Gayballah… can I be a kabbalist and a homosexual in the same time?
And the answer is YES. Yehuda Berg talks about homosexuality in a chapter of his book, “The Kabbalah Book of Sex & Other Mysteries of the Universe”. Here is the complete excerpt for you to read and share with others who are interested in this topic.
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.”
Kabbalah does not offer an opinion on the issue, quite simply because Kabbalah is not a religion or a philosophy with opinions about sexual orientation. Kabbalah is a blueprint, a technology based on the energy of life. It allows us to have more Light in our lives, to strengthen our connection to that 99 Percent Reality of spirituality from which we all derive.
Kabbalah explains that the ultimate purpose of life is to transform our selfish desires and learn to share with people. As we discussed earlier, relationships are the major part of this process. Everyone, gay or not, faces the tough task of learning to resist the overwhelmingly selfish behaviors the Adversary proposes. When any two people commit to taking that journey together, to being sharing and conscious of the effect their actions have on the world, they reveal great Light in the world.
When speaking with my gay students, I find that they easily connect to the idea of male and female energies. Remember, these are the positive and negative charges that exist in the unified soul. In fact, Kabbalah explains that male and female energies, or male and female souls, can be drawn into a body of the opposite sex. People can even have a combination of both these energies, which can affect their sexuality.
Ultimately, the soul of a person chooses the body it will inhabit before entering the physical world. And we are all here for the same reason: To learn to be more sharing, to become more like the Light, and to ignite the Law of Attraction in our lives. So whatever combination of soul and body we may have, we are all exactly who we need to be in order to accomplish this mission. Kabbalah explains that wherever the fantastic voyage may take us, we are all sparks of the Divine, of the Creator, and the Creator does not make mistakes.
Treating all people with human dignity is an essential tool of Kabbalah. Not because it is morally correct, but because judgment and hatred are tools of our Adversary and they immediately disconnect us from the Light. Treating everyone with kindness, compassion, and sharing connects us to the Light that will infuse our own lives with passion and excitement.
“There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet
It is important that we understand the concept of male and female as they are defined kabbalistically. Male and female do not necessarily refer to a physical male and female body. Kabbalah deals with forces of energy that have nothing to do with materiality. There is male energy and female energy, and these two particular forces can be found in either a man’s or a woman’s physical body, in varying proportions. In gay relationships, it’s not unusual to find that one partner expresses more female qualities and the other more male ones. This is a direct result of the particular male or female energy that shines in each person’s soul.
Rachel is gay, and she has been a student of Kabbalah for three years. Before Kabbalah, Rachel was constantly filled with a fear of rejection. She had no idea what her purpose in life was, or how her sexuality fit into the scheme of things.
“Studying Kabbalah helped me realize that it isn’t about whether you’re gay or straight; it’s about understanding that every single person has something to contribute to life. We’re all responsible for the amount of negativity or Light in the world. When you learn to resist the ego, it’s like finding a new treasure every day. Instead of being bogged down by guilt and shame, boredom and emptiness, you’re inspired to write the book you always dreamed of, volunteer to help abused kids like you’ve always meant to, or even just let go of grudges and pain you’ve carried around for years. It’s not about what you want; it’s about who you are.
A lot of times people focus on the sex part of homosexuality, which is understandable when you learn how much we all focus on the 1 percent of reality. But being gay is about a lot more than just sex. No one has a monopoly on being selfish in sex and relationships. We all do it. I realized that life is about making the effort to see that spark of the Creator in someone else and to really appreciate it. Especially in the people I disagree with the most, those who really push my buttons.”
As a final thought on this subject, suppose we have a heterosexual couple that treats each other abusively. They mistreat their friends and business colleagues, and their behavior lacks any form of human decency.
Suppose we have a gay couple that shares a life distinguished by a constant striving to be kind toward others. They make an effort to treat people with human dignity. Which couple, according to the teachings of Kabbalah, reveals greater Light in the world?
Answer? (No surprise here.) The gay couple.
Allow me to paraphrase a teaching of the great kabbalistic sage known as Hillel:
The sole purpose of Bible study is to achieve the ability to love one’s neighbor as oneself. All the rest of the learning is mere commentary. Now go and learn.
