The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1195 page)

 
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Kabbalah
or Qabbalah
.

Teachings of Jewish mystics. The term encompasses all the esoteric teachings of Judaism which evolved from the time of the second
Temple
. More particularly, it refers to those forms which evolved in the Middle Ages. Kabbalah draws on the awareness of the transcendence of God, and yet of his immanence (e.g., through
Sefirot
). God can most closely be perceived through
contemplation
and illumination. God both conceals and reveals himself. Through speculation and revelation, the hidden life of God and his relationship with his creation can be more nearly understood. Because mystical knowledge can so easily be misinterpreted its spread should be limited to those of a certain age and level of learning.
Although the influence of kabbalah was limited in the area of halakhah, the kabbalists created fresh
aggadic
material and completely reinterpreted much early
midrashic
aggadot. The classic anthology of kabbalistic aggadah is Reuben Hoeshke's
Yalkut Re'uveni
(1660). Kabbalistic teaching and motifs entered the various
prayer books
and thus spread to every
diaspora
community. Popular customs were also affected by kabbalah, and kabbalistic ideas were absorbed as folk beliefs. These customs and beliefs were described by Jacob Zemah in
Shul
an Arukh ha-Ari
(1661). Popular ethics were also influenced by kabbalism, as is evidenced by such works as Elijah de Vidas'
Reshit Hokhmah
(1579). From the 15th cent., attempts were made to harmonize kabbalistic ideas with Christian doctrines, and, although this tendency was derided by the Jewish kabbalists, it did serve to spread kabbalah beyond the Jewish community. K. von Rosenroth's version of kabbalah texts (
Kabbala Denudata
, 1677–84) led the way to a popular appropriation of kabbalah outside Judaism, at least in
Theosophy
.

 
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Kabhod
(Kavod)
(Holiness)
:

see
KEDUSHAH
.

 
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(d. 1518).
An Indian saint-poet. His birth and origins are uncertain. He may have been the son of a high-
caste
brahman
girl who was brought up by a low-caste Muslim weaver (though this story may have been told to show his derivation from diversity). He is said to have been a disciple of the Vai
ava sage,
R
m
nanda
. Certainly the differences between Hinduism and Islam meant nothing to him:
All
h
and
R
ma
are but different names for the same Godhead. He thus promulgated a religion of love in which all castes and classes would be seen to be wrong, and creeds would be unified. It was a religion of
bhakti
(personal devotion to a personal God), in which the influence of
Sufism
is apparent.
Kab
r was a sant (see
SANT TRADITION
), claiming to derive spiritual awareness from direct experience of the
abad
spoken by the Satgur
in the depth of the
soul
. This alone transcends
death
.
Sources for Kab
r's life include the Kab
rpanth
literature and Bhakta-m
l