ABSTRACT
The word Cabbala (Quabalah) is said to have derived from the Hebrew kibl which means "to pass on" or "to hand over." Cabbala is understood as a very old tradition alongside text of the Bible aimed at instructing a certain class of initiates in the explanation and comprehension of the Law (Torah). The Cabbala is often divided into a theoretical and a practical part. The theoretical Cabbala consists in ma'asse mercavah (work of the chariot), contained in the book Sohar, and the ma'asse bereschith (work of creation), contained in Sepher Yetzirah. In the Renaissance, the Jewish tradition of the Cabbala was rediscovered and a Christian Cabbala was developed in course of the translations the humanists made from old Hebrew and Greek texts. The "work of the chariot" discusses the beings and the essence of the supernatural world, God, the powers, the fundamental ideas, whereas the "work of creation" is dealing with the generation and the nature of the terrestrial world.
