Sephirot
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| The Sefirot in Jewish Kabbalah | ||
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Category:Sephiroth | |
Sephirot (or "enumerations", Sephira , Sephiroth, Sefiroth (סְפִירוֹת), singular: Sephirah, also Sefirah (סְפִירָה "enumeration" in Hebrew)), in the Kabbalah of Judaism, are the ten attributes that God (who is referred to as אור אין סוף Aur Ain Soph, "Limitless Light, Light Without End") created through which he can manifest (divine presence) not only in the physical but the metaphysical universe.
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[edit] Ten Sephirot
Through a careful study of the Tenakh, Jewish sages such as Solomon ibn Gabirol and the present day Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi identified ten Sephirot. At their fundamental level, the ten Sephirot are a step-by-step process illuminating the Divine plan as it unfolds itself in our world. They are known by the following names/characteristics from highest to lowest:[citation needed]
- Keter - Crown - Divine Plan/ Creator/ infinite light/ Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh - I AM THAT I AM (Supreme/ Total Consciousness)
- Chokhmah - Divine Reality/ revelation/ Yesh me-ayin - being from nothingness (Power of Wisdom)
- Binah - Understanding/ repentance/ reason (Power of Love)
- Chesed - Mercy/ Grace/ Love of (intention to emulate) God (Power of Vision)
- Gevurah - Judgment/ strength/ determination (Power of Intention)
- Tiferet - Symmetry/ balance/ compassion (Creative Power)
- Netzach - Contemplation/ Initiative/ persistence (Power of the Eternal Now)
- Hod - Surrender/ sincerity/ steadfastness (Intellectual/ Observational Power)
- Yesod - Foundation/ wholly remembering/ coherent knowledge (Power of Manifesting)
- Malkuth - Lower Crown - Kingdom/ physical presence/ vision and illusion (Power of Healing/ Accomplishment/ Level of Realization of Divine Plan)
The Sephirot above are listed in order according to the version given by rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero. Some list the Sephirot somewhat differently by taking out Keter and adding in da'at:
- Chokhmah - Divine Reality/ revelation/ Yesh me-ayin - being from nothingness (Power of Wisdom)
- Binah - Understanding/ repentance/ reason (Power of Love)
- Da'at - Knowledge, the bridge between the intellect and emotion
- Chesed - Mercy/ Grace/ Love of (intention to emulate) God (Power of Vision)
- Gevurah - Judgment/ strength/ determination (Power of Intention)
- Tiferet - Symmetry/ balance/ compassion (Creative Power)
- Netzach - Contemplation/ Initiative/ persistence (Power of the Eternal Now)
- Hod - Surrender/ sincerity/ steadfastness (Intellectual/Observational Power)
- Yesod - Foundation/ wholly remembering/ coherent knowledge (Power of Manifesting)
- Malkuth/ Lower Crown - Kingdom/ physical presence/ vision and illusion (Power of Healing/ Accomplishment/ Level of Realization of Divine Plan)
The Da'at is the mystical state of unity of the 10 Sephiroth, also called the Tree of Life. These ten levels are associated with Kabbalah's (Zohar) four different "worlds" or "planes" which serve as the guide for returning to the Creator.
- Atziluth (אֲצִילוּת), or "World of Emanations", on this level of Creator, Reality/ the light of the Ain Sof radiates and is united with its source.
- Beri'ah (בְּרִיאָה) or "World of Creation", on this conceptual level of creation ex nihilo without form, only the highest ranking Angels (purity of being) inhabit.
- Yetzirah (יְצִירָה) or "World of Formation" on this level, creation (creativity) is related to form.
- Asiyah' (עֲשִׂיָּה) or "World of Actions", on this level creation is relegated to the 'physical Asiyah' comprising our physical world with all its creatures.
Each of these worlds are progressively grosser and further removed from the Divine (Plan), however the ten Sephiroth manifest in all of them.
Whereas in the Zohar and elsewhere there are four worlds or universes (planes of existence), in the Lurianic system, Five Worlds, a fifth plane, Adam Kadmon-manifest Godhead level, mediates between the Ein Sof and the four lower worlds which can be understood as descriptive of dimensional levels of intentionality related to the man's natural "desire to receive" and a (secret Science of Kabbalah) method for the soul's progress upward toward unity with or return to the Creator.
[edit] The pillars
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The Sephiroth are organized into three discrete columns or gimel kavim ("three lines" in Hebrew). They are often referred to as the three "Fathers," are derived from the three "Mothers," and are attributed to the vowels (Vav, Yud, and Heh.) They are as follows:
- Central column:
Kether heads the central column of the tree, which is known metaphorically speaking as the "Pillar of Mildness" and is associated with Hebrew letter Aleph, "the breath", and the air element. It is a neutral one, a balance between the two opposing forces of male and female tendencies. Some teachings describe the Sephirot on the centre pillar as gender-neutral, while others say that the Sephirot vary in their sexual attributions.
- Right column, in Hebrew kav yamin:
Chokhmah heads the right column of the tree, metaphorically speaking the "Pillar of Mercy", associated with the Hebrew letter Shin, the fire element, and the male aspect;
- Left column, in Hebrew kav smol:
The left column is headed by Binah and is called the "Pillar of Severity." It is associated with Hebrew letter Mem, the water element and the female aspect.
While the pillars are each given a sexual attribution, this does not mean that every sephirah on a given pillar has the same sexual attribution as the pillar on which they sit. In Jewish Kabbalah, of all the Sephirot only Binah and Malkuth are considered female, while all the other Sephirot are male. Additionally (and this applies to both Jewish and Hermetic Kabbalah), each sephirah is seen as male in relation to the following sephirah in succession on the tree, and female in relation to the foregoing sephirah.
Alternative traditions consider the grammatical genders of the words involved. Thus, Gevurah is feminine because it has an atonal finial Heh. Thus, Severity or Justice becomes a feminine attribute while Chesed (Mercy or Lovingkindness) becomes a masculine one, despite the modern Western tendency to genderize these terms in reverse manner.
[edit] Numerology
In a numerological sense, the Tree of Sephiroth also has significance. Between the 10 Sephiroth run 22 channels or paths which connect them, a number which can be associated with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
To envision the tree, consider each of these ten spheres as being concentric circles with Malkuth being the innermost and all others encompassed by the latter. None of these are separate from the other, and all simply help to form a more complete view of the perfected whole. To speak simply, Malkuth is the Kingdom which is the physical world upon which we live and exist, while Kether, also call Kaether and Kaether Elyon is the Crown of this universe, representing the highest attainable understanding of God that men can understand.
Hypothetically there also exists an Eleventh Sephirah called Daath, not to be confused with Da'at. Its meaning is the Abyss and its universal element is Neptune which makes it an important element of the Tree of Sephiroth. However, the first Qabbalists did not include any such sphere, making Daath a contested point of philosophical discussion. The Jewish Kabbalists that do accept this entity state that it is not a Sephirah, but rather the absence of one. In the Jewish tradition, the idea of an eleventh Sephirah is tantamount to blasphemy, as stated in the Sefer Yetzirah: "Ten Sephirot of Nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven.”
[edit] Rabbinic significance
As to the actual significance of the numbers 10 and 22 in context of Judaism goes into Kabbalistic interpretation of Genesis. God is said to have created the world through Ten Utterances, marked by the number of times Genesis states, “And God said.”
- Gen 1:3 - "And Elohim said, 'Let there be Light.' and there was Light." (Kether)
- Gen 1:6 - "And Elohim said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the Waters, and let it divide the Waters from the Waters." (Chockmah)
- Gen 1:9 - "And Elohim said, 'Let the Waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so." (Binah)
- Gen 1:11 - "And Elohim said, 'Let the Earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth.' And it was so." (Chesed)
- Gen 1:14-15 - "And Elohim said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.' And it was so." (Gevurah)
- Gen 1:20 - "And Elohim said, 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'" (Tiphareth)
- Gen 1:22 - "And Elohim Blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'" (Netzach)
- Gen 1:26 - "And Elohim said, 'Let us make Man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'" (Hod)
- Gen 1:28 - "And Elohim blessed them and Elohim said to them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over thefish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.'" (Yesod)
- Gen 1:29-30 - "And Elohim said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of theearth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat.' And it was so." (Malkuth)
As for the 22 letter-paths, there must first be an explanation of the three different types of letters in Hebrew. See “Bahir Tree” of “Kircher Tree” image for reference.
- There are three “Mothers” (Aleph, Mem, and Shin) that represent the horizontal lines.
- Their difference from the other letters is a matter for another article.
- There are seven “Doubles” (Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, and Tav) that represent the vertical lines.
- Each double is attributed to a soft and hard sound, positive and negative meaning, direction, planet, gate of the soul, color, angels, and vowel.
- Gimel, Dalet, Resh, and Tav’s second pronunciations are lost or disputed, with different dialects using different sounds. Tav has no second pronunciation in Sephardi, but Ashkenazi use a 's' sound when the dagesh is absent.
- The twelve “Elementals” (Heh, Vav, Zayin, Chet, Tet, Yud, Lamed, Nun, Samech, Ayin, Tzaddi, and Qof) have one pronunciation, and represent the diagonal lines. Other sources say that they correspond to the twelve zodiacal constellations.
Each letter grouping has significance in Genesis 1:
- The Mothers represent the three times Genesis states “God made."
- The Doubles represent the seven times Genesis states “God saw."
- The elementals (or singles) represent the rest of the times “God” (Elohim in every instance of Genesis Chapter 1) is mentioned.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- The Sefer Yetzirah the book of creation: In theory and practice, translated and explained by Aryeh Kaplan (1997). Samuel Weiser, Inc. (ISBN 0-87728-855-0)
- The Bahir, translated by Aryeh Kaplan (1995). Aronson. (ISBN 1-56821-383-2)
- Qabalistic Concepts: Living the Tree, William G Gray (1997). Samuel Weiser, Inc. (ISBN 1-57863-000-2)
- The Mystical Qabalah, Dion Fortune (Originally published: London, Williams & Norgate 1935; Revised edition published in 2000 by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC) (ISBN 1-57863-150-5)
- On The Kabbalah and its Symbolism, Gershom Scholem (1996). Schocken. (ISBN 0-8052-1051-2)
- The Secret Teaching of All Ages by Manly P. Hall (October 27, 2003). Tarcher. ISBN 1-58542-250-9
- The Decad of Creation by Aaron Leitch (Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, ,http://www.jwmt.org/v2n13/doc.html)
