Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah

Kabbalah is basically the word that envelops all Jewish mystic practices. It is considered a theological denomination of Judaism that focuses on human holiness through thought and deeds.

"There are many strands of teaching in the kabbalah. Medieval kabbalists, for example, were wont to speak of God as the En Sof (That Which Is Without Limit). The En Sof is inaccessible and unknowable to man. But God reveals Himself to mankind through a series of ten emanations, sefirot, a configuration of forces that issue from the En Sof . The first of these sefirot is keter (crown) and refers to God's will to create. Another sefira, binah (understanding), represents the unfolding in God's mind of the details of creation, while hesed(loving­kindness) refers to the uncontrolled flow of divine goodness. Most of the sefirot are regarded as legitimate objects for human meditation; they represent a way in which human beings can make contact with God. Through contemplation and virtuous deeds, human beings can also bring down the divine grace to this world." (see Kabbalah link)

I also found this site which describes Kabbalah as "a universal knowledge that has appeared in many forms around the world. Although we use the Hebrew word Kabbalah to describe it, this knowledge is not the property of the Jews or any other group. Kabbalah is also known by other names, such Kalachakra in Tibetan Buddhism. Modern science calls it "physics," but they have not yet discovered the full range of this knowledge. For that, they need to use other instruments that reach far beyond the reach of the physical senses." 

Reading about Kabbalah sort of reminded me of the Gnostic description in the "Christianity: A Global History" textbook. They are somewhat similar, both focused around philosophy, wisdom, and divine truth through human discovery. Interestingly enough, I'm not the first to make this connection: "Kabbalistic Philosophy and Gnostic theology are also occupied with the concepts of Philo. The first of these concepts is Being: abstract, unknown and nameless. The second is disclosure: the concrete which emanates from Being. The return to unity is also accepted to a certain extent, particularly with the Christian philosophers. This return, which is considered third, approaches Logos. [1] According to Philo, Wisdom is the teacher, High Priest, which leads the third back to the first, and thus to the vision (hóros) of God."  

An interesting connection, to be sure. I think that you can find a lot of strange similarities between different sects of Christianity.