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Yes, thank you for that Sufi poem, bb.

Well, after learning that Sufi isn't something vegans spread on toast or celery, is it part of a Sufolutionary Mythos? Sounds very taxonomic and reincarnationy of course, but as such I suppose one would have to say it is evolutionary, now wouldn't one? That being the case, I wonder if 'age of reason' evolution theory isn't truly a grandchild of animist reincarnation dogma, in its own evolution. Hmmm.... I wouldn't be surprised. I'm glad the poor soul lucked out though and didn't get stuck at the mineral 'phase' aren't you? Wouldn't be able to say much for his poetry, then.

1400's? I'd be curious to know if A-G's Kabbalah evolution ideas had hit by that time? When did those guys start with their "just so stories?"

Greaaaaat... {{8-| ...bb & A-G, my new friends at whose feet I so often sit are into Sufi and Kabbalah respectively.... I'm going to talk to Linus now. At least lean on his blanket.

;-`

Thank you so very much for your post!

I do need to clarify however that I am not a Kabbalist, nor am I promoting any Kabbalist view of evolution. There are various flavors of Kabbalah and I’m not aware of any official view of evolution among them.

However, I do love ancient manuscripts and it would be impossible to study such manuscripts without being aware of Kabbala which literally means “tradition.” But because it is “tradition” – dating of the Kabbala depends largely on who you ask.

For instance, according to the Britannica article it is a "Jewish mysticism as it developed in the 12th century and after. Essentially an oral tradition, it laid claim to secret wisdom of the unwritten Torah communicated by God to Adam and Moses."

And in this collection of notes on the early Kabbala (pdf) which is exhaustive, the early phase is defined as 1180 to 1300 A.D. However, it also notes that Jewish mysticism is ultimately based on the Hebrew Bible. It describes the pre-Kabbalist streams of Jewish mysticism, between the close of the Old Testament and the early Kabbala as follows:

Early beginnings:
Pseudepigrapha (ca. 200 BCE onward)
Philo (ca. 20 BCE to 50 BC)
Qumran (=Dead Sea Scrolls: 100 CE onward)
Rabbinic and synagogue traditions (100 CE onward)
Miscellaneous magic texts and other “occult” works
Merkabah and hekhalot (200 CE onward)
Sefer Yezirah (between 200 and 500 CE)
Transition
Geonic period (600-1000)
Early commentaries on Sefer Yezirah
Religious philosophers:
Solomon ibn Gebirol (1020-1070)
Judah Halevi (1075-1141)
Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164)
Hasidei Ashkenaz (German Hasidism: ca 1170-1240)

And the “modernized” flavor of Kabbala lays claim to even greater antiquity

The first Kabbalist we know of was the patriarch Abraham. He saw the wonders of human existence, asked questions of the Creator, and the upper worlds were revealed to him. The knowledge he acquired, and the method used in its acquisition, he passed on to coming generations. The Kabbalah was passed among the Kabbalists from mouth to mouth for many centuries. Each Kabbalist added his unique experience and personality to this body of accumulated knowledge, based on the souls of his generation. Kabbalah continued to develop after the Bible (5 books of Moses) was written.

In the period between the First and Second Temples (586 BC - 515 BC), it was already being studied in groups. Following the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and until this generation, there have been three particularly important periods in the development of Kabbalah, during which the most important writings on Kabbalah study methods were written….

Kabbala has become very popular among the "new age" types, but I wonder if such thinking is compatible with the Jewish tradition. Frankly, I have no particular interest in new age thoughts so I haven't read up on it.