Page "Occult" Paragraph 13

Though there is a popular myth that one must be a 40 year old Jewish man, and learned in the Talmud before one is allowed to delve into Kabbalah, Chaim Vital says exactly the opposite in his introduction to Eitz Chaim.

There he argues that it is incumbent on everyone to learn Kabbalah-even those who are unable to understand the Talmud.

Further, the father of the Lurianic School of Kabbalah, Isaac Luria ( known as the Ari HaKadosh, or the Holy Lion ) was not yet 40 years old when he passed away.