Michael Wynn's Occult Reference Library
RABBI,RABBIS

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ABRAMELIN1

o have produced; who, by the way, as i have before remarked, was in all probability contemporary with abraham the jew. introduction xvi but the mode of their production as given in this work is not the black magic of pact and devil-worship, against which our author so constantly inveighs, but instead a system of qabalistic magic, similar to that of the key of solomon the king and the clavicles of rabbi solomon, though differing in the circumstance of the prior invocation of the guardian angel once for all, while in the works i have just mentioned the angels are invoked in each evocation by means of the magical circle. such works as these, then, and their like, it could not be the intention of abraham to decry, seeing that like his system they are founded on the secret knowledge of the qaba

of understanding the same, and he sought out no further the veritable science and magical art, which i undertake to teach thee and to expound unto thee. after his death, finding myself twenty years of age, i had a very great passion to understand the true mysteries of the lord; but of mine own strength i could not arrive at the end which i intended to attain. i learned that at mayence there was a rabbi who was a notable sage, and the report went that he possessed in full the divine wisdom. the great desire which i had to study induced me to go to seek him in order to learn from him. but this man also bad not received from the lord the gift, and a perfect grace; because, although he forced himself to manifest unto me certain deep mysteries of the holy qabalah, he by no means arrived at the

my brothers and sisters, andistudied with care how to put to a profitable use what my father had left me after his death; and seeing that my means were insufficient to counterbalance the expenses which i was compelled to be at, after having set in order all my affairs and business as well as my strength permitted; i set out, and i went into vormatia9 to mayence, in order to find there a very aged rabbi named moses, in the hope that i had found in him that which i sought. as i have said in the preceding chapter, his science had no foundation such as that of the true divine wisdom. i remained with him for four years,10 miserably wasting all that time there, and persuading myself that i had learned all that i wished to know, and i was only thinking of returning to my paternal home, when i cas

ALEISTER CROWLEY EIGHT LECTURES ON YOGA

ignorance of the history of the world, as the prince of the power of the air; that is, of the ruach, of the intellect; and we must never forget that what operated the conversion of st. paul was the vision on the road to damascus. it is particularly significant that he disappeared into the desert of arabia for three years before coming forward as the apostle to the gentiles. st. paul was a learned rabbi; he was the favourite pupil of the best expositor of the hebrew law, and in the single moment of his vision all his arguments were shattered at a single stroke! 10. we are not told that st. paul said anything at the time, but went quietly on his journey. that is the great lesson: not to discuss the results. those of you who possess a copy of 'the equinox of the gods' may have been very much

ALEISTER CROWLEY MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

-known story quoted in several treatises of psychology in which the heroine is an ignorant english servant girl of quite inferior intelligence, and unacquainted with any language, even her own. in the course of a fever, she became delirious, and proceeded to reel off long passages of scholarly hebrew. investigations showed that in her first youth she had been for a time in the service of a jewish rabbi who had been accustomed to declaim his sermons in the hearing of the girl. although attaching no meaning to the words, she had stored them mechanically in her subconscious memory, to be reproduced when the action of the fever excited the group of cells where they were recorded> our praeter-human intelligence 256 must convey a truth not known to any human mind, past or present. yet this truth

ALEISTER CROWLEY SEPHER SEPHIROTH

(cf. 656) hn#w# a storehouse *ms) 662 the garland of god l)yrtk) 663 stones of marble (see zohar, pt. i. fol. 34. col. 134# ynb) songs twrymz prophets *my)bn 665 the womb mxrh tyb 666 the number of the beast. 1-36. 36 is the sum of the letters aleph to cheth (tyx= 418, hence 666 is an expansion of 418. the number of talents of gold received by solomon in one year (i kings 10:14) aleister crowley (rabbi battiscombe gunn fs transliteration) ylwrq ry+syl) ommo satan: the gevil triad h of satan-typhon, apophras, and besz. lit. gthe dimness of satan h, scil. gveil h) nts wmm( the name jesus hw#hy m# his secret place (ps. 18:11, his covering wrts your god *mkyhl) 667 the oil for lighting rw)ml nm# 668 a female merchant trxs the ears *mynz) to shut up, obstruct *msx builders *mynwb 670 deprecatin

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE SWORD OF SONG

inary sphere and flies in the direction x (there lies the fourth dimension) vex my soul no more with mistranslations from genesis to revelations, 730 but leave me with the flaming star,75 jeheshua (see thou zohar!)76 and thus our formidable pigeon-77 lamb-and-old-gentleman religion fizzles in smoke, and i am found 735 attacking nothing. here s the ground, pistols, and coffee three in one (alas, o rabbi schimeon) but never a duellist no son, no father, and (to please us most) 740 decency pleads no holy ghost! all vanish at the touch of truth, a cobweb trio like, in sooth, the sword of song 24 the reader may hope. summary. reader dismissed to chapel. future plans of poet. jesus dismissed with a jest. the jest. that worthy yankee millionaire, and wealthy nephews, young and fair, 745 the pleas

ir stamps, baramulla, kashmir. 106. gallup.32 for information apply to mr. sidney lee. 111. it is the number of a man. 33 rev. xiii. 18. 117. fives.34 dukes. 122 (elsewhere.)35 see songs of the spirit and other works. 128. the qabalistic balm.36 may be studied in the kabbalah (sic) unveiled (redway. it is much to be wished that some one would undertake the preparation of an english translation of rabbi jischak ben loria s de revolutionibus animarum, and of the book beth elohim. 139. cain.37 gen. iv. 8. 152. hunyadi.38 hunyadi janos, a hungarian table water. 161. nadi.39 for this difficult subject refer to the late swami vivekananda s raja yoga. 167. tom bond bishop.40 founder of the children s scripture union (an association for the dissemination of lies among young people) and otherwise k

AN INTRO TO STUDY OF THE KABALAH

ancient versions were compiled about a.d. 200. the "sepher yetzirah" is mentioned in the talmuds, both of jerusalem and of babylon; it was written in the neo-hebraic language, like the mishna. the "zohar" or" sohar" spelled in hebrew zhr or zuhr "the book of splendour" or of "light" is a collection of many separate treatises on the deity, angels, souls and cosmogony. its authorship is ascribed to rabbi simon ben jochai, who lived a.d. 160; he was persecuted and driven to live in a cave by lucius aurelius verus, co-regent with the emperor marcus aurelius antoninus. some considerable portion of the work may have been arranged by him from the oral traditions of his time: but other parts have certainly been added by other hands at intervals up to the time when it was first published as a whole

i simon ben jochai, who lived a.d. 160; he was persecuted and driven to live in a cave by lucius aurelius verus, co-regent with the emperor marcus aurelius antoninus. some considerable portion of the work may have been arranged by him from the oral traditions of his time: but other parts have certainly been added by other hands at intervals up to the time when it was first published as a whole by rabbi moses de leon, of guadalajara in spain, circa 1290. from that time its history is known; printed editions have been issued in mantua, 1558, cremona, 1560, and lublin, 1623; these are the three famous codices of "the zohar" in the hebrew language. for those who do not read hebrew the only practical means of studying the zohar are the partial translation into latin of baron knorr von rosenroth

ecret commentary, raja mehemna--the faithful shepherd, saba demishpatim--the discourse of the aged--the prophet elias, and januka- the young man; with notes called tosephta and mathanithan. in course of publication there is now a french translation of the complete zohar, by jean de pauly: this is a most scholarly work. other famous kabalistic treatises are "the commentary on the ten sephiroth" by rabbi azariel ben menachem, 1200 a.d "the alphabet" of rabbi akiba" the gate of heaven; the "book of enoch "pardes rimmonim, or garden of pomegrantes "a treatise on the emanations "otz ha chiim, or the tree of life" of chajim vital "rashith ha galgulim, or revolutions of souls" of isaac de loria; and especially the writings of the famous spanish jew, ibn gebirol, who died a.d. 1070, and was also c

ns of souls" of isaac de loria; and especially the writings of the famous spanish jew, ibn gebirol, who died a.d. 1070, and was also called avicebron, his great works are "the fountain of life" and "the crown of the kingdom" the teaching of the kabalah has been considered to be grouped into several schools, each of which was for a time famous. i may mention--the school of gerona, 1190 to 1210, of rabbi isaac the blind, rabbis azariel and ezra, and moses nachmanides. the school of segovia of rabbis jacob, abulafia (died 1305, shem tob (died 1332, and isaac of akko. the school of rabbi isaac ben abraham ibn latif about 1390. the school of abulafia (died 1292) and joseph gikatilla (died 1300; also the schools of "zoharists" of rabbis moses de leon (died 1305, menahem di recanti (died 1350, is

ch verse and narrative, each law and incident, had also a deeper and concealed meaning of a mystical character to be found by their calculations, conversions, and substitutions, according to their rules of gematria, notaricon, and temura: the first name is of greek origin, the second from the latin, but the third was hebrew and meant permutation, tmurh, from the root mur--changed. the most famous rabbi of the seventeenth century named menasseh ben israel, compared the books of moses to the body of a man, the commentaries called mishna to the soul, and the kabalah he called the spirit of the soul "ignorant people may study the first, the learned the second, but the wisest direct their contemplation to the third; he called the kabalists--divine theologians possessed of thirteen rules by whic

tion of this effulgence, let us formulate a gathering together of the rays of this illumination into a crown of glorified radiance, and we recognise ktr, kether, the crown, the first sephira, first emanation of incomprehensible deity, the first conceivable attribute of immanent manifested godhead: also named adm oilah, adam oilah, the heavenly man, and autik yomin, the ancient of days. the devout rabbi bows his head and adores the sublime conception. he is represented in the hebrew old testament by the divine name ahih, aheieh "i am (exodus iii. v. 4. the conscious god having arisen in his energy, there follow immediately two further emanations, the trio shining in the symbol of a radiant triangle. chkmh, chokmah, wisdom, the king, with the divine name ih, jah is the second sephira; binh

nic magic. there is also a close relation between the old kabalistic theology and alchymy; each sephira of assiah becomes the allegoric emblem of one of the metals: and there is a special rabbinic volume named "asch metzareph" entirely concerned with alchymy; its name in english meaning is "cleansing fires (my english translation can be obtained) a. e. waite in his work on the kabalah states that rabbi azariel ben menachem in his "commentary on the sephiroth" allots a particular colour to each one, but these do not agree with the colours given in the zohar, where we find kether called colourless, tiphareth purple, and malkuth sapphire-blue. these ten sephiroth are thought of as being connected together by "paths" twenty-two in number, shown on the diagram; they are numbered by means of the

BLAVATSKY H P ANTHROPOGENESIS

accurately in the hebrew bible. in setting forth his scheme, to enforce it, and to finish out his detailed exposition in a general postulate, viz, the one word[[vol. 2, page] 40 the secret doctrine. sephrim (sephiroth) of the number jezirah, the author explains the separation of this word in the three subordinate ones, a play upon a common word s-ph-r, or number" the prince al-chazari says to the rabbi "i wish now that thou wouldest impart to me some of the chiefest or leading principles of natural philosophy, which as thou sayest were in former times worked out by them (the ancient wise ones; to which the rabbi makes answer "to such principles appertains the number of creation of our race-father abraham (that is abram and abraham, or numbers 41224 and 41252. he then says that this book of

e description of the ark of the covenant, was divided into two parts by two tables of stone, on which these, dbrim or 41224, were written or engraved- or 20612 by 2. he then comments on these three subordinately used words, and takes care as to one of them to make the comment "and alhim (31415 to 1) said: let there be light (20612 to 6561" the three words as given in the text are[[hebrew. and the rabbi in commenting upon them says "it teaches the alhimness (31415) and one-ness (the diameter to alhim) through words (dbrim, 41224, by which on the one side there is infinite expression in heterogeneous creations, and on the other a final harmonic tendency to one-ness (which as everyone knows is the mathematical function of[[pi" of the schools, which measures, and weighs and numbers the stars o

the other a final harmonic tendency to one-ness (which as everyone knows is the mathematical function of[[pi" of the schools, which measures, and weighs and numbers the stars of heaven, and yet resolves them back into the final oneness of the universe through words "their final accord perfects itself in that oneness that ordains them and which consists in[[hebrew (book of al-chazari, that is the rabbi, in his first comment, leaves the jod, or i, out of one of the words, whereas afterwards he restores it again. if we take the values of those subordinate words, we find them to be 340, 340, 346; together these are 1026, and the division of the general word into these has been to produce these numbers, which by temurah may be changed in various ways for various purposes (kabala) the reader is

physical perception, must have the cosmic principle of light: and by this, our mental circle must become visible through light; or, for its complete manifestation, the circle must be that of physical visibility, or light itself. such conceptions, thus formulated, became the groundwork of the philosophy of the divine manifesting in the universe" this is philosophy. it is otherwise when we find the rabbi in al-chazari saying that "under s'ph-r is to be understood calculation and weighing of created bodies. for the calculation, by means of which a body must be constructed in harmony or symmetry, by which it must be in construction rightly arranged and made to correspond to the object in design, consists at last in number, extension, mass, weight; co-ordinate relation of movements, then harmon

ions after as many failures; and two great creations are mentioned* the padma and the varaha, the present, when the earth was lifted out of the water by brahma, in the shape of a boar, or "varaha avatar" creation is shown as a sport, an amusement (lila) of the creative god. the zohar speaks of primordial worlds, which perished as soon as they came into existence. and the same is said in midraish, rabbi abahu explaining distinctly (in bereschith rabba, parscha ix) that "the holy one" had successively created and de[[footnote(s* these two must not be confused with the seven creations or divisions in each kalpa (see book i "the seven creations. the primary and secondary creations are here meant[[vol. 2, page] 54 the secret doctrine. stroyed sundry worlds, before he succeeded in the present on

de "the holy of holies: its esoteric meaning" in part io of this volume[[vol. 2, page] 85 the son of yah (ibid, it is said that, on this earth, the wisdom from the "holy ancient "does not shine except in male and female "hohmah, wisdom, is the father, and binah, understanding, is the mother. and when they connect one with the other they bring forth and diffuse and emanate truth. in the sayings of rabbi je-yeva sabah, i.e, the old, we learned this: what is binah understanding? but when they connect in one another, the[[diagram (yod) in the[[diagram (heh, they become impregnated and produce a son. and, therefore, it is called binah, understanding. it means ben yah, i.e, son of yah. this is the completeness of the whole* this is also the "completeness" of phallicism by the rabbis, its perfect

prof. wilder's essay "the primeval race double-sexed* eugibinus, a christian, and the rabbis samuel, manasseh ben israel, and maimonides taught that "adam had two faces and one person, and from the beginning he was both male and female- male on one side and female on the other (like manu's brahma, but afterwards the parts were separated" the one hundred and thirty-ninth psalm of david recited by rabbi jeremiah ben eliazar is evidence of this "thou hast fashioned me behind and before" not beset as in the bible, which is absurd and meaningless, and this shows, as prof. wilder thinks "that the primeval form of mankind was androgynous* see the union of chochmah, wisdom, with binah, intelligence, or jehovah, the demiurge, called understanding in the proverbs of solomon, ch. vii. unto men wisdo

mes of mystery, secret and terrible" 13 "the adversary, because matter opposeth spirit. time accuseth even the saints of the lord" 28, 29, 31 "stand in awe of him, and sin not; speak his name with trembling. for satan is the magistrate of the justice of god (karma; he beareth the balance and the sword. for to him are committed weight and measure and number" compare the last sentence with what the rabbi, who explains the kabala to prince al-chazari in the book of that name, says; and it will be found that the weight and measure and number are, in sepher jezirah, the attributes of the sephiroth (the three sephrim, or figures, ciphers) covering the whole collective number of 10; and that the sephiroth are the collective adam kadmon, the "heavenly man" or the logos. thus satan and the anointed

BLAVATSKY H P COSMOGENESIS

giving the true history of the races from the first down to the fifth (our) race, goes no further. it stops short at the beginning of the kali yuga just 4989 years ago at the death of krishna, the bright "sun-god" the once living hero and reformer. but there exists another book. none of its possessors regard it as very ancient, as it was born with, and is only as old as the black age[[footnote(s* rabbi jehoshua ben chananea, who died about a.d. 72, openly declared that he had performed "miracles" by means of the book of sepher jezireh, and challenged every sceptic. franck, quoting from the babylonian talmud, names two other thaumaturgists, rabbis chanina and oshoi (see "jerusalem talmud, sanhedrin" c. 7, etc; and "franck" pp. 55, 56) many of the mediaeval occultists, alchemists, and kabali

the mother of the soul, for life and light are therein united" says hermes "for number one is born of the spirit and the number ten from matter (chaos, feminine; the unity has made the ten, the ten the unity (book of the keys. by the means of the temura, the anagrammatical method of the kabala, and the knowledge of 1065 (21, a universal science may be obtained regarding kosmos and its mysteries (rabbi yogel. the rabbis regard the numbers 10, 6, and 5 as the most sacred of all* the reader may be told that an american kabalist has now discovered the same number for the elohim. it came to the jews from chaldaea. see "hebrew metrology" in the masonic review, july, 1885, mcmillan lodge, no. 141[[vol. 1, page] 91 the immaculate conceptions. mathematical formulae to express it. this set of figur

ed, and of such there are many* sephira is the crown, kether, in the abstract principle only, as a mathematical x (the unknown quantity. on the plane of differentiated nature she is the female counterpart of adam kadmon- the first androgyne. the kabala teaches that the word "fiat lux (genesis ch. i) referred to the formation and evolution of the sephiroth, and not to light as opposed to darkness. rabbi simeon says "oh com[[footnote continued on next page[[vol. 1, page] 216 the secret doctrine. sephira-adam-kadmon. in its unity, primordial light is the seventh, or highest, principle, daivi-prakriti, the light of the unmanifested logos. but in its differentiation it becomes fohat, or the "seven sons" the former is symbolised by the central point in the double- triangle; the latter by the hex

same idea is found. tsi-tsai (the self-existent) is the unknown darkness, the root of the wuliang-sheu (boundless age, amitabhe, and tien (heaven) come later on. the "great extreme" of confucius gives the same idea, his "straws" notwithstanding. the latter are a source of great amusement to the missionaries. these laugh at every "heathen" religion, despise and hate that of their[[footnote(s* says rabbi simeon "ah, companions, companions, man as an emanation was both man and woman, as well on the side of the 'father' as on the side of the 'mother' and this is the sense of the words 'and elohim spoke; let there be light, and it was light. and this is the two-fold man("auszuge aus dem sohar" p. 13, 15) light, then, in genesis stood for the androgyne ray or "heavenly man[[vol. 1, page] 357 orn

true character of jehovah or yhvh in the primitive conception of the hebrew kabalists. it is now found in the philosophy of i'bn gebirol's kabbalah, translated by isaac myer "in the introduction written by r'hez'quee-yah, which is very old" says our author "and forms part of our brody edition of the zohar (i, 5b. sq) is an account of a journey taken by r. el'azar, son of r. shim-on b. io'hai, and rabbi abbah" they met a man with a heavy burden and asked his name; but he refused to give it and proceeded to explain to them thorah[[vol. 1, page] 394 the secret doctrine (law "they asked 'who caused thee thus to walk and carry such a heavy load' he answered 'the letter[[diagram (yod, which= 10, and is the symbolical letter of kether and the essence and germ of the holy name[[diagram] yhvh. they

precession of the equinoxes, or 25,868 years each, and this is equal, therefore, in all to 4,242,352 years. more details will be found in the text of book ii. meanwhile, this doctrine is embodied in the "kings of edom* the same reserve is found in the talmud and in every national system of religion whether monotheistic or exoterically polytheistical. from the superb religious poem by the kabalist rabbi solomon ben gabirol in "the kether malchuth" we select a few definitions given in the prayers of kippur "thou art one, the beginning of all numbers, and the foundation of all edifices; thou art one, and in the secret of thy unity the wisest of men are lost, because they know it not. thou art one, and thy unity is never diminished, never extended, and cannot be changed. thou art one, but not

y minutest atom of the seven principles of kosmos, then the secondary creation, after the abovementioned period of rest, begins[[footnote(s* see "isis unveiled" vol. ii, p. 183* see also king's gnostics. other sects regarded jehovah as ildabaoth himself king identifies him with saturn[[vol. 1, page] 450 the secret doctrine "the creators (elohim) outline in the second 'hour' the shape of man" says rabbi simeon (the nuctameron of the hebrews "there are twelve hours in the day" says the mishna "and it is during these that creation is accomplished" the "twelve hours of the day" are again the dwarfed copy, the faint, yet faithful, echo of primitive wisdom. they are like the 12,000 divine years of the gods, a cyclic blind. every "day of brahma" has 14 manus, which the hebrew kabalists, following

stantial and real "that most simple being, the cause of all unity and the measure of all things" but the duad, although the origin of evil, or matter- thence unreal in philosophy- is still substance during manvantara, and is often called the third monad, in occultism, and the connecting line as between two points. or numbers which proceeded from that "which was before all numbers" as expressed by rabbi barahiel. and from this duad proceeded all the scintillas of the three upper and the four lower worlds or planes- which are in constant interaction and correspondence. this is a teaching which the kabala has in common with eastern occultism. for in the occult philosophy there are the "one cause" and the "primal cause" which latter thus becomes, paradoxically, the second, as clearly expressed

CHRONOLOGIA RORISPERGIUS

is of memphis wrote in greek on egyptian religion. 90 (n.t) gospel of john. 81-96 revelation of st. john. 123-170? apuleius, the golden ass 100-300 ce composition of corpus hermetica 100-185? pistis sophia 120-189 r. judah the prince, redactor of the mishnah. gave merkabah teachings to r. yochanam. c.120 r. akiba ben joseph 130 theon of smyrna: biblion- natural square often cited as magic. d. 132 rabbi ishmael. attributed to him is 3 enoch, or the hebrew apocalypse of enoch, supposedly written after his visionary ascension into heaven 132-5: bar kokhba rebellion in palestine. jerusalem is leveled and jews are forbidden to live there, removing any hope of establishing a third temple c.150 n.t. apocrypha. lotus sutra. cyranides(hermetica which catalogues the occult properties of birds, fishe

i al-husayn ibn sina (avicenna) metaphysics of angelology identifies the active intellect with the angel of revelation, gabriel, the holy spirit. theory that the soul can make an impression upon "first matter (astral matter) by the vehemence of its affection and intention influenced albertus magnus (thorndike, history of magic and experimental science, ii, 731) 1039-1123 milarepa 1040-1105 rashi (rabbi solomon ben isaac; jewish sage, talmudic exegist of troyes, france c.1050 michael psellus studying in constantinople, received an annotated copy of the hermetica from a scholar from harran. 1052-1127 ibn al-sid al batalyawsi kitab al- hada'iq or "the book of imaginary circles" ladder by which the soul ascends and descends(influenced by the "epistles of the brethren of purity) popular in medi

do-joachim's "exposition on the sibyls and on merlin" franciscan joachite commentary on the erythraean sibyl and the sayings of merlin. 1250? liber juratus (sworn book of honorius) compiled by honorius of thebes, son of euclid. 1250-1305 moses ben shem tob de leon. zohar (the book of splendor) 1250/57- 1315 petrus de abano -petrus aponensis- translator of the kabbalistic and astrological books of rabbi ibn ezra. in "astrolabium planum" he interpreted the 360 degrees of the zodiac plus the decans. 1251- 1259 mongke khan 1251: hulegu leads the mongol invasion of persia and establishes the ilkhanate. 1253-1341 ubertino of casale spiritual franciscan joachite leader. 1253-1255 william of rubruck, traveled through the mongol domains. 1254: a franciscan student, gerard of borgo san donnino, publ

sance period. author of signs of the times (1614. 1578 francois de foix comte de candallegabriel harvey formed *areopagus* with edmund spencer, sir edward dyer and sir philip sidney. 1578-1645 johannes battista van helmont 1579-1651 arthur dee 1579 guillaume postel translates his 1543 work on euclid into french. 1580-1610 oswald croll 1580 rabbi loew of prague makes the golem 1581 dee and kelley start their "mystical experiments" guillaume postel dies 1582 john dee -polar chart dedicated to sir humphrey gilbert. jean gosselin, a follower of postel, wrote "la signification de l'ancien jeu des chartes pythagorique et la d claration de deux doutes qui se trouvent en comptant au jeu de paume, lesquelles connaissances ont t longtemps cac

freemasonry was to be organised in england in the following century. 1598-1655 michael guhler, author of clavis apocaliptica(not to be confused with joseph mede's work of the same name) 1599 first appearance of a work of basil valentine. book of lambspring included in barnaud's triga chemica. second schaw statutes specifically recommend the art of memory. 1600 giordano bruno executed c.1600-1677 rabbi shmuel vital son of rabbi chaim vital composed a now lost alphabetical lexicon of practical kabbalah: ta'alumot hokhman 1600-1679 barend coenders van helpen 1600-1680 athanasius kircher 1600-1665 sir kenelm digby 1600 1653 naude, gabriel- instruction a la france sur la verite de i'histoire des freres de la roze croix. 1602 publication of the first volumes of the compendium of alchemical text

hysicae restitutae. heinrich nollius was expelled from the university of giessen for his hermetic tract parergi philosophici speculum. 1624 stolcius's viridarium chymicum. antonio de andrade a missionary,first european to reach tibet from india, arriving in the town of tsaparang, on the banks of the langchen khambab river. 1624-1701 helvetius 1624-1704 jane leade. philadelphian society. 1625-1697 rabbi moshe zacuto -shorshei hashemoth- the roots of the names 1625 musaeum hermeticum. jacques gaffarel, enthusiast of hebrew and occultism, defends and dedicates to richelieu his abdita divinae cabalae mysteria. heinrich nollius proposes the formation of a society called rotae celestae(keepers of the celestial wheel) 1626-32 stephen cacella and john cabral visited gyantse and shigatse. there doe

ed 1638. 1631 arthur dee fasciculus chemicus in latin 1633-1690 knorr von rosenroth 1638 abrahan von franckenberg raphael. 1638-1710 johann georg gichtel founded the angelic brethren with connections to the group of jane leade, john pordage, aka the philadelphians. 1640-1728 isaac newton 1641 samuel hartlib macaria. 1642 third latin edition of sefer yetzirah, with hebrew translation commentary by rabbi abraham f. ben dior, amsterdam. included commentary by abraham ben david ha levy the younger (dior. titled "liber jesirah quie abrahamo patriarchae adscribitur, una cum commentario rabbi abraham f.d (ie, ben dior) super 32 semitis sapientiae..translatus et notis illustratus a joanne stephano rittanhelio..amstekodami, 1642" 1644 latin version of the 1562 "sefer yetzirah" with a commentary by

horash attributed to the pips 1855: eliphas levi (alphonse louis constant) publishes "dogma et rituel de la haute magie" 1856 levi's masterpiece le dogme et rituel de la haute magie published 1857 arthur edward waite born in brooklyn, new york 1858-1918 sar peladan 1859 adrien adolphe desbarolles les mysteres de la main. 1860 sefer yetzirah published in lemberg with commentaries from saadia gaon, rabbi abraham ben dior halevi, rabbi moses ben nacham, elieser of germisa, moses botarel, rabbi eliah wilna. 1860-1898 stanislas de guaita 1860-1943 oswald wirth 1861 rudolph steiner born 1861-1897 stanislas de guaita 1861 eliphas levi mysteries of the qabalah: the occult agreement of the two testaments. 1861-1925 rudolf steiner 1863 publication of l homme rouge des toileries (red man of the tuile

COSIMANO CHARLES ELEMENTARY PSIONICS

cross this stuff before and use it to get you started because in its humble way the pendulum is an essential part of psionics, even though it has no funny dials or moving parts, except for itself, that is. the pendulum is a very easy thing to make. you do not need to find the right variety of crystal on a new moon, buy it without haggling and then drill a hole in it with a bit blessed by the same rabbi who cuts off foreskins. all you need is a weight, any weight will do, and a convenient length of string. for my personal taste, i like pendulums that end in a point. that way i know what they are pointing at when they are used with a chart like the ones later in this chapter. totally round pendulums tend to be rather confusing in such uses. other than that, you can use anything you like. an

DAVID ICKE AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

ame will appear on so many occasions in the first half of the book (as i explain how the prison warders manifest their control on the physical level, that i should fill in a little rothschild history here. mayer amschel bauer (later rothschild) was born in 1743 in frankfurt, germany. he married gutle schnaper in 1770 and they had a large family of five boys and five girls. he was educated to be a rabbi, but he later worked briefly for the oppenheimer bank in hanover and then became a money lender who acted as paper power 39 an agent for william ix, landgrave of hesse-cassel. in 1785, william inherited the largest family fortune in europe, estimated at some $40 million.1 some of this was accumulated by hiring out troops to britain to fight in the brotherhood-engineered american war of indep

genda of which is kept secret from them. once they have done their job, they are discarded. those reading this book who are on the lower levels of the brotherhood ladder might ponder deeply on this for their own sake, if not for that of others. another brotherhood frontman was the marquis de mirabeau. he is known to have been financed by the german, moses mendelssohn, a member of the uluminati.21 rabbi marvin s. antelman names mendelssohn as a key manipulator for an inner 'jewish' clique which he believes has been seeking to destroy judaism and all religion.22 he says that this clique, together with non-jews, are followers of what he, too, calls the all-seeing eye cult. he links this group to the house of rothschild and says the cult was the force behind the french revolution. mendelssohn

ique, together with non-jews, are followers of what he, too, calls the all-seeing eye cult. he links this group to the house of rothschild and says the cult was the force behind the french revolution. mendelssohn started the uluminati front, the haskala movement in 1776- the year the bavarian uluminati was launched. another figure close to mendelssohn was the uluminati member, friedrich nicholai. rabbi antelman described mendelssohn as a "con man" who plotted the demise of judaism while claiming to be a promoter of the religion and the "race. this is precisely what has happened since and continues today. there is a global jewish clique who are not, in truth, followers of judaism or supporters of jewish people. the freemasonry lodges in france, particularly those under the control of the gr

y were the work of an elite group called the priory of sion, the inner, controlling, core of the knights templars.26 they believe that this original document was changed to make it appear as a jewish plot. i certainly would not dismiss such a conclusion. it is the manipulation they describe that interests me, not who has been blamed for it. i believe their origin lies with the illuminati, as does rabbi antelman. whatever the arguments, one fact cannot be denied, given the hindsight of the last 100 years. the protocols, from wherever they came, were a quite stunning prophecy of what has happened in the twentieth century in terms of wars and the manipulation i am exposing here. whoever wrote them sure as heck knew what the game plan was. one protocol speaks of the way the manipulators intend

e global elite/brotherhood in a later chapter 14 the title 'colonel' was purely honorary. he never actually served. 15 saturday evening post (february 9,1935) p25 16 rothschild money trust, p41 17 secret societies, p109 18 mcnair wilson, the life of napolean, p38 19 captain a.h.m. ramsey, the nameless war (omni publications, london, 1952) p25 paper power 55 20 ibid p25 21 the nameless war, p26 22 rabbi marvin s. antelman, to eliminate the opiate (zahavia ltd, new york-tel aviv, 1974) 23 secret societies, p110-112 24 the nameless war, p29 25 ibid p33 26 michael baigent, richard leigh and henry lincoln, holy blood, holy grail (jonathan cape, london, 1982) pl98-203 chapter 4 from rhodes to ruin ome people find it difficult to understand at first how this manipulation can be continued across t

ers say he was a supporter of the illuminati. ruskin probably genuinely wanted better conditions for the poor, but i would suggest that he was seriously misguided in his means of achieving them. his ideas were to be followed by karl marx and friedrich engels (another student of plato) and became the foundations of the marxist form of communism which was soon to grip the nations of eastern europe. rabbi marvin s. antelman also identifies the plato theme and its connection to the all-seeing eye secret society network. he points out that moses mendelssohn, an architect of the french revolution, was such a student of plato's works that he became known as the "german plato. he translated three books of plato's republic into german, but his work was never published. it was, however, passed down

at the revolution had been organised and financed by international bankers. it explained how "chinese criminals" had been imported to serve under bolshevik officers in a terror campaign against the people of russia. this document was quickly withdrawn and replaced with a six pence version- minus this information.27 some claim that the bolshevik revolution was a jewish revolution, but i think that rabbi marvin s. antelman reads the situation perfectly when he writes "the truth of the matter was..that there was a conspiracy, but it was neither jewish, nor catholic, nor masonic. it involved people of all types of religions and national backgrounds. side by side with the schiffs, warburgs, and rothschilds were the morgans and the rockefellers. with trotsky were lenin and stalin."28 what was th

nd yet this letter was to form the basis on which the post-war world was to be divided and arab control of palestine handed over. it had nothing to do with what was best for jews, even though its architects, the rothschilds, are jewish if only in name. it was about the wider strategic oil and new world order possibilities that a foothold in that part of the middle east would offer. i believe that rabbi marvin s. antelman is correct when he links the house of rothschild with the all-seeing eye clique which is seeking to destroy judaism. things may be done in the name of jewish people as a whole, but they are not done for their benefit. jewish people are used as fodder by the elite and by many within the jewish hierarchy. nor is it true that most jewish people today have a genetic line back

DAVID ICKE CHILDREN OF THE MATRIX

idea they are unpaid mind controllers "i'm just doing what's right for my children" i hear them say. no, what you have been programmed to believe is right for them and* i know that strictly speaking the collective word for sheep is flock and not herd, but i prefer herd so sod convention. w 2 children of the matrix the belief, also, that only you know best. i remember debating with a former chief rabbi of the united kingdom at the oxford union debating society and he simply could not see a difference between education and indoctrination. it was a wonder to behold. we see this same theme in our daily experiences of people in uniform and others from the masses who are promoted to power over the masses. it's summed up by the satirical version of the british labour party song, the red flag, wh

. these beliefs are perceived as "opposites" when, as i pointed out in my book, i am me, i am free, they are opposames. the vision of reality and possibility within the pen is so limited that it contains no opposites. so the elite have to create the perception of them to manufacture the divisions that allow them to divide and rule. i mean, what is the difference between a christian bishop, jewish rabbi, muslim or hindu priest, or a follower of buddha, imposing their beliefs on their children and others? there is none because while the belief they seek to indoctrinate may be slightly different, often very slightly, the overall theme is exactly the same- the imposition of one person's belief on another. look at the opposames in politics. the far left, as symbolised by josef stalin in russia

s because it is so difficult to encompass the contents into the party line. but, hey, they tell us that this is the literal word of god and he's not going to make a cock-up, is he? it's very clear. some sort of beings, the sons of the gods, came down and produced children with earth women and those children were therefore a hybrid race, the nefilim. it's official. god said. over to you, vicar. or rabbi. talk us through that one. flavius josephus, the 1st century writer and historian, did offer a comment on this genesis reference to the interbreeding between "gods" and human women..for many angels of god accompanied with women and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these m

r child's right from birth to reach their own conclusions without pressure to conform to their parents' beliefs, would be utterly abhorrent to such people. indeed most could not begin to comprehend such a level of mental and emotional respect for their child's uniqueness, and freedom of thought and expression. as i said at the start of the book, i debated at the oxford union with the former chief rabbi of great britain and he could not see the difference between information and indoctrination "how can i do the best for my children" he said, or words to that effect "if i do not bring them up to believe what is right" no, rabbi, what you believe is right. that's not informing them of your view; it is indoctrinating your beliefs while suppressing and discrediting all alternative versions of r

DION FORTUNE MYSTICAL QABALA

ation; that is why we declare that the qabalah is a growing system, not a historic monument. there is more to be got out of the qabalistic symbols to-day than there was in the time of the old dispensation because our mental content is richer in ideas. how much more, for instance, does the sephirah yesod, wherein work the forces of growth and reproduction, mean to the biologist than to the ancient rabbi? everything that has to do with growth and reproduction is resumed in the sphere of the moon. but this sphere, as represented upon the tree of life, is set about with paths leading to other sephiroth; therefore the biological qabalist knows that there must be certain definite relationships between the forces subsumed in yesod and those represented by the symbols assigned to these paths. broo

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 1

nhabit trees. akhnim a town of middle thebais, which at one time possessed the reputation of being the habitation of the greatest magicians. the french traveler paul lucas (1664.1737, in his second voyage, speaks of the wonderful serpent of akhnim, which was worshiped by the muslims as an angel, and which the christians believed to be the demon asmodeus. akiba ben joseph (ca. 50.135 c.e) a jewish rabbi of the first century, who began as a simple shepherd, then became a learned scholar, spurred by the hope of winning the hand of a young lady he greatly admired. according to jewish legend, he was taught by the elemental spirits, was a wonder worker, and at his peak had as many as 24,000 disciples. he was reputed to be the author of a famous work entitled yetzirah (on the creation, which is b

. according to jewish legend, he was taught by the elemental spirits, was a wonder worker, and at his peak had as many as 24,000 disciples. he was reputed to be the author of a famous work entitled yetzirah (on the creation, which is by some ascribed to abraham, or to adam. an early hebrew edition of the sepher yetzirah was printed at lemberg in 1680: a latin version was printed in paris in 1552. rabbi akiba was a great teacher who developed a rabbinical school at jaffu, and his mishnah became the foundation of the religious code. he was involved in the revolt of bar-cochba against hadrian in 132 c.e. and suffered martyrdom by being flayed alive. akita in 1969, akita, japan, was the site of one of the more prominent modern series of apparitions of the virgin mary. while praying, sister agn

alchemical, gnostic, medieval, and celtic traditions within a basic framework of kabalistic philosophy, affirmed through special rituals relating to spiritual consciousness. after world war i, the society s membership became influenced by newer occult trends from such other organizations as the hermetic order of the golden dawn, but authentic kabalistic traditions were strengthened by the work of rabbi morris greenburg, a noted talmudic scholar. world war ii largely suspended the society activities until 1949. some years later conflicting trends arose, largely around the issue of magical rituals designed to enhance consciousness and the actual use of occult powers. a schism occurred in 1957, and one group broke away to form the hermetic order of the sacred word (osw. the main body of the a

i faith in america: origins, 1892.1900. wilmette, ill: baha i publishing trust, 1985. bahaman a jinni (or genie) who, according to persian tradition, appeased anger; governed oxen, sheep, and all animals of a peaceful disposition. encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. bahaman 143 bahir( brightness. a mystical hebrew treatise of the twelfth or thirteenth century, the work of a french rabbi named isaac ben abraham of posquieres, commonly called isaac the blind (see kabala) baia baia, a town in ancient italy northwest of naples, was the site of a famous oracle of the dead, accounts of which appear in virgil s aenead and in the writings of strabo (63 b.c.e..24 c.e. it was located close to another oracle famous for its prophecies located at cuma. virgil (70.19 b.c.e) resided close

ca 95073. its webpage may be found at http//www.shamanism.com. sources: dance of the deer foundation. http/ www.shamanism.com. february 25, 2000. daphnomancy ancient method of divination by means of the laurel. a branch was thrown into the fire, if it crackled in burning, it was a happy sign, but if it burned without crackling, the prognostication was false. d aquin, mordecai (d. 1650) a learned rabbi of carpentras who died in 1650. he became a christian and changed his name from mordecai to philippe. he was the author of an interpretation of the tree of the hebrew kabala. encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. d aquin, mordecai 375 the dark a druid of irish medieval legend who turned saba into a fawn because she did not return his love. when the fawn was protected by the hero

r making experiments. the book was addressed not so much to the novice as to the expert, however, and took it for granted that the reader was already in possession of the philosophers stone. fitzlar, martin von encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. 570 flamel showed the book to scholars and learned men, but they were unable to interpret the text, until one day it was suggested that a rabbi might be able to translate it. since the chiefs of the jews were principally located in spain, flamel went there and from one of the hebrew sages obtained some hints that afforded a key to the mysteries. returning to paris, he resumed his studies with a new vigor and was rewarded with success. on february 13, 1382, according to the story, flamel made a projection on mercury and produced some

he tribunal of free judges. levi s observations must be taken with a grain of salt, however. it is unlikely that the sabbat was celebrated to such an extreme. also, the vehmgericht was founded 450 years after charlemagne s reign. from the reign of robert the pious to that of st. louis (1215.70, there is not much to stimulate the student of occult history. in st. louis s time flourished the famous rabbi jachiel, a celebrated master of the kabbalah. there is some reason to believe that he possessed electricity, because a radiant star was said to appear in his home at night, the light so brilliant that no one could look at it without being dazzled, and it gave off rainbow colors. it appeared to be inexhaustible and was never replenished with oil or any other combustible substance. when the ra

orcester, mass: assumption, 1970. the sun dances at garabandal. worcester, mass: assumption, 1973. perry, nicholas, and loreto echeverria. under the heel of mary. london: routledge, 1988. garatronicus a red-colored stone that achilles is believed to have carried with him in battle. it was said to render its possessor invincible. garden of pomegranates a sixteenth-century tract, pardis rimonim, by rabbi moses cordovero reflecting the later spirit of the kabala. the title derives from the biblical song of songs: thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates. the pomegranate has been a favorite eastern symbol of mystics in the context of the garden of the soul. the title a garden of pomegranates was also given to a modern outline of kabbalistic teachings by magician israel regardie. sources: cord

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

ernitate rosoe crucis. the second was an echo colloquii by hilarion on behalf of the rosicrucian fraternity. from these pamphlets it appears that maier considered himself a member of the mystical order. he became the most profuse writer on alchemy of his time. most of his works, many of which are adorned with curious plates, are obscure with the exception of his rosicrucian apologies. maimonides, rabbi moses (1135.1204) a great spanish-hebrew philosopher, theologian, and author of the guide for the perplexed. his theories were aristotelian and rational, but there remained in his viewpoint a touch of mysticism. he was born april 6, 1135, in cordova, southern spain, and was educated by arabic teachers. after the moorish conquest of cordova in 1148, jews left the province, and maimonides sett

his writings have themes of fantasy or occultism, with echoes of e. t. a. hoffmann, edgar allan poe, and franz kafka. his best-known novel was der golem (1915; translated by m. pemberton as the golem, 1928. this is a brilliant and strangely disturbing book concerned with the kabala and the occult, based on prague legends of the golem, a mysterious manmonster said to have been created from clay by rabbi judah loew of prague in the seventeenth century. the book had added power in relating to the real-life background of golem legends, which remained popular in the prague ghetto, the site of rabbi loew s grave. a german silent film the golem, directed and scripted by paul wegener, was produced in 1920, adapted very loosely from meyrink s novel. meyrink converted from protestantism to buddhism

echo book, 1965. englebert, omer. catherine laboure and the modern apparitions of our lady. new york: p. j. kennedy& sons, 1958. sharkey, don. the woman shall conquer. kenosha, wis: franciscan marytown press, 1976. the mishna a compilation of jewish oral traditions containing the religious legal decisions relating to old testament laws, gathered together at about the end of the second century by rabbi judah, grandson of gamaliel ii. its doctrines are said to be of great antiquity. it forms the framework of the talmud. the miss lucy westenra society of the undead vampire interest organization named for one of the characters in the novel dracula, the first person dracula turned into a vampire upon his arrival in england. the society published a newsletter and assisted penpals in locating ea

mystical enlightenment have something in common with judaism, which does not seek to separate mystical experience from everyday life. judaism is essentially pragmatic in its approach to the spiritual life and requires that mystical experience be interfused with daily life and religious observance. the jewish mystic typified in the period of eighteenth- to nineteenth-century hasidism, was a pious rabbi, living a life of prayer, study, and meditation within his community and sharing everyday social life and responsibility. in this respect he resembled the eastern teacher around whom a group of pupils would gather for spiritual teaching and experience. the mechanisms of mysticism it is clear that the concept of self-purification in mystical progress involves psycho-physical mechanisms. fasti

ident of budapest, his powers first manifested in 1922 in a casual sitting for table movement and were developed by major cornelius seefehlner, dr. john toronyi, and later by dr. elmer chengery pap (not a relative, a retired chief chemist to the government and president of the budapest metapsychical society. for some years lajos pap gave joint sittings with tibor molnar, another hungarian medium. rabbi isaac, his control, first communicated through table rapping, then through trance speaking. encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. pap, lajos 1175 chengery pap gradually developed scientific control, not only searching the medium and dressing him in a special seance robe but also providing special garments for his immediate controls and searching every sitter. the medium wore lum

s thought to deserve death by reason of the fact that he is an unbeliever. witches are fairly common in arabic lore, and we usually find them figuring as sellers of potions and philtres. in arab folk tales the moghrebi is the sorcerer who has converse with demons, and we find many such in the old and new testaments, as well as diviners and other practitioners of the occult arts. in the sanhedrin, rabbi akiba defines an enchanter as one who calculates the times and hours, and other rabbis state that an enchanter is he who grows ill when his bread drops from his mouth, or if he drops the stick that supports him from his hand, or if his son calls after him, or a crow caws in his hearing, or a deer crosses his path, or he sees a serpent at his right hand, or a fox on his left. the arabs used t

sends his peace, and wishes to have this flint stone woven. a man with a goatbeard said, tell your father to have it spun, and then we will weave it. encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. the semites 1385 the son went back, and iblis was very angry and told his son never to make any suggestion when a goat-bearded man was present, for he is more devilish than we. curiously enough, the rabbi joshua ben hananiah made a similar request in a contest against the wise men of athens, who required him to sew together the fragments of a broken millstone. he asked in reply for a few threads made of the fiber of the stone. the good folk of mosul, too, always prided themselves on a ready wit against the devil. once upon a time, the devil iblis came to mosul and found a man planting onions

rely a spell placed upon a certain object, which makes it become useless to others. taboo, or its remains, can still be found even in modernized communities. from its use the feeling of reverence for ancient institutions and those who represent them is undoubtedly derived. sources: frazer, james g. the golden bough. vol. 3 of taboo and the perils of the soul. new york: macmillan, 1935. ganzfried, rabbi solomon. code of jewish law (kitzur schulchan aruch. new york: hebrew publishing, 1927. mead, margaret. inquiry into the question of cultural stability in polynesia. new york: columbia university, 1928. reprint, new york: ams press, 1981. webster, hutton. taboo: a sociological study. palo alto, calif: stanford university press, 1942. reprint, london: octagon, 1981. tabori, paul (1908.1974) h

EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTERS AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS AND OTHERWORLDY BEINGS

ow headed toward iowa, where the airship was built. it was one of five that had been constructed there. the ligons accompanied them back to the ship, a huge structure 136 feet long and 20 feet wide, with four large wings and propellers attached to bow and stern. wilson explained it was powered by electricity. on april 25 the new orleans daily pi c a- y u n e carried an interv i ew with a visitor, rabbi a. levy of beaumont. levi recalled that a b o u t 10 days ago, on hearing that an airship had landed late that night on a farm just outside t own, he hastened to the site. t h e re sat an airship some 150 feet long with 100-foot wings. i spoke to one of the men when he went into the farmer s house, and shook hands with him, levy claimed. yes, i did hear him say w h e re it was built, but i c

FELDMAN DANIEL QABALAH THE MYSTICAL HERITAGE OF THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

tleman, who is now retired from teaching, as our mentor. he never put his name on any of the translations he published, nor took credit for his work. while he wholeheartedly shared his extensive knowledge and insights with thousands of people over a period of two decades, he never referred to himself as a teacher. in fact, he repeatedly said that the lord is the only teacher; the lord is the only rabbi; the lord is the only guru. after he was recruited by an ancient order of mystical qabalists, called ma aseh merkabah (work of the chariot, to engage in work specifically intended to water the mystical roots of the children of abraham, he formed a religious trust through which to publish his translations of primary qabalistic texts. he never asked for any money, and gave away thousands of co

sula to the indus valley? what was the original religion of the desert hebrews like in practice? how did their religious practices change during centuries of egyptian enslavement? what was the ultimate impact of the construction of a centralized temple to house the ark of the covenant, with its attendant class of hereditary priests bound to a strict code of levitical purity? furthermore, the word rabbi does not appear anywhere in the torah, and was not an official title or position until after rabbinical academies were established in the fifth century bce. how did the pharisaic rabbinical sect secure its position of dominance and orthodox authority over judaism by the time of the late hasmonean period? what was the advent of master 3' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% yeshuvah (jesus) really about xa call

the diaspora after the destruction of the second temple in 70 ce. except for the karaite and sabbataian movements, this dominance has remained largely unchallenged to this day, though cracks in the wall are starting to appear. few jews give much thought to the idea that the religion of their desert hebrew forebears might have been radically different in practice than rabbinical judaism. the word rabbi is not to be found in the hebrew torah and only finds limited usage in the entire tanakh (torah, prophets, and writings, where it is used to denote tribal leaders and other authorities.5 master yeshuvah told his disciples not to take the title rabbi, and taught that the lord hvhy is the only true rabbi.6 the anthropological and linguistic elements that shaped the nomadic israelite tribes are

called hitbonenuth. hitbonenuth is a practice involving intense directed thought within the context of proper intention (kavanah. the process of hitbonenuth and how it differs from passive thought-meditation is described in detail in a hebrew manuscript roughly 200 years old, titled ma'amorim ketzarim, written by the first lubavitcher rebbe schneur zalman of liadi.15 hitbonenuth, as described by rabbi zalman, requires intense mental exertion to increase one's awareness of the open, simple and revealed meaning of an idea, to scrutinize and elaborate on a concept's many details, facets and ramifications, and not to allow the mind to contract and settle on one point alone. rabbinical jews often feel that any qabalistic practice outside the context of religious jewish observance is not legiti

asrara chakra, sefirah crown/above. 39 the ascent of the tree of life by the shekhinah is called shabat (tbs, sabbath. the shekhinah is said to be in exile in the lower worlds. on the sabbath, she ascends via the sefiroth 2) 1 6) 5% 1 j #1) 1 5+ 1# 8- f e 35 (spheres) of the central column of the tree of life and unites with her husband lord hvhy in the upper worlds. this is echoed in the song of rabbi yitza aq luria, commonly found in hebrew prayer books: lekah dodee likraht calah penay shabat neqabalah( come my beloved to meet the bride, face of sabbath to receive )40 the meditation practices employed by both mystical qabalists and tantrikas involve a coordinated use of mantra and yantra. mantra are sequences of divine names having great intrinsic power to transform consciousness, and ya

and great masters. secondary texts are commentaries upon primary texts. during and since the middle ages, european jewish kabbalists, especially in spain, lithuania, and poland, wrote a considerable body of secondary qabalistic literature. for the purposes of this book, however, we will limit our attention to earlier primary works, with the notable exception of the etz hachayyim (tree of life) of rabbi yitza aq luria. the lurianic material has wide regard among contemporary religious students of the jewish kabbalah, and yields some unique forms of the tree of life not found in the earlier primary texts. the work of the chariot study group focused upon the following primary texts: e the sefer hatorah (books of the law, so-called five books of master mosheh) e the sefer hashmoth (book of the

texts. the work of the chariot study group focused upon the following primary texts: e the sefer hatorah (books of the law, so-called five books of master mosheh) e the sefer hashmoth (book of the names) of master adam e the sefer yetzirah (book of formation, manual on the hebrew letters written by master abraham e the sefer hazohar (book of splendor, five volume exegesis on the torah dictated by rabbi shimeon ben yochai; and more specifically, the zohar s innermost core texts, the sifra detzniyutha (book of that which is concealed, the idra rabba qadusha (greater holy assembly, and the idra zuta qadusha (lesser holy assembly) 03' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% e the ma aseh merkabah( work of the chariot) material from the nabiyim (the prophets, the remaining remnants of the seferim hachanokh (books of

(books of enoch ben yared, and the shi r qoma (measure of the divine body) from the sefer raziel hagadol (book of the secrets of raziel the great) e the qur an, the song of allah transmitted through master mohammed e the peshitta (gospels, including the gospel of thomas) describing the life and teachings of master yeshuvah, and the revelation of john e the etz hachayyim (tree of life) dictated by rabbi yitza aq luria to chayyim vital( the five component books of the torah (hrvt) are conventionally known outside of judaism as genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. in this book, the five books of the torah shall be named according to their traditional titles. hence, the first book is called torah b reshith( in the beginning or by the first. the second book is called torah shmo

FRATER U D PRACTICAL SIGIL MAGIC

ontemplate the result. things are a bit more complicated if there are no time limits or the objective is an extremely long-term one. nevertheless, with some practice you will develop the right feeling for it. although, you will have long forgotten your sigil working, the uccess, you will remember, which may create quite a weird feeling at times. you might have a similar experience as the chasidim rabbi when he thanked god for never sending him anything before he needed it! it is a prerogative that we accustom ourselves to a different manner of success assessment. the time it takes for a sigil to work is somewhat unpredictable. sometimes success will be instant sometimes it may take months. we are told that austin o m th it a p c m a p stimated. 42/ practical sigil magic it is the most simp

FULLER J F C SECRET WISDOM OF THE QABALAH

and also of gnight h (lyl= 30+ 10+ 30) and gbe silent h (hsh= 5+ 6o+ 5. therefore it may be said to mean: gthe secret which intoxicates, which is as dark as night and which must not be divulged. h the fountain-head of this doctrine is the zohar, or book of splendour, a vast jumbled commentary on the pentateuch, written partly in aramaic and partly in hebrew. tradition asserts that its author was rabbi simeon ben yohai, who lived in the second century a.d; of it ginsburg says: it was first taught by god himself to a select company of angels, who formed a theosophic school in paradise. after the fall the angels most graciously communicated this heavenly doctrine to the disobedient child of earth, to furnish the protoplasts with the means of returning to their pristine nobility and felicity

GILBERT AE WAITE A MAGICIAN OF MANY PARTS

nlarged[ed.]agoldenandblessedcasketofnature'smarvels,by benedictus figulus [ed.]thetriumphalchariotof antimony,by basilius valentinus [ed.]collectaneachemicaled.lthealchemicalwritingsofedwardkelly[ed.]1894belleandthedragon:an elfincomedy201__selectbibliography= 2001896 189818991901190219031922raymundlullysaint-martinthefrenchmystic1923lampsof j#stern mysticismthebookofformation(sepheryetzirah),by rabbi akiba ben joseph [ed.]1924thebrotherhoodoftherosycross1925emblematicfreemasonry1926thesecret 'hadition in alchemythebookoflife intherose[successive parts appeared. up to.1928]1927thequestofthegoldenstairs1929theholykabbalah1933theholygrail,itslegendsandsymbolism1937thesecret'iraditioninfreemasonry1938shadowsof lifeandthought1904 1906(ii)thewaitepapers(principalcontents)19091910manuscriptsdia

GILBERT THE MAGICAL MASON

modern criticism tends to the statement that the existing ancient versions were compiled abouta.d.200.thesepher yetzirahis mentioned in thetalmuds,both of jerusalem and of babylon, and is written in the neo-hebraic language, like themishnah.we must next consider thezohar,or 'book of splendour, a collection of many separate treatises on the deity, angels, souls, and cosmogony. this is ascribed to rabbi simeon ben jochai, who liveda.d.160, who was persecuted and driven to liveina cave by lucius aurelius verus, co-regent with the emperor marcus aurelius antoninus. some considerable portion of the work may have been arranged by him, and condensed by him from the oral traditions of his time:butother parts have certainly been added by other hands at intervals up to the timewhenit was first publ

hai, who liveda.d.160, who was persecuted and driven to liveina cave by lucius aurelius verus, co-regent with the emperor marcus aurelius antoninus. some considerable portion of the work may have been arranged by him, and condensed by him from the oral traditions of his time:butother parts have certainly been added by other hands at intervals up to the timewhenit was first published as a whole by rabbi moses de leon, of guadalajara in spain,circa1290. from that time its history is known. printed editions have been issued in mantua, 1558; cremona, 1560;and lublin, 1623; these are the three famous codices of thezoharin the hebrew language. for those who do not read hebrew, the only practical means of studying thezoharhas been the partial translation into latin of baron knorr von rosenroth- p

haor 'book of concealed mystery';ha idra rabba,'greater assembly; andha idra suta,lesser assembly; translated and edited by macgregor mathers and published by redway. these three books give a fair idea of the tone and style and material of the kabalistic book of thezohar,but they of course do not include a view of the whole subject. other famous treatises are:'thecommentary on thetensephiroth, by rabbi azariel ben menachem, 1200a.d;'thealphabet' of rabbi akiba; the 'book of enoch 'the palaces, pardes rimmonim, or garden of pomegranates 'otz ha chiim, or tree of life 'rashith ha galgulim, or revolutions of souls; and especially the writings of the famous spanish jew, ibn gebirol, who dieda.d.1070, and was also called avicebron.theteachings of the kabalah has been considered to be grouped in

mmonim, or garden of pomegranates 'otz ha chiim, or tree of life 'rashith ha galgulim, or revolutions of souls; and especially the writings of the famous spanish jew, ibn gebirol, who dieda.d.1070, and was also called avicebron.theteachings of the kabalah has been considered to be grouped into several schools, each of which was for a time famous. i may mention:theschoolof gerona, 1190 to 1210, of rabbi isaac the blind, rabbi azariel, and rabbi ezra.theschoolofsegovia, of rabbis jacob, abulafia, shem job, and isaac of cikko.theschool of rabbi isaac ben abrahamibnlatif.theschool of abulafia and joseph gikatilla. the school of zoharists of rabbis moses de leon, menachem di recanti, loria and vital. but in the main i say that there were two opposing tendencies among the kabalists: the one set

e; and the number of rebirths is limited generallyto three. some small part of the kabalistic doctrine is found in thetalmud,but in this collection of treatises there is a grossness that is absent from the true kabalah and the esoteric eastern system: such are the theories of the debasement of menintoanimal forms; and of men reborn as women, as apunishment*for earthly sins in a previous life: see rabbi manasseh in the nishmath chiim, or 'breath of lives. but it must be remembered that many of the doctrines to which we may justly take exception are limited to the teachings*ifnotaspunishment,yetthemajority of female lives areharderto bearthanmale lives; possible male and female lives are alternative, and complementary to each other, each supplying needful experiences.thekabalah87ofbuta few r

light. the passive has just put on activity: the conscious god has awaked. let us now endeavour to conceive of the concentration of this effulgence, let us formulate a gathering together of the rays of this illumination into a crown of glorified radiance, and we recognisekether- the first sephira, first emanation of deity, the first conceivable attribute of immanent manifested godhead. the devout rabbi bows his head and adores the sublime conception.theconscious god having arisen in his energy, there follow immediately two further emanations, the trio subsiding into the symbol of a radiant triangle.chokmah,wisdom, is the name of the second sephira;binah,understanding, is the third sephira- the supernal triad is demonstrated. then followchesed,mercy; and its contrastgeburah,severity; and th

o many named angels concerned in the fall of angels and man. among the jews of olden time, only those of the sect of the sadduceesdenied the interference of angelsinhuman concerns. one quaint dogma on angels said that'noangel carries two messages, nor two angels one message, bereshith rabba. we shall now consider the more purely rabbinic notions which have no support among the christian teachers. rabbi jochanan says angels were created on the second day. rabbi chanina allots them to the fifth day of creation. rabbi bechai asserts that angels are of an ephermeral nature, created from the river dinor, a stream of fire, and perishing daily; except michael and gabriel, metatron and sandalphon who remain in glory and their names are never changed.inthe work of bartolocci i. 267, are given the f

ern heavens occasionally seen even in england, but rarely, i believe, in palestine. in concluding this essay i may remark that while seeking among the books at my disposal for information upon the star lore of the bible, i have been struck by my inability to find that any researches upon the subject have been made by modern hebrew students. there must surely be an opportunity for a learned jewish rabbi, who is also familiar with the elements of modern astronomy to throw great light upon the vexed question of the identity of stars with ancient hebrew star names.[paper read on 11 january 1912. reprinted from s.r.i.a.,transactionsof themetropolitancollege(1912, pp.5-16.]partfourmasonic22.freemasonryandits relation to the essenesas freemasons we are interested both in the history and in the ma

GILBERT THE SORCERER AND HIS APPRENTICE

wis an objective account, or at least as objective as can be expected from 'a true and loyal friend:'ofhis scholarship it is not for me to speak, so far was it beyond my own, yet i know it was as frankly acknowledged by some competent authorities, as it was bitterly denied and depreciated by his opponents. i once showed some of his letters to me on the kabalah to my own first teacher in hebrew, a rabbi and an advanced kabalist, and he said 'that man is a true kabalist. very few gentiles know as much, you may follow him safely. when he arranged a temple of isis for the paris exhibition, an egyptologist whose name is world-famous said 'macgregor is a pharaoh come back. all my life i have studied the dry bones; he has made them live' these are but two examples out of many. yet there have been

identify this) at sunrise, noon, or the first hour of the night225225thefigure of apophi as before directed should then beburntat the festival of the new moon.forthe use of hair in the cursing rituals reference may be made. to isabel goudie's confession. i have among. my treasures a jewish phylactery; the parchment scroll inside the tiny box is tied round with a single long black hair. a learned rabbi.told me the purpose was probablytoinvoke a blessing on some dearly beloved.thesame formula being used according to the intention either for blessing or cursing.thepiercing with a stone knife is paralleled by lady monro's elf arrows; these being. of course, the flint arrow heads, believed in celtic scotland to havebeenmade by satanic agency.inegypt flint weapons which are found-in great abund

GLOBAL FREEMASONRY

ic church. 31 half a century after this revolt, a clergyman in bohemia by the name of john huss started an uprising in opposition to the catholic church. behind the scenes of this uprising were again the templars. moreover, huss was very interested in the kabbalah. avigdor b en isaac kara was one of the most important names that he was influenced by in the development of his doctrines. kara was a rabbi of the jewish community in prague and a kabbalist. 32 examples such as these are signs that the alliance between the tem- global freemasonry hc plars and the kabbalists was directed at a change in the social order of europe. this change involved an alteration in the basic christian culture of europe, and its replacement by a culture based on pagan doctrines, like the kabbalah. and, after thi

GREENFIELD ALLEN SECRET CIPHER OF THE UFONAUTS

raterrestrial mystery, but none, up until now, has pulled all of it together. however, this outstanding sampling of the best the human race has to offer have, in their own way, provided us with clues and building blocks. some are geniuses, some saints; a few are absolute scoundrels. all are fascinating. what follows is a thumbnail sketch of some of these individuals, listed alphabetically. aaron, rabbi y. n. ibn, also known as yonah fortner.rabbi ibn aaron was a key figure in the 1950s and 1960s in the new york city area ufology circle centered around the saucers and unexplained celestial events research society s (saucers) discussion and lecture committee. rabbi ibn aaron collaborated with the late dr. john j. robinson in the consultants committee on semitic philology. a satirist of some

centered around the saucers and unexplained celestial events research society s (saucers) discussion and lecture committee. rabbi ibn aaron collaborated with the late dr. john j. robinson in the consultants committee on semitic philology. a satirist of some talent, ibn aaron collaborated on the i go to see series, which took a wickedly mirthful look at various ufo personalities, cults and groups. rabbi ibn aaron s key contribution, however, was his extraterrestrialism series published in saucer news, which postulated that ancient documents, including the old testament, were really specific accounts of extraterrestrial visitations. a linguist of great talent, he postulated that many biblical passages had been mistranslated, especially when aramaic texts were mistaken for hebrew. for example

testament, were really specific accounts of extraterrestrial visitations. a linguist of great talent, he postulated that many biblical passages had been mistranslated, especially when aramaic texts were mistaken for hebrew. for example, the phrase ruach elohim usually translated spirit of god or wind of god may actually refer to a specific form of energy used by a race of extraterrestrial beings. rabbi ibn aaron anticipated the chariots of the gods idea by many years, and was far more literate in his exposition than anyone in the field, up until the comparable scholarship of robert temple s the sirius mystery. rabbi ibn aaron was an early organizer of the national ufo conference. he died in 2005. 6 allen h. greenfield achad, frater, also known as frater parzifal, real name charles robert j

up in a number of other cases over the last twenty or so years. bethurum, truman, became a contactee in 1952, with the female ufonaut aura rhanes from the planet clarion. a physical contactee of the adamski type, bethurum seemed a down-to- earth person with an extraordinary story to tell. secret cipher of the ufonauts 9 bimstein, louis m, also known as max theon and aia aziz. the son of a polish rabbi, bimstein traveled in nineteenth century egypt and became a disciple of the coptic initiate paolos metamon, under whom he became the grand master of the hermetic brotherhood of light. bimstein later married the trance medium mary ware and became the conduit of the cosmic philosophy. virtually every modern occult movement, from the theosophical society to the followers of sri aurobindo in ind

e classical decoding techniques of the qabala the hidden wisdom of the ancient hebrew civilization. qabala was originally applied to hebrew and aramaic words. a classical scholar versed in these techniques, languages and texts could perhaps find the previous cipher of the ufonauts or ancient astronauts by applying the principles of extraterrestrialism to qabalistic studies. in the 1950s and 1960s rabbi yonah ibn aaron came close to doing just that. ibn aaron brought qabalistic studies to the attention of the national ufo conference as early as june 1965 in a speech given in cleveland, ohio. most of us at that time were focused on the razzle-dazzle of erich von daniken s ancient astronaut ideas and ignored ibn aaron s basic point: the secret is embedded in the language used. qabalistic tech

HAMIL THE ROSICRUCIAN SEER

cellent medium, i have since then had ample opportunity of satisfyingmyselfupon the subject. since reading the first communication in therational reviewof144therosicrucianseer'itis not for the making of that book i am punished,butfor the relianceiplaced upon the spirits there treated of, and far more for the sins of my profession. they constitute my guilt''doyou know anything of thism5-"thekey of rabbi solomon on magic telesms 'will you place it closer.ido know the characters. they were copied originally from some of the rosicrucian works.there'ssome private libraries and manuscriptsinrome nowthatare kept quite secret from strangers to the order, that are full of the most curious seals and descriptions of spirits and spirit-places in their own language. you will find in my book the means o

e about 3 weeks&intend taking a day or two going home to see lincoln and ely cathedrals and cam255bridge-mypartner is going on to bury&will not be back in town till early october&thenithink of coming down to bristol for a day or twoofwhichiwill give you due notice.iam writing this ati io'clock by gas light and must conclude withhockley'slettersto theirwins63i don't remember if you have the key of rabbi solomon'sf-;ifnot when you come to town i can lend you mine. you do not mention whether i am to send the ms by book post or rail, i think the post isbest-letme know. i am rather better than i have beenbutstill very unwell. i am going to a friend's on saturday&i am back on tuesday&on the10august i hope to be in northumberland&with kindest regards remain, most fraternally yours.ithe'almadel' i

d the spirit of joseph balsamo, count cagliostro, the notorious charlatan and purveyor of pseudo-masonic degrees, who apparently passed commentaries and 'additions' to the published works of departed rosicrucians. 5 unidentified. 6 unidentified. 7 see note 5 of letter 15.white swan, alnwick, northumberland12august 1874dearbro. irwin, on saturday last i sent in a box your twomssand also the key of rabbi solomon1&a little ms copy of some of mymssmade by an old friend ofmine-nowguess on! i am sorry that herbert hurried himself over the king solomon as the seals in that ms are done with the utmost precisionfromtwo differentmss.it would have been quite enough to let me know the ms was in his hands.therath solomon sent may be depended upon for the accuracyofthe talismans etc.theother ms contains

wo business partners have proved elusive.2itwould appear he was preparing a history of the grand stewards lodge.itwas never published and the lodge records contain no mention of a ms. 3 see note2of letter12.4 w.j.hughan, who had been appointed past junior grand warden of the grand lodge of mark master masons of england in 18 72 .5claviculasalomonis:variouslyreferredtoas the key of solomon, key of rabbi solomon and the rath solomon. a magical andhockley'slettersto theirtoins59i will not further bother you with my reiterated grievancesbuttrust you will attribute any future shortcomings of mine to its real cause. with kindest regards allow me to remain, most fraternally yours.ieveningswithindwellers.2hockleywasapparentlyassistinga friend with a potterybusinessinpooleto sort out hisaccounts.se

clavicula solomonis regis et theurgia goetia. with drawingsofcharacters, seals, penta255 cles etc (hi02* 1829 occult spells (talismanic magic.(hii2)1829 journal of a rosicrucian philosopher from apriljothto june 15th 1797, containing the processofthe philosopher's stone. by an alchemist. 1832 bookofthe offices and ordersofspirits; transcribed from a folioms.written byt.porter, 1583 [and] keys of rabbi solomon, transcribed from a ms translation into french, and thence into english bydrsibley, byt.palmer (hioi) 1833 collection of horoscopesofalchemists, astrologers and occult philosophers.(hi2i)*1833 journal of a rosicrucian philosopher.[as 1829 [and] copy of the admissionofdr. bacstrom into the society of the rosy cross by the count du chazal at the island of mauritius 1794 (hrob)secretwri

HELENA BLAVATSKY THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY

ined to the postulants for initiation the various phenomena of creation that were produced for their tuition. he was the sole expounder of the exoteric secrets and doctrines. it was forbidden even to pronounce his name before an uninitiated person. he sat in the east, and wore as symbol of authority, a golden globe, suspended from the neck. he was also called mystagogus. hillel a great babylonian rabbi of the century preceding the christian era. he was the founder of the sect of the pharisees, a learned and a saintly man. hinayana (sans) the "smaller vehicle" a scripture and a school of the buddhists, contrasted with the mahayana "the greater vehicle" both schools are mystical (see mahayana) also in exoteric superstition, the lowest form of transmigration. homogeneity from the greek words

HOWE THE ALCHEMIST OF THE GOLDEN DAWN

l help i could, but i would not run any risk by making myself responsible for anything. i have no doubts about!'1ah tmas, and h r w?nderful knowledge, but the business part is 9uite another thmg. i do advise you to be very careful. we are quite ready to help to the best of our ability, but we do not incur any responsibility. occultism is not a paying concern and never will be. hainau' is a jewish rabbi and hard up, and he has asked me to subscribe for his work. we took 3 copies, and as we thought yo would appreciate it more than anyone, we sent you a copy. i lucifer, madame blavatsky's theosophical periodical was in financial difficulties' 2 i have not been able to identify either rabbi hainau or his publication. 17 chacombe vicarage 26 november 1889 i am very glad you see this matter in t

INITIATION INTO HERMETICS

e is no need to quote all the possibilities, because all of them are individual and depend on the desires that the magician wants to be realized with the help of the elementaries. the speaking pictures, columns and statures in the temples of the ancient may certainly be interpreted as an outgrowth of elementaries magic. the legend concerning the golem, who is said to have been created by the wise rabbi low in prague likewise goes back to the creation of elementaries. but in the case of golem the creation has been produced with the rites of the quabbalah. anybody who knows of quabbalistic mysticism is informed about these facts. the synthesis remains the same as quoted in this method. method 3: before i explain the practice of the third method, i would like to remark that very little is kno

ISIS UNVEILED

coy google contents chapter vn early cheistian heresies and secret sooeties naiareani, otohitea, and modem druiei (or 'hunxa-ita] 201 etymology of lao 298 'hennelic brotben egypt 307 ivue meaning ol nirvlna 319 ite jaina aect 321 christuuuandchnbtibiii 323 itie gnoatka and their detracts* 325 buddha, jeaiu, and aptdloniua of tr>iui 341 section ii chapter viii jesuitry and masonry the zoaar and rabbi shimon the order of jesuita and iti r^tioo to aome of the muonic ordera, crimes permitted to its memben principles of jesuitry compared with tboae of pagan morallits. trinity erf man in egyptian soak rf iht dtad penecution of templan by the cburch 381 secfet maaonic dpben 3s5 jehovah not the "ineffable nanw' 398 chapter ix -the vedas and the bible ne*rly evwy myth baaed on some gnat truth 40

sus divided hia teachings into exoteric and esoteric. following faithfully the ^thagoreo-essenean w^s, he never sat at a meal with- out saying 'grace "the priest prays before his meal" says joaephus, describing the essenes. jesus also divided his followera into 'neo- phytes 'brethren' and the 'perfect' if we may judge by the diflfer- eoce he made between them. but his career, at least as a public rabbi, was of a too short duration to allow him to establish a regular school of his own; and, with the exception, perhaps, of john, it does m>t seem that he bad initiated any other apostle. the gnostic amulets and taliamans are mostly the emblems^ the apocalyptic allegories. the 'seven vowels' are closely related to the 'seven seals; and the mystic title abraxas partakes as much of the compositio

u mperatition. hie jewish aatk^ogo* h d pmlitxed to him that he had provoked the wnth of bediehub, the 'lord of the fliei' and would periifa miienbly through the retenge of the dark god of ekron and die like king ahariah, because he persecuted the jew. digitizecoy google 14ft isis unveiled known. the pharisees, as claimed in the bible, had been the first to fiing this charge in his face, although rabbi wise considers jesus himself a pharisee. the talmud coiainly points to james the just as one of that sect* but these partisans are known to have always stoned eveiy profit who denounced their evil ways, and it is not on this fact that we base our assertion. these accused him of sorceiy, and of driving out devils by beelzebub, their prince, with as much justice as tater the catholic clergy ha

mpliment. digitizecoy google traditions about jesus 201 official complunts of the synagog abundant evideace of the persecutiod <3t the initiates. the talmud also corroborates it. the jewish version of the birth of jesus is recorded in the sepher toudoth yaku in the following words "maiy having become the mother of a son, domed jehosuah, and the boy growing up, she entrusted him to the care of the rabbi el'hanan, and the diild progressed in knowledge, for he was well gifted with spirit and luderstanding "babbi jehosuah, son initiated him in the secret knowledge; but the king, jannaeus, having given orders to slay all the iniuates, jdio- suah ben pera'hiah fled to alexandria in egypt, taking the boy with him. whi

ing accused of disrespect and blasphemy to jehovah; whose name, moreover, by mutual and secret agreement they accepted as a mbitiijiie for yah, or the mystery name lao. alooe the initiaud knew of it, but later it gave rise to a great confusion among the utiiniiialed. it would be worth while were it not for lack of niace to quote a few of the many passages in the oldest jewish authorities, such as rabbi a'qtbah, and in the zohar, which corroborate our assertion 'hokhmah-wisdom is a male principle everywhere, and binah-yehovah, a female potency. the writings of irenaeus, lleodoret, and epiphaoius, teeming with accusations agamst the gnostics and 'herestea' repeatedly show simon hagus and cerinthus nuucing of binah the feminine divide spirit wlucb inspired simon. biuah is serbia, and the soph

f zoroaster, entirely based upon the 'secret doctrine* is found held by the people of eritene [in bactria; it was the religion of the persians when they con- quered the assyrians. from thence it is easy to trace the introduction of this emblem of lite represented by the bull, in every religious system. the college of the magians had accepted it with the change of dynasty? daniel is described as a rabbi, the chief of the babylonian astrologers and magi" therefore we see the assyrian uttle bulls and the attributes of siva reappearing under a hardly modified form in the cherubs of the talmudistie jews, as we have traced the bull apis in the sphinxes or cherubs of the mosaic ark; and as we find it several thousand years later in the company of one of the christian evangelists, luke. whoever ha

luts, who wrote the zoh. franck asiert that the ytttarah was written in the first ceotiuy a. o. la kabbalf, i, i; 3rd ed, but other and at competeot judges make it far older. at all events it is now proved that shunou ben yoluu lived btfort the second deitnictjod of the temple. 763. sepkeryetonik, i. f' digitizecoy google lao, the trilit^ral name 299 aeraphim and the holy creatures 'kayyoth" saya rabbi a'qtbab* in another system of the same branch of the symbolical kabala, called avxilh which arranges the letters of the alphabet by pairs in tjiree rows all the couples in the first row bear tbe numerical value fen; and in the system of shimon ben shetah* the uppermost couple, the nh>st sacred of all. is pi'eceded by the i^tfaagorean cipher, one and a nought, or zero 10, if we can once appre

KARR DON NOTES ON EDITIONS OF SEFER YETZIRAH IN ENGLISH

tions put the number of double letters of the hebrew alphabet at seven* it is puzzling that, out of all the possible translations, david meltzer chose mordell s quirky rendering to represent sy in the secret garden. alas, this is not the only doubtful aspect of this well-circulated anthology. see below, the second) note on page 8. 20073 7 stenring, knut. the book of formation (sepher yetzirah) by rabbi akiba ben joseph including the 32 paths of wisdom, their correspondences with the hebrew alphabet and the tarot symbols, with an introduction by arthur edward waite. philadelphia: david mckay co, 1923; reprinted new york: ktav publishing house, 1970. stenring refers to his own work as a word-for-word translation from the hebrew. he used a number of sy texts to construct his version. those pa

a long section of notes concerning the language of sy, citing numerous alternative readings. he also constructed several charts and tables based on the information in sy. stenring s work on sy seems careful and conscientious, but there are some disquieting statements here and there. a paragraph from the notes section serves well as a summary example: the 231 gates eighteen hundred years ago, when rabbi akiba ben joseph reduced into writing the secret tradition of the jews in the book of formation, he hesitated to unveil the greatest secret of the kabala, the arcanum of the great symbol, which had been handed down to him from his forefathers. for this reason he embodied it in a riddle( s.y, ii. 4 and 5, which many ancient and modern philosophers have tried in vain to solve. of all the diffe

94110 $15) i sent off my fifteen bucks but never received thompson s sy. kaplan, aryeh. sefer yetzirah. the book of creation in theory& practice. york beach: samuel weiser, inc, 1990. kaplan s sy is the most extensive of the works reviewed thus far. we are given four recensions: the short and long versions, the saadia version, and the gra version or gra-ari version, being the edition produced by rabbi eliahu, gaon of vilna (gra, from the initials of gaon rabbi eliahu) according to the text of sy refined by rabbi isaac luria (called the ari, the lion. it is this last version on which kaplan bases his extensive commentary chosen because it is the most consonant with the kabbalah. kaplan offers a magnificent survey of commentaries and interpretations of sy, with all sources fully noted. the

w above, i.e, the 2nd. perhaps ponce used westcott s 1st edition) finally (pp. 157-64, we endure the thirty-two paths yet again; ponce calls his presentation a compilation of the translation of westcott, waite, and stenring. comments: ponce: there are four modern translations of the sefer yetsirah in english: w. wynn westcott, phineas mordell, knut stenring (under the title the book of formation& rabbi a. joseph. the only work that is at all easily available is the translation by westcott. it includes a translation of the thirty-two paths, but those familiar with the original suggest that it is inferior to the other translations of the sefer yetsirah. the absence of any adequate edition of the sefer yetsirah in english is typical of the state of affairs of jewish mystical texts in general

equate edition of the sefer yetsirah in english is typical of the state of affairs of jewish mystical texts in general. while the texts of hinduism, buddhism, taoism, tantracism, shintoism and sufism are readily available in cheap paper editions, the major texts of jewish mysticism are mostly untranslated and unpublished (kabbalah, p. 284: additional notes to footnote 3, page 39* the stenring and rabbi a[kiva ben] joseph translations mentioned in ponce s note are, in fact, one and the same. further, stenring s tabulation of the 32 paths is already based on waite and westcott. ponce missed kalisch altogether. the note quoted is typical of ponce: he ll make a pretty good point, only to undermine it with a serious error. ponce, more generally, is yet another example of someone at the mercy of

sefirot in his sefer hakmoni, in jewish history, vol. 6, nos. 1-2 (haifa: haifa university press, 1992; and joseph dan, medieval jewish influences on renaissance concepts of harmonia mundi, in aries (new series, vol. 1, no. 2 (leiden: brill, 2001. saadia gaon s commentary on sy, tafsir kitab al-mubadi, referred to so often, has still not been published english. the promising but misleading title, rabbi saadiah gaon s commentary on the book of creation, annotated and translated by michael linetsky (northvale: jason aronson inc, 2002) offers a translation of saadia s commentary on genesis (perushe rav se adya ga on li-ve-reshit: bereshith to vayetze* some excerpts of saadia s commentary are posted on the internet by scott thompson and dominique marson at www.wbenjamin.org/saadia.html* michae

nson inc, 2002) offers a translation of saadia s commentary on genesis (perushe rav se adya ga on li-ve-reshit: bereshith to vayetze* some excerpts of saadia s commentary are posted on the internet by scott thompson and dominique marson at www.wbenjamin.org/saadia.html* michael linetsky kindly wrote to me (january 17, 2007 [m]any years back i prepared a fully annotated translation into english of rabbi saadiah gaon's commentary on the book of formation. the publisher confused the titles of this work and my other one [given notice above] which was the annotated translation of the [commentary on the] book of genesis. by the time they got to working on the book of formation, the publisher was sold and thus this work never saw light [my brackets dk* at a connected site, sefer yetzirah biograph

aspects of the circle s pseudepigraphical framework, its dependence on sefer yetzira without doubt the source of its mystical discourse is clear and obvious. chapter 12 discusses the commentaries on the sefer yetzira by elhanan ben yakar. dan points out (p. 37) that sy served as the main source of mystical speculation for 20073 25 sefer ha-bahir* the iyyun circle* the provence school as headed by rabbi isaac the blind, and the ashkenazi hasidim. the commentary of gaon of vilna (elijah ben solomon zalman) on sy is discussed in elliot r. wolfson s from sealed book to open text: time, memory, and narrativity in kabbalistic hermeneutics, in interpreting judaism in a postmodern age, edited by steven kepnes (new york: university press, 1996. raphael jospe s early philosophical commentaries on th

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

hom we know by name that dedicated all his creative powers to the field of kabbalah h (dan fs introduction to ek, p. 31. on isaac the blind, see ek (pp. 31-4, translations on pp. 71-86, and ok (pp. 248-309. r. isaac fs major work, commentary on sefer yezirah, gthe first systematic treatise of kabbalah, h is fully analyzed and translated by mark brian sendor in the emergence of provencal kabbalah: rabbi isaac the blind fs commentary on sefer yezirah, volumes i& ii (ph.d. dissertation, cambridge: harvard university, 1994. further, in mystical union, individuality, and individuation in provencal and catalonian kabbalah (noted above, page 2, yechiel shalom goldberg analyzes key passages from r. isaac the blind fs commentary on sefer yezirah as well as from the works of r. isaac fs nephew, r. a

of sephardic and mizrahi jewry, volume 1, issue 2 (october- november 2007, edited by zion zohar, on-line at http//sephardic.fiu.edu/journal. scholem, gershom. gsod eetz ha-da eath h (the secret of the tree of knowledge) in on the mystical shape of the godhead (new york: schocken books, 1991. a passage attributed to r. ezra, on pp. 65-8. travis, yakov m. kabbalistic foundations of jewish practice: rabbi ezra of gerona- on the kabbalistic meaning of the mizvot, introduction/ annotated translation/ critical hebrew edition (ph.d. dissertation, waltham: brandeis university, 2002. r. ezra fs detailed kabbalistic commentary on the meanings of the mizvot. 2. r. azriel. ek pp. 87-108. altmann, alexander. gmotif of the eshell f in azriel of gerona, h in (idem) studies in religious philosophy and mys

ic and mizrahi jewry, volume 1, issue 2 (october- november 2007, edited by zion zohar, on-line at http//sephardic.fiu.edu/journal. halbertal, moshe. concealment and revelation: esotericism in jewish thought and its philosophical implications, translated by jackie feldman. princeton. oxford: princeton university press, 2007, chapter 10 gopen knowledge and closed knowledge: the kabbalists of gerona.rabbi azriel and rabbi ya fakov bar sheshet h. pachter, mordechai. gthe root of faith is the root of heresy, h part i of pachter fs roots of faith and devequt: studies in the history of kabbalistic ideas (los angeles: cherub press, 2004. safran, bezalel. grabbi azriel and nahmanides: two views of the fall of man, h in rabbi moses nahmanides (ramban: explorations in his religious and literary virtu

ation society/ cleveland- new york: meridian books, 1958. schwartz, dov. gfrom theurgy to magic: sacrifice in the circle of nahmanides and his interpreters, h= chapter three) in studies on astral magic in medieval jewish thought, translated by david louvish and batya stein [the brill reference library of judaism, vol 20 (leiden- boston: brill, 2005. shulman, yaacov dovid. the ramban: the story of rabbi moshe ben nachman. new york. london. jerusalem: c. i. s. publishers, 1993. stern, josef. problems and parables of law: maimonides and nahmanides on reasons for the commandments (ta famei ha-mitzvot. albany: state university of new york press, 1998. twersky, isadore (ed. rabbi moses nahmanides (ramban: explorations of his religious and literary virtuosity. cambridge: harvard university press

r. jacob ben sheshet. ek pp. 109-50. dauber, jonathan victor. standing on the heads of philosophers (noted above, page 2. halbertal, moshe. concealment and revelation: esotericism in jewish thought and its philosophical implications, translated by jackie feldman. princeton. oxford: princeton university press, 2007, chapter 10 gopen knowledge and closed 20081 8 knowledge: the kabbalists of gerona.rabbi azriel and rabbi ya fakov bar sheshet h. idel, moshe. gjewish kabbalah and platonism, h in neoplatonism and jewish thought [studies in platonism: ancient and modern #7, edited by lenn goodman (albany: state university of new york press, 1992. 5. sefer ha-temunah [sht] a treatise often cited by the gerona circle, sht expounds upon the doctrine of the shemittot (cosmic cycles. references: ok p

nd g. scholem, on the kabbalah and its symbolism, pp. 77-86. 6. sefer ha-yashar [shy] scholem placed this tract gin the circle of the kabbalists of gerona in approximately 1260. h indeed, it is generally believed that shy was written by a kabbalist who attempted to render his kabbalistic ideas more acceptable. and accessible.by using the language of ethics and philosophy. shimon shokek argues for rabbi jonah gerondi (13th century) as the possible, if not probable, author. some traditions attribute shy to rabbenu tam from the end of the 14th century. references. cohen, r. seymour (trans/ed) sefer ha-yashar. the book of the righteous. new york: ktav publishing house, 1973. shokek, shimon. jewish ethics and jewish mysticism in sefer ha-yashar [sefer ha yashar be-misgeret sifrut ha-musar ha- f

n paths of torah. integral edition in english and hebrew. 04/2006. belize city: providence university, 2006. for information, go to www.everburninglight.org. albotini, yehuda. sulam aliyah: ladder of ascent. translated by yodfat glazer and adam shohom. integral edition in english and hebrew. belize city: providence university, 2007. for information, go to www.everburninglight.org. gin particular, rabbi albotini followed a system advanced by abraham ben samuel abulafia that is generally referred to as eecstatic f or eprophetic f kabbalah, as outlined in abulafia fs sefer ha-ot (book of the sign. h .preface, page viii. berger, abraham. gthe messianic self-consciousness of abraham abulafia: a tentative evaluation, h in 1. essays in life and thought presented in honor of s. w. baron, edited by

abulafianism among the counterculture kabbalists, h in jewish studies quarterly, volume 9 (tubingen: mohr siebeck, 2002, pp. 71-101. scholem, gershom. kabbalah: pp. 53-9, 62-5, 180-3. shem tov sefardi [de leon (attr) shaarei tzedek: gates of righteousness, translated by yaron ever hadani. belize city: providence university, 2006. gas moshe idel demonstrated, this book is incorrectly attributed to rabbi shem tov de leon. its apparently true author is a direct disciple of avraham abulafia, natan ben saadyah harar. h (fabrizio lanza fs preface, page vi. for information, go to www.everburninglight.org. wolfson, elliot r. abraham abulafia.kabbalist and prophet: hermeneutics, theosophy and theurgy [sources and studies in the literature of jewish mysticism, 7. culver city: cherub press, 2000. thi

LAITMAN M BASIC CONCEPTS IN KABBALAH

s, and on the purity of one s soul. however, during one s studies one utters the names of the sefirot, the worlds, and the spiritual actions connected to one s soul. thus, the soul receives micro-doses of light from the outside, a light that gradually purifies the soul and prepares it to receive spiritual energy and delight. 26 c h a p t e r 3 t h e g i v i n g o f k a b b a l a h the great sage, rabbi akiva (1st century ce) said: love thy neighbor as thyself is the comprehensive rule of all the spiritual laws. as we know, the term comprehensive points to the sum of its constituents. therefore, when rabbi akiva speaks about love for our neighbor (one of many spiritual laws, about our duties with regard to society and even to the creator as the comprehensive law, he implies that all the oth

ation would depend on its members, a breach in the obligation would create a vacuum in society because someone would remain without help. the bigger the number of violators, the more the rule that every member of society is obliged to observe would be breached. all are responsible for one another, both for observing the laws and for violating them. another ancient sage, elazar, the son of rashbi (rabbi shimon bar-yochai, the author of the zohar, has an even greater surprise for us. he says that not only every nation, but all of humanity, every living being, is responsible for each other. elazar states that all nations will have to observe this rule, and in so doing the entire world will be corrected. the world cannot be completely corrected and elevated unless everyone embraces the compreh

upper light, but only if they engage in the proper study of kabbalah. the study of the zohar, and kabbalah itself, is a starting point in the correction of the entire world and the achievement of absolute peace and happiness. 85 c h a p t e r 11 f r o m t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e s t u dy o f t h e t e n s e f i r o t in the introduction to the study of the ten sefirot, baal hasulam (rabbi yehuda ashlag) explains that his principal desire is to break the iron wall that has been separating us from kabbalah and prevent the disappearance of this science from our world once and for all. however, many objections have been raised against the study of kabbalah, all of which stem from ignorance concerning its essence and purpose. baal hasulam continues to explain that if we ask oursel

ecial permission from above is described in the works of the great kabbalist, the ari: know that the souls of great kabbalists are filled with the outer (surrounding) light or with the inner light (filling. the souls filled with the surrounding light have the gift to expound on the secrets by vesting them in words, so that only the worthy can understand it. the soul of the great kabbalist rashbi (rabbi shimon bar-yochai, lived in the 2nd century bce, the author of the book of zohar, c o n d i t i o n s f o r d i s c l o s i n g t h e s e c r e t s 91 was filled with the surrounding light; hence, he had the power to explain the secrets of the universe in such a way that when he spoke before the great assembly, only the worthy understood him. therefore, he alone received the divine permissio

rld, but when the world approaches the days of the messiah, even children will reveal his secrets. they will be able to foresee and study the future, and at that time he will reveal himself to all. rashbi was the last kabbalist of the pre-exile period; hence, he received permission from above to write the book of zohar. kabbalah was forbidden for almost fifteen centuries, until the kabbalist ari (rabbi yitzhak luria) appeared and spiritually attained the whole kabbalah. in his works he revealed the zohar for us: in 600 years of the sixth millennium the sources of wisdom will open up above and flow down. k e y c o n c e p t s 95 in one of the ancient manuscripts, kabbalist abraham azulai (sixth century ce) found that from the year 5,300 (1,539 ce) since creation, everyone will be permitted

ical and reliable way to understand the world s phenomena. this magnificent introduction to the wisdom of kabbalah provides a new kind of awareness that enlightens the mind, invigorates the heart, and moves the reader to the depths of their soul. awakening to kabbalah: a distinctive, personal, and awefilled introduction to an ancient wisdom tradition. rav laitman a disciple of the great kabbalist rabbi baruch ashlag (son of yehuda ashlag) provides you with a deeper understanding of the fundamental teachings of kabbalah, and how you can use this wisdom to clarify your relationship with others and the world around you. using language both scientific and poetic, he probes the most profound questions of spirituality and existence. this provocative, unique guide will inspire and invigorate you

exists, why he is born, why he lives, what the purpose of his life is, where he comes from, and where he is going after he completes his life in this world. 110 a b o u t b n e i b a ru c h bnei baruch is a non-profit organization that is spreading the wisdom of kabbalah to accelerate the spirituality of humankind. kabbalist rav michael laitman, phd, who was the disciple and personal assistant to rabbi baruch ashlag, the son of rabbi yehuda ashlag (author of the sulam commentary on the zohar, follows in the footsteps of his mentor in leading the group toward its mission. laitman's scientific method provides individuals of all faiths, religions, and cultures with the precise tools necessary for embarking on a captivating path of self-discovery and spiritual ascent. with the focus being prim

o see reality for what it is and in its place superficial and often misleading concepts have appeared. bnei baruch reaches out to all those who are seeking awareness beyond the standard, people who are seeking to understand our true purpose for being here. bnei baruch offers practical guidance and a reliable method for understanding the world's phenomena. the authentic teaching method, devised by rabbi yehuda ashlag, not only helps overcome the trials and tribulations of everyday life, but initiates a process in which individuals extend themselves beyond their present boundaries and limitations. rabbi yehuda ashlag left a study method for this generation, which essentially trains individuals to behave as if they have already achieved the perfection of the upper worlds while still here in o

LAITMAN M FROM CHAOS TO HARMONY

institute of science at st. petersburg university. in addition to his work as a scientist and a researcher, rav laitman has been studying and teaching kabbalah for the past thirty years. as a kabbalist, he has published more than thirty books and numerous academic essays on the subject, which have been translated into ten languages thus far. rav laitman was the disciple and personal assistant of rabbi baruch shalom halevi ashlag (the rabash, 12 from chaos to harmony the firstborn and successor of rabbi yehuda leib halevi ashlag, known as baal hasulam (owner of the ladder) for authoring the sulam (ladder) commentary on the book of zohar. for twelve years, rav laitman devotedly studied with the rabash, and absorbed from him the teachings of baal hasulam. baal hasulam is considered the succe

ars, i finally arrived in israel. alas, even here i was only allowed to engage in research that was limited to the single cell level. i realized i had to look elsewhere for a place to learn about the overall systems of reality. consequently, i turned to philosophy, then to religion, but found answers in neither. only after long years of searching did i find my teacher. it was the great kabbalist, rabbi baruch shalom halevi ashlag (the rabash. i spent the next twelve years alongside the rabash, from 1979 to 1991. to me he was the last of the mohicans, the last great kabbalist in the great dynasty of kabbalists that endured for many generations. i did not move from his side that whole time; i wrote my first three books in 1983 with his support, and when he passed away, i began to develop the

awareness of others, which makes us want everything others have. moreover, we want to have more than others have, or that others will not have, thus improving our state relative to others, as well as our sensation of self-gratification. this is why, in man, the will to exist is called ego, desire to enjoy, or will to receive delight and pleasure, which kabbalists refer to as the will to receive. rabbi yehuda ashlag, known as baal hasulam,8 says about that: the will to receive is all the substance of creation, from beginning to its end. thus, all the numerous creations, their multitude incidents, and the ways by which they are conducted, that have appeared and that will appear are only measures and changes in the values of the will to receive. 9 36 from chaos to harmony humans are not only

hought is even above the force of man s egoistic desires. thus, while in the still, vegetative, and the animate, the good attitude of an element toward the system is expressed at the material level. with man, the level that requires correction is the level of thoughts and attitude toward others. the book of zohar, one of the seminal books in the wisdom of kabbalah, written some 2,000 years ago by rabbi shimon bar-yochai, defines it thus: all is clarified in the thought (the zohar, part 2, item 254).17 our inherent resistance to bond with other people into a single whole is an expression of our egoism. altruism is the opposite; it is an intrinsic motion of a person, 80 from chaos to harmony from within one s heart and one s desire, toward sensing others as part of oneself. thus, to balance

ll not feel it yet, those who induce this change will sense it immediately. thus, the more we pursue these thoughts and actions to increase our awareness that we are parts of a single system, the sooner we will feel that we are living in a welcoming world, a joyful and good place. man s power of thought and his crucial impact on reality are expressed in the following words of the great kabbalist, rabbi abraham isaac hacohen kook (manuscript, p. 60: it requires much accustoming to feel the power of life and the reality of the power of thought, to chapter five: obeying nature s law 85 know the might of the concept and the enforcement of life, and strength of the reality of the thought. and by awareness, to understand that the more the thought ascends, refines, and polishes, man and the world

is what the book of zohar explains (zohar, vayikra, item 113. it states that everything exists and occurs for man, to help us form the right connection between ourselves and others, and acquire nature s quality of altruism. this will bring the ultimate solution to all the world s problems, and all of nature will exist in a corrected form, in harmony and in perfection. in his manuscripts (p. 170, rabbi kook described this state in the following words: the power of creation and global management has been executed in utter perfection however, there is a small part that lacks correction and upon its completion depends the completion of the whole created being. that tiny part is the human soul, in the form of its desire and in the mimicry of its spirituality. this part is given to man to corre

from the public s eye, these kabbalists continued to develop the method to correct human nature and to adapt it to the growing ego. their task was to prepare the method for a time when israel and humanity would need it. 164 from chaos to harmony t h e e vo lu t i o n o f t h e c o r r e c t i o n me t h o d around the time of the last exile, in the 2nd century ce, the book of zohar was written by rabbi shimon bar-yochai and his disciples. the book describes both the correction method, and everything that one who achieves balance with nature will experience. it also reveals every state that humanity will experience until the final correction of the ego. however, it uses intimations and allegories to do so. it should be pointed out that even though the book of zohar was written before the pe

wisdom, and to know in them the ends and the calculations of redemption. and at that time it will be revealed to all (the book of zohar, parashat vayira, item 460. thus, immediately after it was written, the book of zohar was concealed. the next time the book appeared israel s role 165 was in 13th century spain. then, in the 16th century, about 1,400 years after the writing of the zohar, the ari (rabbi isaac luria) appeared in zephath, a city of kabbalists in the north of israel. in a systematic, scientific language he revealed the zohar s correction method. he also described in great detail the phases of the correction of the ego, leading to balance with the comprehensive nature. his writings contain depictions of the structure of the higher world, and explain how one can be admitted into

LAITMAN M KABBALAH REVEALED

ms in bio-cybernetics, and has pursued a successful scientific career, later turning to kabbalah to further his scientific research. he received his phd in philosophy and kabbalah from the moscow institute of philosophy at the russian academy of sciences. in 1976, he began studying kabbalah, and has been researching it ever since. in 1979, seeking new avenues in kabbalah, he came across kabbalist rabbi baruch shalom halevi ashlag (1906-1991, the firstborn son, and successor of kabbalist rabbi yehuda leib halevi ashlag (1884-1954, known as baal hasulam for his 10 kabbalah revealed sulam (ladder) commentary on the book of zohar. michael laitman was so impressed with baal hasulam s son, that he became baruch ashlag s closest disciple and personal assistant, spending the bulk of his time in th

of each world and what happens there, as if there is a physical place where these things occur, it is actually referring only to the experiences of souls. in other words, it relates to how kabbalists perceive things, and tells us so 98 kabbalah revealed that we, too, can experience them. therefore, when we are reading in the zohar about events in the worlds bya, we are actually learning about how rabbi shimon bar- yochai (author of the book of zohar) perceived spiritual states, as told by his son, rabbi abba. also, when kabbalists write about the worlds above bya, they are not actually writing about those worlds specifically, but about how the writers perceived those worlds while being in the worlds bya. and because kabbalists write about their personal experiences, there are similarities

ow do i make the most of it? and the answer is simple: treat it as you would treat anything else you want to achieve xthink about it, talk about it, read about it, and sing about it. do everything you can to make it important, and your progress will accelerate proportionally. the (narrow) road to freedom 141 in the book of zohar, there is an inspiring (and true) story of a wise man by the name of rabbi yosi ben kisma, the greatest kabbalist of his time. one day, a rich merchant from another town approached him and offered to relocate the rabbi to the rich man s town to open a seminary for the town s wisdom-thirsty people. the merchant explained that there were no sages in his town, and that the town was in need of spiritual teachers. needless to say, he promised rabbi yosi that all his per

er town approached him and offered to relocate the rabbi to the rich man s town to open a seminary for the town s wisdom-thirsty people. the merchant explained that there were no sages in his town, and that the town was in need of spiritual teachers. needless to say, he promised rabbi yosi that all his personal and educational needs would be generously cared for. to the merchant s great surprise, rabbi yosi declined resolutely, stating that under no circumstances would he move to a place where there were no other sages. the dismayed merchant tried to argue and suggested that rabbi yosi was the greatest sage of the generation and that he didn t need to learn from anyone. in addition, said the merchant, by moving to our town and teaching our people, you would be doing a great spiritual servi

bbi yosi was the greatest sage of the generation and that he didn t need to learn from anyone. in addition, said the merchant, by moving to our town and teaching our people, you would be doing a great spiritual service, since here there is already a great number of sages, and our town hasn t any. this would be a significant contribution to the spirituality of the whole generation. would the great rabbi at least consider my offer? to that, rabbi yosi resolutely replied: even the wisest sage will soon become unwise when dwelling among unwise people. it is not that rabbi yosi didn t want to help the merchant s townsmen; he simply knew that without a supportive environment, he would lose doubly x failing to enlighten his students, and losing his own spiritual degree. 142 kabbalah revealed no a

understand the world s phenomena. this magnificent introduction to the wisdom of kabbalah provides a new kind of awareness that enlightens the mind, invigorates the heart, and moves the readers to the depths of their soul. 158 kabbalah revealed awakening to kabbalah: a distinctive, personal, and awe-filled introduction to an ancient wisdom tradition. rav laitman xa disciple of the great kabbalist rabbi baruch ashlag (son of yehuda ashlag) xprovides you with a deeper understanding of the fundamental teachings of kabbalah, and how you can use this wisdom to clarify your relationship with others and the world around you. using language both scientific and poetic, he probes the most profound questions of spirituality and existence. this provocative, unique guide will inspire and invigorate you

e nature of the wisdom and explaining the method of attaining it. for every person questioning who am i really? and why am i on this planet? this book is an absolute must. about bnei baruch bnei baruch is a non-profit organization that is spreading the wisdom of kabbalah to accelerate the spirituality of humankind. kabbalist rav michael laitman, phd, who was the disciple and personal assistant to rabbi baruch ashlag, the son of rabbi yehuda ashlag (author of the sulam commentary on the zohar, follows in the footsteps of his mentor in leading the group toward its mission. laitman s scientific method provides individuals of all faiths, religions, and cultures with the precise tools necessary for embarking on a captivating path of self-discovery and spiritual ascent. with the focus being prim

o see reality for what it is and in its place superficial and often misleading concepts have appeared. bnei baruch reaches out to all those who are seeking awareness beyond the standard, people who are seeking to understand our true purpose for being here. bnei baruch offers practical guidance and a reliable method for understanding the world s phenomena. the authentic teaching method, devised by rabbi yehuda ashlag, not only helps overcome the trials and tribulations of everyday life, but initiates a process in which individuals extend themselves beyond their present boundaries and limitations. rabbi yehuda ashlag left a study method for this generation, which essentially trains individuals to behave as if they have already achieved the perfection of the upper worlds while still here in o

LAITMAN M KABBALAH ATTAINING THE WORLDS BEYOND

ension to understand the essence of such spiritual qualities as total altruism and love. even the existence of such feelings is beyond our comprehension; we seem to require an incentive to perform any act that does not promise us some form of personal gain. that is why a quality such as altruism can only be imparted to us from above, and only those of us who have experienced it can understand it. rabbi michael laitman introduction if you listen with your heart to one famous question, i am sure that all your doubts as to whether you should study kabbalah will vanish without a trace. this question is a bitter and a fair one, asked by all born on earth "what is the meaning of my life" rabbi yehuda ashlag, introduction to talmud esser sefirot among all the texts and notes that were used by my

without a trace. this question is a bitter and a fair one, asked by all born on earth "what is the meaning of my life" rabbi yehuda ashlag, introduction to talmud esser sefirot among all the texts and notes that were used by my rabbi, baruch shalom halevi ashlag, there was one particular notebook he always carried. this notebook contained all the transcripts of his conversations with his father, rabbi yehuda leib halevi ashlag, the rabbi of jerusalem, and a kabbalist. he was the author of a 21-volume commentary on the book of zohar, as well as the author of a six-volume commentary on the texts of the kabbalist, ari, and of many other works on kabbalah. not feeling well on the jewish new year in september 1991, my rabbi called me to his bedside and handed me his notebook, saying "take it a

s notebook as i perceived them. it is impossible to fully relate to what is written there, as each of us can only understand what we read within the limits of our immediate grasp, since each of us is limited by the qualities of our individual souls. therefore, in the course of interacting with the supreme light, each of us will interpret these ideas as our souls perceive them. may the thoughts of rabbi yehuda ashlag penetrate this world through the words of his eldest son, my rabbi, and may they help all of us unite with the creator in the course of our lives here in this world! rabbi michael laitman- 10- attaining the worlds beyond how to read the text the need for this text became apparent to me from the questions that i received from my students, and from the questions that were asked d

understand the purpose of the creation? is it possible to perceive the creator, eternity and immortality? how can we begin to grow spiritually? if you listen with your heart to one famous question, i am sure that all your doubts as to whether you should study kabbalah will vanish without a trace. this question is a bitter and a fair one, asked by all born on earth "what is the meaning of my life" rabbi yehuda ashlag- 14- attaining the worlds beyond 1 perceiving the creator generations come and go, yet every generation and every individual asks the same question about the meaning of life. this happens especially at times of war and global suffering, and during periods of misfortune that befall each of us at some point in our lives. what is the purpose of life, which is so costly to us? and

ions and our attempts to attain things. then, a singular desire awakens in us the desire not to want anything. in other words, we no longer have any personal interests, since they bring us only suffering. consequently, we have no other choice but to beg the creator to save us from egoism. this forces us to strive to overcome all of our problems, which brings us further suffering. for this reason, rabbi ashlag writes in his "introduction to talmud esser sefirot (paragraph 2 "but if you listen with your heart to one very famous question, i am sure that all your doubts as to whether you should study kabbalah will vanish without a trace" this is so because this question, coming straight from one s heart rather than from one s intelligence or knowledge, is a question about many things: the mean

es out of our own egos. and only then will we be truly free. on the other hand, for those who feel no such urgent necessity, or no necessity at all, the light of the kabbalah turns into darkness. as a result, the more they study, the deeper they sink into their egoism, for they do not use kabbalah for its sole true purpose. when we begin learning kabbalah and open one of the books by rashbi, ari, rabbi yehuda ashlag or rabbi baruch ashlag, our goal should be to receive a reward from the creator the power of faith allowing us to succeed in finding the way to change ourselves. we should acquire confidence that even in our egoistic situation, we can still receive such a gift from above, for to have faith is to have a bridge to an opposite state of being. and even if we have not yet undergone

the spiritual world receives the same perception as everyone else on the same level. when the kabbalists said "thus said abraham to isaac" it indicated that the kabbalists were situated on the same level as abraham. thus, the kabbalists understood how- 82- attaining the worlds beyond abraham responded to isaac, since in their spiritual state they were like abraham. in his lifetime, the kabbalist rabbi yehuda ashlag reached all 125 levels. from this exalted place, he dictated the kabbalah, which we are now able to enjoy in this generation. from this level, he wrote his commentary to the zohar, the master text of kabbalah. each of the 125 levels exists objectively; all those who perceive each of them see the same things, just as all those who inhabit our world see the same surroundings if t

on uttering beautiful phrases that have no inner, heartfelt meaning, or to read obscure symbols or kavanot from kabbalistic prayer books. the only thing required of us is to strive toward the creator with our whole being, to understand the essence of our desires, and to ask the creator to alter them. most important, we should never stop communicating with the creator! in memory of the kabbalist, rabbi baruch ashlag the creator acts upon us by using various elements that make up our world. the events we experience are actually messages fromthe creator. if we respond correctly to divine action, we will clearly grasp what the creator expects of us, and we will feel him. not only does the creator act upon us through the people around us, but he uses everything that exists in our world. the st

LAITMAN M KABBALAH SCIENCE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

physics, and artificial intelligence. two other books of satinover s became bestsellers: cracking the bible code, and homosexuality and the politics of truth. m i c h a e l l a i t m a n, p h d rav michael laitman has a phd in philosophy from the russian academy of science and an msc in bio-cybernetics from the polytechnic institute of st. petersburg. he was the disciple and personal assistant to rabbi baruch ashlag (1907-1991) for twelve years. during those years, rav laitman acquired the sulam method, teachings passed on to his mentor by his father, rabbi yehuda ashlag (1884-1954, known as baal hasulam for his sulam commentary on the zohar. rav laitman has written thirty books on kabbalah, which were translated into ten languages. his daily lessons are broadcast live and recorded on cabl

systems of reality. i turned to philosophy, but before long realized that the answer was not to be found there. i then tried to 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 20 find answers in religion, but had found nothing but a mechanical performance of the commandments. there was no deeper understanding there. only after many years of searching did i finally find my teacher, rabbi baruch ashlag. i was with him for twelve years, from 1979 to 1991. to me, he was the last of the mohicans, the last kabbalist in the chain of great kabbalists that extended through the generations. i was his personal assistant and his disciple. i did not leave his side all through that period, and i wrote and published my first three books with his support in 1983. after my teacher passed aw

isciple. i did not leave his side all through that period, and i wrote and published my first three books with his support in 1983. after my teacher passed away, i began to develop and publish the knowledge i had received from him. i considered it a direct continuation of his work. in 1991, i founded bnei baruch, a group of kabbalists who study and practice the method of baal hasulam and his son, rabbi baruch ashlag. since then, bnei baruch has become an international organization comprising many thousands of students. its members research, study and disseminate kabbalah. bnei baruch maintains the largest internet site on kabbalah, offering a wealth of information in twenty-two languages, and the most extensive media and text archive of lessons, books, and films on the internet. all the ma

has evolved over thousands of years and been disseminated among kabbalists throughout history. i would like to briefly review the key points in this process. the first kabbalist was abraham the patriarch (approximately 1,800 bce. sefer yetzira (the book of creation) is ascribed to him. 500 years after abraham, moses wrote his book of torah (the pentateuch, around 1,350 bce. in the 2nd century ce rabbi shimon bar-yochai wrote sefer ha zohar (the book of splendor. kabbalah thrived in the 16th century israeli town of safed, led by the kabbalist rabbi yitzhak luria ashkenazi, the ari (1534-1572. he presented his method in his books, and today the wisdom of kabbalah is founded on the lurianic kabbalah (the kabbalah of the ari. lurianic kabbalah relates to kabbalah as a science there is no medi

. kabbalah thrived in the 16th century israeli town of safed, led by the kabbalist rabbi yitzhak luria ashkenazi, the ari (1534-1572. he presented his method in his books, and today the wisdom of kabbalah is founded on the lurianic kabbalah (the kabbalah of the ari. lurianic kabbalah relates to kabbalah as a science there is no meditation, chanting, charms, amulets or magical drawings of letters. rabbi yehuda ashlag (1884-1954, known as baal hasulam (owner of the ladder) for his sulam (ladder) commentary on the zohar, paved the way for our generation. his writings enable all of us to connect to the ancient, authentic sources that the past giants left behind. the kabbalah that we study today contains the same knowledge that was passed on from abraham through all the generations. i was privi

lam (ladder) commentary on the zohar, paved the way for our generation. his writings enable all of us to connect to the ancient, authentic sources that the past giants left behind. the kabbalah that we study today contains the same knowledge that was passed on from abraham through all the generations. i was privileged to spend twelve years beside baal hasulam s eldest son and successor, kabbalist rabbi baruch shalom ashlag, and from him i received this knowledge. t h e n a t u r e o f m a t t e r 27 the wisdom of kabbalah is a method for discovering the hidden part of reality, that imperceptible realm of reality that our five senses cannot grasp. it develops another sense in us, one that perceives the reality that exists beyond our present perception. kabbalah says that the whole of realit

s later, after the ruin of the first and second temples, this group of kabbalists lost its perception of the upper reality; they fell from their degree of spiritual consciousness and were able only to perceive their physical reality. this was actually a gradual process. some lost their spiritual perception with the ruin of the first temple, and the rest lost it with the ruin of the second temple. rabbi akiva was the last great kabbalist to attain the degree of the spiritual law, love thy friend as thyself. the intensification of egoism induced unfounded hatred, and only religion remained for people, instead of the wisdom of kabbalah. t h e n a t u r e o f m a t t e r 41 yet, despite the decline, a select few remained kabbalists, and they passed the wisdom on from generation to generation u

through chemical operations, and the liquid made into air, meaning only gas, where any discernment in our five senses has been expired. yet, the essence still exists, because you can once more turn the air into liquid, and the liquid into solid. thus, you evidently see that the five senses do not reveal to us any essence at all, but only incidents and manifestations of operations of the essence--rabbi yehuda ashlag (baal hasulam) preface to the book of zohar, item 12 pa r t i i i: p e r c e p t i o n o f r e a l i t y 118 thus, proper perception of reality is of paramount importance to us. the boundaries are not set to limit or diminish our knowledge or to stop us from engaging in some forbidden matters. on the contrary, when we detach ourselves from the parts we do not control, we spare

LAITMAN M THE KABBALAH EXPERIENCE

we are being struck without understanding why. if we begin to realize the reason for the blows, our situation will improve because then we will know what it is we must do. q: why were we forbidden to study kabbalah for such a long time? a: there was no need to study kabbalah before the return to the land of israel. the kabbalists themselves decided on these laws and it was they who hid the books. rabbi shimon bar-yochai, for example, hid the book of zohar and it remained hidden until many centuries later. the same holds true regarding the writings of the ari. when he died, all his writings were buried along with him. it was not until three generations later that new texts were dug out of his grave and handed over for print. t h e k a b b a l a h e x p e r i e n c e 98 kabbalists have hidde

ose of spiritual ascent are under perpetual changes, and must pick the material they read according to the state they re in at that moment. c o n t e m p o r a r y s t u dy b o o k s q: why do we study only, or mostly, the zohar, the writings of the ari and the writings of the ashlags? a: because these are actually one writer, one soul that reincarnated from the first man, through abraham, moses, rabbi shimon bar-yochai, the ari and finally, rav yehuda ashlag. it is a soul that came down only to show humanity the path for correction. although there are kabt h e k a b b a l a h e x p e r i e n c e 102 balists who know more, they were not given permission to write books meant to teach and correct people, especially not the newcomers to the spiritual path. thousands of books have been written

or correction. although there are kabt h e k a b b a l a h e x p e r i e n c e 102 balists who know more, they were not given permission to write books meant to teach and correct people, especially not the newcomers to the spiritual path. thousands of books have been written throughout the history of kabbalah, but my rav instructed me to study and teach only through these sources: the writings of rabbi shimon bar-yochai the writings of the ari the writings of baal hasulam i advise all of you to start studying these sources. later on, when you have absorbed the material, you ll be able to understand other writers. this will give you a solid basis from which to examine other sources to see if they suit you as well. by no means do i devalue other sources. many of the kabbalists were at an eve

ai the writings of the ari the writings of baal hasulam i advise all of you to start studying these sources. later on, when you have absorbed the material, you ll be able to understand other writers. this will give you a solid basis from which to examine other sources to see if they suit you as well. by no means do i devalue other sources. many of the kabbalists were at an even higher degree than rabbi shimon bar-yochai or the ari. however, they were not permitted to write, or if they were permitted, it was with minor implications that were meant for those who were already in the upper worlds. q: the articles that we study rely a great deal on the ladder commentary. what is the ladder commentary? a: rav yehuda ashlag (baal hasulam) named his commentaries on the zohar hasulam (the ladder, b

ead the right texts. there is only one force that can free us and bring us out of our nature and place in us the right aim v the reforming light of the kabbalah. there are special books that were written especially for that purpose, and only there is the light strong enough to reform. these are the writings of rav yehuda ashlag, rav baruch ashlag, the writings of the ari and the zohar (written by rabbi shimon bar-yochai. a da p t i n g, p r e f e r r i n g, b u t n o t wa i v i n g q: can you say that relinquishing the pleasures of this world shows that one has a desire to live in the spiritual world, or is that not enough? a: the upper world, meaning man s sensation of the creator, is a better state than the state of this world, so we must aspire to it as something perfect and not out of

an be unconscious, as when a person doesn t know why the world is in such pain, or it can be conscious. this occurs when we begin to feel the creator and feel that the creator is not a source of pain, but rather a source of pleasure, and the reason for the pain is the difference between our qualities and those of the creator. the way to delivery is quite simple- study only the writings of rashbi (rabbi shimon bar-yochai, the ari and rav ashlag. our pain will gradually fade and instead of asking, why don t i have k, we will begin to ask why don t i have love for him? afterwards, we will feel the pains of love- the desire to cling to the loved one. in the meantime, these are just words (and pretty worldly ones, too, but only when we have attained these situations can we understand their spir

the physical body of a kabbalist. in his emotions (his soul) he might be in the world of atzilut, but his physical body remains in our world, with all its maladies, desires, habits and characteristics. h ow m a n y s o u l s d o e s a k a b b a l i s t h av e? q: baal hasulam (rav yehuda ashlag) wrote that he would not have been able to attain his degree if the creator had not placed the soul of rabbi shimon bar yochai in him. before that he had his own soul, and after that, the soul of rabbi shimon entered him. did it unite with his original soul, or did he have two souls in one body? a: the body is born, lives and dies in this world. there is a force that sustains it, with its unique attributes, character and skills. together, s o u l, b o d y a n d r e i n c a r n a t i o n 249 these q

r soul. if no response is returned, then perhaps in a few life cycles the person will want what we want today. o n e s s o u l s h a l l t e ac h o n e q: is it true that there are souls that are connected to the wisdom of the hidden and souls that are connected to the revealed wisdom? does each soul have its own spiritual root, by which it can fulfill itself? a: you are quoting from the words of rabbi shimon bar-yochai, who speaks of a corrected aim of man s desires, for the creator, meaning those who are already in the process of climbing the ladder from our world to the infinite. to such people there are two types of soul: one that is named the revealed torah, which stems from the term, ohr pashut (lit. simple light, and the wisdom of the hidden, which is revealed on certain conditions

LAITMAN M THE PATH OF KABBALAH

ality one attains with one s senses. even in our world, below the spiritual world, there are degrees of attainment. at the beginning of our preparation period for spirituality, we begin to understand the connections and relationships between spiritual properties, although this understanding cannot be compared with the actual sensation when spirituality is attained. when the zohar says, go and ask rabbi shimon and rabbi abba, it means that you should ascend to their degree and ask why they present things the way they do. when the zohar writes that a certain person met rabbi shimon, it means that that person rose to the degree pa r t o n e: t h e b e g i n n i n g 21 of rabbi shimon, and can therefore see and understand what rabbi shimon can. this is how a degree gets its name, and when we a

s not yet been awakened. however, it is known that an extremely strong desire can awaken the point in the heart. even the ari mentioned it. in order for an individual to be included in the united desire of the group, that person must be in complete agreement with that desire. this is because even when this point does exist, its attributes vary from person to person. for instance, it is known that rabbi yosef karo, who wrote the shulchan aruch (the jewish code of laws, a priceless piece of work, slept during his kabbalah lessons with the ari. of course, there were people who absorbed the lurianic kabbalah (the kabbalah of the ari) naturally, and there were people who could not understand it and had troubles disconnecting themselves from the kabbalah of the ramak (rabbi moshe kordoviro. the

one another correct. the torah, the kabbalah, and all the holy scriptures were written by people who climbed the spiritual ladder and wrote their instructions from there. many kabbalists climbed these steps, but there are conditions that limit the number of people permitted to write. there are only three kabbalists who attained the final degree and were permitted to describe the system. they are rabbi shimon bar-yochay, author of the zohar, the ari, author of the tree of life, and rabbi yehuda ashlag, author of the sulam commentary on the zohar and the study of the ten sefirot. these books were all written after their authors ascended to the degree of the creator in every property and capability. when one acquires the attributes of the creator, one becomes free. such a person is not limit

? because the body cannot become spiritual! spirituality is an inner ascent of the soul that has nothing to do with the outer part, meaning the biological body. the body is doomed to perish and be buried in the ground. that is the end of its correction. when a body expires, one gets a new body, just as we change a shirt when the one we wear needs washing. then again, there are souls like those of rabbi shimon bar-yochay, the ari, or rabbi yehuda ashlag, that have already corrected themselves and no longer need to descend to this world. they do it only to correct the world; they absorb agony from the entire world and thus suffer for it. that process is called the hitkalelut (mixture/mingling) of the souls. each soul becomes involved with other souls to help them correct. we should relate to

ink of the purpose of creation, of the contact with the creator, i aim my every act toward him. that is what i should do with every desire, and that will intensify the pleasure i derive from them many times over. that way, i actually increase my vessels of bestowal. we need only learn how to use our desires correctly and constantly analyze our situation. the essays and letters of baal hasulam and rabbi baruch ashlag (rabash) are very helpful for that. we progress by understanding the situation. we are not the owners of our desires and pleasures. only a constant study of each situation allows us to use our desires correctly. our thoughts must be aimed at these questions: why was i sent this desire? how should i react to it, and why? t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 98 we must observe things

ve. the minute the light stops shining, we fall to the ground, as though we d never been off it. we have no powers of our own to rise above it. only the light of the creator can lift us. the higher one s place is in the spiritual world, the greater the distance between the ups and downs. thus, the fall in the world of atzilut can reach almost as low as this world. that is why the great kabbalist, rabbi shimon bar-yochay, when he was one degree before the last, suddenly felt himself (and called himself accordingly) as shimon from the market. all the knowledge and the corrected properties, everything disappeared and he became completely ignorant. that is how he described his situation in the book of zohar. it happens to everyone, even to a person who has just begun the spiritual ascent. how

exposed to a greater light, and that enables us to see ourselves compared to the corrected properties of a higher degree. the spiritual degrees we go through continue to live in us. we can only see evil when we ascend to a higher spiritual degree. the greater the light that shines, the worse we see ourselves compared to it. that is how it goes until the last degree, the end of correction. rabash (rabbi baruch ashlag) writes in a letter to his disciples (letter no. 2: the truth is that there is another reason for it: baal hasulam explains in his book, the study of the ten sefirot, that the ari describes why melech hadaat (king of daat) in the world of nekudim, who was the degree of keter and the highest melech (king, fell lower than all other kings when the breaking occurred. that is becaus

iously, while arguing that one t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 106 was working lishma? thus, if one is idle in the work it is impossible to see the truth of being immersed in falsehood. nevertheless, by accumulating torah and mitzvot in order to bring contentment to the maker, we can see the truth that we are on a false path, called lo lishma, and this is the middle point between true and false (rabbi baruch shalom ashlag, shamati, igrot, letter no. 2. the creator operates in any situation we are in, whether good or bad. one does not and cannot make any decisions. one can accelerate one s development, but certainly cannot change it. if we look at this path through the eyes of egoism, we will be terrorized and terrified. but if we perceive the egoism as an evil thing that must be destroyed

LEMEGETON

ole art of salomon although there be many other bookes that is said to be his yet none is to be compared with this, for this containeth them all, although [100v] they be titled with severall other names, as the booke helisoe wch is the very same as this last [book] is, wch called, artem novam& ars notaria &c. these bookes were first found in the chaldean& hebrew tongues at hierusalem, by a jewish rabbi& by him put into the greeke language& from thence into ye latine, as it is said &c. appendix- other examples of some of the drawings sigil for baal, from harl. 6483. sigil for agares, from harl. 6483. sigil for vasago, from harl. 6483. magical circle and triangle, from sloane 3648. hexagram to be worn as a lamin, from the hebrew manuscript of the clavicula salomonis (sepher mafteah shelomoh

LEWIS JAMES SATANISM TODAY AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION FOLKLORE AND POPULAR CULTURE

ans and as the angel of death. in the secrets of enoch he represents the prince of demons and a magician. sammael is mentioned in a number of sources, such as talmud yalkut, where he represents esau s guardian angel, and in sotah, where he is regarded as edom s angelic prince guardian. he is equated with the serpent who tempted eve and, by seducing her, became the father of cain in the sayings of rabbi eliezer. in the zohar he is the dark angel who wrestled with jacob at peniel. sammael is also cited in waite s the holy kabbalah, as the severity of god, and as fifth of the archangels of the world of briah, where he corresponds to the sefira geburah. in baruch iii and in the ascension of isaiah, sammael and satan are used interchangeably. sammael also has a literary presence, as in longfell

LIBER LXVII THE SWORD OF SONG

the ordinary sphere and flies in the direction .x (there lies the fourth dimension) vex my soul no more with mistranslations from genesis to revelations, but leave me with the flaming star,75 jeheshua (see thou zohar!)76 and thus our formidable pigeon-77 lamb-and-old-gentleman religion fizzles in smoke, and i am found attacking nothing. here.s the ground, pistols, and coffee.three in one (alas, o rabbi schimeon) but never a duellist.no son, no father, and (to please us most) decency pleads.no holy ghost! all vanish at the touch of truth, a cobweb trio.like, in sooth, 705 710 715 720 725 730 735 740 mystical mean-ing of .ascen-sion day. futility of whole discussion, in view of facts. ascension day 21 that worthy yankee millionaire, and wealthy nephews, young and fair, the pleasing crawfords

stamps, baramulla, kashmir. 106. gallup.32.for information apply to mr. sidney lee. 111 .it is the number of a man..33.rev. xiii. 18. 117. fives.34.dukes. 122 (elsewhere.)35.see .songs of the spirit. and other works. 128. the qabalistic balm.36.may be studied in .the kabbalah (sic) unveiled (redway. it is much to be wished that some one would undertake the preparation of an english translation of rabbi jischak ben loria.s .de revolutionibus animarum. and of the book .beth elohim. 139. cain.37.gen. iv. 8. 152. hunyadi.38.hunyadi janos, a hungarian table water. 161. nadi.39.for this difficult subject refer to the late swami vivekananda.s .raja yoga. 167. tom bond bishop.40.founder of the .children.s scripture union (an association for the dissemination of lies among young people) and otherwi

LURQUIN STONE EVOLUTION AND RELIGIOUS CREATION MYTHS

at time, had been recommended by the kansas board of education. intelligent design, they said, is not science; it is theology. therefore, teaching it in public schools would violate the separation between church and state. apparently, this opinion represents the general stance of american jewish leaders. but even so, things are not that simple. in a radio interview just after the kansas decision, rabbi brad hirschfield, vice president of the national jewish center for learning and leadership, complained that american society sees the id/evolution issue in a much too polarized fashion. in his words, most creationists relate to evolutionists as if they have no soul, and most evolutionists relate to the creationists as if they have no brain. since according to jewish tradition we all possess

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

atter of translation was the greatest single task in the research work incident to the preparation of this volume. the necessary p. 6 german translations, which required nearly three years, were generously undertaken by mr. alfred beri, who declined all remuneration for his labor. the latin, italian, french, and spanish translations were made by prof. homer p. earle. the hebrew text was edited by rabbi jacob m. alkow. miscellaneous short translations and checking also were done by various individuals. the editorial work was under the supervision of dr. c. b. rowlingson, through whose able efforts literary order was often brought out of literary chaos. special recognition is also due the services rendered by mr. robert b. tummonds, of the staff of h. s. crocker company, inc, to whom were as

ncubus and succubus- vampirism. 105 hermetic pharmacology, chemistry, and therapeutics the healing methods of paracelsus--palingenesis--hermetic theories concerning the cause of disease--medicinal properties of herbs--the use of drugs in the mysteries--the sect of the assassins. 109 the qabbalah, the secret doctrine of israel the written and unwritten laws--the origin of the qabbalistic writings--rabbi simeon ben jochai--the great qabbalistic books--the divisions of the qabbalistic system--the sepher yetzirah. 113 fundamentals of qabbalistic cosmogony ain soph and the cosmic egg--the qabbalistic system of worlds--the qabbalistic interpretation of ezekiel's vision--the great image of nebuchadnezzar's dream--the grand man of the universe--the fifty gates of life. 117 the tree of the sephirot

instructions that god had given him, and for centuries students of qabbalism. have sought therein the secret doctrine of israel. as the spiritual nature of man is concealed in his physical body, so the unwritten law--the mishna and the qabbalah--is concealed within the written teachings of the mosaic code. qabbalah means the secret or hidden tradition, the unwritten law, and according to an early rabbi, it was delivered to man in order that through the aid of its abstruse principles he might learn to understand the mystery of both the universe about him and the universe within him. the origin of qabbalism is a legitimate subject for controversy. early initiates of the qabbalistic mysteries believed that its principles were first taught by god to a school of his angels before the fall of ma

st books of qabbalism are the sepher yetzirah, the book of formation; the sepher ha zohar, the book of splendor; and the apocalypse, the book of revelation. the dates of the writing of these books are by no means thoroughly established. qabbalists declare that the sepher yetzirah was written by abraham. although it is by far the oldest of the qabbalistic books, it was probably from the pen of the rabbi akiba, a.d. 120. the sepher ha zohar presumably was written by simeon ben jochai, a disciple of akiba. rabbi simeon was sentenced to death about a.d. 161 by lucius verus, co-regent of the emperor marc aurelius antoninus. he escaped with his son and, hiding in a cave, transcribed the manuscript of the zohar with the assistance of elias, who appeared to them at intervals. simeon was twelve yea

ut a.d. 161 by lucius verus, co-regent of the emperor marc aurelius antoninus. he escaped with his son and, hiding in a cave, transcribed the manuscript of the zohar with the assistance of elias, who appeared to them at intervals. simeon was twelve years in the cave, during which time he evolved the complicated symbolism of the "greater face" and the "lesser face" while discoursing with disciples rabbi simeon expired, and the "lamp of israel" was extinguished. his death and burial were accompanied by many supernatural phenomena. the legend goes on to relate that the secret doctrines of qabbalism had been in existence since the beginning of the world, but that rabbi simeon was the first man permitted to reduce them to writing. twelve hundred years later the books which he had compiled were

evalent that christendom never has understood the old testament and probably never will. in fact, the feeling exists--in some quarters, at least--that the old testament is the exclusive possession of the jewish faith; also that christianity, after its unrelenting persecution of the jew, takes unwarranted liberties when it includes strictly jewish writings in its sacred canon. but, as noted by one rabbi, if christianity must use the jewish scriptures, it should at least strive to do so with some degree of intelligence! in the opening chapter of genesis it is stated that after creating light and separating it from darkness, the seven elohim divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. having thus established the inferior universe in perfec

. the early jewish writer of the baraitha treats of the curtains as follows "there were provided ten curtains of blue, of purple, and scarlet, and fine-twined linen. as is said 'moreover thou shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine-twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet* there were provided eleven curtains of goats' hair, and the length of every one of them was thirty cubits. rabbi judah said 'there were two covers-the lower one of rams' skins dyed red, and the upper one of badgers' skins" calmet is of the opinion that the hebrew word translated "badger" really means "dark purple" and therefore did not refer to any particular animal, but probably to a heavily woven waterproof fabric of dark and inconspicuous color. during the time of israel's wanderings through the wil

MATHERS MACGREGOR THE GREATER KEY OF SOLOMON VOL 1

age 6 who feareth not god. because if he act otherwise i pray god that he may never be worthy to attain unto the desired effect. and so he deposited the key, which solomon preserved, in the ivory casket. but the words of the key are as follows, divided into two books, and shown in order. from lansdowne mss. 1203, the veritable clavicles of solomon, translated from the hebrew into the latin by the rabbi abognazar. o my son roboam! seeing that of all sciences there is none more useful than the knowledge of celestial movements, i have thought it my duty, being at the point of death, to leave thee an inheritance more precious than all the riches which i have enjoyed. and in order that thou mayest understand how i have arrived at this degree (of wisdom, it is necessary to tell thee that one day

mael raphael haniel michael gabriel angel cassiel sachiel zamael michael anael raphael gabriel planet saturn jupiter mars sun venus mercury moon metal lead tin iron gold copper mercury silver colour black blue red yellow green purple white book one page 11 preliminary discourse. from lansdowne mss. 1203, the veritable clavicles of solomon, translated from the hebrew into the latin language by the rabbi abognazar. every one knoweth in the present day that from time immemorial solomon possessed knowledge inspired by the wise teachings of an angel, to which he appeared so submissive and obedient, that in addition to the gift of wisdom, which he demanded, he obtained with profusion all the other virtues; which happened in order that knowledge worthy of eternal preservation might not be buried

e) after him, called this testament the clavicle, or key of solomon, which they caused to be engraved on (pieces of) the bark of trees, while the pentacles were inscribed in hebrew letters on plates of copper, so that they might be carefully preserved in the temple which that wise king had caused to be built. this testament was in ancient time translated from the hebrew into the latin language by rabbi abognazar, who transported it with him into the town of arles in provence, where by a notable piece of good fortune the ancient hebrew clavicle, that is to say, this precious translation of it, fell into the hands of the archbishop of arles, after the destruction of the jews in that city; who, from the latin, translated it into the vulgar tongue, in the same terms which here follow, without

MATHERS MACGREGOR THE LESSER KEY OF SOLOMON LEMEGETON VOL 1

omon. and although there be many other books that are said to be his, yet none is to be compared hereunto, for this containeth them all. though there be titles with several other names of the book, as the book helisol, which is the very same with this last book of lemegeton called ars nova or ars notaria, etc. these books were first found in the chaldee and hebrew tongues at jerusalem by a jewish rabbi; and by him put into the greek language and thence into the latin, as it is said. shemhamphorash (1) bael- the first principal spirit is a king ruling in the east, called bael. he maketh thee to go invisible. he ruleth over 66 legions of infernal spirits. he appeareth in divers shapes, sometimes like a cat, sometimes like a toad, and sometimes like a man, and sometimes all these forms at onc

MICHAEL TSARION ATLANTIS ALIEN VISITATION AND GENETIC MANIPULATION

lien visitation, and genetic manipulation267 appendix c: suggested areas of research leonardo da vinci (1452-1519) creator of many ideas for machinery and weaponry. under patronage from the most powerful families of the renaissance of which he was a key figure. said to have created the shroud of turin for the savoy family. his famous notebooks are now in the posses-sion of bill gates of microsoft.rabbi judah loew (1609) creator of the golem, an automaton made from clay and operated by magic.michael maier (1568-1622) diplomat and doctor, involved in bringing alchemical ideas into the political arena.claudio monteverdi (1567-1643) composer.sir isaac newton (1642-1727) heavily involved in alchemy.paracelsus (1493-1541) founder of homeopathy.giambattista della porta (1535-1615) sorcerer involv

MORALS AND DOGMA

soul cannot re-enter into heaven, until the revolutions of the universe shall have restored it to its primitive condition, and purified it from the effects of its contact with the four elements. this opinion of the pre-existence of souls, as pure and celestial substances, before their union with our bodies, to put on and animate which they descend from heaven, is one of great antiquity. a modern rabbi, manasseh ben israel, says it was always the belief of the hebrews. it was that of most philosophers who admitted the immortality of the soul: and therefore it was taught in the mysteries; for, as lactantius says, they could not see how it was possible that the soul should exist _after_ the body, if it had not existed _before_ it, and if its nature was not independent of that of the body. th

the multiplication of nature _qu_ what do you mean by the number 12 _ans_ the twelve articles of faith; the twelve apostles, foundation of the holy city, who preached throughout the whole world, for our happiness and spiritual joy. the twelve operations of nature: the twelve signs of the zodiac, foundation of the _primum mobile, extending it throughout the universe for our temporal felicity [the rabbi (president of the sanhedrim) adds: from all that you have said, it results that the unit develops itself in 2, is completed in three internally, and so produces 4 externally; whence, through 6, 7, 8, 9, it arrives at 5, half of the spherical number 10, to ascend, passing through 11, to 12, and to raise itself, by the number 4 times 10, to the number 6 times 12, the final term and summit of o

hod, of our glorious author; in yesod, of _just, by yesod all vessels and worlds being upheld; and in malakoth he applied to himself the title of _king. these numerations or sephiroths are held in the kabala to have been originally contained in each other; that is, kether contained the nine others, hakemah contained binah, and binah contained the last seven. for all things, says the commentary of rabbi _jizchak lorja, in a certain most abstruse manner, consist or reside and are contained in binah, and it projects them, and sends them downward, species by species, into the several worlds of emanation, creation, formation, and fabrication; all whereof are derived from what are above them, and are termed their out-flowings; for, from the potency which was their state there, they descend into

leniency, therefore, was, as it were, the very essence and quintessence of the permanence and stability of the plan of creation, and part of the very nature of the deity. the kabalah, therefore, designates it as _light_ and _whiteness, by which the very substance of deity is symbolized. with this agree paul's ideas as to law and grace; for paul had studied the kabalah at the feet of gamaliel the rabbi. with this benignity, the autocracy of the dominion and control of the deity is imbued and interpenetrated. the former _poured, as it were, into the latter, is an integral and essential _part_ of it, and causes it to give birth to the succession and continuance of the universe. for malakoth, in the kabalah, is _female, and the matrix or womb out of which all creation is born _the sephiroth m

it shall be opened unto you. if you desire to find and to gain admission to the sanctuary, we have said enough to show you the way. if you do not, it is useless for us to say more, as it has been useless to say so much. the hermetic philosophers also drew their doctrines from the kabalah; and more particularly from the treatise _beth alohim_ or _domus dei, known as the _pneumatica kabalistica, of rabbi abraham cohen irira, and the treatise _de revolutionibus animarum_ of rabbi jitz-chak lorja. this philosophy was concealed by the alchemists under their symbols, and in the jargon of a rude chemistry--a jargon incomprehensible and absurd except to the initiates; but the key to which is within your reach; and the philosophy, it may be, worth studying. the labors of the human intellect are alw

ht hand, with the letter [hebrew, yod, and water; gabriel and the face of the ox, on the north, and left hand, with the first [hebrew] of the tetragrammaton and fire; uriel and the face of the eagle, on the east and forward, with] and air; and raphael and the face of the man, on the west, and backward with the last [hebrew, and earth. in the same order, the four letters represent the four worlds. rabbi schimeon ben jochai says that the four animals of the mysterious chariot, whose wheels are netsach and hod, are gedulah, whose face is the lion's; geburah, with that of the ox; tephareth, with that of the eagle; and malakoth, with that of the man. the seven lower sephiroth, says the_ sch mezareph, will represent seven metals; gedulah and geburah, silver and gold; tephareth, iron; netsach and

MOTTA MARCELO THE COMMENTARIES OF AL

ave achieved without it, and anyway, once you achieve, why not outgrow the old toys and go on to other things? we take judaism as an example only because the sexual morality preached in the west is essentially old testament stuff it is useless that christians should pretend they are christians when they persist in interpreting their 'jesus' in the same terms that orthodox jews ascribe to a 'good 'rabbi! were we to believe for one moment that the gospels are the biography of an actual, historical, person, we would have to remember that 'jesus' was hated by the jewish priesthood, and was tortured to death through the efforts of the high priest 'jesus' was described as a drunkard, a friend of sinners and a roman sympathizer. he kept none of the mosaic regulations. indeed, he went so far as to

der the right attitude to adopt in the matter of cholera. one should love it, that is, study it intimately; not otherwise can one be sure of maintaining the right relation with it, which is, not to allow it to interfere with one's will to live. readers will have noticed that liber al does not order them to "love your neighbor as yourself. this "commandment" was unctuously proclaimed by some silly rabbi in palestine, and picked up eagerly by slaves who want very much to beloved, since they fear that, unless they are loved, they will be eaten up by free men. slaves do not realize that free men, as a rule, are fastidious about their diet, and don't feed on carrion. it is only "black brothers" who delight on it. de gustibus non est disputandum. liber al makes a very careful distinction about w

e with various gauds from paganism, and judaism. the subject of 'jesus' is, most unfortunately, too extensive for a note; it is treated fully in liber 888. the main source of the 'jesus' of the new testament was the unnamed master of righteousness' of the essenes; but it is impossible nowadays to separate what is historical and about him from what is historical but about the prophet ionas, or the rabbi x, or the rabbi y. to say nothing of the legendary and hieratic details cribbed from the hagiographies of dionysus, meithras, attis, osiris, and others. but even if it were possible to winnow t he genuine from the spurious in the ola pod rida of the gospels for what? sixteen hundred years of 'jesus' ought to be enough for any healthy stomach. unhealthy stomachs may keep their isa, for all we

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 1

ls! instead of fire which is the beginning of all evil he ought rather to have stolen sweet nectar, which rejoices the heart of the gods, and given that to men, that he might have scattered the sorrows of the world with your own drink. dionysiaca 7.7 see also aeschylus' prometheus bound (link to the translation at perseus. the entire woyo de ah et hashem the knowledge of g-d written and edited by rabbi amiram markel& shimon markel copyright 2004 by rabbi a. markel the knowledge of g-d table of contents part one: seder hishtalshelut- the chaining down of the worlds the soul of man the soul of creation the source of all existence the inner self of man heyulie& ko ach ability& potential the singular essence of the soul a highlight in the singularity the estimation within himself the essential

wo "a good thought" level three: natural love& fear level four: intellectual love& fear level five: pure desire the five levels of the natural soul the difference between the divine& animal souls the three general levels of comprehension the three general levels of excitement the lowest level of the divine soul the five levels of the divine soul de ah et hashem (the knowledge of g-d) copyright by rabbi amiram markel and habochur hatamim shimon markel the soul of man it is clear that there is a force which enlivens the body. the external body itself is nothing more than an inanimate vessel which contains and is animated by this force. this is readily observable by the fact that when one passes away, g-d forbid, his body remains intact, but without any life force. at this point the body no l

is called, ohr ein sof (the infinite light. though this self-knowledge reveals the essence of g-d, it itself, is not the essence of who he is, but is rather his infinite revelation. nonetheless, it is not outside of him, but is, rather, the revelation of himself to himself. this can be further understood by the statement "before the creation of the world, there was he and his name alone (pirke d rabbi elazar, chapter 3. the word "he" refers to g-d himself and "his name" refers to the infinite light, the revelation of himself. the effect of a name is that it draws out and reveals the identity of the one being called. when a person is called by name, it draws out his essential self, his identity, so that his attention is turned toward the caller. furthermore, a name identifies that which is

ow continue explaining the process of the creation and the chaining down of the worlds, and understand how arich (desire) becomes enclothed within abba and imma (insight and comprehension. there are three general ways that desire can descend to influence the intellect. the intellect will, therefore, be affected according to how the influence descends into it. in the book etz chaim of the ari"zal (rabbi yitzchak luria, three general ways are mentioned of how the influence descends from arich into abba and imma (desire into insight and comprehension: 1) a light from the externality of netzach, hod and yesod of arich is enclothed within abba and imma. 2) the "arms of arich (chesed and gevurah of arich) become enclothed in abba and imma. 3) abba suckles sustenance from the eighth mazal, which

d from the intellect, yet remain vital] the shattering of the vessels the torah states "g-d made a cloak of leather for adam and his wife, and he clothed them" this cloak is known as the aspect of the chashmal which encompasses zeir anpin and malchut of atzilut, which are called adam and his wife. now, the word for "leather" in hebrew, is "or) and is spelled with an ayin. however, in the torah of rabbi meir, this word was not spelled with an ayin) but with an aleph. when it is spelled with an aleph, it means "light" rather than "leather. therefore, in the torah of rabbi meir, rather than saying that he clothed them with a cloak of "leather, it says that he clothed them with a cloak of "light. this will now be explained in great detail. in order to understand this, we must explain the matte

s why allegories are used. if one understands the allegory properly, he may even grasp the concept to its very depth. however, if the allegory is misunderstood, it has the opposite effect. it hides and conceals the concept rather than reveals it. when the allegory conceals the meaning within it, it is called "a cloak of leather. the cloak of light now, as mentioned earlier, in the torah scroll of rabbi meir, the word or was not spelled with an ayin) but with an aleph, meaning light, rather than leather. in other words, rather than this "clothing" being a concealing garment, it is a revealing garment instead. for example, when one takes an allegory, which by its nature is a separate thing, and fails to analyze it to understand the inner meaning, then the allegory is separate and conceals. i

ws the intent of chochmah, which is the source of the combinations, and is actually higher than the light of the intellect which is revealed in speech, as explained above that "the father founded the daughter (the power to combine is higher than the combination itself or even the concept being revealed, as explained before) this may be understood from the following incident related in the talmud. rabbi chanina ben dosa was a very poor man. one friday his daughter told him she did not have any oil to light the shabbat lights. all they had in their possession was some vinegar. rabbi chanina ben dosa said "may he who told oil to burn, tell the vinegar to burn. his daughter used vinegar in the lamp and it burned. however, the vinegar remained vinegar. the combination of its letters stayed the

turned to oil, but it remained vinegar. for example, if i arrange with you that when i say "yes" i mean "no" and when i say "no" i mean "yes, you know that my "yes" is a "no. the letters, however, stay the same. only the meaning of the combination changes (i.e. the intellect of malchut. this means that the vinegar remained vinegar but now g-d intended that it should burn like oil. g-d listened to rabbi chanina ben dosa because he was a righteous man (a tzaddik, as it says "the righteous rules with his fear of elokim, i.e. with the 120 combinations of the name elokim. however, the primary change takes place in the intellect of malchut, in other words, in the intention behind the combination. g-d listened to rabbi chanina be dosa and changed his intention of what the nature of the vinegar sh

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 2

ople laden with iniquity etc" in other words, the automatic effect and result of lack of contemplation is sin. obviously, the automatic result of contemplation is that israel will know their master. this, in turn, will bring about destruction of evil and the immediate arrival of our righteous king moshiach, with the true and complete redemption, immediateeo de ah et hashem the knowledge of g-d by rabbi a. markel& shimon markel copyright 2004 part two: contemplation& meditation what is contemplation hitbonenut now that we have explained the entire chaining down of the worlds, from the essence of ohr ein sof (the infinite light) until our world, we must explain the proper approach this type of study. we will, therefore, now delve into the methodology of kabbalistic contemplation. in essence

RABBI MOSHE WISNEFSKY APPLES FROM THE ORCHARD THE ARIZAL ON THE PARASHAH

o the effort, as the talmud states "he who claims that he has toiled but has not found, is not to be believed, he who claims to have found without toil, is not to be believed. however, he who claims that he has toiled and has found is to be believeevthe arizal never wrote a commentary on the torah per se; in fact, he hardly wrote anything. his teachings were recorded by his disciples, principally rabbi chaim vital (1543-1620. the teachings in the present anthology are culled from several of rabbi vital fs works, chiefly sha far hapesukim, sefer halikutim, and likutei torah. the translations and commentary i present here were originally produced on a weekly basis and circulated via the internet. it was thought worthwhile at this point to present them in book form, even though there still re

i misunderstood and rendered incorrectly. before publishing these translations in book form they will, please g-d, be examined for accuracy by a competent authority, and any necessary changes will be made then. chabad of malibu. 22943 pacific coast highway. malibu, ca 90265. 310-456-6588 powered by chabad.org c 2001-2007 chabad-lubavitch media center. all rights reserved. in everlasting memory of rabbi yosef y. kazen, pioneer of torah, judaism and jewish information on the web 11 parashat bereishit the first verse in the torah literally reads gin the beginning, g-d created the heavens and the earth. h the verb in this verse, gto create, h refers to the second of the four worlds, atzilut( gemanation h, beriah( gcreation h, yetzirah( gformation h, and asiyah( gaction h. the torah does not [h

d first.9 they each referred to a different verse, the school of shamai to gin the beginning of g-d fs creation of the heavens and the earth h and the school of hillel to g con the day g-d made earth and heaven. h in the same passage of the midrash, the sages resolve the issue by saying, gwhen he created them, he created the heavens first, but when he finished them, he finished the earth first. h rabbi shimon bar yochai said, gi do not understand how they differed. h he meant that they certainly did not differ about this, but that in the creation the heavens came first, for the reason we stated, namely, because [beriah was created by asiyah, a masculine world. gwhen he finished them, h referring to the world of 9 chagigah 12a; bereishit rabbah 1:15. the arizal on parashat bereishit (2) 26

e arizal] was very careful not to kill any bug, even the smallest and lowliest, such as fleas, lice, flies, and the like, even when they bit him. we know what the sages say, commenting on the verse, ghis enemies will also make peace with him, h11 that some say this refers to the dog and others say this refers to the snake, and still others say this refers to the flea.12 this idea is the answer of rabbi elazar to rabbi chizkiyah recorded in the zohar,13 where the mystical meaning of the verse, gwill the snake bite without whispering? h14 is explained. rabbi elazar and rabbi chizkiyah were walking and came across a snake. rabbi chizkiyah was about to kill it, but rabbi elazar told him not to. when rabbi chizkiyah protested, saying that it is a dangerous creature, rabbi elazar quoted the abov

during their era. before abraham was born, z feir anpin and nukva did not couple, for in those days, z feir anpin was in the gnursing h-stage and still consisted only of the six extremities [mature] intellect had not yet entered it. and as is known, the drop of gmale water h [i.e, semen] can be elicited only from the mind. therefore, there was until then no coupling of z feir anpin and nukva. as rabbi wolf ashkenazi points out, the arizal is here referring to face-to-face coupling, since in order for the world to exist there has to be at least some type of coupling, however superficial, between z feir anpin and nukva. by way of analogy: if a married couple are not attuned to each other (let fs say, because they are distracted by the exigencies of their careers/occupations) and their love

ntalities of z feir anpin are its four original mentalities (chochmah, binah, and the two aspects of da fat.the source of chesed [attraction] within da fat and the source of gevurah [repulsion] within da fat) and its three secondary mentalities (simply chochmah-binah-da fat) that it acquires when it ascends into ima and is vested inside netzach-hod-yesod of ima. 3 as alluded to in the comments of rabbi wolf ashkenazi on this passage. the arizal on parashat lech lecha 70 alternatively, netzach-hod-yesod of abba becomes vested in the chochmah-binah-chesed-gevurah of z feir anpin, while the netzach-hod-yesod of ima becomes vested in the chochmah-binah-da fat of z feir anpin. the first verse in parashat vayeitzei is gand jacob went out from beersheba and went to haran. h4 there are in z feir a

whoever fulfills the commandment of being circumcised and guards the purity of his sexuality merits abraham fs protection. allegorically, this simply means that guarding sexual purity is sufficient merit to be spared the ordeal of purgatory even if one has sinned in other ways that would have otherwise required that he undergo the purging process. 1 genesis 18:1. 2 zohar 2:33a, in the glosses of rabbi chaim vital #3. 3 genesis 15:15. 4 bereishit rabbah 30:4; rashi on genesis 15:15. 5 bava metzia 86b. 6 eiruvin 19a. the arizal on parashat lech lecha 80 now, this caused terah be reincarnated. when he returned, he descended as a woman and married according to leviratic law. i.e, she married the brother of her deceased, childless husband. in such a case, the first child of this union is consi

spiritual] father and mother. g-d has set up the creational order such that he channels our needs into the physical world via the spiritual world. the latter must therefore be functioning properly in order for the channels of divine blessing to flow properly. in this context, the divine blessings are the goffspring h of the union of the spiritual male and female antecedents of our own souls. thus rabbi shimon bar yochai interpreted the verse, gyour father and mother will rejoice h2 to mean that gyour father h is the holy one, blessed be he and gyour mother h is the community of israel.3 these are appellations of z feir anpin and nukva, respectively. nonetheless, we are also required to rectify, together with them, the coupling of abba and ima, so that intellect descend [from them] to [z fe

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART I

ptian and greek talismans, kabalistic medals coming from ancient and modern jews, gnostic abraxas, occult tokens in use among members of secret societies and sometimes called counters of the sabbath. so also there are templar medals and jewels 92 the doctrine of transcendental magic of freemasonry. in his treatise on the wonders of nature, coglenius describes the talismans of solomon and those of rabbi chael. designs of many others that are most ancient will be found in the magical calendars of tycho brahe and duchentau, and should have a place in m. ragon's archives on initiation, a vast and scholarly undertaking, to which we refer our readers' 93 xix f t the stone of the philosophers elagabalus vocatio sol aurum the ancients adored the sun under the figure of a black stone, which they na

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART II

e stars 101 itself when the light manifests. such is for us the last word of prophecy and the secret of the future. gaffarel adds yet another prognosis drawn from the stars, as, for example, the progressive weakening of the ottoman empire; but, as mentioned already, his constellated letters are exceedingly arbitrary. he states, for the rest, that he derived his predictions from a hebrew kabalist, rabbi chomer, but does not pretend to understand him especially well. here follows a table of magical characters designed according to the zodiacal constellations by ancient astrologers: each of them represents the name of a genius, be he good or evil. it is known that the signs of the zodiac correspond to various celestial influences and consequently signify an annual alternative of good or evil

is the name at the north; or finally, during the whole life, obtained from the stars which enter into the entire number formed by the addition of letters and stars. this astrological operation is simple, easy and calls for few calculations; it connects with the highest antiquity and belongs evidently to primitive patriarchal magic, as will be seen by studying the works of gaffarel and his master rabbi chomer. onomantic astrology was practised by the old hebrew kabalists, as is proved from their observations by rabbi chomer, rabbi kapol, rabbi abjudan and other masters in kabalah. the menaces of the prophets uttered against various nations were based upon the characters of the stars found vertically over them in the permanent correspondence of the celestial and terrestrial spheres. thus, b

cal stars which entered into the three letters hnw, roev, and the fatal period indicated was 208 years. so also four stars announced to the kabalistic rabbins of another epoch the fall and division of the empire of alexander; they entered into the word owq, parad= to divide= 284, the number of this word, indicating the entire duration of the said empire, both as to root and branches. according to rabbi chomer, the destinies of the ottoman power at constantinople would be fixed and foretold by four stars, entering into the word x'j, caah, signifying to be feeble, weak and drawing to its end. the stars being more brilliant in the letter aleph, indicated a capital, and gave it the numerical value of a thousand. the three letters combined make 1025, which must be computed from the taking of co

RUBY TABLET OF SET

roots and modern meanings, edited by jerry v. diller. the book covers the extremes in jewish thought of the late 70's. 1. deities: where does judaism stand on the subject of deities? richard l. rubenstein made the following comments "we stand in a cold, silent, unfeeling cosmos, unaided by any purposeful power beyond our own resources. after auschwitz, what else can a jew say about god" a former rabbi, he chose to separate himself from the established jewish community, though his work is representative of the radical reappraisal among jews who, clinging to their one god, have experienced genocide repeatedly for their trust. on the other side is irving greenburg who states "there is a god who cares, human beings have infinite value" but later on he admits "the holocaust suggests a divine p

es available have thousands of years of tradition to reinforce their importance upon the jew. the women have their role, and presumably their satisfaction of religious needs, in that they assume whatever tasks are necessary so that the husbands and sons can freely pursue the religious observances and studies. these are of two types: the rational and the non-rational. the first is the realm of the rabbi, whose task is a life-long confrontation of the sacred texts in order to continually keep in front of his congregation the need for and beauty of god's order in this world. the aim is a peaceful and productive world, in areas as diverse as the most humane way to kill animals to insights on politics. the non-rational involves the mystical side of judaism, which is often centered upon the kaba

twelve the groundwork had begun, and not until about twenty years later would jesus begin making the major errors which would lead to his death and the loss of his mastery. classification: v5- 92c.1- 1 author: james a. lewis iv date: may 30, xix html revision: sept. 16, 1998 ce subject: jesus christ reading list: 19b, 3c, 19n, 6k the bible grows silent on the years between temple smart-aleck and rabbi, but there are a number of other writings and theories of those years, all no more or less verifiable or reliable than the bible itself. certainly there would have been some religious and philosophical training along the way, and essene thought seems to come through more or less subtly in the transcriptions of his sermons.(4) regardless of what form of training he received, the result was th

ld, a thing still capable of attracting attention. the gold of trump i is the treasure of wisdom. not only is the figure of the magus entirely of the gleaming color, but also all things proceeding from him share in the wealth. note the pen and scroll above the figure's right and left shoulders. both are of gold and symbolize the treasure to be founf in the magus' writings. aleister crowley was no rabbi with a congreation of one and his idea of showing the writings of a (9=[2] as precious is not simply megalomania. the new interpretations coming from the pen of a (9=[2] extend to all things and in the case of the tarot the disks, wands, swords and cups take on newer and more up to date meanings. it is vital to remember that the arrival of the aeon of harwer changed a great many things, not

SABBATIC KABALA OF THE CROOKED PATH

ell. the ultimate adoration a nd humbleness in fore the path of initiation and before the eyes of the gods are taken on as a necessity and a sheer want born from the virgin-will of the mage. the other construction in this cell is the solar fasette found in the letter tzaddi which means fish-hook, but is also connected to the star through its kabbalistic connotations. in lurias initatic system the rabbi of the mysteries was honoured with the title tzaddiquin. further this cell reflects the influence of aries, which in the tarot has been given the domain of the emperor. this explains the warrior like flavour of the cell and the solar influences of the cell. the formulae of zayin is captured in the formulae of the opposer as well as in its connection with the mercurial formulae of the pentagr

SATANGEL

is the angelic scribe who records all in the aetheric archives. in gnostic scripture, metatron is identified as the demiurge, the prince of darkness who is the creator of the material universe. thus he is identified as satan, or ha-satan, and as abraxas. the holiness or unholiness of the metatron is undecided, thrown backwards and forwards by the argumenets of theologians, priests, magicians and rabbi. as such it is a most paradoxical name to conjure with. shekinah according to the zohar the creation of the world was the work of the shekinah, who is the female aspect of the metatron. the shekinah was exiled after the fall of adam and eve, and according to rabbinical lore the entire purpose of the torah is to lead the shekinah back to god and unite her with him. micha-el originally a chald

are described as serpents and dragons with seven heads, each with two faces, and as twelve wings. as in the above passage they were seduced by the potentials of the flesh and descended onto mount hermon 12,000 years ago. they cohabited with human females of the lowlands below eden to father the nephilim, giants who later went on to build the tower of babel and brought an end to the aeon of enoch. rabbi elkiezer of the 8th century puts the blame squarely on the women. the angels who fell from heaven saw the daughters of cain perambulating and displaying their private parts, their eyes painted with antimony in the manner of harlots, and, being seduced, took wives from amongst them. the watchers and their brood devolved through their carnal obsessions and became tainted by the powers they sou

SCHLAGER NEIL WORLD RELIGIONS REFERENCE LIBRARY

ritual between the ashkenazic jews of eastern europe, france, and germany and the sephardic jews of spain, north africa, and the middle east. yet judaism remained remarkably unified until about the ninth century. in the 1700s yet another movement emerged. traditionally, jews believed that education was the best way to know god. a movement known as hasidism (sometimes spelled chasidism, founded by rabbi israel ben eliezer (c. 1700 1760, emerged that took a more mystical, or spiritual, view and relied more on personal experience than on formal education. the movement was considered quite radical at the time, and those who opposed it were called mitnagdim, meaning opponents. in the twenty-first century a number of hasidic sects continue to exist. they are now considered conservative, however

the day before the wedding, the groom and the bride both fast. during the wedding ceremony the bride wears a veil. the bride approaches the groom and circles around him. then, after two blessings are recited over wine, the groom places a ring on the bride s finger and recites the words be sanctified to me with this ring in accordance with the law of moses and israel. jewish law does not require a rabbi to be present, but one normally is for civil rather than religious reasons. during the marriage ceremony the couple stand beneath a canopy called a chuppah, which symbolizes their home together. the couple then recites seven blessings (sheva brakhos, which they must do in the presence of ten adult jewish men. after the couple drinks wine, the man smashes his glass, or sometimes a small symbo

uler of the fulani empire in west africa. world religions: biographies xv timeline of events 1844 the communist philosopher karl marx publishes critique of the hegelian philosophy of public law. in it, he explains his atheist views, writing that man makes religion, religion does not make man. 1866 baha u lla h, founder of the baha faith, publicly declares himself the messenger of god. 1873 jewish rabbi isaac mayer wise forms the union of american hebrew congregations; two years later he forms hebrew union college. in so doing, wise becomes a key figure in the development of reform judaism in the united states. 1875 dayananda sarasvati founds the arya samaj, a hindu reform movement. this organization will play a major part in the growth of indian nationalism. 1893 the paper what is hinduism

of being returned to poland after a lengthy turkish occupation. due to this, opinions differ as to the nationality of ben eliezer. most sources call him polish, though some list him as being of ukrainian heritage. confusion also exists about his family. most sources agree that his parents, eliezer and sarah, were quite old when they had israel. some historians, however, say that his father was a rabbi (a person trained in jewish law, ritual, and tradition, while others claim that the family, while very religious, was a poor one. ben eliezer was still a young child when his father died, but he was old enough to understand eliezer s dying words, which were either israel my son, you have a very holy soul, don t fear anything but god, or fear nothing because god will take care of all. soon af

he began to see god in nature, not just in the teachings of the torah (the first five books of the hebrew scriptures) and the talmud. when he entered his teenage years, ben eliezer was no longer considered a dependent of the community, and it was time for him to decide on a course for his life. his teachers felt it was obvious from his lack of interest in his studies that he would never become a rabbi, so he was hired as an assistant at the school. his duties included taking the children to and from school, and teaching them songs and prayers. he loved to tell the children parables, or stories that had a moral lesson to them. later he became a caretaker at a local synagogue, or jewish building of worship, world religions: biographies 173 israel ben eliezer where his chores included cleani

liezer married at age eighteen, but his wife died not long after the ceremony. he then left okop, traveling and working throughout the region of galicia before settling in a village near the city of brody. in brody he worked as an assistant in the school and also as a mediator, or negotiator, between people with legal disputes. as a result of his efforts as a mediator, he came to the attention of rabbi ephraim of brody, who was so impressed by ben eliezer s intelligence and honesty that he promised him his daughter, hannah, as his bride. unfortunately, ephriam died before the marriage could took place, and his son, hannah s brother, was against the marriage, viewing ben eliezer as a rough and uncultured peasant. hannah, however,was in love with beneliezer, and the two eventually didmarry a

nd members. another branch, satmar, holds strongly to traditional beliefs, and there is a degree of friction between the two, especially over issues concerning the causes of world war ii and differing views on the state of israel. while the holocaust in poland was the main reason that hasidic jews left that area, there were already congregations in the united states long before that time. in 1875 rabbi joshua segal, also called the sherpser rov, came to new york city. he soon became the leader of about twenty hasidic congregations, known as the congregations of israel, men of poland and austria. by the 1960s the number of hasidic jews in the state had grown to between forty and fifty thousand. forty years later this amount had doubled. such growth was due partly to immigration and partly t

six children per family. 176 world religions: biographies israel ben eliezer become close to god, he never preached that such study was unimportant or unnecessary. the final years in 1740 ben eliezer moved to the town of medzhibozh, in podolia. he lived in medzhibozh for the rest of his life, spreading the word of hasidism and continuing to work as a healer. he attracted new followers, including rabbi joseph, rabbi dov baer of merzeritz, and rabbi pinchas, all of whom helped to spread hasidism after the death of ben eliezer. some of his followers, such as baer of merzeritz, were talmudists, proving that ben eliezer s teachings also reached intellectuals and scholars, not just common folk. he personally instructed visiting lay people (non-clergy members) and rabbis in the teachings of hasi

SEPHER HA BAHIR

owned in the water, whose nurse is the earth, whose mother is the wind, whose father is the fire, the water her caretaker and drink, one stone and no stone, one water and no water, nevertheless a stone of living power and a water of living might; a sulphur, a mercury, a salt, hidden deep in nature, and which no fool has ever known nor se n sepher ha-bahir or the book of illumination attributed to rabbi nehunia ben hakana translated by aryeh kaplan the bahir 2 the first verses of creation 3 the aleph-beth 7 the seven voices and the sephiroth 12 the ten sephiroth 32 mysteries of the soul 53 index 57 the bahir 3 section i the first verses of creation 1. rabbi nehuniah ben hakana said: one verse (job 37:21) states "and now they do not see light, it is brilliant (bahir) in the skies [round abou

ahir) in the skies [round about god in terrible majesty" another verse, however (psalm 18:12, states "he made darkness his hiding place" it is also written (psalm 97:2 "cloud and gloom surround him" this is an apparent contradiction. a third verse comes and reconciles the two. it is written (psalm 139:12 "even darkness is not dark to you. night shines like day- light and darkness are the same" 2. rabbi berachiah said: it is written (genesis 1:2 "the earth was chaos (tohu) and desolation (bohu. what is the meaning of the word "was" in this verse? this indicates that the chaos existed previously [and already was. what is chaos (tohu? something that confounds (taha) people. what is desolation (bohu? it is something that has substance. this is the reason that it is called bohu, that is, bo hu

me shall every knee bend [berachah can therefore mean] the place to which every knee bends. what example does this resemble? people want to see the king, but do not know where to find his house (bayit. first they ask "where is the king's house" only then can they ask "where is the king" the bahir 4 it is thus written "for to me shall every knee bend- even the highest "every tongue shall swear" 5. rabbi rahumai sat and expounded: what is the meaning of the verse (deuteronomy 33:23 "the filling is god's blessing, possessing the sea and the south? this means that wherever we find the letter bet it is blessed. this is the filling referred to in the verse "the filling is god's blessing" from there it nourishes those who need it. it was from this filling that god sought advice. what example does

planted trees in his garden. it may rain and water them, and the ground may be wet and provide them with moisture, but still, he must water them from the spring. it is thus written (psalm 111:10 "the beginning is wisdom, the fear of god, good intelligence to all who do them [his praise endures forever" you may think that it lacks something. it is therefore written "his praise endures forever" 7. rabbi amorai sat and expounded: what is the meaning of the verse (deuteronomy 33:23 "the filling is god's blessing, possessing the sea and the south" moses was saying "if you follow my decrees, you will inherit both this world and the next" the world to come is likened to the sea, as it is written (job 11:9 "it is wider than the sea" the present world is referred to as the south. it is thus writte

does this resemble? a king had two treasuries, and he hid one away. after many days he said to his son "take what is in these two treasuries" the son replied "perhaps you are not giving me all that you have hidden away" the king said "take everything" it is thus written "the sea and the south, he shall inherit it" inherit god (yh rash- everything will be given to you if you only keep my ways. 10. rabbi bun said: what is the meaning of the verse (proverbs 8:23 "i was set up from eternity (me-olam, from a head, before the earth" what is the meaning of "from eternity (me-olam" this means that it must be concealed (he-elam) from the world. it is thus written (ecclesiastes 3:11 "he has also placed the world (ha-olam) in their hearts [that they should not find out the work that god has done from

e in his high places" 12. how do we know that chaos is in evil? it is written (isaiah 45:7 "he makes peace and creates evil" how does this come out? evil is from chaos, while peace is from desolation. he thus created chaos and placed it in evil [as it is written "he makes peace and creates evil" he created desolation and placed it in peace, as it is written "he makes peace in his high places] 13. rabbi bun also sat and expounded: the bahir 6 what is the meaning of the verse (isaiah 45:7 "he forms light and creates darkness" light has substance. therefore, the term "formation" is used with regard to it. darkness has no substance, and therefore, with regard to it, the term "creation" is used. it is similarly written (amos 4:12, he forms mountains and creates the wind" another explanation is

shed [and with knowledge are its chambers filled" 15. what does the bet resemble? it is like a man, formed by god with wisdom. he is closed on all sides, but open in front. the aleph, however, is open from behind. this teaches us that the tail of the bet is open from behind. if not for this, man could not exist. likewise, if not for the bet on the tail of the aleph, the world could not exist. 16. rabbi rahumai said: illumination preceeded the world, since it is written (psalm 97:2 "cloud and gloom surround him" it is thus written (genesis 1:3 "and god said 'let there be light' and there was light" they said to him "before the creation of israel your son, will you then make him a crown" he replied yes. what does this resemble? a king yearned for a son. one day he found a beautiful, precious

his resemble? a king yearned for a son. one day he found a beautiful, precious crown, and he said "this is fitting for my son's head" they said to him "are you then certain that your son will be worthy of this crown" he replied "be still. this is what arises in thought" it is thus written (2 samuel 14:14, he thinks thoughts [that none should be cast away. the bahir 7 section ii the aleph-beth 17. rabbi amorai sat and expounded: why is the letter aleph at the beginning? because it was before everything, even the torah. 18. why does bet follow it? because it was first. why does it have a tail? to point to the place from which it came. some say, from there the world is sustained. 19. why is gimel third? it has three parts, teaching us that it bestows (gomel) kindness. but did rabbi akiba not

SEPHER YETZIRAH WESTCOTT

emanations which have sprung therefrom, with the doctrine of the sephiroth, the ideals of macroprosopus and microprosopus, and the doctrine of re-incarnation. the "sepher yetzirah" on the other hand, is mainly concerned with our universe and with the microcosm. the opinions of hebrew kabalistic rabbis and of modern mystics may be fitly introduced here. the following interesting quotation is from rabbi moses botarel, who wrote his famous commentary in 1409-"it was abraham our father--blessed be he--who wrote this book to condemn the doctrine of the sages of his time, who were incredulous of the supreme dogma of the unity. at least, this was the opinion of rabbi saadiah--blessed be he--as written in the first chapter of his book the philosopher's stone. these are his words: the sages of bab

the other, this is dualism; they held that there was nothing in common between the author of evil and the author of good. the second sect admitted three great powers; two of them as in the first case, and a third power whose function was to decide between the two others, a supreme arbitrator. the third sect recognised no god beside the sun, in which it recognised the sole principle of existence" rabbi judah ha l vi (who flourished about 1120, in his critical description of this treatise, wrote "the sepher yetzirah teaches us the existence of a single divine power by shewing us that in the bosom of variety and multiplicity there is a unity and harmony, and that such universal concord could only arise from the rule of a supreme unity" according to isaac myer, in his quabbalah (p. 159, the "

e, in the highest sense, both the matter and the form of the universe. yet he is not only that form; for nothing can or does exist outside of himself; his substance is the foundation of all, and all things bear his imprint and are symbols of his intelligence" hebrew tradition assigns the doctrines of the oldest portions of the "zohar" to a date antecedent to the building of the second temple, but rabbi simeon ben jochai, who lived in the reign of the emperor titus, a.d. 70-80, is considered to have been the first to commit these to writing, and rabbi moses de leon, of guadalaxara, in spain, who died in 1305, certainly reproduced and published the "zohar" ginsburg, speaking of the zoharic doctrines of the ain suph, says that they were unknown until the thirteenth century, but he does not de

"sanhedrin" certainly mentions the "book of formation" and another similar work; and rashi in his commentary on the treatise "erubin" considers this a reliable historical notice.other historical notices are those of saadya gaon, who died a.d. 940, and judah ha levi, a.d. 1150; both these hebrew classics speak of it as a very ancient work. some modern critics have attributed the authorship to the rabbi akiba, who lived in the time of the emperor hadrian, a.d. 120, and lost his life in supporting the claims of barchocheba, a false messiah: others suggest it was first written about a.d. 200. graetz however assigns it to early gnostic times, third or fourth century, and zunz speaks of it as post talmudical, and belonging to the geonim period 700-800 a.d; rubinsohn, in the bibliotheca sacra, s

a magna rabbinica of bartoloccio de cellerio, rome, 1678-1692; to basnage, history of the jews, 1708; and to the doctrine and literature of the kabalah, by a. b. waite, 1902.the following copies of the "sepher yetzirah" in hebrew, i have also examined, but only in a superficial manner- 1. a version by saadiah, ab. ben david, and three others, mantua, 1562, 4to. 2. a version with the commentary of rabbi abraham f. dior, amsterdam, 1642, 4to. 3. a version with preface by m. ben j. chagiz, amsterdam, 1713, 16mo.4. a version, constantinople, 1719, 8vo. 5" zolkiew, 1745, 4to. 6" by moses ben jacob, zozec, 1779, 4to. 7" grodno, 1806, 4to. 8" dyhernfurth, 1812, 8vo. 9" salonica, 1831, 8vo. 10. a ms. copy dated 1719, in the british museum. i add here the full titles of the three latin versions; th

bus quidem abrahami tempora praecedentibus revelatus, sed ab ipso etiam abrahamo expositus isaaco, et per pro prophetarum manus posteritati conservatus, ipsis autem 72 mosis auditoribus in secundo divinae veritatis loco, hoc est in ratione, quoe est posterior authoritate, habitus" parisiis, 1552. gulielmus postellus."id est liber jezirah, qui abrahamo, patriarchae adscribitur, una cum commentario rabbi abraham f.d. super 32 semitis sapientiae, a quibus liber jezirah incipit: translatus et notis illustratus a joanne stephano rittangelio, ling. orient. in elect. acad. regiomontana prof. extraord" amstelodami, 1642.in tomas primus of "artis cabalisticae hoc est reconditae theologiae et philosophiae scriptorum" basileae 1587, is found "liber de creatione cabalistinis, hebraice sepher jezira; a

he tarot pack, for which see my translation of the sanctum regnum of the tarot, by eliphas levi. note that the oldest mss. copies of the "sepher yetzirah" have no vowel points: the latest editions have them. the system of points in writing hebrew was not perfected until the seventh century, and even then was not in constant use. ginsburg asserts that the system of vowel pointing was invented by a rabbi mocha in palestine about a.d. 570, who designed it to assist his pupils. but isaac myer states that there are undoubted traces of pointing in hebrew mss. of the second century. according to a. e. waite there is no extant hebrew mss. with the vowel points older than the tenth century. the words "sepher yetzirah" are written in hebrew from right to left, spr ytzyrh, samech peh resh, yod tzaddi

ne" 56. him. rittangelius gives "credidit in tetragrammaton" but this word is shin shor taurus oin oqereb scorpio tau thaumim gemini qoph qesheth sagittarius samech sartan cancer gimel gedi capricorn aleph aryeh leo daleth dali aquarius beth bethuleh virgo daleth dagim pisces not in the hebrew. 57. tongue. the verbal covenant. 58. speech. the hebrew has "upon his tongue" 59. the hebrew version of rabbi judah ha levi concludes with the phrase "and said of him, before i formed thee in the belly, i knew thee" rabbi luria gives the hebrew version which i have translated. postellus gives "he drew him into the water, he rose up in spirit, he inflamed him in seven suitable forms with twelve signs" mayer gives "er zog sie mit wasser, zundet sie an mit feuer; erregte sie mit geist; verbannte sie mi

SIFRA DETZNIYUTHA

rief appendix is an addition intended for the very end of the fifth chapter. the text itself mixes citations from the torah, the writings and the prophets with the zoharic commentary. to avoid confusion, the torah quotes will be penned in bold italic, the writings and prophets will be just bold, and the commentary in regular type. preface the hooks and their pillars shall be made of silver.1 said rabbi yitza aq: i presume that the hooks of the pillars symbolize all those who are attached to the supernal unifying pillars, and that all those who are below depend on them. what is the significance of the word vavim ,yvv? six within six, all united and nourished by the circle2 that is set over them. and we have learned in the sifra detzniyutha this dictum: the supernal vav v and the inferior va

that all those who are below depend on them. what is the significance of the word vavim ,yvv? six within six, all united and nourished by the circle2 that is set over them. and we have learned in the sifra detzniyutha this dictum: the supernal vav v and the inferior vav v, all comprehended in one meaning and one name, having one and the same significance. now, what is the sifra detzniyutha? said rabbi shimeon: five chapters which are comprised in a great hall and fill the whole earth.3 said rabbi yehudah: if they are so comprehensive, they are better than all! said rabbi shimeon: verily, it is so for him who enters and comes out; and it is not (al) for him who enters the not (al) and comes out.4 this is comparable to a person whose dwelling was among the mountains,5 and he (she) knew no t

SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON ZANONI A ROSICRUCIAN TALE

he may wed her. i know your love for her. disabuse her of any caprice for me. i am a bird ever on the wing" he dropped a purse into gionetta's hand as he spoke, and was gone. chapter 2.iv. les intelligences celestes se font voir, et see communiquent plus volontiers, dans le silence et dans la tranquillite de la solitude. on aura donc une petite chambre ou un cabinet secret, etc "les clavicules de rabbi salomon" chapter 3; traduites exactement du texte hebreu par m. pierre morissoneau, professeur des langues orientales, et sectateur de la philosophie des sages cabalistes (manuscript translation (the celestial intelligences exhibit and explain themselves most freely in silence and the tranquillity of solitude. one will have then a little chamber, or a secret cabinet, etc) the palace retained

, and that's the end of it "there is no time to be lost" said the prince, quitting his hold of his parasite, who quietly resettled his cravat "my blood is up, i will win this girl, if i die for it! what noise is that "it is but the sword of your illustrious ancestor that has fallen from the table" chapter 3.vii. il ne faut appeler aucun ordre si ce n'est en tems clair et serein "les clavicules du rabbi salomon (no order of spirits must be invoked unless the weather be clear and serene) letter from zanoni to mejnour. my art is already dim and troubled. i have lost the tranquillity which is power. i cannot influence the decisions of those whom i would most guide to the shore; i see them wander farther and deeper into the infinite ocean where our barks sail evermore to the horizon that flies

SPENSER THE CULT OF THE ALL SEEING EYE 1960

and designs used by the devotees of the "new" pagan cult [persons involved in the establishment and decoration of the prayer room, in addition to those already named, were: the senate chaplain, rev. frederick brown harris; the house chaplain, rev. bernard braskamp; the asst. chancellor of the archdiocese of washington. father edward j. herrmann; the minister of the washington hebrew congregation, rabbi norman gerstenfeld; representative edgar w. hiestand, who arranged for the gift of the mosaic window: representatives karl m. lecompte of iowa and katharine st. george of new york, members of a committee which allegedly arranged for the design and equipment of the room; and the architect of the capitol, j. george stewart. representatives hiestand and lecompte are no longer in congress] 42- p

the ford foundation (her first contact; wallace irwin of the state department (who placed her project under the protection of the religious officers of the department; dr. frank graham of the u.n; thomas watson of ibm; ernest lee jahncke of nbc; samuel pryor of pan-am airways; mrs. ellsworth bunker, wife of the american ambassador to india (who named the project the "temple of understanding; and rabbi israel goldstein, former president of the world jewish congress (the first member of the board of directors of the temple. on february 5, 1964, a few days after the national campaign to publicize and finance the temple began, president lyndon b. johnson spoke to the annual presidential prayer breakfast at the mayflower hotel. several cabinet members were present. chief justice earl warren he

STEINER RUDOLF CHRISTIANITY AS MYSTICAL FACT

u can sail the boundless ocean without sail or mast. what are you attempting? to ascend upward? you cannot. to descend into the depths? an immeasurable abyss opens before you!104 this comes from the kabbala (mystical tradition. we also hear of the four rabbis who sought the way to the divine realm (paradise. the first died, the second went mad, the third caused great destruction; only the fourth, rabbi akiba, entered in peace and returned.105 jesus and the preaching of the kingdom thus we see that within judaism there was a foundation for the emergence of a uniquely initiated figure. it was 108 christianity as mystical fact only necessary for such a one to say that salvation should not be limited to a few elect individuals, that all the people should share in the redemption. someone had th

SZYMANSKI GREG SEARCHING FOR THE ILLUMINATI DEEP WITHIN THE BOWELS OF THE VATICAN

nte, marcello. bishop of ascoli piceno in east italy. 7-22-55# 78-3601. morma" natalini, teuzo. vice president of the archives of secretariat of the vatican. 6-17-67# 21-44d "nate" nigro, carmelo. rector of the seminary, pontifical of major studies. 12-21-70# 23-154 "carni" noe, virgillio. head of the sacred congregation of divine worship. he and bugnini paid 5 protestant ministers and one jewish rabbi to create the novus ordo mass. 4-3-61# 43652-21 "vino" palestra, vittorie. he is legal council of the sacred rota of the vatican state. 5-6-43# 1965 "pavi" pappalardo, salvatore. cardinal. archbishop of palermo, sicily. 4-15-68# 234-07 "salpa" pasqualetti, gottardo. 6-15-60# 4-231 "copa" pasquinelli, dante. council of nunzio of madrid. 1-12-69# 32-124 "pada" pellegrino, michele. cardinal. ca

TEXE MARRS CODEX MAGICA SECRET SIGNS MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS AND HIDDEN CODES OF THE ILLUMINATI

are the real grip of a fellow craft mason. simultaneously, the pontiff gives the "cover grip" with his left hand to conceal the maneuver. secret handshakes of the illuminati 173 soviet president mikhail gorbachev and pope john paul ii combine to present a masonic symbol in this staged event for the tv cameras (photo: the new york times, october 1, 1989) pope john paul ii meets with israel's chief rabbi, yisrael meir lau, at the papal retreat in rome. as is customary of members of the grand lodge of jerusalem, the rabbi disguises the masonic hand grip with his left hand. this is called the "cover grip (duncan's masonic ritual and monitor, 3d ed, p. 216) 174 codex magic a neal wilson, president of the general conference of seventh-day adventists (left) exchanges an indisputable (in my opinio

) at left, the magical manofigo or mano in fica hand sign. at right is a second version. timothy mcveigh's hand sign above is a third version. the mano in fica is of oriental origin. it represents a lingam-yoni (penis-vagina) formed by the thumb protruding between any of the fingers. to early christians, it was called manus obscenus, the obscene hand. the vicious michael chertoff, son of a jewish rabbi, former u.s. justice department prosecutor who is active in the anti- christian group, the adl, lets the elite see who he is by giving the vulgar and coarse manofigo hand sign. chertoff is president george w. bush's director of homeland security. many believe chertoff is an israeli mossad asset. eleven "cross my heart and hope to die" the mysterious "x" factor an x is an ancient symbol for c

stinian leader yassar arafat, at the vatican on september 15, 1982. eugene vintras, a frenchman who taught occult spiritual philosophy, wears the upside down cross on his religious robe and presents the sigil (hand sign) of his order. vintras gained a large following in the 1830s and 1840s by declaring the coming of a dark prince, a god on earth who would rule and reign. hand on heart 321 a chief rabbi in ottoman turkey (from the book, the lost messiah: in search of the mystical rabbi sabbatai sevi, by john freely (woodstock and new york: the overlook press, 2001) aleister crowley, as a youth, in his occult regalia. crowley, whose books were the basis later for anton lavey, founder of the church of satan and michael aquino, founder of the temple of set. crowley also inspired l. ron hubbard

cult regalia. crowley, whose books were the basis later for anton lavey, founder of the church of satan and michael aquino, founder of the temple of set. crowley also inspired l. ron hubbard, founder of scientology. an elderly man who is chief dervish of the sufi moslem sect and a young boy who is a dervish in training in the early 1900s (from the book, the lost messiah: in search of the mystical rabbi sabbatai sevi, by john freely (woodstock and new york: the overlook press, 2001) 322 codex magica martin luther, priest who set in motion the protestant reformation, is shown in this picture from christian news, a periodic lutheran publication, giving a masonic sign. the same lutheran newspaper carries on its masthead (pg. 1) of every edition luther's seal, of rosicrucian design. in fact, lu

, former president bill clinton's been spotted wearing it he's a cabalist and so has florida's politician katherine harris, who became a famous household icon as florida's republican secretary of state during the bizarre 2000 election snafu. republican bigwig and former house speaker, newt gingrich is reported to be a cabala advocate, and some say conservative talk show host rush limbaugh and his rabbi are also into the cabala. among the most notorious of cabalists are the tv comedy stars of the once #1- rated "the jerry seinfeld show" the producer of the seinfeld show was larry david, a jew, all four of the cast were jews, and cabalistic hand signs, occult language, and magic rituals were covertly planted in many episodes. republican party spokesman and former speaker of the house newt gi

th the ancient order of knights templar, as it commemorates their old ceremonies of initiation."9 allegedly, the members of the order of knights templar worshipped baphomet, the hideous male/female luciferian goat god and conducted blasphemous ceremonies, which included urinating on a cross and homosexual sodomy. magical signs of the jewish cab a la 423 freemasonry is jewish in 1855, the renowned rabbi isaac wise wrote "freemasonry is a jewish establishment, whose history, grades, official appointments, passwords, and explanations are jewish from beginning to end."10 the jewish tribune newspaper, in 1927, in an editorial, stated "freemasonry is based on judaism. eliminate the teachings of judaism from the masonic ritual and what is left?"11 ray novosel, writing from australia in 2004, stat

re have been 51 jewish american grand masters. there are many common themes and ideals in masonic and jewish rituals, symbols, and words.13 the late pope john paul ii was a believer in jewish cabala. on march 22, 1984, the pope received members of the infamous b'nai b'rith freemasonry lodge of new york city, made up exclusively of influential jews, at the vatican "i am proud to be a mason" writes rabbi seymour adas, 32o, in this issue of the new age magazine (april 1987. note: the name of this magazine has since been changed to the scottish rite journal, to hide the connection of masons with the occultic new age movment. in fact, the masonic order is predominantly led by jews. as its former sovereign grand commander, albert pike, has revealed, the symbols and rituals of freemasonry are all

eries of occultic writings that are as demonic as any incantation ever uttered in witchcraft. webster's dictionary tells us the cabala (sometimes spelled kabbala) is "an occult religious philosophy developed by certain jewish rabbis" james lloyd the apocalypse chronicles (vol. vii, no. 1, 2005) 426 codex magica sorcery is commonplace in the depraved religious rituals of cabalistic judaism. here a rabbi is seen carrying a chicken off to be sacrificed in a voodoo/ santeria-type ritual during the jewish festival of yom kippur (israel, a photobiography, by micha bar-am, new york: simon& schuster, 1998) twisted satanic rituals and lies the rabbinical doctrines and teachings of cabalism are based on a curious blending and mosaic of astrology, numerology, graphology, color magic, symbology, alche

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. the ba, or soul, was portrayed on the walls of tombs as a human-headed bird leaving the body at death. during a person s lifetime, the ba was an intangible essence, associated with the breath. in addition to the ba, each person possessed a ka, a kind of ghostly double t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d afterlife mysteries 15 a white-bearded rabbi reading the talmud (corbis corporation) which was given to each individual at the moment of birth. as long as people kept control of their ka, they lived. but as soon as they died, it began a separate existence, still resembling the body that it formerly occupied, and still requiring food for sustenance. each person also had a ren, or name, which could acquire a separate existence and was on

rother, know for certain that this work has been before thee and me in byone ages. no one has begun this work for the first time. orthodox judaism also rejects reincarnation as doctrine, but the hasidic sect and those who follow the teachings of the kabbalah, a collection of mystical texts first published in 1280, accept the belief in the transmigration of souls as a firm and infallible doctrine. rabbi manasseh ben israel (1604 1657, the revered theologian and english statesman, said that reincarnation was a fundamental point of their religion: we are therefore duty bound to obey t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d 42 afterlife mysteries the chinese taoists believe that after death, the soul crosses a bridge to the next life where it un

jewish souls which had been incarnated in gentile bodies [transmigration] also allowed for the gradual perfection of the individual souls through different lives. the zohar (hebrew for splendor, the main work of the kabbalah, describes the esoteric reality that lies behind everyday experience, and insists that the real meaning of the torah lies in its mystical secrets. although tradition declares rabbi simeon ben jochai (c. 80 c.e) as its author, later scholarship acknowledges the contribution of rabbi moses de leon (1240 1305) and other hebrew scholars in the thirteenth century. the zohar states that since the human soul is rooted in the divine, the redemption of the world will be achieved when each individual has undergone the process of the transmigration of souls and completes his or h

rfection can be achieved in one lifetime, the souls must continue their spiritual growth from lifetime to lifetime until they are fit to return to the divine. although the study of the kabbalah undergoes cycles of popularity and esteem, reincarnation is not generally taught today in the three main branches of judaism reform, conservative, and orthodox but is accepted by those in the hasidic sect. rabbi yonassan gershom, a neo-hasidic rabbi, has said that although jews are generally reluctant to speak of their personal spiritual experiences in public, it doesn t mean that some of them aren t having memories of past lives. there are many teachings about reincarnation in jewish mysticism, gershom said. the hebrew word gilgul comes from the same root as the hebrew word for circle or cycle. so

words had just come out that way. she insisted that she never did any research at all and that she had previously known nothing of egypt on the conscious level, yet egyptologists had been unable to fault the book. grant stated that even her critics had said that she couldn t possibly have made it all up, so she must have experienced it all to write in such detail. yonassan gershom, a neo-hasidic rabbi who lives in minnesota, tells in his book beyond the ashes: cases of reincarnation from the holocaust (1992) of hearing the terrible memories of concentration camps, gas chambers, barbed wire, swastikas, and the sadistic henchmen of nazi germany not from elderly jewish survivors of the holocaust, but from young people, many of them blonde, blueeyed gentiles of nordic descent, who were being

, but spirit mediums offer tangible proof that the human soul does survive the act of physical death. they will assert that millions of stricken hearts have been healed by the consolation afforded by the conviction that they have truly communicated with the spirits of loved ones who have gone on before. they will argue that the sincere medium is no more a fraud than the sincere pastor, priest, or rabbi. and when parapsychologists claim that the phenomena of the seance room are controlled t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d mediums and mystics 89 by the subconscious of the medium, spiritualists insist that these researchers are basing their conclusions on a hypothesis influenced by mechanistic psychology and a materialistic society. para

re those who followed jesus of nazareth were first called christians, that bishop ignatius (c. 40 107) became the first of the church fathers to use the term heretic to condemn those he believed were altering the true understanding of christ. it was rather easy to be labeled a heretic by the early church fathers. originally composed of a small group of jews who had followed the teachings of their rabbi until his death on the cross, the first members of that sect or cult were sharply divided in what it was that they believed. was jesus of nazareth a great prophet or was he truly the long-awaited messiah of the jews? the early christians had no established doctrines regarding the resurrection of their teacher from the dead or his alleged divinity. they were even uncertain if they should cont

up of the church and become a sect. as the sect becomes more organized and is regarded more seriously by the mainstream culture, it becomes known as a denomination. the various christian mystery schools, cults, and heresies that have influenced millions of individuals for two millennia. from the earliest days of christianity, there were basically two opposing interpretations of jesus: 1. jesus, a rabbi of nazareth, was a powerful teacher and prophet, a devout man divinely inspired by god. 2. jesus of nazareth was the christ, the messiah, the true son of god made flesh to serve as a sacrificial lamb for the sins of humankind. from these two metaphysical expressions with their vast essential differences, there arose centuries of theological arguments and interpretations of the gospels. what

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cted by paul wegener (getty images) tongue a piece of paper with the tetragrammaton (the four-letter name of god) written on it. according to certain traditions, the creation of a golem is one of the advanced stages of development for serious practitioners of kabbalah and alchemy. instructions for fashioning a golem according to the talmudic tradition was set down sometime in the tenth century by rabbi eliezar rokeach in the book of formation, and in his modern adaptation of the ancient text, rabbi aryeh kaplan stressed that the initiate should never attempt to make a golem alone, but should always be accompanied by one or two learned colleagues for it can become a monster and wreak havoc. when such a mistake occurs, the divine name must somehow be removed from the creature s tongue and it

is yossele, the creature said to be created by judah loew ben bezalel (1525 1609) to help protect the jews of prague from the libel that the blood of a christian child was used during the passover seder. there are many accounts of how yossele saved jews from reprisals directed against them by those citizens who had been incited by the anti-semitic libel. once the golem had served its purpose, the rabbi locked it in the attic of prague s old-new synagogue, where it is widely believed that the creature rests to this day. the synagogue survived the widespread destruction directed against jewish places of worship by the nazis in the 1930s and early 1940s, and it is said that the gestapo did not even enter the attic. a statue of yossele, the golem of prague, still stands at the entrance to the

ngs are always events of great celebration and are usually performed on sundays. on the sabbath before the wedding, the groom must go to the synagogue and read from the torah. as in other traditions, the bride is attired in a white gown, symbolizing purity and joy, and the groom stands beside her wearing a dark suit. the wedding couple is attended by their parents, and the group stands before the rabbi under a canopy known as a chuppah, which represents the future home of the bride and groom. the rabbi hands the couple a glass of wine that has been blessed. after the bride and groom share the wine, the rabbi and the groom read the marriage contract. when the reading is completed, the groom places a plain gold ring on the first finger of his bride s left hand and announces to all assembled

e bride and groom share the wine, the rabbi and the groom read the marriage contract. when the reading is completed, the groom places a plain gold ring on the first finger of his bride s left hand and announces to all assembled in the synagogue that she is his wife. after making such a declaration, he moves the wedding ring to the third finger. a second glass of wine is offered to the couple. the rabbi says the seven blessings and praises god for marriages and asks for the newlyweds to be happy. after both drink from it, the glass is smashed under the heel of the groom. the breaking of the glass is a reminder of the destruction of the temple in jerusalem. an old tradition adds that the glass is broken to symbolize that the bride and groom will be joined in happiness and love until the glas

een washed and dressed. if possible, the funeral takes place on the day after the death has occurred. the coffin containing the deceased is taken first to the synagogue and then to the place of burial. mourners often cut a portion of their outer clothes as a sign of grief; but no flowers are allowed, for it is tradition that the service should be kept as simple as possible. at the grave site, the rabbi says a few words of remembrance about the deceased, and the coffin is placed in the grave. the closest male relative of the deceased says a prayer called the kaddish to help the soul travel to the olam ha ba, the world to come, and the family of the dead person fill in the grave with earth. muslims prefer not to use coffins for their dead unless they are residing in a country that requires s

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL

aking of his discovery of a regenerative liquid that could prolong human life indefinitely. saint-germain captivated the courts of europe in the eighteenth century. he would refer to a pleasant chat with the queen of sheba and relay amusing anecdotes of babylonian court gossip. he would speak with reverence of the miraculous event that he had witnessed at the marriage feast at cana when the young rabbi jesus (c. 6 b.c.e..c. 30 c.e) turned water into wine. saint-germain spoke and wrote greek, latin, sanskrit, arabic, chinese, french, german, english, italian, portugese, and spanish. he was also a talented painter and an accomplished virtuoso on the harpsichord and violin. the count was also a successful alchemist, and it was widely rumored that he had succeeded in transforming base metals i

THE KEY TO THE MYSTERIES

op here at the number nineteen, although the sacred alphabet has twenty-two letters; but the first nineteen are the keys of occult theology. the others are the keys of nature; we shall return to them in the third part of this work- let us resume what we have said concerning god, by quoting a fine invocation borrowed from the jewish liturgy. it is a page from the qabalistic poem kether-malkuth, by rabbi solomon, son of gabirol "thou art one, the beginning of all numbers, and the foundation of all buildings; thou art one, and in the secret of thy unity the most wise of men are lost, because they know it not. thou art one, and thy unity neither wanes nor waxes, neither suffers any change. thou art one, and yet not the one of the mathematician, for thy unity admits neither multiplication, nor

hich we have given only in hebrew, without vowel points, in the "rituel de la haute magie" here is the complete text in latin, as one finds in on page 144 of the sepher yetzirah, commented by the alchemist abraham (amsterdam, 1642: 216 semita xxxi vocatur intelligentia perpetua; et quare vocatur ita? eo quod ducit motum solis et lunae juxta constitutionem eorum; utrumque in orbe sibi conveniente. rabbi abraham f. d. dicit: semita trigesima prima vocatur intelligentia perpetua: et illa ducit solem et lunam et reliquas stellas et figuras, unum quodque in orbe suo, et impertit omnibus creatis juxta dispositionem ad signa et figuras. here is the french translation of the hebrew text which we have transcribed in our ritual "the thirty-first path is called the perpetual intelligence; and it gove

THE MAGICIAN S KABBALAH

moses b. shem tov de leon in guadalajara, north-east of madrid, spain, where there was a lot of kabbalistic activity at this time. many of the later kabbalistic schools are formed about these books, finding in them interpretation and meanings revealing the work of god and creation. the school formed at safed in the sixteenth century produced many of the leading thinkers of kabbalah, particularly rabbi isaac luria, called the ari (1534-1572, and rabbi moshe cordevero, the ramak (1522-1570. the former is responsible for much of the current structure and cosmology of kabbalah, as the "lurianic" school of thought provided answers to many of the more complex issues of kabbalistic thought, particularly relating to the "breaking of the vessels. the next major historical development of kabbalah c

(1522-1570. the former is responsible for much of the current structure and cosmology of kabbalah, as the "lurianic" school of thought provided answers to many of the more complex issues of kabbalistic thought, particularly relating to the "breaking of the vessels. the next major historical development of kabbalah came with the formation of the hasidic movement in the mid 1700's, based around the rabbi israel, more commonly known as the baal shem tov (1698-1760, which means "master of the word, a high mark of respect in kabbalism. having briefly examined the development of kabbalah within the judaic mystical tradition, we must now attempt to sketch some of the significant points at which it passed through to the occult tradition, particularly in europe, and thence to the modern magician. t

of shells. the first kernel is the light of ain soph, with the first shell being kether, enclosing ain soph. then kether becomes the kernel of the shell which is chockmah, and so on. beyond the malkuth of assiah come the thickest of the shells, with hardly any of the light of ain soph in them. in terms of the practical kabbalah, the 'husks' are depicted as the singular enemy of the kabbalist. as rabbi chaim vital (1543-1620) states, when talking about the decline in kabbalistic practice. they [the practitioners] no longer make use of these techniques to ascend to the orchard. people only make use of the techniques involving the universe of assiah. since this is the lowest of the universes, its angels have only a little good, and are mostly evil. besides this, it is a level where good and

dieval kabbalists, such as abraham ibn ezra, followed on from the neoplatonic school of plotinus in utilising a threefold division of the functions of the psyche. these were; nefesh (npsh; breath, spirit, soul, person, character in drama, tombstone) ru'ah (rvch; wind, spirit, ghost, disposition) neshamah (nshmh; breath, soul, life, living creature) this trinity, as developed by such kabbalists as rabbi moses korduero and rabbi yitzchaq loria, is usually taken to represent; nefesh: animal vitality ru'ah: self-awareness neshamah: transcendent awareness eliphas levi summarises these elements as the passions, the reason, and the higher aspirations, and puts it that "the body is the veil of the nephesch, the nephesch is the veil of ruach, ruach is the veil of the shroud of neschemah" a further

THE MIDDLE PILLAR

ht within the magician's aura. origins of the pentagram ritual the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram was a creation of the hermetic order of the golden dawn. however, various portions of the ritual are found to have far more ancient sources. in the new testament, the lord's prayer (matthew 6:9-13) is obviously based upon qabalistic principles, showing that jesus of nazareth, who was called rabbi by his followers, knew his qabalah. this is because the lord's prayer is itself based on the hebrew "prayer of david" from the old testament, found in the first book of chronicles 29:l "the prayer of david at the foundation of the temple" reads as follows: unto thee, 0 tetragrammaton, are the greatness and the power and the beauty and the victo y and the glo y, for unto thee is everything in

THE PATH OF KABBALAH

desire and in fact, the entire reality we attain with our senses. even in our world, below the spiritual world, there are degrees of attainment. at the start of the time of preparation for spirituality we begin to understand the connections and relationships between the spiritual objects, although it cannot be compared with the actual sensation once you get there. when the zohar says, go and ask rabbi shimon and rabbi abba it means that you should ascend to their degree and ask why they present things the way they do. when the zohar writes that a certain person met rabbi shimon it means that that person rose to the degree of rabbi shimon and because of that can see and understand what rabbi shimon can. this is how a degree gets its name, and when a person climbs to it, he is called by tha

kabbalah for years and be with a group, he can write everything down and do everything necessary, but to no avail. he might join a group to become a teacher, be proud of his knowledge and so on, but if he hasn t the inner desire for unification with the creator, he will not last long, the group will push him out spiritually. thus, everything depends on the presence of the point in the heart. when rabbi laitman asked his teacher if the point in the heart could be acquired if it isn t there to begin with, his teacher replied that if a person enters a group and sees that everything revolves around a single desire to find the creator, and sees people coming from afar, talking and studying only that, if they study only with the right books and the right teacher, that person can catch the genera

nows he doesn t have this point. however, it is known that an extremely strong desire can awaken the point in the heart. even the ari mentioned it. in order for a single person to be included in the united desire of the group, he must be absolutely in agreement with it, because even when this point does exist, it is different in its attributes from person to person. for instance, it is known that rabbi yosef karo, who wrote the shulchan aruch (the jewish code of laws, a priceless piece of work, slept during the kabbalah lessons with the ari. of course, there were people who absorbed the lurianic kabbalah (the kabbalah of the ari) naturally, and there were people who could not understand it and had troubles disconnecting themselves from the kabbalah of the ramak (rabbi moshe kordoviro. the

oviro. the ari introduced a fundamental change in the method of the study of kabbalah, which enables us to study kabbalah from the perspective of the vessels, the souls, meaning from below. ramak s method of study examined the world from the perspective of the lights, meaning from the perspective of the creator, whereas we study it from the perspective of the screen, which helps the light expand. rabbi laitman says he studied kabbalah with many teachers, but could find no answers until he was shown the books of the ari and baal hasulam. the upper degree is the creator, my own future state. the lower degree is the creature in his current state. the degrees are like an accordion, they open up to us as we progress. what is time? is it a changing, living concept? and if so, how does it exist o

another correct. the torah and kabbalah, and all the holy scriptures, were written by people who climbed the spiritual ladder and wrote their instructions from there. many kabbalists climbed these steps, but there are conditions that limit the amount of people permitted to write. there are only three kabbalists who attained the very last degree and were permitted to describe the system. they are rabbi shimon bar-yochay, author of the zohar, the ari, author of the tree of life, and rabbi yehuda ashlag, author of the sulam commentary on the zohar and the study of the ten sefirot. these books were all written after their authors ascended to the degree of the creator in every property and capability. if a person acquires the attributes of the creator, he becomes free. such a person is not lim

any way, he is above everything. kabbalah hardly ever mentions one s ascent in the degrees, though it is the most important thing for us. the books speak primarily of the descent of the worlds from above. it is described in detail in the zohar, in the writings of the ari, and the study of the ten sefirot. we learn about the ascent from below from letters and articles that baal hasulam and rabash (rabbi baruch ashlag) wrote to their students. there seems to be a shortage of material that describes the ascent. but the reason is that the complementary material should only serve to encourage a person to attain the state of this world, and serve as a springboard for the ascent to the spiritual world. once a person is in the spiritual world, the books that speak of the worlds from above downward

the soul? because the body cannot become spiritual. spirituality is an inner ascent of the soul; it has nothing to do with the outer part, meaning the biological body. the body is doomed to perish and be buried in the ground. that is the end of its correction. when the body expires, one gets a new body, just as we change a shirt when the one we wear needs washing. there are souls like the soul of rabbi shimon bar-yochay, the ari, or rabbi yehuda ashlag, that have already corrected themselves, and no longer need to descend to this world. they do it only to correct the world; they absorb agony from the entire world and thus suffer for it. that process is called the hitkalelut (mixture/mingling) of the souls. each soul becomes involved with other souls to help them correct. we should relate t

situation and the reason for it. we must know that the egoism is both opposite to the creator, and of equal size. furthermore, in each degree it becomes more and more aggressive. it is forbidden to discuss what we feel with others, because the person you speak to is in a similar situation to yours and cannot help you. thus, you might force your corrupted state on him. you can speak about it to a rabbi-teacher, but it is best to talk to the creator. to attain spirituality, you must sort out your egoistic thoughts in this world. you must recognize the evil in them and your inability to attain spirituality because of them. you must face the agony that accompanies the sensation of the oppositeness between 62 of 273 the creator and you, and hate it as vehemently as possible. then, and only the

THE HOLY BIBLE KING JAMES VERSION

vous to be borne, and lay [them] on men s shoulders; but they [themselves] will not move them with one of their fingers. 23:5 but all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 23:6 and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 23:7 and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, rabbi, rabbi. 23:8 but be not ye called rabbi: for one is your master [even] christ; and all ye are brethren. 23:9 and call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your father, which is in heaven. 23:10 neither be ye called masters: for one is your master [even] christ. 23:11 but he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 23:12 and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; a

h with the holy ghost. 1:34 and i saw, and bare record that this is the son of god. 1:35 again the next day after john stood, and two of his disciples; 1:36 and looking upon jesus as he walked, he saith, behold the lamb of god! 1:37 and the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed jesus. 1:38 then jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, what seek ye? they said unto him, rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, master) where dwellest thou? 1:39 he saith unto them, come and see. they came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 1:40 one of the two which heard john [speak] and followed him, was andrew, simon peter s brother. 1:41 he first findeth his own brother simon, and saith unto him, we have found the messias, whi

there any good thing come out of nazareth? philip saith unto him, come and see. 1:47 jesus saw nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, behold an israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! 1:48 nathanael saith unto him, whence knowest thou me? jesus answered and said unto him, before that philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, i saw thee. 1:49 nathanael answered and saith unto him, rabbi, thou art the son of god; thou art the king of israel. 1:50 jesus answered and said unto him, because i said unto thee, i saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 1:51 and he saith unto him, verily, verily, i say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of god ascending and descending upon the son of man. 2:1 and the third day

rusalem at the passover, in the feast [day] many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 2:24 but jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men] 2:25 and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. 3:1 there was a man of the pharisees, named nicodemus, a ruler of the jews: 3:2 the same came to jesus by night, and said unto him, rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from god: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except god be with him. 3:3 jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, i say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of god. 3:4 nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother s womb, and be born? 3:5 j

disciples into the land of judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 3:23 and john also was baptizing in aenon near to salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 3:24 for john was not yet cast into prison. 3:25 then there arose a question between [some] of john s disciples and the jews about purifying. 3:26 and they came unto john, and said unto him, rabbi, he that was with thee beyond jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all [men] come to him. 3:27 john answered and said, a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 3:28 ye yourselves bear me witness, that i said, i am not the christ, but that i am sent before him. 3:29 he that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom

isciples were gone away alone; 6:23 (howbeit there came other boats from tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the lord had given thanks) 6:24 when the people therefore saw that jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to capernaum, seeking for jesus. 6:25 and when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, rabbi, when camest thou hither? 6:26 jesus answered them and said, verily, verily, i say unto you, ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 6:27 labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the son of man shall give unto you: for him hath god the father sealed. 6:28 then said they u

TYSON DONALD NEW MILLENNIUM MAGIC

ens. the liberated spirits will work all manner of mischief, from malice or exuberance, and will torment the magus unmercifully unto death. the jewish folk tale of the golem should be taken as a warning. the golem was a type of homunculus, a telesmatic image that had been infused into a life-sized figure of clay to give it power over the material world" in one version of the story, its cre- ator, rabbi loew of prague, allowed it to keep its form longer than necessary because it was obedient and subservient to him. but all the while, the golem grew in power, until at last it was destroyed only with the greatest risk and difficulty. a sigil is a symbol derived by one of various systems fiom the name of a spir- it. by concentrating the creative will on the sigil, the magus is able to call for

TYSON DONALD THE POWER OF THE WORD

of herod's temple to the romans in a.d. 70, its true pronunciation was lost to the general jewish population, but esoteric sects and solitary magicians continued to rely upon its potency as the foundation of all their works. in the middle ages, ba'alai shem, or masters of the name, employed tetragrammaton to heal the sick and banish evil spirits. one such ba'al shem was the great jewish magician rabbi loew of prague, who breathed life into lifeless clay by means of the power of the ihvh and with it created the dreaded golem. during the renaissance, xiv tetragrammaton johannes reuchlin and other christian kabbalists transformed tetragrammaton into the esoteric fivefold name of jesus and proclaimed it the key to all the mysteries. alchemists employed it prominently in their emblems, as did

hese godly names the strongest are the names of supreme deity. but the greatest and most potent name of all is tetragrammaton, which is not merely a title, but the actual pattern and essence of god. it follows that in magic tetragrammaton can be used to command all lesser names. this is why it was held in such esteem by kabbalists. the legend of the golem, an artificial man created out of clay by rabbi loew of prague in the year 1580, gives useful insight as to how tetragrammaton may have been used by the ba'alei shem of the middle ages. very troubled in his mind about how to protect the jews of prague against the malicious libels of a priest named thaddeus, who preached their destruction, rabbi loew used his knowledge of kabbalah to obtain a dream oracle from god, who ordered him to creat

iting a "combination of letters" loew had given him. immediately, the clay figure began to glow like a bed of live coals. then the second disciple gifted with the water element walked seven times around the golem reciting a different combination of hebrew letters. steam issued from the body and cooled it. hair grew from the head of the golem, and upon the tips of its fingers appeared fingernails. rabbi loew himself circled the body seven times sunwise, reciting yet another combination of letters. the three kabbalists stood together at the foot of the golem and recited the words from genesis 2:7-"and he breathed into his nostrils the breath 40 tetragrammaton of life, and the man became a living soul" the writer of the legend explains that, in the air of the breath, there must be found fire

times sunwise, reciting yet another combination of letters. the three kabbalists stood together at the foot of the golem and recited the words from genesis 2:7-"and he breathed into his nostrils the breath 40 tetragrammaton of life, and the man became a living soul" the writer of the legend explains that, in the air of the breath, there must be found fire and water. the golem opened his eyes and rabbi loew ordered him to stand up. it is significant that, although the golem could see, hear, and understand, he "did not have the power of speech in his mouth" ten years following its creation, when the golem had accomplished its task and the jews of prague were safe once again, rabbi loew decided it was time to dissolve the artificial man back into clay. he summoned the same two disciples, who

ing bodies of the heavens. for this same reason, they each circumambulated the clay figure seven times, moving sunwise to generate a creative vortex, as opposed to a counterclockwise, destructive vortex. they met at the riverbank at "four after midnight (probably four hours after midnight) because four is the number of physical realization. the "combinations of letters" each disciple was given by rabbi loew to recite were probably the four banners of tetragrammaton under each celestial quality. the first disciple, who possessed the gift of fire (shin, would have recited the letters of the cardinal ihvh, hvhi, vhih, and hihv. the second disciple, who had the gift of water (mem, would have recited the letters of the fixed ivhh, hhiv, vihh, and hhvi. finally, rabbi loew himself, who had the m

illustrates the use of tetragrammaton among the jewish ba'alai shem of the middle ages. although this ritual of the kabbalah would not actually cause a clay figure to become flesh and blood, it would induce a celestial intelligence to enter into that clay figure and reside within it, where it could be consulted as an oracle on important questions. this is likely the truth behind the golem legend. rabbi loew probably created a manlike statue, then used the magic of the kabbalah to induce an angel of god to dwell within it and act as a protective and tutelary spirit for the jews of prague during their time of trial. there are two aspects to any name, both of which must be considered in magic-the internal name and the uttered name. the internal name is what we understand the meaning of a name

demonstrated the ideas of pico and reuchlin through the use of kabbalistic numerology. these christian kabbalists and others who followed in their footsteps were greatly aided by several jewish scholars who converted to christianity, such as flavius mithridates, who translated many kabbalistic texts for pico, and paulus ricius, the private physician to the german emperor maximilian, who published rabbi joseph gikatilla's influential portae lucis (the gates of light) at augsburg in 1516. concerning the power of the fivefold name of jesus, cornelius agrippa quotes directly from the conclusions of pico della mirandola when he writes: as john in the revelations describeth that heavenly city, whose twelve gates are guarded with twelve angels, infusing on them what they receive from the divine n

e that mathers or any other member of the original golden dawn had the slightest suspicion that it was incorrect. in recent years several important texts of the kabbalah have become available in english translation. from these i have learned that the correct sequence of the banners (or seals) was known to hebrew kabbalists during the middle ages. it appears in the sha'are orah (gates of light) of rabbi joseph gikatilla, a book written around the beginning of the fourteenth century, and first published at mantua in 1561. it also occurs in the pardes rimonim of moses cordevero, which was written in 1548. had these works been available to me during the writing of the new magus, i might have saved myself considerable labor over the permutations of the name, but perhaps would not have understoo

WICCA MAGICK OCCULT THREE GREEN BOOKS DRUIDISM

ld like to return to the question of what you believed my purpose to be in giving you free will. your first idea of my giving you free will in order to test whether you merit salvation or not may appeal to moralists, but the idea is quite hideous to me. you cannot think of any nicer reason any more humane reason why i gave you free will? mortal: well now, i once asked this question to an orthodox rabbi. he told me that with the way we are constituted, it is simply not possible for us to enjoy salvation unless we feel we have earned it. and to earn it, we of course need free will. god: that explanation is indeed much nicer than your former but still is far from correct. according to orthodox judaism, i created angels, and they have no free will. they are in actual sight of me and 283 are so

uch nicer than your former but still is far from correct. according to orthodox judaism, i created angels, and they have no free will. they are in actual sight of me and 283 are so completely attracted by goodness that they never have even the slightest temptation towards evil. they really have no choice in the matter. yet they are eternally happy even though they have never earned it. so if your rabbi s explanation were correct, why wouldn t i have simply created only angels rather than mortals? mortal: beats me! why didn t you? god: because the explanation is simply not correct. in the first place, i have never created any ready made angels. all sentient beings ultimately approach the state which might be called angelhood. but just as the race of human beings is in a certain stage of bio

doing justice is worth a hundred in prayer. koran if that which is within is not bright, it is useless to pray for that which is without. shinto call on god for help, but row away from the rocks. indian prayer is not asking. it is a longing of the soul. mohandas ghandi prayer does not change god, but changes him who prays. kierkegaard lord, give me chastity, but not yet. saint augustine priests a rabbi whose congregation does not want to drive him out of town isn t a rabbi. talmud clever preacher, short sermon. japanese us nature mystics got to stick together. ed abbey there are many preachers who don t hear themselves. german when the fox starts preaching, look to your hens. basque to go barefoot does not make the saint. german many of the insights of the saint stem from his experience as

WILLIAM WESCOTT NUMBERS THEIR OCCULT POWER AND MYSTIC VIRTUES

with difficulty is more valued than a hundred obtained with ease. talmud. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott it is indiscreet for one man to sleep in a house alone, for fear that he may be attacked by lilith, who was said to have been adam s first wife; she is the night specter, and has also power over newly-born infants who are not protected by an amulet. rabbi nathan exhorted- repent one day before thy death; a wise maxim inculcating the duty of being ever prepared; every day some advance in knowledge and goodness should be attained. ever work and ever pray, for the road winds upward all the way, as the lord buddha taught in ancient india# 36. chapter five the dyad. two, 2. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott

o the widow of zarepta. the soul of numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott rahab passed to heber the kenite. the soul of jael passed to eli. some souls of pious jews pass into the persons of the gentiles, so that they shall plead for israel. some evil hebrew souls have passed into animals, as that of ishmael into the she-ass of balaam, and later into the ass of rabbi pinchas ben yair. the soul of a slanderer may be transmigrated into a stone, so as to become silent; and the soul of a murderer into water. emeh hemelech, 153. 1.2. there are three causes of dropsy, depending on diseases of the breast, the liver and the kidneys. there are three forms of coma, that is insensibility; due to brain injury, brain disease and brain poisoning. there are three modes

d the captivity. god has made only 4 women perfect in beauty; sarah, abigail, rahab and esther; eve is not included because she was not born of woman. esther is said to have had golden colored hair. of the 4 cardinal points, god left the north pole unfinished, saying, if there be any my equal let him finish it like the others. this corner is the home of demons, ghosts, devils and storms. pirke of rabbi eleazar, cap. 3. the number 4 is related to jacob, the lesser light, which is the moon. jacob was spelled ioqb, and its initials are those of epithets, iutzr, the former; oushh the maker, quna the possessor, and bvra, the creator. see amos vii. 2, where jacob is called the small. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott in christian dogma, christ the triple

demons have 6 characters; like men, they take food and drink, they beget and they die; like angels, they have wings, they pass from one end of the world to the other, and they can learn the future. talmud. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott solomon is called by six names; solomon, jedidiah, koheleth, son of jakeh, agur and lemuel. see the fathers, aboth, by rabbi nathan. there are 6 kinds of fire--common fire which eats and does not drink; fire that drinks and does not eat, as fever; fire that eats and drinks, that of elijah, i kings xviii. 38; the fire on the altar which consumed both moist and dry; the fire of gabriel which consumed other fire, and the essential fire of god which consumed evil angels. yoma, 21. 2. the table of moses were said to ha

book of job; ari, shchl, kpir, lish, lbia and shchtz. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott the serpent has 6 names; nchsh, okshub, apoh, tzpouni, tnin and shrp. nachash the brazen serpent; okeshub, an asp, psalm cxxiv 4; opoh, an adder, isaiah xli. 24; tzephouni, the basilisk, isaiah, xiv 29; tanin, the serpent or crocodile; and seraph, a serpent of fire. see rabbi nathan, cap. 29. six blasts of the horn were blown on the eve of the sabbath and then the sabbath had begun. w. f. shaw says that 6 is the number of temptation and sin, for at the 6th hour of the 6th day the first temptation came into the world. six is the number of toil and work, for 6 days, the israelites had to collect manna; at the 6th hour of the 6th day jesus was sentenced to death, an

, his thigh bones two pipes, his skin will cover a drum, the large intestines are formed into strings for the lyre, and the small intestines will make the small strings for the harp. in the sabbat, 152. 2, of the talmud, it is said that the soul of a man watches over his corpse for 7 days. compare this with the theosophic teaching that the linga sarira broods over the body for a week after death. rabbi nathan says that 7 good qualities avail at the judgment. wisdom, righteousness, good opinions, mercy, truth, grace and peace. seven epithets are applied to the earth in the hebrew tongue; aretz, adamah, numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott arequa, gia, tziah, yabeshah, cheled or thebel. the mystical river sambatyon flowed all the week, but was still on t

ws were accustomed to practice circumcision on male infants upon the 8th day after birth. the jews at the chanukah or feast of dedication lit 8 candles and it lasted 8 days. this is the engkainia of john x. 22. as to conjuring among the ancient jews, it is said in talmud, succah, 53. i, that levi played with 8 knives; samuel in the presence of the king sapor of persia used 8 cups and abaji before rabbi rava used 8 eggs. eight prophets were descended from rahab the harlot, viz, neraiah, seraiah, maasiah, jeremiah, hilkiah, hannemeel and shallum. note also that huldah the prophetess was the grandchild of rahab. 87. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott the last 8 verses of deuteronomy, the mosaic law, the pentateuch, were written by joshua. bava bathra, 1

rava used 8 eggs. eight prophets were descended from rahab the harlot, viz, neraiah, seraiah, maasiah, jeremiah, hilkiah, hannemeel and shallum. note also that huldah the prophetess was the grandchild of rahab. 87. numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott the last 8 verses of deuteronomy, the mosaic law, the pentateuch, were written by joshua. bava bathra, 14. i. rabbi nathan states that there were 8 sects of the pharisees, but both of the talmuds (jerusalem and babylon) name only seven. it is prophesized that the harps, which will be played on earth before the messiah, will have 8 strings. erachin, 13. 2. as seven was the number of the original creation, so 8, says w. f. shaw, may be considered as the day of regeneration. eight souls were saved in the ark

WOLFSON ELLIOT ALEF MEM TAU KABBALISTIC MUSINGS ON TIME TRUTH AND DEATH

r the specific analyses in the three chapters on alef/past, mem/present, and tau/future. i drew the material for my textual reasoning in the lectures almost exclusively xi from two anthologies that can be viewed as the bookends of the earliest period of kabbalistic literary activity, the twelfth to the thirteenth centuries: sefer ha-bahir and sefer ha-zohar, the former also transmitted as midrash rabbi nehuniah ben ha-qanah and the latter as midrash rabbi simeon ben yohai. the choice of these pseudepigraphic texts here i bracket the complex question of multiple layers of composition and redaction discernible in the literary landscape of both works, though it should be clear to the reader that i presume in neither case the existence of an original text that may be recovered or reconstructed

ullness of water. to what does this refer? to the primordial division of waters, an ancient theme in israelite cosmogonic myth. in the bahiric text, what else do we hear about the separation of upper and lower waters? we are told that by means of these waters one studies torah. this statement is equated with a maxim, presented anonymously in some manuscript recensions and attributed to a specific rabbi in other recensions,77 that one merits studying torah through acts of kindness, gemilut hesed. i have not succeeded in locating a source or even a precise parallel to the maxim as it is cited in bahir, but it is easy enough to list a number of rabbinic dicta wherein a tight connection is drawn between torah and charitable, compassionate behavior.78 on balance, it seems to me, the bahiric tex

beyond dimorphic polarities altogether (there is neither male nor female) but by positing the reign of the same, which i identify as the law of the phallus operative in the semiotic phallocentricism of kabbalistic texts.48 the possible christological resonance is enhanced by the following allusion to jesus in the interpretation of the letter saddi preserved in one of the recensions of otiyyot de-rabbi aqiva, a relatively late midrashic compilation that preserves in rudimentary form older esoteric teachings: saddi, why does it have two heads? because this refers to jesus who took hold of two heads, one of israel and the other of edom, and he went and caused people to err. when the jews saw him they stood over him, captured him, and hung him on the cross. as they interpreted if your brother

two hebrew consonants, would have been depicted symbolically as god s playmate.18 the narrative preserved in zohar recounts how each of the letters presents itself before god in an effort to be chosen as the primary instrument through which the world would be created. this is based on much older literary sources. particularly relevant is the beginning of the second recension of midrash otiyyot de-rabbi aqiva: these are the twenty-two letters through which torah in its entirety was given to the tribes of israel, and they were engraved by a flaming pen on the awesome and splendid crown of the holy one, blessed be he. when the holy one, blessed be he, desired to create the world, immediately all of them descended and stood before the holy one, blessed be he, and each one said before him creat

ion the talmudic dictum, reish laqish said, tau is the terminus of the seal of the holy one, blessed be he [sof hotamo shel ha-qadosh barukh hu, for as r. hanina said, the seal of the holy one, blessed be he, is truth [hotamo shel ha-qadosh barukh hu emet. 22 with respect to the second motif, especially germane to the zoharic formulation is the beginning of another recension of midrash otiyyot de-rabbi aqiva: rabbi said: alef. what is alef? this teaches that the torah said: truth teaches your mouth [emet lammed pikha] so that you will merit life in this world. your mouth teaches truth [pikha lammed emet] so that you will merit life of the world-to-come.23 why is this so? because the holy one, blessed be he, is called truth [emet. as it says, the lord is truly god [yhwh elohim emet (jer 10:

:5, 107b. in the latter case, the rabbinic ruling is derived exegetically from the scriptural admonition: on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe this your sabbath (lev 23:32. 23. babylonian talmud, rosh ha-shanah 9a; yoma 81b. 24. genesis rabbah, 9:14, p. 74. see parallel in pesiqta rabbati, vol. 1, 23:6, pp. 556 557. 25. for instance, see mekhilta de-rabbi ishmael, bo, 1, p. 7; pesiqta rabbati, vol. 1, 15:48, pp. 316 317. see also wolfson, face of jacob, pp. 235 238. 208 notes to pages 57 58 26. rubin and kosman, clothing, p. 158. 27. for an independent analysis of jewish conceptions of temporality that likewise seeks to avoid the traditional duality of cyclical versus linear time, see goldberg, la clepsydre; idem, questions, pp. 267 286; idem

p. xi xxxi. regarding the hermeneutic reversibility in rosenzweig, see idem, facing the effaced, pp. 55 63. 31. aristotle, problemata, 17.3, 916a 33. 32. the version i have cited is from freeman, ancilla, p. 40. see also kirk and raven, presocratic philosophers, p. 235; vernant, myth and thought, p. 87. 33. palestinian talmud, sheqalim 6:1, 49d; babylonian talmud, pesahim 6b. see also mekhilta de-rabbi ishmael, shirata, 7, p. 139; heschel, heavenly torah, pp. 240 243; schl ter, creative force, pp. 59 84. 34. foucault, death and the labyrinth, p. 33. 35. on the distinction between tehillah as beginning and re shit as principle, see maimonides, guide, 2.30, p. 348. see, for instance, kristeva, desire in language, p. 205: traditionally, time has been divided into two opposing modes irreducibl

perush or yaqar, vol. 15, p. 89. 51. cordovero, pardes rimmonim, 5:4, 25d. 52. cordovero, shi ur qomah, 6a. for the citation and analysis of other passages wherein this principle is articulated in the works of cordovero and other sixteenth- century kabbalists, including his teacher solomon alqabes and his student hayyim vital, see ben-shlomo, mystical theology, pp. 95 100, 232; sack, kabbalah of rabbi moshe cordovero, pp. 14, 57 n. 2, 169, 256 n. 43; wolfson, divine suffering, pp. 110 114. 53. wolfson, language, eros, being, pp. 242 255. 54. on the kabbalistic depiction of torah as limitless, see idel, infinities, pp. 141 157; idem, absorbing perfections, pp. 88 89, 94 108. cordovero s view on the eternally changing character of that which eternally endures was a rmed by kabbalists from e

ZALEWSKI GOLDEN DAWN ENOCHIAN MAGIC OCR

d-forms. i believe this puts a lot more meat on the bare bones of the dee papers. the biblical association of the first seven days of creation unravels some of the mysteries of the functions of the king and prince. for those who want to do more research into this field, i recommend a book called path of the kabbalah by david sheinkin, edited by edward hoffman. sheinkin was a friend and student of rabbi kaplan, whose kabbalistic study ranks him with the very best in his field. the sigils of the "sons of the sons of light" also appear with certain planetary correspondences in agrippa's work. finding the origin of some of these names and sigils is yet another area of research that could be done. while i have drawn from the "sons of light" and the "son of the sons of light" from the holy seal

0 0

ed a gateway that the candidate walks through only after he has completed his negative confession. incidently, the negative confession is the oldest prayer known to man. the black cubical bases on the pillars represent darkness and matter, or manifestation. it is in matter and manifestation that the ruach elohim began to formulate the ineffable name. it is this name that, according to the ancient rabbis "rushes through the universe" a lotus flower is painted on the base of both pillars. it is a white flower on the black pillar and a black on the white. as a matter of fact, all of the paintings are in the opposite color, so the white painted symbols would be on the black, black symbols would be on the white. the following is a section from the z-1 document which can be found in the golden d

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE QABALAH

e formula of the infinite surging into finity, and the latter the supreme rolling-up of finity into infinity, the 120 can symbolise at the best a sort of intermediate condition of stability.49 for how can one proceed from the 2 to the 0? 120 is also u, a very important name of god.50 124. du, eden. 131. lams, satan so-called, but really only samael, the accuser of the brethren, unpopular with the rabbis because their consciences were not clear. samael fulfils a most useful function; he is scepticism, which accuses intellectually; conscience, which accuses morally; and even that spiritual accuser upon the threhold, without whom the sanctuary might be profaned. we must defeat him, it is true; but how should we abuse and blame him, without abuse and blame of him that set him there? 136. a mys

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

ormula of the infinite surging into finity, and the latter the supreme rolling-up of fi9nity into infinity, the 120 can symbolise at the best a sort of intermediate condition of stability. for how can one proceed from the 2 to the 0? 120 is also on, a very important name of god. 124. odn, eden. 131. smal, satan so-called, but really only samael, the accuser of the 120 brethren. unpopular with the rabbis because their consciences were not clear. samael fulfils a most useful function; he is scepticism, which accuses intellectually; conscience, which accuses morally; and even that spiritual accuser upon the threshold, without whom the sanctuary might be profaned. we must defeat him, it is true; but how should we abuse and blame him, without abuse and blame of him that set him there? 136. a my

AN INTRO TO STUDY OF THE KABALAH

is an eternal problem, to be and not to be, to be within and yet to be outside, to be finite and yet ready to serve the infinite" d. t. suzuki- 133- the labours of hercufian introduction to the study of the kabalah by william wynn westcott preface students of literature, philosophy and religion who have any sympathy with the occult sciences may well pay some attention to the kabalah of the hebrew rabbis of olden times; for whatever faith may be held by the enquirer he will gain not only knowledge, but also will broaden his views of life and destiny, by comparing other forms of religion with the faith and doctrines in which he has been nurtured, or which he has adopted after reaching full age and powers of discretion. being fully persuaded of the good to be thus derived, i desire to call at

will be found in the zohar ii, 43, b: and an english version of the same in "the kabbalah" by c. d. ginsburg. wm. wynn westcott, m.b, etc. the kabalah it must be confessed that the origin of the kabalah is lost in the mists of antiquity; no one can demonstrate who was its author, or who were its earliest teachers. considerable evidence may be adduced to show that its roots pass back to the hebrew rabbis who flourished at the time of the second temple about the year 515 b.c. of its existence before that time i know of no proofs. it has been suggested that the captivity of the jews in babylon led to the formation of this philosophy by the effect of chaldean lore and dogma acting on jewish tradition. no doubt in the earliest stages of its existence the teaching was entirely oral, hence the na

nd chajim vital, who died in 1620. a very famous german kabalist was john reuchlin or capnio, and he wrote two great works, the "de verbo mirifico" and "de arte cabalistica" in the main there were two tendencies among the kabalists: the one set devoted themselves entirely to the doctrinal and dogmatic branch: the other to the practical and wonder-working aspect. the greatest of the wonder-working rabbis were isaac loria, also called ari; and sabatai zevi, who curiously enough became a mahommedan. both of these departments of occult rabbinic lore have their living representatives, chiefly scattered individuals; very rarely groups of initiates are found. in central europe, parts of russia, austria and poland there are even now jews, known as wonderworking rabbis, who can do strange things th

the kabalistic doctrine is found in the jewish talmud, but in that collection of treatises there is some grossness that is absent from the true kabalah; such are the theories of the debasement of men into animal forms; and of men to be re-born as women, as a punishment for earthly sins in a previous life. it must be remembered that many points of doctrine are limited to the teachings of but a few rabbis; and that the differences between the earliest and latest doctrines on a given point are sometimes very great, as is shown by a comparison of the books of the rabbis of different eras and schools. some of the kabalistic teaching has also never been printed nor published, and has been handed down even to this day from master to pupil only: there are some points not found in any hebrew book

f contending teachers. soon after this period was framed the first series of glosses and commentaries on the old testament books, which have come down to our times. of these the earliest are the volume called the "targum of onkelos" on "the law" written about a.d. 100, and that of jonathan ben uzziel on "the prophets" about a.d 141 there first came into note the now famous treatise written by the rabbis of judah, called "mishna" and this formed the basis of those vast compilations of hebrew doctrine called the "talmud" of which there are two extant forms, one compiled at babylon-the most notable, and the other associated with jerusalem. to the original "mishna" the rabbis added further commentaries named "gemara" from this time the literature of judaism grew apace, and there was a constant

a" and this formed the basis of those vast compilations of hebrew doctrine called the "talmud" of which there are two extant forms, one compiled at babylon-the most notable, and the other associated with jerusalem. to the original "mishna" the rabbis added further commentaries named "gemara" from this time the literature of judaism grew apace, and there was a constant succession of notable hebrew rabbis who published religious treatises, until at least a.d. 1500. the two talmuds were first printed at venice in 1520 and 1523 respectively. the old testament books were the guiding light through the ages of the jews, but the learned rabbis were not satisfied with them alone, and they supplemented them by two parallel series of works of literature; the one, talmudic, being commentaries based up

commentaries based upon thirteen rules of argument delivered by moses to illustrate the old testament, and supply material for teaching the populace; and the other a long series of treatises of a more abstruse character, designed to illustrate their secret doctrines and esoteric views. the sepher yetzirah, and the zohar or book of splendour represent the kernel of that oral instruction which the rabbis of the olden times prided themselves upon possessing, and which they have even claimed as being "the secret knowledge" which god gave to moses for the use of the priests themselves, in contradistinction to the written law intended for the masses of the people. one of the principal conceptions of the kabalah is that spiritual wisdom is attained by thirty-two paths, typified by the ten number

niverse symbolised by the three primary elements, the seven planets, and the twelve zodiacal influences of the heavens, which tincture human concerns through the path of our sun in its annual course. i have given the names and definitions of the thirty-two paths at the end of my edition of the" sepher yetzirah" now to show the close connection between the kabalah and orthodox judaism, we find the rabbis cataloguing the books of the old testament into a series of twenty-two (the letters) works to be read for the culture of spiritual life; this twenty-two they obtained from the thirty-nine books of the o.t. canon, by collecting the twelve minor prophets into one treatise; ruth they added to judges; ezra to nehemiah; while the two books each of samuel, kings, and chronicles, they called one e

BLAVATSKY H P ANTHROPOGENESIS

-viraj; and that of the semites, or rather of the jews, is jehovah-cain- abel. only the "heathen" were, and are, more sincere and frank than were the[[footnote(s* jod in the kabala has for symbol the hand, the forefinger and the lingham, while numerically it is the perfect one; but it is also the number 10, male and female, when divided[[vol. 2, page] 127 seth our progenitor. later israelites and rabbis, who undeniably knew the real meaning of their exoteric deity. the jews regard the name given to them- the yah-oudi- as an insult. yet they have, or would have if they only wished it, as undeniable a right to call themselves the ancient yah-oudi "jah-hovians" as the brahmins have to call themselves brahmins, after their national deity. for jah-hovah is the generic name of that group or hier

eping friend's brow, killed the man instead. mr. gladstone killed genesis for ever. but this does not prove that there is no esotericism in the latter. the fact that the jews and all the christians, the modern as well as the early sects, have accepted the narrative literally for two thousand years, shows only their ignorance; and shows the great ingenuity and constructive ability of the initiated rabbis, who have built the two accounts- the elohistic and the jehovistic- esoterically, and have purposely confused the meaning by the vowelless glyphs or word-signs in the original text. the six days- yom- of creation do mean six periods of evolution, and the seventh that of culmination of perfection (not of rest, and refer to the seven rounds and the seven races with a distinct "creation" in ea

cess is made clear, however, the profane will be better able to understand why david danced "uncovered" before the ark of the covenant, and was so anxious to appear vile for the sake of his "lord" and base in his own sight (see 2 samuel vi. 16-22) the ark is the navi-form argha of the mysteries. parkhurst, who has[[footnote(s* but it was not so, in reality, witness their prophets. it is the later rabbis and the talmudic scheme that killed out all spirituality from the body of their symbols; leaving only their scriptures- a dead shell, from which the soul has departed[[vol. 2, page] 460 the secret doctrine. a long dissertation upon it in his greek dictionary, and who never breathes a word about it in the hebrew lexicon, explains it thus[[arche] in this application answers to the hebrew rasi

, used by the high priests as a sacrificial chalice in the worship of isis, astarte, and venusaphrodite, all of whom were goddesses of the generative powers of nature, or of matter- hence representing symbolically the ark containing the germs of all living things("isis unveiled" vol. ii, p. 444) mistaken is he who accepts the kabalistic works of to-day, and the interpretations of the zohar by the rabbis, for the genuine kabalistic lore of old* for no more to-day than in the day of frederick von schelling does the kabala accessible to europe and america, contain much more than "ruins and fragments, much distorted remnants still of that primitive system which is the key to all religious systems (see kabbala, by prof. franck, preface. the oldest system and the[[footnote(s* the author of the "

mplicity of its images" on the other hand, that work misleads the student by such expressions as those used with respect to ainsoph and jehovah, notwithstanding the assurance that "the book is careful to explain that the human form with which it clothes god is but an image of the word, and that god should not be expressed by any thought, or any form" it is well known that origen, clemens, and the rabbis confessed, with regard to the kabala and the bible, to their being veiled and secret books; but few know that the esotericism of the kabalistic books in their present re-edited form is simply another and still more cunning veil thrown upon the primitive symbolism of these secret volumes. the idea of representing the hidden deity by the circumference of a circle, and the creative power (male

n genesis, is simply this secondary stage, to wit, the mechanical law of creation, or rather of construction; while theogony is hardly, if at all, outlined. it is only in the first six chapters of genesis, in the rejected book of enoch, and the misunderstood and mistranslated poem of job, that true echoes of the archaic doctrine may now be found. the key to it is lost, even among the most learned rabbis, whose predecessors in the early period of the middle ages have preferred, in their national exclusiveness and pride, and especially in their profound hatred of christianity, to cast it into the deep sea of oblivion, rather than to share their knowledge with their relentless and fierce persecutors. jehovah was their own tribal property, inseparable from, and unfit to play a part in, any oth

BLAVATSKY H P COSMOGENESIS

l thrown over it (theosophist, vol. viii, p. 304[[vol. 1, page] 11 proem. of a highly philosophical page in the world's cosmogony (see book iii, gupta vidya and the zohar) left in their symbolical disguise, they are a nursery tale, an ugly thorn in the side of science and logic, an evident effect of karma. to have let them serve as a prologue to christianity was a cruel revenge on the part of the rabbis, who knew better what their pentateuch meant. it was a silent protest against their spoliation, and the jews have certainly now the better of their traditional persecutors. the above-named exoteric creeds will be explained in the light of the universal doctrine as we proceed with it. the occult catechism contains the following questions and answers "what is it that ever is "space, the etern

DAVID ICKE AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

power by, among others 'jewish' financial and political forces. the way jewish people have been stitched up is astonishing. it is no good some writers condemning the whole thing as a jewish plot. it is not. the mass of jewish people are victims, not perpetrators of the events i describe. it is those who control israel who are among those behind the plot, not jewish people, as at least some brave rabbis and other jews have had the guts to point out. mossad, like the state of israel itself, was created by groups such as the stern gang and others, which terrorised palestine out of existence after the war, under the financial and political direction of the house of rothschild. lord victor rothschild, the former british intelligence officer and kgb spy, was at the forefront of this. according

hat killed almost a hundred people. he's a fucking lamster (on the run."19 begin, as prime minister of israel, later won the nobel peace prize! gary wean, a detective sergeant in the los angeles police department, had the job of monitoring cohen's activities. in his book, there's a fish in the courthouse, wean confirms the story about marilyn monroe and the cohen-begin connection" at the time the rabbis were pushing them hard as hell to squeeze every bit of dough they could get out of hollywood for israel. begin was spending more time hanging around cohen in hollywood than in israel. begin desperately wanted to know what kennedy's plan was for israel if he became president."20 another of cohen's associates and a leading errand boy and operative for meyer lansky was jack rubinstein. he's be

dical than playing their silly political games on a black and white chessboard. so while new world order researchers are condemned as racists because they name some people who happen to be jewish (and far more who are not, nothing is said by the robot radicals about the talmud, the jewish book of law, which is among the most appallingly racist documents on the planet. there is silence, too, about rabbis who say they would never drink wine that had not been bottled by a jew. yet there would be vehement condemnation of someone who said they would never drink wine that had been bottled by a jew. the stench of hypocrisy fills the air. in the same way, there is silence from the robot radicals when people like the frenchman, jean briere, are fined or jailed for expressing an opinion. briere, a f

DAVID ICKE CHILDREN OF THE MATRIX

words or sounds, comes from the same root. manu was the name for the indian version of noah, who survived the deluge with the help of the great serpent vasuki" in earlier times manu was the womb of the goddess. the levites, those babylonian mystery school initiates, invented an entire history for the hebrews to hide the real story and create a fiercely imposed structure of religious control. the rabbis continue that tradition to this day. there is far more about this story in the biggest secret, where i have highlighted the way these texts were coded with esoteric knowledge and why the vast majority of people who we call "jewish" today have no genetic connection to palestine or israel. they originate, as jewish sources have confirmed, from the khazars, a people from southern russia and th

not see the difference between information and indoctrination "how can i do the best for my children" he said, or words to that effect "if i do not bring them up to believe what is right" no, rabbi, what you believe is right. that's not informing them of your view; it is indoctrinating your beliefs while suppressing and discrediting all alternative versions of reality. it's mind control. priests, rabbis, bishops, popes, and all the rest of the long-frock brigade are professional gatekeepers working for those who control the matrix. yet most of them are so mesmerised by the matrix themselves, they have no idea that this is so. it is the same with the vast majority of parents. it goes further. parents, conditioned by their parents, who were conditioned by theirs, and so on, often decide what

DAVID ICKE THE BIGGEST SECRET

bolic of the winged draco. eannus, it was said, held the keys to the doors of heavenand he was the sole intermediary between god and humanity, therefore any belief notsupported by him was false and should be condemned. this was a wonderful tool forthe babylonian priesthood to impose their will on the populous and exactly the samescam has been played by their successors, the christian priests, the rabbis and thepriesthoods of islam, hinduism and all the rest. the roman catholic title of cardinalcomes from the word cardo meaning hinge and relates to nimrods role as guardian ofthe door to heaven.10 the babylonian priests even established a governing body theycalled the grand council of pontiffs, a name later transferred to the church of rome.11the babylonian high priest, who instructed the in

hahak,a survivor of the belsen concentration camp, is one of the comparatively few peoplenow known as jews, who has had the courage to openly challenge and expose thetalmud. shahak, in his book jewish history, jewish religion, highlights the stunninglevel of racism on which the jewish (levite, brotherhood) law is founded. he tells how87the extreme end of this faith, as represented by the orthodox rabbis today, makes it areligious offence to save the life of a gentile, unless there would be unpleasantconsequences for jews not doing so. the charging of interest on loans to a fellow jew isbanned, but by talmudic law they must charge a gentile as much interest as theypossibly can. it is demanded that jews must utter a curse every time they pass a gentilecemetery and that when they pass a genti

DIABOLUS

ey in the 1960 s as the church of satan. this image appeared in 1961 in a french book entitled "histoire en 1000 images de la magie. this sigil, which is composed of the goat head within an inverse pentagram, spells samael and lilith in the circle, representing the two daemonic forces which are antinomian in nature. what encircles and surrounds the three (samael, lilith and the goat head, or what rabbis could call cain) is the lvythn, which is spelled from the bottom counter clockwise, with the hebrew letters lamed, vav, yod, tav, nun. this is indeed a sigil of personal power used by satanists and luciferians, representing the possibilities and power within the self. the levi version with the original spelling of samael and lilith is a grade symbol within the luciferian guild, the order of

DION FORTUNE MYSTICAL QABALA

modern students of the mysteries. for although the roots of our system are in tradition, there is no reason why we should be hidebound by tradition. a technique that is being actually practised is a growing thing, for the experience of each worker enriches it and becomes part of the common heritage. 6. it is not necessarily incumbent upon us to do certain things or hold certain ideas because the rabbis who lived before christ had certain views. the world has moved on since those days and we are under a new dispensation but what was true in principle then will be true in principle now, and of value to us. the modern qabalist is the heir of the ancient qabalist, but he must re-interpret doctrine and re-formulate method in the light of the present dispensation if the heritage he has received

l be true in principle now, and of value to us. the modern qabalist is the heir of the ancient qabalist, but he must re-interpret doctrine and re-formulate method in the light of the present dispensation if the heritage he has received is to be of any practical value to him. 7. i do not clairn that the modern qabalistic teachings as i have learnt them are identical with those of the pre-christian rabbis, but i claim that they are the legitimate descendants thereof and the natural development therefrom. 8. the nearer the source the purer the stream. in order to discover first principles we must go to the fountain-head. but a river receives many tributaries in the course of its flow, and these need not necessarily be polluted. if we want to discover whether they are pure or not, we compare t

ylon we know that the wisdom of the magi must have been accessible to hebrew illuminati. 11. this ancient mystical tradition of the hebrews possessed three literatures: the books of the law and the prophets, which are known to us as the old testament; the talmud, or [page 4] collection of learned commentaries thereon; and the qabalah, or mystical interpretation thereof. of these three the ancient rabbis say that the first is the body of the tradition, the second its rational soul, and the third its immortal spirit. ignorant men may with profit read the first; learned men study the second; but the wise meditate upon the third. it is a strange thing that christian exegesis has never sought the keys to the old testament in the qabalah. 12. in our lord's day there were three schools of religio

imbue any student of the arcane forces. it is the purity, sanity, and clarity of the qabalistic concepts as resumed in the formula of the tree of life which makes that glyph such an admirable one for the meditations that exalt consciousness and justify us in calling the qabalah the yoga of the west. chapter iii the method of the qabalah 1. speaking of the method of the qabalah, one of the ancient rabbis says that an angel coming down to earth would have to take on human form in order to converse with men. the curious symbol-system known to us as the tree of life is an attempt to reduce to diagrammatic form every force and factor in the manifested universe and the soul of man; to correlate them one to another and reveal them spread out as on a map so that the relative positions of each unit

dent of natural science; the latter builds up synthetic concepts; the former analyses abstract concepts. it goes without saying, however, that before a concept can be analysed it must first be assembled. someone must have thought out the principles that are resumed in the symbol which is the object of meditation of the qabalist. who then were the first qabalists who built up the whole scheme? the rabbis are unanimdus upon this point, they were angels. in other words, it was beings of another order of creation than humanity who gave the chosen people their qabalah. 3. to the modern mind this may seem as absurd a statement as the doctrine that babies are found under gooseberry bushes; but if we study the many mystical systems of mystical qabala page 12 comparative religion we find that all t

ise that there is an active esoteric tradition in our midst, handed down in private manuscripts and by "mouth to ear" still fewer know that it is the holy qabalah, the mystic system of israel, which forms its basis. but where may we look more aptly for our occult inspiration than to the tradition which gave us the christ? 2. the interpretation of the qabalah is not to be found, however, among the rabbis of the outer israel, who are hebrews after the flesh, but among those who are the chosen people after the spirit-in other words, the initiates. neither is the qabalah, as i have learnt it, a purely hebraic system, for it has been supplemented during medieval times by much alchemical lore and by the intimate association with it of that most marvellous system of symbolism, the tarot. 3. in my

d during medieval times by much alchemical lore and by the intimate association with it of that most marvellous system of symbolism, the tarot. 3. in my presentation of the subject, therefore, i do not appeal so much to tradition in support of my views, as to modern practice among those who make use of the qabalah as their method of occult technique. it may be 'alleged against me that the ancient rabbis knew nothing of some of the concepts here set forth; to this i reply that it is hardly to be expected that they should, as these things were not known in their day, but are the work of their successors of the spiritual israel. for my part, although i would not willingly mislead [page 20] anyone concerning the teachings of those of ancient days, and upon matters of historical accuracy stand

practical value as the holy qabalah, and i use the work of my predecessors as a quarry whence i fetch the stone to build my city. neither am i limited to this quarry by any ordinance that i know of; but fetch also cedar from lebanon and gold from ophir if it suits my purpose. mystical qabala page 16 4. let it be clearly understood, therefore, that i do not say, this is the teaching of the ancient rabbis; rather do i say, this is the practice of the modern qabalists, and for us a much more vital matter, for it is a practical system of spiritual unfoldment; it is the yoga of the west. 5. having thus guarded myself as far as possible against blame for not having done what i never undertook to do, let me now define my own position in the matter of scholarship and general qualifications for the

DION FORTUNE PSYCHIC SELF DEFENSE

that when the unstable soul advances by the path of saturn that bridges the astral and enters the sphere of luna, he touches her hecate aspect and finds himself en rappart with the gamaliel, the obscene ones, whose chief is lilith, she who giveth lustful dreams. need we then wonder that freud finds the dreams of the neurotic filled with sexual images in their most perverted and debased forms? the rabbis knew their psychology just as well as he does. 58 of 103 as has already been noted, the neurotic is very often psychic, and the psychic is very often neurotic. what may we expect to happen to the soul that has taken initiation in a past life, retains subconsciously the psychic development thus conferred, and finds itself incarnated in a neurotic personality in this life? he will come under

DONALDTYSON EVILEYE

onvinced on the subconscious level that they have been attacked- the horror and despair are very real. they see their lives crumbling around them, and are willing to do anything to save themselves. victims of the evil eye frequently seek out help from gypsies and fortune-tellers, because they feel that they have nowhere else to turn. doctors and psychologists dismiss their fears. even priests and rabbis no longer realize that the terrible effects of the evil eye are quite real to those who suffer from them. shut out from the churches, the clinics, the hospitals, where are they to turn? some unscrupulous fortune-tellers deliberately try to convince clients that they have fallen victim to the evil eye. if they are successful, they offer to lift the curse for a price- a high price. so despera

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 1

le relations of masons. the order of the eastern star and that of adoptive masonry were attempted in scotland but without success. adramelech according to johan weyer, adramelech is chancellor of the infernal regions, keeper of the wardrobe of the demon king, and president of the high council of the devils. he was worshiped at sepharvaim, an assyrian town, where children were burned on his altar. rabbis of the period said that he showed himself in the form of a mule or sometimes of a peacock. encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. adramelech 11 sources: weyer, johannes. witches, devils, and doctors in the renaissance: johann weyer, de praestigiis. edited by george mora. binghamton, n.y: medieval and renaissance texts and studies, 1991. advanced spiritual church healing center c

en, and gods by ferdinand ossendowski. ossendowski (1876.1945) was a polish writer who traveled extensively through central asia in the 1920s (see also shaver mystery; subterranean cities) sources: dickhoff, robert ernest. agharta. mokelumne hill, calif: health research, 1964. ossendowski, ferdinand. beasts, men, and gods. new york: e. p. dutton, 1922. agla a word from the kabala formerly used by rabbis for exorcisms of the evil spirit. it is made up of the initial letters of the hebrew words, athah gabor leolam, adonai, meaning, thou art powerful and eternal, lord. among superstitious christians it was also a favorite weapon with which to combat the evil one, as late as the sixteenth century. it is found in many books on magic, notably in the enchiridion ascribed to pope leo iii. agapis e

he inn where the unknown teacher was staying, but the teacher was gone. we see by this true history, remarked athanasius, how the devil seeks to deceive men who are led by a lust of riches. he related further that, as a result of this incident, the alchemist destroyed his scientific equipment and renounced alchemy forever. anpiel in ancient hebrew mysticism, anpiel is one of the angels charged by rabbis with the government of birds, for every known species was put under the protection of one or more angels. anpsi psi faculty in animals. the term psi-trailing is used to indicate a form of anpsi in which a pet may trace its owner in a distant location it has not previously visited (see also earthquake prediction; elberfeld horses) sources: gaddis, vincent, and margaret gaddis. the strange wo

enth century. this book is clearly one of the inspirations of the modern witchcraft revival launched by gerald b. gardner, and it has furnished some materials for the contemporary witches book of shadows, the ritual book used by modern witch covens. sources: leland, charles godfrey. aradia: gospel of the witches. 1899. reprint, new york: hero press, 1971. arael one of the spirits that the ancient rabbis of the talmud made princes and governors over the people of the birds. encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. arael 83 arariel according to the ancient rabbis of the talmud, arariel is an angel who takes charge of the waters of the earth. fishermen invoked him so that they might catch large fish. ararita according to occultist eliphas levi, ararita is the verbum inenarrabile of

of the ass that carried jesus christ into jerusalem, which is said to have died at verona, where its remains are still honored. they say the ass is a privileged animal that god formed at the end of the sixth day. abraham employed it to carry the wood for the sacrifice of isaac; it also car- encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. ass 95 ried the wife and son of moses in the desert. the rabbis maintained that balaam s ass was carefully nourished and hidden in a secret place until the coming of the jewish messiah. assagioli, roberto (1888.1974) psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and parapsychologist. he was born february 27, 1888, in venice, italy, and educated at university of florence (m.d. as a young psychiatrist he became disenchanted with first freudian and then jungian psychoana

er years, ayton retired to east grinstead, sussex, on a small pension, then to saffron walden, hertfordshire, where he died january 1, 1909, at the age of 92. sources: howe, ellic, ed. the alchemist of the golden dawn: the letters of the revd w. a. ayton to f. l. gardner and others, 1886.1905. wellingborough, u.k: aquarian press, 1985. azael one of the angels who revolted against god. the ancient rabbis stated that he is chained on sharp stones in an obscure part of the desert, awaiting the last judgment. azazel a demon of the second order, guardian of the goat. at the feast of expiation, which the ancient jews celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month, two goats were led to the high priest, who drew lots for them, the one for the lord, the other for azazel. the one on which the lot

nd eventually came to believe that it is possible. sources: berendt, heinz c. a new israeli metal-bender (with film. in research in parapsychology, 1982. edited by william roll, john beloff, and rhea w. white. metuchen, n.j: scarecrow press, 1983. parapsychology: the world beyond our five senses. n.p, 1966. bereschit universal genesis, one of the two parts into which the kabala was divided by the rabbis; also the name of the first book of the hebrew bible, meaning in the beginning. berger, arthur seymour (1920) american attorney who in 1970 became active in the field of death education and the investigation and teaching of psychic phenomena. in 1978 he taught courses in death and dying and parapsychology for the psychical research foundation, and a sponsored program of duke university at d

all diseases arising from natural causes to the influence of demons (these facts are derived in great measure from the dutch theologian balthasar bekker s ingenious, though forgotten, four volumes le monde enchante (1694, which discuss the necessity of exorcism) belthasar bekker related an instance of exorcism practiced by jews to avert the evil influence of the demon lilis (or lilith, whom some rabbis claimed was the wife of satan. during the 130 years (states elias, in the thisbi) that elapsed before adam was married to eve, he was visited by certain she-devils, of whom the four principal were lilis, naome, ogere, and machalas; these encounters produced a fruitful progeny of spirits. lilis visited the bedroom of women recently delivered and endeavored to kill their babies, boys on the e

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

d or backward, to the right or left hand, and agreeably gave responses, having made use of the fall of their staffs for their signs. the practice is said to have passed from the chaldeans and scythians to the german tribes, who used pieces from the branch of a fruit tree, which they marked with certain characters and threw at hazard upon a white cloth. something like this, according to one of the rabbis, was the practice of the hebrews, only instead of characters, they peeled their rods on one side and drew the presage from their manner of falling. the scythians and the alani used rods of the myrtle and sallow, and as the latter chose fine straight wands according to herodotus, it may be inferred that their method was that of the hebrews, or some modification of it (see also aaron s rod) r

e, david. shelta: the cairds language. transactions of gaelic society of inverness 24 (1904. shemhamphorash in the talmud, the external term representing the hidden word of power, by whose virtues a new world might be. this word is lost to the human race, although even sounds approximating it have a magic power and can give to whomever pronounces them dominion in the spirit world. some of the old rabbis believed that the word of power contains 12 letters, others, 42, and yet others 72, but these are the letters of the divine alphabet, which god created from certain luminous points made by the concentration of the primal universal light. shemhamphorash is, in fact, the name of this word. in the kabala, the shemhamphorash, or 72 syllabled name of god, is related to three verses of the hebrew

rding to them, david laid the foundations of it, and when he died he left it to be finished by solomon. that prince employed jinn, and not men, in the work; and this idea may relate to what is said in kings 6:7, that the temple was built of stone, made ready before it was brought thither, so that there was neither hammer, no axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house while it was building. the rabbis noticed a worm that they claimed assisted the workmen, the power of which was such as to cause the rocks and stones to separate in chiseled blocks. while engaged in the erection of the temple, solomon found his end approaching, and he prayed that his death might be concealed from the jinn until the building was finished. his request was granted. he died while in the act of praying, leaning

. spells were often employed to imprison evil spirits. jewish folklore has many opinions and legends relating to this subject, which appear to have derived in a great measure from the babylonians. the ancient historian josephus affirmed that it was generally believed by his countrymen that solomon left behind many spells that had the power of terrifying and expelling evil spirits. some of the old rabbis also described solomon as an accomplished magician. it is possible that the belief in the power of spells and incantations became general among the hebrews during the captivity, and that the invention of them was attributed to the wise solomon, as a more creditable personage than the deities of the assyrians. those fictions acquired currency, not only among the arabs, persians, and other is

FELDMAN DANIEL QABALAH THE MYSTICAL HERITAGE OF THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

ake a feeling from deep within myself that rabbinical judaism had somehow become disconnected from its spiritual taproot. something essential was missing. it appeared to me that a rigid fence had been built around the letter of the torah, but that the living spirit of the torah was no longer there. i knew that other religions had distinct and beautiful mystical traditions, but where was ours? the rabbis never mentioned it, never taught us anything about it. moreover, what was the original hebrew religion like long before there were rabbis and temples, and we lived as nomadic tribes as the children of abraham? like many young jews in the late 1960 s, i began to voraciously read everything i could find on mystical and occult subjects. i went to see any teacher from any mystical tradition who

stic teachings by european occultists, and a growing tendency among christian cabalists to attempt to establish that the true hidden meaning of the qabalah supports the efficacy of christian dogma. the widespread anti-qabalistic sentiment promulgated by both the rabbinical and pauline orthodox authority has been accompanied by a considerable amount of misinformation and fear mongering. even those rabbis and talmudic scholars who do not regard the mystical qabalah as evil and malicious echo the injunctions that it should only be studied by married jewish men over the age of forty who have studied the torah and talmud for many years. in all fairness, it should be noted that there are a substantial number of chasidim and other religious jews who embrace and encourage the study and practice of

arriers and attitudes of exclusivity regarding the study of the jewish kabbalah serve to perpetuate a long standing sexist and elitist mindset that discourages individuals from pursuing direct mystical experience outside the context of orthodox religious observance as established by the pharisees subsequent to the diaspora.4 these attitudes also serve to 8- f e 0 solidify the position of orthodox rabbis as intermediaries and authorities in the dispensation of the jewish religion. the authority of the pharisees evolved from the growing prominence of the academies of jewish learning that started to appear in the late fifth century bce under the tolerant regime of the persians, after hundreds of years of assyrian and babylonian repression. the word pharisee comes from the word parush, meaning

a significant impact on the development of the pharisaic rabbinate centuries later. they were redacted much later in the talmud yerushalmi and talmud babli, which contain voluminous commentary garnered from over four centuries of rabbinical dialectic. the talmud is composed of the mishnah and the gemara. the mishnah is a collection of scriptural exegesis attributed to various heralded palestinian rabbis, many of whom were associated with rabbinical academies from the fifth through second centuries bce. the tractates of the mishnah were edited and codified circa 220 ce, and form the core of the talmud. the bulk of the talmud, called the gemara (lit. completion, is a 4' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% collection of discussions among later palestinian and babylonian rabbis regarding passages and topics in

notheism of master abraham did not simply mean that there was only one god, but rather that the divine source alone exists. hence, the mystical focus of the early hebrews would have centered upon the universality and pervasiveness of the divine source within all beings on all planes of existence. group ritual would have underscored and celebrated this relationship. there were no synagogues and no rabbis: there were tents and there were revered elders. there was not yet an ever-more complicated code of behavior used as a fence to stave' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% off the adulteration and dilution of their culture and traditions. the biggest impact on their routines of life would have come from dramatic changes in weather patterns, extraordinary natural disasters such as drought and earthquakes (the

each of the branches is built around variations of the same totality archetype anchored in the same negatively existent substratum. yet, the religious teachings of the different branches have somehow evolved so that the variations have become mutually exclusive. while the mystical qabalah stands as the very foundation of the hebrew, christian, and islamic religious dispensations, few contemporary rabbis, priests, or imams study its ideas or engage in its practices within the context of their respective faiths. 8- f e 5 2 f# tree of the children of abraham the ideas and practices of the mystical qabalah find their counterparts (albeit differently clothed) in virtually every other mystical tradition, all of which present their own unique version of the same universal teachings. like every ot

rsia. the karaites arose in reaction to and as a revolt against rabbinical judaism in the eighth century ce, and were not fully put down until the fifteenth century ce. from its earliest beginning, it (the karaite revolt) spread throughout the jewish diaspora into every stratum of society. karaism derives from the hebrew word karah (lit. to read) i.e. to read the torah without the intervention of rabbis. they rejected the talmud as a conspiracy of the rabbis to separate ordinary people from the simplicity of the torah. for them, the torah was the sole source of religious laws. karaites created different oral laws to deal with modern life. many talmudic dietary laws were abolished and the use of tefillin (phylacteries) was abandoned. in response to the threat that the karaites posed to thei

e talmud as a conspiracy of the rabbis to separate ordinary people from the simplicity of the torah. for them, the torah was the sole source of religious laws. karaites created different oral laws to deal with modern life. many talmudic dietary laws were abolished and the use of tefillin (phylacteries) was abandoned. in response to the threat that the karaites posed to their authority, the jewish rabbis were able to prevent a final schism in judaism by co-opting many acceptable karaite ideas and reforming abuses. gradually, the karaite revolt dissipated and ceased after almost 700 years. 17 it is also relevant to note that the karaites attacked the provocative anthropomorphism of the qabalistic doctrines. while few contemporary jews know anything about the karaites, the impetus for their r

FREEMASONS SATANISM AND SYMBOLISM

as fabled to be a bridge leading from earth [female vulva] to heaven [great father's pha llus [oliver, signs and symbols, macoy publishing and masonic supply co, p. 14; also r. swinburne, the mysteries of osiris or ancient egyptian initiation, p. 185] a christian author explains this somewhat obscure statement, above, on the sexual symbology of the rainbow "in the ancient jewish kabbala. mystical rabbis taugh he t that the rainbow symbolized a sexual rite. the bow of t rainbow was supposedly the phallus of the male god which descended into the kingdom of the womb, the queen or goddess. the union was said to create immense divine powers [texe marrs, mystery mark of the new age, p. 97] sex in the cross and the crown most christians would have no trouble accepting the cross and the crown symb

GILBERT THE GOLDEN DAWN TWILIGHT OF THE MAGICIANS

y, which association was founded by christian rosenkreuz and his brethren so far back as1398.valentin andrea, the german theologian and mystic, has left us in his works, published in and after the year1614,an account of100thegoldendawnthe doctrines and exoteric management of the r.c. society. but even the revival of mysticism was but a new development of the vastly older wisdom of the kabbalistic rabbis and of.the most ancient of all secret knowledge, the magic of the egyptians, in which the bible itself tells us that moses the founder of the jewish system was 'learned, that is, in which he had been in255 itiated. through the hebrew kabbalah we have indeed become pos255 sessed of more of the ancient wisdom than from any other source, for it must be borne in mind that the hebrews were taugh

GILBERT THE MAGICAL MASON

magic, from the ancient rosicrucian dogmata 66 7. courage versus obsession 71 8. chess shatranji and chaturanga 75 part two: kabalistic 9. the kabalah 3110.a further glance at the kabalah 95 11. the ten sephiroth 110 12. the religion of freemasonry illuminated by the kabbalah 114 13. angels: jewish, christian and pagan 124 14. the devil, and evil spirits according to the bible and ancient hebrew rabbis 131 15. some anomalies in the biblical views of the constitution of man 139 16. the vestiges of tetragrammaton 154 17. the number four in relation with the world and man 1576themagicalmasonpartthree:divination18.thehistory of astrology169 19.dreams18120.divination and its history19221.the star lore of the bible216partfour: masonic22.freemasonry and its relation to the essenes233 23.the rese

omancy, etc, are suitable themes for lectures in your college. for such as can understand medieval latin a most interesting work is the'oedipusaegyptiacus'of athanasius kircher. it is desirable that our students should make them255 selves acquainted with the ancient mysteries of egypt, of greece and of rome.thebasis of the western occultism of medieval europe is the kabalah of the medieval hebrew rabbis,towhich i have publishedanintroduction.this philosophy, although at first sight barbarous and crude, yet will be found, when one has grown familiar with the nomenclature, to be a concrete, coherent and far-reaching scheme of theology, cosmology, ethics and metaphysics, serving to throw light on many obscure biblical passages and to suggest original views of the meaning of most of the allego

fountain head. the connection with the true source once broken, the gradual decadence of a philosophy is easy of conception. whether there ever existed such a nexus between the primary kabalah and the wisdom religion may never be known, but a study of kabalistic books does show that a gradual degradation has been going on in the philosophy since medieval times. some of the writings of the latest rabbis sadly differ from the purer and more ancient treatises. whatever may be the origin of this philosophy,itis undeniable that the most ancient rabbis did claim a prehistoric date for its conception:thekabalah83and being hebrews, who no doubt were prominent in the study and the practice of the exoteric law of moses, they claimed for it as distant an origin as they allowed to man himself. they a

adam himself, the first human being of their cosmogony, and they asserted that he was instructed by angels sent by the deity, whom they exoterically described as jehovah elohim, he who they saidputthe soul into man, and made him a living and thinking being..here then we have a parallel. the secret doctrine suggests that the earliest thinking men were taught by solar spirits of sublime order, the rabbis said d.at their kabalah, their esoteric doctrine- in contrast to their pentateuch, their exoteric religion- was given to their earliest man by angelic beings coming from their creator. it must be confesseci that the origin of the kabalah is lost in the mists of antiquity; no one even professes to demonstrate who was its author, or who were its earliest teachers. consider255 able evidence mi

ntrast to their pentateuch, their exoteric religion- was given to their earliest man by angelic beings coming from their creator. it must be confesseci that the origin of the kabalah is lost in the mists of antiquity; no one even professes to demonstrate who was its author, or who were its earliest teachers. consider255 able evidence might be adduced to show that its roots pass back to the hebrew rabbis who flourished at the time of the second temple.ofits existence before this time i know of no evidence. one of the chief books, thesepheryetsirah,is ascribed to abraham:butmodern criticism, which is hardly disposed to grant the existence of abraham, does not of course assent to this ascription.ithas been suggested that the captivity of the jews in babylon led to the formation of this philos

ben abrahamibnlatif.theschool of abulafia and joseph gikatilla. the school of zoharists of rabbis moses de leon, menachem di recanti, loria and vital. but in the main i say that there were two opposing tendencies among the kabalists: the one set devoted themselves entirely to the doctrinal and dogmatic branch:theother to the practical and wonder-working aspect.thegreatest of the wonder255 working rabbis were isaac loria, who died in 1572; and sabbatai zevi, who curiously enough became a mahommedan. both of these departments of occult rabbinic lore have still their living representatives, chiefly scattered individuals; very rarelygroupsof initiates are found. in central europe, parts of russia, austria, and poland, there are even now jews, known as wonder-working rabbis, who can do strange

s formed on the sephirotic type (3)thathuman souls were pre-existent in an upper world before the origin of this present world (4) that human souls before incarnation dwell now in an upper hall, where the decision is made as to what body each soul shall enter (5)thatevery soul after earth lives must at length be so purified as to be reabsorbed into the infinite (6)thattwo lives are taught by many rabbis, to be necessary for all to pass; and that if failure result in the second life, a third life is passed linked with a stronger soul who draws the sinner upward into purity (7) that when all the pre-existent souls have arrived at perfection, the fallen angels are also raised, and all lives are merged into the deity by the kiss of love from the mouth of tetragrammaton- and the manifested univ

may, no doubt, have been repeatedly varied by the influences of contending teachers. soon after this period were framed the first series of glosses and commentaries on the old testament books, which have come down to our times. of these, one of the earliest is the volume called thetargumof ankelos,written abouta.d.100. abouta.d.141 there first come into note the now famous treatise written by the rabbis of judah, calledmischna,and this formed the basis of those vast compilations of hebrew doctrine called thetalmud,of which there are two extant forms, one compiled at babylon- the most notable- and the other associated with jerusalem. to the originalmischnatime added further commentaries namedgemara.from this time the literature of judaism grew apace, and there was a constant succession of n

GILBERT THE SORCERER AND HIS APPRENTICE

:r.mi.,3ai.anr.imt.oeeritblueair.2!!lanl'ient;jan, 225yellowwest.nwnj.nv',u",vmz255.;u":u22thesorcerer and his apprenticeevident. in the scorpion,inoctober..come the water floods, andin.aquarius,injanuary, come the keen and biting winds,ofwhich the element air is the type. note that the aspirant is led, asitwere backwards,up theseasonsin his course past thefrom \vest toe.ast.i.,i. but the' hebrew rabbis said that the divine namej"nrrihvh rushesthroughthe.foreac.hletter presides oyer an element-yod over fire, he over water, vau over air, andhepvereltrth,andthattherefore he who could pronounce itwould make both heaven andearthtotterandquake,seeing that he would have used the, creative word which called each elementintobeing.iwill, therefore,inconclusion, ask those who wear those mystical rob

GLOBAL FREEMASONRY

infests it."17 salomon reinach defines the kabbalah as "one of the worst aberrations of the human mind."18 the reason for reinach's contention that the kabbalah is "one of the worst aberrations of the human mind" is that its doctrine is connected in large part with magic. for thousands of years, the kabbalah has been one of the foundation-stones of every kind of magic ritual. it is believed that rabbis who study the kabbalah possess great magical power. also, many non-jews have been influenced by the kabbalah, and have tried to practice magic by employing its doctrines. the esoteric tendencies that took hold in europe during the late middle ages, especially as practiced by alchemists, have their roots, to a great extent, in the kabbalah. the strange thing is, that judaism is a monotheisti

to find in the kabbalah clear traces of the materialist ideology of the ancient egyptians. the kabbalah a doctrine opposed to creationism god reveals in the qur'an that the torah is a divine book that was sent as a light to humanity: we sent down the torah containing guidance and light, and the prophets who had submitted themselves gave judgment by it for the jews as did their scholars and their rabbis by what they had been allowed to preserve of god's book to which they were witnesses (qur'an, 5: 44) therefore, the torah, like the qur'an, is a book that contains knowledge and commands related to such topics as the existence of god, his unity, his qualities, the creation of human beings and other creatures, the purpose of human creation, and god's moral laws for humanity (but, this origin

ecret, which was transmitted secretly, could be understood only by the kabbalists (the zohar, written later in spain, and forming the fundamental book of the kabbalah, deals with the secrets of these five books) after stating that the kabbalists read this ancient egyptian secret also in the geometric measurements of the temple of solomon, eco writes that the templars learned it from the kabbalist rabbis in jerusalem: the secret what the temple already said in full is suspected only by a small group of rabbis who remained in palestine and from them the templars learn it.30 when the templars adopted this ancient egyptian-kabbalist doctrine, naturally, they came into conflict with the christian establishment that dominated europe. this was a conflict they shared with another important force t

GRIMM TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY VOL 2 1883 COMPLETE

8b; conf. the popular joke, prob. ancient, on the origin of swabians, franks and bavarians, schm 3 524 2 in the jewish language, both learned and vulgar, ashkenaz denotes ger many or a german. the name occurs in gen. 10, 3 and jer. 51, 27; how early its mistaken use began, is unknown even to j. d. michaelis (spicil. geogr. hebr. 1, 59; it must have been by the 15th century, if not sooner, and the rabbis may very likely have been led to it by hearing talk of a derivation of the germans from an ancestor askamus, or else the trojan one. 3 populus however is unconn. with populus a poplar. buch an e quercu aut saxo natus, who cannot name his own father, is vulceeation. 573 been fairy tales about it, which children told each other in con fidential chat (oapi^efjievai, airb spyo? rjs* airb irerpr

H SPENCER LEWIS ROSICRUCIAN MANUAL AMORC 1990

religious convictions of the rosicrucians? a ns. the religious convictions of the rosicrucians are as diversified as the races and types of persons in the organization. since it is a universal and international movement with members living in all lands, and of every creed and tongue, its religious attitude is strictly nonsectarian. there are members in the organization who are priests, clergymen, rabbis, and directors and workers in every one of the various religions throughout the world. there is nothing in the rosicrucian teachings to interfere with the individual's religious convictions, while on the other hand the teachings will tend to support the revelations of spiritual truths as found in all of the sacred writings of the past and present. ques. in what manner is the a.m.o.r.c. perp

HELENA BLAVATSKY THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY

and numerous were the sects in egypt and palestine alone. how could he reconcile them? a. by doing that which we again try to do now. the neo-platonists were a large body, and belonged to various religious philosophies; so do our theosophists. it was under philadelphus that judaism established itself in alexandria, and forthwith the hellenic teachers became the dangerous rivals of the college of rabbis of babylon. as the author of the eclectic philosophy very pertinently remarks: the buddhist, vedantic, and magian systems were expounded along with the philosophies of greece at that period. it was not wonderful that thoughtful men supposed that the strife of words ought to cease, and considered it possible to extract one harmonious system from these various teachings panaetius, athenagoras

s the universally-prevailing dominion of superstition; and in part to correct, and in part to exterminate the various errors that had found their way into the different popular religions. this, again, is precisely what the modern theosophists say. only while the great philaletheian was supported and helped in the policy he pursued by two church fathers, clement and athenagoras, by all the learned rabbis of the synagogue, the academy and the groves, and while he taught a common doctrine for all, we, his followers on the same line, receive no recognition, but, on the contrary, are abused and persecuted. people 1,500 years ago are thus shown to have been more tolerant than they are in this enlightened century. q. was he encouraged and supported by the church because, notwithstanding his heres

or secret teaching, and an exoteric (outward public) worship. furthermore, it is a well-known fact that the mysteries of the ancients comprised with every nation the "greater (secret) and "lesser (public) mysteries-e.g, in the celebrated solemnities called the eleusinia, in greece. from the hierophants of samothrace, egypt, and the initiated brahmins of the india of old, down to the later hebrew rabbis, all preserved, for fear of profanation, their real bona fide beliefs secret. the jewish rabbis called their secular religious series the merkabah (the exterior body "the vehicle" or, the covering which contains the hidden soul-i.e, their highest secret knowledge. not one of the ancient nations ever imparted through its priests its real philosophical secrets to the masses, but allotted to t

eption of "i" self-consciousness or self-identity; the "i" or egoistical and mayavic principle in man, due to our ignorance which separates our "i" from the universal one-self. personality, egoism also. page 141 the key to theosophy- hp blavatsky.txt ain-soph (heb) the "boundless" or "limitless" deity emanating and extending. ain-soph is also written en-soph and ain-suph, for no one, not even the rabbis, are quite sure of their vowels. in the religious metaphysics of the old hebrew philosophers, the one principle was an abstraction like parabrahman, though modern cabalists have succeeded by mere dint of sophistry and paradoxes in making a "supreme god" of it, and nothing higher. but with the early chaldean cabalists ain-soph was "without form or being" with "no likeness with anything else"

of its union with buddhi, and being, so to speak, merged into it, is identified with the latter; the trinity has become one; and, as the element of buddhi is the highest, it becomes buddhi-taijas. in short, it is the human soul illuminated by the radiance of the divine soul, the human reason lit by the light of the spirit or divine self-consciousness. cabala (heb) the hidden wisdom of the hebrew rabbis of the middle ages derived from the older secret doctrines concerning divine things and cosmogony, which were combined into a theology after the time of the captivity of the jews in babylon. all the works that fall under the esoteric category are termed cabalistic. caste originally the system of the four hereditary classes into which indian population was divided: brahmana, kshatriya, vaisy

superior to the general spirit of the jewish bible and sectarian teachings, have sadly confused what they saw, and fallen far short of true clairvoyance. clemens alexandrinus a church father and voluminous writer, who had been a neo-platonist and a disciple of ammonius saccas. he was one of the few christian philosophers between the second and third centuries of our era, at alexandria. college of rabbis a college at babylon; most famous during the early centuries of christianity, but its glory was greatly darkened by the appearance in alexandria of hellenic teachers, such as philo-judaeus, josephus, aristobulus, and others. the former avenged themselves on their successful rivals by speaking of the alexandrians as theurgists and unclean prophets. but the alexandrian believers in thaumaturg

d as sinners and impostors when orthodox jews were at the head of such schools of "hazim" there were colleges for teaching prophecy and occult sciences. samuel was the chief of such a college at ramah; elisha, at jericho. hillel had a regular academy for prophets and seers; and it is hillel, a pupil of the babylonian college, who was the founder of the sect of the pharisees and the great orthodox rabbis. cycle (gr. kuklos) the ancients divided time into endless cycles, wheels within wheels, all such periods being of various durations, and each marking the beginning or end of some event either cosmic, mundane, physical, or metaphysical. there were cycles of only a few years, and cycles of immense duration, the great orphic cycle referring to the ethnological change of races lasting 120,000

ISIS UNVEILED

so persecuted and hated by peter, john and james. hie author of the revelation was a jewish kabalist pur sang, with all the hatred inherited by him from his forefathers toward the mysteries* his jealousy during the life of jesus extended even to peter; and it u only after the death of their common master that we see the two apostles the former of whom wore the miter and the petaloon of the jewish rabbis preach so zealously the rite of drcumosioa. in the eyes of peter, paul, who had humiliated him, and whom he felt so much his superior in 'greek learning' and philosophy, must have naturally appeared as a magician, a man polluted with the 'qntma' with the 'wisdom' of the greek mysteries hence, perhaps "simon" the magician" as to peter, biblical critidsm has shown before now that he had proba

: ben azai, ben zoma, a'her, and sabbi a'qtbah "ben azai looked and lost his sight "ben zoma looked and lost his reason "a'her made depredations in the plantation [mi^id up the whole and failed. but a'qtbah, who had entered in peace, came out of it in peace, for the saint, whose name be blessed, had amd 'this old man is worthy of serving us with glory "the learned conmientators of the talmud, the rabbis of the syna- gog, dpiain that the garden of delight, in which those four personages are made to enter, is but that mysterious science, the most terrible of sciences for weak intellects, which it leads direcujf to insanity" says ad. franck, in his a kabbale' it is not the pure at heart, and he who studies but with a view to perfecting himself and so more easily acquiring the promised immorta

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

be sundered more complete and summed as the one being sexless in the bosom of divinity; where there is neither marriage, nor giving in marriage* the idea that adam and eve were both originally hermaphrodites was revived in the thirteenth century by amaury de chartres. he held among other fanciful notions that at the end of the world-both sexes should be re-united in the same person. some learned rabbis asserted that adam was created double; that is, with two bodies, one male and the other female, joined together by the shoulders; their heads (like those of janus) looking in opposite directions. and that* but the reader will find, in the latter part of the book, plausible theories nay, cogent arguments, scarcely to be refuted not only as to the possible (and likely) incorporation of spirit

KNOWLEDGE LECTURE ONE

in black upon a white ground, and those on the other in white upon a black ground, in order to express the interchange and reconciliation of opposing forces and the eternal balance of light and darkness which gives force to visible nature. the black cubical bases represent darkness and matter wherein the spirit, the ruach elohim, began to formulate the ineffable name, that name which the ancient rabbis have said "rushes through the universe" that name before which the darkness rolls back the birth of time. the flaming red triangular capitals which crown the summit of the pillars represent the triune manifestation of the spirit of life, the three mothers of the sepher yetsirah, the three alchemical principles of nature, the sulphur, the mercury and the salt. each pillar is surmounted by it

LAITMAN M THE PATH OF KABBALAH

f k a b b a l a h 104 his words can also be interpreted to describe those who follow the ways of the lord: those people have a desire for both corporeality and spirituality, as it is said, that those who were close to baal hasulam had a screen and aviut (coarseness, but now that he was gone, they had no one to submit to, and were left with coarseness but no screen, and were only looking to become rabbis and pretty jews. therefore, i (rabash) suspect everything that comes out of their hands, for there is no one to restrain them. i am speaking briefly here, for i do not want them in my thoughts, for you know the rule that one is where one s thoughts are, but because i know your fondness for the truth, i am compelled to bring to my mind the coarseness that hasn t a screen, which are broken ve

want to publish his articles after his father, his great teacher. however, time passes and the demand for kabbalistic texts changes. today s students can no longer absorb the material the way it was presented to us. we can say that rabash was the last of the great kabbalists of the past. contained within him was the entire history of judaism. his knowledge of the history of judaism and the great rabbis of the last generations was very impressive, and he would tell their stories as though they were a part of his own life. we can clearly see from his stories that in the beginning of the 20th century there was a spiritual decline that reached so low that the gates to the spiritual world began to close, and a time of spiritual darkness began. if a person in previous centuries had been offered

LEWIS JAMES SATANISM TODAY AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION FOLKLORE AND POPULAR CULTURE

the lot fell for azazel shall be presented alive before the lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to azazel (16:8 10. the early israelites had no purely evil, demonic beings. it was only later, after the hebrews encountered the zoroastrian religion, that they developed an evil antigod opposed to yahweh. looking back on the above verses from a later time, the rabbis seem to have interpreted this passage as ascribing the name azazel to the devil, or to one of the devil s infernal chieftains. see also demons; judaism for further reading: davidson, gustav. a dictionary of angels including the fallen angels. new york: free press, 1967. ronner, john. know your angels: the angel almanac with biographies of 100 prominent angels in legend and folklore, and muc

istian writers, describes lucifer as the chief in the hierarchy of heaven, and as preeminent among all created beings in beauty, power, and wisdom. to this anointed cherub was apparently allotted power and dominion over the earth; and even after his fall and exclusion from his old domain, he still seems to retain some of his power and ancient title to sovereignty. according to the writings of the rabbis and church fathers, his sin was pride, which was an act of complete egoism and pure malice, in that he loved himself to the exclusion of all else and without the excuse of ignorance, error, passion, or weakness of will. other versions hold that his audacity went so far as to attempt to seat himself on the great throne. in the medieval mysteries, lucifer, as the governor of the heavens, is r

the downfall of the devil is, according to church authority, attributed to self-conceit, and it was inferred that the devil s sin was pride, w 277 278 warlock; warlock: the armageddon; and warlock 3: the end of innocence although his sin is elsewhere thought to be superbia, envy, ambition, insolence. according to the talmud, satan s sin lay not in his rivalry with god but in his envy of man. the rabbis say that when adam was created all the angels had to bow to the new king of the earth, but satan refused. thus god flung satan and his host out of heaven, down to the earth. the enmity between satan and jehovah dates from that moment. a similar account is contained in the koran, which says that when allah created man, he called all the angels to worship this crowning work of his hands. howe

LIBER LVII

the golden dawn. t.s] 49 [al i. 24-25; 6 50= 0.12] 50 [cf. gen vi. 3. t.s] 51 [also if we use the same fudge that crowley used to get logos to 93, 120= l, lux (there are at least two other ways by which lvx can be equated with 120 but they are both hideous fudges. t.s] 36 liber lviii 124. do, eden. 131. lams, satan so-called, but really only samael, the accuser of the brethren, unpopular with the rabbis because their consciences were not clear. samael fulfils a most useful function; he is scepticism, which accuses intellectually; conscience, which accuses morally; and even that spiritual accuser upon the threhold, without whom the sanctuary might be profaned. we must defeat him, it is true; but how should we abuse and blame him, without abuse and blame of him that set him there? 136. a mys

LURQUIN STONE EVOLUTION AND RELIGIOUS CREATION MYTHS

jewish philosopher creationism and intelligent design 23 maimonides even wrote that only ignoramuses would take genesis literally. on the other hand, the age of earth, how life-forms came to be, and the timing of the appearance of humans are still very much debated by jewish scholars. for example, there is no general agreement on what is meant by days in genesis. be that as it may, many orthodox rabbis see the theory of evolution as being compatible with the jewish faith. some, however, do not. on the other hand, expectedly, all agree that god played and plays a role in the events that unfold in the universe. one can say that observant jews believe in the spirit of the torah but do not necessarily equate it with actual fact. further, jews consider that the old testament should be read and

should be read and understood in conjunction with jewish scholarly texts such as the talmud, for example. interestingly, many jewish people understand that science, too, evolves and that, for some jews, current scientific knowledge simply represents our best understanding of what ultimately god did. concerning the teaching of id in public schools in the united states, several orthodox and reform rabbis in kansas city made their views crystal clear. in 2005, these rabbis showed their total opposition to the teaching of id in science classes, which, at that time, had been recommended by the kansas board of education. intelligent design, they said, is not science; it is theology. therefore, teaching it in public schools would violate the separation between church and state. apparently, this

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

ith their spirits, souls, and bodies fashioned from this essence, and doomed, like the plant, to return to the black ground--ain soph, the only immortal--whence they came. ain soph was referred to by the qabbalists as the most ancient of all the ancients. it was always considered as sexless. its symbol was a closed eye. while it may be truly said of ain soph that to define it is to defile it, the rabbis postulated certain theories regarding the manner in which ain soph projected creations out of itself, and they also assigned to this absolute not-being certain symbols as being descriptive, in part at least, of its powers. the nature of ain soph they symbolize by a circle, itself emblematic of eternity. this hypothetical circle encloses a dimensionless area of incomprehensible life, and the

niverse through twelve individualized channels. the secret doctrine also caught the priests that the jewels represented centers of life within their own constitutions, which when unfolded according to the esoteric instructions of the temple, were capable of absorbing into themselves and radiating forth again the divine light of the deity (the east indian lotus blossoms have a similar meaning) the rabbis have taught that each twisted linen thread used in weaving the tabernacle curtains and ornamentations consisted of twenty-four separate strands, reminding the discerning that the experience, gained during the twenty-four hours of the day (symbolized in masonry by the twenty-four-inch rule) becomes the threads from which are woven the garments of glory. the urim and thummim in the reverse si

n obedience to the edict of theodosius, who had ordered the destruction of the serapeum, a building sacred to serapis in which the volumes were kept. this conflagration is supposed to have destroyed the library that marcus antonius had presented to cleopatra to compensate in part for that burned in the fire of the year 51. concerning this, h. p. blavatsky, in isis unveiled, has written "they [the rabbis of palestine and the wise men] say that not all the rolls and manuscripts, reported in history to have been burned by c sar, by the christian mob, in 389, and by the arab general amru, perished as it is commonly believed; and the story they tell is the following: at the time of the contest for the throne, in 51 b. c, between cleopatra and her brother dionysius ptolemy, the bruckion, which c

MORALS AND DOGMA

t a thing, writes in the same line with moses, and with him who died upon the cross; and has an intellectual sympathy with the deity himself. the best gift we can bestow on man is manhood. it is that which masonry is ordained of god to bestow on its votaries: not sectarianism and religious dogma; not a rudimental morality, that may be found in the writings of confucius, zoroaster, seneca, and the rabbis, in the proverbs and ecclesiastes; not a little and cheap common-school knowledge; but manhood and science and philosophy. not that philosophy or science is in opposition to religion. for philosophy is but that knowledge of god and the soul, which is derived from observation of the manifested action of god and the soul, and from a wise analogy. it is the intellectual guide which the religio

sentence, becomes fastidious, and condenses like tacitus. the vulgar love a more diffuse stream. the ornamentation that does not cover strength is the gewgaws of babble. neither is dialectic subtlety valuable to public men. the christian faith has it, had it formerly more than now; a subtlety that might have entangled plato, and which has rivalled in a fruitless fashion the mystic lore of jewish rabbis and indian sages. it is not this which converts the heathen. it is a vain task to balance the great thoughts of the earth, like hollow straws, on the finger-tips of disputation. it is not this kind of warfare which makes the cross triumphant in the hearts of the unbelievers; but the actual power that lives in the faith. so there is a political scholasticism that is merely useless. the dexte

REGARDIE ISRAEL THE COMPLETE GOLDEN DAWN

doc16 the golden dawn trine and system of theosophy and hermetic science and the higher alchemy from a long series of practised investigators whose origin is traced to the fratres roseae crucis of germany, which association was founded by one christian rosenkreutz about the year 1398 a. d "the rosicrucian revival of mysticism was but a new development of the vastly older wisdom of the qabalistic rabbis and of that very ancient secret knowledge, the magic of the egyptians, in which the hebrew pentateuch tells you that moses the founder of the jewish system was learned, that is, in which he had been initiated" in a slender but highly informative booklet entitled data of the history of <17> the rosicrucians published in 1916 by the late dr. william wynn westcott, we find the following brief

in black upon a white ground, and those on the other in white upon a black ground, in order to express the interchange and reconciliation of opposing forces and the eternal balance of light and darkness which gives force to visible nature. the black cubical bases represent darkness and matter wherein the spirit, the ruach elohim, began to formulate the ineffable name, that name which the ancient rabbis have said "rushes through the universe" that name before which the darkness rolls back at the birth of time. the flaming red triangular capitals which crown the summit of the pillars represent the triune manifestation of the spirit of life, the three mothers of the sepher yetsirah, the three alchemical principles of nature, the sulphur, the mercury and the salt. each pillar is surmounted by

RUBY TABLET OF SET

rvening presence [because] his people continue to exist in defiance of all logic and all force" rubenstein states that judaism is "largely a this-worldly religion. it focuses attention upon the requirements of i and thou in here and now. the christian church claimed that some of the tragic inevitabilities of the human condition had been overcome through the career of jesus. before this claim, the rabbis preferred their sad wisdom that the human condition had not been altered. they focused jewish attention on those norms which could make life's limitations more viable, rather than on a savior who promised to overcome the limitations. the fundamental jewish posture is one of realism before existence, rather than one of seeking an escape from the world's necessities" he most poignantly states

SATANGEL

plagues and famine, strikes down with lightning, and demands of abraham that he sacrifice his first born son. the idea of a separate evil only gradually arrives from the 2nd century b.c. the dilemma of evil created a paradoxical tension between the essentially monist concept of a single divinity underlying existence and the dualistic principle of a lord of light and a lord of darkness. whilst the rabbis have extricated judaism from these early conflicts, the modern christian church remains befuddled by the confusion arising from these two essentially contradictory concepts. standing in the centre of the ensuing maelstrom is none other than the dark one himself. the idea of a devil does not appear in the old testament. rather, we find ha-satan, the opposer. yet this title was a common term

SCHLAGER NEIL WORLD RELIGIONS REFERENCE LIBRARY

s traditional healer or traditional doctor. indigenous religions see sickness as having a spiritual cause, so they seek spiritual remedies. many people also rely on herbalists, that is, those who learn through training and experience the medicinal properties of fruits, berries, roots, leaves, bark, and other extracts from plants. priests serve a function similar to that of priests, ministers, and rabbis in western religions. they conduct religious rituals that serve to bind the people into a community. in many african religions the priest is responsible for the rituals surrounding a particular spirit or group of spirits. in other cases priests maintain a shrine to an important ancestor and conduct rituals to honor that ancestor. influences of african indigenous religions historically, afri

ith specific issues in jewish law. in addition to the torah and the talmud, jews consult two additional sources for insights into the faith. the first is the midrashim, which are essentially stories that expand on incidents in the hebrew bible. the other is an immense body of commentary called the responsa. these consist of answers to questions about jewish law that were written down by respected rabbis (the leader of a jewish congregation, usually with detailed reference to the torah. these responsa continue to be written and compiled. sacred symbols the most recognizable symbol of judaism is the five-pointed star of david, more accurately referred to as the shield of david or the magen david. it appears on jewish synagogues (houses of worship, on the flag of the nation of israel, and as

nac judaism doorposts of houses. in the book of deuteronomy, god commands jews to keep his words constantly, and to do so, you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. this verse is from a jewish prayer called the shema, and the words of the shema are handwritten on a small scroll contained within the case. the case is affixed at an angle for the simple reason that early rabbis could not decide whether it should be affixed horizontally or vertically, so they compromised. when passing through the door, a person is to touch the mezuzah with the fingertips, then kiss the fingertips. moreover, the torah commands jews to wear tzitzit, or fringes, on their garments as a way of reminding them of god s commandments. in modern times jewish men fulfill this commandment by w

rs of jewish learning and teaching, the jews of poland and ukraine tended to live in scattered villages away from intellectual centers. a class division emerged in poland, with the wealthier jews and talmudic scholars leading the communities but not contributing their fair share of the community taxes. this put a financial burden on the poorer jews. because this practice was not criticized by the rabbis, the common people began to distrust the established leaders of judaism in the region. this conflict led to many unusual religious practices in poland and ukraine. some jewish commoners and peasants turned to the kabbalah, a mystical movement in judaism developed during the middle ages. this tradition claimed to have come from the prophet abraham (c. 2050 c. 1950 bce; see entry) and provide

e did not use prayer to ask for special requests, but simply to communicate with god and to feel as if he were one with him. ben eliezer believed that this oneness, when a person gave up his separate existence and joined to god, created real joy and was the foundation of any true worship. these beliefs won ben eliezer followers but also earned him criticism and fierce attacks from many sides. the rabbis and talmudic scholars found his encouragement of dancing and drinking to be unholy and against tradition, and they thought his lack of emphasis on scholarship posed a threat to the intellectual aspect of judaism. however, although ben eliezer taught that study of the torah was not the only way to hasidism in the united states though hasidism has spread throughout the world, some 200,000 of

financial matters and torts, or wrongful acts that injure or harm others. 5. kodshim, or holy things, deals with temple worship and sacrifices. 6. tohorot, or purities, provides laws regarding ritual purity. each of the seders includes further divisions called tractates, or masekhtots. the total number of tractates is sixty-three. each tractate deals with specific issues in jewish law. thus, when rabbis want to examine and rule on a particular issue regarding any aspect of jewish life, they turn for guidance to the tractate that discusses that issue. 254 world religions: biographies moses maimonides of these, the commentary, occupied maimonides from about 1158 to 1168. he wrote the work in arabic, and it was translated into hebrew in sections over the next two centuries. because of this, i

yed a major role in shaping the intellectual atmosphere of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. he was born in trier, prussia, on may 5, 1818, to hirschel and henrietta marx. prussia was a separate kingdom that later became part of a unified germany. prussia s state religion was protestant lutheranism, a branch of christianity, but marx s family was jewish, and his ancestry included rabbis (persons trained in jewish law, ritual, and tradition) on both sides of the family. around 1816 or 1817, the prussian parliament passed an order saying that jews could not practice law. hirschel, who was a lawyer, converted to lutheranism and changed his first name to heinrich. his son, karl, was then baptized as a lutheran in 1824. karl marx. archive photos/ getty images. 257 marx s early

virtually everything known about moses and his life comes from the torah. no other historical or biographical records exist. confirming the events narrated in these books is difficult, if not impossible. jewish rabbinical scholars have primarily been responsible for reconstructing moses s life, although many others have also contributed to the effort. rabbinical scholars are those studying to be rabbis, or people trained in jewish ritual, law, and tradition. along with the tanakh, these scholars have drawn on various sources of biblical interpretation and detailed, critical examinations of the hebrew scriptures. the talmud, the authoritative body of jewish tradition, contains many such examinations. the talmud has two parts: the mishnah, which consists of oral interpretations of the torah

SEPHER YETZIRAH WESTCOTT

im--thrones. 44. chashmalim--dominions. 45. seraphim--virtues. 46. malakim--powers. 47. elohim--principalities. 48. beni elohim--angels. 49. cherubim--arch-angels. sixth order: the archetype 50. god. ain suph. he whom no mortal eye bath seen, and who has been known to jesus the messiah alone. note--the angels of the fifth or angelic world are arranged in very different order by various kabalistic rabbis. the thirty-two paths of wisdom translated from the hebrew text of joannes stephanus rittangelius, 1642: which is also to be found in the "oedipus aegyptiacus" of athanasius kircher, 1653 (these paragraphs are very obscure in meaning, and the hebrew text is probably very corrupt) the first path is called the admirable or the hidden intelligence (the highest crown: for it is the light giving

TEXE MARRS CODEX MAGICA SECRET SIGNS MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS AND HIDDEN CODES OF THE ILLUMINATI

ld for use as sex partners, or the novelty wears out, they are often cast out or retired and no longer have access to the "inner circle" of the elite. then there are the do-gooders people who support revolution and the socialistic, globalist, environmentalist, and similar aims of the illuminati for what they fancy is the good of society. sometimes these people sign up for cabala classes taught by rabbis; they eagerly join liberal social issue organizations and may also be involved in the secret societies and orders, though at a lower level. again, we see these people are mere dupes. finally, we see several strata of illuminati elite major politicians and bureaucrats, including presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, etc, as well as some corporate ceos, financiers, media moguls, and other

which has been adopted for use as a manual of religious instruction in israel's secondary schools. it explains why non-jews ought to be the slave of jews because jews are the elite of the human race. because of this they deserve to have slaves, and these slaves must be non-jews.10 this outrageous and imperious attitude does not take those of us by surprise who have studied the jewish talmud, the rabbis' holiest book. according to the talmud, gentiles are not even to be considered humans "the goyim (gentiles) are not men, but beasts (baba mezia fol. 1146. it should be further noted that the encyclopedia britannica says "the talmud is still the authoritative and practical guide of the great mass of the jews (from the 36 codex magica 9-volume german language translation of the babylonian tal

rgy leaders of the orthodox church in greece wears a pendent of the crowned double-headed eagle as a talisman around his neck. the cross, meanwhile, is relegated to the left side of the satanic talisman. that ravenous dark bird 257 the magical head of zohar is a cabalistic design illustrating the concept of opposites, the principle of "as above, so below" it is widely used by cabalists and jewish rabbis as an instructional device. abraxas, the gnostic rooster god, symbolic of the sun god. notice the two serpent legs, indicating the satanic doctrine of duality. 258 codex magica in tarot card decks, one of the cards depicts "the magician (also called the magus or the juggler, a young man holding up a wand in his right hand, and pointing to the earth with his left. on a table before him are t

of fingers as sign is given separating the fingers has its own interpretation, often being the sign of choice for cabalists who employ the letters of the hebrew alphabet in their hand on heart communications. the illustrations of christopher columbus and ignatius loyola in this chapter are prime examples. both of these historical characters were members of secret cabalistic orders founded by the rabbis of the jewish sanhedrin. erasing confusion the illuminist/masonic sign should not be confused with the american custom of placing one's hand over the heart while reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag (citizens of some other nations practice this same tradition. again, in judging the illuminist intent, we look to such factors as time period, the history and affiliations, who's perfor

tstanding study of the six-pointed star was accomplished by dr. o.j. graham in the book, the six-pointed star.1 dr. graham proves that this symbol was never used by king david of israel and so the name star of david is a misnomer. the symbol was chosen in 1947 for the flag of the fledgling nation of israel at the insistence of the rothschilds. its usage stems from the medieval period when corrupt rabbis into cabalistic magic began to use the six-pointed star in their rituals. dr. graham does not mince words in declaring this emblem a tool of satan, unworthy of use by the holy people of god. the occult triangle and the masonic lodge returning back to the single triangle as a common symbol of occult usage, we note that the freemasons were able, through the influence of grand master benjamin

ntury, the latest cure-all spiritual phenomenon seems to be the jewish cabala (or kabbalah. the cabala is not new, of course. it's been around for centuries. the cabala is actually ancient magic. it is an exotic blend of devilish, sometimes fanciful, new age mystical practices topped by a philosophical bent of jewish supremacism. orthodox judaism, or phariseeism, is rife with cabalism, and jewish rabbis are the cabala's greatest promoters. 420 codex magica celebrities and cabala the recent explosion in mainstream interest in cabalism is boosted by the many bigname celebrities who have recently been hawking cabalism as the miraculous answer to all of man's problems. an undercover bbc reporter who infiltrated a london cabala group witnessed singer madonna and guy ritchie chanting mystic spel

hundred times over. in codex magica we do not have the space to fully report on the almost unbelievably wicked talmudic and cabalistic religion of the jews. but it is important to understand that the horrific nature of the jews' religion lie in its man-made traditions. in reality, these traditions are satanic in origin. i refer especially to the jewish talmud, the legalistic law traditions of the rabbis, and to the jewish cabala (also kabbalah or quaballah, which are the mystical teachings and traditions of the rabbis and sages. 422 codex magica if the jews had stuck to the teachings of the old testament, satan would not have had such terrible inroads. indeed, if moses and the prophets had been heeded, or if their writings were honored today, the jews would believe in jesus christ as messi

e rabbis and sages. 422 codex magica if the jews had stuck to the teachings of the old testament, satan would not have had such terrible inroads. indeed, if moses and the prophets had been heeded, or if their writings were honored today, the jews would believe in jesus christ as messiah and be saved by faith in his promises. instead, the jews departed from the prophets, and over the centuries the rabbis steadily developed a body of man-made literature (the talmud and the cabala) that is supremely wicked and corrupt. their traditions, moreover, are antithetical to the faith and teachings of moses and the prophets (i do not refer, of course, to the faith of jews who are christian believers) worse, it can be remarkably demonstrated that the philosophy and doctrines of the jewish cabala are th

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL 1

n. the colleagues published a peer reviewed paper in the statistical science journal in 1994 regarding their findings when they applied the code to the book of genesis. since then, research has indicated that the hidden code exists throughout all the books of the tanakh in the original hebrew. rips and his associates tested the book of genesis to see if the code could pick out the names of the 66 rabbis who had the longest entries in various jewish annals. the bible code revealed all 66 names, together with either the rabbis birth date or death date. in test after test, the bible code found people, places, and inventions that did not come into being until 3,000 years after the ancient hebrew texts had been recorded. drosnin, an agnostic, states that his belief in the bible code was confirm

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL

alysis of the intestines of birds. he took a great deal of inspiration from the ancient chaldean oracles and the old mystery schools of orpheus and eleusis, and he was greatly influenced by the teachings of the kabbalah. for centuries, the kabbalah had remained a mysterious esoteric philosophy that had been developed within the larger framework of the jewish religion. jealously guarded by various rabbis, the teachings of the kabbalah remained largely unknown by medieval christians until such magicians/scholars as pico mirandola brought the ancient mystery within the reach of european alchemists and magi by translating the hebrew into latin. when he was 24, mirandola became confident that he could prove the divinity of christ through certain doctrines of the kabbalah and esoteric magic, and

THE KEY TO THE MYSTERIES

ufficient to look at the symbols of flamel, of basil valentine, the pages of the jew abraham, and the more or less apocryphal oracles of the emerald table of hermes. everywhere one finds the traces of that decade of pythagoras, which is so magnificently applied in the sepher yetzirah to the complete and absolute notion of divine things, that decade composed of unity and a triple ternary which the rabbis have 192 called the berashith, and the mercavah, the luminous tree of the sephiroth, and the key of the shemhamphorash. we have spoken at some length in our book entitled "dogme et rituel de la haute magie" of a hieroglyphic monument (preserved up to our own time under a futile pretext) which alone explains all the mysterious writings of high initiation. this monument is that tarot of the b

the compete organism of those who, voluntarily or not, are in nervous sympathy with the medium? the things accomplished by mr. home prove that all this is possible. now, let us reply to those who think that they see in these phenomena manifestations of the other world and facts of necromancy. we shall borrow our answer from the sacred book of the qabalists, and in this our doctrine is that of the rabbis who compiled the zohar. axiom the spirit clothes itself to descend, and strips itself to rise. in fact: why are created spirits clothed with bodies? it is that they must be limited in order to have a possible existence. stripped of all body, and become consequently 219 without limit, created spirits would lose themselves in the infinite, and from lack of the power to concentrate themselves

THE MARTINIST OPERATIVE GENERAL RITUAL

el at the moment of his consecration. lastly, it is a 'sign of salvation' for christians of all denominations, a sign which makes the daemons flee and disperse. it is a reminder of the triumph of christ over death. during the first centuries the christians in north africa used to have it painted and tattooed on their foreheads. it was also a short version of the divine tetragram and the mediaeval rabbis endeavoured to visualize it, flamboyant, upon their foreheads in a sort of interior vision, when thrown into the flames of the stakes. the operator will restrict himself to trace it upon his forehead, each time, with his right thumb. he could as well, according to another formula, trace it in front of himself with the flame of the ordinary candle (which it represents in this ritual, either

THE PATH OF KABBALAH

er kings. his words can also be interpreted regarding those who follow the ways of the lord: those people have a desire for both corporeality and spirituality, as it is said, that those who were close to baal hasulam had a screen and aviut (coarseness, but now that he was gone, they had no one to subdue themselves before and were left with coarseness but no screen, and were only looking to become rabbis and pretty jews. therefore, i (rabash) suspect everything that comes out of their hands, for there is no one to restrain them. i am speaking briefly here, for i do not want them in my thoughts, for you know the rule that one is where one s thoughts are, but because i know your fondness for the truth i am compelled to bring to my mind the coarseness that hasn t a screen, which are broken ves

ant to publish his articles after his father, his great teacher. however, time passes and the demand for kabbalistic texts change. today s students can no longer absorb the material the way it was presented to us. we can say that rabash was the last of the great kabbalists of the past. he contained within him the entire former life of judaism. his knowledge of the history of judaism and the great rabbis of the last generations was very impressive, and he would tell their stories as though they were a part of his own life. we can clearly see from his stories that in the beginning of the 20th century there was a spiritual decline that reached so low that the gates to the spiritual world began to close, and a time of spiritual darkness began. thus, if a person in previous centuries were offer

is only the creator. hence, what we all feel, want, and think, comes from the creator. everything we always feel is only the creator. when the creature climbs from the lowest point (this world) toward the creator, and until he attains complete equivalence of form with him (the end of correction, he will go through 620 degrees, also called the 613 mitzvot of the torah, and the seven mitzvot of our rabbis. a zivug (mating) with the upper light in the screen is called a mitzva. the light that the creature obtains inside his vessel is called inner light, or the light of taamim, or torah. that is why kabbalists always say: taste and see that the lord is good. the creature, behina dalet of dalet, corrects his will to receive, in order to be able to bestow. the correction is not of the desire its

TYSON DONALD NEW MILLENNIUM MAGIC

hebrew letters and their many occult uses, the demon- ic hierarchy, the ritual instruments, the various levels of human awareness, the four worlds or planes of being, and so on. in the traditional jewish kabbalah, attention is focused mainly on the use of holy names of god as mantras, and the numerical manipulation of sacred texts for the purpose of achieving a transcendent awareness of divinity. rabbis have employed the kabbalah for the attainment of mystical experience, not earthly power. even jewish magicians, who were called ba'alei shem (masters of the name, manipulated the sacred texts for their practical purposes such as healing and driving out demons. the glyph of the sephirothic tree, which is everything to the magical kabbalah, plays only a minor role in the traditional kabbalah

TYSON DONALD THE POWER OF THE WORD

had ceased to speak the name openly even within the confines of the temple. under the veil of holiness, they adopted the duplicitous device of whispering it in so low a voice that it was drowned out amid the chants and other sounds of ritual. with the seizing of the temple, the public use of the name in religious ceremonies ceased altogether, but it continued to be preserved in the schools of the rabbis, who according to one tradition (qiddushin 71a) communicated the true pronunciation of the name to their disciples "mouth to ear" once every seven years. it was the most serious blasphemy for a layman to speak the name. philo says the penalty was death. it shocked and enraged the rabbis that for some time after its use was forbidden, the sect of the samaritans continued to employ the name i

would be lost, but this did not take place overnight. as late as the fourth century, perhaps much later, it was known in babylonia, and the jewish magicians, who styled themselves ba'alei shem (masters of the name) used it widely in driving demons out of the possessed and healing the sick. among the kabbalists of the middle ages, it was handed down from master to disciple. much of the ire of the rabbis against these mystics may have been incited by the fear that they would misuse the name in secular magic and thus profane it. biblical tradition has it that the name was first revealed to moses when he went up upon horeb, the mountain of god, and saw the burning bush history of the name 3 (exod. 3:14-51, and it is explicitly stated that prior to this revelation to moses the name was not kno

nah, and so on; neither are they the spheres on the glyph of the tree of the kabbalah. the true sephiroth are nothing other than the ten names of god. all the rest is window dressing-an attempt to make the meanings and relationship of these ten names more comprehensible. all four of the elements are said to be required in the creation of the golem because four is the number of manifest being. the rabbis sought to create a physical man, not an ideal one. however, the "elements" of loew and his disciples represent, not the four physical elements which are all present in the clay of the golem's body, but the three active qualities or forces, represented in the kabbalah by the three hebrew mother letters, aleph (h, mem (d),a nd shin (w. shin stands for fire, but also for the cardinal quality o

rge f. kuntz, rings for the finger (new york: dover, 19731, pp. 288-9. there is some doubt over exactly what the fabulous shamir may have been. in talmudic legend, it seems to be described as a small worm that could eat through any stone, but this is far from clear. rashi called it "a creature from the six days of creation that no hard object can resist" according to the talmud, solomon asked the rabbis how he could build the temple without iron tools (see 1 kings 6:7. they told him there was a thing called a shamir, which moses had used to cut the stones on the breastplate of aaron. to discover where this magical object lay hidden, solomon caused the king of all the demons, ashmodai, to be bound with a ring and a chain inscribed with tetragrammaton. after learning from ashmodai how to get

ring and hurled solomon a vast distance away from jerusalem, then took up the throne in his place under a false appearance. no one recognized solomon because the demon had changed his features; moreover, the king was prevented by the magic of ashmodai from telling anyone his identity. he wandered a long time as a beggar (some say for forty years) and eventually made his way back to jerusalem. the rabbis became suspicious of him because he ceaselessly repeated a verse from the torah "i, koheleth, was king over israel in jerusalem (eccles. 1:12. they did some checking and discovered from solomon's wives that ashmodai, in the guise of the king, was demanding sex from them during their menstrual periods, and also from solomon's mother, bathsheba, in violation of jewish law. the rabbis gave the

tainly knew the "name" of the highest god mentioned in the book of the dead. but instead of that, moses (if we accept the allegory of exodus literally) gives pharaoh the name of yeva, the expression or form of the divine name used by all the targums as passed by moses. hence pharaoh's reply "who is that yeva that i should obey his voice "jehovah" dates only from the masoretic innovation. when the rabbis, for fear that they should lose the keys to their own doctrines, then written exculsively in consonants, began to insert their vowel-points in their manuscripts, they were utterly ignorant of the true pronunciation of the name. appendix b: commentaries on tetragrammaton hence, they gave it the sound of adonai, and made it read jaho- vah. thus the latter is simply a fancy, a perversion of th

WILLIAM WESCOTT GOLDEN DAWN HISTORTY LECTURE

e left us, in the works published about 1614, an account of the exoteric arrangements of the rosicrucian society. it seems likely it was andrea who published in 1614 the fama fraternitatis, or theory of the society, which must have been derived from the old records of the pupils of christian rosenkrawz. but even this arrival of mysticism was a new development of the older wisdom of the qabalistic rabbis and of that very ancient secret knowledge of the magic of the egyptians into which moses had been initiated. through the qabalah, indeed, europe became possessed of the ancient wisdom more than from any one other source, for the hebrews were taught at one time by the egyptians and later by the chaldees of babylon. it is a curious fact that the classic nations, the greeks and romans, have ha

WILLIAM WESCOTT NUMBERS THEIR OCCULT POWER AND MYSTIC VIRTUES

r tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott and i am hopeful that it may be as well received by students of mystic philosophy as the previous volumes which treated of alchemy, in the hermetic arcanum, hermetic art, euphrates and aesch metzareph; the dream of scipio and the golden verses of the pythagoreans, the pymander of hermes and egyptian magic. i have added in this edition many notes on the notions of the rabbis of israel, both from those who contributed to the mishnah and gemara of the talmuds of jerusalem and of babylon, and from the rabbis who made a special study of the kabalah. only a few talmudic treatises have as yet appeared in the english language, and hardly any kabalistic tracts, except three from the zohar or book of splendour, viz, the siphra dtzenioutha, the idra rabba and the idra su

over the civilized numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott world as the central assembly of the learned of europe; and here it was in secret conclave that pythagoras taught that occult wisdom which he had gathered from the gymnosophists and brahmins of india, from the hierophants of egypt, the oracle of delphi, the idaen cave, and from the kabalah of the hebrew rabbis and chaldean magi. for nearly forty years he taught his pupils, and exhibited his wonderful powers; but an end was put to his institution, and he himself was forced to flee from the city, owing to a conspiracy and rebellion which arose on account of a quarrel between the people of crotona and the inhabitants of sybaris. he succeeded in reaching metapontum, where he is said to have died abou

c vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott any nations of antiquity made use of the letters of their alphabets as substitutes for any independent signs to typify numerical conceptions. it is with the hebrew letters as numerals that we are chiefly concerned, and to a smaller extent with greek. ancient records show that the greeks used their numbers almost exclusively for everyday purposes; while the jewish rabbis added to their practical value special peculiar purposes, and looked to them to furnish deeper views of nature, existence and doctrine. no doubt can exist that the ancient egyptians were fully aware of the wondrous mysteries which numbers are able to disclose, so, considering that greece, and neither judea nor babylon, succeeded to the empires of ancient egypt, it is a curious fact how litt

nce and doctrine. no doubt can exist that the ancient egyptians were fully aware of the wondrous mysteries which numbers are able to disclose, so, considering that greece, and neither judea nor babylon, succeeded to the empires of ancient egypt, it is a curious fact how little knowledge of the dogmas of the hierophants of sais, memphis and thebes greek literature has transmitted to us. the jewish rabbis discovered so much of interest and importance behind the merely superficial value of numbers, and of words as their representatives, that they gradually developed a complete science of numerical conceptions apart from mathematics. this took the name of kabalah or qabalah, cabbala, or even cabala, words variously misspelt from qblh--the received doctrine, from the root qbl, meaning to receiv

were not used for the hundreds, but instead tau was written for 400 and other hundreds added; thus 500 was tq. another point of importance is that the jews never write jh jah for 15, because it is a deity title, they use instead 9, 6 thus tv, teth, vau. the qabalists used jh only when they desired to call attention to the holy name in the number. in certain qabalistic numerical computations many rabbis deemed it permissible to add an aleph, one, and this they called colel. in some cases we find the greeks to have used their letters in direct order for purposes of numeration, as numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott may be seen in some copies of very old poems (the 24 books of homer s iliad and odyssey, for example, in which the stanzas bear the letters

enesis xviii. v. 2, we find the words, and lo, three men, vehennah, shalisha, vhnh shlsh; this set down in numbers becomes 6, 5, 50, 5, 300, 30, 300, 5, which amount to 701. now the words, these are michael, gabriel and raphael, alu mikhael gabriel ve raphael, alu mikal gbrial v rpal converted are 1, 30, 6, 40, 10, 20, 1, 30, 3, 2, 200, 10, 1, 30, 6, 200, 80, 1, 30, also amounting to 701, and the rabbis argued that numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott these two sets of three beings were identical. some christian kabalists point out that in genesis xlix. v. 10 we find yebah shiloh, yba shilh, shiloh shall come, which amount to 358. and that the word messiah, mshych is 40, 300, 10, 8 or 358. but so is also nachash, the serpent of moses, nchsh, 50, 8, 300

r an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott jupiter s thunder is triformis. hecate is always called triple. neptune s spear is trident and so has siva the trisula. pluto s dog cerberus had 3 heads. there were three founders of the roman empire: romulus, b.c. 753, camillus, b.c 389, expelled the gauls; and caius marius, b.c. 102, who overthrew the hordes of cambrians and teutons. 43. the jewish rabbis say that the sword of death has 3 drops of gall, one drops in the mouth and the man dies, from the second comes the pallor of death and the third turns the carcass to dust. see purchas, the pilgrimage, 1613. a letter from yod within an equilateral triangle was a symbol of the ineffable name jehovah and was so used by the jews. the moderns have pointed out that this form suggests the idea th

an exciter of bacchic fury. in harmony, it was said to form by the quadruple numbers--th eir occu lt power an d mys tic vir tu es by w. wyn n wes tcott ratio, the symphony dis-diapason. they called it justice, as the first evenly even number. as a type of deity, we all know of the famous hebrew title tetragrammaton or unpronounceable name we call jehovah ihvh. this name was used by the qabalistic rabbis to hide their secret tenets of the divine essence of the creator god. almost all the peoples of antiquity possessed a name for deity consisting of four letters, and many of them considered 4 to be a divine number, thus- in hebrew we find also ihih called eheie; and ahih called aheie. assyrian adad, egyptian amun, persians syre of sire, greek theos, latin deus, german gott, french dieu, turk

WOLFSON ELLIOT ALEF MEM TAU KABBALISTIC MUSINGS ON TIME TRUTH AND DEATH

s that eventually become fixed, albeit relatively so, as an identifiable canon that informs the beliefs and actions of lived liturgical communities. thus there is cogency in thinking of biblical time in terms of a providential sense of history, moving from creation to revelation. but it is not valid to identify this simply and unqualifiedly as linear time,19 which is supposedly transformed by the rabbis into what levi- strauss calls the totemic view of time, that is, the causal explanation of events in terms of a mythological past and eschatological future.20 as we may elicit from dicta preserved in various literary sources, the rabbis did not uphold a hard-and-fast distinction between past, present, and future; the present has no reality except as an interlude between an idealized past an

at associates the conclusion of the creation with the inception of sabbath is tied thematically to the halakhic mandate to initiate the observance of sabbath on friday before the o cial start of the seventh day at sunset. although other talmudic passages can also be cited to substantiate the point, the one i have mentioned is su cient to assert that from both halakhic and aggadic perspectives the rabbis did not proffer a rigorous conception of an autonomous objective time and this in spite of the meticulous concern they demonstrated with respect to establishing the proper temporal frame to determine the jewish calendar based on the sanctification of the new moon (qiddush ha-hodesh, a ritual obligation often presented in rabbinic literature as an act that distinguishes the jews from all oth

ry. 26 historical and ahistorical are not to be polarized respectively as dynamic-optimistic and static-pessimistic models of time.27 to grasp the concept of time that has informed jewish religiosity, it is better to speak of linear circularity, or circular linearity,28 a mythopoeic conception that prevails in the scriptural texts produced by priests and scribes as well as in the pericopae of the rabbis that over time inspired the minds and hearts of jewish poets, philosophers, exegetes, and mystical visionaries. the widely proclaimed epistemological insight that human thinking is circular is perceived as a weakness by those who conceive the path of thinking as a journey commencing at a point of departure and terminating at a point of arrival.29 yet, the yearning to get somewhere notwithst

conception of the eternality of torah set in opposition to time and therefore resistant to the fluctuation of historical contingency a binary considered traditional in western thought35 but rather a conception of temporality that calls into question the linear model of aligning events chronoscopically in a sequence stretched invariably between before and after. the hermeneutical principle of the rabbis embraces a notion of time that is circular in its linearity and linear in its circularity. when the scriptural narrative is viewed within this framework, after is before precisely because before is after, but before cannot be after unless after is before. underlying the dictum, moreover, is a belief in revelation as the textualization of sacred language the materialization of text in both g

xegete better known by the acronym rashi, wrote on the words ba-yom ha-zeh, on this very day: words of torah should be new [hadashim] for you as if they were given this day. 60 this medieval commentator adds nothing substantial of his own, but by newly reiterating the rabbinic dictum more or less verbatim, he elucidates further the original intent; indeed one might say rashi demonstrates that the rabbis principle with respect to the written torah can be applied to their own dicta assembled in the oral torah: for one who studies either the written or the oral torah, the text must be as new as the torah was on the day it was revealed to the israelites who stood at the foot of mount sinai. the source that likely influenced rashi s formulation makes this point exactly: ben zoma said: why is it

ame from the wilderness of sinai. every day that you are occupied with torah, you should say, it is as if we received it from sinai on this day [ke-illu ba-yom ha-zeh qibbalttiha mi-sinai, and it says, this day [ha-yom ha-zeh] the lord your god commands you to observe (deut 26:16).61 the claim made with respect to torah study represents a more generic understanding of ritual time proffered by the rabbis, a notion of temporality that connects past and present by imaginally enfolding one in the other rather than by connecting them with a line. the past can be experienced as present because the present can be experienced as past, but the present can be experienced as past only because the past can be experienced as present. with respect to this point, consider maharal s explication of rashi s

abbinic aggadah and a defense of the wisdom of the ancient sages against contemporary critiques like that in azariah de rossi s me or einayim.66 stylistically, these compositions are marked by copious repetition and reformulation, and hence it would be impossible in this setting to do justice to his religious philosophy. the passage i have cited, however, can serve to illumine the position of the rabbis as preserved in rashi s words. according to maharal, the underlying assumption of the rabbinic dicta regarding the need to experience the reenactment of the sinaitic epiphany when one studies torah is that the latter is of an eternal nature impervious to the fluctuations and contingencies of time. he occasionally casts the matter in terms of the contrast between miswah, which is in the body

d, blessed be he, is completely without time. 74 prima facie, the position maharal articulates seems to be at odds with what is implied in the rabbinic dicta and reiterated in rashi s paraphrase. however, if one examines the works of maharal more assiduously, a case can be made that his view, though largely garbed in medieval philosophical language, is a rea rmation of the stance proffered by the rabbis of old: the portrayal of torah as intellect beyond time serves as the ideational basis for the belief that revelation of what is received and reception of what is revealed are ongoing; one can, indeed must, reexperience the sinaitic theophany continuously, for in every moment both text and interpreter are fashioned anew precisely because they were conceived long ago.75 judah loew s periodic

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