kabbalah
noun
kab·ba·lah kə-ˈbä-lə 
ˈka-bə-lə
ˈka-bə-lə variants or less commonly kabbala or kabala or cabala or cabbala or cabbalah
often capitalized
1
: a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism, and thaumaturgy marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture
2
a
: a traditional, esoteric, occult, or secret matter
b
: esoteric doctrine or mysterious art
kabbalism
ˈkä-bə-ˌli-zəm
noun ˈka-
kabbalistic
ˌkä-bə-ˈli-stik
adjective ˌka-
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web In code, artists were able to include references to alchemy, astrology, and even kabbalah, a mystical branch of Judaism. 
National Geographic, 16 Jan. 2020 While Isaac Luria expounded the kabbalah following the expulsion from Spain, Joseph Caro updated the practical application of halakhah in the Shulchan Aruch code of laws (1563). Dominic Green, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2018 Gershom Scholem, the pioneering scholar of kabbalah, was one of many public intellectuals who felt that Arendt had lost track of the human reality of the Holocaust amid the scintillating twists of her argument. George Prochnik, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018 While Isaac Luria expounded the kabbalah following the expulsion from Spain, Joseph Caro updated the practical application of halakhah in the Shulchan Aruch code of laws (1563). Dominic Green, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2018 Incarcerated, not so much for his libidinous ways, but for gambling, cheating tourists, his flagrant libertinism in the face of the Venetian Inquisition, and his heretical interests in alchemy and the kabbalah. Gaile Robinson, star-telegram, 30 Aug. 2017
National Geographic, 16 Jan. 2020 While Isaac Luria expounded the kabbalah following the expulsion from Spain, Joseph Caro updated the practical application of halakhah in the Shulchan Aruch code of laws (1563). Dominic Green, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2018 Gershom Scholem, the pioneering scholar of kabbalah, was one of many public intellectuals who felt that Arendt had lost track of the human reality of the Holocaust amid the scintillating twists of her argument. George Prochnik, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018 While Isaac Luria expounded the kabbalah following the expulsion from Spain, Joseph Caro updated the practical application of halakhah in the Shulchan Aruch code of laws (1563). Dominic Green, WSJ, 30 Mar. 2018 Incarcerated, not so much for his libidinous ways, but for gambling, cheating tourists, his flagrant libertinism in the face of the Venetian Inquisition, and his heretical interests in alchemy and the kabbalah. Gaile Robinson, star-telegram, 30 Aug. 2017 Word History
Etymology
Medieval Latin cabbala — more at cabal
First Known Use
1521, in the meaning defined at sense 1