Sefer Yetzirah - The Book Of Creation (aryeh Kaplan Version)

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The Book of Creation @ /In Theory .and IPractice , Revised IEdition I ARYEH KAPLAN ------------------- Copyrighted material The Book of Creation Revised Edition ARY~H KAPLAN WEISERBoOKS 60s ton, MN'Yo rk Buc h, ME edition pobl» ' ~ i. 1m by Reel \\'h«L/'WeiMr, u.c VOlt. Beach, ME \\-l1li otrk:a l1li 368 eo.,r- s_ il'n,., MAOUI O ~iltd _ ,....1tNIwftMr, ~ OlpyriJll; C 1m Tbo £Itt'_ 01 ArydI KIj 1M All ri&f'iII r( I rr ; ~ No pM ollhis p,N;' m.". .... y he .... "h.....! or U'IIISIlIiIWd irI .,. fum or by lIlY _IN. mb' '- or n .... l 1-i...1, iDoIudi!It pl.... ' • ., .... _dI&a;, or by...,. iIIfonnacioD ...... mol .«Iienl I,.... ...... id .... ",",Fill;"" iII..-riIiq fmm Reel WhceIlWciKr, u.c. ,"",it.. at l1li)' ~ brid' p 7 Ori&inz.l ..til" . , nTiiJlot c I\II9OThd i... olAr)'<"h K"","". Fldn ~ In the Uailed ~ 1'1.' 01 A""""",. ED I 0 09 011 01 IllS loS T)F I~ os 04 LJ 12 II ]0 9 8 MiII]O P TIr.... O(~for P" d Lib.) M....... ZJ9.4-I992 (RI997). Aboul Ihe Tronslolor Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan was a world-renowned Tonh ""hoIar ... · 110 pnr duced ,,"cr 50 bQob in hi~ brief lifetime. including Meditation and 1M Bible. Mt'dilal;on and Kabbaltllr and Tilt Bahir. Kaplan 's wOfb cncompasw1 COlIlmcnW)' and translation of ancien! and ob$cure works by Bible IChoiar1 and Kabbali su, :md "",,",$ advi$ing young Jews OIl tile merits of study and 01: " ""ano;e, For a wbile he ""'lU an editor of I t wish Life magazillC. translated an UI..... IiIUUS rornmentary on !he Torah by the &plwdic rabbi. Yaakov CUli . and prodlKcl an original tr&n$lation-commenW)' of Ihe Five Booh of Mo.et., which he called "The Uving TOOIh:' published by Moznaim. Israel. A~h Kaplan was born in the Bronx. ,,\!died at Ioxa! yeshivO(, and oontinued his education al yesttiVOl: in Israel. For a while he entered the field of ,.::icnce and was. for a tn.( period, tho youngeS! physicist employed by !he Uni ted States gO\'emment before devocing hi5 1ifc 10 5 Tanh ~holaMip. He died a1 the . ge of 48 in 1983. Copyrighted material ,... CONTENTS i~ INTRODUCTION II Thr T e ll xii n Aulhol'$hi l! The Ta lmudic Pcrjrx! ui Tnl$ I nd Commentaries SEFER 3 93 '" '" ''"" YE77fRAH Cbaptcr One Cbap!" Two Chapter lbrtt Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six APPENDIXES '" 320 Other Boob Containin, Sefu ¥ rnirab )2$ ~25 Ma nu5C!'ipU CnmmrD1arirs lY Tran.J"jons 319 NaTES 389 INDEr Copyrighted material Introduction The ~fn Yrt:l'rah. is w;thoU! question I~ oldest and most mysteriOIlS of all Kabbalislic le~l5. The fi rsl comment;uies on Ihis boot we~ wril1en in the 100h cenlu1)'. and the lUI itself is QUOIN as early as the si1th. Rtfe~1ICC'5 to the work appear in the first century. while traditio"' rtprdinl ils ux allnt 10 ils existence c"cn in Biblical times. So ancienl is Ihis book Ihat its orisi ns a~ no LonjeT accessable 10 hiSlori.ns. We a~ lotally dependent on tradi tions with reprd 10 ils aulho~i p. Equally mysterious is the meaninl of Ihis book. If the I U11>or meant 10 be obsc ure:. he ..-a. cm ;""nlly 5uCttqfuL Ii is only Ihm ... '" the most arefuI analys;$, sn.d yinl every word with ils parallels in Biblical and Talmlldic literalure, Ihat its hau of ~ri l y bqins 10 be ~nCll1ued. There have been many inlcrpreunions oflhe &1" YMz;roh. The earliest commentators tried 10 in lcl'J'lret it as a philosophical 'll'llise. but their efron. lhed mOK light on their 0" -'" ,y.tems than on th~ te~t. The same: is true of efrons to fit it into tM systems of the Zobar or Iller Kabbalistl. Efrons 10 view it IS a book on srammu or plio""tio I~ even more unsUCttSsfui. In ICr>eral, the Kabbalah is divided into three cat~ri<"$. lhe theom ical. the mtdi tative, and the magicai. ' The theoretical Kabbal ah, ..'hich in it. prncnt form is based larzely on the Zobar. is oon.cemed frIOStly with Ihe dynamics of th~ spiriuu.l domlin, np«ially the worlds of the Srfirot, souls and Inlt'll. This branch of Kabball h reached ils zenith in the wrilinp of the Safed 1ChooI in the 16th century. Ind Ihe Vast majority of publ ishM texIS bdOOI in this catqory, Med illtive Kabbalah deals with Ihe use of divine names, letter permutation., and similar methods 10 reach hiiher Slates of oonsciousness, and as suclt. rompriw::! a kind of yap, Most of the main te~t s have never been published, but remlin K1ltterro in manuscriplS in the JIl:II libraries and museum •. Some of these methods enjoyed I brief renaiWln.ce in Ihe mid 1700', "'i th th~ rise of the Hasidic mo"em~nl . but within a half century Ihey were 00« apin Ja'lely fOl'lOtten, ,. • SIO F~R Y!:TZIIlMI The third caleaory of Kabbalah-Ihe maJiul-is dO:sely ~lalcd \0 the medilatlve. 11 consisls of "anous si",,, ina.nlalion. and divi"" names, through whitll onc nn influence or alter nlnmd C\"Cnll. Many of Ihe techniques clos.ely res.emblc meditative Tm1hods. and their succt'SS may depend o n tllei. ability \0 indllCC' mental states where telekinetic Or spi ritual IJQWff can effectively M channeled. As with the second cllelOr)'. the most important lext, have never been printed. altlloUJh WInC' (",,,,,ents have boen published. ()n.e of the besl ulmples of tlleK is Ihc book Razicl. Careful study ind ic.tes thaI Sefer Yel1.irah is. mcdilalive ICI\, wilh stron, mqical overtones. This pOSit ion il suppOfted by the carliest Talmudic Imil ions, which indicate lhal it could be uK<;! \0 CR- ate livin, creatuT6. Espttial1y sianificant are IIIe many ~ns and k&ends in wh.ich the Serer Yell;rah is used 10 ernie. GoIrm, it oon of myst ical android. The mnllods of the Sefer Yetzil'1lh ap~ar to in" olve meditation; and it i. hiJ,hly possible that it ....,,1 ori,i naOy ",rineo .I• • meditative manual. A major 12th cenlury philosopher Ihus stain thai it don not contain philosophy. bl.at di vine mystery.' This comes across vrry clearly in the commentary of one of the ,..,.Int K.abbalil1s, Isaac the Blind ( 116().1216), who stresses the meditative asp«u of the teXl. II i. also p;lnicularly evidenl in a very al\(~n l manll$Cript of Sefer Yellil'1lh, dalin, from the lOih century Of earlier. The introduc:tory colophon stites. ~This is the book oflhe ~lIel1l of Abraham Our flther. which i. called Sefer Ydzirah, and when one pzes (1:0./0.11) inlO it. Ihere is no limit 10 his wisdom.~' As .... e shall discuss in our commentary (on 1:6), the Hebrew word luifalr does not denote mere physicil pzina. but mystical meditative insiJ,h1. Thi. very early $O\Irte would therefore luppan Ihe position Ihal Sefer YelZirah wll ml'ant \0 be used as a meditative tUI. The commentaries which treat Sefer Yellil'1lh as a tMQretiaJ lext. read much of it in the third ~rIOn : ~ He oombined,~ ~ He formed,~ and Ih like. Aooordin. to th is readina. the lUI i. referrin. to God's creation. In many cases. however, the vammuical form more closely resembles the im~ralive.· The author is telli n. the reader to ~oombine~ and ~fonn' as if he was aCluaily ,ivin, ;nilructioos. In many other cases, tile lU I is unambiauously inslruc1ive, as in ouch passal6 as, ~if your hean runs, retum 10 the pl.ce.~ and. ·understand with wisdom. and be wise with understand in... Rather Ihan have Ihe teX! oscillate bet",..,.n the third perlOn IDd Ihe imperative, it would tcrt.ainly be more Iosicallo read il all in Ihe imper1ltive. The Sefer Yelzirah thus becomes an instruction manual for a very Ipttilll)'pe of medi lation . Oul of deferen« \0 the lIIIjority of «>mmemaries we ha" e refrained from translatin, il in the imperative, but " , " implications commentary_ tile of such 3 readin, all' di$CU~Kd in Ihe What ""C therefore have In Sefer VelIitah 'pIXat$ 10 be an instructional manual, describin& tenain mediUlt;ve exercise>. Then: is some evidence Ihal these exercises were melnt 10 strenJlhen the initiatc's oon«ntralion. and were panicuLtrly helpful in Ihe development of telekinetic and telepathic pOWer$. It ""as with these pOwers Ihal onc ,",'OuLd Ihen be able 10 pcri"onn feats Ihal outwardly appeared 10 be maJjcal. This is su pponed by the T almudical ref~nca, which appea r \0 compare Ihe UK ofSefer Vctrirah \0 I kind o(wllite ma&ic.' An imponant 13th "nuury commentator wrilCS thaI students of Serer Velzirah were liven a man~pt of tile book Ruiel, a mlgia! text containing seals, mqic:al ftgUTeS, di ... ine names and incantationl.· The Text The Sd"er Yeuilllh is a vny lI11all and concise boot. In its Shon Version, it is only """'" 1JOO ""'Of'tIs Ion" "nile the I..on& Venion (lOII\.ains approximately 2500 words. The Gra Version used in this lransblioo cornairu; IIrQIJnd 1800 ..."Qrds. So lhort is the text. thaI one of the earliffi fragments appean 10 have 1M entire book "";t1efl on • si"lle pqe. ' Tbc'n: is speculation that the oriainal souroe may have oonuoined as few illi 240 worm.' The present tut contains six chapten, and in I()me editions. I~ Ire said to paraUtlthe six orden of 1M Miiiblllh.' Some an<;~nt soum:s. howe"er. state that the book contains five chap~1'$, and it $Cclli,likely thai the pl'tXflt fifth and si~th chaplI~n ~ combined as OM in t~ texts. '0 The earliCSI commentator. Saadil Gaon, in I somewhat diffeml1 """ion, divides lhe book into ciaht chapterS. " The text is pn:5Cnln.l dogmatiaolty. without substantiation or e~pla­ na\ion. [n the fint chapter in particular. it il solemn and IOII<)fOU$, rf3d. inllikc blank""",, pOcIry. Vny few Biblical P'''''Ign all' quot«!. and with the uccplion of Abrallam. no namt or aulhority is menl~. The book oeeTnltO be divided inlO four buic porU. The lim chapIn in\roduccs the Sefinx, spealin, of them . 1 Ien&th. Aftn thi~ howevn. lhere is no mention whatsocvcr rcprdina the Sefinx in sub$equccnl chap!en. This had Ird to oomc speoIlation that the Scfn Yeu;irah miahl actually be a combinalion of lWO (or~) earlier lUll. The scamd chapter oonsists of a acncral discussion about the 1cnen of the alphabet. II dearly appe. n to be inlroo:illCinl their use in a meditative oontul. AJso inlrod..:al in this chapler an: the fhc pbonetic ramiJie5 and lhe 231 Gates. Apin, ncilhcr the phonetic families nor the Gat .. are cver apin mentionrd in the lcxt. Chapters three to fi,l' di!C\l!oS the three divisions of the letters, "mothe", doubIQ. a lld elementab. ~ ~ are related 10 the ~uni\'tTSC, soul and )...ar.~ pl . .ntinl_ fairly cc first time. are introduced theroncepts of the "vis. C)~ and hean.~ ideas which are not discus5ed any plac:.: e!oe in HebQ.i(: or Kabbalistic liteniilure, with the e,'CCplion oft"" Bah ir." Ofall the chapt~ this one ~s the II>05t obscure. and il is diffICUlt to decide if its emphasis i~ theotrtical or meditiltiw:. Th is chapter ODnd~ with _ stanza linking the &fer Yo:u.i~ 10 Abraham. It is this Quote that serves as a source to the I~ition lIut the book w"" authortd by the Patriarch. Authorship The arlic!.t sounx to which Yetzirah is anributed is the Patriardt Abraham. As early as the 10th century, Saadia Gaon writes thai. "the ancknts say thaI Atnham WT<)(e it.~" This Opinion is supponed by alrroost all of the early commentaton.. " Such ancient Kabbalistic texts 1$ the Zohar and Razid al$(l a\tribute Sefer yetziBh to Abraham. " A number of very old manuscripts of Serer Ycuirah likewioe be&in with • ooIopbon calli"8 it "tl>cc letten of Abraham O\Ir Father. whidl i. called Sefer Yctzirah.~" Thi, does not mean. however. tMt the entire boot; as we haw: it no .... waS wriuen by AbQham. As Sudi. Gaon ClIpiain •. the principles ClIpotInded in Sefer Yctzirah .."re first taUJht by Abraham, but the)' ""re not aaually asxmbled in booIo:: form wlIil much lat~r. " Another autllorit), OOIes that it could 001 ha,'e aauaUy been ...Titlen II)' Abr1ham, 5ino-e if it had. it 5hou1d haw: been incorporated into the Bible. or at leJi dillJ 10 some 00/TlffiCI]taries, this indicaleS thai Abnaham actually used lbe powen ofSefer Yeuirah 10 tmlte people," This I'oOOld be !be earlint eu.mpk of !be use of SefC1" Yeuirah 10 trelte a CioIem. Aco:xdina 10 thi!, Abraham would h.lve Ieamed bow 10 use !be myster_ ies ofSefer Yetzitah before God loid him 10 leave Hana.n.1> Olher authorities, bowe>-er, say WI "rnaIcinJ souls" ~fers 10 C()ftvertillJ them 10 belid in tbe one true God. and !his is also supported by lbe Zohar.1> Some commentaries altempt 10 reoonciIe this with the lut of Serer Yetzirah, upbinillJ thai "';!h !be mir\1de$ ~t Ihrou&h tbe Sefer Yeuirah, Abraham "'"85 abk 10 OOII~ people of the pow~r of God. and thus C()e it. Tllere mishl have lottn rno"" Ihan one ~rson wi th th~ na m~ Ben Sinh. but the OM in this tnditinn ...-as dearLy the $On of Jeremiah . Reprdina his hinh . Ihere is a fascinatins tradilion. Jeremiah had bei-n ~Ied by homoseAuals in Ihe balhhouse. and as a result. had u~riencnl an ejacUlation in Ihe 1ub_ His $Cmen remained viabLe. and when his dauslller Laler us.cd the ... m~ lub. 1he ...-as imp""",aled by ii, e\-'entually livin, binh to Ben Sirah.J! Ben Sirah "-as therefore Ihe son of bolh Je~iah and the laller's daushler. Some sourttS ... y that hi, na"", ..,., nrilinaJJy Ben Zera (Son of Seed), but .... hen Ihis na"", proved embar'r.U!lina. he ch.tnp iliO Ben Sirah. - Because of lhe $Cnsilive nature of his binh. he: d id nOi can himodf "$On of Jererniah ." The"" is an aUusion. ho wever, since Sirah (..",,) and Je""miah (~ ... ) both ha"e a numerical value of 271. Later authoritit"S ".-",.., 10 brinl proof from Ihi. incident Ihat anificial inseminat ion does not constitute adultery or incest. " These lraditions are of panicular interest, siIKe Ihere are man y hinl. that Jeremiah lauabt these mySlcri"" 10 a ""nain Yoso:f, II<)n of Utiel. son of Ben Sirah." There is also at leasl one soura: that .tal"" thai Ben Sirah actuall y !aught the Sefer Yettirah 10 Yoscfben U,ieJ." What is even more inlereslin, is the fact Ihal lbere are hints that this vcry same Yos.efben Uziel may have wrinen a mmmentary on Serer Yelzirah, or even possibly one of th~ earli ...t version. of Ih" 1t:%1 ilself." This is imponant because il would dale Ih" finn version ofSefer Yel1!irah 10 lhe early ycars of Ihc Second Templ~, Thi. was aho the time of Ih" Or~at A~rnbly. who put some of the last boob of lhe Bible. such as Ezekiel, into wrilin&. and Ihen d osed lhe Biblical Cannon ." Much of the "'8ular Heb"' .... P"'Ye1' ilervice was aho composed by this Assembly" Like these prayers. the Sefer Yetz;rah was nOt pul into writing, but was !audit from "",mory. The Talmudic Period Upon cntcri", tile Talmudic period. ,,-e make a lransition from lradition to history. We find actual mention of Sefer YelZirah in 1M. Tal mud, and e,'en though ;t ;s not absolutely «nain Ihat it is identical with OUt version, there is no n:al ""ason 10 doubt Ihal they an: one and the same. In Talmudical Ii""",. IIIe Sefer YC\2i",h bcaan I S an 0",1 leaching, and "-as eventually incorporaled as a book. which w'" used by Ih" sa&"'- ,. •• j SEFU YI!TZIIlAH Th( fiRI ~ferentt to ",ch 11$0: involves Rabbi Yehos.hua (ben OIan&ll)-'). lludinl uae of the fiRt Ct'n tllf)'. He i, ~ited with the 51A1cmtnl, ~ I (an take iqllUMs IIId pumpkins, and with thc ~fer Yctrirlh. make lhem inlo beautiful trees. ~ wiU in lum produec: other betiuliflll Irca. ~" Allhou&h Ih( phrr.$e. ~with the SefctYetzirah,- docs noe O«"\Ir in prinled ed ilion, of 1M Jm.Wem Tilmud. it is found ;11 manlHCriplJ. This rd"nmce 10 Rlbbi V(h .. ~ua is hi&hly Ii&rUf~l. Rabbi VdioI.hua was OM of tile fiV( main d;~iples of Rabbi Yoc:hanuI bm Z.kh i (47 .:..73 a), leader of III Jewry Ifter the datNdion of the T(mpl(, and a ~~ UP"' ;n III occull Irts.· It ""as Rabbi Vehoshua ... ho was Rabbi Vochanan', ma;o dilciplc in thc mystma of thc Marb ... (a..riot). and he 1.ler pined rime as the IJmllest aP"' 0( his lime in tile occult." Thililto Ibed'li&hl OD anoeller ;mpOrllnl m)"ltical ...,tou.lIl.ily. Al....Mdini 10 OM .ncient 5OIIftt. R.bbi YdIoIhua also received. the tradition from R.bbi NchunUt ben HaKanah, kader of the JChooI IIIaI produ«d lhe Bahir. In Se Bibl ical ~1'Q1l . .... hich II>ey used." Since Ihese noles -...:T't PICSUVed by privale ind ivid uals and ne,'Cr distributed public.ally, they.....,re cQIl..cti\'cly rno"'lI as ~hidden ""mll.~ (/I.Irgil/al &Iarlm) ..... NOl only such esotcric material as SefU' Yeu irllh " 'IS included in Ihis cateJOl)', but even such leplistic material as the Mishnah, which wu meant to be Il'lInsmined orllll)'. Th is miaht help e~plain " 'hy lhe Sefer Ydzirah exists in SO many \'crsions. Unlike tile Mish nah, which was e'~ntually publi shed in a "~II lkfined edit ion, the Sefer Yelz;l'lIh ne,'er de" ek>ped beyond Ille state of bein, a ~lI idden SCfOII.~ Different venions may have bttn tauJht b~ "arioos teachen, and, sin~ tile te~\ WlS never openly pun. lislled. there .....s no .... ay in wllich these "enions could be COfTlPlln:d and rorrttled. Furtllermore. many ma .... inal nOtes may have bttn inoorporal«l inlO tile lUI , also produdn, d iffertnl version$. All Ihis may provide an ex planation for the fact Ihat then: is no Hebrew classic Il1al is foond with so many ,·enion. and variants as the Sefer Yellirah . II :oeems highl)' probable t hai the Sefer Yetzi rah was aln:ady in its prnenl form .... hen the Mishnah was n:dlKted in the yel r 204 CL The Mishnah "'IS edited by Rabbi Yelll,ldah the Prince ( IH~22Q.-.), usually rrfem:d to simply as "Rebhi. ~ II is indeed possible that there i~ " reference to Sefer Yrtzirah in Ihe Mishnah itself. In one of the few places where it di'ICUsse5 et(lleric lore. the Mishnah states, ~The mysteries of creation (M~ Bt reshil) mlYnot be expounded in the: pll'sen~ of t\V() di5ciples, and the mysteries of the Marklva (M aa.H'h Markin'lll may not be npounded even in the prnence of one, unle" he is wise:. underslandin, with his kno .... Ied'e. ~ .. no.. teTTT'i M~ M t!rluzva n:fns 10 the meditative methods uxd 10 ascend 10 the hillier spiritual n:alms." Although such Jal~ pb.~ phen as Maimonides claimed thaI this in,'QIved philosophical. sprcuJa. lion, the most ancien! ooun:es dearly 5tale tllat Maasth MarIcawJ dealt with the meditati~e methods used !'or spiritual ascent." A. such, it was C'OfIsidcm;! the mosl ...oteric of all ipiritual exercises. Acwrdin, to many aUlhorities, Maa.H'~ 8~il refen \0 the mysteries of Sef~ Yetzirah." Since .... e know Ihlt M(fQ.J ..... allO • ....,., o f Scfer Ye\zitlll,>< A &elocution lalu, we: thus filld I II account o f IWO of Rebbj'I diKipies de.rly invol~ in !he m)'lteries O(ScfeT ytUirah.. TheTa!mud Il:lala, ~Rabbi Hani ... and Rabbi Hoshia WOIIId ~ themselva in xfer YnUl"lh C\'tI'y IFrid.ayJ before the Sabt.lh, would create for tMlNClvCl I. prime» air, and would eat il.·,. AnolhcT vcnion of this accounl IIlln thl' they C1IPaN ill Hi/JcJtof ytrzjroA (Ruin 0( Crn.tioll)' rather than We.- Velum." The term Hi/JcJtof, !lowevel', call apply \0 phikMiphK:al ",In I, .-d11U ItpI OIKS." I" I(lme oflM most ancient manllJeripta, Serer YelZirab il actllally til~ HillcJt« Yttrinzh." Then: art: many inle1'pretations as IOuactly wMl thne lWO ..... *XX)il1p1ilMd in cre&lill,llUch I calf. and why !My did it. Some say thai they did 1101 actually creale • ph~'SicaI Qlf. but ern!rd JUCh • clclr medital i,-c imqe Ihll 1M spirilulllilisf.nion was 'he.arne u ellin,.- Evm luch • K.ibNlis.t at Abraham AhuJar.. (124().1296) maintain. thai I~r ~'Iion ..... mystical rather than physical." Tbc R.m~ (Rabbi Shlomo ben Adem: 123S- III 0) saw pertintLar sipjf"",nee in lhe fad 11111 Ihey would mpar in Ihis on Friday, lhe day ia "'hid! mlmmlls wn-e oriainlUy cn:lltderIec that Abraham _ vCf1ed in allrolocY. a position clearly round ia !M:fer Ynzirah. There is alto evidence lhal Rav Ydtudah lamed the mymrics of the 42 1et\e1' Nlme from Rav.As In initiale into 1M mysleries otSder Ycuirah, Rav Yehlldah would also ILave a dottp IInckf1l&n,dina of lhe mysticallipiflCallCe of Ihe Hdtrew lIIn,uaac- We Ihul find IILaI he cmpbuiml. the 11K of the SEFER YET7.IIlAIt H~w lan&u.a&e. even in his daily convenal ion." Ray Y~hlldah abo mainl.ined Ihal pr;oy~r ~uld ~ yoiad in H~brew, and nOi in Ihe Aramaic y~mac\llar," Th~ Talmud relal~ Ihal R... Y~f knew Ihe mYSlmn of Ihe Marhva . .... hile the ~elden of Pumpadila" _re versed in the mysleri~ m ereation. Ra,· Y~fgolille elders 10 leach him Ihe mysleries of creal ion. bul would nol enll1lSI them with lhe Marhva mysteries in return." This indicaleS Ihat the my'l~rin of Ihe MarkaYi. Bnd lhose of Sefer Yelz;rah .... e,.., ta""'l by different ..::hools. and lhal members of one school did nOI know tile leachinp ofille olher. "The lWO involved di ff~nt discipline., and nre was taken 10 k~p tllem scparale. This also ans"'iers the Queslion as 10 wh y Ihe Sd"er Yelzirah is ne"er men_ tioned in Ille lIrld!aIOl. lhe classic of Marbva lilerature.Ol The Marhv. lilenllu", !k~1oped in a schoollhal mi&ht have not had .callS to xfer Ye!rirab, even lhough ce"ain of ils members_re definilely ~ersed in it. In Ihe same (:Onlext, xfu Yelzirall is men· tioned hut a vcry fno' timn in IIIe Zohar. and then. not in the main lexl." In Ihat period. Ihere were some saln who nclle",-w thl':lC m~ teries complel~ly. Such an ind ividual was Rabbi Elazar ben Padat. " '1\0 beaded the aeadem)' in Tiberiu. after the dealh of Rabbi Yachanan in Ihe year 279 CL When Rabbi Yachanan hey " 'el"(> no 10lll"r known. 'fhae po ....ers. howe" er. d id CIisl in Ihe Tonh. Rabbi Elanr thus said . ~The I'"u",,,,,"phs of tile Torah II"(> not in order. If Ihey were in [correct[ order. an)'One . '1\0 read lkem would be . bk 10 [cl"(>ate I World.} murreel III-e dead, and perfo"" miradt'S.. A generalion later. "'C find IWO impo"ant sqes aCli~dy enpaed in Iht mysteries of Sefer Yetzirah. The firsl was Rava (29'J-lSJ <'I). founder and fi~1 ma51er of tlte Babylonian ~ad~my in Mechuza • ... ho is crcdiled wi lh oa yin" ~If Ike n,htcous desired. lhe~ could crelie a world,- Hi5 pa"ner was RaY Zein. who was known III the "' "yin! of Bab)'lon ..... So great _rc: Ray Zeira's meditative po",-ers Ihat he was able 10 place his feel in fire without buminllh.em. He would test him~lf each month to see if this pOlIo-er Willi unabated. On one ~sion, Ihe other s.a&n distracted him. a nd he failed, where. upon he wlU cailt(!, ~The litlle man witl'lth e burmd f«t ..... An ancient tradition stain that Rava and Rav Zeira worked tQSether for three ye"n, medila!;n, on tile Sefer Yctzirah. When they finally mastered it, Ihey created a calf and 5I.aullncm;! ii , ..,!'Vi"" ;1 at a feast ceJcbralin,lhcir accomplishment. Thcy then 10$1 their pow. en and had to work for an.otlier th= yean \0 rnion: them. " Tile Talmud ..,latn that " Rava c""aled a man" and sent bim \0 Rav Zein. When lhe laller Sal',' that this android would nOI ans""cr his questions. he realiud thai ;1 was a Golcm, and told ;1 \0 "return 10 Ihe dust.· ··, The Bahi r remarks Ilia! the GoJcm could nOi speak becau"" Rav....... 1>01 completely f= from Ihe !lint of si n. and as long as man sins. he cannot partake of the po""rs of the (realor.'OI Only God can make a man who can speak.. This is tile first mention of the creation of a GoIem in Hebraic literalure , but in the middle ail's. several other jnstan<:... a"" reponed.'''' E'"n the expression. ~ Ra"a created a man," has mystical connolations. [n I~ oriynal. it is RaBM BoRA GaBhRA (I<"UI "1) ,.:n ). and, as an tarly Kabbalist nOI .... Ihe second word is nothin, ot her than Ihe ...,velY of Ihe first.'O< The third word adds a Gimmel. the third lener oflhe alphabet. to lhe word before;1. This yields a ph~ consisting of len letters. with a numerical value of 612. one less than 6 13. t~ number of bon.es and blood ,,,*Is in Ihe human body. '" The man crealed by Ran WI'! Ihus somelhinl less Ihan human. In many ways. th ;s exprenion is reminiSCtnl of Ihe word Abracadabra (ABNA K'ADaBRA-II'O'VO >n;III), which lilerally means, " I will create as I speak. -'OO During the Talmudic period. Ihere well' man y sap who rnPlCd in thne mysteri ....'''' With the dose of Illis era, 1I0,",'(v(r, a blankel of silence was cast over all occult aC1 ivitin.. It appears Ihat a number of mystical books were written during Ih e SU~lJoOnt Gaonic period, but Ihe;r orilin. are .hl'OYded in mystery. Still, kno..-IedJt of thne practices clea rly existed as late IS the 10th century, and H.i Gaon (939--103 8) speaks of JXOple cn&ased in tile mystical permulation (1:,...,1(Jl of Ieners.,.. Texts and Commentaries Jt is not untilll'!e posl-Talmudic period lila! """ find actual quotations from Ihe Sefer Yetzirall. One o r the eal1;.".t .uch reruencn i. in a ,. .. ;; S EFE~ V£TZtRAH Table l. HiSlorical opi nioo§ as to .... hen Srfrr r froirllir .... a~ .... ritten . Before 100 .... Lazarus GoIdsmidt. [)as Buch dtT ScMpfimg, FrankJun, 1894. p. 12. Is~el We il1$tocl<, nmiri" I , Jeruill!em , 1972, p. 21 . (for earliest pIOn s). 100 ..... 100 0: Adolphe rranck, Oit Kabbdlilh. Leipzi&, 1844, p. 6S. Israel Weinstock. loe.cit. (for IIC'COnd layer). 1·100 co Adolph Jellinek. Inlroduction 10 Oit KabW!"Ir, pp.6-9. Yo hann Friedrich von Meyer, [)as Bwch YnirtJlr, Lcipzi&, 1839, p. v. Heinrich Graetz. GtIIJSliciJmus. Krotoschin. 1846, pp. 102-103. 100-200 co Isadore Kal ish. Stftr YrllirtJh. New York. 1871. p. 3. David C.sldl i, Commrnli di Don% , Firenze, 1880, p . 14. Abraham Epstrin, Brilragr zlIr Judi:v:hrn A!ltrllrllmsic.ulttir, Vienna. I 887, 1:46 49. !dtm .. Rnchrrrhr SII' It StftT Y/'('ira. Rro-ur dn EdlIl n Jlli_ 29:7S-76 (1894). CXrshom Scbolnn, Ur1pnmg und A'Ifil~, Berli n, 1962 . pp. 21 . 2S (note 4 S). Avraham Mcir Habermann. Sinol 10: 141 ( 1114 7). 200-<00 • - . 600-800 • Louis Gi n"be .... Jt't<'iJlr EItQ'IOpft/iQ. New York. 1904, 12:60S. CXnhom Scllolcm, EncycIoprdi" Judaial, Berlin. 11132. 9:109. Leo Baed, Aus drri J"lrrlQusrNir, Berlin. 1938. p. 382. Hermann L Strack. EI" lr ltllng i" Talmud lI"d M idFlu , Munich. 11121. p . 22 1. Sh. Mo.... Sir"", Kt!,,!OI. BGD KRl'T. !it! " Th, Si nol. Jerusalem . 1960. pp. 233-236. Nehem ia AlonL H/slOriSt:hr GrammaliJc.. Hali. ]1122 , p. 112. Idt m., nmjrim I , p. 116. ...ii TMI>ie I. Hi\l<)I"ic.1 opinionl as II) ...' ~n Sri" rrl:iruh was wnnen (cofllin...,di leopold Zunz, Dir VOrll"l!ge dn' Judr~, Mo"il Steinschneider. p.40 1. Heinrich GracI!, Grxh«htr dn Judrn (18 75) 5:2 97. Ph . Bloch. MYSlik und KablJ All of these are philosoph ical, rather than mylltical, in oontent. Most $isni licant i. the facl lha t each of the5e commentaries was wrillen o n a d ifferent version of Serer Yettirah. The commentary by Donash ...... wrillen on what i. now ICnerally referTed 10 as Ihe Sl>ort Venion. Wilh minor variations. il ...... Ihis venion that "".1' printed in 1562 in the: Manl ... a edi tion. and it i. dominant in all subtequent printed ed ilion•. The commentary of Shabbat;ai Donnelo ...,., wrilten on ",'hat is now referred 10'" the L<:>"I Version. MIUlY printed edilions included Ihis lon, Venion as.lII)n of appendix. A complete manu5Cripl , run· ina from tl!e 10th century, also uist. of lhis version. A1lhol1&h there are important differences in the .... i",mcnt of values to letten and planets. tile Lon, Version is very much like the Short Venion with an additional commentary. This i1 particularly e~ident in lhe sixth cha pler. ""here we lind a oommentary on the lint stanza oflhe book. Al so .i,niflQnl are some rttaps (4 : 14. 5:W), which are actually revi. sions of the previous te, t. The Histen« of bolh a Short and wn, Venion "'as nOled Il$ early u the 13th cen tury by AbT2ham Ab... lafia.' " The third >"eRion i. that of Saad ia Gaon, which is .1100 found in some early Geniz. fT8Jll1ents. This is very much like the lonl Ver· sion, e..cept that the stanzas Ire in complelel~' different order. This varianl. usually t;1lkd tile Saadia Venion. has been vin ... ally illlOrcd by tile Kabbaliot., even thoush it was appa..,ntly used by Rabbi Ychudah Hau vi in hi. KUnlri . As early as the 10th century, Saadia Gaon remarked abo ... t the many varian ts of Serer Yetzirah. u.yi n&. ~lt is no!. common I>00I<, and mlUlY peOple have been careless in chanailll or trans]105intlhe tnC'" A century latn, Rabbi Yehooah Barceloni like..ise rwles lllat , ~Ihere are many versions, lOme very confuscd.~' " in 1562. the printers of the fint Manlua edition ..,marked ho.... tlley had to sift throush many manuscripts to lind a dependable text. If all the " ariams found in manuscripts are coonted, theTe are literally dozens of different varia nts in the texi of Sefer YelIirah. No other Juda ic text exists in 10 many venions. SOme of these misht ",. 1I.,·e come from different schools, who, becausc t secret, did oot communicate witll eacll otllff. notes and commentaries also apparently became i tile tex t, producinl diffel"C'llt varianll. Furtllcrmore, if text was prescn,ed onUy for a lon, time, variants in its orderinl may have also developC'd, Besides this. there is anotllC!" possibility, sU&&e'ted by tile fact that, in esSClKlC, the Kabbal istl rejected all the abo'·e mentioned Ycr· sions. II is known that durillltile Gaonic period (6th-10th «nturies), the Kabbali lts rntri<;ted tlleir teachinp to very small secret societies. Great stress "-as placed on maintainin, 1«. ccy .0 that their tClchinp should oot fill into improper h.nds. Since Sefer Yctzinll is sucll I small book. it presented Ihe ~atnt danacr. ~ leaden of lhese scllools may h.,·e delibenlely relea5ed spurious versions. SO IQ to confusc Ihose who would be templed 10 ~netrate IMir mysteries. With sevenl venions in circulation, the uninitiated would oot mow wllich 10 choose. II WIS the Kabbalists tllcmsch·es who preserved tile correct lut, inilially concealin, il from outsiders. Around I HO, Rabbi Moshe Cordevero, luder of the Safed school and the I'Utnt Kabba/isl of lhe day, silled Ihrouah Ille len best manuscripls available, choosilll Ihe one mOSt dosrly fittin, Ihe Iradil;OO of the Kabba/islI.1It A acncntion latcr. the te1t "-as further rtfined by tile Ari (Rabbi Yitzchalt !..u.ria). one oflhe Iftatest Kabbalists of aU lime. Th ;s lUI , known IQ the Ari Vei'liion, "'-as published a number of limes. usually IS part of .ome OIlier rollection. It res.embles the SlIon Venion in many way$, but then.- are some very significant diffcrrrten in aui",mcnt. In acncral. Ihe Ari Venion is Ihe only one which is in aveemenl wilh the 2ohar. A number of Ylriations were found even in Illis versiOll, and I final ediled texl was finally produced by th e Gn (Rabbi Eliahu, Gaon of Viloa) in Ihe 18th century.'" This ts koown as the Gn-Ari Ver1;011, or simply, as the Gra Version. Thus, Ihere are four impono.nl ' ·enions of Sefer Yetzirah, They I) The Shon Venion 2) The lolli Version )) The Saldia Version 4) The Gr;o. Venion. Since the Gra Version was considered Ihe most aUlhentic by Ihe Kabbal i.li. Ihis is Ihe one thaI we have eboscn for Ihe initialtran,I __ SEFER \'ETZI IIAI! lion and commentary, l1te other Ihlft vel'1ions are p c~V -pm O"M 101;.'111 I'll< ~1 It\, 1:111p1 Cr"IC 'ItW 1'".'" 'V :"TIllOt '!l0\ 'ltIO::l C'"u)C ""~:J Wilh )1 m}'Slkal parlu ozgralWl ) .. h of Wiwom the 4wd of lIusu tI,r God i;Jf bran tJrt Ii. ing God Ki"g o/Ih.. "lli~ EI Shaddai M€'rrifol ",nd Graciow /ligh and EXIJ/IM o...'rilirtg in "I""il), whost' IImp1ft iJ lofty and !rely /lam i' jJ Atld lit (",UM H is "'jill IhFff with liIIi,,"" books (St-piJllrim). {eft (~J " 'jIll flllm bt>r (&p/rarj and wilh rommunjCQ/ion (Sippl/r). With 32 As the nu.t stanu will ex plain, lhesoe 12 paths are mlnifest as the 10 diajts and the 22 kmers ofille Hebrew .lphabet. Tile 10 diails are . lso manifest in the Ten Sefirol, which are the most basic ron""PiS of U;S1entt. The ~Iers and diails arc Ille basis of tile mO'iI buk i~nll of c",uion. qualily and quantily. ' TlIt: qualities of Iny Jiven Ihinl can be described by words fonmd out of tile letten, whik all of its • .sociated q WLntilies can be expiC ' m by numbers. Numben, however, canDO! be defined until there eJlisu some element of plurality in creation. The Creator Him5l:If il absolutely • SHEll Tab!!. 2 . n.c 32 Path, Y~IR,o.H in Gfnesis l. 0. In 1M beainni11l God created KeleT H,b 2. The . pinl of God hovered Otilkhm.ah God said, let there be liaht God saw the li&hl thaI il ..... ,. • Elemental , Sefirah2 "" """"" , V •• Ekmcn1.l.l 2 layin Binah Elemental) Sefuah 3 Akf heaven "", Mother I Elemental 4 God said , le\ th e waten he a...I SefinLh 4 """ , s. Sefinah I God divided betwem the li&h! and darkness ,. ,•• " ".". D. ". ". "". ".". God called the liabl day God said. leI there be ... firma~n l God made the finnamcn! God caIled tIM: finnament pl""red God called the dry land t anh T" God loa'" lha[ ;1 was ,oad Gimel God !;lid. ki the urth he ~&eUlcd God 'laW WI it " 'l IS sood God said. let IbeTe be luminaries God malk lwo lumi naries God placW them in the firmamen t God sa w Ibal ;\ wlS JOOd God gid, lei the walen swarm 20 God crealed veal whales "'~"" 0.,,, Elemental S Double 2 Sefinh 5 Tifere\ Double J Srfinh 6 "= Tod MOlher 2 Elemental 6 Kof Neuach "'""" Sefirah Lorn" Elemental 7 . 7 no . . blt s P,b 20. God saw Iha1 ;1 wal sood 22. God blessed them. be f!'\lilfu] No" Elemental 8 and m ultiply 2l. God If,J.id, let the earth brin, Hoo Sefirab 8 Shin MOtMr 3 """ Double 6 ". fonh animals God made the beasts of the field 2S. God saw that it was JOOd 26. God SII id, let III make milll H . God created man T""" Samd:h Sefilllh 9 Ekmental9 , .,."..~ Tattle 2. l'hc. 32 Path '! in (A:nes;, I (cool inued l I In Ihe fonn of God He ~ .lIed him 29. God blessed them 30. God said. be {",itflll and multiply " " God said, bellold I have Jiven you 12. God saw.1l Ihal He had made Eyin Elerrn:nlal 10 Tzadi Malkho,u Elemental II Scfirah 10 K"' Elemental 12 T.. Double 7 simple, CQfIlJlininl no plunoli ty wbalsoevcr. He is the mosl absolute unity imqinable. ThuefOnl:, plurali ty only came into nistmee witb tile advent of (relIt;on. Only tllen C(luld oo.un1)en be defi ned. The lim elemcm. of plurality in creuion involved the Ten SefiI'Ol. Hence, it was the Sefirot tbal defmed tbe numbe", and theref~. tile concept of quantity in SClK ral. Most of Se(cr YetziTllb will deal with these 32 ~Ihs. as they InI: m.., ifes! in the 1ellel'$ and nllmben. The )2 PIIthi. lhemsd'"n. h0wever, win not be mtnlioned apin. The uriy Klbbali.I' ddine Ihc:$e 32 tnths as different states of consciousness. A lisl of Ihest is Jiven in Appendix II . .... ccordin. to the Kabbalisu., these 32 palll. are aIllided to in the TORtI by the 32 limes tha' God's name Elohim appurs in tile aooounl of creIIlion in the fim cliapUr of Genesis.' In this account, lhe eJlpre5~ ~God Aid " app!'B ten limes, and these ~ the Ten Sayinp with wllich tile world ..... CTellted.' These Ten Sayi"" parallel !be Ten Sefinll.· The fim sayi", is said 10 be the verse, ~In the bqilllu", God created the Heaven and the Earth~ (Genesis I: L). Even tbou&h·God ,..,id" does no! I~ar~, il is implied Ind undemood.' The "'her 22 limes thai God's D ,~ :t:I 1:1 me in her in him 10 "The IWO le\1~rs, l:amed and Bet, are the only ones in the entire alphabet which combine wilh the kiters of the d ivine name in Ihis mannn, 1O "The n... mbeT 32 is !be fifth po .....,r of IWO (2'). As tile Serer Yetzirah uplains (1 :5), the Ten Sefirol define a five dimensional space, "The 32 palbs correspond to Ihe number of apexes on a five dimensionAl h)'P"n:ube." This is nol as diffieu.h as it mi&hl 5eem. A line, whiclt has o ne dimension , hll'll two (2 ') lpexes 01" ends. It. ~ .... re, havin, IWO dimen· sionl, has fOll r (2' ) ape~es or.:omen. A cube, which has Ih= dimen· &ions, hiS ei&hl (2') a>rTII'R. We thus see thll wilh the addilion of each dimension, the n... mber of ape~es is doubled. A four dimen· lienal hyprrcube hll'll 16 or 2' apnes., while I fi~ dimenlional h)'P"reube hll'll 32 Of 2' lpeXes. Paths "The Hebrew word for -paths- here is Nni1lOl (1Ta'/U), a word lhat oocun only rarely in script ... re, M ... ch more common il lhe word fNrddr (1'"'). Allbe Zohar ItalCl, however, there is an importanl dif. ference bet .......:n Illne IWO worth. It. Do~ is I public mild, a route used by all people. A Nali., On Ibe other hand. is I penonal mule, I path blued by the individllli for his penooal usc, " It is. hidden path. wilho ...1 markers or lilllp05tS. wb ich one m .... t discover on his own. nd tread by means of his own devices. TIle J2 patbs of Wisdom are therefore called Netivo\. They Ire privale pathl. wbich must be blued by each individual. There is 00 open hi&bway to the m~teries cadi iodividual must disco~r bis 0...." palb. The numerical value of Noli. (~ru) il 462. Th il iltwice the number of the 23 1 Giles discussc.) in Heble • . This comes from the root Pula ('""). which hQ the wnnot.lion of bein, hidden and separated from Ille world 111'!"Je." NOt only are Ihe'l<' paths indivldual. bUI they are hidden, concealed and Iran'l(:enckntaL This is ~ery closely ...,lalN [0 Ihe won! Pd~ (""-j. mean in, • miracle. A miracle;s uparauri and indeprnD~ " A~rdi nl 10 the K.hbalisu, the kUeT Aleph ""'not" Keler (Crown). the hi&hest of the Sefirot.'° lt is wilh reprd 10 Keter Ihll Ben Sirah uid. "In what is mystcrious (muPhU ) for )'0\1, do nol KCI<.· " The KahbaJisls call Keter the le"el of Nothinsness (Ayill). " It is on Ih is le\'eI thai the la ...·• of nalure teaSC to exist, Ind can lherefore be altered. AS the book Raziri point. out. the Ihree !etten of Prld (..... ) repT1'5Cnt increasin,:iy hidlkn "a/ues." Accordin,to the phooClic famiIi" defined hy Sefer YClZin.h (2:3), the fint leller. Pel! (. ). il pr0nounced wilh lhe lip&, the ~nd kiter. lamed ('I). wilh lhe middle of Ihe too,lIe. Ind the final Akf (II). with tile throat. ThUs. the first kiter is pronounced wilh lhe OUlenDOlt rcYClkd par! of the mouth. while the LI<1 i..... iced with the innermost roncealed part. The word PrlrlI thUI denoles tile lransition from the revealed 10 lhe conccaJcd. Wisdom Thnc: 32 pal h, arc uid 10 be paths of Wisdom (Cllak)u",m). In I Kahbalislic sense, Wisdom is 5flCn as pure, undifferentiated Mind.It is pure thou&ht . .... hich has not yet been broken up inlO differenti- " "lIed ideas, Wisdom is SEFER Y£TZIRAH 1M levet abo"" all division, .... here everyt hinl is a si mple unity. II is in r«'OI"ilton n fth is thai the Talmud Itlles, ~Wllo is wise (ClrakIrQmr. He who leams from every m.n.~" It is on the level of Wisdom that aU men arc one . Hence, if one is On th illevel, he mus t learn from every h umin bein" and indeed. from all ~.Iion . "crordin,io the Ibll Shcrn Toy, this mc,lnS that I ~rson on the levd of Wisdom must even In.m from Evil. " h i. only on level. lxlo .... Wisdom thaI people Ire sep,aralcd into different individe.b. Ooty On kl_r levels does tM division belWl't'n &ClOd and evil ui.\. The Talm ud li kewise Slales., is wisc? He who pcll:eives the futu"" ~ u This is beaux Wisdom is the pure mind force thaI lranKt'nds lime. On the level of Wisdom. P;Ut, present and futun hive not yet been ",plraIN. Hentt. on this level, one can Sft' Ihe fulure jusl like the pasl and pte ... n\. The anl ilhesis of Wisdom is Undersl.ndiIIJ.. The Hebre .... word for Understandin, is Bi"ah ('U'~). which cornel from lhe root Br}'" (r~). meanin, "be1ween.- " Underslandin, i. lhe level immediately belo...' Wisdom. It i. on Ihe level ofU nlknundin. \h al ideas exist sc:~ratc!y, where lhey can be ICnilin ized and compn:hended. While Wisdom i. pun: undiifen:ntiJted. Miod, Undenlandin. il the level .... here division exists. and ""here Ihinp are delineated Ind defined as separated ob~s. On lhe leve! of Wisdom. all men arc included in J sin..., world soul. Undcntandin, is the level of Nn hamtJII, where the iOUl of eacb ind ividual ... umo. dislinct idenlity. • nd each one i. seen as a separale enlily. The divine name • ..,.".i.ted wilh Understandin, i. Elohim." This is • plural word , since Undentand in. implies a plurality of forces.. It is lhe nlme Elolt im Ih.1 i. used tb!'OllJhOuI the rnli re first chapter of Gennis in dcsaibin,the act of clUtion. The 32 timn that this n.me occun cot. upond to the 32 p.ths of Wisdom. Thi s raoh 'n ;on imporu.nl d ifflC1l.lty. If Wisdom is • simple undifferent iated Mind, how an it be manifest as 32 distinct palhs? Bu t K tually, Wisdom is undifferentiated. and it il only th!'Oll'" the power of Undentandin,th.t it i. divided into sep;ll1lled palhs.. These paths an: lhen:fore dniJIIlled by the name Elohim , the name 'SIOCi.ted with UndCl'1t.ndillJ. An eum ple would be water flowi n, throu'" • S)'Item of pipes. Waler itself is In undi fferentiated fluid. havillJ no ,""""nlil1 (macroKOpic) lInK1un: . Siruciure i. only impOSed on il ....hen ;1 flows IhrOll'" lhe S)'Slem of pipes. In lhe Inlqy. Wisdom i. the water, while UnderstandiiIJ repments Ihe pipes Ihat chJnnd it. ~ Who , •• " The 32 pa1hs an: c1prnscd U Ihe kllers and numbers. Since t~ repr<':Senl division, Ihey a", manife5lalions of Understandin ... " Hence:, Wisdom rtJIrescnu nonvcrballhouJhI, while llDlicntandm, i. ;ts vcrbalizuion. In Ihis mopec1, Wisdom and Undenu.ndin, are _n as hem, male and female res.pecth"c!y. In Ihe Kabbalah, Wisdom is seen as Ihe Falher (AbbI), while UndentandiltJ i. Ihe Mother (Immah). The male rtJIresenl. uncllanneled creali..-e force. Thil elll. only be 1II'(I1I,Iu into fnlitian when delineated, enclosed aDd channeled by Ihe fem.alc womb. II i. for Ihil rusan Ihllthe Sefer Yetzirah (1:2) ~lIllhe pri. mary te11ers - Mothers.This also rnoIvn another difficult y. Earlier. we said IMIIIIe J2 pith. represent the llean , since Ihe Hebrew word for hean, W, actually spt'lls out the number 32. The hu rt , ho_,~r, ;1 normally associ. aled with Undel'3t1lndin&. while Ihex I'&lhl an: said 10 penain to Wisdom." BUI lhe po1ho merdy dianne! Wisdom, while the subsiance of the !lIths Ihem!lelve5 is Understandi ..... '" Engraved ""M ten states thlt the C~lto r used thew 32 paths to MeltJ1l so IS 10 ~reate His universe. ~ H eb~ _rd hC"K is Chn/W:(ppn). This usuaUy has lhe connotltion of moovin, mllmll. IS in lhe velV, "Enpa'·c (clwlwk) yourselfl dwem", in I rock (Isaiah 22:16). Derived from Ihis root M I~ lhe _rds Cirok (tm) and Chuko.h (:om), meanin, " nde and "dttrtt. M since TIlles and la ..~ ~rve 10 ~mo'·c .some of \be individull's frttdom of IClion.'"' ThUl, lhe word Cilnlwk is clo5ely ~Jned 10 M ll-dIak (pn:I), mClni", MIO erase," IS well as to the root La·kDcil (~), mean in, 10 Mremo,·e" Or Mtlke."" The _rd Chakak is very closely ~latrd to the ooncepl of wril_ in .. " The main d;lTc~nce ilclWttn enpvin, (..hakak) I nd wrili", is Ihat when one ,,·ritn, o~ adds material such IS ink to Ihe wrilinJ, surface. while wlleu one cnpaves, one ~'-n mlterial. When the Bible uses lhe _rI< Clwko.k 1(1 de,i",.!c wrilin .. il is ~fcrrin, to surn Iystem, .s cunc:ifQl"l1l, whe~ Ihe lext was wrilleD by removinJ wedses (If clay from a tahlel. To undentnd ,,·hy the authQl" uses the tenn Menpved" hc~, we mUSI undentlnd the idea of crealion. Bd"QI"e a UniVcrK roukI be created. empty spaoc hid 10 exist;n which it could be made. But ini_ tiaUy, only God exillrd, and.n exi$\cnce was filled wilh Ihe Divine ~ M , S~FE R " VET£IRAH Ai" Sof). II "":1.5 ()Ut of thi. \lndiffCll'nlialW Euence III" a VllCillM Space had to be envaved. The prOt'e>.S, tno"-" 10 the Kabbali.l. as the T:imlzum (Constriction ). is clearly described in the Zohar. l1 Essen«. 11M: LiIJ/lI of the Infinite (Or In Ihe bq;nn;nl of tIM: Kin,'. authorit y The Lamp of Dark"" .. Enaraved a hollow in the S... ~mal t..umin=nce ... The ItoIlo .... e naravrrQ.- It i. Mplive li",l. or nq.otiv., a ;i1enoe, which can enara~" hollow in Ihe Divi~ Entnee. This Constriction or IIoI10w;1II of 11\(0 Di vi ne ~nce did no\ ()ttur in physical space , bul rather. in conceptual SPlIce. It i. -hollow· in!lOfu as it rontai ns Ihe possibility for inform~lion, bUI not actual in formation. As such, it is the ~CIlaos and Void~ ( Th/ru and BoIIu) men tioned in the acoount of crealion. wile..., the Scriptu", '\.ates, ~tlle eal1h ,... ou c~ and void" (Gene.is 1:2). Chaos is a state .... here info ... mation can exi,., bill where it docs nOi ex;s!. " 1M hollo.... ,,-a5 made Ihroll'" tile 32 path s. sina: klten and dilil' are: the basic bit' o f informal ion. While random kiteR and numben do nOI actually C(>nvey information, as 10niIS Ihey niSI. il i. al!ll) possible for infonnalion 10 (list. The v.tated Spiltl% iSIIlere:fnre lhe stale wllere il i. pOSSible for informat ion 10 uisi. but wllere Ihis possibili ly has nOI yel b«n realiw1. These Jellen were ... bstqlH:ntly combined into words. form;", the Ten Sayinp o f (:realion. Each o r tllne sayings brouPI in format ion into the Vacated Space. throop which ,,"ca tion ooukl lake pliltl% Ihere. The order """1IS Iherrlore fin;! ~engravinJ, ~ and then ~crealion. ~ T he Sder Yelzinth therefore: states thai the Crclllor ~enaraved ... and cre:.ted His unh·enc:.~ Engraw.'d Yah Many of Ihe KahNhSlic rommen\.ariQ lranslale \hi, as ~ He enaraved Yah . . .. ~ In Hebrew. tile word ~he~ is often not wrillen OUI, but underslood from Ihe \"erbal form. Tlte ~ H e~ here refen 10 lhe Infinite Beinl ( Aill SojJ who is above .lIlhe divine Names. " , " Acrordinl \0 Ihis. the Sern- Yetzirah is sa~inllhll the Infinite 8eil\j began creation by envavinJ the d ivine Names throuJ,h the 32 palhs of Wisdom. Tile Names an: .,.,riuen with leiters, and they could only come inlO ilri"l after tlte kll.,,,, had been created. It is in the same vei n that some of the early KabNtiS\S interpret the first v~ in 0<:,,";, \0 1'Qd, ~ I n the beainnin, He cruled EIoh im. alon, with the heaven a nd Ihe ean h.- " The fint thin, 1hal Ihe Infinite Bei", created "'U Ihe name EIohim. which is associalt.:l "" itl! Ihe Constriction. The di vine Names abo parallel Ihe SefirQl. Once Ihe Vaeated S~ had b«n (nva'·W. the Scfirot could br created inside il. The -"n""vin," of Ihi, Space w:a.. therefore intimately rel.led \0 thnc Na~,. This Can alII) br rud in the im~ralivc. -Wilh 32 mystical paths of Wisdom, en,,,,vc Yah . _, and creale His world.- The term "ens,r:avc" hen: wwld mean 10 fonn a clear mental image of the Name, 50 as \0 meditate on it, as we ...·ill discuss later ( 1:14). The metl>od is . lluded to in Rav.'s sayin&- ~ I ftlle ri&llleou5 desired, lhey could Cll'ale a world .~ " Yah Saadia Gaon u"nslates this as. "the Eternal." TIl~ K.lbbalists normatively associate tile name Yah (11') with wiwom (Chakhmah). Actually, ho....e\'cr. only tile firstielter ofilli' name. Ihe Yud ('). desianales WiwOln. The 5eOOnd lener. Heh (~) des. ianates Understand inc, th(, feminine principle, Tile reason .... Ily Ihi. name U a ....Ilole is used to desi,nalC Wi.. dom is bttaus.c Wisdom cannOI be JI"lI.ped ucepi WMn il is cloLhed in Understand in&- For tllis reason, tile Yud alone is not used I i Ih(, na""" for Wisdom. but rather. tile Yud combined witllth(, Heh. There are a number of rel50flS why Ihex two leiters ~t Wi..rom and Understandin, respect ivdy. Yud hu tM primary form of a si mple point. This alludes to the fact that Wisdom is sim ple and undifferentiated. The numeri<:aJ v.luc of Vud i. 10. indiatinllhat all Ten Sdirot all' included in the simple nature of Wisdom. At the belinnin, of a word. the lener Yud indiClites th(, masculine future. Thi. i. relaled 101M teachinl. "Who is .... is.c? He ....ho perceives the future,"n AI the end o f a word. when used IS a suffi~. t~ leiter Vue! mnns ~mc- or ~my.- Wisdom is the essential nature o f the individual, belon,in, to him alone, As such. il i. the ullimate "my," The same is lrue o f the Sdlrah of Wisdom (ChakhmahJ with resp«110 the Infi, ni le Bring. " S[f'ER YETZIItAH Helt has I numerical ""lue of S, aUudin, 10 tbe five fillFn of tlte lIand. AI such, ;1 reprHenl1 Understandin.. Ihe hand thl' holds Wisdon, distributina and ehan nclinl il .At the ~nninl of . word, ~ prefix Hclt nu:an. "tbe.~ It is the dc:finite artide, that specifon and delineales an obj«l. Uke • hand, Ihe definite anick holds and specifies. ronapr thaI is specific rattler than Ic~noL AI t he end of I word, Hclt indicates rhe feminine ~ sessive, ~hff.~ This is because Undentandil\l is tile dom.in of tbe Feminine EsKnce. Helt is one OOlite 1_ldters in the Hebrew alphabet thaI is writ. ten as IWO disjunct par'll. This allI.ldes 10 !he fit('[ Ihal Understandins rep~nlS Ihe bqinninl o f ..,panllion. n.c.re is some di~nl in Ihe Talmud as 10 wbelher or 1101 Vah i •• divine name. " n.e Sdft" ¥clZirah cJntly takes the position thai it is. )'ah, lhe Lcrd. .. [n HebfT'w, Ihis is wrillcn.s YII YIIVII (~:.). It was wi lh these six lellen Ihal God created all thinp. II ;. Ih ..1 """lten , MTruSI in God for elernily of elernilits, for with YII YHVH He formed univet'Se$~ (Is.- iah 26:41." The Lcrd of Hom Th is name usually desi..... tn the Sdirot which ace '''"''C'.ted wilh revelalion I nd proph«)' . These are Netzach (victory) and Hod (Splendor)." This name, however, also contains lhe TetrqRmm.lon (YHVH). here IraMlaled 15 Mlhe lord.~ The TetrapammlloD d n ilnaln the totalil y of all the Sdirol. HellCC, the phra ..., MYHVH of HOiiIS,~ .ctl1llly rep~nu all Ihe St-firol as Ih-ey are revealed 10 min ." Th is iii Ihe renon Cor the des.."ltion , ~YH VH of HOilS. M II reCers 10 re"elation , the state in whi<::h God associatn Hims,elf"';!h beinp Ihal are ~r Ihln Hims,elf, namely, His ~hOl1S.M Acrordi nllo lhe T almud, lhe first penon to use the del""llion, Mlord of Hoots." ",-as Hannall. ""lIen she prayed, -0 Lord of Hosts, if You will look 1\ Ibe . miction of Your ... rvanl" (I Samuel 1:1 1)." God o[ Israel " This ;s connected to ~ Lord of Hosls.~ While Tevt'lation in ,elleral is to all of God's hosts. in p;lnicular. it is JIlInted \0 hlKl. AI _ shall _ (2:4). the name lsrul is closely associaled ",·;th the 231 p'a The Hebrew word for '"God~ hen: is Elohim. Th is alludes to UndcntandinJ, Ihe oonupl Ihal di"idn and delineates. The Li~ing God The name is ISSI)("iated with the ""vnlial creative foren. "'prevnted by tile Sriirah of Yesod (fourHIation). In man, this foTtt paraJ.. leis the SoUual orpn. In Hebre .... , this phrur i. E/ollim Cha.;m. Thi . Sd'irah Wes all the fon:u, collectively referred 10 .. Elohim, and presents them in an active, procn:llivc mode. life is defined as that which. is activt' and procreates, and hence. Ihis is the oonnoillion of -Livilll God.-" King 0/ the Unh'erse This is the mode in ,,'bieh God ""lales to Ihe universe as a kin&. and it;s ..'OCt.led wilh Ihe Sefirah o f Malkhu l (Kin&Ship). Of all the s"fil'Ql, this is Ihe only O~ which comes inl0 di=1 contact wilh the lower "1Ct" of crealion. T he fint five desi&nalions. ~ Ylh . 1M Lord of Hostl. God of ' ....d. the Livinl God. Kinl orthc Unh·enc.~ Ihus desilllale the Ten Stfirot in Iheir down",... rd mode, a. Ihey Ire the source of III creali~ foltt. El Shaddai These 1....0 names are usuilly lransilled as "Almi&hIY God.~ Saadia Gaon, howe' ·rr. Il1ln$lates them a. ~Omnipolenl Almi&hly.Here the Sc:fer Yetzirah bqins desi&natinl the Stfiml in an upward mO<.k . In lhe Babir. the disciples thus ask. " From above 10 below we know. BUI from below 10 .bo~ ...., do 001 know.-" SErER YETZJRAH " TIle dni&nation El Shaddai is also I'dated 10 Ihe pr«l'QItivc repr_meen. Ind Ihe manner in wh ich they are used," The5C three boob <:OITe$pond 11,1 Ihe thm: divisions uf =alion (' three IpkiaJ dImensions romprix a sin&lc continuum, ttlt' three of them tostt\>('r c005til\lIe the fim -book.- Time iJ the JmJnd -book,- ... hile the spiritual dimension is the third. The three boob defill(' the three .... )"1 in wllicll the array of the 32 patlls can hc P'(5C'nlrd. First , one can dnow a diqnom ' eplescntina tllem, 15 ont W"OIIld picture tllem in a book, Thil is tile asp«! of -tUL - This is 11$0 the IW«I in whkll IIIc-y ap~ar in tile Book of Ihe TOf'Ih , in ,1Ie fitSl ChlPleT of Oenesis. &oondly, one can ~~prntl tile numerical xquencn and d istri butions of these palll,. Thu$, for eumpk, ., Ihe &fer Yetzirah ,tates (1:2). the 32 paths ronsiS! of ten Srfir01 , and 21 lellCr1, the lalleT which ron$;"5 of Ihree Mother1, seven Doubles, and t"~lve Elemental,. This i, ,he as~t of numbrr in the J2 palhs. This is aho rell1rd to thei r affinily 10 un.in JtOfIH:tncaJ forms. Finally, one can speak of the relation,hips brtwcen Ihcsc: palh. as they ronvey information. Thi' is tile level or-communica tion.- It is dosely relatrd to lhe 32 path' will're thcy repruc:nt SUlteJ of oon5ciousness. as prcxntrd in Appc:ndi~ II. These thm: ISP«1S a~ most apparen t in the letters of lhe alphabet.-There Ire thlft primary ""IYS in .... hich the letters ca.n be intcrp~ted. First. there is the physictl form of the let,ers. H they all: ..Tiuen in a book, This is the 1spfC! of -tn,- (Se-p\>('r). " 'hich literally means hooIr.. S«-ondly, there i. lhe nllmcrieal nlue or FftUItria of the !ettel", this ~i"1 -numbrr.- Finally. ,he~ is the toUnd of the Ie'tteT, as ...'tll H the .... y its name is pronounced, this ~inl -oommunic:a,ion or Wtellina. - Ste Ta~ ~ on pqc 22. ·Te~,- (Sorpt~). the physit"lll form of the IctteT. pcnains 10 the conti nuum of spaa, sina: form only t'1In be okfined in space. This is -U ni"t'nol'.w Numbft (ScopM,), implies 1otqU("Dtt, and thiJ is ,he xquencr of tome, ...·hich iJ the continuum of the -Year.w Finally, P " the mind. and th is is in lhe spirit- communication (SipPI/' ) appl ies 10 ual conti nuum. whicll is "Soul.~ 111= "''Ord s also define lilt term Sdirah. Firs!, the word & firah sha m the root w;th S4er. meanin& book. Li ke a book, each !>efirall can record information . The Sriirol thus serve as a memory bank in Ihe domain orlhe Di vine. A ~rmaMnt =on! of evet)1hina IlIlI has ever taken place in all creation i. Ih,," made on lite Sdirot. $«ondly. the word Scfirah shares a 1'001 .... ith Sl'piwr, meanin, numlKr. II is the s"firol thu inlrodu~ a n clement of numlKr and plu rali ty inlo e. iSlclltt. The Creator, the Infin ile ~i,,& is tile mQ$\ absolute unity. and Ihe COnttpt of number does not apply \0 Him in any manner whalevn-. In ~lkillJ of the Infinite BeillJ, the Sl:fer Yelzirah therefore asks. - Before one. whal do you rouot- ( 1:7)1 1\ is only .... it h Ihe creation of Ihe Sefirol thaI Ihe OOn«PI of number CQrnn in10 !:>einc. tn this JTJ(l(k, c" cry event and action is measum! and weiJ.hed by Ihe ~firOi . and llie approprial~ ""sponl'! is con~ived and cak1.llaled. Usin, Ihe computer as an analOJ)'. Ihe Sefirol function as tl>e Pl'OCQSinl unil of ,he Divirw: domain in this 1TIOde. Finally, the W(ln.! Scfirah shares a root wi,h SipJnI' . which means "communicalion" and -t~lting. - The Sefirol ."" Ihe muns throu'" ""h id! God communicates .... i'h His c""alion. They a"" al50 the means through which man communicates wilh God . If!lOl for Ihe Sefirot. God . the Infinite Being. W(lul d ~ a~IUldy unknowable and unreachable . It is only through Ihe Scfirol Ihal I>e can be approached. Of course. as alilhe Kabbalisls ...-am. one should n<)l in any " 'ar W(lrmip th~ Sefirot or pray 10 them." One may. however, use t~ as a channel. Thu~ fex ""ample. orw: would not thin k of d irectin, a pelition 10 the postman, but one could use him to dcliv~r. menage to Ihe king. In • mysliC1lI sense. the Sefirol form a ladder ex lree Ihrou&h ....hich one can - dimb- and approach the Infinile. Thus. wilen the Sefer Ydzi rah P"'~t$ Ihe ...ords &pher. &>pIuu and Sippu, h~"". il i. 1>01 doln. 50 .""idcnlaU)" Ratlter. Ihe book i. dciibenllcly presenting TOOtS " 'hieh define the concepl of the Sefirol. Tlti. is all the mO«' obvious. si n~ Ihis cnlire chapter deals with Ihe Sefirol. The Ih rtt aspecls, -text. number and communicalion: arc Ihe keys to Ihe IOCthod. of ~fer Yeuif2h . If one wishes to influelltt anylhin, in the physical universe (space). he must make use of the physical shape of the ictICB. Ifthi. in"ohes a medi la,ive technique. one would conlemplale Ihe IPPropriate k ll crs. as if they "10"" written in '" book. The method involves , SEFER Y£TZIRAI! " Table: S The: numerical "aluc of !euen; . .. .. ""'"" Val"" Dcoipllion Lct\er Name oilent •, ,,,, B.Bb , OimrMI "' G,Gh , '" D.'" ., N,' "" , • V (\\I) , Zoyin "" ", , 0,,, ,, -~ ..... ..... ..... ~, ~N ,,, , ''''' ", ..."" ~ ~ , ~"" ~" "" _s ", ,,-" "" " '''' """ ,., , ",.,,, "«QJ Q P ~ , , , ... ..... -. ..... ole_nUll '00 ric_nlal ~ , ." SIIin ...., R.Rh '"" Sh (5) T.. ~n ek ....... t,1 .1e....... ta1 eIe!n(1ltal elemental oilent V Ii"",.. lutlural lill&UaJ ", JinawJ labial Ii......... 0 E~in , ...... •, ."nural •, ."'" ""',. •, "'~'" ... "''''''"lal " ...... "'" "'-'" ... '".,'" "'-'" ""'''' "'" "" " ""'''' ,., ,., """' .., ""'" ..... _ .". Y(1l Mom ."nul1Il Iabill elemmtaJ .1e_RIaI ~ Gomu~ . - ,," 0 PhoneIM: Family T,n lun"ra1 labial palatal li",....t makint each panicular lenn- combination fin the .,mire field of vision. eliminltin,III other thouJ,hts from Ihe mind. Finally, if one wi5hn 10 infl .. ena th(: spiritual realm, he m",\ make ...e, eit~r of the 5C!und. It.e letltn, or of their namH. This techn iqlK, which _mall descri~. i. lite one thaI is used wilen mak;111 a Golem. or 1:2 n~1TIK 0'111:>" D'-n:i'S/1 O'tz::l 01 itlV 0'111:'\ m"U):l ''':3 m"DO 11711 11:11:11 mIlI't l7~ "nO' :111t)1VD Jion !Mfirot of NOflti"8MSJ Alld 11 FoulldQ/iOll Lmen: TIIr" MQlhm. _o..bIn Ami rwrlw £/~m~nr.. b. ,. " Ten Sejirol Yetzirah no .. dcfinn; Ihe J2 poolhs as conSiSlillj of 10 Sefirot and 22 letten. The word S¢ral! lileT'llUy means Moountin...M II is thus < - . . K.bbal,,,. Aa:on:Ii", ' " ,I>< Sof<"l ScbooI. l»1ers. ... ' These iellers are also called mothe", (lmnl) in th e same Sl:n.., 1ha1 a crossrmd is called a "mother of the road" (Ettk ieI21:26)." These 111.« letlers aIT called · crossroads.. - since Ihey form Ihe horizonta l lin ks between the $(,firol in the T ree of Life d ialram. On it more bui.: level. these are "molhers." because Ihe number of hori. zonlal links defin es the order of the alTlY. as d iscussed below. Sel'ell Doubles Th= a ~ the sc"en leiters that can uprns IWO sounds: Bet ()). G imel (I) . Dale! {' ). Kaf (3), Peh (,). Resh (,). and Tav (n). The Elementals a~ Ihe \weh'e ~main in, lellrrs . ....hich ha" .. a .ing1e sound. These ' ....0 IfOUPS .... ill be discussed in chapters four and five. resP'X,i~dy, F;g'''~ • " 6. TM "",'hr dtfill~d b)' Ih~ GT!' , aJ 1M)" aPf"'"r i~ 1M W" •.•dM'. ISSJ tdiliOft. /p. 161> of Pd" r"'"j, 'I' ate " SEI'ER VETZIRAH tr""e dr.llw Itn points in three coh.mnl in the sim plest manner. we see that they are automatically linked by 22 lines. Ofthne, Ihltt are horizontal, seven are venical, and twelve are diqonal as sllown in fi,ure 2 on pase 26. The division presented by Serer Yeuirah is therefore .1. nalUral consequcn« of Ihe am y. This fi,u", call lelllIlly be looked upon I i a member of. family of diaantms. The order of the dialram is then determined by Ihe number of I\o"zool.ll liolu. In practice, for re.U(lns deaJ illl wilh the basic nature of lbe Scfirol, Ihe)' are nol arnnJCd in th is lI.I\ura] order, but 1I....e 1M middle li ne Io... ered somewhat. There IfC s.everal different ways IIIaI the Kabbalists assi", Ihe letten in IlIne dial'l'ms.. Th.,.., are "'own in ('IU= 3-6. 1:3 tr~ 11\1/:11'111: ''01/ "lDCID ~:J I'm"!lCI "WV 11"".0:1 VYC~CI rmC ',"' t1'i:1\ 'Olln 'Ul:l :-nvC.i m-C:11 11'0';"1 un Sosc normally on Ille fisht. as weI! as Ih e upper two ""01.... Scfirot. TItc ·remininc~ Scfirol 011 the left would include the three normally on 1M left. IC'I.,ther wit h the 10.....,' two ernler $dim'"' Tile fhe masculine Sefirot are often refen-ed 10 a. the fl,'" Ulves ( Ch~im). since they are on the side of Chesfti (Love). The live femini ne Sefirol are similarly called the five Stn:ngth.s (G...I/rol) b«au"" \My an: on lite side of Gcvurah (Slren&lh). S« lilure 7 on page l4. When Ihe Scfirot are in lbeir normal stale. arrayed in thrtt 001umns, they lilT- in :0. .Ulte of (quilibrium. BUI when the Sdirot of the central column a re moved to the fi&hl and left, SO as to divide lhe Sefirol inla two array'S, a pO'lmfu[ tension is produced. When they are in such a mode, powerful .piril~a1 foras can hi' directed and chan neled. Therefore. in many placa whc", God interfc"," directly with the ph)'Sical world. the script~re speaks of God's fin&en or hands. The most obvious case OCCUR with reference 10 creation ilself. which Ihe Psaimisl calis Mlhe work ofYo~r finsef3. Mas quoted abon. we simi. larly find. KMy (left] hand has founded the earth. and My ri&ht hoand has ",,",ad oUllhe heavensM (Isaiah 4&: 13). Before such a creative act ro~ld take pl.ce.• U the Sefirot had 10 be polarized to male and female sides, sencnotin, tension and fom:. JU$I . S h~man procreation involves male and female, so don Divine creat ion. Very closely related to this.,.., Ihe various actions that use Ihe hands 10 channd spiritual forca. These include Ihe layin, of hands, Ihe lift;n, of Ihe hands in the Printly Blessin" and the spreadin, of the hands in P'1Iyer. In aU lhex cases, the inlent is 10 channd the power of Ihe Ten Selirol through the ten Ii"","." In makiDJ thcm oolTQPOlld 10 lhe IWO hands, the Sefirot are polarized, creatillJ spirit. ~al tension, See liiu", 8 o n "'"'" 34. Once. s~ch tension exists, Ihro~Jh meditation ~n d eoncenl131ion, the po~ of the Selirol taO be focuoed and channeled, And a singular covenanl The Hebrew hue is 8ril Yacltid. Some read 8r;1 Yichud, Ka unifyin, rovcnant,M b\lt the meaninl is similar." A similar concept is found in lhe lasl chapter ";Ih rellrd to AbBh.m (6:1). In JICIIenI. a SEF(R YUZIR/lli co"enanl (brif) is somelhini thn come'S bel"" Hn t""o s.eparale pans. The p~radilm Qfa C(lvenanl i, that .... hich God made .... ith Abraham ""hen he commanded him , ~Tu.e 10 Me a prime heifer. a prime female 1000t, a prime ram , a tunic dove, and a YOUDJ pileon~ ({knesis LS:9). 1O These fi~e animal. paralleled the five fl nll'''' Th...e of the animals .... en: di vided in half, SO lhalthe six halves ...,pn:sentcd Ihe ,ix Scfi,ol that an: nonnally to Ihe ri&hl and left. The four hal~el of the bi rds, ",-hich "",n: not divided, n:pn:senled Ihe fou r Scfirol .... hich • ..., normally in the ttmer line. Stt filun: 9. \« 1<' 8inah n.akhmah o..u ",h """" Tifc Ten Commandments wue al50 callffi the '''r.b1el$ of Ihe Cov.n.n l ~ (Deuteronomy 9:9). 11 was for Ihis IUson thaI they WCIT ,i'"cn IS IWO tablets, rather than as I sillJle one. When Ihe Ten Sefirol af"!: divided inlo lhis double amy, the place in the middle becomes the focus of spiritual tension. This place iSlllen called the -sillJular coven.nl~ or ·unifyi", oovenal1l. M Circumcision o[ the Tongue The Hebrew ann! for Mcirc ... mcision Mis Milah. This same word, however, also means -word,- as we find, MGod', spirilSpc'"ks in me, and His word (mUa/r) is on my 10000ue (2 Sam1.lcl 23:2). Hence Ihis can l1so be I",ollated, WI word of tbe IORJU",- The -,im.J,m<;i$ion of M the ton..... - ",fers 10 Ihe ability \0 utiliu the mysteries aft he Hebrew lalliuqe." II also men 10 the ability 10 probe II>c mysteries of the Torah." In I more &eneralilense, sucb circumcision denotes a nuency of speech. One wl\o cannot speak properly is said 10 have ·uncircumcised lips.- Moses Ihus said, ~Ho .. will Pharoah listen to me, when [ have Uncil'l:lImcised lips?" (bodIU 6:12). When one is liven Ihe POWff of proper spe«h, his 10nJlle i . said 10 be circumcised. Th is is both Ihe -cil'l:umcision~ and the "wo«1~ of lhe ton",e. A aood eumple of this is found in the Priestly BlcssinJ. H~, the priem ""i"" their hands and pronounce the blessin. outlined in , • (Numbers 6:22-27). TIle pritslS must raise thei' hands SO Ihal (hey aK )lrttiKly level with the mouth, as it is wrillnt, "Aamn lifted up his hands toward the people, and he ble!.Kd thcm (leviticus 9:22 )." n.e cohen-priest must oorn:enlralC on tile ract lhat lIis Icn linlers represent Ihe Ten Sdlro(. A•• mull of tile focus of • pin 15Criplu~ W \Illl (0= ~ .... ~n hi51WO hand!, hi, tonlue is ·cireumcised." and his blessin, has its proper effccl. 11>e $Arne i. lruc of rai5ina onc', hands in prayer. Here apin. the two hands focus sprilua1 power SO at to "tirC\lmcise w the !0D.&Ut. allowin& the individual 10 pray effectively_ In 50'"" Kabbalistic meditative syslems. th.e raised hand ~tion ...... li kewise uSood 10 focus spiritual (""flY." Ii was for a vcry similar reason Ihat tile cohenpriesls had 10 ...·ash thcir hands and fect before CIIPlinl in !he divi..., service.'" This also provides insiJht inlo the 5it,nifiau>cc oftt>e tWO <:he ...... bim Ihat ,,~ on the Ark of the Covenam in lhe Holy of HoIie •. These two Cherubim were the sour(e of all prophecy. Prophecy involvo a panicuJarly intense focusin, of spiritual ene'D', aIJowint the prophet to actually Sp('ak in God". na"",. Prophecy WU Ihul the ultimate level of ~circumcision of the ton,ue. ~ In dcscribin, the Ark. God Ioid Moses, ~ I will commll ne with you. and I "'ill 5P"ak 10)'011 from abo"e Ihe ari<-a'>ver, from between the two Cherubim. which .'" On th e Ark of Testimony~ (EJtoclUI lS:22)." What was true of Moses was also true of the Other prophets. and the inflll ~ of prophec)- was chan ~1ed primarily IhrouJ.h these two Cllerulls in lhe Holy of Holies. ~'" is some eviden~ lhat II least in so"", cases. tl>e prophetic uperience was Ihe resull of intense medila1ion of Ihese two Cherubim." When the Cherubim we", ",moved fr(lm the Holy of Holies with the destruction of tl>e First Temple, proph«y n such c:uMl!! 10 exist. Accordin, 10 Ihe Zohar. lhe tWO Cherubim reprnenled the Sefirol divided in10 a masculine and feminine array ." These were placM on Ih e Ark, which contained the orilinai Tablets of Ihe Ten Command"",nl$. There ....,re fi ve Commandmenl. on each tablet. SO lhe IWO represenled I .imilar array of the Sefirot. This CTeated. per. manent state of tension. IhrouJ.h which the spiritual force associated wilh prophecy could be focused. Circumcision oj the Membrum JuS! as Ihe fin,ers oflhe two hands represem Ille Ten &firot, SO do lhe toes of tl>e t"''O fcel. Betwcen Ihe lep is lhe circumcision of the llelual Ofpn. 'I' ate " 10 undel");land the siJllificance o f this circumcision, one In ord~r mu.' realize ",-hy God C(lmmanded Iha\ il ~ done on the ciablh day. The Torah stain.. ~On 1M eiihlh day. Ihe llnh of his faustin must ~ circumciioW (uvilicus 12:3)." The ro~cnanl of circumcision "''3S M originally given to Abraham, The world was crealed in si~ days. "'p"""n1ing the six primary dir«tions Ihal exist in a I"""'-hy~ical ..1')rId, and il ",preSO'lItllhc focal point o flhese six d irttl;Ons. as d iscussed bek>w (4 :4). The eishth day then "'pmenlS • 51ep above tlKo physical , ;1110 tile rcalm of the tran~l>\knla1-" ThroUJ,h the <,Xlvenan! of ci=mcision. God gave Abraham and his desendents po ....." Qver Ihe 'I'1I115Cendemal pla~. The most obvious case in ",-hieh this OCCUr); i. in O(lnception, ...·hell' a solll is brou&hl down inlo Ihe world. Since Ihe mark ..,f tlK covenant is on the oeIual organ, it gi,-es the individual aCttSS to the hisJIest spi ri tual ..,alms, from which he can draw d<.>wn the most lofty souls. By medilatins on the fact Ihal the ten toes represent the Ten Sdirol. one is able to com:.,nl",te spirit ual energy into the sexual 01"1"0 ." Through such methods, one can sain complete control over one'. Inual activilies. even in the mid st o f intercourse." By sancti fyinl oneself in this mann er durin, sexual inten:ourse. o ne is able t.., determine the qualities of Ihe chi ld that will bI. roncciwd. " TI>< covena nt of ciTCumcision also n:pn:sents the ehanntlin, of sexual ene'D. TIK sexual drive is one o f the mOSI poweful psycllolot· ical foKc$ in man. and when il is channeled alon, spiritual li nes, it can help brina One to Ihe hiJhCllt m~tical lIatt-l. In livinl tlK rommandmem of circumcision. God indicated that Ihe emotions and desires associated with se:x C(lukl be u~ for Ihe myslical quesl of the D ivine on a transcendental pla ne. The juxtapMilion bet"'ttn the MtiTCumcision o ft l>< tOlljue Mand the "circumc ision of Ihe rncmbrum expl.ins the prophelic position favored by Elij ah . TI>< scriptun: stales, "Elijah _nl up 10 Ihe lop of tl>< Carmel. enlranced himself On the around. and p1a«:<\ his fae<: between his knees (I Kings 18:42). This posilion was used for tlK intense roncenlratioo of spirit ual energy. Accord inlto the Midrash . th is posilion WIlS used because it placed tl>< head in conjunction wilh Ihe mark of circumcision." Whe n one is in Ihis position. all of these forces an: brouJht l<.>&tther. The len fi~rs. len toes, tonlue and sexual orpn comprise a total of 22 elemen ts. paralleli", the 22 leiters of the Heb,"", alphabet." The individual's body ilself thus beoomes a n al phabel. ",·jth which he can ""'rite" in lhe s pirit ual n:alm. M M 'I' ate SlF~R 1:4 Y£n:!RAH IC~ ~ V\'.'" IC~ 'WV :vJ'~~ " n'tlO 'Wv )1l"O :'U':U OJm :'UlJn~ J~:"I .. !lI lJ 1'11"\1( "l)'l' :11:,.:11 t>"ll~ ~v "0' 1l:lV:T1 c ;m "1\"'11 C;O :U'lJC TrII ~rol 7v rJ/ N()(hin,MSS len a/ld /lot /Ii/le nrvetl len and It()( IJI!dtnland ..'ilh Wisdom Be ...i~ ..'ilh Ii1IdtnlaMjll$ Exami/le ... ilh Ihem (JIId jHobe from Ihem Mw /tQCItJlhi"l Jland Oil ill aleif«' AM""",, Ihe Creo.l()r $il on Hif ~, This section spea ks primaril y of Ihe firsl Ihree Sdiret, Ktter (Crown), Cbakhmab (Wisdom). .nd Binlh (Undersullldin&). Later, we find I similar ditcl,lssion wilh rep.rd 10 lhe lower seveo Scfirot (4:5). 'Ten and not nine The: hi&hest faculty in man is will. T his corresponds 10 the first of Ihe ScfirOl, Keter (Crown). If O~ wen: to luempt 10 describe: God, il would be: lempti lll lO 5IIy Ihal He is pun: Will. This would be: vel')' much like 5IIyinl lhal God is Mspiril.M or Ihll He is Mlove,~ since all such dncriptions attempt 10 depict God in lenns of human traitl. If any hwnan lrai t wen: 10 be used, however, il s.bould be wi ll since Ihis is lhe hilltesl of all hl,lman faculties. Jfwe would loIy Ihal God ,,"'U p!.In: Will, Itowe""r, Ihen we would be loIyillJ lhal He is idenlical wilh Keter. Keter. Ito....ever, is mcrdy I Scfirah. and IS such. il is somelhinl crated by God and i.. ferior 10 Him. We Iben:fore tlI l OOI c'·en illY thaI God in Pl'1'e Will. Even Will i. amonl His crealions. and is in ferior 10 Him. Therefore. then: is no word that cln be used 10 dncribe God·s essence. Tbe IUl hor c;onscqucntly Slales Ibal Ihe Scfirol lrC Mien I nd nol ninc:." for if we wen: 10 loIy Ihat God is Will, lhen Keter would be identical 10 God, and only nine Sefirot would n:main. BUIlince tben: , a~ ' ~n " Sefirot. then even Will is notl'li"l more than I Sefilllh, and il is !IOmell'lil\j Ihal is inferior \0 Ihe Crulor. Tile Serer Yelzirah alw warns, ~Ien and 00\ ele\·en.~ This is \0 !Hctl thai God Himself. the lnfinite Brill&. is not 10 be inclllT<' rou kam 10 oscillate between verbal Binah consciousocss and nonverbal C"hakhmah consciousness. Ihe deeper you will reach into Ihe laller, and Ihe longer you will be able 10 maintain this stale. Chakhmah consciousness is ~rticularly imponant in reachin, lhe Sefirol. As mentioned earlicr (1 :2), the Sefirot are incff.bb:, and cannot be understood verbally. As Ihe Sefer Yelzin.h itow:lf ""Ys, tbey mUSI be ruched by Kpa.lh. of Wisdom,~ 1hal is. throuan the Piths of nonverbal Oukhmah consciousness. Examine with them A si mi lar cxpreuion illater u.ed wi lh reprd 10 the lower Sefirot (4 :~~ Onee a n individual is .ble 10 e~ perienee Ihe Sefirot, he must make use o flilcm \0 examine and lesl Ihem. lbc author docs not say ~ex.mi ne them,~ bUI ~examine "'jlll Ih~m.W The Hebrew word used llere is Bacllan. and il means Ihal one is 10 tcsllhinlS for their intrin_ sic quality as they.re.t the immediate momenl. " When a person has an .""""ness of the Sefitol, he can then ~eumjne" .n~"\hin, in (fCl.liOll and determine the Sefirah 10 which it pcnains. A. he becomes proficient in doilll this, he can use various " IlIillJS 10 sll'I:n&then his an.ehment to th~ir associalt'd Sefuah. When tile Sefer Yctzinll wu firn writlen, ncb individual had to do Ibis on hil own. Now, hoWl:ver, thee are many Ii!!. wltich associate various Ihinp 1...:1 ideas witlllheir appropriate SefiI'Ol, I nd \lIne can M used as . ids in bindilli oneself \0 them." Probe from them The Hebrew word for M p~M !>ere is Chilkw, which uoually indicates anainin, tbr ultimate knowl~c of I IbillJ." The Sefer Yetzitah says that one should Mprobe from them.- As • ruuh of the spiritual power thai one I I\.Iinl from the Seftrol, ODe should probe each Ihi"l10 ill ultimate depth. Throuab one's ulXrienee of Ille Sdirot, one is 10 pin Ihe deepest possible iosiahl into everythilll in the world. Note cardully that 111., Sefer Yemrah does nolleD us to contemptlle Ihe Sefil'Ol Ihemselvn. Rlther, it instructs us 10 use them in developinlln inner siJht willi which 10 view the ..-und.·' Mak£ [eachl thing Sland on its l!s.sence tn Ibis manner, one can learn how 10 pclcei>'t' the CSKnliai nalure of each Ihilll!' The Sefer Yeu:irah laYS, ~make ead mina lIand on its euence- 110 as 10 panllkllhe nexl p~, ~make the Crealar sil on Hi, baK,The Sefer Yeu:irah i5 abo india.tin, here Ihll when a penon perceives !he true spirilual nllure of I lhi .. a. he also elevltel !balmilll spiritually. -Sandina- men; 10 such elevltion.. The expression. -make eacll IlIilll SIOlUr theufore says thaI when one -probes from Ihem,- he denIes !he Ihin", th at he probn. Make the Creator Sil on His Base The Hehrew word for - bi"- here is Mlllc1!on., and in a numbeT of places il is seen as lite place where God -sits.~ ThIlS, in his Plll~, Solomon spub of -the heaven , lhe hue (maJdtoll) of Your sinin,(I Kinas 8:39). The ",riplure Iikewix Siltes, -RishleClulnes5 and , Table 1 . 1M roor u~ive"",", . Universc: Content u,vel Atzilut (Nearness. Emanation) Ileriyah (Creation) Yetzi",h (Formation) Sdirot Nothinaness The Throne Aneels A5iyah (Makein" Action) Shade oft~ physical Somethinl from Nolhinl Somethinl from SOmething Completion judeement are the base (mokllQfl) of Your Throne~ (Psalm. 89: 15). In other places. the Bible speau of the Temple as bei", the ~ba.e~ upon which God sits." The word MaUCI' h=) comes from the root KOfl (to ). wbich is also the root of the word IfrieJrifl (r:lo'). meaninl -to prepare ..... Hence. Moklron refe", not merely to a physical bl.e. but to one that is specifica ll y prepared for I special purpose. T he Scripture thu s .... ys. - He founded the eanh on its base (mokJrOll)~ (Psalms J04: S). Th is verse indicates th at every thin, in the physicaJ world hal a specifie spiri,ual eo unter!>'l" and buis, throu", whieh it can be ele .. aled." In lene"'!. the anthropomorphism "sit.~ when used with ""peel to God. inditato a ~"" oflowmn ..." When a person sits down . he lowen his body. Similarly, when God "sit~ ~ He - Io...·c"'" His e_nce SO as to be concerned ...·ith His creation. When the Bible speaks of God' s Thron-c. ;t is speakin, of the vehicle Ihrough ""h ich He e>:preues such ronten!. In Kabbalah. there is lCfle",] n.J1e that every "awakenin, from below~ motivatn an "awakenin, from above." Thus, when I penon mentally elevltes each thin, to its spiritual essence. he also brin" spiritual wstenance (;hda) down to that !>'In icular obj«t. This sustenance can then be. channeled and u..cd by the individual. Under SOme conditions. this can be u..cd to actually brin, about physical chaDJeS in the world." The term Ma/dtoll is also inle'l'relW by the Talmud to indicate a pa ",lklism bctWttn the spiritual and the physical domains. IOII The " p"'pared basis~ (moklwII ) throuJl! which God ~$its' and cbannels His spiritual influence to the world is preci",,]y thi. Mald!c_l he parallel ism between the spiri lual and the physial. This is Ihe aspecl throuJl! ",hi-ch God ·sils, ~ and the scriptu~ therefore speaks as lhe ~ba"" (maklwn) of Your sillin&- ~ 'I' ate " In Ihis contut, Ihe ~fer Yetzirah herecall$ God the lOtz..... We have IranslltN th is as ~11le Creator.~ but a Il1OI'e accurate rendition would be ~Ihc Formo:r.~ or Ihe ~Onc " '00 forms." In Hebrew, there are tlllft words ""hich have similar meanin&-n..,y a.., Bartl. mcani na ~IO creale," YO/zar, meanin, MIO form.~ and ,bah, meaning I O make." Accordin&lo tile KabbaliS15, Bam ind iK cates creation ex nihilo, "somclhin& from nOlltin&." Yat:ar denOtes formation of SOmelhin& from a ""bslance that already UiSi5, "somethin& from somelhina. " Asah has the connotation of the com- pletion of an " ,ion.'-' The Kabbalist. leach Ihal tllt"'I pantller the !1I1ft s.upernal un;_ vcrvs, wbi<:h are called &riyah {Creation). Yelzirah (Fonnation). a nd Asiyah (Makin&). They are allllded \0 in Ihe verse, " All that is called in M y Name, for My Glory (Al~ilul), [ have created il (BeriyVI), t have formed it (Yelzirah ), and I have made it (Asiyall)~ (lu.i.1I 43:1).101 The lIillle$l uniVtlX is A Izilul. Ille domain of tile Sefirot themsd,'cs, Below tIIi. is Beriy.lI. the domain of tile Throne. Since Beriya h (Creation ) is -!IOTlletllinl from nothing, ~ AlZilut i. ofien ",fe~ 10 •• -NOlllin",css' (Ayill). H en~. the Sefirot . .... hicll are in Atzilut. a re caned Sefirol of Nothinptes!l. Belo .... Beri)'all i. the universe of Yetzirah (Formalion) .... bich is tile ,,-orld orllle an&els. Finally. IlIe", is the universe of Aliy.1I (M aking), ,,'lIkh consiSI. of Ihe physical world and ilS spiritual shado ..... ~ Table 1, Hc"" Sefer Yeui rah i5 s~ating primarily at)Qul eslablishinl' link boetlll~n the lWO lower worlds. Yelzirah and Asiyab. The methods of Sefer YCizirah involve the mani pul.tion of the forca of the Uni,·clX of Asiyah. and this is the reason for the name of tbe book. The to t themo", s~ak5 ofOod as the YOIur. the Former, indicatins H is manifest.tion in the """lfkI of Yetzirah. From the above ment ioned >'CIX. ~ H e founded (}wuad) the unh on its base (MukhOll).- we sec that M Mllk},oll;s on the level correspondinllo Yesod (Founc lerm "Throne" would ind icate the UnivelX of Beriyah, .... hieh il lhe world nr the Throne. Ma/cJrOll, on tl>c other hand. is a level of Yetzirah. SEFER Y£TZ!RAH '1ltl 1:5 c.n 1':W 117)1 lMO :W'~:I nti'J)O TUV :llC i'll1V .n>""II'11't PC1V\ l1'tul'n pDlV :1')10 POW\ mlO 1'OlV 1VU1 i'01V\ 1m PJ:lW 111 IONJ ,1.;.0 ~ "J"I' Jl"11't cn"1 pat)1\ JUll' i'01)1 '"1V ..,)1 1)1 ltIV lWCC tTm:l I.;.tull:l p~ Tf " !kfiror of NOIhi"l nns: Th~r mNlII" is 1m 1ticJr. iraOj' 110 ~mJ 1'.. A tkprJr of bqilrlli'lg A dfp(h of f"d A dfprJr of rood A dfpfJr of ~'iI A dfplh of abo>'t A d~p(h of~ A dfplJr of Nli A d~plJr of wnt A d~plJr of llOrth A d~p(h ofJOf/rh TIIf siltlular M(JJr" God foitJiful Ki", dcmiMt~ ~r IJr~m all from IfiJ holy dIwIling UMii er"ltiry of el"ltifin. Here tile Sefer YelZirah defines tile five dimensional <:ominuum which i. the framework of itli system. Thex fivc dimensions define Icn d irections, twu oppo$ilC d irttlions in each dimension. See T able 8 o n pace -«i. The space <:ontinuum <:on.;111 of Ihre<: dimen.ions, up-do ...... , nonlHoulh . and cast-west. This continuum is defined by six diree_ lions, Ind is cilled ~UniVff2.w The time oominuum <:onsi.1S of two directions, paSI a nd future. or bcainninl and end. This is c:aUed ·year. - Finally, there ;s a moral, spirilual fifth dimension , whose lWO di.-mion5 arc &ood and evil. This is called ~1OII1.Accordin, to Ihe Iller K.o.bba\ists, Ihese Icn direct;OO5 parallel thc Tcn Sefirol in the followi", manner. Bqinninl C1!akhmah (Wisdom) E,d ,. o.,..~ Good Keler (Crown) Evil Malkllut (Kinphip) U, NetUICh (Victory) o.W" Hod (Splendor) North Gevurah (Slrentlh) Soulh Chesotd (Love) Eo" Tife",1 (Bcauwl W elt Yesod (Foundation)'''' " The Ten Scfirot an: Ihus secn as consislin, of five selS of oPlX'6iles. Th"" an: 1M ~fi"e oppoo.ile fl"c" dise ... ned above ( I:). The opposites parallellhe five fincers on each of Ihe two hands,'" Wisdom is always defined as lite betinnillJ by Ihe Kabbalisu. This is based on such verses as ~The bqinninlls Wisdom" (Proverbs 4 :7 ).'00 This correspOnds to 1M bqinni"l of exiltc".,." before creation "'..s ddined, Irticul l ll,d , o r verbalized. God Ihen created the world with leo Iollyinp. Thi. rt'P~n IS the power of Undersl.l.ndin& (Binah). which is 1M UP«"' of "c rbal thoUJ.b t. As discussed earl ier, Ihe na~ Elohim, used in Ihe account of creation. rcprnenll Understandio&- "Sayinp" can only rome abou t Ihroulh Undentandi na. denoted by Ihe name Elohim. PSycholo&ifally. Wisdom 31110 reprncnts the past in aoollter manlKr. MemO<)' is nOi verbal, but is non'. L s...~ . 7O( 1 1""~ since Mllkhul points in the dim:1ion away from God, i\ i. Slid 10 denote the direction of evil. TM enlire array of the Sefirot il oflen c.IWI .he -rr« 0( life. ~ The ('tn'er line. from Keler to Malkhul. when taken tlorle, i. a iled Ihe ~T= or Kno .... kdlt.~ 11 is Ofl Ihil line th.l JiOOd Ind evil eo"", 1~l hcr. Ihi. bei nllM mystery of Ihe -rree of Knowi.edte of Good and Evil " (Ge~il 2;9). of ","hieh A~m and Eve _re com manded not 10 pan.alr.e"" II ;1 in tbe QlIQj..Sdirah of Knowkdtt (Oul) thaI Iood and evil OOIW~ Because ofUli ... some: o flhe Kabbali1lS pll« !he "ckplh 0( &ODd and depth of ev;]~ both in KnowIro.: (Out). ... ~ an: 32 h)"perquadrallls tMI en ~ defined in I fi'"edimmiMmal b~."IlIaeconnpond 10 tM 12 lpueson 1 fivedJlnerWonal h)ptlCube. IS disarssrd loo ...e ( 1: 1). Tbno: in turn In: n:la trd to the 12 pal'" of Wisdom. Srr Tible 9. In 1('1("1, • kn ife or cultin, blade hIS one d i~ lets Ih,n the con ti nuum thlt il ClIIS. In our Ihlftoodimension.al con tinuum, I bl.de is n.$enl illly I lwo-dimension.al plane. Then:fore, in I fi.·ed imensional continuum, one W{)Uld upa:t I blade 10 lIa ... e four dimensionl. Such I blade would be • fou r-d;menlional hypcn:ubc, hlvin.16 apexes. The Midrash $I11e$ IMt God'ISWon! lIal16 ed,es, indicat; ... thai il il ind«ei&ht . the earth for depth . and the hean of killJ$ ha, no probin,~ (Proverbs 2S: l ). Reprdin, Wisdom. Kollelet li kewise said. " II i. deep. deep . .... ho can find it" (Eccle.i.stes 7:24). In panicu lar. the word "depth" is used in ~Jation to the Divine. as in. " How ~at aK yoor works, 0 God. Your thooJ,hts are veT)' deep" (Psalm s 92:6). These ten depths lheTefoK ~presenl the len directions extended 10 infini l)'. II i. ",rineo. "Coo n...,1 in man', hun i. li ke deep water. but a man ofundeT'Standin, ..·ilJ draw it OOt" (Proverb'l20:S). AllhouJ,h Ihe deplh of lhese d irections is in fin ite. it can be described Olema1iy. The first I«hnique invo/ves verbal thouJ,ht. thllHlJ,h bein, - a man of UndemandinJ. - G .... d ..... lly. then. one can 31 ..... learn to depict these infinite depths nonverbally . The firll u ercise is 10 Iry 10 depict the "depth of bc&inninJ.Attempt to piCtllK an infinity o{ time in the palIt. ttl the mind t.. vel t>.ck 10 a minUle 1110. and hOllr a&O, a day alO •• ~ar '110. rontinu in& until you reach a IC'O·el where you aK tryin8 to im2&ine an infini ty alO. T hen dO the same with Kprd to the {muK. , The nnt eurcise involv<"1 tryi1\l to imqine infinite aood and infinite evil. The limits are PUrl: ideas, which unDO! be verlWized. Finally. nne: must imasine: the limits of the spacial dimensions. One mull perceive the ~i,ln of the sky and be)'Ond ttoe sky. the deplh of lhe eaMh and be)'Ond the eaMh."· In this manne:r, one: ""dual!), lrains Ihe mind to depict the infini le. Since Ihe Srfirollhemso:lves .re . lso infinile. this exereise can help one attain communion with the &firot nl Th e individual can then learn how 10 climb the T= of Ihe Sefirot. Ind eventually .pproach Ihe loflies! spirilual hei,hls. This is lC«)mplished thrOUlh Ihest depths. It is wrillen, -A sol\j of steps, from Ihe deplh s I can You 0 God M(Pnlms 130: I). One c.lls out to God by medill lin, on the deplhs, and then (lne can as«nd throuah • series (If steps. The psa lm is therefore c.lled Ma OQn, of Ileps. ~ " . The singular Mas/er Thil tan also be rl:. d. "The Master is si ngular.H .nd a similar npression il found below (1 :7 ). After describin, tile five dimensional continuum defi ned by the Sefirol. the Serer Yetzirah specifically f"l'fen 10 God.s the Msi",ul.,. Muter.M The Hebrew for Msinlular" here is }ac/rid, indicatil\j a complete Ind absolute Unil)·. The unity of God is absolute. He is nOI like a pe!"1OJl who COIIsists of many PIIn$. He is not even like Ihe most simple physical object, since even weh an object has Ihree dimension$. To say Ihat God i. bound by dimensions .... ould in ilself introduce an elemmt ofplu,..lily in His nso!'ntt, and this is excluded. After the Sefer Yelzi,..h has defined lbe five-dimensional continuum, one: miaht be miiJed 10 think thai God Himself is a fivedimensional bein&- The text therefore Slresses His uni ty Illhis point The C(MlctPI o f dimensionalily does nol apply 10 God .1 all . God faithful King In Hebrew. this is EI M~ri:1I lI'e,malt (JZlIO';';' .... ). TIlt inilial letten of Ihis phrax spell nut Amen III»<), and aCC(lrdinlto the Tal_ mud, il i$lhis phrax lhal defines the word Amen.'" The statement ~rl: lhl1 GOO is Mfaithful Mmeans tha! He i, accessi ble (lnly Ihrouah f.ith . TIlt human intellect can only ""sp concepLS within Ihe fiv~-di.,...n sional oominuum ofs~time.spirit. God. 11M: Infinile Bei n" ho_vcr. is beyond Ihis. He may n:late 10 Ihe un; verw lU ~ Kin&." but He Him5tlf is above the ","sp of our mcmali ly, DQminali'S them all The Hebrew .... ord for - dominale" here is MD.1M1. There are two synonyms thai ind icate dominana. - Mrlrld! and Moshrl. A Mciddl is mkin, .... ho interacts .... ith his subjeclS. and is Ihcn:forc affected by them. A MosJoci. on Ihe othl:r han.d. is .. 1)'l1I.nl an.d d ictator, .... ho 1'\Ilc$. bul is in no ,",'ay inn""nced by his subordinatcs. '" Goo i. oometimes called a Me/eleh. but this refeR onl~ 10 His acl ions throuRh Malkhu l (Kin,ship). Ihe 100'i HI of Ihe ~firot. The [nfin ile Bein.. however. is actuall), a M()jIr~I. an absolute ruler " 'ho is in no "'11 )' aff«ted by His cn:ation , The S('ripture Ihu$ sa)'l'. ~If you .~ rilhlrouS. whal do you ,ive Him' Whal does He receive from yo ur ha nd~ (Job 35:7)'" Thi. is paniculuty 11'\1<'. of God's relationship to Ihe ScfirQl. He i. in no way aff« ted or defined by Ihem, From lIi$ holy habitation The H... bre .... ""Ofd for "habitation" heK is Ma '"" (111'0). The u pre$Sion - Holy habitation- (Ma '"" KadaJiI) OCC:Ufl, a number of times in IhI: Bibk. '" It is a[1oO used again below 0 :12). The woro Ma 'OIl;s defined by the ~·el'le. -0 God, You have hecn • hatHtation (ma'",,) for us- (Pul ms 90:1). The Midr.nh in terprets Ihis to indint... thaI -God is the ha bitation of the world. Ind lhe ...w ld is not His hatHtuion.- " · God;s the ·place:- of the world. definin, the S{>aOe· time-spi ri l con tinuum. and . 1... is not defined by any continuum whatever. The COntinuum is contained ;n God. as il ...... re. and He i~ r>Ol contained in the conlinuum. The word Ala 'on is very closely n:lated 10 the word M al«im 1Cl'C). mean ;n, ·I'I~.- M akQm com~ from lhe TOOl Kom 1=,.,), meanin, ~IO $tand.~ Henoe. Alaloom ~not~ I place: in ph~&ical spiI-X. when: something can -stand.- Ala 'oll (111'0). on Ihe Olhl:r hand. romes from the same TOOt as Oriah (:'t:1II). meaninl a ~Iimc- or ~periOO." JUSI" M alec", defines a point in space. 100 AftJOIl defines a point; n the sP«e-t;mc continuum. '" Thus. ,",'hen Ihe Sefer Yel]!i"h lolly. that God dominat .... the ~firot frQm I-l is "Hol y M a"otl-;I is indica t;nlthat He;$ the ~placc" and ~habilation- of the five-dimensiOllal continuum. Not only don " God circumscribe Ihe universe of space, bUI He even defines lime and spirit. This is said \0 be ~holy.~ and as discu!oSled above ( I: I), the word -lIoly~ (Kadrulr) dCl!{)les separation from tile mundane. The Infinite Beinl is separated from all tile Sefi",l. and in rdalion \0 H im, even the $diml are mundane. Untilelernily of elerniries In Hebrew, Ihis is Adl')' Ad ("111 -W), and Ihis upression occurs numerous limes in Ille Bible.'" TlH:n: .re two synonym. which denote eternity. The firo' i. lLOlllm, usually lranslatt'd as "fo",vcr," which indical" the end point of the time rominuum . Often used ;1 Ihe upression ~am ~aEd ("1)11 c'>1V>), which means "rore,-n and etemily." The npression "etem iIY." here del1(lles tile realm OUlsi<.k Ihe lime continuum, whe.., the ooneqn of lime does II<)! uist al all. Even in such a timeless domain, however. Ihere is still I kind of hypertimc. where even\$ can occur in a l(llical sequ.ence. The Mid"",h calls such hYP"rtimr, the · orner of time w (Stdn umollim),m The upreslion "eternity of etemitin (Adey Ad) denOln a domain thai is beyond even sl,Ich hYP"rtime. W 1 :6 i'T:l ;"l ~-"c, 111"~)' ;'Ill ' '1 , 1'm'~O "W'V ;:Ilt'l 1(1)'-0 J;U l-oi l Tv 0;"1"1 rlt J11'''I'm ,C'lnJ"IVC 0;"1 ~o, 'l!l'" l~l"'I'" ;"I~lO' ncKC"Il 1i-1I ~firot of N(){hi,'I"1'$$ Tlrn ' .isio~ is liu Ihl' "appearallCf' o/IIghlning" Thl'i, limit has nO I'~J a"" And lIis Word i~ IIIi'm is -l1Inning lWur~ing · Thl'J' nulr 10 lIis .JQJ'i>rJinnins at the Iowe..t. Like the appearance of lighlning This;s tlken from the ve~, "And the Chayot. runninl and rei urninl. like Ihe appearan~e oflish ln inl ( b'pl, mean in, "10 cut ofT," '" Hence, Ihe end implied by 54! is where somethinl ceases 10 e~ isl, ""hile Ketz implies the poinl when: il is ~eut off,~ Ihal is, il5 ext reme boundary o r limit. As Or>C authority put. ii, So/is lhe end in reLation 10 Ihl! which follQws ii, and kI~ is the end wilh rqard 10 Ihat wh ich precedes it. '" Wlten Ihe Sefer Yetzirah spoke earlier o f Ihe Sefirol as ellensions. 1M 1eJ;1 sa)"s Ihallhey h.,·c no So{ This indicates Ihat Ihere is no place where IMy cease: 10 exist. no mailer how fir oul one &re hn the implicalion of "runni", wilh one'. will." or impelJilll lhe will 10 O()fIttntralc on somelhin& he)'Olld ilS &rasp. This ind icates Ihe menial dron lhrouah .... hich the Soefirm an visualized. The Sefer Yeuirah I'l:lal.,. "runni", and retum i"," 10 'pud,. Speech exists only in ~lalion to Binah consciousness, since Ihis is lhe verbal pan Orthe mind. As 10", .. a pel'$Oll is lIQrTTIaUy in. ".te of Binah consciousness, be can only visualile the Sefirol a. a flash, ·l'1.Inninl and ~lumillJ.· They ru.sh If) Hi.s .saying lila- a whir/wind The Sefer Yelzirah says Ihll God's "spe«h in them run. and I'l:tum •." God's speech can he ~;suali«d Ihrouch the Sefirol, bill il "runs and n lum •. " "Speech" (Da",,,) refers 10 I~ leneral OOnttpl. " 'hile a ~sayin.~ (M" 'am,,r) denotes I panicu.lar It. lernent. It it only wil h ~ 10 'I' ate " and return Ihe leneric ~speech~ \h.t Ihe Sdiro\ OKillale, ~l'\Innjnl in,.- Bm when Ihe.., is " Ma'amar, " s~fic "'),in, or edict, they no. Iontef <»ciliate, but ""h - like a whirlwind.AocordinllO ,he ..,adin&. - His speech in li1em run. and "'tums,this entire Kniop iii speakin, of Ihe &firol. One normally KQ the Sefirol - runnin, and retum;p" - like Oasbn ofliJ,htnin&- But wilen I. panic".] •• edi<:l from God is prc:5n1I. Ihey no Iona<:T oscillate, but pur. sue it - like" whirlwind.- Accordin, 10. the commentaries who interpret Ihis line as -they s.peak of Ihem !'\Innina and retumin&. - the enlire ICJ;\ is speak;n, of "llley.- namely the maslers and prophets. A1thou&h Ihey normally only visuali2c the Sefirol -runnin& and relumifl&,' when" specific edict from God .... s heard, Ihey would pursue it like" whirlwind, goin& rar beyond Iheir normal bounds. The Hebrew word forwhirl";nd here;1 Slifalr, ,, lerm thaI occun many limes in the Bible.'" The word Sll/ah (;""CI) comes from the root S). meanin, a limit or boIindary. As one authority e~plains. a Sll/alr is a wind that e~~ds tile normal bollnds of natural v.-catheT. ,. This teach es that when there is an edict from GOO , the mystic can ,0 far beyond th~ normal bounds to punlle it_The fact that he is pliTSuinl a d ivine "sayinl" allows him to have access to milch hi,her SlUes of consciousness thin the normally un IlIlin. It is for this realoOn that many mystics would topac in meditations related to the ob5ervallCC. of various commandments. They were makinl lise of God-. "sa)"in8" I nd edict, Ind in this manlleT, were able to Il'lch much hi&ller levels than usual. The divine "sayilll" ass0ciated with the: command~nt would alloO serve to alllllCl tile Sefirot Ind make them more accnsibk. T he.., are two typtS of storm wind, a Sa·a'alr and I Sll/alr.'·' It Sa '",air is a wind that me..,ly _"tltes (Sa"",), while a Siifalr is • hllrri_ cane that .~vs away everythinl in ils path.''' At the betionin, of the m~tical experience, Ezekiel says thai be saw a "Slorm v.ind (sa·a,ah) cominl from the north~ (Eukiel 1:4). Accordinlto some commentaries, this refen 10 Ihe aaitation of the mind when one COlen the In.nscendcntalll'alm.''' The vehicle throu&h ..·hich one rioes Ind ente ... Ihe mySlicaI realm is called a Marteivi (chario!). and the art of enaaginl in Ibis practice is uned "workin. in lhe Olariot" (Ma ·am MarI«mJ).'.. 1t i. therefore bi&hly sianincant that the scripture states, " His Chariol (ma,kaWlj is like I whirlwind (sll/ahr (Isaiah 66: I S).''' This ind icales that the Sll.fa~ wind Xl' lik~ a Chariot. IVnveyin,er po"'Cr. The tool. of God'. concern an: the Scfirot. s.i n~ it is Ihrough I~m that He directs Ihe universe. As a result of ti>< conupt of God's Throne. Ihe Sefirot mUSI abo lo~r Iheir e5""nCC and inte=t with Ihe lo ....er "'mid. The Sdcr Yctzirah th~re. fore says. "~fo~ His Throne t~y proslrate IIIcm""jvcs.Tn. univrne of the Sefirol is called Alzilui. Belo .... il i. Beriyah. Ihe world of the Throne. M Ex~ki~1 ~bo ii, -Abo,l' the firma_ men! lhat was o,'er Iheir head. wa~ the likellCS.'j of a Throne... and upon the likeness of the Th rone. wi. a likenCS$ of Ihc a ppcanllCC of a Man- (Ezek~1 1:26). The Throne is in tll<: uni"e"" of Benyah, ...·hile the - Man- on the Throne n:p...,..,nt, Ihe an lhropomorphi<;. array of the Scfirot in AIZilut. Tn. hiJhcst uni ve...., that can IKtuaJJy ~ visualized i. Yelzirah. the world of Ihe anICI .. In Ihi. world. one can visualize a refi«tion of Ihe Thron e. a nd hence. Euki~1 .... id that he saw " the Iik~"d.I of. Throne. - One can also see a -refiection o ra ~fi«tion- oflhe Sefinx, a nd h( Ihc...,f""" sa ..... ~Ih( li k(ness o f the ap"".rancc of II Man,~ When Ih( Sefer Yel~irah says Ihal I~ Scfirot "proslrale themtcl\"eJ., - Ite i. indic:;nin, that they are reflened in the Io....-er univencs. Sinor they prostrate them..,lv... bcfon:: God', Throne. whkb is in Beri )"a h. they are CVen visible in Yetzirah. It is in Ihe unive...., of Ynlira h thaI a ~f1ttl ion of Ihe Sefirot is visualized. <_0- 1:7 Jmnm JI1'mro 11:)10 f'IJI) ;mo'?:l nT"I'tlC ,tfV " I'N1 "n' p-tl'ttf 117ru:! :rnt?j.l m,'~:l 11l1C:l :'llltl :'U"IK ;'I1J 'mK ' llllr1 ' 1t7 \r., 1;'" !j,fiT()l of NQI/ringn/'U Th<'ir I'nd is imbedded in Ilreir beginning and Ilreir ~nning in I""i, m d /iQ aflame ;/1 a burning cool FOT Ihl' }.taste>' is sitIgUfar Hi' has no SecQnd And tJ,jou Oni'. ",lral do }"" ((}Un!? Their end is imbedded in their beginning Acconlin8 to mOSt oomm~ntarin, th~ ~bq.innin.~ ;5 KeleT (Crown). while the ~end~ is Malkhut (Kinaship). These are tile IWO end pOints of lite .piritual di~nsion . In Ihe most basic le"d, Keter it :sooen as the concept of Cau",,". wh ile Malkhul i. the archetl'J'l' of Effect. Since" cau"" cannot e~isl without an dTl!'Ct. and an effl!'Ct cannot exist without a cause, Ihe two a re interdepenlknt on n.ch other. The Stfer Ydzirah likens Ihis \0 a ~flamc bound 10 a bumin, C(>;lL~ A flame C1InnOI u i" wilhout the coal, and the burning coal cannot uis! witllou t the flam~. Although !h~ coal is the cause ofth~ flame. th~ flame is also the cause of the burn ing 0(l;I,1. Wit!>ou t Ihe flame. it would not be B burning coal. Since Cause cannot exist without Effect.. Effect is also the cause of Cause. In Ihis sense. Effect is Ihe cause. and Cause is the effect. Since bqi nninl and end a ~ inseparable, ~thei r end is imbNded in th~ir ~nninl, and Ih~i . bqinninl in their end.~ Thu s, even IhOlJgh Kel~r i. Cause an d Malkhul is Effect. Ih~", i. also a sense in ...·hieh Malkhul is Ihe cau:loe of Kele•. Onen in Kabbalah. where such a situation e~ist$, Keler is I«n as uistins on a 1o"'1:r level Ihan Malkh ul. Thus, for nample, Kner of Beriyah i. belo .... Malkhul of AlzilUl . and Keter of Yelzirah i. below Malkhul of Beriyah. As discussed earlier. Ihen: is no term Ihal can be used 10 describe God. God Himself cannot even be called the Cause. '" A cause is to some d~ee dependent on il' effecl, and God cannot be depend~nl on an ythi"&- The Kabbalists then:fo!l: teach thai befo,"" creating any. SUER V£fZIRAH o F;Kwr~ 10. A rin:l~ ...';Ih 0 and N a$ I....... ''''Ii"""lal PO;Tl/t. Ihin, else. God ~~aled Ihe roll«'Pl of ~Cause.~ This i. the !;efi.... h of KeteT (Crown). KeteT is Ilso often identified " 'ith Will. This, how_ ever, i. an an lhropomorphism, .illCC in man. will iSl he C4U.U' of all action .'" Thc Sefer Yetlirah therefore .tales Ihat "'tbe MUlcr i. Sinlular, He has no seoon.d_~ The s"firot may be inlcr&pcndent. but this don nOI ilKludc thc Infinitc Bein... Since God is ab500lulely unitary, He cannO! even be called lhe Cause, ,,;nu Ihi. would imply an effect 1$ a ~second.M When we " iew Ihe Sefirot as bein, len direclions in a fivedimensional continuum , _ Cltn also intc~ Ihis in anot.hcr manncr. Every ])IIir of Sefirot defines an infinite line, ""Iended infinitel) in bolh dim:tions. The end points of such an infinite line, however, come 100000her and meet 01lCC lIPin al the ~point II infinit).~ This is a fact ' ecosn ized by mathematician" and considcnoble usc of lbe Mpoi nt II infinit)~ ;. found in complex analyus, tlte calculu. of rompiCK numben. AlthouJ,h th is i•• hishly ab$t,*,1 concept. it is not Ihat difficull to understand. Imagine a circle, ... itll two antipodal poinlS. 0 and N. Obviou!.ly. two lines CKlendin, outward from Owill onu qain come IOJClller .t point N. B UI then what happens if we make the circle infinitely II,...,? The laller Ihc circle. Ihe closer the curve approaches I ItraiJht line. In Ihc limit whcrc the circle becomes infi nitely larae, the lines extendin, outward from poinl 0 actually bocome lIraishl, But still. tlte) oomc 10000her a1 poinl N. This point al infinit y is where alt endpoinlS meet. '" See filure 10. In ou r Ihr~imcnsional conlinuum . ...-e can likewise extend all lines outward infinitely. The end poinlS of all these linel WQUld th.cn be an infinite sphc~ Iurroundin, all $paU. Ho....ever, each opposin, ])IIiT of lines would m..,\ at the point a' infinily. and Ihcl-er~, all outJOin8 linc:s mu" m..,t at this po;nt. '" " Thus. in one sense. Ihe entire three..:l imensional space continuum can be secn as surrounded by an infinite sphue. In anOlher sense, I>o",-c' -c '. Ihis entire infinite sphere can also be reprnenled by a sinale point - Ihe poinl al infinity. A point. however, ;s in finitely sman. Thus, the pOint 1I infi nity can be 5et:n as bein, both infinitely la1'JC and infinitely 5./TIall at Ihe ilarm lime. The same 4f1ume"1 can easi ly be utended \0 Ihe five. dimensional lIypcnpacc discussed in Serer YelZirah. Thus, if c"cry pai r of Sdirol defin es an infinite line , Ihe begin- nin, of each line is ~imbeddedM in ils end . This is true of all the Sefirol. All opposites, in tlleit extreme case, berome joined as one. One en uSC this as II medi tation. Try 10 imq.ine Ihe sphere al infinity a nd the point al infinity. and al1em pl In pereeive !>ow Ihey are actually one. You win Ihen see Ihat your usual conception of space and e ~len5io n I~ nol as simple IS you believe. In plmicul.r. Ihis is IllIe oflhe Keler-Malkhulline. ln Ihe dir«:t;on of KeteT, th i. li ne en ends infinitely toward God, the ul tim. te Good. In the Malkhul dim:tion. it utends infinitely .way from God. tOward ultimate evil. The.., tWl) end points elIn abo be viewed as the uhimatdy spirilual and tl\e ultimately physical. In this ..,n.." _ must Ihc~fo~ ""y that the ultimately phY'ical and the ultimately spiritual a~ Mi mbedded " in each other. In order to understand Ihis mo~ deeply, ...·e must first ask some quest ions. T he most buic que.tion is: Why did God CJ"C3.te a physical .... orl d? God c~aled lhe universe to beslO .... 800d 10 His CJ"C3.lion, but Ihis &ood is pu~ly spiritual. This bcillJ true . .... hal need is there for a phY'ital world? Ikfo~ "c materi.l, just as. for a.mple, lite soul is bound 10 the body. T ...·o opp05i les ('lin then"" brol,lJ.hl !(!tether by beiDI OOllnd 10 ph ysical objec'" In t he physical WOrld •• pace n iSI', .nd two opposites can literally be pushed losether. FunMrmore, 110'0 spiritual opposilt"$ can even be bound to the same mlterial object. '1IJ Thus, for example, min has both." UI'JI' for 10<)<1 and an U"iC' for evil. the Yflur 10., and the r..tu.. HaRtl, In a purely spiritual sense. these are poles lpan. Without a physical world. lhey could never be brou"'11~her in a sinale entity. The arclletype of the spi ritual be;", ;1 t he allie!. Sirttt an an",l has no hody. il CIIn never contain bolh sood and evil in ilS bein.. Ou r u.ees lherdore leach us lhal anacls have no Yt'fU'l'J/aRa.''' II is only in a ph ysical bein, lhal bolh sood and evil can UiSl tOictiltr. Ahhou*" Ihey .re . 1 opposile pooks spirilually, ll>ey can (:Orne 10000lher in t~ ph)"oic:al m. n. One reason .. hy God treated m. n in a physical world ...-as to allow him 10 have full freedom of choice, with both &ood and evil a. pan of hi. makeup. Wi tlK>ul , physical .... orld. Ihese lWO concepls could never niSI in lhe same beiJ\l. '" The fact Ihal &ood and evil c.n exist in the same ph)"oic:al space ,1.0 ,110...., &ood 10 overa)lTlC evil in Ihi. world. Here apin , this i. only possible in a physical world . In a purely spiritu.1 aren•. &ood (:Ould ncver (:Orne dose enou*" 10 evil 10 have any innucn« over iI, In Ihc physical worid, however. &ood and evil can exisl logether, and &ood can Ihemore overcome evil. Our IIF$ Ihu. leach 115 thaI one of Ihe main reaoon s why man ..-al placed in lhe phy~ical world ...... to overoomc Ihe forces of evil.'" The lohar a presses il by slatin, thaI we are here - 10 turn dar1r.ness inlo li*"I,- '" The enlire concept oflhe nonphysical is very difficult to oomp!"e> hend, and may be clarified by a ...,marbble leachilll of Oe5e \0 rome 1~lher. Tho: only thing 1hat can p05sibly un ify 1""'" level. is thei r "'[:llion.hip 10 the phlsieal world. In order \0 reach tile higlleil levds of holiness. man musl therefo.., bcrome ]),an of Ihe physical world. Wht:n he obeys God's commandments. he al1ache5 himself to the same physical objecu as tile One who pvc tile com mandments. In obeyin, lhe5ccommandmenls, man therefo", allache$ himsdf 10 God 10 the ,",alest possible dearee. He ;,. (h". ablt 10 loCale tile hiahesl s pi ritual hei&hls. Thi. iliM symOOli5l'T1 of Jacob', dream in wbich hr ....w, ~A Iad~ standin, on tanh. w~ lop rnched lhe hea'"'~'tISM «(i.mesis 2&:12~ It is only Ihrouah unhly ~ thai we can dimb the Ioftiee$t ["ueR an: phy~icalJy " b rou&hl logelbu. th., St,firot can also inlerac1. SpecifIC interactions jn"olvin, Ihe Sefirol can also be b1'OlI,.Iu about whrn various namn are combined. l1Ie same is also troe of Olher "-'bbat;'I;" diqrams and "-VI CKnta,;"ns of tile Scfirol. Eve" Ihoudllhc Scfirol were Cn:lled beron: Ihe pbylkal world, they exiu in a domain 1ba! is above lime , when: past , prnenl and future are one. The very fact Ih.l they would have physical countCfpam in 1he futulT provided them wilh .link with the pbysical,.;orid. Since God willed Ihal al some future lime, the !euen of tile Name "'1)Uid be .IIII.!' 10 be repr~nled by physical forms and be written on I physical medium, tiler had an associat ion wilh the physical even before il was crealed. Thi. allowed Ihe SefirollO interact, cven boefon: the ,,"calion of the phy&ical uni\"c~. ,.. The ume is true of Ihe olher ,.tlen of the al phabet. AlthouJh the klters an: best known as Ihc'y are wrillen down physieally. Ihc'y Kllla!ly al K> Itplesent spiri lllal fortts. Throu&h variO\lS rombin._ tions of the lellen. the spiritual foTtt5 usociated with them are brou&ht 1~lher in wariou. dr.Clive combination!.. These spiritual foren are the ~lellen wilh which hea--en and earth were created.~ From a!lthis. we see thaI there is an importanl lin k bet ...~ lhe physical and the spiritual. Ewen Kel ..., 1M hiJhcst of tile Sdirot, has a physical re presentation in the ap... of 1M: Yud of the Divine Name. This is also realled 10 our earlier diKllu;on of elUSC and effect. The hiahest levd of Keter is the ultimate eause, while the physieal world is the ultimate effect. Like a flame in a burning coal In dcKribinlllic relal ion.hip belween Ihe ph}'sital and Ihe spir_ itual. Ihe Zohar USH an expression "cry simibr to thaI lise.t. it is evident Ihat llic Zohar is speakin& of the dirr~m p.om of the flam •. The only """y in ...·hi.h the name tan rise i. for aU of these p;lrts to come tCllClher. This i. only pcwiblc ",hen the flame is allached 10 the physical mal or ..~ck. In a similar manner .•Llthe spirituallevcLs cannot funC1ion o r inleraC1 unless Ihey are bound to lhe physinl. Th e Sefer Ynzirah therefore Slates that ~thei r end is imbedded in their bqinnina.. . . li ke a flame in a bumin, (:0111.- The only way in ""hich Ihe end and beainni", can interxt is beause both an: bound 10 related physical concepl$. This can also be used as a meditat ion, '" The wick itself represents the physical world, while the blue flame nearest 10 the wick is the counlcrpan of Malkhul. '" Surroundin, thi. i.lhe bri",t yellow flame, corrupondin, to the next Sill SefiTl)!: Chese<1, Gcvurah, Tiferet, Nnzach, Hod and Yesod. Above this is tbe ba rely visible ut..nor flame, the honest ~n of aU, parallelin, Dinah. Thet! romes the liJ.ht radiatiltJ from the candle, ""hith i. Chal::hmah. Finally, thcre is the concept of flame ilsel f. and Ihis ro!Te$pOnds 10 KeICT, All of lline pam are unified only throuJh Ihe wick. By contemplat ina a flame in this mlnnc-T, one can bi nd himself 10 lhe Ten Sefirol. It is for this reason Ihat lhe Serer Yctzirah stales that the Ten Sefi"'l ,,"rallel the ten d ilUtions. Even thou", the SefiTl)t are purely spiritual. Ihe veT}' fan Ihal they arc aunciated wilh the ph~ical d irfftion. seU !Ttll :11 ,:n 1::1'" C'i-!O" "VI ~IP\ T.... !k/lrot of Nothingnns Bridl.. )'OU' mIX/lit from I/>Mki"l and )'0'" hea,1 from Ih!nkilll And if )'OOl' ht'tU1 "'Ill ,n"", 10 III .. plau. II is Ih~ wrill" " . 7h .. Chayol TJll'll'lil'lg and rtl",ning. - (£ zdiln 1:14) R.-gatding lhis Ii OO .....l'Ialll ""lIS mad... Bridle .w ur mOlllh The Sefer Yell; llIh defines Ihe ....ord Belimah, .... bich we lranslate as wnothillJllCIS. ~ It says Ihat il has Ihe conootalion of bridli nl (OOlom). The essc:nct' of the Sefirot can only M atlained " 'hen one hridles one', lips from speal,,; nl , and eloses one', mind 10 all ~erbal and depicti,-.. thOUJht. Only "'hen One makn the mind completely blank can Ihe 5efirot be expe~nced. This is particularly important. si nct' many lechn iqllCl of ~bbalah medi tation i n ~ol~e Ihe Tttilalion of a mlntlll-like device or ~arious t)'JICI of contemplation. All SUCh techniqua.. ~vcr. are only a means lhrou&h ",hich Ihe mind is cleared of aU thou&hl. The "t,..., , " aClual e~perie~ of Ille Sefirot only comes Ifter one SlOPS usi", Ille technique and remains absolutely slill. with all the Iho ..."11 p~ hushed .'" And your heart from thinking In Kabbalah, Ihe term ~hea"" usu.ally denotes Binah,'" II indi_ cUes tile verbal pan of I~ mind, .... hich i. Ihe seal of Dinah 000sciousne$!.. This Dinah consciousness must be "bridled" so the Sdirot can be experien«d with Chakllmah consciousness alolle, And if your hear! rUIlS H~, "1":lrt" apin refc", 10 Binah consciousness. The Sdirol ml,lSI be experienced wilh Chakhmah consciousness. If one Ines 10 depin IlIem with Dinah (ttoe "hearn, tben ~ mind can b<:rome en,ulft'd in a profusion of symbolism. A. the Kabbalists explain, thi. is ~ry danaerou., si nce Ihe mind can be , wallowed up in this klleidnoope of symbolism, and nOI be able 10 eTnel'BC' from it.'" This i. what hapl"' ~ 10 Ikn Zomah, who Io:sI hi, mind when,", entered Paradise:. ,J) This "run nin," oonsim ofa rapid profusion ofsymbolism, either verbal or visual. 'N If the ~l>ean runs,- the Sder Yetzinh warns that one should -return to the place.- He must focus on somethina ph~i­ cal, so U 10 reslore spiritual equilibrium. ," In this resp«l, one must emulate the Chayol. the -HvinlJ an(Jelsseen hy ElCkic1 in his vision. One mUSI oscillale between ~TlInnilll Ind relumina. - Since one can only think with Bim consciousness, one must use it 10 swinlJ into Chakhmah consciousness. This stale can only be mainlained for. shon lime. whereupon Binah consciouslIQ.'I returns, and one tries to depict his cxperien~, AI thi5 point, one must immediately return 10 the physical. In this minner, one cln OS(Hllle back and fonh. reachin, hiJller each time.' " A covenant was made From Ihe contelt. Ihis covenant is a mutual .... ttment between God and lhe m)'5lic. The mystic promises thai I>e will not allemplto depict lhe Sefirot wilh Binah consciousness., Ind God promises thai if one TlIns back immediately. then he will he ablt 10 return. ry' ate SEFER VET7:1AAH It is in tbis contut tllatliN: Kabbalisls advised tbose who were anemplinglo read.. the hiJ,hes1 levels to hind their soul with -.n oath Ihat il should return to tlleir body.' " Besides sllC.b individual oaths, Ihere is al~ a general covenant th31 implies that the soul will be able to return. even from the hi&hest levels. In more genetal terms. a covenant is something that comes bet ...·ecn two Ihinp and joins tllem. This is Ihe covenant that joins the spiritual and the physie:al. In pa"icular. " the Sefer Yetzirah states (I:)). a covenatlt denotes ~irt\lmcisi()n. One of the reasons fOf circumcisions is to incbcate that one mould be 3b1c 10 'tI "pV 'n " 1Il'O TtOOl 1n:J :v',:m nn Itt" .,-0" O'a,W:1 S#"irol o"'1:,·. r, is often used in the Bible to denote spiril. and Ihis is tile sense Ihal il is used hCTl:_ In ECl'eral, Ihe word rllac/r indicales mOl ion and communicalion. It is related to Ih. words ().,ac/r. meanin, a path , II1d ().r~. meaninl a lIuest. The spirit (rullC/r) of life in an animal is Ihe power Ihal <;auso il 10 move. Normally, tlte air is in"isible and undetectable. It is 0I1ty when it moves Ihal one <;an red illS a wind or breath. Similarly, Ihe spirilual conlinuum is undetectable, e~cept " 'hen it moves. It is then cxperiencrd as !,pirit (ronc/r ). HenIX. ruacll is the .... Ofd for wiml, breath, and spirit. This is abo describinll the act of crealion. The anaJoey would be Ihe formation of a A1ass \'e$st'I.'" First Ille brealh (ruacll) emanazes from Ih. mouth ofth. glaublo.. er. The "esset is shaped IhfOUlh Ibe inleraction of the brealh , where the ...;nd boundinll off Ihe waU, auso p"".u...,. Th. vessel Ihen ",-pands in all spacial dirn:tion .. Lil'ing God As mentionrd above (1:1), the term "Livinll God" (EloIr /m C/rQyim) denOles Yesod (Foundation). when Ihis Scfirah i5 in a procrealive mode, disbursinl aU the forces of .r.,nion. Tile "spiril" l>ere. " 'hich is from Keler, iSlhal wh ich is uitimaldy disbl.lt5Cd by Y~, Since Ketcr ilself cannol be experienced, it is referred 10 in lenns of Yesod, ,inee that i. where il il uperi~n<:td. '" Blessed and Benedicled In olher ancient Kabbalah I"'-ts. such as tlte Bahir. these adjectives are also uw wilh rep rd 10 Keler,'" S.fFEil. YETZIItAH In the two terms he~ are Barukll ('\'U) and M,,8ItQrok.It (TI\=lrnI'< mtm7!1 :nl:')1 r...,: BrMlh/rom 8muh. Wirh il 11~ engrawd flltd Cflnwi 1) FoulldQriOll lItros 11rrN MOlho $ ~II Dotm and bud pyi"8 M'fti to tilt _ and brNd 10 lie ..·110 I'IUS, So Ihe _d thaI ~lI\llIIGrQ from My mou/Ir shall NJI ,nll,n I/) mt' rmptyhanded wil!wtlr rrromp/i$hilf.8 rhar w/rlc/r I plraM and JlICCUdilll ill ilJ mwWll. Here God is sayin, lhal His ~lhou&h!,M which is Chakhmah, is IS fir above lhe human mind as lhe sky is above lhe eanh. BUI jusl IS rain can d l':KCnd from Ute sky, 110 con God'. Wisdom come d OWll 10 man, accomplishin, ""hal He desires. The d itTcrentt between brealh and waler iI lhal brealh mUSl be blown down ...ard. while walcr falls on ilS own .... The spiriluai n$Cnox implied by Keler can only be JIlInled by God's direct inler" cnlion and wilL l!Io< Thai implied by Chakhmah, on ~ other hand , dnttnds 10 ~r levels on ilS own. In I p:I)'C:hoIo&icol ""n.." Ke\cr "'proem. Rli/lC/r l1aKodnh, lhe divine inspiralion Ihal can only be ,ranled by God. Wisdom. on Ihe olher hand, can be pined by man on hi. own. If min mike. him.."f inlo a vessel for Chakhmah. ;1 comes down 10 him aUlOmalically. In Ihi . resped . il i. li kc rain, whidl can be used by Inyone who has I proper vessel to hold it. Breath alllO alludes to the process ""Mrmy God imposn His will on creation deliberately, 100 as 10 chanlJC nalUral evenu. Chakhmah, on Ihc olher hand. inVOlves lhe nalural ro\Inc of CVl:nts, which pre- " cNc without any divine intervention. II is becaUIoC ofCbakhmah \ha, the COIIrx of nallln: can u;st. In I ph~icalloCniiC, .... Iter is said 10 Illude \0 the undiffcKIlli.ted primeval maucr.- With them fie engroW!d Hen: 11K Sefer Yeuirah is ",,"kina aboul1hc bqinninp of writ_ ten kueR. The spoken lellen arise from brealh, bUI for the ....nlten Icncrs \0 niSI, IIIcre must uisl • ""rilin, fluid, such as ink. This im plies the liquid stale. of which !he prolOly~ is ""aIel'. The ..Til'''' fl !lid is spoken of as "mi.., and day," Chaos and Void Tohu and 8Q/r1l in Hebn:w. Thi. alludn 10 W initial '!ale of cre- at;on , IS it is "Titlen, "The earth ,,-as chlO$ and void" (Gene5is 1:2). Tile ~fcr Yelzirah laler ... ).. Ihll il was 0<.11 of IIIi5 chaos (101110) Ihat subslana was formed (2:6). Tohu denotes pun: SUMlin« Ihal does not contain information. 8qI,,, is pure infonnation Ihal does not relate \0 any substan«.Both an: undifferentiated, and a~ lbe~fo~ included in ClIakhmah. With BoiIu (inforrnllion), the al phabet !eners rould be engnovnJ on 1Mu (substantt). sial ... llul, '"th~ ranI! ..... chaos and ,·oid. w The K..abb;!.lills note Ihat weanhw (n-tlI ) i. a femin ine word, and teach that il aliliOO to Malkhllt. Ihe .~hC1ypc of the feminine. -a.aos and ~oid, w .... hich ~I.ted 10 a..khmah, did noI rome into ~illenoe unlil after Malkh ul. This is the same as the order of th e Sefer Yetzirah, .... hich al.o p1acn o.akhmah after Mal khul."" Th~ ocriplu~ Mire and day In Hebrew, mi~ i. R~, and clay i. Ty/. The only plaoe in the Bible whe~ the two a~ mentioned tlJlC1her is in the verse. wThe wicked are like the troubled sea. It canDO! .....1, and its "'a1er1 cast up mire and cLayW (Isa iah S7:20). In describin& the orilinal state of creation, the Torah states, wThe eanh "'IS ehaO$ . nd void, and darkneu on the faoe of the deep (lcl!omjW (Cicnni. 1:2). Accordin& to the rommentaries. the word Trltom denotes the mud and clay on the bonom of the sea.wChaos and vnid w allude to the intCTlOction between Chakhmah ("'ater) and Ketcr (Breath). "Mire and cLayW allude to the interaction , "betwHn SUER YETLlRAIi Chakh~h ' .... aler) and Malkhul (unit). Mire OOO';SIS mostly of waler, and therefore represents III<: dominan« of Otakmah. Clay conS;IIS mostly of eanh, and represems tile; domin.nce of MalkhuL The mire il the ...ntin, nu id. ""hile the day is the medium upon which il is .... rillen. He engral'ed them ... Tile Hebrew lelle", have Ihl« basic pans. a lop, center, and bol10m. The lop and bottom uSLliIlIy consi st of heavy horizontal lil\el, .... hile Ihe cenler consisil of thinner vertical lines. The bonoms of the Inlen ~ "en&raved like a prden.- Thil is ...'hn'e mat...-ial is relllol)"o'ed from the malrix, Jeavm,. hollow. The sides of lite !enen ue then -carved like .....'3lI.- These Ire the vefticallines .... hich ~parale the letters from eadI odleT like walls. FinaUy, the IOpI of the \etten are added, like amlin, covenn, the leuers."" AcoordillJ \0 lOme IUtholita. this abo alludes \0 the oalion of 'PI'« no As WI: shall ~ lat .... (2: 4). this Un aJ~ be an instruction for a meditation. He pcured snow ort'r them This is omilled in some versions, but the idea is found in Ihe Mid,uh.''' The liquid .tale ""p~nl! fluidily and chance, ",h~real lhe solid ~u.le upresenl5 pennlMnc:e. When the Tocah IpeW of inltabilit~, it uses ",aler II an cum pie , lIS in the verse, · unltable like water" (Genesil 49:4), '" Thus, "'hen Chakmah is in a state of flux, it is upresenled by wiler, bUI "'hen il is in • state of pennlnenee, i\ is Il'P""" $Cnted by ,now. A. mentioned earlier, Ou.kmah has tWO model The first is that of Chakmah ronscio\ls~ "'hile lhe iICrond i$ Ihal of memory. Chlkhmlh ron..:iousness i. fluid, Ind il represented by waler. MemOI"Y. on Ihe other hand. is filed, Ind is denoled by snow. The leuers Ihemselv" repruenl 1M fluid .taIC. Like a fluid, a\ Ihi. pOint, 1M)< (2JI he rombined in In~ .,..-ay Ihal one om (A/nair ), Fin. conceived aM p,-e birth 1<) liJ,ht. Bn:ilth (RlloclJ) conceind and pve birth 10 Wisdorn_~'" From the statement, "Bn:ath pv" birth to Wi>dom ," ";e..,., that Ihi, enlin: pa, ... ~ ;$ spea k;", <.If mental $lale5. Waler. which represents Chakllmah consciousness. thus lives birth 10 G loom and danness. Th is is the hush;nl and nullification of Ihe senses, a. we!! as 1M celSJI "They sbould not he mi$lrd into thinkinl thai !My were actually eJl.l*'l ic:nci"l physio::al "''aler. In III<: realm of Cbakhmah consciousness. even the leiters only e~ist in a st ate of pure in formation. Th is information ....;sto .. · ch_ and void. w which cannot be , ...""d at all. or a. wmire and clay.w •. . hieh are totalty opaque. A5 e:.plained ea rl ier. the information and lellers in Chakhmah can onty be ITlsped thmut.h t~ im.alltf}' of Sinah (1:1). It is while in a state of Binah consciousness that this informatK>n can be dcK1ibed ",sin. such imagery .. angels and the Throne of Glory. The Sefer Yelzirah also implin Ihal the ph}'1.iatl world came into bein. throoch Chakhmah, while t~ spiritual world ha. it. roots in Binah. Thi, is be<.:ause a..khm.;th, Ihe cor>apt of civi... frffly. i. the root of meK}'. while Binalt, lite con«pt of rntn;nt. is the root of j ... "iC(C. Sinoe evil c..dinl to the ph;losnpMn. W ater represent. the primeval maliC', while Fire n:preKntsthe primitive aether.UJ The Throne 0/ Glory i. the vehicle Ihroup. ""hieh God Wsits· an d wlowcnw His essenoe so a. to be concerned with His creation, as above ( t:<4). Ae«>rd'n. to Ihe K.\bbalists, this Throne rePl"(!;Cllts the Univenc of Beri yah. II is in this ... niverse that the power of Binah is dominant. Th~ Serafim This is the hichest ..,..:' of alljds, ...'hich exist in the UniVffSt of Beriyah. Other Kabba/iSlS refer to them as Powen.. FOI"CIeS ~ Potentials = T~ II Tho: angd l and Scfi~ Inhabitant Universe At:zilut Beri)'ah yetri~ Asi),ah lC~uidl om A.,.. Ophanim Cbakhmah Binal! Nut Six MalJr.h ut Sows the anlCls in rdation to Ihe &firol. ~I M From these three Thai is, from Bn:ath, Fin: and Water. He /ounded His d>l'elling The word for "d"'ellinl~ he,.., is Ma'on. which " 'e e!lC(llJnlered p,..,viously ( r : $ ~ This lerm ",Ial~ 10 God as He enoompauo all creal ion, including lime and Ihe ,pirilual dimension. S n:alh. Fi,.., and Waler .'" the SOUrces of llIe spiri lual (Kel.,r· Malkhut) and time (Cha Jr.hmah· Birtlh) contin uum$, and Ihes<' e!K(lmpau all cn:alion. As it is wrillen ... The oomplete \Ier"5e is, ~He lays lhe beams of His upper dwnbm ",i\h water . . . He makes bmitM His anllCls. His ministers of flamin, fi,..,." v , SEFE M Y£TZIIu.H God's ~upper chambers" aIT the spiri tual uni~erses, while His Io",-rr chamber i, Ihe physical WQI'Id. The ~ilillJ ~ams of His upper chamben are said to be made of "'"aler. This men to the level above Beriyah. which is At1.ill.1\. In Atzilut, Chakhmah is dominanl, and Chakhmah is ITplCKnted by "'"ate!". The ,~ ~)'S that lhe anacls aIT made of "breaths w (ndIot), in !he plural. Thi. allu.de5 10 both dim:t and 10 rrlkcted brealh. The word for I~I hen> is MtJlakA, which a1S1) means ~~n~.w J UJI as breath ~r.ds and a-=>1:Jt> " ,::1 10"0::1 OV::lj'" t:' "0f( mo.\( 'I:lJ"!I"Il :f?v01:J :1l!)\ 01' om "Oon .m'lYP ;"1"0"0 .l"':t:::r \lllVI1 :"It:lOl:J :"Il!.ll mn om "O'l1 .nl'::1 ;"IllOt' .:"1"''0 10Ml l'J!l1:J :"Il!ll mlO o m V::I'Il' C1V'I VVI1 .'-:"1'0 IW1m l'~" :"Il!ll :nvo 0 111'1 fWY Ol1n -""1/ ,;1"'1'::1 lZlIll"Il \l'1J'1:J :'Il!n 0'11""1 :" 1;1::1 \lllVI1 I'NO'C' :un1 H, I'hOS' Ihm"lfl lm frt)/tl olmonK Ih, Elr mmlals lin Ihl' mysll'ry OIIM Ih," M Olhn:f Aid "'rm Shin {fIrII<)j And fir HI Ih,m ill ffi$ grrol Holml' tJnd "'flh Ihrm. HI' srolffi six ,xl"",ilin. FI,,,,' Ifr JM-/ffi -tJbo",,- tJnd IQCed IIp,,,,,,,d and srolffi il wilA »4d flrlI Va. ~). Si.~: Ifl! waled "br/ow" and faced dow" ..urd and sroled II wllh IIrh Ywd VtJv {'r:'I}Sn"n-, III' srolffi "raJl" al1dfaud straighl ahrad tJnd srolni it with Vav lW Ifrlt f:M). Eighl: If' sroled · ...nl - and faa'd back"""rd and srolffi it wilh Va. flrlt rut! (>:TO). "'inr: III! seaJffi "_th - al1d faced 10 I~r right and sraled it wilh Yud Vol. ffrlt t-rr). Trl1: Ill'sralfd · /IOI'lh " al1d IIJCed 10 Ih, I'll olnd sroled /1 wilh 111'11 V",· YIIonetk famili" all" Guttural$: Labi. ls: Aid H eh Oct Eyin ~ Vav Mem Peh Palatals: Gimd Yud Kaf Kuf Ii is immn1;a tely obvio ... s that Ihe first \ellen on these IfOUPS an: the tim three lellen of lhe alphabet . Of thel<', Akf is one of the Ihree Mothers. while Bet Ind Gimc:llre amol\llhe Double.. In these thrn: IfOIIPS, llien:fore, the firsl sim ple leiters are Heh, Va .. and Yud. Thne all' the letters of the Tetrauammaton. The primary o rderilll ofthno: leiters is Yud Heh Vav. AccordinS ID the book Ru.::irl. Ihis is becaUK Ylid includes the first four Ielten of the alphabet. y ... d has • numerical value of 10, and this is the sum of the tim four tellers (I + 2 + 3 + 4 _ 10). Ancr 4 comes 5, Ihe numerical ...alue o r Heh, and then 6, thr numerical value of V. ... , .. Funher siJnificance or the$e klten is di$CU.~sed abo.-e (1;1). In the mystery of /he three Mothers The thlft lenen of the Di ... ine Name:. Yud Heh V. ... (tT'), parallel lhe three Mothers.. Akf Mem Shin (1100). See Table 12. As Ihe Sefer Yellirah l.ter upiaint(J:4), M..... i~ ...... Ier, Shin is fire. while Aleris breuh-air. H()90-e"er, "'1: al$O know that Yud repreoent5 Chakhmah. ",hieh is the arcllety)!e or waler, .nd Heh represent5 Binah. which is fire. We theTefore have I rela1ionship bel"'"C'en Yud and Mem. at well It ~1"'""en1 Heh and Shin. V." has numerical .... lue of 6, and lherefore represenl5 1he 5ix basic SpaCial direelions. '" It also represent5 the 5i~ Sefirot: Chesed, Gevura h, T iferet. Neluch, Hod, and Y~. Amon. tile elements.. Va" is said to represenl Air and Brealh. Indeed, in Hebrew, the word Table I! . The lhrtt MOI Mrs. M'm Shin AId , • • Waler Fo. Air Breath Chakhmah Binah The SiK Y,' H ,' Y•• ", , "for "d irection" is RUlldr. the same as Ihal for Brulh. V,v is therefore derived from Alef. As "'~ lhall 5«, Ihe lh= MOlh.e.. (Aid Mem Shin) repres.enl thesis. antithesi, and iiynthnis, the bwiie triad of Sefer Yetzi ... h (3; I). Hell: the lexl explains how • three-dimensional spa« is produc«l from 1~ 111= concepts. Thnis and anlilhesis Il'preSClu 1"'"() <:>pposile dir«tion. in .. 0"" dimen.ional li..." TOSdher with iynlhesi., IlIe), yidd three ekmenlL Sin~ Iha>: Ihlft ekme nt5 ean be ~rmuted in l ix difTe~1 ....y.. Ihey define a three-dimensional space h.villi Sil dirKtions.'" He sealed "abolV< .. The", a re .. number o f wa)lt in which Ihe dil'tttions Ire represented by the 1C11cn. In the Gra version. "'~ have Ihe followina: up YHV no down eaSI HYV vYH p~ :1'1 "'til VHY "" south YV H ;>l' nonh HVY p~ In Ihis system, Ihe uis is de\ermi..w. by the nCl,llral kiter VI VN. As mentioned twier, v ... d is thesis, Heh is antithesis, and VaY b synthe.i•. Since it represents synthesis, Va" il tllerefore the zero point. which is the point on the axi" S« T.ble L3 a nd filllre I L. U. , , NORTII " --------,,,-- "'"'" Fine Col~m D II t. ...u-., Se,vnd C'oIumD I l~ ...............'"Uh .. Third Column , (l~ ~pI_n ~ DOWN FiR"'" II . TM Ora ,... rt iott . 'I' ate Ou,,• {O T~ble 13 . Various Wlys 511011' lolli' Sudi.· Zoh... rzo u, An' YHV HYV VY H VHY VVH HVY YHV YV H HYV HVV VVH VHY YV H HYV VYH VHV VHV HVY YVH HYV VHV VVH VHV HVY VYH HVV VHY VVH VHV HVY W6' 500,I1 h North I Gta v ........ _~ , ~_. • • , dire<"li<)flS art sy mOOl i>.cd . l~ G.' Eo" • " Direction Do~ • ~ __ ­ HYV YY H VVH VHV VVH HVY YHV YVH HVY HVV VYH VHY Tt""'- ~. Dcw". Ru''lId. IlIImboIl. IIotril, Elicm at w....... (I~ , 6 7 i , " C/Io;>oo.r 010 .. II~U ( .od ~ (lou. F.tIno 11"",,,_ : "lb. Tbert ",;PI be. mOKako in ItIiI , .. ' oj""" YVH .. ropoo,od IW~_ It ~ d .... II< Iii< , ... 0..."' ....... _ .. v ........ ~ ;, . ' ;2( ( 6J1>~ ~. lIa~_ K"",,_ """,,nw, ... (/>. )10), stM., HaArl.. ........... l l1L Tib""" z.o;- U • .b. Iti""",i", l :S. Set Gno ... TIh"", Z. K.,,,,, ""'*" The position of Ihe V,v th llS dclerminn 1he axis. The up down axis is Terest:nled by Ihe tan t:OIumn, the elllll ~1 uis by ll>c fint column. and lhe north soulh axis by Ihe middle column. The direction il then determined by the remlini", two !etten, Yud and Hell. If Ihey a", in direct order. YH (:..), then they define Ih e positive direct ion on Ihe axi s. If tbey are in revene orcin", HY (0:1), then they define tile nep live direction . The _ond importanT system is found in the Shon Version . and used by most of the commentaries" He~, the system is: ., do~ east "'"est ~" ~"h H e~ , YHV YV H HYV HVY VYH VHY ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ the axis i. detcnnined by the !ener in the first column" The assiplment i. V,", H,h ,• V.. • .,up down elSt west The positions orthc lasl two lellers then determine ..."helller il is in the positive 0<" nepli'"e direction alonl the ai ven axis. The sy~tcm found in the Lon. Version ;$ very similar to that of the Ora, ucept for tile up do"'"n diT«lion" uaminin, il carefully, SffEk Y£TZIlt,\.H . . Scfirah Di l'tttion 0"", loOuth OcvuJ1lh T irell't Netudl Hod Y,"", . Ari _. -" "front tast "' "' ",o. ~, TZ lob" YH V HVY VHY YVH HYV VYH YHV H VY VY H YY H H YV VHY nthl ~n> . . YH V HVY VH Y YY H HYV YV H susp«l$that it oo&inilly lOllS the same as the Gra venion, u~pI that the fint t'll'O combinations 'Nell' confused. This is supported by the fact that the ~rmutation YV H is repeated lwice. The Saadia ~enion is very mu.ch like the ShOll Version, u~pt thai the ~rmulalion< Il'prnenlin& CUI .nd 1OI(51'1l: inlerchanaed. Hi&hly lil'lif.cant i. the <)'Stem of the Ari. pR:5tnted in his di.sc\q.. sian of the mystical meditalion.lS5Ociated ...ith the Foor Species. The Foor Sp:dcs «>r>sW. of the citron (tI'rcr). palm (luia>'), myrtle (/rodQs), and willow (an:l>I:lII). The all' laken on 1M festival of Suo::oI (tabmlao10). foll"" "i", the commandment, "On lhe first day, you shall cue fruit of the c1 lroo 11ft. braoches of palm tl'ft:S, bou&hs of myrtle mn. and willows oflhe brook (Leviticus 23:40), Theie species I"' .... ved in aU six di~ion ... nd acmtdinllO the An. the I ppropo i~te letter combinalion m~1 be meditaled upon for cadi di~ion ,'" Each of these directions is al ..... paim:! will! iu appropriate Sdirah, OBC' M , ," " "oo ""'" i ' .. " , ~ , ," ' "' . N • ..,•• h O. " ""pre- Tile An bqins wilh Chesed (Love). Ihe fint Sefirah, ""hich sents Ihe lIOulli. lakinlthe letten of tile Name in their natural omer, YHV (no). Sec Table 14. To deterrni"" Ihe order for Ihe opposite dir«1 ion. Ihe An then make$ U,," of. ayslem used by Ihe Serer Yetzirah itself. (2:4). T he lell stales IhailM t ....." prime opj>Qllit"'l.'" On"1f (ANG llJ) meanin, Mdeli&hl.~ and Neaa (NCA Vll). meaninl a M pla.~.M In fonni". an opposite, ;1 takes the fil1il leiter and place5 it lit he end. This is precisely whal is done \0 produ« Gcvurah (51n:"llh). ,"'hich R\>res.ents the nonh. The Yud N ...... hich was al the bqinnina. is now placN al the end, producin,lhc combination HVY (OTII. The north $()Uth axis is then n:presentcd by Ihe IWO lelten HV ('!:l). The up down axis is similarly defined by tile ~tcn YV "~I, with Ihe position of the H (~) delerminin, the dinxlion . In Ihis system. Ihe first leller is also sipl ificant. For SOUth a nd up, the initial kiter is Y N. wllilc for north and down, it is H ('). Both o fthc"" 01.«' OppOlites in the thrtt column repn:sentation. The east west axis is on lhe neut'lll len> point on both the up do ... n line and on the nonh SOUlh line. In II!(, lhrtt roIumn n:p,esenlation, Tifen:t (ast) and Yesod (wesl) an: bolh in the middle line. Since both the middle line and the len er V (1) , ep,uen t synthesis, Ihe ~n:sental ion of both the"" diTtCtions begins ... ilh a Vay. })' See fig· u«,12. The syslem o f the Zohar is naetly Ihe i.l.me as tllal of Ihe Ari. except tllat eaSI and ......1 an: interchanged. The system of Ihe Tikuney lollar II .... a similar prindple. bUI some ... hal diffen:nlly. Later we shall see Ihat II!(, lwelve possible permillalions of YH VH n:pn:senl Ihe twelve dialonal boundari ... (~,2). Each of the six basic directiOlU can include I""" oflhe dia gonal boundal"i«. The tinl of Ihese is r~resented by Ihe sewnd Heh at the end of II!(, tripIC!, and the sewnd. with this Heh at the beginnin&• • • We can now undersland the conceptual nalu,"" of the !kfirot. The ITHKI primary n:lalionship po!lIib1e ill lhal which exists be' ...-...:n a10r a nd emllion. This is the cause e ffect n:lationsbip. Cause is Keler . ...·hile Effect is Malkhul. O~ Ihe ('(Incepts of Cause a nd Effe.:t niSI. another concept comes inu) beina. nalmly Ihal of Opposites. If Opposil'" e xisl, simi_ lariti es must also exist. Two new conceptS therefore rome inlO beillJ. These a n: Similar_ ity and Oppositeness. In the lan,uage of philosophy these are thesis a nd antilhesis. In our lerminolOlY. Similarity is Chakhmah, ... hile ere-- SEFEIl YETZlRAH " T i f..., Vt" Urih ----::;;7'' ' --1---- <""" '" Fi~ .. ~ /J. nw six diru rilHos i~ sp«~ . Oppo$itcnew is Binilh. ~ are the Yud and init ial Hell of the Telntlnmmaion. Once Similarity 100 Opposition exist. anolller ooncept comes into beinl. namely Relationship. In philosoph ic .erml, 1hi. il the syn_ thesis bet..~n thesis and antithesis. In our present temlinolOl)'. tlli. i. the Vav of the Tetrqrammaton. The word MV.V~ means I hook, and Ihe letter Vav IS. prdil means "and. " In both senses. il dcnolCl oonn«"lion and relationshi p. AI this point in the Josical sequence, .... e hl"e five concepts: Cause and Effea , Simila rity ant of Relationship "':" introduced. only fOUT abslT1K1 points eI~led : Kele. a nd Mall:hul, and Chakhmah and Dinah. It i. with the c:on~ of Relationship th.ata thr«-di~nsional oonc:cptuII oontinl,lum <;.'OmCS ;IliO ("i,ten«. This drfi...,. .i~ d irKlions, and hence:, Ihe n umerical value of Vav is 6. ElIch of ItI(, four a bstracl ronccpts ttl(,n Jive. rise 10 a relat ionship. Chakhmah lives rise to Chesed (Love), 8 inah li' ·n rise 10 Gcvufllh (SIret1llh), Keler lives rise 10 Tife"" (8eluty). and Malkut li'·n rise to Ynod (Foundalion). As di5CUS5eil earlier, in a spirilual sense, Si milarity is closeness. while Oppmition il d istance:. In order 10 live, the liver must he close to the r«ipienl. In I spirilual sense, th ere must he an elemenl ofsimiLarity Mlwun liver and reeip~nl. Therrlore. Ch.khmah, which i. Similarity, livn rise 10 Chesed, "'hiclt i. the concept nf liyi~ Convervly, Binah, which i. Oppositioo, Jives rise to Gevurah, ttl(, ronccpl of wilholdinl- " Tife..,1 is similarly derived from Kelt'r, the ronttpl of Cause. In order 10 have Ihe m.uionshi ll of CauSf. an element mUSI live the pre<:isc Ilmount of ui$lenee or motivation required for Ihe dTe(1. This i. the roncqn of mea. ured Jivin" rcprexntcd by Tifcm. T iferet i. ~auty, the IJO/den melln. Since Tifem is deriva:l from KeIer. il would be Cltpt'CtCd 10 be above C1Jesed and GevIiml. Howeva-. sina: TIfan is also ~ synthesis bct ..en Chnd and Gevurah. il is 'n" o'ly ItlHUCI1led as bein& below them. Malkh ut. I~ concept of Effttl, is \lsuaUy said 10 be the feminine .rel>ctype of Clntion. Sin~ Yesod is derived from Malkhul. YQQd is nalu rally dra ...-n In ;1 and motivated 10 allich it""lf to it. Ii is for Ihis 1'U5OII Ihll Yesod is said 10 p.arallcllhc sexual orpn. II is called Yesod (Foundation) becausc it is the lowest of the six. Derived from the orisinal four, there are now four new concepts: Chesed, Gevurah, Tife..,t and Yesod. Once Ihe oonctp! of Relationship has been introduct.t these four ron«plS Ill't no Ionltr ""'I'd )' a!:. uract points in ton<;. plual space. They Ire tonrteC1ed by tM COncepl of Relat>Onship. The 1"-0 pain. Otned-GcY\lrah Ind Tiferet-Yesod Ire like two Cf05Silll lines. Th is yields four directions in a two-dimensional con tinuum. The2 two dimensions can be re p..... nled in physicallPllC':. The Tiferel-Yesod axil can represent e..t_ ....esl . .... hi)e the Che>cdGcvurah axis can represent 5Outh-nOfth. Th is then yields I twodimensionll OOfltinuum. Siner the COocetlt of Relat ionshi p exists.. the relationship betw«n 1M two d imensions tbem ... lvn is also si,"ilkan!. In the conceptual spate depiaion, 1his would be rep~nled as a line dra wn betw«n the two uislin,lines. The Cau ..... Effea or Keler-MIJkhut relat iOflshi p is thaI which is primlry. This i. "'P~nted by the Tifere' -Ycsod ui$. The !h~5antilhesis relalionship ...·as introduced o nly to make the C1iu~ffect reialionYti p pouible. ""flHo ,,,"iow.ntit hesil or Ch akhmah_Binah rdI.tionship is therefore secondary. T his is represenled by the ChCSoedGcvunlh ax i•. The Tifcre!-YCKId uis is therefore the primary dimension. while 'he Chesed-GeV\lTall axis is the aecondary d imension. This )'ields I lotally I>CW concept, namely Ihe Quality of bei n, primary Of secondary. These, in lum , form I. MW, th ird dimension, which Clln be related to the u p do""\1 dir«tion. Th i. ;. tM axi. !i ntin, NelZach (Victory) and Hod (Splendor~ See Filu", 13. Wilh Ihe introduction of these two concepts. Ihe six Sdirot repfeRnled by lhe Vav Ire complete. These are Chesed, GcY\lTllh. Tiferel. Ne,ach. Hod and Ynod. Thoc si s Sefirol I"C"pfeRn l the li x direction. in .~e. T oselhtr with the ori&inal four, these .i. yield Ihe Ten Sefiro!. . SEFt:R YETZIRAH 1: 14 C':"T~ nnrn on (lmI't) ~l:Ij nn'!lt) 0'00 '01'( m"lll DIe rn"'Il:l rm :m" , !'lily w v l~ rm C"" J"Wtn miD ~ ",.. lilt Tell &{irOl 0/ NOIl!irrg,,6S: 11Ir BfflJlh Q/ Iht Uyj~ God Bm>IJ. from Br~11t WaIn [rom Brl'tllh f"irt./rom Wall'!' Up rJowrr f'OlIl Wf'J/ "enh _ t i l. A.ilk from tMir theoretical impli(-aliQns, the Ten Sefiro! also have imponan! m~ticaJ and meditath'c sianificancr. The Sefer YetziBh, in Ihis first chapter, has presen led • system of mcd illll; n. on the Sefirol and o f bind iR' on~l( 10 them. One may use the leuen to dimb the T rr:e of Life, but tile SefiI'Ol are the points where one must res!. There is aclually an imponant apparent contradict ion in Ihe text. In onc xction ( I :6). t)w, te;,;t says. "'Their vision is like the .p~.rancc of lishln;n" .. they speak of lhem 'runninl and rcllll'nin,,'~ Thi, WO\IId imply llIal il is impossible 10 II<'<:- the Sefirol for mOrt Ihln an inSlan l. ju51 like . flash of liablnin ... Loin, lIo",ner, 1M lut stales, "If)'Oow to oscillate bet ...-.:cn Dinah consciousness and Chakhmah OOMICCiouSJ105. On th is levd, hi: can meditate on the Sefirot as ttn Ikpths, allo"';nt the mind to reach OIIt to the infinil y of uch of these dt-pths. Si nce he is still in a state of oldllalin, menlalily. he IoeCI the Sdirol lite fl ash.,. of liJ,htnillJ. Mrunni", and returnin&The ten infinite directions. however. represent. state of scpI""lion and d isunity. This i. tM ~nce of Dinah. The initiate must M ,. . tllerefore "imbed theiT end in their tq:innirll" ( 1:7). He must oontemplate the point II infinily. wheT\' all these opposin& d irections come 100flMt- as one. is ..,.,...,mine thai o:annol be ......... "plisbed with Dinah ronsciouS/\tSS. This stale of oonsciousne$s QUI only ima&ine Ihinp 'oTI"bally, or depicllhinllS in ph)'Sic:al term!. The point II inrmily is both inflnile and infinitesimal. and therd~. cannot be depicted. II can only be C(llIltmpial<:d with OIakhmah oonseiousnesI. This,~, As the text notes. Ihis n:prncnts the unity \h.\ preceded tbe conOXpl of number. [\ introduces a device ,-cry much like I ~n koail, aUi"" · lkf~ one, what do you count: Whit is the number that prttedes all number? Both tile point II infin ity and 1M kedn an: meam 10 train !he mind 10 visualize absolute nolhinaness. The Ari IIOles Ih.1 KeitT, the hi&hes\ orlhe Sdirol, is often desi&naIN by the word Ayin. meanin, "ROlhin .. • The [nfinile Be;"" the ~I ab<'lve KeIt T, C&nnolevcn be desianlled by this word. The only ....:In:! 111.\ can be u5e'd is £jJQ, ,.'hk h, ltIXOf"din& 10 the Ari, dClIOles a oolh inaneu Ih.1 Ihoush! (Bin.h) cannO! arasp al all. II h.s been uid Ihal lhe besl ,",'ay 10 dHcribe ~b5oIule oolhinaness is 10 speak ofil as .....'hal you s.ee behind your head. MSince vision d~s nol c~iSl in Ihe back orlhe head, whal one sees Ihen: is aMaIUle OOlhinlnels.. If I 15k )'OtI whal you s.ee behind your head. you answer Ihal you s.ee nOlhina. ConlemplalillJ on wbal one sees behind one's head is Iherd,,", • IIood way to leam how 10 visulize ab50lule oolhinaneu, In aeneral. Ihe SOIJJ is said 10 consisl offive pans: Nefcsh. Ruch. Neshamah. Chayah and Ytth idah. Of these, only tM fi~1 three, Ncfesh, Ruach and No:shamah. any effect on Ihe mind. The lasl IWO, Chayah and Ytthidah, are called Mcn vdopmenl$M (makijifl). whid! annOI enler the mifld. '" Neshamah , the hiJhcsl pan of lhe soullh.t Mcnlcn Mthe mind, parallels the Sefirah of Binah. See T.ble 1~ on pal<' 90. ChaJdllnah consciousness is above Ihout,ht. and is like IOnlCth ini Ihat n ists 0\11· side 1M mind. Or. '$ in the anaJor.y used earlier. il is like what we Msec~ behind OUr h""ds. JUSllikc IOmclhinl behind Ihe head can only be secn if reflected in. mifTOr, 50 Chakhmah OOtlsciou.nel. can only be IfIIspcd when reflected and clothed in Binah. With reillion to am· sciO\ls Ihou"'l, Chalthmah consciousness il called Mnolhinaness.w", It is in Ihis contnt that the lexl ")'I, MBridic )'Our mouth from speakina and your hean from thinkina.M M Hean~ denoles Binah con· sciO\lsnc'l$, and hence. it is sayinllhat on this level, the iniliate mUSI blank OUI Binah consciousOC$S completely. This is accomplished by ha,"" ,. " T ab~ SUER I'ETZlkA H I ~. Le~~l . Yechidah """h Neshamah Ruach Nefesh of lhe "",I. Kelt. CbathmBh Binah Tbe Si . Malkhut _.M Nothi n~$11 Atzilut lImy.1t So=h Yetzirah Asiyalt A<:tion contemptalina nOlltinJ,lles&. He must maintain this leycl. and is 10000rdin&ly instructed, "If Y(H,I' ,",art I'\In,· back \0 Binah, Mretum 10 Ihe platt," Tlli, "platt" is Chakhm ah oonK iou5nen, which the initiale has already anaiMd. Ona 11\(: initiate has n:ached I. point where he un maint.in I. SlalC of Chakhmah oonsciousnel, he il rudy 10 actlll.lLy bqin climbin, tile Tree o f life, which is tile ladder of the &fimt. Hebre .... is ",rinen without vowels, and therefore, Ihe third person and lhe imperative are wriuen u a<;tly the same. We have Iranilaled the lasl PllravaPh, "He Kiled north and flced 10 the left, and He scaled ;1 wilh VHY." Th is, IIowever, CIIn .110 be read in lhe imperative; "Seal nonh. face 10 the left .•"d se.1 il wilh VH Y." In I. sim ilar manner, the exprnsion, "He enaraved it and He carved it," can aho be read in the im lKrativc , "Enarave it and c.rvc it V If understood in this manner, sections 1:9-ll an be read IS instl'\loCtio ns rather tllan as a theory o f creation. (In Append i~ I, I 1Ia,'c tran$la ted the Shon Version rompletety in the imperative. to demonstrate how it reads.) The supposition tllat this ill describinl a tecbn ique is su ppaned by the last section o f the Serer Yetzirah i\Jelf, wh ich sa~ o f Abrah.lm , VHe bound the 22 leI ters of the Torah in his tonluc, .. He drew them in ",,,tcr, kindled Ihem wilh fire, qitated them wilh breath " (6:7). The initiate bq;ins by medilalillj on Kcter, the initial vBrealh of Ihe U vi na God. v This Brealh mull be brQuJhI down I(l ihe level (If Y("S(l(\ (Foundation). In doinl this. he musl con te mplale the eslCn-tt of vYoice, B..,atb and Spce<:h." Ordinary thouJht il verbal, and hence, consislS of "'"Oro.. These ...... rds \x.msiSI of lellers. Thes.e are nOI physical lellers. but mental, COnttptual lellers. These ooncep!uaJ letters. however, a re bu ill OUI of vYoioe. Brealh . Speech." Henne, in meditatin, on thne concepl5. one is actuall y contempla!i", Ihe very roots of thoushl. In the Looll Version , lhe lUI concl udes, ' Sl"'«h is Ruat:h }fuKCld~h (Di vine Inspiration)." Ruarll HuKodnh, however, i. above thou","l. He ncr, the ·"",ed," .... hich Ihe te>ct is speakinl o f, is a v vspeech Ihal p~ Ihought. TIle ~ Rep is ~fmath from Breath" TIle lUI SIal<'$. " "with ;\ ensnv", and carve 22 lellers." Tile KabbaliSlS np]ain Ihal "engra... ing· Ind · carvin," denote meditali~ let'hniqlln. This is supPOned by tile last section (6:7), wh ich stales Ihal Abrallam "Looked. sa .... , understood , probed. <'-naraved, and carved, and was SU«ltSSful in cn:alion. TMy leacllihal "engravillj" denOles a pr"OCe$$ when: one depicts • Idler in one's mind. "Can"in,- Ihen mean. Ihat thi. lwer is ..,paTaled from all OIlier thou&lllS, to lhal the cnlin: mind i. fiUed wilh il. !}! One may do this by conlem plalin, alel1er or lener combination unlil all Olher imagn a nd IhoUJhIli .'" banished from the mind. Altcm.n;vely, thi. may be .CO)mplj.~ by CIuOI;", a leiter in a manner Ihal shall pY'eS(nlly be described. This i. Ihe stage of Mal~ul, whe.., one OIands II tile bnl, one actually brinp Ihe influx inlo Ihe phY1'ical domain. The method of drawinl the influx into thac lower &firot invol ves rontemplatinltlle tll ree leiters Yud Hell Vav (1"'). These 5bouLd be v~uaLi~cd as if .... riuen in the Mhurite tCtipt. with bl.err::: fi~ on wllite fire. S« filUn: 14. Tllese leiters should IPJl!1r lIullf'. fiLlinll1>e erui", mind.'" The idea ofblack fin: ~ not j uSi tile Ibsence ofli&l\t. but neplive lisht ..... The blld; mU~1 be so interue tllit il is brillilntly black. jUlt as I lishl is brilliantly wllite. This ;s the black fin: with which the lelten must be depicled. While COniempLalinl the letter combination .. one 5houLd fKe in Ihe appropriate directi<)n. ei ther ph)"~ia.lLy or mentally. After rompleli", all si. direct ions and permulI.tions, tbi. part of tile exercise is compLele. What .till remains are the astr010Jkal appliUli<)ns of Ihis technique, wllich will bt describtd in chapters 4 and S. This is the p.oun dc-sttibtd in lhe calC of Abl1lham . "He ilniled them with the Seven [Planets). he directed them with lhe Twelve oonstelillions" (6:7). CHAPTER TWO ,. Copyrighted ma~rlal " ,,':lc> 2: 1 '10' t'I1'111N O'IW'I D'i"V :'lilT).' C'JWl m7w:J V:J'CI1 mIl/t ;'I:l1T'l '\=11 m:n 'P 1ilO' ,, '~ mIl/t ,,1:117 .JlCl iCiD J"IOOn '0 11\0« .,.1:117 .00nJ·:J V"'OC jm V'1)tl nn "'Ml( ' f( 11''''C' '\7 1'1'17;' .,.",01( :O'ru'J lIwm,..,,,,, Foundation ut/":k' TlrrN }.la/11m &>... n Doubles and r ..n..- £1~m~nlal;J. Th~ Tlrrw MOIlrm tJr~ AIQ M~m Sir,,, {JII:MJ, T111~jr foundation is " pall a {!Gil of m"il of liability clfld Ih~ I~ of drcr« d«idill8 MW«11 Ihm•. fT/Ifn MOIlrm. A/Q A/~m Slrill (vmc) M f m IlIlltu. Slrillllisws ond AIQ is Ih~ BfflUIr of air dt'Cidi1l8 MW«11 Ihfm .} Twt'niY·/\l.(I Foundalion ulters Havin, complfled Ihe initiuion in lo Ihe Ten Sdirol, Ihe ItK\ now discusses the 22 !ellen of tile Hell,", 11pbaoo. Three Mothers Tile first sct of lellen In: the Three Mothers., whiet. will be d is"",ned in f.. rther detail in chapler 1. Here they Ilt'e introduced becausc the)' define tile thni$-antitbcsis-l}'llthesil Itrvct llre Ihl\ is cenlral to the tuchinp ofSefcr YetziJah . 1bcy aho ~ as IUl introduction 10 the meditali~ techniques involvin, the letten. Thne Ih",", klle"" Il:pieOCTlI 1M lh= coIumnl into which lhe Sefirot are d ivided. The ri&hl hand column, headed by Cbakhmah, is n:ptcxnled by Mem. The left column , headed by Binah, il n:pre- • SE~ R YE'TZIRAH Ooenlcd by Shin. T he tenler C(llum n, beaded by Kei tT, ;s revres.enied b y Ald". As discussed earlitt. Cbakhmah is watcr (which is lIere rep~ sellied by Mem l, Binah (which is ,he Aiel). ~ fire (wlliet\ is Shin), and KeleT is ~.th-air A pan of merit The Hebrew "''Ord for Mpan M here is Kill. This word can denote the pan of. scale, but ;1 also dCnolcslhe palm of'Ile hand. Likewise, ,he word whon tan be used for Ihe lonlue of. balance, tile pOinter which ;ndicalC'5 when the IWO PIIns all' in ~uil;brium. ill usual meaniJ\i, however, is the ton,ue that is in the mouth.' Therefore, on one hand. w letters AId Mem Shin (1)'' '''') "'present 1he two pan. and !onlut: of. balance. On tile O1MT hand, Ihey represent \"" IWO hands. and the Moovcnanl betW'CCT1 ~M (1:3), which is the (onlUe. The /Qngu~ oj dl!Cree The Hebrew word for Mdccrec M here is Chot (;n). This rom" from the 1001 Olakak !i'P"). meaninl 10 Menll1O vc. It is Ihe MIO"l<'e of balance Ihal -en&fl\vcs' ,,,,, !ellen. T his is represented by the letM M ter Alef {" j, the balii. of the alphabet. In the most elemental terms, Mem, Shin and AJefrepresent thesis. antithesis, and synthesis. The a naJo&y is t.h.at of a !Calr. (~ filU'" 1~.) The", is a pall o f merit and a paD of liabil ity. This is '.ery much like the scale used to wei&h one's meri ts and sins. which is mentioned in the T almud.' In the teTttCf is the fulcl"\lm and pointer, both "'presented by tile AJef. which ;1 the ~tOD1u.e of dec~. M , • F;gur~ /5. TM ~al~ that "7iglu muiu and ,in•. " If one In practic.al application , theoc leU"rs can also ~ u~. wishes 10 creale I silWltion in .... hich he him~lf or anou...r prnOn is 10 be broU&h1 \0 ll1e side of merit, O~ doe$ so by mali na use of Ille Icue.- Mem (=).1 The tec:hniQue5 mall be discusxd laleT. Similarly, if one wishes to brin,_" enemy to the side ofliability, so\hal he shO\lld be judaed harshly on hith . one makes use of Ih e lener Shin (.,). AleC (,,) is ,,!.Cd 10 brin, a person 10 be judie:etiel "" as ablc 10 perceive the Oa)'Oi and enler into lhe Slate of prophecy. In our presenl Icrm inoJosy, Chuhmal woold be lhe jntu_ fla: bet"'een Binah conKiousness and Chakhmah consciousneu. It therefore appears OUI of the ~midst of the fire, ~ since it arises from I Slate of Hinah consciousness. Sina: M and Sh arc tl>c dominanl consonants in Chashmah. it is pouibk lhat the WQrd itod f ..... used u a manln whcn lhe prophet swun, be\..-een Binah and Chakhmah consciousneu. "The Ippearance of Chashmal~ would then be the visual nperiena: that one would ha"c durin, luch a SlIle of 05Cillat ion . Even the more advanced prophets, who could enlcr. Sllte of dtaklimah consciousness It will. would use the term Chashmal 10 describe tltis interfacc.' ".;-cordinllo tl>c Talmud. lhe WQrd Chuhmal cornel from lWO word .. O,asJ" meani", ~sikn<;e,~ ~ nd Ala.I, indicalin,lpeeelt. It can therefore be lranslalw IS ~speatin. silence.'" It is a double sensation, where OIX' is uperiencin, tl>c ~silence~ of Chakhmah consciousness • • nd Ihe ~,pecd'~ of Ilinah consciousnas" lhe same time. The lWO p;lrts of the mind are e1periencin, different Ihinas limullanwusly_ Such double sensalion eln be easily experienced. Tate I red &lISS and plaa: ;1 over Ihe ri .... ' e~. and place a veen &1_ O~Cf Ihe left " :~;..i:.i . .:'i?:' :.. ", :., :" :,,. ' . .. .. -'." . . - ' '''-' ,::'1 :.~~, : :1:'., ~~.~ '~'_"4 ~. :'7 ;~ ~ ~~·:.i Fig""" 16. TM WOTd KQIo ;" on amI)' .drh Ih~ FI'(,," Shoshan Sodoc (The RO§e of MyJterie:s), "IV' primcl< the EmU_n, the Torah ""pons that Mose. Mlooked hm: (koJI) and Ibm: (koirr (Ex.,. dus 2:12 ). In HeblU'. both "hereM and MthereM.re KoI! (>0)., word which baSI numerical value of2S. The KabbalislS say that tbl$ rep_ iCO ts lhe twenly-five combinations between two letten Ibat l re poWbk with the five primary VO'Ndt.. " ~ fi,l,Ire 16. spiritual ~ntt Ale! is Ihe Brealh 0/ air AJefis. silent consonant, and I I such, it l) in Ille pal' (rotm) ilt the IQl1gtJe ".Qyin $amah Slr/" Rnll TztJdi ill rite INth r" I"""J IkI Va. M"m Pe}, (oy:roJ in lire lips. (Gullural,) (Pala/all) (U"palJ) (Dr"lall) {UJbia/1} Ife t'ngra~~ them wilh voice As uplained earlier. means to sound a letter . .... hile ~(arve~ means to upras il. Some versions add. ~He bound them to tite tonsue like a name is bound 10 a bumirtJ ooaI.~ Th is is si milar to an e"pression used above 0 :7). llJfi~ ~elllrave~ places The divisi<;ln OftM letters inlO five VOOP" is prnented 111:"" bu t this is the only time that thi, is mrntionW in &fer Yeuirah. No appa",nt ",aJOn or application for this division il ~ .. en. One hint may rome from what we ha .. e written above (I: 13). The thll'e letters 0( the Name, Yud Heh Vav (no), are lite first of the T...,h'e Elementals 10 be found in the first three phonetic familia ' " ....hen taken in alphabetical order. lUllural., labial •. and palatals. See Table 18. Then: an: tWO basic 'NlI~ in which thQe families an: ordered. The finl WlILy i. lhal which i. prevnttnspicuDu$ly miMin, in tb(, Sefer Yetzirah is thai of the vo...·el •. Here apin. Ihey fonn .IfOUP offi'·e. the mlin vowels ~inl Cbolam (0). Kametz (a), Tzereh (e). Chink (il, Ind Shurek (u). S« Tlble 21 on pajC 104. These are often alluded 10 in the mne monic Piluchey Chotam (w;w>~), Ihe ·silOel eDlflvi",~ (Exodu 5 28: 11) of the Bible. '" Another mnemonic i. Table 18. ~t ic division or I"" alphabel Mothers GUllura!. Labi.1s Palatal. LinJUlb Dental. , , • Doubles Elemental. (Finals) ,~ "• m , , ? "" ~ ,, , .", I ,,. SEfI.R Y£TZJRAU . . G.,,_Ari I. 2. G Ullunl. Palatals 3. Lincu als ,, [knil ls Labi. ls Gutlural. Labials ,~ ,~ ""'" Linltuals .." IXntals GUllll rals Palatals lin&uals 3. ,. ,. i';)'l Palalals ,~ • ,,,01" ""' ~nlals • 'Q OO LinlUaJ. ""'" j ~nd doublt'd kncn . ", OW ""'" Labial. """ .", ~ M em ~ P, h ~ Table 2 1. Thr primary vuw..lil 1. 2 3. ,., .." ,~ Tudi N .. ,~ I>rnu.11 ,~ .." Labi.1s Palatals J ,~"" GUllurals ,~ Table 20. Parallcl b(,lwecn phoodic f.m;lies I. 2. "","" Shon Vel"5ion ""'.m 0 Kamell: A Tureh E Chi ri k 1 Shuru k U ,, ,, X Table 22 Ordering or , ho VQwel •. Tikunq' Zoha rl T ikuney ZoIIa"" Rabbi Einar Rok~ach' I .,oi ll i II eo" order of PiIW:hty Chot" II a e i (> order of Nuuu tyikDn Rabbi Elazar Rokeacb' a .:io ll Rabbi Rabbi Emek Rabbi 0'" Abnham A1:>uIan. ' Joseph Glkall li . ' HaM.,lekll' Moshe Cordevero' I Tit• ..., ZoNf. loltOodloctlooo t.e.~ e L II o ui ea u aieo oill a e s (200). L9 ( J.I,o, , liN. 1.'1'(>(1""';.'0(140). JO(U~~ • C _ ........... Sof.. v .. ritaIo ~b, So< .J.~ P'..... RI _ " , 11 :%. • I/W" ' 4b. H..s.tkMi " •. q _ I. ,...,.. /1.;_,... 11 : I .. $tit< II. NiJih,tj, • O;-E,o:l~ , a. , £_H. M~9<. • I'ordet 11., _", XU. Table •'3 • Phonic HI'OUP> aoo Sefiroc . Ciullurals Palatals Linlu.1s [)c,ntals .... bial. - J; i ... " "'" Ari Ramal; """" H od Newell Gevurah TifeRt T iferet Gevvrall Neluch a,.... Hod Vowel , , •• " I Fi~ ~Ier , Tzadi Nun ~ K,f ~ p M= ~ ". ~ Nutareyikon (~i)." AJlh()UaI\ lhe", are other vo,,'els in Hebrew. tllese five arc ronsido:m1 to I:K the root vowels, both by tile lrammatari.ns Ind b y Ihe Kabbal i,t$. The ZOOar clearly dra"'" a p;lnlllci ~t"'een the fi,·c phonetic families and tile five prime ,·owels. and Ihis is echoed by olm K.bbalists. '" The five primary vo"",l. ",-ould then also represenl the five d imensions of th e Serer Ycuirah. In aeneral. tile fi,'c vo~ls a re very imponant in tile UK of lhe Sefer Yctzirah. The usual procedure il to take I pair of klle!"$, pron()Uncinl them with Ihe I~nty·fivc JIO'Ilible combinalions of the five VOWelL This a ppeaR in the s~tem of Rabbi Abraha m Abul.fi •. as well in various techniques of makin, a Golem. The..., appear, however, to I:K . number of d ifferent o pi nions as 10 lhe ordcrinl of the vowds. and a few of these a..., presenled in Table 22." Some of the later Kabbal ists Iiso I!SiIo the five phonetic families 10 the five Sefirot: Chesed. Ge"\·urah. Tiferct, Neuach and H od. Yesod is not included. since, in this rnp«\, Yesod and Tiferct are counted IS one.'" FurthermOtl', Yc.sod I'C'rta inl to melody rather IIIIn 10 sound. " There is. I\o..~er. a dilTeren« of opinion bet ween the Ari and the Ramak as 10 wllether the Scfirot ."' 10 be liken in desttndinl or in lliccndinl order. " The five main vowels I..., also ISsilMd to theoe ~ Sefinll." Sec Table 23. The first due as 10 how 10 assi&n 1hese to the fiV&odimcmiorW rontinuum CQmeI; from 1M ortIt'"ring of ilie fmal letters ill 1M Talmud: Mcm Nun Tzadi Pm K.af ('"F=l. In all IOUIU$, both Talmudic and Kabbalistic, 1M len ..... are "HXnted ill this order. The 000 ttC1 alphabetical ordtr of 1M letlHS, ~, would be: KIf Mem Nun Pm Tzadi (ru:o). See Tal* 24 on ~ 106. The question then mIleS: wily an: theK letterS UMIIlly not presented in their alp/lJobetical ordef?" Earticr ( I :). ho:)wever, "'1: 111'1: spol;en of lhe division of the Tm Setirot into t\\O croups le",acnlilll the two hands. lbcx are 1M Fi...., Lova and the Five J ud&mcnlS. In the ..dc. of the Sefirot. they IlI1:: Five Loves: Keter. Chakllmah, Chesed. Tiferet. Netzacb. Fi ve J udr.menlS: Dinah. Gevurah. Hod, Ynoo;!, Malkhut. ry' ate SErER Y£TZ1 RMl h is immedi.atrly 01»-;0115 thaI each JfOUP lePl "-DIS a lei of end points in the five-dimensional continuum, The pairi l1l in this continuum is: Kcter- Malkhut Good_Evil Chakh mah- Binah PUI- Future ~-I ;»" ".. ."., ""'" , '"' This is Ihe pm:ise ordn" in which thne Ie1tel'1o are 1,l5\1.l11y pre-- sented, and this hardly appears 10 be ooiocidcnlal. Also si&nificant is III.. fllCl Ihal the Ari stales thaI tbe usual onkr MNTzPKh ('lUlOj only applies 10 lhe$e !cuello ...·hen Ihey parallel Ihe fi~ Sm~lII\hs. When they relate \0 Ihe Five r.o,'es. Ihey are in direct alphabetical or:< in : ! '11 )"", T'l'I? ! HH In Ihe first ~ion of thi~ chapter. the two MOIi>en, Mem Ind Shin, ""ere used as an exercise 10 oscillate between Chakhmah Ind Hinah conKioosneiS. The second section presented an exercise involvin, the pronunciation and permutation o(lette~ makinlthem fill the enti", mind. Now _ have a third exercise. where one meditates on the physical piO«$St$ involved in Pronouncinl the Ietle~ dlll",in, all of them into Chakhmah c:onsciout.neSli. Once this has been mutered, the initiate is ready 10 embark on the more ad van<:eM) FQllndollon L#tl",: H r plotnJ Ihrm in 0 rirclr likro I>'(l/I"l/h 1J1 Go/n , Thr Cird, ()$Cillorn bode ondJqrlh. II lign p this i$: Th", i, ItOlMIt/{ in 8QI)d high" Iholt Drlighl (Onq-lr9) Th", is Mthing ~iI /(]ft4ICr Ihu.n P/OF (Nrg_~~. In a circle The word for ~circle" here is Gaf$aI. Th is can also be tranilated u ~splle...," or ~cyclc. " Later. the Sefer Yetzirah speaks of the Golgul again, s.ayin" "The cycle ~/gu.I) in the year is like a kina in Ille proYrne<:" (6:3). ,. ". · ' -- -- 110<> q;M ' ~ fin;t chapter spOke of lite J2 p;ollts of Wisdom. At diseussed lhe~ (1: 1), Ihe numbu)2, when ..nuen 01,11, $~1l5 mani", ~hcan.~ The lutl.ln lpeau oflhe m~"SliCl.I experieDce by sayillJ. Mlfyour Iwart runs~ ( 1:8). It also wams.. "Bridle your . . . lImrl from Ihinkin&H (1 :8). The fir.1I 'haptcr tlt\l. speaks of 'lne IlSpttl oftinJ,Ship, whid! is Ihe helln. As Ihe IC~I lalcr says. "The heart in the soul is li te a kina in WJ.r~ (6:3). T he heart thc""fo", domin.t~ Ihe conti nuum of thI' w, spiritual. No .... , in lite ...rond chapter, the lal is tumin. 10 I. s«:(lnd ISpect of kingship, Ihe Cyde (ga/gat), .... hich dominates lime. In Jenera!, if I. number Qfpoinh arc p!a~ in I. circle, the n\lm_ ber of possible liMli that can OOOMeI any pair OfpO;DI$ caD be cuily calculated. If ,.,-e let n hc Ihe nurnb<'r Qf points, and L the number of 'ines. tile fannull is: L .n ( n - l y2 Take the number, rnuhiply il by Ihe number beLow il. and divide by 1.."(>. Thus. IbTff poin ts in a circle can be joined by tbTff lines., f<)OJr poinlS b~ si ~ li nn. fivc points by ten linn. and si~ points b ~ fifteen Jincs. 5« fi,ure 11 on pal( 110. A Jiven numberofpoinlS CIIn 11.... lys be joined b~ tbe number of lines provided by tbe above formula. The number of lines Illat COIn C()I1nect tbe 22 leners plactd in a circle is therefore (22 >< 21Y2. Sre fi,ure 13 on palle Ill. Makin, the calculation. ~ find lllallbere are 23J such linn.. Tbeloe Ire the 23] Gales. LikJ' a wall... This can also be read in Ibe impenuive: KPlace tMm in a circle, like a wall wilb 231 ptn. K The Kabbaiisis pTeioent an important meditation regardin, tbese pies." Tbis is based on a text in tbe first cbapter: KEnvavc them like a &arden. Carve them li ke a wall, deck tbem like a ocilin8~ (1 :11 ). The initi ate must O}nlemplate tbe IfOtlnd. visualiz.;nl it as murk~ black mud. He mUll then K",vaVe~ tbe 22 letters, fomlin, each one in bis mind. These should I11.I.ke a circle in the IfOtlnd. Tben be must Kcarve them like a ..-aII. He must Kcarve each I«ter OUI of the around and stand each one up, makinl' circle of Jette .... surround in, bim like a wall. One of the major Kabbalisls, Rabbi Isaac of Aa:o, speaks ofa simil ar medilat ion. where the !etten are visual;7ed on Ihe honton .• M K 'VI ate SEFER YiTZIRAH '" ) Point$ 3 l in« 4 Point. 6 lines , Poinll 10 lines 7 Poin l. 21 linn 8 Poin" 11 lin« ,. '" Fi, .." 18. 1M HI GtJ/~I . , • Fi,,,,r /9 . 11 poi"", lJ/liMs . Til. lJ//i"" fOtlIl«/;", 1M ]1lmtrt O'l 1M 2)1 Galtl. g', " '." . •, Y, 0> 1> i>C' ~ " 1'10 1I'1 "I:l ~ ~ V i" r D '1\1 VI> III III ".., v,:> "17 >'I' rv 'Ill ~l IlC 1V 1"1' "1!' p~ I'll 'Illfll r'IJ lI'D "'I' PI' rl 'F' N~"o Pl rc m' V\ rov l7Il 'U d'> m T'~ f, ~ P ~ row", roM " ., u m ''''''' ,~" T n:'l:'n '" ,~ lit ,,~m 111:1 :'01 ."~ "'TI'!'I tM .~ ... " •, "'" _1m"" T~ ~ • ." r .,," • T "PO '" ro ~~"" r • mW~ ro~ ~ ."~ mOm _m m I' ~ ." 11 :.;I .... IU l ' In ~ .. 111 'I OJ rot ". ,~\lIt I~ g"I i, 1;1 'II )TI C:I ~ O>.,~ !;II .,. " l1" 0;0' I' ~ .,.. r"' ~ III l ~ \lit T ;n ,." .,., ~ ." i"" r"I " ~,o;o, 111 v:> "" 'Pl'II • "CP!"";rIr> m"" " 1" .,. r~ m..,.,"~,... ml'l'DVII 1'Il1l'~ .... ron M , • " , , ,• • •, ,, •, , , • • , , ,, " ,, ,, ,, • ,1 •,, ,• ,•, •,, ,•, , •, •, , •, ,• •,• ,, •,, ,•, ,•, • ,• • , ," •• ,4 ,, ••, ,, , , •• •,• ,, ,• •, •, , ,•, ,, , • •" ••, •,• •, ,, •• •7 • •, , •• ,• ,•, ,, ,, •" , •, ,• ", • •, ••, ,•, ,, ,, •• , •• ,• •, ,, •, ••, , •, ,, • ,• ••, •, •, •, •, ,•, , ,, ,• , ,• •,• •• to ,•, • ,• ,• ,•, • ,, •• •,, • •, ••, , •• ,, ••, , •, •, ••, , •• II II • • • • •• • • • • •• • , , • , , , , • , ,• , • , • , • , , • ,, • ,, ,, ,, , •, • ,, ,• •, ,• ,• ,, ,, ,, , • •, ", • • "" , • , , • ,• , , , , • • , •, • • "17 .,, •, , • •, ••, •,, ,, , ,•, •, ,• ,• , • •• •,, •,, ,, •• ,,• ••• "" ,, ,•, •,• •• ••, , , , ,•, •• •,• •, ,,• ••, ,• •,, , , ,, ,• , •• , , , ,• , •, ,• •• • , , • , • •• • •, ,• , • • • 21 " " . .. · · · · I • l) F,tlur~ 21. iltmal array UJ~d ,It Ih~ Kabbaluuc M~rhuJ. •• '" He mUSI im.,_ Nexl, tile initiate milS! Mdeck them like a ~ilina. ~ inc the 231 linn connectin, Ihe 22 lellers, and depict them like . teilin, OvCr his head. Onee he has rompkled this exercise, he is read y 10 make usc of the rire~. If be wilohes \0 Use ;110 crelle, he ml,lst proceed in direct order, bqinnin. wilh lhe Ale{. FOCI.lsin, Ihe mind on ~ Alef, he Ihen follows each of the 21 paths emanalin, from ;1 to the other let· lers, from BellO T.... He continues in Ihis manner, IIsin,aJllheother lelltrs. See flJUre 19 on pa~ Ill. Acrordina to $OItlC, Ihis is abo I technique for makin,_ Golem. If One wishes 10 dellroy iI, one proct:ed. in the p~ opposite di~ lion . beI;on;n, wilh Tav, and end io.","ith Aleph. Some rommenlann p rHent 1!I\Ort primitive method, where Ihe initiale IClually d n.ws I circle around Ihe object Ihll he wishai 10 form." Proccedilll in. circle, he chants Ille len« oombinltio<\$, fi rll Alef wilh all the ol~ lellers, Ihen Ikt, until llIe alphabet is com· pleted. I( one wishes 10 dnlroy Ille ~lation, he ptooeedl in !he opposite direction. It is also ~Ialed Ihat Ihe diJCiple$ oftbe R i..... auempled 10 \lie lhe Serer Ycu:irali 10 make a anl1.U"e. "They ~nl in the ...rnn& dirtttion, however, and sunk in lhe eanb up 10 IbeiT waists Ihrouah the power of lhe \ellen. Trapped, lhey cried out for help. "The Riva was finally con\.aC"Ied, alKi he told his other disciples to rteite the alphabeu wltik procecdilll in the """"","Ie direction. until the othen wert ftttd.." There is some que:nion as to whether ~pnx:eedinl~ here means tbl! one lhould aclually walk aroulKi the eime, or wbether il muns Ibal one mUSI merd y move around il mentally and meditat ively. With 231 Gales The number 231 repraenll tile number of ways in wb ich twO differenllenen of tbe He~ alphabet CIIn be connected. Thi$ num_ ber also is the numher of 1,,-0 !ener words thai can be fanned ""; Ih the \etten, provided the same !ener il no! ~peated, and provided thai O«Ier il nOI considered. Theoe combi nations may be arranied in a Inanlle.'" This finl melhOO is called the Lo&ica! Method (f"UTe 20). Besides tbis, th ere is also a Kabbali"ic Metbod (filure 21). w1ticl! is somewbat mo~ complex." In tbe Kabbalistie MClhOO, onc belins by writinS the entire Hebre'to" alphabet, from AJ,ef 10 Ta ... On Ihe second line, one wriles every olher \eller. endin, wil h Shill. One Ihen skips lhe Tav and bqiliS Ollce apin wilh Alef. The IICQUCIICC IIle~fore ~pealS jt~lf. ". . = ,.• •• .." •, • " " • " • ". . .. " •• '" , " • • " " • • • ., " " , " " . " • . ,. "", • . " •• • " ., • "• " • " " " '"" ,.'" '"• '", '". '" '" '"." '" '"" '" • • • ,. " • " • ,. "• '" • .• '" " . .. • " "• ,. " • • ., . • • • " ..•" "., • .•• "• " "., .., ""• ..'" '" •.. "" ., " • " " " " " '" ., n ~ ~ ~ » po m ~ ~ ~ m ~ " ~ ~ ~ w ro ~ ~ ~ ~ ro ~ ~ po ~ » w w ro p w ~ ~ ~ M ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ • ~ ~ "» ~ ~ ~ 3 ~ n m ~ • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ w " ~ \0 m m ~ ~ ~ ~ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 , F'llll'~ • " • " "» ~ ~ , ~ , ,0 • • • ,• •9 • 0, • • ••, •, •0 , •0 , 0• •, 0 , •, • 0, , 9 • • 4 • 0 • , , 4 • • I 2 3 2 7 3 2 I 2 2 2 2 7 9 2J . .4 2 • • , ""IIi . .' /array 2 7 ~,".,br","ay " 4 , '. n,,,bi"'11 1M , 3 2 , •, , 7 • 3 2 , lI,nJ ,•~ 1M l(abbuliSli" Ml'tlltxJ. In the third li~. one writes every t hird k1ler. in the fO\lrth. every fOllrth leiter. continuin, unlillhc 11 lines hive bttn completed. ~ then has the inilial IrT1IY. The clevcn lh li nc i. panitula.rly interestin" Since 22 i. divisible by c""'cn, Ihe 110'0 lcllc~ Aid and Lamed, ",~al1hcmW'lvcs for the entire line. '" The nell step is 10 take the arTIlY and b~ak il into pairs. This yid'c heen retained. Clearly OOvlouS in Ihis array is the dilaonll symmetry, which is al!lO found in the a1pbabetic:al alTlly. The fifth line is part icularly si&nific:am . Wilen one counts by S, one obtain. the numben S. 10, IS. 2S, and so on. ThcrefOK. when only I~ JUI diJits I"' tak~n. 5 and 0 a1t~m.ate Oft this line. Thc same is \"", of the ..)e.· .. nth line in th .. alphabelical amoy, .... he"' Ihe AId' and I~ Lamed alternale. OIK' Ih..., divide$ the IlmlY ;nlO double columns, 10 form a nu~ric:al analo&ue of Ihe 2)J Gales. TIt.. onl y diff.-rence is Ihal ",h..n wortin, ",ith the alphabet, "'~ a",. in dfect, u~i", a number bax of 22. See fll"'" 24 on paJe 116. One thilIJ lhal i. immedialely apparent is Ihe fact that even Ihouab ...-e obtain 45 pain, lhey do nOI correspond clictly to the 45 unique pairs Iha, can be obla ined from 10 diJiIs. See fllU", 25 00 Pa&C 116. We ~lUaJly find that 14 pain arc minina. while an equal number arc rc~aled. Thc mos,lIarinl example oflhi. i. Ihe ",~Ii­ lion of the rombination OS. wbich Ottun fl"e limes. Anolher redundancy is 80, which i. merely the ",verse of 08. JIlII a~ one can be&in each sequence from Akf, to one can also bqin il from Bet. One would then ha~ a similar amty. ",ilh each line bqinnin& with • Bet in.trapOlldi", lctll'1" in the Alef array. One tan make similar arrays with all the lctten of the alphabet. Very imponanl illhe eleventh line, ... herc the IeI1I'1" pain ",~at Ihemsel~es. In the Aleflmoy, Ihe lctlenAlefaoo Lamed n:pcat themschon in this 1in~. In the Bet amoy, th~ lcllen Bet and Mem will n:pcatt hemselva A. subsequent amys an: ronstructed.. the ",~.I­ ;nllcllcn contioue 10 conform 10 those in the ALBaM (~ "") cipher. See filure 26 on PIlII' 116. 'I' ate '" SHER YETlJRAH 01 02 OJ "" "" ,". "" " 08 09 . 80 8l 06 . "" ." "" " " "" " 2l 60 .' 29 "" 20 " ."" "". 6) " 21 F'gllu U _II. ~,,_n(',,1 ulIvrrv "'pralil1J,. A num~r of some..'hat similar amays are used by lhe later Kabbalis\s." lnSlead of !,Isia, Ihe Kabbalis\ic Method, ho,,'cveT, they merely skip I number of letlen in lhe se«:lnd colum n, and Ihcn proceed wilh Ihe alphabet in iii " ....1 onkr. II is not dear if these lalcr Kabhaiisis did Ihis so as 10 conceal the true method, or if il actually repreKnts a completely diffcKnI proccdllre. See filuTe 27 on ~ 118. Acoordin, \0 either procedure, thcre are cleven arrays in '""hkh lhe pain l'l:PfnC'nlro by ALBaM are dominant. Thca., thm:: are aoother cleven arrays whcll' lhe reVtnc of I~ pain are dominant, 11M: finl eleven amo).. ,re .aid 10 reprrsenl lite eleVfn Sffirot ""hen lite quasi-SefiRIt Out (Knowkd&eJ is also included. The scquentt is: Keler. Cbakhmah. Binah. Out. Cbescd. Ocvurah, Tiferel. Netueh. Hod. YeJOd, foblkltul. 11M: fint eleven 'mI)'", witeK the ~irs of ALBaM are in direct order, repre.enllhe ~fronl· oflh<':K eleven Selirot. The KCOnd set of elc"en, " 'here lhese ~in are revened, reprnenl the "bad" of the Scfirot. These amy, aN: prrsented in Appcndi~ Ill. Althou&h lile Serer Yelzirah sa).. , ~Ten and nol eleven" (1 :4), Ihis is only speakin, of Ihe inner euence of lhe Sefirot. When _ s))tak of their reprne:ntalion IS letter amo)'S, _ are speakin, of Iheir OUler euentt. and hffe Out (Know\edJel is al50 toI.lnted. muillJ ele'·en." These ln1yi an: "ery impOrtant in bindillJ onnelf 10 Ihe Sffirot. They , 11: al50 used in lite ~lIion of a GoIem. ",""dinIIO lhe early K.IIbbalist5, the 23 1 Oates are alluded 10 in Ihe narne Israel." In Hebrew, Israel it s))tlled YiSRAe L ('llC Ie». Thne le1len n n .150 spell 0\11 YeSh RLA {.rn r) . whkh lilnlllly means. ~Ihere are 2J I ," 11M: Midrash states Ihll lllhe ~nninl or~alion, "Israel rose in thouJ,hI."" Tile name "Israel " Ihus alludes 10 Ihe fact Ih.t crealion look place throod! these 231 Gates. Acoordinl 10 the 1.ler Kabbalisti. Ihese 231 ples.n: whatll:lftlined in lite Vacated Space Ihat pr«eded erellion," When lite Sefer YelziR h _peab Of lhe "ll Pllhs of Wisdom," it uKi Ihe WQrd Nali~ for ~p;l lh ." The numerical "alue of Nati" (~'nJl SEnR YETZJUH '" , , , ,, ,, ~ ~ ~ ~ •m" • •" • • ~ . " ~ ~ ~ •m" ~ ~ " • ,, m " ,, " •" •> " , ,., " , • ,., • ,, " • " , '" • ,.," , " " • , '" ~ n ~ ~ •m" ~ . , , "" ~ .. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . W ~ , • ,.," • • n m• " • ,.,• • " n * " , " • " " • • " • " " " " "• ,.,"• •• • " n '"W" • ,.," • " • " •m" " • n " '"n W •, m"• " " '"n • • m• " " " n " •m • " "" • • •" • "• ,.," • m " " · . . " ~ •, " ~ • • ,.," "'". • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . . . . . . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ M ~ ~ ~ " "231 Gurn at:«H'dll'X /o ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ • • 11t~ lauT K"INHI/IJIJ. Tim ,$ Alif "'rll)' r Ofuspondinll 'Q Kru r . INQJ~ NIM' 'ht Irllt' 8 of Trt,,.. grammallN! ~lItJ 1>1<1. (Jrt lined lip ,,'if" 1M liitrs_ ! F,g~r~ 17. Th~ 11r~ ,h. is 462, ( 1IKlly Iwke 23 1. Sintt each of the 23] Gales oontainl\WO \ellen, there all: a tola! of 462 Sellen in each IInY." It il lberef~ evident Ihll Ihe MPathl 0( Wi$domMare I'd Rled 10 these IIn)'l.. In some VCl'lIionl of Sefer Yetzirah, the actual Gain. M", ~ad ins is M462 Tllere i .. however, • very ancient tradition wbk h THds 22 1 Gales rallier than 231." Thil iSlhe reldin, favored by Rabbi Eliezer Rokeadl of Wormes, who karmd it by tradition from Rabbi Yebudah Haehasid. " See flJUre 2&. The KabbaliSlS note WI this number is 1M...... on the Talmudic leach;", that in the Future Worid, Kina David', cup ..,.;u hold 22 1 mea_ 1II.ll'eI." This is bawd on the verse, -You have annOOlled my head ..ith oil, m y ClIp i5 overl1owill&~ (Psalms 23:S). In Hebrew, MOVerno..;"I- i5 ~ ("'"). whidllw I numerical value of 221 . The Itnn R~ it Iller uKd by Sd"cr Yettirah 10 deno\e the MlempeTllleM wason, paraUelinllhc kllcr Alef (l:S, 7). Just as Ihe Alcf W"'es as 1I1e intennediate bctw«n Shin Ind Mem, theselrrays mi&ht ". • " ,.• • " " , " '"po """ m,.= n• n• , .," "" '" • " , m ro • n '" " • w •" • " • ", » " ".,• w " " P' • • " n n "• po =., " •" '" • " ,. e ., " , " ,. " • '" •" "" , " u" " n " • • •• " " '" • • '"m "• , • "' , "• " n" • " "" • ., "', " po " " , " • "., " "• " '" .'" " = n ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ W Q ~ ~ Q ~ . ~ . .. .. ~ ~ ~ D W 0 ~ ~ ~ Q ~ ~ ~ ~ 3 ~ ~ W ~ U ~ FIll"" 18. TM 111 Gain IKrtxdl~l! , 10 Rabbi· EI".,Ir , ", ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ,.n" • • , • w ~ '. Q ~ " • ~ ~ "" U ~ ~ M '"" "' •., n'", ~ n Rot~",~ of Wor .....~ ( //6(j..I ZJ 7} . lieI'Ve as I mCin. of Ullnsition Nt llittn Binah and Chaldlmah roniaOu.sneu.. Also si",ificanl i, t~ rontut of Ilti, I~a<.:hinl- The becinnm, of Ihis vt'l'Se it., ~you l\ave annoioted m y IIead "";Ih oi1.~ T his aUudes 10 the feeli", of bein, N IIIN in oil which il fl't'qllmll y eTlCO\Intcm! durin, the mystical upo:ricn<.:I:. " Auaininl weh a n e~l'C'rkllCe is therefore associlled wilh these 221 GaIn. The number 221 is also siJniflClnl as bcillllhc product of lWO primes, 17 and 11. T he numben can the...,',,", be placed in a unique IIT111Y· This syllcm follows Jo&jaIlly from the Kabbalislk Method distUiSCd earlier. In the array produced by this method. the two lellen.. Alef and LImN. are re~ated dr,'en times. SilltC this in sill&k combination . sud! Tq)eIition il rWllndant. III Elieur Rokeach's system. the AId.lamed pair iSIl~ only 0IICe.. Since len sucb pairs are omitted. instead of 211 Gatn. one is lett with 22 1. Similar aml~S can N made beainninl with the othff kllen. These are presented in APlXndi~ III. 'I' ate SEFER YETZIRAH "• "• '"• • '" ,.," • '"r ,., ,.,"" , " "" " u "" "" " '" "" '" ,."" '"u ... • " " " ro "n ",0 m ,.," m "" • '" " n u >" '"m '"• ,., , '"• .", '" •, ro , • "• " •• d> M ~ ~ ~ " ~ . ~ ~ ~ . ~ M ~ ~ N M ~ V ~ ~ . " M ~ • n m ,.,,. ~ , ,"" ~ m ~ .,v " '" " m ~ , ~ ~ ~ m ~ m ~ ~ • • ••, m m n n 0 " m m rn M ~ n n m M , " " " •" " M M , .,n " • m., ""n • ~ " m rn '" " u u 0 , " ~ ~ •., • "• " " "" " "• ~ • ~ ~ • '" ~ ~ ", '" ~ '" " • " ~ ~ "" ~ ~ ~ "" ,. " " ~ .,"u '" ~ . "" .. "" """ "" " 19 J8 02 39 03 12 16 67 68 " " " "" " "08 " "16 "" "" "of" " 2J 06 J8 16 09 Fip:urr )0. NumrriC"Q/ onalog'u J6 Abulafio' sa",,)". AnOlh~r im ponanl ",presentation of Ille 231 Gates is lnal of Rahlli Abraham Abulafia. " Tllis is somcwh'll ikc I"" Loaical Amoy. bUI il is KI in I ~.n"c. wilh Ihe upprr nShI side .mon,ed so as 10 fill in Ih~ missi", 1~II~rs (f""re 29). The Slructure is discvnl bk wben OIK Sludin ils numerical anaJOIue (fi,ure )'oJ. CJose cuminalion shows $Orne redundancy in Ibis amoy. em.in combinalions are , • r... C'- -'-. '•" ,.," , D m m ,. ,."" m " " m .• ., ~ " • "'" ~ m ~ m ~ ro " "" • '" m ",., •• " ., .,"" C• " "."u " '" ,.., P' • ., '" w m .,., • '" •, " m ~ ~ '""" , ., " ~ v ., ., ro ~ ~ ~ ~ m ~ ", ., m • ,> ," '"'"m m• • ", ,, m • • , m '" m" • • • " " ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .. ~ • • , '" , ~ " , m m ~ ~ ~ m m u ~ U ~ U • • = • • w m •, " m •, " m, " ", m" " "" " m " " " "" " " " " " " • m ", , " "" " " " P"' m m " ., " e" u m ,., • ., . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ • • ~ ~ . • .., • ~ ~ ~ ~ ,. ~ ., ~ ... "" "" "" " "OJ " " "" "" "11 "" "" '" "" " 29 )8 02 06 07 03 26 37 69 78 " "" )8 "" "" Fiflurr )1 , NIl_ril:al aMI",,,,, ,,' Ahil/afM's ""lI)' ~1iji..J '" r~ .."" ... rn/""oo ...·/u, n:peated, while others a n: omined_ Thi s IITlIYcan be modified, bow. ever, 10 that its redUDdam:ielI lIn: remo"ed and all oombinations an: n:prnc:nled , See lieun: 31 and Ii",n: 32, Even wi th lhe reduDdancies n:mQved, bowever, 1he extn:me left column is ;LnQmaIou.$ lind complex. This anomaly can be n:moved, , '" ~ , ~ ~ • "n '"• • • " '"",, ',.," ., '" '" ,., , w " " " " ,. " • • " .,.,,. " • " , " "" ,. "• .,., » ~ • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ n ~ ~ m ~ ~ ~ m m n n ~ ~ " M ~ ~ ~ m •, • , n n m m "• n ., m • • ,• •, » ." , m '" , .,• ,• • " • • ". eo ~ ~ ~ ., N ~ ~ . -. ~ ~ rn . . ~ ~ ~ " ~ ~ • ~ m • , • m • • • m m • " " • • " m "" " m m » " " " " • , » • ., n ." m " • ., m " " "m ," n" ,.n " P' " " '""m " " ., n • . ". m M ~ ~ ~ ~ ., m ~ ." m ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ N ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . .. . .. " """ " " " """ "" 01 OJ " " "" "" " "" .,""" 21 J7 12 19 2J 06 07 08 17 26 09 27 " " . '''ray Fixurr # . N",."rinll ~.... of Abtolqfo, I MtNJijitJ ""'" limp/i· ,",' and Ihe aTTaY it lIIo.n furlbrr ,im pl jr~. S« filul'l'I)J and }4. Tile number 231 rcpres..n($ the 10tai number of combinations o f '''''0 Ictten. The n!,lmber o f oombinalionl of th ree leltt'l'S il 1540. Rabbi Abraham Abull.li. notes lllal Ihis is equallD 22 lirMS 70. The Dumber 70 I'l'prewtlU the 70 pri"",,.,. lllllllqn. If each of these lan- '" Table 27 Combinations of Icuen . I ullcrs , ,, , " 0 1 J 6 7 8 Combinat ions , I ullcrs Combinations "" "" " 105,432 646,646 " m 1,54Q 1.31 5 26.334 " ,61l 170,544 47 ~.420 31 9,770 170,544 74,613 26,334 7,31 5 "" "" 20 " 319,710 479,420 646,646 I,S4() '"", II I\lages had an .lphabet of 22 leners. theft would be a 10lal of I SolO lctten." In ~neral the number of eomb;nuion. of n tellers i. Jiven by tile formula: c ~ 22!1{n!(22- n)!I. Values Oflbc numbers from zero to 22 a~ provided in Table 27. There is nmhing in good higher than Delight ... This is because the Bible Kfcrs \0 the mOSI dir«1 nperience of God .uinll the word ~d.,1i&ht- (O~). It is thus wriucn. -rl\en you .... ill deliahl upon God- (h.aiah 58:14)." /' • ~ /' • '\ / > '\ > , •• SHER Y£TZIIV.H TIle .... ont for "plague. - Nega (ltll), K obtained from Iftllf (llJ) by si mple f1)\a tion. The term Nl'ga denoted especially a kprosy like pique ..... hich ....as a siln of dis.approval by God. See filU,.., 3~ on page 123. In an earl in S«tion t I: I 3). ...., di"""ucd how permutltions such as thex t an result in OppO$ite~ A very si milar permutation il p""""nted by the K.:Ibbalists. The hi&hest spirituallevd to which one can :u pin: il tlle Sc:firah of Keter (Crown), The furtller one climbs, however, the ~ rarified tile atrnosp/le"", and 1M "",aler the I pirit.."l da!IJeT. By I simple permulalion. 1M ....ord K~"" (vol be«lmes Kal'Ft (rro). tile Heb..,... word for urilion, whe"" • penon il complelely cui off Wiritulll y. " One of Ille earty 10th centu!)' mystics, Hai Gaon, noted tlllt many people who embarked on tile mysteries "" en: s~ful, but then met .... it h untimely de.III." Tile 1Ii&her tile climb, tile more danaerous tile falL A perwn WQ\I ld not attempt to clim b I danaerous mountai n witlloutt lle proper In.ini nl and equipmen t. Any OO¥ice woo ....ould anem pt II dimb wilhout an e.pemnced guide WQ\Ild be court in, diluter. Oimbilll spiritual Mi1h15 can be equally dallJerous. OM needs tile. proper In.inin, and mental equipment, as well IS In ex perienced ~piril ual guide. 2:5 ov a,\;ll O~:J OV ':<: [1'0.1'1 I'vV JII'" '1I":J :n-'?n 111 " 1m ':J OV 01,,:11 ~:J OV ':J 'I( ''0';' 7:J\ -"y';' 7:J :<:YCJl DI"1VV I( -I:I~ J'1l1(Y.Oll : "111:( OVO 1O'l' 1/""" Ht pmmdro Il!t m. "";gl!td Il!t .... and 1fo five primary 'IOwels and the four leners of the TttrA&T&mma_ , SEFER Yl!TZlRAH AuVu AlVa Aiyj AcYc AcYo AuHu AlHa AiHi AcHe AoHo AuVu AlVa Aivi AeVe AoVo AuHu AlHa Ai Hi AcHe AoHo foc~ .. ~!! 'IIIt"",,,,~~ ... ",,~:o:~ \~ Il" tl"~' '~P' pCW:"I o.,u jllpl)~ o,n~ U rln 0')')) 11:\1 t~):'! I'lln )'m, ' J';' ') ~ ,el! 'Tf'>' M " I'l~' -mil:'! )11 O':CI'l O'JI1) '~'I I'lIlJ ,,) "nJ 'Ill I' tlr;nl! nJ) o,/m 1>1''' 3\1> Iljl'i' "iV~ I) r;', ,fm "'tl!,, ' J ''IIn:'l , ttl 0,1! ~, "" fijI:! 0.,,' 0,*''I} 11)11'1) )'nn', O~\J r.r;Vl 0 "" C'1Il 'till!> )Jl" "I! ;J O"lrtl b-J' ~e 1'l~"J nt~hl )l~l; m" II"~' ,rc} n " f't, J ' n:1l "l! ~, U) ,/i" I! """, )lll' ",llIn " I! ,,;,.r,."J, Ul)ll'I', J'/l..., )" /'I C:'Illll er;:> nil! e;Il)), /'I, I!" I!. /'I. ". • "/'1 pI ,'I! )'!)fI, ,il )'11/'1, 'I! )'11/), ,,, l"rl/'ll , . ,,11 ;" 'J PI ' J 1')11' : mtI\)) ,'/lIl, ')'Q :'I"/l pI P';::I)' )J:'II U '1l1J1l m") Fil W't 37. It..I,wctiOtlJ fox maki", II Gai,,,,, jr(Nfl Rabbi £Iitztl' R~_·It· $ ,-",.",.t1ll"'7 QfI Stfor Yt lti' ...... ton, a total of twen ty pronunciationl for eacb letter. Thil means that tile entire c~crdK makes UK of 97.240 pronunciations, AuwnUq that one can pronounce fwr Iyllabks a SfIWDd, it WQ\Ild take appro"o Una.dy seven houn 10 complele this entire process. The mClbod of creat ;1Ii a GoIem il w tlillCd by Rabbi Elieur RoI<.each in hi, rommCDlIf)' on Sefer Yetzinh, and p leseJlted in - ................. ...,' """" .....,... .......... ,., .... ,.. ,,,,..,..... ............... "' ....... '" .--.. > ¥N.""" "" .............. '7!'''' O·_ _ "'_........ . ...,,,-...... . . . ...... "' ...,. _ ... , __ .... u, ,.,. . . ... ..... '"" . ,,,, ........... _. ""'""1' ...... .. .. .. ....'..-.......... ..J .... _ .......".,. .."f,..- ....... ... ,.,. - ,~...- '_1".. ........... _ _ " ...... . .........., oJI,o ....,,"""..., ~~ '- ~ ~ .. ~ _.. _ ""'._ ""'no'''''' "p'" , ~ ""... .... ...-.. ........" .. ,...... """'_ •._ .... ., .. ........ :!~ ~.,. _, ........... . .. ...... _ . ·_..... ·...""",....._i_ ......."" ........ - ... .. .... - ' " ..... P - ! " ....., . ...,., ......... "'.,.- ...... ,........ ... ""......,..."" ..',.............. .--,......... ', . . . . .... -. _" ,..-".. ...... '" _, •• ' • • , ....... , I" J "'y'''' "P-... --.", .~,..,- .......... ....... • p'w.·_ .. ,_ .. ,· _ . ,_~ .... ....,W>n .., ....., ....._""" - p " po ... po...,. ... ~ ,.. ,""p , 1.0 ... , .......... ... ~ "" '·.w· ~~ ""''''' '.- ..... ...., 1>""" ""' ... _ .. ,......_ ~ ,.." f"'"" _ ........ ,.., "" ..... ,'"""?"" ... '"':'" to"Y''' ,... ..... _" .. .... ,--.... u, P' .....,,.... ' 'f'"'' ....... ,,'''' .,.. ...... "'.... _ '*..,.. .... .,......... .,,, ,... ... ,... .• '"'....... .... .... ....... ...'-r, .......... r' .. "'1 ..... ...-" _ ....... _ ....... . , .... .,"' ......... " •. ", ........., _ ... -"""''r._"l"O>?......, ...,,.,-, '"1""" . .... _""" ..... ... ~ _ _-, I""P' - .... ""~-" ......... , •.,.,. ....... .... \o' ..... ~" ... ,..... ... --~-.- "...., ~ " ". ... ~ -- .... ,. -- ~ ._ .~_ -,.. ,. ~rt",. • J"'" . ~, .." ,r..... ....., ............ .... ,...~ . ""U I"" .,.,," ~'" ~.,. .... If?"'''''''' '-'Io ....,' .. n ""' r'" ..,. ........... ....... 50mr""ilat iJ""tater detail b:Y 1M .uthorof Emek IfaMMJr ( Depths of the King)."' Sn. rl&ul"C' 37 on pa&e 126 and figu~ 3&. An initiate VrouId not do it alone, but VrouId alway, be ...,,;...mpanied by one or two 00I.1ca" .... . The GoIem mU51 be m;odc of virsin 500. taken from a place ..."here no num has ever duJ. The soil must be Imeadrd with pu~ ~"i .....ter. taken directly from the ground. If this ""at« .is placed in any kind of ve..d, it Cln no \onJtr be uri The people maki"i 1heGoiem must purify themselves tocalIy befor-o. ensaPll& in this .aivity. both physically and ",iritua11y. While makina the GoIe,,~ they muOi ...,.,. dean "'hir~ vestm .. nl!. Tbne authoR also 5t"'S1that O~ mUll nol make an y mistak .. Or error in the pronunci~t ion , They do not $IIY what mUll be do~ ifone ern. but from OIMr :IOUn:e5. it "'wid ~ppe.ar that at very kut. one " "uld have 10 bqin the 1m)' from the bq.inninJ. Ourinllhil enlire procedu",. no inlerruption ",hau.;,..""r may OCCIIr. Thne .UthoR also inr im~ le that the)' I", only ",vealinl the out· line of the method , and are not p~ilenti nl il in ;\5 entirety. This ~150 appean evident from olher sourees. TIle", i. abo evidence that nutinl ~ GoIem was p1imarily nol a physical procedure, but rather.• hilhly .d\l;lnced meditati'-e technique. ': By chantin, the appropriate leller .rrays tocelher wi th the ktters of the Tetra.rammaton. the initi.t~ could form a '"ery real mental imaB~ of a human bein&. limb by limb. This possibly could be u~ u an astral body . throtrs/l which one C(luld ~=nd to Ihe spiritu~1 ",aim .. ". SEI'ER VETZ.IRAH The formation of such •• pirit ....1 body . how~·er, would also Tnuh in a tremendous spiritual potential. Once Ihe OOllolXptl.Lli GoIem ..... completed, this spiritual potential rou ld I:.. transferred 10 • c~y form and ~u.ally a nimate it. This was the procns IhrOUJh which a phy~ical Gc*em would be brou&hl 10 life. In introduciTIJ Ihis method. the Sefer Yetlirah uid, ~E","," c them like a prden, carve them like I wall. deck them like a ceililll~ ( I: II). There is some Question as \0 what role Ihi. meditation plays in Ihe technique of makin, I GoIcm. Aocordinll to sonw: early SO\IItt$, one must proC! ! d in I circle around the CJftlU~ thaI one is crutin&- This miJ.ht ,..,fet" 10 Ihe mental SU'UC\urin, orlbi. ·prden,· wall ,- and weeilina. befo", the Golem is formed. W Pronunciation with the YIKI ('): AoYo AoVa ",aYe AoYi AoVa ~:tc;O;O'" .>.aYo AlVa AaVe AaY; .>.aYo AeYo AeYa AeYe AtYi AeVu AiYo AiVa AiYc AiY; AiV" :':' '':' !I:< !':' "!' A",yo AuV, AIIYe AuV; AuYu ~:t':, '!V ..., ...., :;:c:t '!'>, I[CCI I[CCI •..., tel ':"1 '!'>, ~ '..., ~...., ' ...., ....., " .. .. .. . ~ ... F'II"'" 19. Alx"er, inSiea d of me...,ly usinlthe five primary >"owels alone. he must usc C,'CI1' possible combination of these _ "CIs, twcnt)'-five in all. Pronunciation ...; th the Vav (1); AoVo AaVo AcVo AiVo AuVo "oVa AaVa AeVa AiVa AuVa AoVc A. Ve AeVe AiVe AuVe Ao Vi AIVi AcV i AiV i AuVi AoVu A.VU AeVu AiVu AuVu :oo .. jo<;.. ... ;t:IJI:CI:l "1r 'I( 1 .0>0 :'ITl t>!lru 1l'I(\7 ~ 0'7m D'-nt:lV J.l'm -n:t':1 7;, NC ",,)1' '1'ctl'I ;u,,]' O'rn:rI C"ttp -0," 10'01 .,M :"'1( II~ ' I( 'l~ CI)1 ~l em DV 01l' ":11;1 7:1 .Nt! O']'tln forml'd substance 0 111 of clrOIJS ond mmJe nOllf'x iS/fll«' i/l/O oru/ell« Ill' calWd pwll pilla" from air llul/ alllMt M gras/N'd. T1Iis is a sign {AI([ "'ilh Ilrl'm all. and all of/hem "'illr AId] III' forwn. "a~ms and ma/cQ uff Ilrm is pmi'd and all that is Yp<:JYn: (HI" Name. A sig" for ,Iris Ihittg; T"~"I,..IWQ oIJj«u in " si"K,fc body. He formed substance OUI of ChOOl Earlier. the Sefer Y(airah staled Ihal chaos (101114) ,"'IS Mcnaraved and alrved~ from Wiler (1 :11). As we e~pl.li ned there, "Water" alluded to Chalr:hmah and the buis of all ph~ica.l creation. The ~_lerM menl>oned there denoted the most primitive spirit~1 root or , m SUU Y~IR,\.H waler, as il niSi. in Ille IIniycrsc Qf Alzilui. 1~ ~alm oflhe Scfirot. II was OUI of Ihis Ihal I~ fil"it sla~ of maucr, "CbaOlj~ (lnetie, musH:, &eometry, and astronomy." The Kabbalists leach Ihal these 'Ie" en pillars Il:presenl the lower seven &firot," Thrse oorrrspond 10 the seven pillirs of 'Il:alion and the seven day. of the wed :. 10 this does 001 contradict Ihe Talmudic in terpretation. In Ihe .ySlem of lhe &fer Yetzirah, it is obvious Ihlt Ihese seven pillars ,..,prescn t the I,wen Doubles. They are called "pillars" b«;I".se they Ill: Il:presenled by ve"icallincs in Ihe Tree of Life diaaram. These ""ven Doubles all: derived from the three MOlhen. This WQ\lld IlIppo" an ancienl ,'enion, .... hieh inSlead of "substance" (Mamasb- lflXl ), read AMSh (1'011), the three MOlhen." The lexl would then read. " He formed AMSh (11l;;1li) 0111 of chaos ... and carved veal pillan ...." 'I' ate on From air thaI cannot be grasped Tllcsc pillaB an: arva! from "air which cannot be JI1I~.' Air _s carlin" idm\incd with Breath, .... hich in tum is associated with tJ>c, first Sdirah, Ket«. Air is abo ie Name IS a mtdila\ive device. One of the man ifestations of hi&her meditative state. (u _II u some dn,ll·indueed .Iates) is ha llu.cinoamesis, " 'hm, one can voluntarily form menial im~. These menial images appear to be real and subsl.tnlial. When a per_ son is in a normal stale of consciousness. he nu.~ be able to form menu! imap, but they are ..'cak. lransienl. and blurred by mental sialic. In ronlraSi. Ihe im ...... formed ;n a meditative Siale a ppear lIolid. substantial. and real. In an ordinary stale of Binah consciousness. the mind is filled wilh statie. If you wi~ 10 ttt Ihis stalic. merely dOle your eyn. You will see I rapidly chanain, kaleidOKOpe of imap. one impOJed on anolher. b en if you can vasp a sinlle imaae fo r . short while. il is inlerminsled wilh mental stalic. and you have lillie conlrol over lhe im alc. You cannol make il COme and 110 al ...·il1. and you cannot delennine how i1 hellav.-s. Even when you a n uen some in fluc:na: o ver ii, Ille imalt will seem 10 have a mind of it. own . This llalic also Uilll evCn " 'hen our cyesare open, bul;I ;O I>ver· Ihado"'"ed by Ihe imalel of the real WI)Iid.ln I dartened room. h0wever. il does remain visible to some d~ Thi ••tatic impairs our perceplion of Ille oulside worid. and clouds our menial processes. Thc pereeplion I>fthe spirimal world i. even more IcnUOU$ than Ihal of lhe physical. In a normal .talc of ronsciousOCiS, menial static m.kel it abs.olulcly impossible 10 visualize 1M spiril lll.l world. SEnR YETZlJl.O,H He~ Ihis Slale of mental stalic is called ~chaos~ (ro/li/). A, Ihe word TQ/rll (nn) 0()IneS from IIIe ' ·erb T"hah (~), mnnin, 10 be ~asIQUoded~ or ~confused. · >:1 This is the nonnal st,te of mental confusion, wlle~ the mind is ck>uded with st.tic. Th is is .lto associated willi Binall consciousness. and IICCOfdin,ly. a number of Kabbltlists as§l)Ci.te To/Ill wilh Binah." The lobar alto teaclles Illal Too .. is associated with Ibe Klipoll (Husk). the forttl thaI p~vrm one from vi suali2i"l the spirilual realm. " It is out of tllis ToIIl/. this stale of confused Binall consciousness. tbat one must creale a palpable ima,e. There are many imqes that can be produced. bUI the mOSI common is Ihe mental Gokm, the astral body. The initiate thus "forms palpable substance (nwm ....'" out of chaos.~ Thi. implies attaini"l a .tate ofCh.khmab COnsc1ouj.. ness. Tile Kabbalisls tbus note Ihal the word GoIem (a,,) has a numerical value of 73. IIIe same as Ihat ofCh.khmah (!'II:I:lI\). " One mllSl then "make nonexistence inlO aioIencc. ~ brlier, in tt.at· i"" "form subswlce out of d\aos, ~ the texl uses tile word "form," while here it uses the word "make." In Heboew, nl""Cially au:ordin& to the Kabbalists. the word "form" (}o:llzar) denotts the initial fonnin& of "somethin& fl"QlTl oornethin&- ~ Tho "'rm "make~ (asah.). on the other l\and, refers to the completion of the po« Thuo. in "fontIiflg subst.nox QUI 0{ chaos, ~ one besins tile mental act 0( creation. In "moking n(lII('Ji ... 1erKf: into 1!1i5tenox," one completes it. The lerm "form.tion~ alto implies an activity lakilll platt in Yelzirab, the lower spiri lual univen.e. ThUs. when one "forms substance QU\ of cbaos." one is brin,in, aboul a Pllrely spirilual result in the uni'·erse of Ye~i .. h. " Makin,, " on Ih e olber lIand. ~ren \0 Ibe universe of Asiy.b . .... bid! borden on tbe physical. This implies results Ibat may actually be manifesl in the physical world. In order to aa:omplilh Ihis. one must entc"!" fully into tbe realm of NOlhin,ness. This is the hi"'esl level of Chakhmah consciousness, borderin, on Keler. One IherdOf"C belins with "non.,..itlen~," whicb is NothinBJIess. Wilen one ",.cho this level, he an actually make somethirll ~that actually is~ (ychllO) (lr ".,..iSlen<:e." He can aClually bri lll aboul ~sullS in the univen.e of Asiyah ..... hich can tllen tw: rdkcted in tile physical world. In makin, a GoIem , Ihis ...·ould oorrespon.d to Ihe state of O)nsciousness required tw:fo~ Ibe mental imqe could be imposed on Ille day. brin,;n, i\ 10 life. A very similar pl""l)(:nl i. dncribcd by the VCII Hassidic master. Rabbi Do.. Bacr, tbe Mauid of Mczritch ( 1704- 1772). He writes thaI .... hen a per50ll contemplates a physieal obj~ completely ~nd IOtally, he can .clually bri"l that objecl onlO bis lhou",\. If his 1bousht is , ", Ihen bound \0 the supernal Mind, he can elevate Ihal object \0 the level of Mi nd. From IlIcK. il no be funller elevated \0 the Ie"el of No\hin&ne:s5. WhCK the obj<:el ~ases to elIiSi. When Ihis ob~ is tllen once aaain brou&lll back 10 the lc~1 of Mind , it call be brou&lll back in any form thai Ihe initiate desires. Thus, when he IinaUy bfinp it back 10 ils normal physical state. the object can be ehanaed in any manller he desires. As the Magid stales. -he can even transform il inlO JOld.~'" II is in Ihis state of consciousness Lhal one can visuali2e the Sefirot as -veal pillars. - One -carves- them out. Ihis meanilli lhll the image of tile Selirah is seen separately. totany fiUil\l the oonsciousness. Even tho ...&It Ihe Sd'irot aK totally ineffable and iodeKriNbk. when a pe~n is in Ihis state of oonsciousnt'SS, he can -ClI."",- them out. They are Illen pe~ved as solid pillars. made of transparen t air. Like the air, the Sefi1'(l1 are still invisible, but in this state of consciousn<"$$. ev~n tile air can ~me visible. This is a sign ... The Sefer Yetzirah d~ribes a s~ throuah wh ich one knows th.u he has anained this state. He must 10 throuah the ~ntire array. "Alef with th~m all. and all of them ....ith Alee This mean. lhal he perm!!u:, the amoy forward and backward. which rnpecti~ely are the modes of creali", and deslroyin ... Tile inilale Ihen " fo~ lransforms and makes." The word for "foresee" here is IZO/ri! . and IS discuilSed earlier (1 :6), this word dellOtes mystical insiahl and foresi&hl. If the ini tiate has ulained the proper state, he atlains I mystical insiJl!I throuah which he can prrceive tile inner essence of all things. He Cln then cnpse in the prOC_ ess described earlier. where the Sefer YelZirah said, "discern with them. and probe from them " (I :4). When Ihe initiate reaches Ihis hi&h level, he an also "transform." actually chanlinl physicallhinp. He CIIn ev~n "make," bri~n, thinp 10 nislence in the physical world. MOSI impo"ant is the final realiuli",,: "An thaI is formed and all Ihlt is spoken is one Name." The iniliale not only kIlo"'s Ihis inlellectually, but he can actually visualize In d see Ihal an creation is IIOthi", more Ihan one Name, the Tetraanmmaton. A Sign/or this thing. 22 objects . . . This goes back and refel1l 10 lhe entire chapter. "T",·enly·two objects in a sinsJe body." is . sil" Ihal the initiate has completed this discipline and has mastered it fully. ,~ SEf'ER YETZIRAH II," ncb of the 22 !eUel"$ 10 fonn a menul image (If . differ. ent part of the body. Each part of the body can thu ~ be fonned ~pa. H~ talely. The abili ty 10 oomp/de ~parate parts. however, don not pron mastery of the InC'thod of Serer Yetzirah. The final proof of mastery is the ability 10 • ...,mble all III ..... 22 objed. inlO a "; 0&1"body. " This is Ihe procns of compktin, a mental GoIem. The initiale mU$\ 1>01 only form .lIlhe parts, but he ml,lst actually assemble them. T llis means that while he i. COPied in lho< medilation 10 ..""te Q".., pan. he ml,lSI nOI lose lIis menial imqc of tile parts lhat lie formed carlier. As each part of Ihe imqe is fOfJl'lcl, il mu~ !lor retained io 1"" mind. wilh ,u~lIenl imqcs ad<.kd 10 ii , PIOn by part. T he amount o f mental di.cipli""" ... _II as the advanced nalure of Ihe rmdilat;ve lKhniqllc requi~ for thil. i. virtually ~ond description. The creation o fa mental Golem is therdon: a culmination of ille arts of Sefer Ye!zirah , as ....en IS a !es! !o determine if one has m.iIS.. tered them. This did no! involve the actual c~a!ion of a pbysical OoIem , since this ....... only done on "ery special occasion •. As tile K.\bbalislS .... 'rn. JUdI In un-KIed. Mem '"POCstills the richl hand column (headed by Cbakhmah). Sltin. the left hand column (1'II':aded by Binah), and Ald', the cmlr.ll column (headed by Krier).> Th ere is, ho_ver. another interprelalion , and Ihi. follo~ lhe arranllcmcnt of the leiters on the Tree of Life aCCOrdinllQ the Ari .' He"" Ale(, Mem and Shin a", the horiwntallinc.. connectinl oppos. ina Scfirot. Shin is betWttn Chakhmah and Binah , Alef between Chesed and Oevurah, a nd Mcm betWttn NtI"lIch and Hod. , ,~ SHI:R I'ETZ.I RAH FoIlo"';n, IlIio, lh~ leU i. sari ... l11a1 ll\c "fou ndalion" o f all three: of these Mother lellers is tile synt hesis th.at connectltllesi. and antithesis. Thesis is Ihe Selirah 10 Ihe riJ/lt, antithesi s is the one \0 t he ltn, and synlhesis is Ihe MOlher leiter C(lnnectin, Ihe two. 3:2 :'TOOOI ~~~ltI t,,"U "0, 17"0f( ~ 17~ D'n "1~ I:r.1ll \l(Y"I rnv~t:I \:71:)1:1 otnm :rm~ nuKl:ll m~ l,'ru C;"IDl v/t Thr« M oth",," Aff{ Mem Slri" ~r;»e) II grnu. mystiCQI Si'IolZl).' This is very clo6el y rdated, and shares Ihe same rool wilh Ihe word Pe!iyah (""''''). used in relatio n \0 the Th irty-two Path, of Wi$dom ( I: I). One reuon for Ihi$, as di'ICUw:d earlier (2: I), is be(au,", it iS lhroua:h these Mother k n f'rs lhal 0"" can en ter ;n10 the realm of Chaldtmah oonsciousness . .... hich is th e portal to the transcendental. These three Mother letten are also related to the mystery of thoe divi~ N.~. The Sefer Yetzirah earlier said. RHe chose three let· ten . . . in lne m~tery of Ihe three Mothen, AMSh (l'!lIey "'en: overwhelmed by Ihe Licht and ~~ hallered.· Th is ;s known as Ihe " Breakin, of Vessels.~ The broken shards oflhesc VesKls fell to a lown- spirii"allevel. and subsequently bttamc the source of all evil. II ;s for Ihis .uson Ihal Chll» (Toiri/) 15 uid 10 be tile rool of evil. Aner hav;n, betn .hanered, the VesKls "''''''' one:.. apin rectified and T'fbuilt in to Personifications (Parlzujim). Each of tllese Partl ufim oonsj51S 0(613 pans. paralletilll the 6 13 pam ofille body, IS well as the 613 commandments of Ihe Torah. These PaMIufim ..-en: then able to ;nleraci with ea(h olher. More important, throuch 1M Tom , \1Iey ~ abo _bk 10 ;nlelXl wilh man. TIli, is the stall'""hen: Ihe Sdirol become ,ivers as wdl as rtaiven. In Ihis rectified nate the Vessels (or Scfirot) ~ fi\IO mccive God's Liabl . In ~bNlit1i, l~rminoLosy. Ihi. $late is <;ailed the Uni_ versoe of R«tificat ion t Tikk"" j. l1Ie ~bbalis" leacb Ihat the klten of the Telnlu-mmlton, YHV (\'1'). only prnain to the Universoe of RectifiCition. In lhe Universoe ofChaoo (Thllu), the divine Name oonsisled ofl he leit ers AMSh ("1lII).' When a prrson ~ n!~rs inlo the mys!~ries. he must parallel the sequence of CTealion.' Fi nl he enlen the Universe of Chaos (Toiru). Here his mind is filled wilh oonfused lransient images. If he pettti ves Ihe Sefiml. Ihey are filike liablni n" runnilll and muminl~ ( 1:6). l1Ie Sefimt are perceived as disconnected ima,es. where no relationship between them can be seen. This is lhe SlalC 0( consciousness attai ned thmu'" the ktten AMSh (" 1lII). u diKUssed urlier (2:1). The initiate can Ihen enter lhe Universoe of Rectificalion. ...·here lhe Sefimt are connected and a!l$llme the fonn of Partzllfim. EReh Partzuf;1 a human-like form. very elosely related to Ihe OOIlCt'plual Golem. The emotion of Ih i, menIal Gokm-Partzuf i, ac:c:omplishro throu&h the leltCfll of the name YHVH 1000ther with viriOUS leiters, as described above (2:S). This iii 1M Name associated .... ilh the Uni· versoe of Rectification. Here. one must combine aU the Sc:firot to form fia ,in"e body ~ (2:6). One also becomes a"'arc of the lines con nectinl the Sefiroc, "'hith arc included in the Thirty·two Paths of Wisdom. Hence, when these Thirty-two Paths areo discussed. the Sefer Yetzirah uses the names YH YHVH. The Ihree Mother leiters. A1I.fSh l iso lprlJ outlhe Hebrew word Emnh (\\'011). meanin, ~yestemia.hl. " Thil occurs in Ihe ,'ene, "You o.lepl lUI niibl (emnh) .... ith my falher~ (Genesis 19:34). The word , '" S£fER YETlJRAH ~mrslr. abo d~note$ deep impenetrable &loom , as in the VCI'K. vGloom (..mn il). ""nle and desolation" (J ob 30:3),' This is tile inky &loom tht nisIN! herolT cITation, in the Uni verse of Chaos., Ihe "yesterniJ,ht" heron: lhe Scfirot Vl'C're brou&hl into bein ... There i. allO e-oidenc:e that the "''OTd tmnh ...-as also IIwd as a mystical name ofOod. Thus. Laban Ioaid 10 Jacob, "The God of your fathers lasl ni&hl (Emnlt) $l.id 10 mc" (v.nes;. ) I :2~). This can JUSt as easily be ..,ad , "The God of )'Qur fathen. Emesh, said \0 me," Similarly. Jacob said. - And Emesh pvc judlmen'" (;» . meanin. "occlusion, ~ Ind also has Ihi. connolltion. As Ion. as a person can o nly tbi nk in lerms of the physical dimension. of s~ . lhe inner realily i. cont:e3kd from hi m. Also sil11i fi canl is the facl Ihal a rin. is nonnally ..·om on the finger. As the Sefer Yetzirall states (1 :3). the Ten Sefirot ill\" ",pre- '" senlro by tlw: len fina.~n. The six tinp a~ tbus worn on the ~l WfincersM correspondinl \0 the six Sefiro\, .. hieb. represent the lix dir«tion1." The Msix rinpM hCf't also allude 10 the · six rinp of the Ibro:n ,mentioned in the Zohar'" 11 is from these nnp Iha1 all lIOund and l~h arc derivtld. These six rinp, wbicb a~ the soun:e of physical speech , conceal the mystery of AMSh, which n:lales 10 the rool of spttd!. This mystery (:an only he penetrated whell one lransoends the I'l'alm of physical speech. From (hem emanated air. KYller and fire This is the process described in detail in chapler ODC (1:9_12). From them are born Fathers The three MOiller leuen, AMSh (rt!lI<). represent cause, efTttl and theiT synl hesis. Shin (I') is cause, Mem (0) is c/Tea, and A.ief(IIl is the synthesis bet~n Ih~ 1WO oppoosiu:s. III tlw: Tree of Life dilJI'1Im, these.1.rt: represented by three b.orizootaJ lines. These three IlOriZODtal lines Jive rise 10 the three vcnicaJ columnS in Ihe Tree of Life diaJlllm, headed by KeleT, Cbakhmah. and Binah. These are represented by -air. waler, Ind fi~. ~ We therefo~ bqin with I dialttt ic triad: -C~lto<",- -object of c:reation,~ and -act of creation.- This gives rise to a second triad: love, juda:ment. and mercy. Thil set:Ond triad defines the th,"" column. into which the Sefll"Ol. a", Ilrnlllied.." The th,"" horizontal lines are th e three Mothers. The three column. define lhoe three Fathen, which are the lellen Yue! Heh Vav (n-). 11 w" from these leiters thlt .~ i. defined, •• the Serer Yet:zirah stiles earlier ( I: Il). Onoe space iii deftned, then creation can take pla~. This can also be underslood in a meditative sense. Throuah the pronunciation of the letters AMSb, one enters the rnlm of Chakhmah consciousness., and P""" Ihrouah thc Chuhmal. One then passes thl"O\llh the domains of Breath, water and fin:, IS described earlier ( 1:14). At this lime, one mu.t be in I totally recep.. tive mode, which is In upecI of the feminine. Hence, the lelten AMSh are called "Mothen.Aftcr this, however. o~ can e nter into I creative mode throuah the letters YHV. 11>ese Ieu= .", therefore called "Fathers. ~ OIIly then can one produce -descendents.- SEFER YE"TZIRAH 3:3 I'''' 11;.p17 l JYn JWl"I17"Ol( 111IJK ,,~ c71vJ 17' 0.0< J"I1CK ""17 C;"IJ "1]'1 rocm EO'!llJ " ' 0.0< J"I1CK ""171 :"IlWJ W' I:jbC J"I1CK ,,"'" ::"I~"ll "1:11 nmv MOlir~' Aft{ M",1 Siri" tct:.) lit! t!1tS"a''t!d fllt!m. IIi canoN IIIt!m. 1ft! Pt!'milifti IIIt!m. 1ft! " '(!l'gllfd IIIt!m. lit! frtJJUformni flr t!"1, And willi ,11, "1 If' dt!piclni n.rN M()IlIm AMSII (rn::M) in lilt! Uni''"'t!. nrN Atafll"l AAtSII (Vt:.) in lilt! )~'. TllrN MOIir", AMSII ('Cot<) /" III, SoiI/. malt! and fomal, . He engra.V!d lhem ... The ber;jnnina of this S«tion is uactly the same as :U .. 9o.pt thai aU the letters ~ beUl@;discussedthere, andllm:onlytheIlueeMother letten :m: under COII5ideration. In boIh caceo , ~ :m: fj,-e proc ... m· rnuavina. carvin&. permutina. wei&hina. and transfomtin.&. When , as in chapt~r IWO, all 22 lcl1= are &i~n equal Slallls, IlIen all Ii,'e d ilmns>Clns as the Ii..e phonetic families (2:3). Here, On Ihe olher hand, Ihe Ihlft MOlhen are taken separately. The fi ..e dilmJUions are Ih~refon: also di vided ;nlo thlft domaina: Uni"erse, Year, and SouL The Uni verse consists of the th..,., spacial dimen_ sions, Year consists of Ihe lime dimension. while Solll consisu of IIIe spiritual dimension. A similar division inlO th= domains was encounlerro earlier. in .,hapler one. when the Selirot were lint ~num~nued. f int ~nulm r_ aled was Ihe domain of Soul , Ihe spiri lual dilmnsion, which ron· siSled of~Brealh,M and MBrealh from Brealh~ (1:9,10). Then came Ihe domain of Year, lhe lime dilmnsion, consislin, of Water and fire (I: 11 _12). Finally came Ihe domain of Universe, lite Ih= spacial dimensions. represented by the si~ prnnutations of the 1c1l~n YHV (1 :13). The Sefer ¥euirah stated rarlie. (I : n) thu the Ih= lelten YHV. which define the space conlinuum, are derived from AMSh. '" continuum Therefore, il is Ihe Letters AMSh which separate Ihe ~ce from lhal of time and the spiritual. There is an important differen<:e betwttn Ille $pa~ ronl inuum and Ihe o\~r two. It ;s only in space Iha\ one can mo~ volun1.aIily. In lime, one mo' "n in one direction II I prroclcnnined rale. In Ihe spiritual dime nsion, I physical body eII noo! move al alL Only Ihe soul ClIO move \hrouaJ! Ihe spiritual dimension. and il is for this reason thaI Ihis domain is called SouL The leuen AMSh differential( space from lime and soul. These same lellers can Iherefore be us.ed 10 do away with this diffe_ rentiation. D'W \71'( D'C "'Ml't c"I1V~ \7- QN 1TII:IlC t>1:l17 nne "~l C'CO M"Ul 1i'Kl:l ~"Ul 3:4 r""M :C'1U'~ v."c Thrtr M otl,,,,,. AAfSh (mot). in Ihe Un;''e!'u orC oi., .... Il'~ fi rr. Ifea''I'n Earth And lOW CUQ/ffl from lOW cualN from o,j, from flu ,.g/..,. Breath ikcides M "'Nn IMm. In chapler one, Ihe text discussed the spiritual aspect of "BlUth. wateT and fj"". in lenns oft~ orilinal four Scfirot. Here it is speakil1l of how these Ih= are al50 manifesl in !he physical world. In Ihe sim plest physical terms. ~w.ter~ repcsen ts maller, ~fire~ is enc'"*Y. and ~a.ir" is the $pICe Ih" allows Ihe two to interact. " On • somewhat dec~r physical level , fire, w.ller .nd .ir repre_ $en! the three basic pltysical fOKeS. " Fire" is the electromll&llelic force, IhroUJh wh.ich all mailer interacts. The lIomic nucleus. bowever, COn.iSIi of like positive eh.r&CS. which. would repel each other if only clectromqneti sm el isted.. There must Ihema,.., exist another force which Cl n bind Ihe nucleus IOSClhcr. Thi. i. Ihe "strona n\lele.r" or pio nie force. ",·hich hinds the nucleus 1<)Ielher, repre- S~FE R YETZtRAH r . .) <.\r~;;~ ... ,~ \ • Knted by ~WlIter.~ [fthis nuclear foru _re to inleract wilh all parti_ cles. however. all m~uer would be mutually auracted together, formin, a solid lum p denser than a neutron star. On the other hand. even wit hin each elementary panicle. there is. need for . robesive force to rounlen.<;t the elee1romaJne1ic repulsion wilbin the panicle itself. Th is foro: ca.n be nei ther electromapetic nor pionic. This i, the ~~iT,~ .... hieh representS tbe ~weak nuclear" force, which "decides between" the otber two. It is th is force that allowsli&ht panicles (leptOns) such as eketrons to uis\. See fi,ure 4 1. The founh foro:, lfllvity, COfTeSpond$ to "earth." Earth. however is nOi I basie element , bul a confluence of the other three." It is therefore represented by the final Heh in the Tetn.lfllmmaton, which is actually a refJetition of the fint Heh in this name. On an even more elementary level. these throe elementl represent the throe ues in the unitary symmetry. SU( 3). which is the most basic propeny of mauer. These throe elements ,Iso relate to the experiential. Here. fire ~resen l$ the radiation of eneru, while Wiler representS the Ibsorption of enel'lY. These are IltHi, Ind ant ithesis, ,;vin,lnd rterivin .. wh ich themselves are mani festations of cause and effect. Air. whieh represents the transminion of eneflY is t hen the synthesis, li nki", the two. " '" In this asP«1, fin: and water also represent the C(ln5Cio~ne5$. ~holOlical mod~ of Binah and Chakhmah ~fin:~ is Binah tayah lien: IQ llso mean Mabundance,M bUI from 1M CODlHI, Mtemperate" seems \() be I mon: klsical inlerp~laliQn. Rav-ayall would then deoole Ille desired meaninl belw«n Mfin: Mand ~water." TIle Serer Yetzirah also uses Ihis W()ro in soch a sense. l! il siJllificant to note thaI lhe Talmud i'UC1llretl "fi ~ and Wiler" in 11Ii$ verse to denote ps~holo&ieal stales." The Midnuh likewise interprets "fin: and water"" in this vefSC 15 ~ferriDJ 10 IWO opposinl kinds ofpurplory." Fi~ is tlte overabundallCe of sensation, and it is also n:lated to shame." Wiler, on lite otIter lIand, <.kDQtcs 1ac.k of sensalion, and is n:lated to de-pres.sion. RnwI)llh i$ tMn the p/'rfect mentll state belwe<:n thne IWO rxtn:ma. Some authorities al!lO"'Y tllallhe word Ra»aya/l is n:lated to the word YQI"l'h (:n1'), wllieh denotes tile early autumn rain .. " SEFEII. YETZIRAH 3:6 rc:n ~N' :UP)l "01 ~'J:I ~ -OI( moN ~..,~ :T'Ul D'CO ~ 10:11 ~ftC N"u) ~N' .:1'Ul :C'nl':I V'Uz;l nntJ Thr« MOIh", AMSh (lIOI<) ill th~ Soul. mal~ and frmaJ~. ar~ Ih~ hrod. brll,.. and chnt. 1M hrod is crrolfd from fi" . TIr~ lJ,lIy Is crrot~ from ..... Ier and 1M chnl. from lHwllh. df'Cidrs /Nt "'« n IMm. The ~!I(Iul~ hue also refen 101M body. One reuon for Ihis is beaUK the $()UI is an exa<:1 oounlerpJort OhM body. Evcrythinl found in 1M body is also found in Ihe soul. Similarly, 1M buman body i. a microcosm of Ihe , upernal -Man.~ See r"ure 42 On pap: 151. This is Ihe "Man" Sillilll o n the Ihrone, Ittn by Ezekiel. Tile lupernal "Man" repre5C'n\$ the amy of the Sefirol. The "Soul" mentioned he", lhen also "'fen 10 Ihe anlh .... pomorph ic reprnenlliion orlhi. alTllY. Wilh respect to the Sdirol, Shin is the line belWttn Chlli.hmah and Binah; Alef, between Cllcsed and Gevurah ; and Mem. be!w~ Netueh and Hod , l1Ie top line repn:scnls the head, Ih., eente!' line, Ihe ChClil, and 1M Jo_r line, 1M bdly. " Accordinlto Rabbi Abraham Abublfia, lhe", ;1 also an allusion here to the IWO covenants mentioned above 0 :3), The CO" enanl of the IOnlue il in Ihe head, while lhe covenanl of circumcision is in Ihe relion of the belly. Between Ihe IWO, in 1M cbest, is tbe bean, which is kinl o"er Ille soul (6:3), This alludes 10 the Torah . wh ich is IIIe primary co,'cnant " The head also reprnenlS min 's crelli'1: power . .... hich i. repre_ senled by fi"" The belly is man', receptive power, repn:scnled by waler, The clle~ and lunas mU51 bolh inhale and exhale, and Iherefo re pertain 10 bolh, In a mmenlaries nOle, only t he te rm , "held of the Ga~iyall- hal this conll<)tltion. Ind not the word Gaviyah itself.'"' 3:7 "1ro " 'Wi" rtTO 'l( TllU:l ;T'rTI trnv :l nil( "'0., "V< 0;0 VI :"11:l :"11 lD"U'"I :O"ll'l(:I TI:ljill p ' !:»t:l ~t "ODl:! ;T'1l1 Ife made Ille Imv Altfrr-; ki"8 0"" Brnull And lie bound a Ct'!".*·n 10 il And lie combinftl Ihem one And "'illltilem lie pmed willi aII01l1e1' Air in lilt U,,,verse Tht temperate in Iht )nu And Ihe dInt in tht Seul: TIlt malt ..dill AMSh (vI:JI