Kabbalah-of-the-Golden-Dawn-Pat-Zalewski - D Ank Unlimited

CHAPTER ONE
An Historical Outline
The Kabbalah is part of the ancient Jewish mystical tradition. There are
many spelling variations of "Kabbalah," including Cabalah, Qabbalah,
Gabbalah, and so forth. As "Kabbalah" is that favored by authoritative
Judaic scholars such as Gershom Scholem, Aryeh Kaplan, and the first
Chiefs of the Golden Dawn, it is this spelling which is used throughout
this book.
The meaning of the term "Kabbalah" is usually related to the
Hebrew root QBL meaning "to receive," which is itself commonly taken
to refer to the traditional custom of handing down secret knowledge by
word of mouth to ear. Other scholars have claimed that the Hebrew word
is of Chaldeo-Egyptian origin, signifying occult science or doctrine.
Oral tradition has it that the Kabbalah was first taught to the
archangels by God. These angels, said to be those mentioned in the Book
of Enoch, then passed the secret teachings on to Adam (either directly or
via Enoch, whom some identify with Adam).
The teachings were said to been originally handed to Adam from
the Archangel Raziel (whose name means "secret of God"), a personification
of Secret Wisdom. The Secret Doctrine then passed on from
Adam through to Abraham, who taught it (in part) to the Egyptians.
The Kabbalah at this point did not form the main body of Hebrew
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