively shaped the religious consciousness of Judaism by offering a convincing answer to the enormous problems that Jews faced that time. His teachings illuminated the importance of exile, and redemption through the doctrines of the holy sparks that perceived the situation of Israel as the third in a sequence of failures followed by Adam's sin and the revering of the golden calf (MacGregor 2-3).

The practices of Mystic Lurian were designed to reclaim the sparks from the domestic forces through ascetic practices, and the respect of Torah to usher in a new Messaich age where all existence would be reinvigorated back to its original spiritual condition (MacGregor 1). O'Donnel (143) indicated that the living faith of millions of individuals in the world's most significant religious traditions is depicted through sympathy and intelligence. Generally, in his book, he focuses on spirituality and the culture of the six major world faiths and provides conclusive arguments based on several topics like a treasury of the heart (key beliefs), ways of seeking God, and symbols and rituals.

The Lurianic teachings are concerned about both sefirotic procedures, namely, the inner workings of the divine personality traits, and the stage when the sefirot start their procession from the abyss of Eyn sof (MacGregor 16). The preliminary stage in the process is zimzum also known as withdrawal, where God leaves room for the sefirot by withdrawing his presence (MacGregor 15). This occurred when Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. The teachings of the holy sparks by Lurian also holds a strong messianic drive. Even though Adam disobeyed God, and thereby prevented the freedom of the sparks, his descendants were given a second chance seen when Torah was given to Israel (MacGregor 5). Therefore, through their loving obedience to the law, the Israelites have justly appointed to restructure the realm of the sefirot, fulfilling the harmony that Adam failed to fulfill (MacGregor 5).

Conclusion

The research has focused on the spiritual teachings and practices of mystic Isaac Luria. The practices of Mystic Lurian were meant to repossess the sparks from the local forces through abstemious practices, and the respect of the Torah to usher in a new Messaich age. It simply means that even though Adam and Eve sinned against the Lord, God gave their descendants a second chance by bringing his only begotten son Christ to come and die for our sins on the cross.

Works Cited

MacGregor, Kirk R. "Reassessing the Impact of Lurianic Kabbalah Upon The Sabbatian Movement." The Journal of Religious History, Literature and Culture 3.1 (2017): 1-16. file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/MacGregor-JRHLC3.12017.pdf

O'Donnell, Kevin. Inside World Religions: An Illustrated Guide. Lion, 2006. https://www.amazon.com/Inside-World-Religions-Illustrated-Guide/dp/0800638891