Myth #1: Kabbalah is a religion. Fact: Kabbalah is wisdom that predates all religions. Kabbalah is not indicative of a religion which has particular set of approaches and understandings of God. Kabbalah is a science - the physics of the overall reality. It is a wisdom that reveals the comprehensive reality that is normally hidden from our senses. Myth #2: Kabbalah is reserved for a minority of persons and only men over 40 years of age are allowed to learn it. Fact: During the exile Kabbalah was only studied by a few select individuals. However, since the time of the Ari (the 16th century), it is available to all.
Myth #3: Kabbalah deals with magic. Fact: Kabbalah does not deal with magic or any other sorcery; rather, it deals with a pragmatic investigation of reality.
Myth #4: Kabbalah is a sect. Fact: Kabbalah is a wisdom and a science open to every person without any restrictions. Myth #5: Kabbalah is related to “New Age” and is a trend - a passing phenomenon. Fact: Kabbalah is humanity’s oldest wisdom. Its beginnings were approximately 5,000 years ago. Myth #6: Kabbalah is related to tarot cards, astrology, numerology, and the occult. Fact: Tarot cards, astrology, numerology are occult practices which were mistakenly associated with Kabbalah during the past one hundred years. There is nothing in Kabbalah that has anything to do with the occult. Myth #7: One needs to have studied the Torah, Talmud, Midrash prior to studying Kabbalah. Fact: Without Kabbalah, one cannot understand the fuller spiritual meaning of these texts, and is stuck with thinking that they refer to physical events and actions.