ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Anthropomorphism in Kabbalah

Okay kiddo, so you know how sometimes we give human-like qualities to animals or objects? Like when we say a teddy bear is sad, or when we imagine a cat can talk like us humans? That's called anthropomorphism.

In Kabbalah, which is a spiritual and mystical branch of Judaism, anthropomorphism is used a lot to help explain God and the universe. See, in Kabbalah, God is seen as having many different qualities that are human-like, but much more powerful.

For example, God is often described as having emotions like love and anger, even though God doesn't actually have a physical body that can feel emotions like we do. This is because Kabbalah uses anthropomorphism to help us better understand the nature of God and the universe.

Another example is when Kabbalists talk about the "Tree of Life," which is a symbol for understanding how the universe is connected. Each part of the Tree is given a name and description that is human-like, like "wisdom" and "understanding." This helps us understand how everything in the universe is connected and working together, just like we humans work together when we're a part of a team.

Overall, anthropomorphism in Kabbalah helps us understand complex spiritual concepts by using familiar human-like qualities to describe them. It's a way to make the confusing and mysterious aspects of the universe more relatable and easier to understand.