Michael Wynn's Occult Reference Library
HOCHMA,HOKMAH

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KARR DON NOTES ON THE STUDY OF EARLY KABBALAH JEWISH MYSTICISM IN ENGLISH

ason in the kuzari, h in proceedings of the american academy for jewish research, vol. xiii (new york: 1943. iii. some works by abraham ibn ezra have been translated into english. reshith hokhmah: 1. the beginning of wisdom: an astrological treatise by abraham ibn ezra, edited by raphael levy and francisco cantera. baltimore: johns hopkins press, 1939. 20081 20 2. the beginning of wisdom/ reshith hochma, translated and annotated by meira b. epstein; edited with additional annotations by robert hand [bel air: a[rchive for the] r[etrieval] of h[istorical] a[strological] t[exts, 1998. commentary of abraham ibn ezra on the pentateuch, translated by jay f. shachter. hoboken: ktav publishing house, 1986. commentary on the pentateuch, translated and annotated by norman strickland and arthur m. si

LAITMAN M BASIC CONCEPTS IN KABBALAH

from the creator until they reached the lowest level, where the will to enjoy finally materialized. the only difference between the upper world and ours lies in the fact that in our world the vessel (the will to receive pleasure) exists at its lowest level, called the material body. before its final materialization, the vessel evolves through four stages, divided into ten sefirot (levels: keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, yesod, and malchut. these sefirot constitute filters inhibiting the light that the creator directs to the created beings. the task of these filters is to weaken the light to such an extent that the creatures existing in our world will be able to perceive it. b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 24 sefirat (singular for sefirot) keter is

ah, hod, yesod, and malchut. these sefirot constitute filters inhibiting the light that the creator directs to the created beings. the task of these filters is to weaken the light to such an extent that the creatures existing in our world will be able to perceive it. b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 24 sefirat (singular for sefirot) keter is also called the world adam kadmon; sefirat hochma is called the world atzilut; sefirat bina the world beria; the sefirot hesed to yesod the world yetzira; and sefirat malchut the world assiya. the last level of the world, assiya, constitutes our universe (see drawing 1. drawing 1 kabbalah calls this level olam ha zeh (this world. it is perceived by those who exist in it, and the vessel, or the will to enjoy, is called the body. the light

h a p t e r 9 f r o m t h e p r e fac e t o t h e z o h a r the book of zohar was concealed from the uninitiated from the day of its creation. now, the conditions have ripened for its disclosure to the public. to make the zohar accessible to every reader, we must precede it with some explanations. first, it should be noted that everything described in the zohar is an order of ten sefirot: keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, yesod, malchut, and their combinations. in the same way express any thought with a limited number of letters in the alphabet, so are the combinations of the ten sefirot sufficient to describe every spiritual action or object. however, there are three clear boundaries one should always keep in mind, connected to the four levels of perception (or a

evushim (dresses, and heichalot (palaces. the book of zohar studies human souls, whereas all other objects are analyzed only with respect to human souls. it is worth noting that all mistakes, inaccuracies, and delusions are the results of transcending these three boundaries. the following sefirot correspond to the four reviewed worlds atzilut, beria, yetzira, assiya (abya: sefififirat (sefira of) hochma corresponds to the world atzilut; sefirat bina corresponds to the world beria; the six sefirot, from hesed to yesod, collectively called tifferet, correspond to the world yetzira; sefirat malchut corresponds to the world assiya. all that exists above the world atzilut refers to sefirat keter. however, each of the above worlds is also divided into ten sefirot. even the most infinitesimal obj

d yetzira; sefirat malchut corresponds to the world assiya. all that exists above the world atzilut refers to sefirat keter. however, each of the above worlds is also divided into ten sefirot. even the most infinitesimal object in any of the worlds is divided into (or consists of) ten sefirot. the zohar ascribes a specific color to each sefira (drawing 2 on next page: white corresponds to sefirat hochma; red corresponds to sefirat bina; green corresponds to sefirat tifferet; and black corresponds to sefirat malchut. b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 56 drawing 2 although the light that fills the sefirot is colorless, receivers see it with its corresponding hue. thus, in all five worlds (from ein sof to our world, the light that emanates from the creator is an absolutely colorle

other worlds differ from the properties of the light; hence, each of them affects it depending on its spiritual closeness to the light. if we compare the white light to paper, then the message written on it presents the information, and its color stands out against the white background. in the same way, by perceiving red, green, and black, we are able to perceive light. the world atzilut (sefirat hochma) is the white background of the book, thus we are unable to conceive it. however, bina (the world beria, tifferet (yetzira, and malchut (assiya) that respectively correspond to red, green, and black, provide us with information based. f r o m t h e p r e f a c e t o t h e z o h a r 57 on their combinations, interactions, and reactions to the light passing from the world atzilut to our world

green, and black) in these worlds constitute matter, and we attain them atop the white background of f r o m t h e p r e f a c e t o t h e z o h a r 59 the world atzilut. readers studying the zohar should remember the necessity to restrict themselves to the two types of research available to us. as previously mentioned, all the sefirot are subdivided into four levels of attainment. thus, sefirat hochma constitutes the form, and bina, tifferet, and malchut constitute the matter dressed in the form. only sefirot bina, tifferet, and malchut are examined in the zohar. the book does not concern itself with examining the form abstracted from matter, let alone with the essence the creator s part (ein sof) that animates every part of creation. sefirot bina, tifferet, and malchut in the world atzi

onstitute the matter dressed in the form. only sefirot bina, tifferet, and malchut are examined in the zohar. the book does not concern itself with examining the form abstracted from matter, let alone with the essence the creator s part (ein sof) that animates every part of creation. sefirot bina, tifferet, and malchut in the world atzilut are available for our research, whereas sefirot keter and hochma, even at the end of the world assiya are unavailable to us. all that exists in each world is divided into four levels: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human. these correspond to four levels of desire. similarly, every object consists of these four sub-levels of desire: the aspiration to sustain one s existence corresponds to the inanimate level of development. the aspiration to wealth c

tire world is only what we see and feel, failing to perceive how much good the creator has prepared for us. all that was created is divided into five worlds: adam kadmon, atzilut, beria, yetzira, and assiya. nevertheless, every one of them consists of an endless number of elements. the five worlds correspond to five sefirot: adam kadmon corresponds to sefirat keter, atzilut corresponds to sefirat hochma, beria to sefirat bina, yetzira to sefirat tifferet, and assiya corresponds to sefirat malchut. f r o m t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e z o h a r 75 the light (pleasure) that fills the worlds is accordingly divided into five types: yechida, haya, neshama, ruach, and nefesh (the abbreviation in the reverse order forms the word nrnhy. therefore, the world adam kadmon is filled with pl

pleasure called neshama; the world yetzira is filled with pleasure called ruach; and the world assiya is filled with pleasure called nefesh (see table 1. table 1 b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 76 from the creator come the worlds. that is, both the desire to receive delight and the delight that fills them come from the creator. yet, each world is in turn divided into sefirot: keter, hochma, bina, tifferet, and malchut, which are filled with their corresponding lights nrnhy (see table 1) in addition, there are four levels in each world: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human. palaces (heichalot) correspond to the inanimate level; robes (levushim) correspond to the vegetative level; angels (mala'achim) correspond to the animate level, and human souls (neshama) correspond to

uman soul (serve it) from the outside. from birth, we possess a part of the common (original) soul. this part is a point in our hearts, within our desires, or egoism. all of creation is built so that the general laws ruling at every level and in every world manifest in every part of creation, even the smallest particles. for example, all that exists is divided into five worlds, or sefirot: keter, hochma, bina, tifferet, and malchut. each particular world consists of five sefirot, within which even the least significant object is also divided into five sefirot. f r o m t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e z o h a r 77 as was already mentioned, there are four levels in our world: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and human. these correspond to sefirot malchut, tifferet, bina, hochma, and th

t s general impact that spreads equally to all parts. although there is no difference between the sefirot from the highest (keter of ak) to the lowest (malchut of assiya, such a difference does exist with respect to the person receiving the light. sefirot are divided into vessels and the light that fills them. the light emanates from the creator himself. the vessels are also called sefirot keter, hochma, bina, tifferet, and malchut. in the last three worlds, beria, yetzira, and assiya, these vessels constitute filters that block and precisely measure portions of light to the receiver. in this way, everyone receives a portion that exactly corresponds to that soul s spiritual level of development. although the light inside them is homogeneous, from the perspective of the receiver, we refer t

9 tifferet is a more transparent filter than malchut; therefore, the portion of light that it passes from the creator to us is intended to spiritualize the vegetative part of the body. it is more intense than the light of nefesh and is called ruach. bina is more transparent than tifferet. it passes on the creator s light that is meant to correct the animate part of the body and is called neshama. hochma is the most transparent filter. it passes on the light to elevate the desires of the human level. it is called the light of haya and its power is unlimited. as already pointed out, if we have already attained the level of nefesh (with the help of kabbalah, the point of the next level, ruach, already exists within us. if we continue applying the method of kabbalah to fulfill the spiritual la

important to understand that the nrnhy constitutes the division of the entire creation into five parts. that which functions in the general system also functions in its tiniest part. thus, even the lowest level of the world assiya consists of its five constituent elements, its individual nrnhy. this is because every infinitesimal desire consists of five parts: keter (the creator s representative, hochma, bina, tifferet, and malchut (the four levels of creation itself. additionally, the pleasure guiding it also consists of five types of the light of nrnhy. it follows that even the light of the spiritually inanimate level in the world assiya cannot be reached without these four kinds of attainment. no one can be dismissed from studying kabbalah and observing the spiritual laws by means of th

why was it concealed for so many years from the time it was written until the appearance of the ari s kabbalistic method? the answer to this question is found in kabbalah: for 6,000 years of its existence, the world has been structured as ten sefirot, where keter designates the creator s influence and the other sefirot are divided into three groups (see below and in drawing 3 on next page: head: hochma, bina, daat; middle: hesed, gevura, tifferet; end: netzah, hod, yesod. the 6,000 years are also divided into three parts: 2,000 years darkness; 2,000 years the preparation period; and 2,000 years the days of the messiah (redeemer. f r o m t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e z o h a r 83 drawing 3 the first 2,000 years refer to the head, meaning this period receives the small light (nefe

years darkness; 2,000 years the preparation period; and 2,000 years the days of the messiah (redeemer. f r o m t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e z o h a r 83 drawing 3 the first 2,000 years refer to the head, meaning this period receives the small light (nefesh) because the sefirot are inversely related to the creator s light that fills them. the first group (higher sefirot) appears first: hochma, bina, daat, albeit these are filled with a small light. this first 2,000-year period is called the darkness period. during the second 2,000 years, when the second group of sefirot (hesed, gevura, and tifferet) develops, the light of nefesh that filled the first group of sefirot descends to the second one, and the light of ruach fills the first group. these 2,000 years, following the darkne

roaching the end of the third period, we are ready to receive the comprehensive. b a s i c c o n c e p t s i n k a b b a l a h 84 sulam (ladder) commentary on the zohar, and a systematic textbook on kabbalah entitled talmud eser sefirot (the study of the ten sefirot. although the souls who lived during the first and the second 2,000 years were highly exalted and corresponded to the upper sefirot (hochma, bina, and daat, netzah, gevura, and hod, they could not receive the appropriate light because it had not yet reached our world. now, the lowest souls are descending to our world, as the events in our world testify, yet these souls are the ones that complete the structure. the upper light enters the upper souls that have already ascended from our world to the upper worlds, whose light reach

LAITMAN M KABBALAH REVEALED

x the deepest level of understanding xis called attainment. this is what the will to receive craves in the last phase xphase four. one of the most common terms in kabbalah is sefirot. the word comes from the hebrew word, sapir (sapphire) and each sefira (singular for sefirot) has its own light. also, each of the four phases is named after one or more sefira. phase zero is named keter, phase one, hochma, phase two, bina, phase three, zeir anpin, and phase four, malchut. actually, there are ten sefirot because zeir anpin is composed of six sefirot: hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, and yesod. therefore, the complete set of sefirot is keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, yesod, and malchut. the origin of creation 61 the desire to acquire the thought of creation is t

just a little and leave the rest on the plate. therefore, making a tzimtzum is the first and easiest step to becoming like the creator. kabbalists use many terms to describe the will to bestow: creator, light, giver, thought of creation, phase zero, root, root phase, keter, bina, and many others. similarly, they use many terms to describe the will to receive: creature, kli, receivers, phase one, hochma, and malchut are just a few. these terms refer to subtleties in the two characteristics xbestowal and reception. if we remember that, we will not be confused by all the names. the origin of creation 65 the next thing that malchut does is to set up a mechanism that examines the light (pleasure) and decides if it will receive it, and if so, how much. this mechanism is called masach (screen. t

the root level to the fourth. but if our desires propelled the evolution of our world, then does the world actually exist outside of us? could it be that the world around us is really just a tale we want to believe? 94 kabbalah revealed we ve said that creation started from the thought of creation, which created the four basic phases of light. these phases include ten sefirot: keter (phase zero, hochma (phase one, bina (phase two, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, and yesod (all of which comprise phase three xzeir anpin, and malchut (phase four. the book of zohar, the book that every kabbalist studies, says that all of reality consists of only ten sefirot. everything is made of structures of these ten sefirot. the only difference between them is how deeply they are immersed in our sub

LAITMAN M KABBALAH ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND

quired knowledge. when one pleads to proceed blindly, relying only on one s faith in the magnificence of the creator, rather than by realizing his power and grandeur, and only by using reason in proportion to one s faith, the creator is compelled to limit his disclosure. when such an action compels the creator to diminish his disclosure of his general dominion, his omnipotence, and his light (ohr hochma, this is called "the screen of hirik" through this screen, we are able to diminish the revelation of the upper reason (the left line) to the point at which this revelation can be balanced with faith, the right line. the correct correlation between faith and knowledge is called a "spiritual balance" or the middle line. we, as individuals, determine the state we desire to be in. once the corr

r reason that increases with each attained level. as a result, we must constantly increase the power of our faith, so that it is always greater than the power of the intellect; otherwise, we may once again come under the influence of egoism. this process continues until we are clinging only to the creator. in the final stage we attain the ultimate understanding, the utmost reception of light (ohr hochma) without any gradations. it is described as "the light that was created in the first day of creation, in which (light) the first man saw from one end of the world to another end" and in kabbalah, it is said "at the beginning of creation, everything was engulfed in the highest light" in other words, when the light shines on all, without distinguishing the levels, then everything becomes clea

"life" one does not die because of one s will. if one does not want to die (spiritually) or to be in the state of spiritual death (without the soul; without the light of the creator) then one should not act in accordance with one s own will. the work in the middle line of the soul begins with the work in the right line: since its use is prohibited (restriction, tzimtzum, the light of wisdom (ohr hochma) shows egoism as bad (aviyut; one feels that there is no worse act than to work for the sake of the self. but the person still possesses neither the desire nor the strength to work for the sake of others, that is, to give. therefore, there is a need for the left line, which gives us altruistic desires and strength. the spiritual organs of perception, just like our five senses (sight, hearin

stowal) mean that a person would rather follow the path of faith than the path of knowledge. to exit from egoism is only possible when we feel spirituality, perceive the creator; and the light of wisdom splits the yam suf (red sea)in the middle. at this point, one passes over the boundary between two worlds. in order to do this, the creator performs a miracle. he gives us the light of wisdom (ohr hochma, despite the fact that we do not possess the appropriate vessel to receive the light. with the help of this light, we can break the barrier (machsom. afterwards, when the miracle passes, those who have entered the spiritual world do not return to the level of our world. in the next stage, we must acquire a vessel for receiving the light of wisdom, and this is accomplished on the difficult p

is known as the world olam yetzira- 338- attaining the worlds beyond the remaining part of the fifth stage has no strength to aspire to be like any of the previous stages. it can only passively resist egoism by preventing itself from receiving pleasure (the action contrary to the fifth stage. this is known as the world olam assiya. every world has five sub-stages that are called partzufim: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. zeir anpin consists of six sub-sefirot: hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, and yesod. after the creation of the five worlds, our material world the realm below the world of assiya was created and a human being was created in it. the human being was endowed with a small portion of the egoistic qualities of the fifth stage. if human beings ascend in the proc

knowledge, just as the scientists of this world do- 344- attaining the worlds beyond because they do not value their knowledge, that fact in itself prompts them to pursue the understanding of that which is still unknown. thus, the entire world is created for those who seek to grasp the mysteries of the creator. those who sense and grasp the upper light of life that emanates from the creator (ohr hochma) nevertheless do not grasp the creator, or his essence, in the process. but this is not true of those who grasp higher spiritual levels. those who perceive the spiritual levels and the light particular to those levels not only perceive the light, but grasp the creator. kabbalists cannot attain even the lowest spiritual level if they do not grasp the creator and his qualities in relation to

own altruistic vessel (our organ of perception of the spiritual light, we perceive the light of the creator in different ways. in view of this, though there exists only one light, we assign different names to it, based on our own perceptions of it and its effect on us. light that brings correction there are two kinds of light of the creator: the light of knowledge, reason, and wisdom (called ohr hochma, and the light of mercy, confidence, and unity (called ohr hassadim. in turn, ohr hochma comes in two types according to its action upon us. at first, when the light arrives, we discover our own evil. then, when we have discovered the evil, and realize that we should not use egoism, this same light imparts strength towards those egoistic wishes, so that we can work (take pleasure) with them

ot for our own sake. finally, when stages of correction- 355- we gain the strength to overcome our own egoism, this same light makes it possible for the corrected, formerly egoistic desires to take pleasure in altruism. on the other hand, ohr hassadim bestows on us the desire "to give" rather than "to take" pleasure. for this reason, from the 320 uncorrected desires of the soul, the action of ohr hochma separates the 32 parts of malchut (which are gradually sensed as spiritual ascents take place, just as the individual gradually comprehends the full depths of his evil and shudders at the realization of his own essence) from the desire to receive personal pleasure, because we have realized that egoism is our worst enemy. the remaining 288 desires have neither an egoistic nor an altruistic d

we have realized that egoism is our worst enemy. the remaining 288 desires have neither an egoistic nor an altruistic direction, as they are simply sensations (like those of hearing, sight, etc, which can be employed in any way we choose: either for ourselves or for others. under the action of ohr hassadim, we develop a desire to work altruistically with all 288 sensations. this occurs after ohr hochma has replaced the 32 egoistic desires with the 32 altruistic desires. a correction under the influence of the light occurs without a sensation of pleasure derived from it. one only senses the difference in qualities between one s own egoism and the magnificence of the light. this alone is sufficient to break free of bodily desires. it is thus said "i have created in you egoistical tendencies

pleasure, human beings cannot survive. if this spark of the upper light disappeared, we would immediately perish. only by doing so could we break away from egoism and from our unfulfilled desire to be gratified, thereby bringing us absolute gloom and despair. what is the reason that ohr hassadim cannot enter egoism? as was demonstrated earlier, the light itself carries no distinction between ohr hochma or ohr hassadim, but the individual determines this distinction. an egoistic desire can begin to take pleasure in the light, regardless of the light s origin; that is, it can begin to take pleasure in ohr hassadim for its own sake. only a desire that has been prepared for altruistic actions can receive the light in order to take pleasure in altruism; that is, to receive the light as ohr has

ysical structure of our bodies. for this reason, 248 vessels of bestowal are located above the upper torso of the spiritual object and correspond to positive spiritual acts, which each person is obligated to perform. the light that is received by one who observes the above spiritual acts is known as the "light of grace (ohr hassadim, or "concealed grace (hassadim mehusim. the light of wisdom (ohr hochma) is concealed from the recipient. one with strong willpower will rectify one s feelings to such an extent, that this individual will be able to perform altruistic acts as well as receive pleasure from them for the sake of the creator, that is, to receive pleasure into the past egoistic desires. this process is known as "receiving for the sake of giving" not for one s self- 365- consequently

ts or defects. after we have gained possession of the right line, we can obtain the greatest part of the left line, the so-called "red line" which contains our egoism. there is a prohibition against the transformation of our nature- 375- use of egoism in spiritual actions, since it is possible for us to fall under its influence. the impure forces/desires strive to receive the light of wisdom, ohr hochma, for their own sake, to perceive the creator and to indulge in self-gratification, using these perceptions to satisfy egoistic desires. if we, by virtue of faith above reason (by striving to receive, but not into our egoistic desires, refuse the possibility of perceiving the creator, his actions, and his domain, and refuse the gratification from his light; if we decide to go beyond our natu

something to the creator, it becomes apparent to us that the creator desires only one thing: to give pleasure to us. then, we are ready to receive pleasure because such is the will of the creator. actions of this nature are known as "receiving for the sake of giving- 398- attaining the worlds beyond in the spiritual states, one s intellect (reason, wisdom) corresponds to the light of wisdom (ohr hochma. one s heart, desires, and feelings correspond to the light of mercy (ohr hassadim. only when our hearts are ready to listen, can reason affect them. ohr hochma can illuminate only in the place where ohr hassadim is already present. if ohr hassadim is not present, then ohr hochma does not illuminate. such a state is known as "darkness" or "night" but in our world, that is, in an individual

revealed and is perceived only as darkness. even when we are still enslaved by our own egoism, the work in the right and the left lines still takes place. however, we do not yet control our desires. instead, the desires dictate our thoughts and actions, and prevent us from being filled- 415- with the light of congruence with the creator (ohr hassadim) and the light of ultimate comprehension (ohr hochma. rather, we are only capable of pronouncing the names of the worlds, the sefirot and kelim. in such a state, it is especially effective to study the construction of the spiritual worlds and their effects, that is, kabbalah, to help us develop the desire to come closer to the creator. in the process, we begin to desire to resemble the objects that are being studied, and hence, draw upon ours

LAITMAN M KABBALAH SCIENCE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

to the upper worlds, to ein sof. kabbalah talks about the will to receive, i.e, the desire to enjoy. as we have said, there are five stages in the creation process of the will to receive. we mark these stages with four hebrew letters: the tip of the yod, then yod, hey, vav, hey. and for short we call this structure of letters havayah. we also assign these five stages five respective names: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. the tip of the yod is keter (figure 7, designating the beginning of the manifestation of the desire that departs from the light, like a black dot inside the light. from this dot evolves the letter yod the primordial desire. the shape of the letter yod is like a point with a prickle at its head and a tail at its end. it symbolizes pa r t i: k a b b a l a h m e

esire that departs from the light, like a black dot inside the light. from this dot evolves the letter yod the primordial desire. the shape of the letter yod is like a point with a prickle at its head and a tail at its end. it symbolizes pa r t i: k a b b a l a h m e e t s q ua n t u m p h y s i c s 50 the creation of the new matter previously nonexistent the will to receive. this stage is called hochma. once the letter yod evolves, the will to receive continues to evolve by absorbing the attribute of bestowal from the creator. the combination of the attribute of bestowal and the attribute of reception generates a new quality, called bina, designated by the letter hey. bina contains the first matter that wants to be similar to the light that engendered it. the shape of the hey symbolizes t

ire that stems from its own t h e g i v i n g f o r c e a n d t h e r e c e i v i n g f o r c e 51 will to receive. now we can see why the letters yod, hey, vav, hey symbolize the name of the creator. it is the pattern by which the creator formed the will to receive, within which the will to receive senses the creator as a light that fills it. figure 7 once the light filled the will to receive in hochma and instilled it with the sensation of the giver, the desire began to sense itself as a receiver, and wanted to become like the giver. the desire can easily change its nature because at this stage, the desire is not an independent desire, but one that came from the creator. however, the will to receive in malchut is already an independent desire of the creature. when the will to receive in

should decide what to do next. it feels that staying empty is pointless for both itself and the creator. the act of the tzimtzum made it independent of the domination of the light, but by that it still did not come to anything because the tzimtzum does not make it a giver like the creator. the kli understands that it can carry out a similar action to the one it had performed while transiting from hochma to bina. however, this time it would be of its own free, independent will. it understands that it can give the creator pleasure if it were to receive the light from him with the intention to give to him. after all, this is the creator s will to delight and please the creature. thus, when the light-pleasure reached the creature-kli, along with the sensation that it came from the creator, the

LAITMAN M THE KABBALAH EXPERIENCE

e laid before one s eyes, despite the absence of the sensation of the creator and his guidance. is this not blind faith? a: you mustn t believe blindly in the creator, since faith is acquired only through the screen, which is the sensation of the creator. there is faith that is the light of bina, light of mercy, and there is whole faith, which is called the light of mercy with the illumination of hochma. the latter is the one we want to attain. then the vessel/soul--man--is in its perfect state at the end of correction, after it has returned to its root, the creator. i n c r e a s i n g t h e i m p o r t a n c e q: how can you intensify the importance of the purpose of life and the greatness of the giver? a: baal hasulam answers it this way: by studying, in a group, and under the guidance

orm framework. still, the souls that comprise it are adaptable, connected and mixed with each other. how can you explain this? a: the framework is indeed rigid, but the ties within are flexible, because the whole universe and the soul of the first man (adam ha rishon) are built from the name of the creator y-h-v-h (yod, hey, vav, hey. 1. the tip of the letter yod- keter. 2. the letter yod itself- hochma. 3. the letter hey- bina. 4. the letter vav- zeir anpin. 5. the letter hey- malchut. the first man is a spiritual partzuf that broke in 600,000 parts. when its screen broke, the aim for the creator, which linked all the parts (desires) together under one goal, was gone. without the screen, the parts want to receive for themselves instead of giving together to the creator and thus moving upw

o look for the ark? rebuild one? how can we live without the temple? the time has come. a: what will you get if you find the ark, or build a new one? and if you do build the temple, what will you do in it and with it? will you display it to tourists? it may become good business, but nothing more than that. we need to first reach the spiritual level of this temple. the first temple was of light of hochma (wisdom, the second temple was the light of hassadim (mercy, but the third temple has to be of light of yechida, the highest of all. the temple is built or destroyed according to how people in it match its spiritual level. hence, in order to build the temple we first need to reach the state of the end of correction. this is what you have to worry about both for yourself and for others. t h

es v three groups of 2,000 in each. but the distance itself, the extent of the correction of malchut, remains the same. it is only a more convenient way to describe the degrees v the extent of correction- in a convenient way. t h e l i g h t s o f m a l c h u t q: which light fills malchut- is it one light or five lights? a: malchut (the soul) is divided in five parts (from fine to coarse: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, and malchut, in ascending order of the power of the will to receive. the strongest desire takes the last part v the malchut of malchut. these desires receive with five pleasures v lights that fill them respectively: yechida, haya, neshama, ruach, nefesh. malchut is divided into five parts in a reversed order, from coarse to fine: still, vegetative and animate, speaking an

hy is zeir anpin divided by six parts instead of the ordinary five? what is the purpose of yesod? a: zeir anpin has to be in contact with malchut, in order to convey the light to her. for that to happen, he must build a special sefira to serve as a bridge between malchut and him, meaning that it will possess similar attributes. for that purpose zeir anpin consists of: 1. hesed v keter 2. gevura v hochma 3. tifferet v bina 4. netzah v zeir anpin of zeir anpin 5. hod v malchut of zeir anpin 6. yesod v the sum total of all the previous sefirot (like a salad made of five original components that when put together, form a new attribute. after yesod comes the collective malchut v the creature, the soul, the part that must unite with the creator (zeir anpin) through equivalence of form. malchut i

s: therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother (genesis 2, 24, meaning the soul will become independent from its mother and father, attain completeness and independent coupling with malchut, to unite with the creator, and create new partzufim v corrected souls. a soul is the partzuf of malchut of the world of atzilut. zeir anpin, the creator, is her husband. the partzuf of abba ve ima v hochma and bina v provide the soul with everything it needs. w h at i s a n awa k e n i n g f r o m b e l ow? q: what is an awakening from below? is there anyone who can act independently beside the creator? a: in the kabbalah, everything is described from the perspective of the emotions of the attaining kabbalist and the way the creator is revealed to that person. even when we speak of the creato

ndeed, quite right. only the mitzvot performed inside connect man with the creator. however, observing mitzvot externally also becomes a means for connection. everything comes through the soul. a mitzva is a spiritual act of giving to the creator, which likens man to him. external action has no such effect. the creator doesn t put on tefillin made of animal skin. his action is the light of gar de hochma in gadlut of zeir anpin, which is defined as tefillin. that is what one must attain. r e f l e c t i o n s a n d t h o u g h t s 417 w h at i s yo u r s c h o o l o f j u da i s m? q: which school of judaism do you belong to? a: i belong to the only ancient ever-existing school, which was started by abraham, the very first jew. upon the destruction of the temples, as a result of a spiritual

LAITMAN M THE PATH OF KABBALAH

tual side, the point gradually expands and grows. however, it remains dark because we feel a greater and greater desire for something, hence the darkness. when this point finally grows to the right size, we acquire a screen to surround it, the aim to give, and the light enters this point. the light sorts the desires in the point to five parts that correspond to the attributes of the light: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. thus, one acquires a soul. the smallest desire is in keter and the greatest is in malchut. the attribute of reception is smaller in keter and hochma than in the other desires; therefore, keter and hochma are considered giving desires. when one is in that state it is called katnut (smallness, infancy. if we in this world have only beastly and corporeal desires

ate. much like an embryo in our world, the seeker wants nothing but to lie inside the maternal womb, inside a higher partzuf that will raise the developing spiritual seeker. after that, the embryo takes nine months to develop its own nine sefirot in malchut, from nefesh of nefesh (keter of malchut) to yechida of nefesh (malchut of malchut. at this point, the fetus is born and acquires a vessel of hochma with the light of ruach (nrnhy of ruach) with aviut aleph (1st degree coarseness. this period is called infancy and lasts two years, or twenty-four months. in infancy, the partzuf attains a state called katnut, or galgalta and eynaim, a complete screen in first-degree coarseness. the infant is different from the embryo in that the embryo wants nothing, but the infant sucks the light with it

l we need for our correction is to reach the world of atzilut, meaning the end of the second restriction. we have to cross the worlds of assiya, yetzira, and beria, each consisting of 2,000 years (states, degrees. thus, the sum total of the corrections we have to go through is 6,000, after which we enter the corrections that belong to the first restriction. our souls consist of five parts: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. they are divided by the intensity of their will to receive, and t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 30 form two groups: galgalta and eynaim (keter and hochma, and awzen, hotem, peh (bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. keter is called galgalta (skull, hochma (wisdom) is called eynaim (eyes, bina (intelligence) is called awzen, zeir anpin is called hotem (nose, and mal

five sefirot. each time a person acquires five new sefirot, he acquires a new degree, a new partzuf. if it is in the world of assiya, the first five sefirot give us the ability to attain the partzuf of malchut of the world of assiya. the next five sefirot raise us to partzuf zeir anpin of the world of assiya. five more sefirot and we come to partzuf bina of assiya, five more and we are in partzuf hochma of assiya, and the last five sefirot render us partzuf keter of the world of assiya. in this way, the soul acquires the screens in the root coarseness of the world of assiya and goes over to the first screen of the first degree of coarseness of the world of yetzira. the soul continues this way until it crosses all the worlds and all 125 degrees. when we are in the world of assiya with our r

ich will enhance spiritual progress; the rest is unimportant. every new situation is taken as a springboard for an even greater ascent; for that reason, the student takes the most positive aspects from the current degree, those that will help the student achieve the next degree. in his introduction to the study of the ten sefirot, baal hasulam writes of four degrees: malchut, zeir anpin, bina and hochma. those are degrees of attainment of the creator (keter. when we attain the creator, he reveals everything that occurred to us throughout the entire history of our souls. this includes the creator s treatment of us every step of the pa r t t wo: p h a s e s o f s p i r i t ua l e v o l u t i o n 87 way, how the light left, what torments we underwent, and why these things happened. only now c

israel is a corrected desire directed at the creator. israel is the name given to altruistic desires, meaning desires for bestowal (ge galgalta ve eynaim. the name gentiles, or nations of the world, is given to egoistic desires, or desires to receive (ahp awzen, hotem, peh. that is why it is said that israel, meaning ge, will be a minority. when the rest of the nations are corrected, the light of hochma will appear in each and every soul, as well as in the collective vessel of mankind. the nations of the world subconsciously feel their dependency on israel. they are given that feeling by the creator to press on the jews and set them in motion towards correction. it is difficult for us to imagine what this means in terms of spiritual growth, when one group has to wait for another and is com

mited period, until the end of 1490, but from then on the prohibition has been lifted and permission was granted to study the zohar. since 1540 it has been a great mitzva (commandment) for the masses to study in public, old and young and that is because the messiah will come because of that and not because of any other reason. therefore, we must not be negligent (rabbi azulai, introduction to ohr hochma. woe unto them who make the spirit of messiah vanish from the world, so as never to return, make the torah dry, without the moistness of mind and knowledge, for they confine themselves to the practical part of the torah, and do not wish to try to understand the wisdom of the kabbalah, to know and educate themselves in the secrets and the reason behind the torah and the mitzvot (commandments

middle point, and they are only potential worlds, with respect to the souls. only when souls actually begin to emerge from the world of beria and below, do the changes in the degrees of these worlds begin to influence them. it is much like a person who hides under clothes and concealments in order to not be seen or sensed. the person certainly remains unchanged. similarly, the ten sefirot (keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, yesod, malchut) are only ten concealments, inside which the ein sof conceals and hides itself from the souls. the light of ein sof is in a state of absolute rest, and so it is when it shines from within the concealments. however, since the souls receive the light of ein sof through the concealments, they feel as if changes occur in the light. the

to eat. hence, the desire is the vessel for the filling, and without it there is no pleasure. there is no coercion in spirituality and the filling is only equal to the desire. the light that stems from his essence creates a vessel and fills it. the pleasure that the creature feels when it receives the light is called pa r t t h r e e: t h e s t ru c t u r e o f t h e u p p e r wo r l d s 161 ohr hochma (light of wisdom. the desire created by the light that fills it is called behina aleph (first phase. it is called by that name because it is the first behina (appearance/manifestation) of the future vessel. but that desire is not yet an independent one, as it is created directly by the light. the actual creature is the one whose desire to enjoy the creator s full light for its own delight

t r a n c e a n d e x i t o f l i g h t s i n t h e pa r t z u f the five parts of malchut are called behinot shoresh, aleph, bet, gimel, dalet. after the restriction, when those parts receive lights through the screen, they are called sefirot, because the light shines in them (sapir means illumination in hebrew. therefore, from that stage on they are referred to as sefirot. shoresh keter. aleph hochma. bet bina. gimel za (zeir anpin. dalet malchut. pa r t t h r e e: t h e s t ru c t u r e o f t h e u p p e r wo r l d s 175 the reshimot (plural for reshimo) from the withdrawing lights are called otiot. once the five lights nefesh, ruach, neshama, haya, yechida have withdrawn from the five sefirot keter, hochma, bina, za, malchut, there remain five reshimot, or otiot: tip of the yod, yod

, that it is a torah of the world of atzilut, and that every word in it is a holy name. it is important to remember that it does not speak of this corporeal world and corporeal people. all the names in the torah are holy names, even names such as pharaoh, balaam, and balak. the zohar explains that each name indicates a certain spiritual degree: pharaoh stands for malchut, laban stands for partzuf hochma, and so on. r e s h i m o t in order to ensure correct action, there must be clear understanding of what it is the vessel wants to achieve, how to achieve it, and how strong the desire is to achieve it. there is only one creature beside the creator, and that is the will to receive. therefore, reality consists only of a light and a vessel, pleasure t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 180 and de

ght exits galgalta, leaving a reshimo of the light that was in there, a reshimo de hitlabshut. but the reshimo from the strength of the screen that received the light is not left, because the screen decided to stop receiving the light and disqualified itself from working with its own strength. hence the reshimo of the screen disappears. the world of adam kadmon: partzuf keter galgalta 4/4 partzuf hochma ab 4/3 partzuf bina sg 3/2 partzuf za ma 2/1 partzuf malchut bon 1/0 partzuf nekudot de sag: partzuf nekudot de sag 2/2 the world of nekudim: partzuf katnut 2/1 partzuf gadlut 4/3 the world of atzilut: partzuf keter atik 4/4 partzuf hochma aa 4/3 partzuf bina avi 3/2 partzuf za za 2/1 partzuf malchut nukva 1/0 the world of beria: partzuf keter atik 4/4 partzuf hochma aa 4/3 partzuf bina avi

rtzuf nekudot de sag 2/2 the world of nekudim: partzuf katnut 2/1 partzuf gadlut 4/3 the world of atzilut: partzuf keter atik 4/4 partzuf hochma aa 4/3 partzuf bina avi 3/2 partzuf za za 2/1 partzuf malchut nukva 1/0 the world of beria: partzuf keter atik 4/4 partzuf hochma aa 4/3 partzuf bina avi 3/2 partzuf za za 2/1 partzuf malchut nukva 1/0 the world of yetzira: partzuf keter atik 4/4 partzuf hochma aa 4/3 partzuf bina avi 3/2 partzuf za za 2/1 partzuf malchut nukva 1/0 the world of assiya: partzuf keter atik 4/4 partzuf hochma aa 4/3 partzuf bina avi 3/2 partzuf za za 2/1 partzuf malchut nukva 1/0 world/partzuf reshimo de name hitlabshut/aviut world/partzuf reshimo de name hitlabshut/aviut t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 182 the screen now rises from tabur and is once more at the peh

imo of light is a part of the light that is left when the light has withdrawn. it is the nucleus and the root of the creation of the new partzuf. the reshimo from the screen is then lost and a zivug (spiritual mating) is made on a new reshimo. r e s h i m o t t h at c r e at e pa r t z u f i m reshimot from the aviut of the screen of the worlds: world of keter world of ak aviut 4 (dalet) world of hochma world of atzilut aviut 3 (gimel) world of bina world of beria aviut 2 (bet) world of za world of yetzira aviut 1 (aleph) world of malchut world of assiya aviut 0 (shoresh) when the entire reality expands until there is not a single reshimo left in the screen, it is the end of the world of assiya. malchut of the world of atzilut creates yet another partzuf, called adam ha rishon (the first m

t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 188 each part inside malchut consists of five parts of will to receive, just like the general malchut, because there cannot be a desire if there aren t four degrees of expansion of light that precede it. for that reason, there is a fixed formation according to the five degrees of aviut: shoresh, aleph, bet, gimel, dalet. in terms of sefirot they are called keter, hochma, bina, za, malchut, which are also named (in hebrew letters) the tip of the yod, yod, hey, vav, hey( there are five worlds, each consisting of five partzufim. in each partzuf there are five sefirot, thus the sum total of degrees turns out to be 53= 125 degrees or sefirot that each soul must go through on its way from our world to the world of ein sof, and the adhesion with the creator. each

our corporeal life, about history, or about how to get on in the physical world. we will know that all the books in the torah are in fact instructions for man that explain how to attain the purpose of our lives, while living in this world, so that we do not have to return to it time after time and suffer again and again from this empty, purposeless life. a partzuf consists of ten sefirot: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. expressed in letters it would be: yod hochma, hey bina, vav zeir anpin, hey malchut. but the degree of a partzuf (nefesh, ruach, neshama, haya, and yechida) is not clarified by the name havayah. the letters of havayah make up ten sefirot, the skeleton of the vessel. they explain the state of the empty vessel, without the upper light. the degree of the vessel

el. they explain the state of the empty vessel, without the upper light. the degree of the vessel is determined by the power of the screen. the screen fills up the ten sefirot of havayah with lights. the screen can fill up the vessel with the lights of nefesh, ruach, neshama, haya or yechida. the amount of light in the vessel determines its degree. there are actually only two lights: the light of hochma (wisdom) and the light of hassadim (mercy. the sign for hochma is the letter yod, and the sign for hassadim is hey( a. the degree of yechida (keter) is written as havayah without any filling: yod, hey, vav, hey( 10+5+6+5 =26. b. the degree of haya (hochma) is havayah filled with yod: yod-vav-dalet (10+6+4+ hey-yod (10+5+ vav-yod-vav (6+10+6+ hey-yod (10+5= 72, or pronounced in letters: ab

) and the light of hassadim (mercy. the sign for hochma is the letter yod, and the sign for hassadim is hey( a. the degree of yechida (keter) is written as havayah without any filling: yod, hey, vav, hey( 10+5+6+5 =26. b. the degree of haya (hochma) is havayah filled with yod: yod-vav-dalet (10+6+4+ hey-yod (10+5+ vav-yod-vav (6+10+6+ hey-yod (10+5= 72, or pronounced in letters: ab. hence partzuf hochma is called ab" c. the degree of neshama (bina) is havayah filled with hey, except that in the letter vav it is filled with aleph and in the letter hey, it is filled with yod: yod-vav-dalet (10+6+4+ heypa r t t h r e e: t h e s t ru c t u r e o f t h e u p p e r wo r l d s 191 yod (10+5+ vav-aleph-vav (6+1+6+ hey-yod (10+5= 63, or pronounced in letters: sag" d. the degree of ruach (zeir anpin

t was filled by this zivug is called galgalta, or partzuf keter. pa r t t h r e e: t h e s t ru c t u r e o f t h e u p p e r wo r l d s 193 t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 194 after that, malchut receives yet another portion of the light of ein sof in order to bestow. the part of malchut that was filled by this zivug over the reshimot of 4/3 that remained after galgalta is called ab, or partzuf hochma. the part of malchut de ein sof that was filled in the next phase by the zivug on the reshimot 3/2, that remain after partzuf ab, is called sag, or partzuf bina. partzuf sag is the same malchut, the same will to receive, but now it cannot receive in order to bestow with the screen like the partzufim of galgalta and ab. it can only resemble itself to behina bet, to bina. bina does not want t

of malchut that is still left empty. bina consists of three parts: a. the expansion of the light of wisdom. b. the decision of bina that she doesn t want to receive any light of wisdom, only to give, hence in bina there is only light of mercy. c. the receiving by bina of a small amount of light of wisdom, not for herself, but in order to give to partzuf zeir anpin. the upper part of bina is still hochma. the desire to bestow manifests only from the lower part. hence, she can fill the part of malchut de ein sof below tabur that hasn t been filled yet. partzuf sag begins to receive light in its toch (its internal part) by performing a zivug on 3/2. the presence of reshimo gimel (3) de hitlabshut makes for the expansion of the light of wisdom in his taamim. therefore, that part of sag cannot

ricted herself and decided never to receive again if it is for her own pleasure. therefore, when a desire to receive for itself awakens in partzuf nekudot de sag, the malchut that performed the first restriction and stood at the sof de galgalta rises to the place in nekudot de sag, from which nekudot de sag began to want to receive the light for itself. each partzuf consists of ten sefirot keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, yesod, malchut. nekudot de sag is partzuf bina. bina consists of two parts: a. an upper part, comprised of keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, and tifferet. these sefirot want only to give and receive nothing in return. t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 196 pa r t t h r e e: t h e s t ru c t u r e o f t h e u p p e r wo r l d s 197 b. a lower part

THE PATH OF KABBALAH

point gradually expands and grows. however, it remains dark, because one feels a greater and greater desire for something, hence the darkness. and when this point finally grows to the right size, he acquires a screen to surround it, the aim to give, and then the light enters this point. the light sorts the desires in the point to five parts which correspond to the attributes of the light: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin and malchut. thus one acquires a soul. the smallest desire is in keter, and the greatest is in malchut. the attribute of reception is smaller in keter and hochma than in the other desires, therefore keter and hochma are considered giving desires. when one is in that state it is called katnut (smallness, infancy. if a person in this world has no more than beastly and corpor

yo in our world, he doesn t want anything; he just lies inside his mother s womb, i.e. inside a higher partzuf that raises him devotedly. after that, the embryo takes nine months to develop; meaning develops his own nine sefirot in malchut, from nefesh of nefesh (keter of malchut) to yechida of nefesh (malchut of malchut. at this point he stops being an embryo, he is born and acquires a vessel of hochma with the light of ruach (nrnhy of ruach) with aviut aleph (1st degree coarseness. this period is called infancy. it lasts two years, 24 months. by that the partzuf attains a state called katnut, or galgalta and eynaim, a complete screen in first-degree coarseness. the infant is different to the embryo in that the embryo wants nothing, but the infant sucks the light with his own independent

ll we need for our correction is to reach the world of atzilut, meaning the end of the second restriction. we have to cross the worlds of assiya, yetzira and beria, each consisting of 2,000 years (states, degrees. thus, the sum total of the corrections we have to go through is 6,000, after which we enter the corrections that belong to the first restriction. our soul consists of five parts: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin and malchut. they are divided by the intensity of their will to receive, and form two groups: galgalta and eynaim (keter and hochma, and awzen, hotem, peh (bina, zeir anpin, and malchut. keter is called galgalta (skull, hochma (wisdom) is called eynaim (eyes, bina (intelligence) is called awzen, zeir anpin is called hotem (nose) and malchut (kingship) is called peh (mouth

five sefirot. each time a person acquires five new sefirot, he acquires a new degree, a new partzuf. if it is in the world of assiya, the first five sefirot give us the ability to attain the partzuf of malchut of the world of assiya. the next five sefirot raise us to partzuf zeir anpin of the world of assiya. five more sefirot and we come to partzuf bina of assiya, five more and we are in partzuf hochma of assiya, and the last five sefirot render us partzuf keter of the world of assiya. this is how the soul acquires the screens in the root coarseness of the world of assiya and goes over to the first screen of the 1st degree coarseness of the world of yetzira. the soul continues this way until it crosses all the worlds and all 125 degrees. when we are in the world of assiya with our root co

help his progress; he doesn t care about the rest. otherwise, it is not spirituality. every new situation is taken as a springboard for an even greater ascent; for that reason he takes the most positive things from his current degree, the ones that will help him get to the next. in his introduction to the study of the ten sefirot, baal hasulam writes of four degrees: malchut, zeir anpin, bina and hochma. those are in fact degrees of 61 of 273 attainment of the creator (keter. when a person attains the creator, he shows him every thing that happened to him throughout the entire history of his soul. he sees how the creator treated him every step of the way, how the light left, what torments he went through and is taught why these things happened. only now can one see that in fact, the creato

is a corrected desire that is directed at the creator. israel is the name given to altruistic desires, meaning desires for bestowal (ge galgalta veeynaim. the name gentiles, or nations of the world, is given to egoistic desires, or desires to receive (ahp awzen, hotem, peh. that is why it is said that israel, meaning ge will be a minority. when the rest of the nations are corrected, the light of hochma will appear in each and every soul, as well as in the collective vessel of mankind. the nations of the world subconsciously feel their dependency on israel. they are given that feeling by the creator so as to press on the jews and set them in motion toward correction. it is difficult for us to imagine what this means in spirituality, when one has to stand and wait for another, to be complet

ed period, until the end of 1490, but from then on the prohibition has been lifted and permission was granted to study the zohar. since 1540 it has been a great mitzva (very good deed) for the masses to study in public, old and young and that is because the messiah will come because of that and not because of any other reason. therefore, we must not be negligent (rabbi azulai, introduction to ohr hochma "woe unto them that make the spirit of messiah vanish from the world, so as never to return, make the torah dry, without the moist of mind and knowledge, for they confine themselves to the practical part of the torah, and do not wish to try and understand the wisdom of the kabbalah, to know and educate themselves in the secrets and the reason behind the torah and the precepts. alas, they ca

pect to the souls. only when souls begin to emerge in fact, from the world of beria and under, the changes in the degrees of these worlds begin to influence them. it is much like a person who conceals and hides himself with clothes and concealments, in order that he should not be seen and sensed. with respect to himself, he certainly remains as he was originally. similarly the ten sefirot (keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, yesod, malchut) are only ten concealments, inside which the ein sof conceals and hides itself from the souls. the light of ein sof is in a state of absolute rest, and so it is when it shines from within the concealments. however, since the souls receive the light of ein sof through the concealments, they feel as if changes occur in the light. the

, just as in our world one may have an empty stomach, but no desire to eat. hence, the desire is the vessel for the filling, and without it there is no pleasure. there is no coercion in spirituality and the filling is always only as much as the desire. the light that stems from his essence creates a vessel and fills it. the pleasure that the creature feels when it receives the light is called ohr hochma (light of wisdom. the desire created by the light that fills it is called behina aleph (first phase. it is called by that name because it is the first behina (appearance/manifestation) of the future vessel. but that desire is not yet an independent one, as it is created directly by the light. the actual creature is the one that wants to enjoy the entire light that comes from the creator by

f 125 of 273 chapter 3.8- entrance and exit of lights in the partzuf the five parts of malchut are called behinot shoresh aleph bet- gimel dalet. after the restriction, when those parts receive lights through the screen, they are called sefirot, because the light shines in them (sapir means illumination in hebrew. therefore, from that stage on they are referred to as sefirot: shoresh keter. aleph hochma. bet bina. gimel za (zeir anpin. dalet malchut. the reshimot (plural for reshimo) from the withdrawing lights are called otiot. once the five lights nefesh ruach neshama haya yechida- have withdrawn from the five sefirot keter hochma bina za malchut, there remain five reshimot, or otiot: tip of the yod ,yod ,he ,vav ,he.(later on we will learn how kabbalists denote spiritual forces in writi

r, that it is a torah of the world of atzilut and that every word in it is a holy name. it is important to remember that it does not speak of this corporeal world and corporeal people. all the names in the torah are holy names, even names such as pharaoh, balaam, and balak. the zohar explains that each name indicates a certain spiritual degree: pharaoh stands for malchut, laban stands for partzuf hochma and so on. reshimot in order to make the right movement, there must be precise knowledge of what it is the vessel wants to achieve, how to achieve it and the strength to attain the desire. there is only one creature beside the creator, and that is the will to receive. therefore, reality consists only of a light and a vessel, pleasure and desire, or in kabbalistic terms hitlabshut (clothing)

reshimo of light is a part of the light that the light leaves when it has withdrawn. it is the nucleus and the root for the creation of the new partzuf. the reshimo from the screen is then lost and a zivug (spiritual mating) is made on a new reshimo. reshimot that create partzufim world/partzuf name reshimo dehitlabshut reshimo deaviut the world of adam kadmon: partzuf keter galgalta 4 4 partzuf hochma ab 4 3 partzuf bina sg 3 2 partzuf za ma 2 1 partzuf malchut bon 1 shoresh partzuf nekudot desag: partzuf nekudot desag 2 2 the world of nekudim: partzuf katnut 2 1 partzuf gadlut 4 3 the world of atzilut: partzuf keter atik 4 4 partzuf hochma aa 4 3 partzuf bina avi 3 2 partzuf za za 2 1 partzuf malchut nukva 1 shoresh the world of beria: 130 of 273 partzuf keter atik 4 4 partzuf hochma aa

2 the world of nekudim: partzuf katnut 2 1 partzuf gadlut 4 3 the world of atzilut: partzuf keter atik 4 4 partzuf hochma aa 4 3 partzuf bina avi 3 2 partzuf za za 2 1 partzuf malchut nukva 1 shoresh the world of beria: 130 of 273 partzuf keter atik 4 4 partzuf hochma aa 4 3 partzuf bina avi 3 2 partzuf za za 2 1 partzuf malchut nukva 1 shoresh the world of yetzira: partzuf keter atik 4 4 partzuf hochma aa 4 3 partzuf bina avi 3 2 partzuf za za 2 1 partzuf malchut nukva 1 shoresh the world of assiya: partzuf keter atik 4 4 partzuf hochma aa 4 3 partzuf bina avi 3 2 partzuf za za 2 1 partzuf malchut nukva 1 shoresh reshimot from the aviut of the screen of the worlds world of keter world of ak aviut 4 world of hochma world of atzilut aviut 3 world of bina world of beria aviut 2 world of za w

p and attain the purpose of creation. each part inside malchut consists of five parts of will to receive, just like the general malchut, because there cannot be a desire if there aren t four degrees of expansion of light that precede it. for that reason, there is a fixed formation according to the five degrees of aviut: shoresh, aleph, bet, gimel, dalet. in terms of sefirot they are called keter, hochma, bina, za, malchut, which are also named (in hebrew letters) the tip of the yod ,yod ,he ,vav ,he. there are five worlds, each consisting of five partzufim. in each partzuf there are five sefirot, thus the sum total of degrees turns out to be 5*5*5=125 degrees or sefirot that each soul must go through on its way from our world to the world of ein sof, and the adhesion with the creator. each

(2 het (8 nun=(50 resh =200 gimel (3 tet (9 samech (60 shin (300 dalet (4 yod (10 ayin (70 tav (400 he (5 chaf (20 peh =80 vav (6 lamed (30 tzadi (90 thus, summing up the value of the letters of the name havayah spelt this way- yod vav dalet he yod vav yod vav hey yod- creates: yod vav dalet (10+6+4+ he yod (10+5+ vav yod vav (6+10+6+ hey yod (10+5= 72, or pronounced in letters: ab.(hence partzuf hochma is called ab( a partzuf that receives the light of mercy (hassadim) is called sag( yod vav dalet he yod vav aleph vav hey yod gives: yod vav dalet (10+6+4+ he yod (10+5+ vav aleph vav (6+1+6+ hey yod (10+5= 63, or pronounced in letters: sag( all the degrees in all the worlds are given these names. thus, in order to know the name of each degree we need only know the name for each type of lig

, about history, or about how to get on in the physical world. we will know that all the books in the torah are in fact instructions for man that explain how to attain the purpose of our lives, while living in this world, so that we do not have to return to our world time after time and suffer again and again from this empty, useless and purposeless life. a partzuf consists of ten sefirot: keter, hochma, bina, zeir anpin, malchut. expressed in letters it would be: yod hochma, he bina, vav- zeir anpin, he malchut. 137 of 273 but the degree of a partzuf (nefesh, ruach, neshama, haya, yechida) is not clarified by the name havayah. the letters of havayah make up ten sefirot, the skeleton of the vessel. they explain the state of the empty vessel, without the upper light. the degree of the vesse

of the vessel. they explain the state of the empty vessel, without the upper light. the degree of the vessel is determined by the power of the screen. the screen fills up the ten sefirot of havayah with lights. the screen can fill up the vessel with the lights of nefesh, ruach, neshama, haya or yechida. the light in the vessel determines its degree. there are in fact only two lights: the light of hochma (wisdom) and the light of hassadim (mercy. the sign for hochma is the letter yod, the sign for hassadim is he. a. the degree of yechida (keter) is written as havayah without any filling: yod( he ,vav ,he =10+ 5+ 6+ 5= 26. b. the degree of haya (hochma) is havayah filled with yod: yod vav dalet (10+6+4+ he yod (10+5+ vav yod vav (6+10+6+ hey yod (10+5= 72, or pronounced in letters: ab. hence

isdom) and the light of hassadim (mercy. the sign for hochma is the letter yod, the sign for hassadim is he. a. the degree of yechida (keter) is written as havayah without any filling: yod( he ,vav ,he =10+ 5+ 6+ 5= 26. b. the degree of haya (hochma) is havayah filled with yod: yod vav dalet (10+6+4+ he yod (10+5+ vav yod vav (6+10+6+ hey yod (10+5= 72, or pronounced in letters: ab. hence partzuf hochma is called ab. c. the degree of neshama (bina) is havayah filled with he, except that in the letter vav it is filled with aleph and in the letter he, it is filled with yod: yod vav dalet (10+6+4+ he yod (10+5+ vav aleph vav (6+1+6+ hey yod (10+5= 63, or pronounced in letters: sag. d. the degree of ruach (zeir anpin) is havayah filled with he, but only the letter vav is filled with aleph: yod

eft in her after the restriction, and receives a part of the light of ein sof. that part of malchut deein sof that was filled by this zivug is called galgalta, or partzuf keter. after that, malchut receives yet another portion of the light of ein sof in order to bestow. the part of malchut that was filled by this zivug over the reshimot of 4/3 that remained after galgalta is called ab, or partzuf hochma. the part of malchut deein sof that was filled in the next phase by the zivug on the reshimot 3/2, that remain after partzuf ab, is called sag, or partzuf bina. partzuf sag is the same malchut, the same will to receive, but now it cannot receive in order to bestow with the screen like the partzufim of galgalta and ab. it can only resemble itself to behina bet, to bina. bina does not want to

the part of malchut that is still left empty. bina consists of three parts: a. the expansion of the light of wisdom. b. the decision in bina that she doesn t want to receive any light of wisdom, only to give, hence in bina there is only light of mercy. c. bina receives a little bit of light of wisdom, but not for herself, but in order to give to partzuf zeir anpin. the upper part of bina is still hochma. only from the lower part the desire to bestow begins to manifest itself. hence she can fill the part of malchut deein sof below tabur that hasn t been filled yet. partzuf sag begins to receive light in its toch (its internal part) by performing a zivug on 3/2. the presence of reshimo gimel (3) dehitlabshut makes for the expansion of the light of wisdom in his taamim. therefore, that part o

rself and decided never to receive again if it is for her own pleasure. therefore now, when a desire to receive for themselves awakens in partzuf nekudot desag, the malchut that performed the first restriction and stood at the sof degalgalta rises to the place in nekudot desag, from which nekudot desag began to want to receive the light for themselves. each partzuf consists of ten sefirot: keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, tifferet, netzah, hod, yesod, malchut. nekudot desag is partzuf bina. bina consists of two parts: a. an upper part, comprised of keter, hochma, bina, hesed, gevura, and tifferet. these sefirot want only to give and receive nothing in return. b. and a lower part, comprised of netzah, hod, yesod and malchut. these sefirot do not belong to bina. their role is only to rece

FRATER ELIJAH ANGELS OF CHAOS

cosmic chaos-egg around the self. at this point partake of the sacrament. start spinning around and around, as a dervish. spin faster and faster while saying the following: what was hidden has been found, what was silent now is sound, from the darkness to the light, will of god, strength and might. what is mine is mine to keep, send my will, shred the sleep, from the darkness to the light, binah-hokmah my will, my might- the gnosis part- from within the dark earth sears- visualize a crack in the chaos-egg- transmutations, powers and fears- the crack widens- from the darkness to the light, i declare this now by will and by might- kia- an explosion as the egg cracks open, gnosis ensues. collapse- note: a sigil should manifest during the trance. this is ones own chaos sigil from the universe

n active presentation of magick. the reading of which shall engage the reader. as magick is deadly (eventually, especially to self, the reader is warned. references to self in it s many guises, the likes of which can even be now felt through the reader of this sentence. yes you, declarer of duality. chapter one consists of 19 pages. it is entitled the wisdom. this being a reference to our father, hokmah. the force of force. the urge. this chapter was received within the scope of 45 minutes (images& all, and set the stage for more clear communication of chapters 2& 3. i/1a: an automatic drawing is given concerning the sphere of hokmah. 1 being also the first reference away from the nonexistent point. i/1b: reference to the summation of creation; being, one from nothing and all. also a refer

FULLER J F C SECRET WISDOM OF THE QABALAH

understanding, also called immah or mother. whilst kether is positive, form (male, binah is negative and plastic, the receiver of form and, therefore, matter (female, because geverything existing can only be the work of the male and female h principles. 9 secret wisdom of the qabalah page 24 plate 2: the tree of life secret wisdom of the qabalah page 25 the second emanation from kether is called 'hokmah, wisdom, the word, logos, or son; it is the male principle in activity, for through it all things are generated. gby means of the thirty-two paths. it gives everything, existing, shape and size. h 10 this sephirah is the spiritus mundi. from 'hokmah is derived the balance of the sephiroth, the next six of which refer to the dimensions of the universe- length, breadth, and depth moving as it

s of the universe- length, breadth, and depth moving as it were outwardly towards the positive and the negative, the male and the female principles each, therefore, in two directions. together they form the six faces of a perfect cube (the stone of the wise: the tenth sephirah, malkuth, the kingdom or sabbath represents rest, poise, and completion. these first three sephiroth- kether, binah, and 'hokmah (father, mother, and son- the supernal triad- constitute the intelligible or intellectual world. and since the holy ancient is expressed and impressed by three [i.e. ayin, ain soph, and ain soph aur the expression; and kether, binah 'hokmah the impression, so also all the lamps that receive their light from the holy ancient are triadic. 11 the second triad is called the moral or sensuous wo

no- thing. this unknown ideal deity held the highest place in the chaldean mythology. under these were the seven planets in their seven orbits, or spheres; the probable germ of the idea of the sephiroth, or media between the highest and lowest worlds. 12 historically interesting as these general origins are, philosophically the most important correspondences are those connected with the sephirah 'hokmah; for in many places in the old testament and in the new, especially in the works of st. paul and st. john, is wisdom described as the creative power. the book of genesis opens with the words gin the beginning h, which in hebrew are rendered by the word b'raishith, which by many qabalists is spelt be'raishith, which means gthrough wisdom h, or through the word or principle which expresses wi

, and woden; in egypt, thoth; in classical greece, hermes; and among the romans, mercury- all gods of wisdom, whose day is the fourth day of the week, wednesday, upon which god created glights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night h. 13 wisdom is not only the creator of the universe but also the mediator between the uncreated and the created- god and man. in the form of 'hokmah, the son of kether, wisdom renders comprehensive the abstract thought in an association of ideas. philo names it messiah, and st. john christ. st. paul says: but we speak the wisdom of god in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which god ordained before the world unto our glory: which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the lord of glo

heavenly mother or holy spirit. her letter is h (heh, the numerical value of which is 5. binah possesses 50 gates, which is symbolical of the heh multiplied by the od; her symbol is the dove; her dimension is depth, whilst kether's is length (compare the lingam and yoni in hindu mythology; and her colour is sky blue, the colour of the virgin mary. from the union between kether and binah emanates 'hokmah (3) hmkc 'hokmah, wisdom. the third sephirah is the son or logos and the firstborn. it represents abstract ideas, the fruit of the gi am h forming in the mind. in the qabalah it is often called gthe only begotten son h. gin the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god h 17 here we have presented to us the logos nature of 'hokmah. its colour is yellow or red-or

rating fire; in all the others it is the letter of wrath, for it is out of equilibrium, and particularly so in shaddai and the serpent. in actual conception these three sephiroth form a trinity in unity of knowledge, that which knows and that by which it is known; they unite in themselves everything and are themselves united to the no-thing (4) dsc 'hesed, grace, love, mercy, or compassion. from 'hokmah emanate six sephiroth, secret wisdom of the qabalah page 29 which, as we have explained, symbolize the dimensions of matter 'hesed is the right arm of macrocosmos; it endows the world with feeling and sentiment (5) dhp, pahad, rigour, punishment, fear, or severity. this sephirah is the left arm of macrocosmos. it is feminine and passive, as 'hesed is masculine and active. as 'hesed symboliz

ody of man, the tree of life is itself divided horizontally into four planes (see plate iv on page 31) and vertically by three trunks or pillars (see plate iv on page 32. the central pillar- known as harmony, or mildness, or sometimes as the perfect pillar, consisting of kether, tiphereth, yesod, and malkuth- is the tree of life as mentioned in the book of genesis. the right-hand pillar- that of 'hokmah 'hesed, and netza'h- is active, male, and positive, and is called the pillar of mercy, whilst that of binah, pahad, and hod is passive, female, and negative, and is called the pillar of justice. these two pillars constitute the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because they are made up of unbalanced forces which can only find equilibrium in the central trunk or pillar. secret wisdom o

od and evil, because they are made up of unbalanced forces which can only find equilibrium in the central trunk or pillar. secret wisdom of the qabalah page 30 plate 4: the four planes of the tree of life secret wisdom of the qabalah page 31 plate 4: the three pillars of the tree of life secret wisdom of the qabalah page 32 the active mood of the divine light enters the right-hand pillar through 'hokmah, and the passive mood enters through binah, the union of these two lights creating the central pillar, the word or logos. the formulation of this word, by balancing the moods of light, constitutes the great magical work of the qabalah. to the student of the occult it will be apparent that these two trees closely resemble the letter shin, also the caduceus of hermes with its central rod and

ial substance of the universe. it is the abode of sammael, the prince of darkness. it is subject to change, birth, death, corruption and re-birth, yet not anything in it is considered as ever totally annihilated or destroyed in essence or atom. it is the abode of the evil spirit and his demonical forces. 24 such are the four worlds. in the simple sephirotic scheme the first is referred to kether 'hokmah, and binah; the second to 'hesed, pahad, and tiphereth; the third to netzah, hod, and yesod; and the fourth to affixed to the throne legions to serve it [the ten angelic hosts of this world. and for the service of these, the holy, blessed be he! made sammael and his legions, who are as it were the clouds to be used to come down upon the earth. and they are the horses: and above the cloud is

earth. and they are the horses: and above the cloud is the merkabah, the chariot throne, therefore it is said [isaiah xix, i: gbehold yhvh rideth upon a swift cloud and shall come into mitsraim [egypt. h and so the holy, blessed be he! rules mitsraim. 25 this world is seemingly the abode of tetragrammaton. such are the four worlds. in the simple sephirotic scheme the first is referred to kether 'hokmah, and binah; the second to 'hesed, pahad, and tiphereth; the third to netzah, hod, and yesod; and the fourth to malkuth. also, in genesis i, glet there be light h refers to the atziluthic world; gelohim saw the light, that it was good h refers to the briatic world; gelohim divided the light from the darkness h refers to the yetziratic world; and gelohim called the light day, and the darkness

n and the devil.23 usually the thirty-first path of the tree of life is referred to it, and according to the 32 paths of wisdom, this path gis called the perpetual intelligence. because it rules the movement of the sun and the moon according to their constitution, and causes each to gravitate in its respective orb h. 24 in other words, it is the equilibrating force in the world of action, kether 'hokmah, and binah, christ and the two thieves on their crosses, the caduceus of hermes, the solar disc and dual serpents of egypt, and, according to eliphas levi, the astral light between the horns of the baphomet of mendes- the panlike satan of the templars. when erect it is the rod of aaron and the brazen serpent of moses (see plate vii on page 44) its three teeth, or tongues, represent three va

the knowledge of good and evil. gfor god doth know that the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. h 3 the passive forces, symbolized by woman, listen to the lamentation of the primal heh, and then seeing that it was a gtree to be desired to make one wise h (that is leading from the fiftieth gate of the feminine binah to the masculine 'hokmah, eve plucked of its fruit and handed it to adam- the active forces. at once the eyes of both gwere opened h, and they knew that they were naked, that is that an abyss separated the supernal triad from the infernal heptad. thus they became conscious of the difference between yh and vh, and in this consciousness was reflected the unity of these two (satan) as symbolized by their nakedness. as

MACNULTY W KIRK KABBALAH AND FREEMASONRY

at keter. it is not the divine presence, but it is the yeziratic representation of the divine presence. because he has this glimpse, not of the deity, but of the "name of deity' the fellow craft may now practice the second of the theological virtues, hope. the third degree on the tree of life figure 16 shows the tree of life with the working tools of a master mason added. these are the pencil at hokmah, the skirret at binah, and the compasses figure 15. the tree of life with masonic symbols of the second degree. at keter.69 again, these tools contrast with those of testing and those of action in the preceding degrees. these are tools of design, tools of creativity; and from that point of view, alone, it seems appropriate to associate them with a part of the tree which, as the diagram show

s when you write or draw with a pencil. at the point of the pencil a very interesting phenomenon occurs; as you mark on the paper the idea or image which is resident in your mind in yezirah changes worlds; and becomes manifest on the paper in asiyyah as a text or as a picture. text and pictures are the manifestation as which ideas and images exist in the physical world. now think of the nature of hokmah; it is the sefirah of revelation. through the processes of inspiration and creativity genuinely original material from the tiferet of beriah, the world of creation, enters our psyche at keter; and we experience it first as a revelation, or as a flash of insight, at hokmah. for me the pencil, with its characteristic of enabling ideas to "change worlds" is a symbolic representation of hokhmah

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