Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה, “received” or “tradition”) is a body of esoteric Jewish teaching concerned with the nature of the divine, the structure of creation, and the relationship between God and the universe. It encompasses textual traditions, meditative and ritual practices, and theological speculation that developed primarily within rabbinic Judaism from roughly the 12th century onward, though its proponents trace its origins to earlier periods, including the biblical and Talmudic eras. The term “Kabbalah” itself is contested in scope: some restrict it to the medieval and early modern theosophical traditions centered on the Sefirot, while others apply it more broadly to mystical and esoteric currents throughout Jewish history. Within contemporary Judaism, the status of Kabbalah-whether viewed as a core component of Jewish theology, a peripheral mystical tradition, or, by some, as outside the mainstream of normative practice-remains debated; see kabbalah-status-in-judaism-debate. A related but distinct tradition adapting kabbalistic concepts outside Jewish religious frameworks developed in the Renaissance and later esoteric Western thought; see christian-kabbalah.

Kabbalistic literature is extensive and historically layered. Its foundational texts include the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation), of uncertain and disputed date, and the Zohar, a corpus of mystical commentary that emerged in 13th-century Spain and is traditionally attributed to the 2nd-century sage Shimon bar Yochai, though most modern scholars attribute its primary authorship to Moses de León. Central to theosophical Kabbalah is the doctrine of the Sefirot, ten emanations or attributes through which the infinite (Ein Sof) is said to interact with the finite world. Later developments include Lurianic Kabbalah, formulated by Isaac Luria in 16th-century Safed, which introduced concepts such as tzimtzum (divine contraction), shevirah (the shattering of vessels), and tikkun (cosmic repair). Kabbalistic cosmology is often organized according to a schema of four worlds; see Four Worlds (Kabbalah).

Kabbalah has historically been transmitted with restrictions on study, traditionally limited to married men of a certain age and scholarly preparation, though these restrictions have loosened considerably in the modern era, particularly within movements such as Chabad. Kabbalistic ideas have also intersected with broader questions in Jewish thought, including how mystical and rationalist approaches relate to scientific and cosmological questions, as in discussions of Heliocentrism - Jewish Astronomy Viewpoint. The medieval scholar and commentator Nachmanides is among the figures associated with integrating kabbalistic thought into mainstream rabbinic exegesis.

A fuller account of Kabbalah's historical development, including its relationship to earlier Jewish mysticism (such as Merkavah and Hekhalot literature) and its transmission across medieval Spain, Provence, and Safed, appears at Kabbalah - History.

• Theosophical-traditionalist viewpoint - holds that Kabbalah represents an authentic, esoteric transmission of divine truth dating to Sinai or earlier, preserved and elaborated by successive generations of mystics. See kabbalah-theosophical-traditionalist-viewpoint.
• Academic-historicist viewpoint - approaches Kabbalah as a historically situated literary and religious phenomenon, analyzing its texts, authorship, and development using critical scholarly methods without making claims about metaphysical truth. Associated with scholars such as Gershom Scholem and Moshe Idel. See kabbalah-academic-historicist-viewpoint.
• Rationalist-skeptical viewpoint - within Jewish thought, this view, associated historically with figures influenced by Maimonidean rationalism, regards much of kabbalistic theosophy as a departure from philosophically grounded monotheism or as incompatible with rationalist Jewish theology. See kabbalah-rationalist-skeptical-viewpoint.
• Popular and New Age viewpoint - treats Kabbalah as a source of spiritual practice, self-help, or universal wisdom accessible outside traditional Jewish religious and scholarly frameworks, often decoupled from halakhic context. See kabbalah-popular-new-age-viewpoint.
• Chasidic-experiential viewpoint - emphasizes Kabbalah, particularly Lurianic and later reformulations, as a living devotional and experiential practice central to communal religious life, as found in movements including Chabad. See kabbalah-chasidic-experiential-viewpoint.

• Dispute over the popularization and commercialization of Kabbalah by organizations and celebrities outside traditional Jewish frameworks, including controversies surrounding the Kabbalah Centre. See kabbalah-centre-commercialization-controversy.
• Historical controversy over the authorship and dating of the Zohar, including the 20th-century scholarly case made for Moses de León's authorship against traditional attribution. See kabbalah-zohar-authorship-controversy.

• Kabbalah - History
• kabbalah-status-in-judaism-debate
• kabbalah-theosophical-traditionalist-viewpoint
• kabbalah-academic-historicist-viewpoint
• kabbalah-rationalist-skeptical-viewpoint
• kabbalah-popular-new-age-viewpoint
• kabbalah-chasidic-experiential-viewpoint
• kabbalah-zohar-authorship-controversy
• kabbalah-centre-commercialization-controversy
• Four Worlds (Kabbalah)
• Sefirot
• Chabad
• Nachmanides
• Heliocentrism - Jewish Astronomy Viewpoint
• christian-kabbalah

1. Gershom Scholem, *Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism* (New York: Schocken Books, 1941).
2. Moshe Idel, *Kabbalah: New Perspectives* (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988).
3. Daniel C. Matt, trans., *The Zohar: Pritzker Edition*, vols. 1-12 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004-2017).
4. Lawrence Fine, *Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship* (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003).
5. Joseph Dan, *Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction* (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).