Question:
Hello,
I was confused about kabbalah. I know that Hashem is in control of everything and magic cannot manipulate anything small (Passover story with the lice). Isn’t kabbalah avodah zarah? Since forces cannot cause things to happen. Only Hashem.
Answer:
Part of kabalah is the knowledge of the secrets of the Torah and part of that is the inner workings of the world. It isn’t avoda zara because it is merely explaining how Hashem runs it, and not that there is any other force in the world aside for Hashem. Kabalah is not for ordinary people. It is only for Jews who have mastered the Talmud and the Torah, and serves as an advanced form of torah study. Learning Kabalah before one is ready for it, is similar to learning Calculus before knowing the times tables.
Best wishes
