Theoretical vs. Practical Kabbalah
The two general categories of Kabbalah is the theoretical or Kabbalah Iyunit, and practical or Kabbalah ma’asit.
Those who are purely esoteric are the theoretical Kabbalists, dedicated in becoming closer to God. These people are deeply spiritual, working at higher level religious experience; regarded as examples of Judaism. Throughout history, these theoretical Kabbalists were considered to be great rabbis, teachers, and philosophers.
Practical Kabbalah involves the coercing of angels and demons which a number of Jewish mystics draw their attention to create physical effects. It is what they would consider as the “white magic”. Kabbalist would argue that no form of Kabbalah is magic. The practical Kabbalists use the name of God and Divine invocation on their practices and do not consider it as a form of magic. Stories about the man who knows the secret of God and uses them for the benefit of people circulated for centuries. Practitioners of practical Kabbalah were named Ba’alei Shem Tov or the “Masters of the Good Name”.
Practice of the practical Kabbalah to create amulets, perform a form of teleportation, and perform exorcisms involved responsibilities and actions, including the use of Bible and the various names of God. Knowledge about angels and demons are also tackled by practical Kabbalists.
There exists another Kabbalah, known as the ecstatic Kabbalah. The practice of this Kabbalah involves with deep, ecstatic meditations in order to come close to God, achieve prophesy, or gain spiritual insights. It is more concerned primarily with the spiritual growth and personal experience of the Kabbalist, instead of applying the Kabbalah into the physical world. A Kabbalist enters expanded consciousness through meditation by controlling thought processes and block out the five senses.