The New Kabbalah is a philosophy and Jewish theology grounded in the union between traditional Jewish mysticism and modern rational thought. Rooted in the visionary mythos of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-72), and interpreted through such modern and postmodern thinkers as Freud, Jung, Hegel, Wittgenstein and Derrida, the New Kabbalah seeks to uncover and further develop the philosophical and psychological significance of Kabbalistic symbols and ideas. In addition, the New Kabbalah is enriched by comparative studies and dialog between Jewish mysticism and other religious and philosophical traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Platonism, and Gnosticism. The New Kabbalah is born out of the conviction that the theosophical system of Luria and his followers promotes an open economy of thought, dialog and criticism, while at the same time providing a comprehensive account of the world and humanity’s role within it that is intellectually, morally and spiritually vital for us today.

The New Kabbalah seeks to build upon the recent explosion in contemporary Kabbalah scholarship by formulating a Kabbalistic approach to philosophy, theology and psychology. It further seeks to develop contemporary philosophy, theology and psychology from a broadly kabbalistic perspective.

The New Kabbalah is open, multi-perspectival and pluralistic, and while it is rooted firmly in Judaism, it seeks dialog, participation and constructive criticism from those of all backgrounds and disciplines. This site is not affiliated with any “movement,” but seeks to promote respectful dialog across the full spectrum of Jewish affiliation and non-affiliation.

Logo Image: “The Tree of Light and Dark”(Frontispiece from V. Weigel’s Stadium Universale.)

All articles on this website are authored and copyrighted by Sanford L. Drob, 2001-2025.

How to navigate the New Kabbalah website.

If you are not familiar with the symbols of the Lurianic Kabbalah it is suggested that you begin with the page on The Lurianic Kabbalah. You can then follow the links here or on that page to review the brief accounts of the following basic Kabbalistic symbols: Ein-sof (The Infinite), Tzimtzum, (Contraction/Concealment),  Adam Kadmon (the Primordial Human),  Sefirot (Value Archetypes), Otiyot Yesod (Value Archetypes), Ha-Olamot (Worlds), Shevirat ha-Kelim, (Breaking of the Vessels), Kellipot, (Husks of Evil), Partzufim (Divine Visages), Tikkun Ha-Olam (Restoration and Repair of the world). Together, these symbols constitute the Lurianic theosophy, which amounts to a systematic account of God, humanity and the world.

You may then want to examine the Verbal Picture of the Lurianic Theosophywhich provides a succinct account of how these symbols are integrated into an account of God, humanity and the world.

To obtain an introduction to how The New Kabbalah understands the Lurianic theosophy in contemporary terms you can review 19 Kabbalistic Ideas.

Those interested in Kabbalah, psychoanalysis and psychotherapy may want to begin with these articles :

“This is Gold”: Freud, Psychotherapy and the Lurianic Kabbalah,

Jung and the Kabbalah, and

Kabbalah and Psychotherapy:  A Dialog with Sanford L. Drob. 

A very brief account of how the Lurianic Kabbalah understands the purpose and meaning of life can be read at Kabbalah and The Meaning of Life.

The essays on this website are listed and organized by theme below:

 

Kabbalistic Theosophy

The Lurianic Kabbalah

The Sefirot: Archetypes of Mind and Creation

Jewish Review: Tikkun Haolam-Repair and Restoration of the Soul and World

A Verbal Picture of the Lurianic Theosophy

 

Comparative Studies

Hegel and the Kabbalah

Kabbalah and Gnosticism

Kabbalah and Platonism

Kabbalah and Indian Philosophy

 

Philosophical Kabbalah

19 Kabbalistic Ideas: Philosophical Implications of the Kabbalah

The Doctrine of Coincidentia Oppositorum in Jewish Mysticism

A Rational Mystical Ascent: The Coincidence of Opposites in Kabbalistic and Hasidic Thought

The “Double Movement” in Kabbalistic Thought

The Behinnot: Dialectics in the Kabbalah of Moses Cordovero

Iggulim and Yosher: The Kabbalistic Theory of “Circles” and “Lines”

The Mystic as Philosopher: An Interview with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

The Lurianic Metaphors, Creativity and the Structure of Language

The Torah of the Tree of Life:  Kabbalistic Reflections on the Hermeneutics of Infinity in Scholem,  Idel, Dan, and Tishby

Ein-Sof, Nothingness and the Problem of Creation Ex Nihilo

Kabbalah, Jungian Psychology, and the Challenge of Contemporary Atheism

The Philosopher and the “Rav:” J.N. Findlay, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz and the “Double Movement” in Kabbalistic Thought

 

Kabbalah, Deconstruction and Postmodernism

Tzimtzum and Difference: Derrida and the Lurianic Kabbalah

Jacques Derrida and the Lurianic Kabbalah

 

Kabbalistic Applications to Contemporary Philosophy and Theology

Why Existence: A Solution Without Remainder

Are You Praying to a Videogame God?

The Simulation Argument: Philosophical and Theological Implications

The Only God Who Can Save Us From Ourselves

How to Create a Golem: From Artificial Intelligence to Artificial Human

Mordecai Kaplan and the Kabbalah

Forward to David Birnbaum’s God and Evil

 

Kabbalah and Psychotherapy

Kabbalah and Psychotherapy:  A Dialog with Sanford L. Drob. Ph.D.

Antinomies of the Soul

Guarding Against Loshon Hara: Our Words are the Building Blocks of our Souls

The Eden Complex; Transgression and Transformation in the Bible, Freud, and Jung

The Depth of the Soul: James Hillman’s Vision of Psychology

 

Kabbalah, Freud and Jung

Freud and the Kabbalah

“This is Gold: Freud”: Psychotherapy and the Lurianic Kabbalah

Jewish Review: Freud and Chasidim: Redeeming the Jewish Soul of Psychoanalysis

Jung and the Kabbalah

Jung’s Kabbalistic Visions

The Lurianic Kabbalah: An Archetypal Interpretation

Table: An Archetypal Interpretation of Lurianic Kabbalah

“The Maggid Anticipated My Entire Psychology:” Erich Neumann’s “Roots” as an Articulation of Jung’s Relationship to Jewish Mysticism   

 

Kabbalah, Values and the Meaning of Life

Why Existence? The Question is the Answer

Kabbalah and The Meaning of Life

The Mystic as Philosopher: An Interview with Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

The Tree of Life (Value Firmament)

 

About Sanford L. Drob

Author Bio

Sanford Drob Art

Rabbi Max Drob and Traditional Judaism: A Personal Retrospective

J. N. Findlay: A Personal Retrospective

 

Books by Sanford L. Drob

Symbols of the Kabbalah: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives

Kabbalistic Metaphors

Kabbalah and Postmodernism: A Dialogue

Kabbalistic Visions: C. G. Jung and Jewish Mysticism

Archetype of the Absolute: The Union of Opposites in Mysticism, Philosophy and Psychology 

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Reading the Red Book: A Guide to C. G. Jung’s Liber Novus

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Dialog on the New Kabbalah

You are invited to initiate a dialog by emailing Sanford Drob at forensicdx@aol.com.

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Note on the illustrations: Many of the illustrations on the New Kabbalah website were originally produced for alchemical and Christian kabbalistic texts, as the biblical ban on graven images caused Jewish authors to avoid illustrating their treatises. Some of the illustrations on this website are by contemporary artists, including paintings by the author. A more extensive selection of the author’s drawings and paintings can be viewed at SanfordDrobart.com.

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