It is possible to understand Kabbalah in any language. Moreover, it is desirable to study Kabbalah in one’s native language. However, at the same time, there are a number of Kabbalistic terms in Hebrew that one should learn in order to advance in the study.
For example, the Hebrew word “Partzuf” literally translates to “face,” but in the wisdom of Kabbalah, it holds a completely different meaning, and no term can properly express its spiritual meaning other than the word “Partzuf.” It is a similar situation with several other words. If you think of “Partzuf” as “face” and other words like “Rosh” as “head” and “Raglaim” as “legs,” i.e., the everyday Hebrew uses of those terms, then you will become completely confused and will miss the point completely.
These words and several others are the terminology of the soul, and we gradually come to perceive them as such the more we advance in the method of Kabbalah.
I thus think it makes no sense to translate these words. Likewise, in several of the world’s professions, many words remain in their original language. For instance, Latin is used in medicine, Italian is used in music, and all kinds of expressions in German and English are used in international technical languages.
Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Language of Kabbalah” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on January 23, 2011. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael laitman.