Kabbalah #2

According to the Kabbalah, the way palm reading works is that when a soul is garbed in a body, it becomes imprinted in the body, particularly in the face and hands, and its nature can thereby be revealed.

zohar volume 2

171) It is written, “And you shall behold out of the whole people brave men who fear G-d, men of truth, who hate greed.” It does not say, “select.” rather it says “See” meaning according to one’s sight, in the form of the person, in those six Behinot [discernments] that we learn, and it is all in this verse.

“And you will see” is 1, in the hair.

“Out of the whole people” is 2, in the forehead.

“Brave men” is 3, in the face.

“Who fear G-d” is 4, in the eyes.

“Men of truth” is 5, in the lips.

“Who hate greed” is 6, in the hands, in their lines.

172) Those are the signs by which those that the spirit of Hochma [wisdom] is over them...

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, writes that in order for palmistry (or chiromancy) to be accurate and authentic, one needs to have knowledge of the mystical origins of people’s souls, as well as to be proficient in the art of palmistry.

However, nowadays, one can learn this craft only from a true master of the Kabbalah, and not on one’s own (by reading books, etc.). About those who attempt to learn this craft without an authentic tradition, the verse in Proverbs can be applied to them: “For many are the dead that she has felled, and numerous are all her victims.”

The Rebbe adds that he would be “very surprised” if there is anyone alive who could claim to be an expert in these matters (especially since someone who is truly proficient would reveal these secrets only to a student who is worthy and G‑d-fearing). Therefore, a person should stay away from palmistry and similar things.

The Rebbe would often write that instead of seeking remedies in hand-readers or the like, one should strengthen one’s faith in G‑d, who “heals all flesh and performs wonders.”

1] Rabbi Jacob Emden (d. 1776) elaborated on the story in a book published in 1748:

"As an aside, I'll mention here what I heard from my father's holy mouth regarding the Golem created by his ancestor, the Gaon R. Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of blessed memory. When the Gaon saw that the Golem was growing larger and larger, he feared that the Golem would destroy the universe. He then removed the Holy Name that was embedded on his forehead, thus causing him to disintegrate and return to dust. Nonetheless, while he was engaged in extracting the Holy Name from him, the Golem injured him, scarring him on the face."

2] The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th century rabbi of Prague, also known as the Maharal, who reportedly "created a golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava River and brought it to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations to defend the Prague ghetto from anti-Semitic attacks" and pogroms.

3] There is a tradition relating to the Vilna Gaon or "the saintly genius from Vilnius" (1720–1797). Rabbi Chaim Volozhin (Lithuania 1749–1821) reported in an introduction to Sifra de Tzeniuta that he once presented to his teacher, the Vilna Gaon, ten different versions of a certain passage in the Sefer Yetzira and asked the Gaon to determine the correct text. The Gaon immediately identified one version as the accurate rendition of the passage. The amazed student then commented to his teacher that, with such clarity, he should easily be able to create a live human. The Gaon affirmed Rabbi Chaim's assertion, and said that he once began to create a person when he was a child, under the age of 13, but during the process he received a sign from Heaven ordering him to desist because of his tender age.

Practical Kabbalah was prohibited by the Arizal until the Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt and the required state of ritual purity is attainable.

Phase one: “Before” the tzimtzum, “there was a celestial and simple light that filled all existence, and there was no empty room... Rather all was filled with simple infinite light, which did not have either beginning or end, but all was one simple light, all the same and equal... this is called infinite light (ohr ayn sof).”

Phase two: “Then... this light was contracted (tzimtzum is the Hebrew word for contraction)... and drawn aside... leaving empty room, a hollow space (chalal)... After this tzimtzum there was now space where emanations and creations could [potentially] be formed and made.”

Phase three: “Then was drawn forth from the infinite light a single straight line (kav), [drawn] from the surrounding light... successively descending into the hollow. The top of this line is drawn from the the infinite light itself and touches it... and through this line the infinite light is drawn and spread out below. Thus, in that hollow space, all the realms were emanated, created and made.”