I study the Cabbalah, and become at last a Physician.
Cabbalah,--to treat of this divine science somewhat more in
detail,--means, in the wider sense of the term, _tradition_; and it
comprehends, not only the occult sciences which may not be publicly
taught, but also the method of deducing new laws from the laws that are
given in the Holy Scriptures, as also some fundamental laws which are
said to have been delivered orally to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the
narrower sense of the term, however, Cabbalah means only the tradition
of occult sciences. This is divided into _theoretical_ and _practical_
Cabbalah. The former comprehends the doctrines of God, of His attributes
which are expressed by means of His manifold names, of the origin of the
world through a gradual limitation of His infinite perfection, and of
the relation of all things to His supreme essence. The latter is the
doctrine which teaches how to work upon nature at pleasure by means of
those manifold names of God, which represent various modes of working
upon, and relations to, natural objects. These sacred names are
regarded, not as merely arbitrary, but as _natural_ signs, so that all
that is done with these signs must have an influence on the object which
they represent.
Originally the Cabbalah was nothing but psychology, physics, morals,
politics, and such sciences, represented by means of symbols and
hieroglyphs in fables and allegories, the occult meaning of which was
disclosed only to those who were competent to understand it. By and by,
however, perhaps as the result of many revolutions, this occult meaning
was lost, and the signs were taken for the things signified. But as it
was easy to perceive that these signs necessarily had meant something,
it was left to the imagination to invent an occult meaning which had
long been lost. The remotest analogies between signs and things were
seized, till at last the Cabbalah degenerated into an art of _madness
according to method_, or a systematic science resting on conceits. The
big promise of its design, to work effects on nature at pleasure, the
lofty strain and the pomp with which it announces itself, have naturally
an extraordinary influence on minds of the visionary type, that are
unenlightened by the sciences and especially by a thorough philosophy.
The principal work for the study of the Cabbalah is the _Zohar_, which
is written in a very lofty style in the Syrian language. All other
Cabbalistic writings are to be regarded as merely commentaries on this,
or extracts from it.
There are two main systems of the Cabbalah,--the system of Rabbi Moses
Kordovero, and that of Rabbi Isaac Luria.[27] The former is more _real_,
that is, it approximates more closely to reason. The latter, on the
other hand, is more _formal_, that is, it is completer in the structure
of its system. The modern Cabbalists prefer the latter, because they
hold that only to be genuine Cabbalah, in which there is no rational
meaning. The principal work of Rabbi Moses Kordovero is the _Pardes_
(Paradise). Of Rabbi Isaac Luria himself we have some disconnected
writings; but his pupil, Rabbi Chajim Vitall, wrote a large work under
the title, _Ez Chajim_ (The Tree of Life), in which the whole system of
his master is contained. This work is held by the Jews to be so sacred,
that they do not allow it to be committed to print. Naturally, I had
more taste for the Cabbalah of Rabbi Moses than for that of Rabbi Isaac,
but durst not give utterance to my opinion on this point.
After this digression on the Cabbalah in general, I return to my story.
I learned that the under-rabbi or preacher of the place was an adept in
the Cabbalah; and therefore, to attain my object, I made his
acquaintance. I took my seat beside him in the synagogue, and as I
observed once that after prayer he always read from a small book, and
then put it past carefully in its place, I became very curious to know
what sort of book this was. Accordingly, after the preacher had gone
home, I went and took the book from the place where he had put it; and
when I found that it was a Cabbalistic work, I went with it and hid
myself in a corner of the synagogue, till all the people had gone out
and the door was locked. I then crept from my hiding-place, and, without
a thought about eating or drinking the whole day long, read the
fascinating book till the doorkeeper came and opened the synagogue again
in the evening.
_Shaarei Kedushah_, or _The Gates of Righteousness_, was the title of
this book; and, leaving out of account what was visionary and
exaggerated, it contained the principal doctrines of psychology. I did
with it therefore as the Talmudists say Rabbi Meïr acted, who had a
heretic for his teacher, "He found a pomegranate; he ate the fruit and
threw the peel away."[28]
In two or three days I had in this way finished the book; but instead of
satisfying my curiosity, it only excited it the more. I wished to read
more books of the same sort. But as I was too bashful to confess this to
the preacher, I resolved to write him a letter, in which I expressed my
irresistible longing for this sacred science, and therefore entreated
him earnestly to assist me with books. I received from him a very
favourable answer. He praised my zeal for the sacred science, and
assured me that this zeal, amid so little encouragement, was an obvious
sign that my soul was derived from _Olam Aziloth_ (the world of the
immediate divine influence), while the souls of mere Talmudists take
their origin from _Olam Jezirah_ (the world of the creation). He
promised, therefore, to assist me with books as far as lay in his power.
But as he himself was occupied mainly with this science, and required to
have such books constantly at hand, he could not lend them to me, but
gave me permission to study them in his house at my pleasure.
Who was gladder than I! I accepted the offer of the preacher with
gratitude, scarcely ever left his house, and sat day and night over the
Cabbalistic books. Two representations especially gave me the greatest
trouble. One was the _Tree_, or the representation of the divine
emanations in their manifold and intricate complexities. The other was
God's _Beard_, in which the hairs are divided into numerous classes with
something peculiar to each, and every hair is a separate channel of
divine grace. With all my efforts I could not find in these
representations any rational meaning.
My prolonged visits however were extremely inconvenient to the preacher.
He had, a short time before, married a pretty young wife; and as his
modest little house consisted of a single apartment, which was at once
parlour, study, and bedroom, and as I sat in it at times reading the
whole night, it happened not infrequently that my elevation above the
sphere of sense came into collision with his sensibility. Consequently,
he hit upon a good plan for getting rid of the incipient Cabbalist. He
said to me one day, "I observe that it necessarily puts you to a great
deal of inconvenience to spend your time constantly away from home for
the sake of these books. You may take them home with you one by one if
you please, and thus study them at your convenience."
To me nothing could be more welcome. I took home one book after
another, and studied them till I believed that I had mastered the whole
of the Cabbalah. I contented myself not merely with the knowledge of its
principles and manifold systems, but sought also to make a proper use of
these. There was not a passage to be met with in the Holy Scriptures or
in the Talmud, the occult meaning of which I could not have unfolded,
according to Cabbalistic principles, with the greatest readiness.
The book entitled _Shaarei Orah_[29] came to be of very good service
here. In this book are enumerated the manifold names of the ten
_Sephiroth_, which form the principal subject of the Talmud, so that a
hundred or more names are given to each. In every word of a verse in the
Bible, or of a passage in the Talmud, I found therefore the name of some
Sephirah. But as I knew the attribute of every Sephirah, and its
relation to the rest, I could easily bring out of the combination of
names their conjoint effect.
To illustrate this by a brief example, I found in the book just
mentioned, that the name _Jehovah_ represents the six highest Sephiroth
(not including the first three), or the person of the Godhead _generis
masculini_, while the word _Koh_ means the _Shechinah_ or the person of
the Godhead _generis feminini_, and the word _amar_ denotes sexual
union. The words, "Koh amar Jehova,"[30] therefore, I explained in the
following way, "Jehovah unites with the Shechinah," and this is high
Cabbalism. Accordingly, when I read this passage in the Bible, I thought
nothing else, but that, when I uttered these words, and thought their
occult meaning, an actual union of these divine spouses took place, from
which the whole world had to expect a blessing. Who can restrain the
excesses of imagination, when it is not guided by reason?
With the _Cabbalah Maasith_, or the _practical Cabbalah_, I did not
succeed so well as with the theoretical. The preacher boasted, not
publicly indeed, but to everybody in private, that he was master of this
also. Especially he professed _roeh veeno nireh_ (to see everything, but
not to be seen by others), that is, to be able to make himself
invisible.
About this trick I was specially anxious, in order that I might practise
some wanton jokes on my comrades. More particularly I formed a plan for
keeping my ill-tempered mother-in-law in check by this means. I
pretended that my object was merely to do good, and guard against evil.
The preacher consented, but said at the same time, that on my part
certain preparations were required. Three days in succession I was to
feast, and every day to say some _Ichudim_. These are Cabbalistic forms
of prayer, whose occult meaning aims at producing in the intellectual
world sexual unions, through means of which certain results are to be
brought about in the physical.
I did everything with pleasure, made the conjuration which he had taught
me, and believed with all confidence that I was now invisible. At once I
hurried to the _Beth Hamidrash_, the Jewish academy, went up to one of
my comrades, and gave him a vigorous box on the ear. He however was no
coward, and returned the blow with interest. I started back in
astonishment; I could not understand how he had been able to discover
me, as I had observed with the utmost accuracy the instructions of the
preacher. Still I thought I might, perhaps, unwittingly and
unintentionally have neglected something. I resolved, therefore, to
undertake the operation anew. This time, however, I was not going to
venture on the test of a box on the ear; I went into the academy merely
to watch my comrades as a spectator. As soon as I entered, however, one
of them came up to me, and showed me a difficult passage in the Talmud,
which he wished me to explain. I stood utterly confounded, and
disconsolate over the failure of my hopes.
Thereupon I went to the preacher, and informed him of my unsuccessful
attempt. Without blushing, he replied quite boldly, "If you have
observed all my instructions, I cannot explain this otherwise than by
supposing that you are unfit for being thus divested of the visibility
of your body." With great grief, therefore, I was obliged to give up
entirely the hope of making myself invisible.
This disappointed hope was followed by a new delusion. In the preface to
the _Book of Raphael_, which the angel of that name is said to have
delivered to our first father Adam at his banishment from paradise, I
found the promise, that whoever keeps the book in his house is thereby
insured against fire. It was not long, however, before a conflagration
broke out in the neighbourhood, when the fire seized my house too, and
the angel Raphael himself had to go up into heaven in this chariot of
fire.
Unsatisfied with the literary knowledge of this science, I sought to
penetrate into its spirit; and as I perceived that the whole science, if
it is to deserve this name, can contain nothing but the secrets of
nature concealed in fables and allegories, I laboured to find out these
secrets, and thereby to raise my merely literary knowledge to a rational
knowledge. This, however, I could accomplish only in a very imperfect
manner at the time, because I had yet very few ideas of the sciences in
general. Still, by independent reflection I hit upon many applications
of this kind. Thus, for example, I explained at once the first instance
with which the Cabbalists commonly begin their science.
It is this. Before the world was created, the divine being occupied the
whole of infinite space alone. But God wished to create a world, in
order that He might reveal those attributes of His nature which refer
to other beings besides Himself. For this purpose He contracted Himself
into the centre of His perfection, and issued into the space thereby
left void ten concentric circles of light, out of which arose afterwards
manifold figures (_Parzophim_) and gradations down to the present world
of sense.
I could not in any way conceive that all this was to be taken in the
common sense of the words, as nearly all Cabbalists represent it. As
little could I conceive that, before the world had been created, a time
had past, as I knew from my _Moreh Nebhochim_, that time is a
modification of the world, and consequently cannot be thought without
it. Moreover, I could not conceive that God occupies a space, even
though it be infinite; or that He, an infinitely perfect being, should
contract Himself, like a thing of circular form, into a centre.
Accordingly I sought to explain all this in the following way. God is
prior to the world, not in time, but in His necessary being as the
condition of the world. All things besides God must depend on Him as
their cause, in regard to their essence as well as their existence. The
creation of the world, therefore, could not be thought as a bringing
forth _out of nothing_, nor as a formation of something independent on
God, but only as a bringing forth _out of Himself_. And as beings are of
different grades of perfection, we must assume for their explanation
different grades of limitation of the divine being. But since this
limitation must be thought as extending from the infinite being down to
matter, we represent the beginning of the limitation in a figure as a
centre (the lowest point) of the Infinite.
In fact, the Cabbalah is nothing but an expanded Spinozism, in which not
only is the origin of the world explained by the limitation of the
divine being, but also the origin of every kind of being, and its
relation to the rest, are derived from a separate attribute of God. God,
as the ultimate subject and the ultimate cause of all beings, is called
Ensoph (the Infinite, of which, considered in itself, nothing can be
predicated). But in relation to the infinite number of beings, positive
attributes are ascribed to Him; these are reduced by the Cabbalists to
ten, which are called the ten Sephiroth.
In the book, _Pardes_, by Rabbi Moses Kordovero, the question is
discussed, whether the Sephiroth are to be taken for the Deity Himself
or not. It is easy to be seen, however, that this question has no more
difficulty in reference to the Deity, than in reference to any other
being.
Under the ten circles I conceived the ten categories or predicaments of
Aristotle, with which I had become acquainted in the _Moreh
Nebhochim_,--the most universal predicates of things, without which
nothing can be thought. The categories, in the strictest critical sense,
are the logical forms, which relate not merely to a _logical_ object,
but to _real_ objects in general, and without which these cannot be
thought. They have their source, therefore, in the subject itself, but
they become an object of consciousness only by reference to a real
object. Consequently, they represent the ten Sephiroth, which belong,
indeed, to the Ensoph in itself, but of which the reality is revealed
only by their special relation to, and effect upon, objects in nature,
and the number of which can be variously determined in various points of
view.
But by this method of explanation I brought upon myself many an
annoyance. For the Cabbalists maintain that the Cabbalah is not a human,
but a divine, science; and that, consequently, it would be degradation
of it, to explain its mysteries in accordance with nature and reason.
The more reasonable, therefore, my explanations proved, the more were
the Cabbalists irritated with me, inasmuch as they held that alone to be
divine, which had no reasonable meaning. Accordingly I had to keep my
explanations to myself. An entire work, that I wrote on the subject, I
brought with me to Berlin, and preserve still as a monument of the
struggle of the human mind after perfection, in spite of all the
hindrances which are placed in its way.
Meanwhile this could not satisfy me. I wished to get an insight into the
sciences, not as they are veiled in fables, but in their natural light.
I had already, though very imperfectly, learned to read German; but
where was I to obtain German books in Lithuania? Fortunately for me I
learned that the chief rabbi of a neighbouring town, who in his youth
had lived for a while in Germany, and learned the German language
there, and made himself in some measure acquainted with the sciences,
continued still, though in secret, to work at the sciences, and had a
fair library of German books.
I resolved therefore to make a pilgrimage to S----, in order to see the
chief rabbi, and beg of him a few scientific books. I was tolerably
accustomed to such journeys, and had gone once thirty miles[31] on foot
to see a Hebrew work of the tenth century on the Peripatetic philosophy.
Without therefore troubling myself in the least about travelling
expenses or means of conveyance, and without saying a word to my family
on the subject, I set out upon the journey to this town in the middle of
winter. As soon as I arrived at the place, I went to the chief rabbi,
told him my desire, and begged him earnestly for assistance. He was not
a little astonished; for, during the thirty one years which had passed
since his return from Germany, not a single individual had ever made
such a request. He promised to lend me some old German books. The most
important among these were an old work on Optics, and Sturm's _Physics_.
I could not sufficiently express my gratitude to this excellent chief
rabbi; I pocketed the few books, and returned home in rapture. After I
had studied these books thoroughly, my eyes were all at once opened. I
believed that I had found a key to all the secrets of nature, as I now
knew the origin of storms, of dew, of rain, and such phenomena. I looked
down with pride on all others, who did not yet know these things,
laughed at their prejudices and superstitions, and proposed to clear up
their ideas on these subjects and to enlighten their understanding.
But this did not always succeed. I laboured once to teach a Talmudist,
that the earth is round, and that we have antipodes. He however made the
objection, that these antipodes would necessarily fall off. I
endeavoured to show that the falling of a body is not directed towards
any fixed point in empty space, but towards the centre of the earth, and
that the ideas of Over and Under represent merely the removal from and
approach to this centre. It was of no avail; the Talmudist stood to his
ground, that such an assertion was absurd.
On another occasion I went to take a walk with some of my friends. It
chanced that a goat lay in the way. I gave the goat some blows with my
stick, and my friends blamed me for my cruelty. "What is the cruelty?" I
replied. "Do you believe that the goat feels a pain, when I beat it? You
are greatly mistaken; the goat is a mere machine." This was the doctrine
of Sturm as a disciple of Descartes.
My friends laughed heartily at this, and said, "But don't you hear that
the goat cries, when you beat it?" "Yes," I replied, "of course it
cries; but if you beat a drum, it cries too." They were amazed at my
answer, and in a short time it went abroad over the whole town, that I
had become mad, as I held that _a goat is a drum_.
From my generous friend, the chief rabbi, I received afterwards two
medical works, Kulm's _Anatomical Tables_ and Voit's _Gaziopilatium_.
The latter is a large medical dictionary, containing, in a brief form,
not only explanations from all departments of medicine, but also their
manifold applications. In connection with every disease is given an
explanation of its cause, its symptoms, and the method of its cure,
along with even the ordinary prescriptions. This was for me a real
treasure. I studied the book thoroughly, and believed myself to be
master of the science of medicine, and a complete physician.
But I was not going to content myself with mere theory in this matter; I
resolved to make regular application of it. I visited patients,
determined all diseases according to their circumstances and symptoms,
explained their causes, and gave also prescriptions for their cure. But
in this practice things turned out very comically. If a patient told me
some of the symptoms of his disease, I guessed from them the nature of
the disease itself, and inferred the presence of the other symptoms. If
the patient said that he could trace none of these, I stubbornly
insisted on their being present all the same. The conversation therefore
sometimes came to this:--
_I._ "You have headache also."
_Patient._ "No."
_I._ "But you _must_ have headache."
As many symptoms are common to several diseases, I took not infrequently
_quid pro quo_. Prescriptions I could never keep in my head, so that,
when I prescribed anything, I was obliged to go home first and turn up
my _Gaziopilatium_. At length I began even to make up drugs myself
according to Voit's prescriptions. How this succeeded, may be imagined.
It had at least this good result, that I saw something more was surely
required for a practical physician than I understood at the time.