Michael Wynn's Occult Reference Library
SEFER

Return to Occult Library Index

CHRONOLOGIA RORISPERGIUS

te cassino and writes an extremely influential rule of life for its inhabitants. 552: the byzantine army under emperor justinian (483-565) invades italy and defeats the ostrogoths at the battle of taginae; justinian establishes a presence at ravenna (technically, an exarchate) which lasts into the eighth century. 560-636. isidore of seville. only fragments of astrology survive in his work. 6th ce sefer yetzirah edited (to 7th cent)-eddas (to 9th cent)-welsh mabinogion. 570-632 muhammed, founder of islam. c. 580 maximus the confessor born. commented on the works of dionysios the areopagite. 590: gregory (540-604) becomes pope. 610 w.v. qur'an 642 third (and final) destruction of library of alexandria (by moslems. arabs bearing the new religion of islam captured alexandria, and the mantle of

enced by plotinus. 875 d. abu yazid al-bistami sufi said to have first expressed symbolism of wine, cup, and cupbearer "i have come to know allah through allah, and i have come to know what is other than allah with the light of allah "praise to me, for my greatest glory "i set forth on an ocean when the [earlier] prophets were still by the shore" 882-942 se'adia ga'on of fajum. commentary on the "sefer yezirah" 10th ce sword of moses composed 900- beginning of the bogomils of bulgaria, a manicheian sect, roots of cathari. 904 abu bakr ahmed (or mohammed) ibn ali ibn al-wahshiya al-kaldani or al-nabati. kitab al-falaha al-nabatiya (nabatean agriculture."the hermesians let nobody into the secrets of their knowledge but their disciples, lest the arts and sciences should be debased by being co

hermesians let nobody into the secrets of their knowledge but their disciples, lest the arts and sciences should be debased by being common amongst the vulgar. they hid therefore their secrets and treasures from them by the means of this alphabet, and by inscriptions, which could be read by nobody except the sons of wisdom and learning" 913-982 r. shabbati donnolo (italy "long" recension of the "sefer yezirah" 922 crucifixion of the mystic al-hallaj in baghdad- most famous sufi martyr, was imprisoned for nine years and then, after having hands and feet cut off, executed "ana' al haqq "i am the truth. 931 sa'adiya gaon. first rendition of "sefer yetzirah" in egypt. 955 abu sahl dunash ibn tamim. sefer yetzirah published with gaon's commentary on the short version by tanin. 961 rasa'il-e-ik

1st part is a study of creation (sod ma'aseh bereshit, containing an exegesis based on the 22 letters of the hebrew alphabet as the source of existence. the 2nd part, sod ha-merkavah("secret of the divine chariot, deals with the secrets of angels, the holy throne, the chariot, the divine voice which speaks to prophets, the divine glory revealed, and the ways of revelation and prophecy in general. sefer ha-shem("the book of the holy name, an exegesis of the names of god and, with hokhmah ha-nefesh, an analysis of ways by which connections are established between the soul and the divine world, together make up the 3rd part of sodei razayya. part 4 is a commentary on sefer yezirah containing detailed instructions for the creation of a golem. commentary on the sefer yetzirah called "pe'ullah h

sis of the names of god and, with hokhmah ha-nefesh, an analysis of ways by which connections are established between the soul and the divine world, together make up the 3rd part of sodei razayya. part 4 is a commentary on sefer yezirah containing detailed instructions for the creation of a golem. commentary on the sefer yetzirah called "pe'ullah ha-yetsirah("practice or practical application of. sefer ha-hokhmah, a major part of which is concerned with exegesis of holy names. 1165-1235 isaac the blind. provencal kabbalist. 1165-1240 ibn arabi (spanish muslim mystic poet) d.1166 abd al-qadir al-jilani founds one of the earliest sufi orders(prominent in india and north africa. d. 1170 natanael ben al-fayyumi, the garden of intellects,astrological thought influenced by ismaili encyclopaedia

encyclopaedia of the brotherhood of purity "also by the esoteric teachings which were not widespread among the ordinary people. c.1170- 1230 gaucelm faidit -troubadour- travelled to italy and went on the fourth crusade. 1170-1200 rigaut de barbezieux troubadour refers to his beloved as the holy grail. 1172: benjamin of tudelo returns from palestine, having left in 1159. he describs his travels in sefer ha-massa ot (book of travels. 1175?-1235 michael scot (scottish) 1175-1204 peire vidal trouv re 1175-1253. robert grosseteste english bishop discussed optics and theories of light. connects a1-kindi to john dee thru lineage of the light metaphysics. ca. 1176 "book bahir (brilliance) in provence 1179-1241 snorri sturlson (auth. prose edda, heimskringla. 1180 comtessa beatriz de dia trouv re f

brilliance) in provence 1179-1241 snorri sturlson (auth. prose edda, heimskringla. 1180 comtessa beatriz de dia trouv re fl. 1180-1200 arnaut daniel trouv re c. 1180-1200: joachim of fiore (1135-1202) writes some very important treatises, offering new ways of interpreting scripture and history; he concludes that the world is on the verge of the period just before the advent of antichrist. c. 1180 sefer bahir 1180 "comte del graal" of chrestien de troyes 1189-92: the third crusade, responding to saladin's conquest of jerusalem in 1187, results in the accidental death of holy roman emperor frederick i barbarossa and some great stories for english king richard i the lion-hearted, who stops on his way out to visit joachim. the crusade does not, however, re-take jerusalem. 1189-1245 ibn al-fari

irst crusade officially called against christian (in this case, cathar) enemies and christian lands. the eventual winners are the capetian kings of france, who wind up incorporating the sizeable domains of the count of toulouse into their kingdom. c.1210- 1272 jehan brete. trouv re member of the confr rie des jongleurs d'arras. c.1210 azriel of gerona(student of isaac the blind) commentary on the sefer yezirah promoted neoplatonic elements in kabbalah; aquainted with the ideas of john scotus erigena and ibn gabirol. 1210-1281 guglielma, princess blazena vilemina, daughter of the king of bohemia. guglielmites believed that guglielma of milan was the incarnation of the holy spirit and wished to establish a church with a female pope and female cardinals. 1214 franciscan friar roger bacon, bor

onsible for its own creation, once fallen it cannot repair the damage incurred by its own fault without going through a veritale 're-creation' which is properly the work of infused grace" 1222-1290 salimbene de adam. franciscan joachite 1223-1273 thomas aquinas dominican turned to maimonides for novel approaches to the interpretation of the bible. 1225-1295 shem tob ben yosef falaquerra of tudela sefer ha-mebaqqesh( the book of the seeker) expositions taken from the arab encyclopaedia of the brethren of purity. 1225 michael scot liber introductorius, liber particularis 1225-1295 shem tob ben yosef falaquerra. sefer ha-mebaqqesh( the book of the seeker )borrows extensively from the encyclopaedia of the brotherhood of purity. 1228 guilhem figueira troubadour's attack on the roman church in 2

35-1310 r. solomon b. abraham adret, spain. teaches llull about kabbalah. 1235 robert grosseteste, bishop of lincoln, discusses transmutation of metals in de artibus liberalibus and de generatione stellarum. 1236-1319 ramon lull 1237 -1285/88 adam de la halle troubadour 1240 abraham abulafia, sicilian kabbalist, founder of ecstatic kabbala, born in saragosa 1240 elhanan b. yakar(london) publishes sefer yetzirah commentary 1240-1321 yunus emre. anatolian sufi troubadour 1241- 1246 toregene khatun 1241: batu's mongol "blue horde" invade poland, hungary and the balkans 1244: tartars capture jerusalem. massacre of cathari at montsegur, france. 1244-1274 moshe ibn tibbon translated in montpellier commentaries of averroes; al-farabi s book of principles; themisto s commentary on aristotle s meta

ols are defeated for the first time in palestine (by muslims, in the battle of ain jalut. joachite date of the anticipated apocalypse. 1264 albertus magnus, bishop of regensburg, writes de mineralibus 1265-1321 dante alighieri 1266 b.john duns scotus, scottish scholastic philosopher and theologian. 1266 roger bacon opus maius. 1267 roger bacon opus tertium first who anticipates angelic pope. 1268 sefer hayyim("book of life")r. ezra. connects the golem with the influence of the planets- after 1269 sordello italian troubadour. 1270-1340 nicholas of lyra, franciscan exegete. the report that he was of jewish descent dates only from the fifteenth century. turned to rashi for biblical interpretation. 1270 thomas aquinas is sympathetic to the idea of alchemical transmution in his summa theologia

trinity. 1271 mongols conquered the area around harran. they deported the populace of the city, walled up the city gates, and left it. r. baruch torgami in barcelona, teacher of abraham abulafia. his circle had access to al-gazali's description of sufism contributing to the crystalization of prophetic kabbalah. wrote maftehot ha-kabbalah("the keys to kabbalah, containing a short commentary on the sefer yezirah. 1272 provincal chapter at narbonne forbade the franciscans to practice alchemy. 1273 dominican order at pest warned friars not to study or teach alchemy. d.1273 jalal al-din al-rumi. 1274 ramon llull's vision on mount randa. d. 1275 peire cardenal troubadour. 1275-1325 menahem ben benjamin recanati italian kabbalist and torah commentator. 1275 nestorian christian monk, rabban sauma

franciscan church of philadelphia that holds "the keys of david: a joachimist/qblhist exegesis of scripture. 1280 ramon martin: pugio fidei discusses the tetragrammaton christologically, discusses how name science and sefirotic science support the notion of the trinity, and calls the messiah by the hebrew letter yod. uses the word cabala by name and mentions his predecessor petras alphonsi. 1280? sefer ha-zohar written by moses de le n but attributed to simon ben yohai. 1280-1340 joseph ibn kaspi kabbalist "menorat kesef" equates the merkabah ladder with jacob's ladder and reintroduces the universal soul as propounded by batalyawsi. 1282-1288 arnald villanova studies hebrew and joachimist literature perhaps meets abraham abulafia. 1283 "ars demonstrativa" ramon llull. on the letters a+ t (

art (c. 1260-1327) teaches in latin at paris and preaches vernacular sermons in strassburg and cologne. 1311-2: the council of vienne legislates against beguines and the beguine-associated "heresy of the free spirit" 1313 friars minors' constitution generales antique forbade the friars to practice alchemy 1314 destruction of the knights templar 1316? ramon llull dies; peter de abano dies 1316/17 "sefer yetzirah "i" parma de rossi, 1390, foll. 36b-38b. italian writing. 1316 1329 friar odoric despatched to the east; in western india soon after 1321; spent three years in china between the opening of 1323 and the close of 1328. 1317 pope john xxii's papal bull against alchemical counterfeit spondet quas non exhibent. cistercians ban alchemy. 1323 joseph gikatilla dies 1323 dominicans in france

ll the aspects of man as a christian 1329 king edward iii requests thomas cary to find two alchemists who have escaped, and to find the secret of their art 1330 pope john xxii gives funds to his physician to set up a laboratory for a "certain secret work. friar ordorico da pordenone s travelogue includes description of the land "where dwelleth the pope of the idolators" tibet? 1331 commentary on "sefer yezirah" by meir b. solomon ibn sahula (rome, angelica library, ms. or. 45. 1332-78 ibn khaldun the muqaddimah "we saw with our eyes one of these magicians fashion the image of the person he desired to bewitch" 1335 petrus bonus of ferrara pretiosa margarita novella c. 1336 alaoddawleh semnani, persian sufi linking the seven prophets of the koran with the mystical physiology of seven latifa

rch discussed alchemy in de remediis utriusque fortunae c1360-c1450 plethon, george gemisthos. taught philosophy at constantinople and studied zoroastrianism, as well as occult teachings, with eliseus, a learned jewish scholar. his followers regarded him as the reincarnation of plato. 1362 d. john of roquetaillade 1363-1437 niccoli, niccol c.1365 judah ben nissim ibn malka(moroccan. commentary on sefer yetsirah mentions that students of this book were given a magical mansucript named "sefer raziel" to study. 1365-1393 "sefer yetzirah "l" paris 764 (1, foll. 1a-3a. paper, written in spanish (n. africa (gruenwald, 136) 1370 william langland's piers plowman criticises alchemists as deceivers. 1375-1425 author of red book of hergest (mabinongion. 1376 the dominican directorium inquisitorum, th

9 isaac holland 1380 king charles v the wise issues a decree forbidding alchemical experiments 1383-1440's giorgio anselmi 1385 d. haydar amuli "all the imams are one and the same light, one and the same essence (haqiqa, exemplified in twelve persons" 1385-1441 georges aurach 1388 geoffrey chaucer canterbury tales discussed alchemy in the canon's yeoman's tale 1388 d. telesphorus de cosenza 1390 "sefer yetzirah "k" parma de rossi, foll 36b-38b. italy, 1316/7. short version of tamim (from 9thc. c.1390 the regius poem( halliwell ms) ms. is admitted to be the oldest genuine record of the craft of masonry known..the good clerk euclid taught the craft of geometry full wonder wide" 1391 laventian codex 14 fol. 79 verso-100 recto (florence, medici collection, catalogue plutoeo44. this ms. version

yetzirah "k" parma de rossi, foll 36b-38b. italy, 1316/7. short version of tamim (from 9thc. c.1390 the regius poem( halliwell ms) ms. is admitted to be the oldest genuine record of the craft of masonry known..the good clerk euclid taught the craft of geometry full wonder wide" 1391 laventian codex 14 fol. 79 verso-100 recto (florence, medici collection, catalogue plutoeo44. this ms. version of "sefer hohkmah" by donollo. 1391-1452 cyriac of ancona ciriaco de' pizzicolli italian merchant and antiquarian with a particular interest in classical greece. 1392 a decree in paris includes cards; also, the treasurer's accounts of charles vi of france includes a payment for three packs of handmade cards (a painter by the name of jacquemin gringoneur designed them especially for the amusement of th

FELDMAN DANIEL QABALAH THE MYSTICAL HERITAGE OF THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

tical and occult subjects. i went to see any teacher from any mystical tradition who brought their show to town xand in the late 1960 s and the 70 s there were a lot of shows! i learned and experimented with a wide spectrum of meditation practices, and was blessed with some breakthrough experiences that further fueled my spiritual thirst. at that ripe moment, i found an english translation of the sefer yetzirah (book of formation) published by the work of the chariot trust. the wct edition contained the entire text in the so-called ezra hebrew alphabet, as well as, in a more ancient hebrew alphabet xthe sinatic or gezer hebrew. as soon as i saw the letters of the older alphabet, something resounded very deeply within me. i immediately became obsessed with learning more about the sefer yetz

balah and north indian tantra? chapter one concludes with a comparison between the qabalistic teachings regarding the work of creation (ma aseh b reshith) and the work of the chariot (ma aseh merkabah, and contemporary ideas in modern scientific cosmology. chapter two introduces and describes the primary textual sources of the mystical qabalah of the children of abraham. these sources include the sefer hashmoth (book of the names; the sefer yetzirah (book of formation; the seferim hatorah (books of the law; the sefer hazohar (book of splendor, and particularly its three core texts xthe sifra detzniyutha (book of that which is concealed, the idra rabba qadusha (greater holy assembly, and the idra zuta qadusha (lesser holy assembly; merkabah (lit. throne) literature, including the seferim ha

endor, and particularly its three core texts xthe sifra detzniyutha (book of that which is concealed, the idra rabba qadusha (greater holy assembly, and the idra zuta qadusha (lesser holy assembly; merkabah (lit. throne) literature, including the seferim hachanokh (books of enoch son of yared, the verses from the books of isaiah and ezekiel, and the sh ir qoma (measure of the divine body from the sefer raziel hagadol; the peshitta (gospels) and the revelation of john; the qur an; and the etz hachayyim (tree of life. while many would question including the peshitta and qur an as primary sources of the mystical qabalah, it is appropriate to include them if one acknowledges that the hebrew, jewish, christian, and islamic religions are progressive developments or branches of the same shemite t

able ancillary practices that might be used to complement a daily routine of qabalistic meditation. the main body of the text closes with an epilogue containing some final observations on the study and practices of the mystical qabalah, and a brief discussion of the idea of hebrew renewal i.e. a return to the religion of abraham. appendix a contains the complete listing of the divine names in the sefer hashmoth (book of names. appendix b applies the ideas of modern scientific cosmology to the qabalistic model of the work of creation. the appendices are followed by a glossary of terms. a companion volume to this book will contain the translations published by the work of the chariot trust in the early 1970 s. these translations have been out of print for almost two decades. the contents of

he ideas of modern scientific cosmology to the qabalistic model of the work of creation. the appendices are followed by a glossary of terms. a companion volume to this book will contain the translations published by the work of the chariot trust in the early 1970 s. these translations have been out of print for almost two decades. the contents of the second book will include: e translation of the sefer yetzirah (book of formation) e translation of the sifra detzniyutha (book of that which is concealed) e translation of the idra rabba qadusha (greater holy assembly) e translation of the idra zuta qadusha (lesser holy assembly) e merkabah passages from the books of ezekiel and isaiah e excerpts from the seferim hachanokh (books of enoch) e translation of the sh ir qoma from the sefer raziel

nic composition, and cultural and religious milieus from which abraham came? how was his faith influenced by the cosmologies of the sumerians, egyptians, and canaanites? was 8- f e the original hebrew alphabet developed before abraham s time as a way to alphabetically represent sumerian cuneiform glyphs? or, did it originate in the mystical manual on the hebrew letters ascribed to him, called the sefer yetzirah (book of formation? as the vehicle for a fresh expression of the universal mystical spirituality promoted directly in the face of widespread idol worship, how did abraham and the israelite tribes practice their religion? the life of the early israelites would have had much in common with all nomadic tribes who dwelled in tents under the starry skies of the desert savannas of canaan

ansformed into metatron(]vruum).12 the thirteen enochian keys of enoch son of qain are reflected in such works as the book of the sacred magic of abramelin the mage, the greater and lesser keys of solomon, and medieval grimoires such as the armadel, goetia/lemegeton, etc.13 the primary text of the mystical qabalah that appears to occupy a central place of importance in the hermetic qabalah is the sefer yetzirah (book of formation. however, from what is written in many of the books of hermetic qabalah, it is apparent that the structure of the tree of life, nature of the inner court, and function of the lettergates as explicated by the sefer yetzirah are widely misunderstood. the two most prominent contemporary schools of practical or hermetic qabalah are the golden dawn and the ordo templi

he active pursuit of mystical awakening for most of them. the small minority who do aspire to mystical awakening are an eclectic group. they range from mainstream orthodox jews to the sect of chasidus founded by israel ben eliezer (1698-1760, known as the baal shem tov( master of the good name, and nachman of bretzlav.14 the bulk of the mainstream orthodox jewish kabbalists focus primarily on the sefer hazohar (book of splendor) and the etz hachayyim (tree of life. they engage in practices of spiritual refinement (avodah) and meditation (devekut, cleaving to god) gleaned from the writings left by 4' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% abraham abulafia, azriel of gerona (disciple of yitza aq the blind, chayyim vital (recorder of the teachings of yitza aq luria, dov baer (mezhirecher maggid and successor to i

tion in christian intellectual circles and ignited an interest in this previously unknown esoteric jewish tradition that spread across italy, germany, and france. in the sixteenth century ce, the appearance of qabalistic texts in latin translation enhanced attempts to draw further parallels between esoteric jewish doctrines and christianity. guillaume postel translated and published the zohar and sefer yetzirah into latin even before they were published in hebrew. latin texts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were influential in standardizing cabala as the spelling commonly associated with the christian perspective to qabalistic doctrines.21 in the seventeenth century ce, the center of christian cabala moved to england and germany, where its status was boosted by the theosophical

that it is the alchemy between the teacher and those being taught that produces a teaching that is appropriate for the particular time, place, and people involved. sufis have their own lists of divine names or attributes, which they recite as a regular component of their spiritual practices. one list is composed of ninety-nine names, and another one of a thousand and one. many of the names in the sefer hashmoth (book of 8- f e 30 the names) are also found in the qur an. in the same way that the name hvhy is a central element in the meditation and ancillary practices of many qabalists, most sufi meditation practices center upon the name allah, the principal divine name in the qur an (see figure 1.2. the name allah is found in the sefer hashmoth (book of the names) as aleh (hla lit. these, w

lear fission, whereby they either burn out or assume new forms. the universe continues to expand in a four-dimensional space-time continuum until it reaches a point where it starts to contract and return to its original condition. the expansion of the everlasting arms that connect the six directional sefiroth to one another around the periphery of the double pyramid tree of life delineated in the sefer yetzirah, and the movement of the chayot in the chariot of the book of ezekiel allude to the same idea. in the hindu holy books known as the vedas, we find another analogy to modern cosmology in the comparison of the creator to a spider that weaves a web and then retrieves it back into its body. the mentor in the work of the chariot trust speculated further on the correlation between torah b

ur 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 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 sifr

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 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)

he ezra alef a, the sinatic beyt with the ezra beyt b, and so forth. sinatic letterforms are basically built from the letters alef and ayin. ezra hebrew letter forms are built upon variations of the letter yod y. both alphabets have letters which overtly or covertly contain other letters, such as the tav contained in the sinatic alef or the beyt b contained in the ezra alef a (as described in the sefer bahir).6 unlike the ezra alphabet, sinatic does not have final letters, which were developed much later as a means of showing separation between words in crowded scrolls. the final letters became significant in the ezra alphabet when given extended numerical value in gematria or qabalistic numerology.7 the sudden appearance of the original hebrew was paralleled several hundred years later by

ra, and visual imagery suitable for use in yogic meditation. examples of these mantra and imagery will 0' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8% be discussed later in the book, in the detailed section on the meditation practices of the mystical qabalah. 2 f# aramaic, palmyrene, and nabataen alphabets( 5 6$ 47 78 9 *4*;4& e) e a 1 6 9$ a 1= 91 54" f" 2' 8: 05 2 f# gan eden alphabet 4' 8: h" 2: 2 2:e 8( it is said, the sefer hashmoth (book of the names) is as much like a book, as the sabbath is like the regular days of the week. 10 on the one hand, the sefer hashmoth is a book of divine names of fundamental importance to qabalistic meditation and magical/occult practices. as such, it is a valuable key that can help open locks guarding the mysteries that lay hidden in hebrew (and arabic) qabalistic books, and pro

s that allude to distinctly different paths of ascension through the planes of consciousness, and a second series that allude to different stations of perfected souls who have completed the ascension. it is said that adam gave the book to his son seth and it was then passed down the generational line to enoch son of yared. when enoch ascended and walked with elohim, he took the book with him. the sefer hashmoth came back into the world again with the covenant of abraham.11 abraham gave the book to ishmael, isaac, and his offspring by his concubines.12 isaac s copy was handed down to master mosheh and was later sealed in the vault of the first temple of jerusalem. buried in the temple vault, access to the book was limited to those who had the psychic skill to see/read it in yetzirah (astral

d his offspring by his concubines.12 isaac s copy was handed down to master mosheh and was later sealed in the vault of the first temple of jerusalem. buried in the temple vault, access to the book was limited to those who had the psychic skill to see/read it in yetzirah (astral world of formation, and the strength to survive the impact of its power without shattering their shells.13 the powerful sefer hashmoth resurfaced in the early 1970 s, when it was transmitted through the gentleman responsible for the creation of the work of the chariot trust. for a series of nights, he would awaken in the early hours and record the succession of sinatic hebrew divine names and trees of life he would see as intense light patterns, using the level of psychic mediation described in the sefer hazohar (b

one-twentieth cloudy mirror denotes" f" 2' 8: 4 the conscious dream state and one-sixtieth cloudy mirror the normal dream state) he assembled the sequence of names into a book as he was instructed, with one name on each page. the names are followed by the series of angelic tree language. the work of the chariot trust subsequently published sinatic hebrew, ezra hebrew, and english versions of the sefer hashmoth in 1971-72. most of the working and perfect forms of the tree of life that appeared in those books had never been seen before. the complete list of divine names contained in the work of the chariot edition is provided in appendix a. all of the various trees diagrams are included in the seven chapters of this text( the sefer yetzirah (book of formation) attracts heated debate about i

FRANCIS A YATES GIORDANO BRUNO AND THE HERMETIC TRADITION

nds of cabala, and one of them is "the supreme part of natural magic' pico, opera, p. 105. 2 ibid, loc. cit. 3 ibid, p. 107. 4* 91 pico della mirandola and cabalist magic the cabala' as it developed in spain in the middle ages had as its basis the doctrine of the ten sephiroth and the twenty-two letters of the hebrew alphabet. the doctrine of the sephiroth is laid down in the book of creation, or sefer yetzirah, and it is constantly referred to throughout the zohar, the mystical work written in spain in the thirteenth century which embodies the traditions of spanish cabalism of that time. the sephiroth are "the ten names most common to god and in their entirety they form his one great name- they are "the creative names which god called into the world",3 and the created universe is the exte

FULLER J F C SECRET WISDOM OF THE QABALAH

e composed the celebrated work called sohar (rhz) i.e. splendour, which is the grand storehouse of kabbalism.10 turning from tradition to history: though here again evidence is none too secure, the zohar is attributed to moses de leon, a qabalistic writer of the thirteenth century, and quite possibly parts of it were written by him. the whole compilation covers a vast ground and comprises: 1. the sefer ha-zohar, the book of splendour11- the main commentary. 2. the sifra-di-tseniuta, the book of the veiled mystery.12 3. the sitre torah, secrets of the torah. 4. the ra'ya mahemna, the true shepherd. 5. the midrush ha-he'lam, the recondite exposition. 6. the tosefta, additions. 7. the hekaloth, halls or palaces. 8. the idra rabba, the greater synod.13 9. the idra zuta, the lesser synod.14 the

slations, knorr von rosenroth produced his kabbalah denudata in 1677-8, a latin version of the sifra-di-tseniuta, the idra rabba, and idra zuta, which in 1887 were translated into english by s. l. macgregor mathers under the title of the kabbalah unveiled. in 1906, a complete translation of the zohar into french was made by m. jean de pauly. besides these, there is also the soncino edition of the sefer ha-zohar; this appeared in english between 1931 and 1934. of books dealing with the qabalah there is a large number, of which the following is a small selection which may be useful to the student. qabbalah, the philosophical writings of solomon ben yehudah ibn gebirol or avicebron, isaac myer, 1888; la kabbale ou la philosophie religieuse des hebreux, ad. franck, 1889. the kabbalah, its doct

KARR DON NOTES ON EDITIONS OF SEFER YETZIRAH IN ENGLISH

t suits your purpose better. the important part is just to finally and completely let go of your intention, so that the energy can be recycled in whatever form the creative force and your own consciousness will allow. out of this release, new the basics of magick get any book for free on: www.abika.com 38 lives, new opportunities, and new magical opportunities are bogh20073 1 notes on editions of sefer yetzirah in english don karr sefer yetzirah (book of formation, hereafter sy) is the oldest known speculative treatise in hebrew. there are three prime recensions of sy: short, long, and one somewhere in between called the saadian recension (in that it was the basis of saadia s commentary of the early tenth century* even the longest of these contains something less than 2500 words. the date

ce on speculative and mystical thought from that time on. commenting on sy, elliot r. wolfson stated, properly speaking, the work should not be described as a single composition, but rather as a composite of distinct literary strands that have been woven together through a complicated redactional process whose stages are not clearly discernable* ithamar gruenwald a preliminary critical edition of sefer yezirah, in israel oriental studies 1 (1971; a. peter hayman, introduction, sefer yesira: edition, translation and text-critical commentary (t bingen: mohr siebeck, 2004. aryeh kaplan adds a fourth: the gra/ari version; see below, p. 13* the comments of both steven m. wasserstrom and elliot r. wolfson were made as discussants at the association for jewish studies 33rd annual conference (wash

peter hayman, introduction, sefer yesira: edition, translation and text-critical commentary (t bingen: mohr siebeck, 2004. aryeh kaplan adds a fourth: the gra/ari version; see below, p. 13* the comments of both steven m. wasserstrom and elliot r. wolfson were made as discussants at the association for jewish studies 33rd annual conference (washington, dc: december 16, 2001) in the session titled sefer yesirah: mystical and philosophical intertexts. see wasserstrom s articles (1) sefer yesira and early islam: a reappraisal (in the journal of jewish thought and philosophy, vol. 3 no. 1: 1993) and (2) further thoughts on the origins of sefer yesirah (in aleph: historical studies in science and judaism, no. 2 (2002, edited by gad fruedenthal, indiana university press, at http//inscribe.iupres

thoughts on the origins of sefer yesirah (in aleph: historical studies in science and judaism, no. 2 (2002, edited by gad fruedenthal, indiana university press, at http//inscribe.iupress.org/loi/ale; see also wasserstrom s comments in between muslim and jew: the problem of symbiosis under early islam (princeton: princeton university press, 1995, pages 126-133. further, refer to wolfson s summary, sefer yetzirah: linguistic mysticism and cosmological speculation, which is a section of jewish mysticism: a philosophical overview, in history of jewish philosophy, edited by daniel h. frank and oliver leaman (london new york: routledge, 1997. don karr, 1991, 1994; updated 2001-7. email: dk0618@yahoo.com all rights reserved. license to copy this publication is intended for personal use only. pape

have six chapters containing brief, even laconic, statements, similar in tone to the hekhalot texts of early chariot mysticism. it was from the first chapter of sy that kabbalah derived the term sefirot and the notion of these as metaphysical stages of creation. the remaining chapters of sy tell of the powers and correspondences of the twenty-two hebrew letters. in 1971, gruenwald noted, although sefer yezira is one of the most frequently published works of jewish esoteric lore, there is no authoritative text available to those who want to study the book. to make a long story short, there are at least three main recensions of the book, and except for one recension (the so-called saadian recension) all the printed texts are defective* gruenwald was commenting on the state of editions in heb

recensions of the book, and except for one recension (the so-called saadian recension) all the printed texts are defective* gruenwald was commenting on the state of editions in hebrew, the inadequacies of which would inevitably be reflected in any translation. armed with a more complete array of textual witnesses, many of which were not available to gruenwald in 1971, a. peter hayman has produced sefer yesira: edition, translation and text-critical commentary (t bingen: mohr siebeck, 2004, which is the most thorough scholarly treatment of sy in english to date. the core of hayman s book is a synoptic edition of sy in hebrew and english offering specific ms versions of the three recensions. because of its importance and no doubt because of its brevity sy has been put into english many times

le meanings in origins of the kabbalah (p. 28: according to some views, the obscure word belimah, which always accompanies the word sefirot, is simply a composite of beli mah without anything, without actuality, ideal. however, judging from the literal meaning, it should be understood as signifying closed, that is, closed within itself. further, see peter hayman s comments in some observations of sefer yesira (1) its use of scripture (journal of jewish studies 35:2 [1984) concerning belimah, where he mentions its likely derivation from job 26:7. 20073 6 on page 30 of gershom scholem s kabbalah, an english translation of sy by p. davidson (elsewhere noted as the sepher jetsirah, white county [ga: 1896) is mentioned. i have not seen it. given the time and place of this publication, it does s

er jetsirah, white county [ga: 1896) is mentioned. i have not seen it. given the time and place of this publication, it does seem that this p. davidson is peter davidson (1837-1915) of the hermetic brotherhood of luxor; see godwin, chanel and deveney: the hermetic brotherhood of luxor (york beach: samuel weiser, inc, 1995. mordell, phineas. the origins of the letters and numerals according to the sefer yetzirah. the present thesis appeared in the jewish quarterly review, new series for april 1912 vol. ii, and for april 1913 vol. iii. published by dropsie college philadelphia pa. supplement: a solution of the pythagorean number philosophy. copyright 1922 by phineas mordell. reprinted, new york: samuel weiser, 1975. mordell s thesis regarding sy contains notions which are difficult to credit

yetzirah. the present thesis appeared in the jewish quarterly review, new series for april 1912 vol. ii, and for april 1913 vol. iii. published by dropsie college philadelphia pa. supplement: a solution of the pythagorean number philosophy. copyright 1922 by phineas mordell. reprinted, new york: samuel weiser, 1975. mordell s thesis regarding sy contains notions which are difficult to credit: the sefer yetzirah, as the earliest hebrew grammar, contains the fundamental rules of hebrew orthography. according to the sefer yetzirah, there are ten double letters, and not only seven, as is believed by all commentators since saadya. in spite of the numerous works written on hebrew orthography since the beginning of the tenth century, there is not one which may be considered as really based on the

erous works written on hebrew orthography since the beginning of the tenth century, there is not one which may be considered as really based on the hebrew [on which the sy is based. many more troubling statements could be quoted; however, i shall leap to mordell s conclusion: already abraham abulafia perceived that the pythagorean number philosophy is identical with the sefiroth philosophy of the sefer yetzirah. the relation they bear to each other is variously explained. a. f. thimus shares the view that the pythagorean philosophy is an adaptation from the sefer yetzirah. others hold that the author of sefer yetzirah borrowed his philosophy from pythagoras and plato. would it be to [sic] bold to conclude that sefer yetzirah represents the genuine fragments of philolaus? mordell develops h

mple, 1941. listed in sheila spector s jewish mysticism: an annotated bibliography of kabbalah in english (new york/london: garland publishing, inc, 1984) under the history of kabbalah, f. merkabah mysticism and jewish gnosticism; doreal= f15) raskin, saul. kabbalah in word and image, with the book of creation and from the zohar. new york, academy photo offset, inc, 1952* listed in aryeh kaplan s sefer yetzirah [discussed below] under translations/ english; and in spector s bibliography, where it is listed twice (1) under introductory surveys= c7 (2) under the history of kabbalah, f. merkabah mysticism and jewish gnosticism= f17* waite s version of the thirty-two paths can be found in the holy kabbalah, pp. 213-219* this item came up for sale on ebay (november 2004; the display page provid

s included here in part because it is the version of sy on which david blumenthal (understanding jewish mysticism [1978, pp. 13-46) based his translation in no small way. while blumenthal made revisions and additions here and there, he presented a virtual copy of work of the chariot s translation, while saying, the translation given here is my own, based upon the hebrew texts in l. goldschmit and sefer yetsira, anon. ed (jerusalem: 1964. there is bound to be some concurrence in translations of the same text, but blumenthal s sy is the same as work of the chariot s, word-for-word, through nearly all of the text. blumenthal retained work of the chariot s unique readings, e.g, by border, and letter and number (chapter 1, paragraph 1. further, blumenthal used work of the chariot s format in th

itations is indicated by reference to the diagrams; lines from the atharva veda are offered for comparison with sy. work of the chariot s publication seems to be entirely for an immediate mystical purpose. there is no introduction, no history, no account of editions of sy, etc, and the sparse notes are not of the usual sort. in 1971, ithamar gruenwald published the preliminary critical edition of sefer yezira in israel oriental studies, volume 1 (tel aviv university; of course, the texts are in hebrew. in a follow-up article, some critical notes on the first part of sefer yezira (revue des etudes juives, cxxxii, no. 4, 1973, gruenwald gives english translations and analyses of the first sixteen paragraphs of sy. the article is a bit frustrating in spots: some words and quotes are not trans

ind for ruah (spirit, and lawed presumably for khaqaq( engraved, though if pointed differently it could mean decreed or legislated. origins brand of indulgence infects whole passages, making them stilted and vague. for sy chapter 1, paragraph 7, origins (p. 59) has ten sefirot made of nothing their appearance is the look of lightning their disappearance: they have no end 20073 11 aryeh kaplan (in sefer yetzirah: the book of creation, p. 271 see below) offers the same passage (from the long version: ten sefirot of nothingness: their vision is like the appearance of lightning, and their limit has no end. comment: david biale, recounting scholem s view: translation of kabbalistic texts is possible because the kabbalists themselves considered their language a precise, technical vocabulary and

56-58, 61, and 64* purists might fault friedman and others for choosing the word creation for yezirah. conventionally, creation is reserved for briah, and formation is applied to yezirah, even as emanation is used for azilut and making or action is used for asiah. 20073 13 also based on gruenwald s sy are the observations and translations in peter hayman s series of articles: some observations on sefer yesira (1: its use of scripture, in journal of jewish studies, vol. 35, no. 2 (1984) some observations on sefer yesira (2: the temple at the centre of the universe, in journal of jewish studies, vol. 37, no. 2 (1986) was god a magician? sefer yesira and jewish magic, in journal of jewish studies, vol. 40, no. 2 (1989. some observations (1) in particular analyzes and translates quite a number

udies, vol. 37, no. 2 (1986) was god a magician? sefer yesira and jewish magic, in journal of jewish studies, vol. 40, no. 2 (1989. some observations (1) in particular analyzes and translates quite a number of sy paragraphs (according to gruenwald s numbering) 1-3, 5-8, 10-11, 13-14, 37-38, 40, 43, 47-48, 51, 56, 60-61. other articles by peter hayman (aka a. p. hayman and a. peter hayman) include sefer yesira and the hekhalot literature, in jerusalem studies in jewish thought, vol. vi, nos. 1- 2, edited by joseph dan. jerusalem, hebrew university, 1987. the doctrine of creation in sefer yesira: some text-critical problems, in rashi 1040-1990, edited by gabrielle sed-rajna. paris: les editions du cerf, 1993 [see page 15 for a description of hayman s critical edition and translation of sy] a

epher yetzirah: book of creation. a critical edition consisting of a hebrew-english interlinear translation with collated translations of six previous editions: lenowitz, friedman, kalisch, mordell, stenring, and westcott (available through the translator: c/o valencia books, 525 valencia st, san francisco, ca 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 th

chapter entitled, the sefirot of the formless: imprinting as the foundation of creation. from these sy passages, various meditations are derived: on the names of god listed in sy s initial segment; on the interrelationship of the letter families (i.e, mothers, doubles, and simples) as introduced in the second segment. the next addition to our list is in many regards the ultimate: a. peter hayman, sefer yesira: edition, translation and text-critical commentary (t bingen: mohr siebeck, 2004. hayman s introduction discusses the text of sy and its treatment by both religious and academic commentators. consideration of four pre-kabbalistic commentaries* leads up to hayman s the earliest recoverable text of sefer yesira and the three recensions. this earliest recoverable text has been created [b

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

piritual technology lab at http//qabalah.mortenhass.com both sy and the thirty-two paths are posted hereha(hereafter ek) ek is an anthology of texts which serves as an excellent complement to ok. dan, joseph. jewish mysticism, volume ii: the middle ages. northvale. jerusalem: jason aronson inc, 1998 (hereafter jmii) jmii is a collection of dan fs articles covering early kabbalah (concentrating on sefer ha-bahir) and the ashkenazi hasidim (see below, pre-kabbalistic streams of jewish mysticism, 5. to the above books, add the following dissertations. brody, seth lance. human hands dwell in heavenly heights: worship and mystical experience in thirteenth-century kabbalah. ph.d. dissertation, philadelphia: university of pennsylvania, 1991. gcurrent discussion of kabbalistic spirituality, origin

c efficacy of a kabbalist fs worship is a product of his experiential adhesion and absorption into divinity. h (from the abstract, p. vii. dauber, jonathan victor. standing on the heads of philosophers: myth and philosophy in early kabbalah. ph.d. dissertation, new york: new york university, 2004. chapters include gthe opening to myth in the thought of abraham bar hiyya, h gmyth and philosophy in sefer ha-bahir, h gascent and decent h (in sefer ha-bahir, r. jacob ben sheshet, and r. azriel of gerona, and gmyth and discursive thinking in r. asher b. david. h. goldberg, joel r= yechiel shalom goldberg. mystical union, individuality, and individuation in provencal and catalonian kabbalah. ph.d. dissertation, new york: new york university, 2001. focusing on the earliest kabbalists (e.g, isaac

ons which precipitate it. see below, page 4 1.b. haskell, ellen. metaphor and symbolic representation: the image of god as suckling mother in thirteenth century kabbalah. ph.d. dissertation, chicago: university of chicago, 2005. see especially chapter four, gsuckling as spiritual transmission in early kabbalistic literature. h gthe texts presented in this chapter, isaac the blind fs commentary on sefer yetzirah, the early kabbalistic volume sefer ha-bahir, and ezra of gerona fs commentary on the song of songs, will be examined in order to reveal the exegetical dynamics and theological concerns that prefigure the powerful imagery of sefer ha-zohar, in which the image of god as a suckling mother expresses an emotionally rich and textured form of spiritual communication. h (p. 167) 20081 3 fo

arly kabbalistic volume sefer ha-bahir, and ezra of gerona fs commentary on the song of songs, will be examined in order to reveal the exegetical dynamics and theological concerns that prefigure the powerful imagery of sefer ha-zohar, in which the image of god as a suckling mother expresses an emotionally rich and textured form of spiritual communication. h (p. 167) 20081 3 formative period 1. a. sefer ha-bahir (book of brightness: the earliest work considered gkabbalistic h is sefer ha-bahir. there are substantial discussions of this text in ok (pp. 35-48, 49-198) and dan fs jmii (xiv-lvii, 1-18. see below in gother references h; translated excerpts are given in ek (pp. 57-69. using scholem fs observations as a starting point, ronit meroz has presented her conclusions regarding the three

k of brightness: the earliest work considered gkabbalistic h is sefer ha-bahir. there are substantial discussions of this text in ok (pp. 35-48, 49-198) and dan fs jmii (xiv-lvii, 1-18. see below in gother references h; translated excerpts are given in ek (pp. 57-69. using scholem fs observations as a starting point, ronit meroz has presented her conclusions regarding the three distinct strata of sefer ha-bahir in several lectures (including ga bright light in the east.the babylonian stratum in sefer ha-bahir, h session: hermeneutical reflections on early kabbalah at the association for jewish studies thirty-fourth annual conference, los angeles: december 17, 2002) and her hebrew article, ga bright light in the east: on the time and place of part of sefer ha-bahir h in da fat: a journal of

[modern jewish masters series #2. new york: new york university press, 1988: chapter 5. gthe enigmatic book bahir. h. gmidrash and the dawn of kabbalah, h in midrash and literature, edited by g. hartman and s. budick. new haven: yale university press, 1986; also jmii: chapter 1. dauber, jonathan victor. standing on the heads of philosophers (noted above, page 2- chapter 2. myth and philosophy in sefer ha-bahir- chapter 3: a. sefer ha-bahir: 30- appendix 2. 32 of sefer ha-bahir in light of early kabbalistic sources. eylon, dina ripsman. reincarnation in jewish mysticism and gnosticism [jewish studies, volume 25. lewiston-queenston-lampeter: the edwin mellen press, 2003. green, arthur. keter: the crown of god in early jewish mysticism. princeton: princeton university press, 1997: chapter th

ew york: dorset press, 1987 (article) gsefer ha-bahir. h. on the kabbalah and its symbolism. new york: schocken books, 1965: chapter 3. gkabbalah and myth, h ii. wolfson, elliot r. gbefore alef/where beginnings end, h in beginning/again: toward a hermeneutics of jewish texts, edited by aryeh cohen and shaul magid. new york: seven bridges press, 2002. ghebraic and hellenic conceptions of wisdom in sefer ha-bahir, h in poetics today, volume 19, number 1 (spring 1998: hellenism and hebraism reconsidered: the poetics of cultural influence and exchange i, edited by david stern (durham: duke university press. gthe tree that is all: jewish-christian roots of a kabbalistic symbol in sefer ha-bahir, h in 1. the journal of jewish thought and philosophy, vol. 3, issue 1 [special issue: studies in jew

tic symbol in sefer ha-bahir, h in 1. the journal of jewish thought and philosophy, vol. 3, issue 1 [special issue: studies in jewish mysticism, esotericism, and hasidism (harwood academic publishers gmbh, 1993; and 2 (idem) along the path: studies in kabbalistic myth, symbolism and hermeneutics (albany: state university of new york press, 1995. 1. b. provence: the fragments of what was to become sefer ha-bahir made their way to provence where they fed the development of a mystical school, ca. 1200. this school fs second generation was headed by r. isaac the blind (d. 1235, g cthe first jewish scholar whom 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

d the development of a mystical school, ca. 1200. this school fs second generation was headed by r. isaac the blind (d. 1235, g cthe first jewish scholar whom 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

lated 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. asher ben david, and r. azriel of gerona (see below. further reference. zinberg, israel. a history of jewish literature, volume iii: the struggle of mysticism and tradition against philosophical rationalism (philadelphia: 20081 5 the jewish publication society of america, 1973: chapter one, gthe mystics of provence. h. koren, sharon

kie 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 pp. 460-75; and 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 k

erally 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- fivret ba-me fah ha 13] translated by roslyn weiss [jewish studies, vol. 8] lewiston: the edwin mellen press, 1991. 1.d. castile: in the second half of the 13th century, a circle of kabbalists grew

arron shatil. belize city: providence university, 2007. for information, go to www.everburninglight.org. ner elohim: candle of god. translated by sharron shatil. belize city: providence university, 2007. for information, go to www.everburninglight.org. the path of the names. berkeley: trigram/tree, 1976. gfrom sha feri zedek, h gthe question of prophecy, h and selections from haye olam ha-ba, and sefer ha-ot. sefer ha-ot. translated by efrat levy; integral edition in english, hebrew, and aramaic. belize city: providence university, 2006. for information, go to www.everburninglight.org. sheva netivot ha-torah: the seven 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

uda. 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 j. l. blau (new york, columbia university press, 1959; 2. essential papers on messianic movements and personalities in jewish history, edited by marc saperstein (new york

ork press, 1989. ghitbodedut as concentration in ecstatic kabbalah, h in jewish spirituality i: from the bible through the middle ages, edited by arthur green (new york: crossroad publishing company, 1985. messianic mystics. new haven: yale university press, 1998: chapter two: gabraham abulafia: ecstatic kabbalah and spiritual messianisms h and appendix one: gego, ergo sum messiah: on abulafia fs sefer ha-yashar. h. the mystical experience in abraham abulafia. albany: state university of new york press, 1988. studies in ecstatic kabbalah. albany: state university of new york press, 1988. jacobs, louis. jewish mystical testimonies. new york: schocken books, 1976: chapter six: gthe prophetic mysticism of abraham abulafia. h. kaplan, aryeh. meditation and kabbalah. york beach: samuel weiser

ah. pp. 122-4 (excerpt of shekel ha-kodesh. koren, sharon faye. gkabbalistic physiology: isaac the blind, nahmanides, and moses de leon on menstruation, h ajs review, vol. 28, no. 2 (cambridge: association for jewish studies, 2004. margoliouth, george. gthe doctrine of ether in the kabbalah, h in jewish quarterly review, vol. 20 (1908. wolfson, elliot. gmystical realization of the commandments in sefer ha-rimmon, h in hebrew union college annual, vol. 59 (cincinnati: 1988. gmystical-theurgical dimensions of the commandments in sefer ha- rimmon, h in approaches to judaism in medieval times i, edited by david r. blumenthal [brown judaic studies, no. 54 (atlanta: scholars press, 1988. wolfson prepared a critical edition of sefer ha rimmon: the book of the pomegranate: moses de leon fs sefer h

8: chapter three. gconcepts of messiah in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries: theosophical forms of kabbalah. h. gon european cultural renaissances and jewish mysticism, h in kabbalah: journal for the study of jewish mystical texts, volume 13, edited by daniel abrams and avraham elqayam (los angeles: cherub press, 2005. kiener, ronald. gthe status of astrology in the early kabbalah: from the sefer yesirah to the zohar, h in jerusalem studies in jewish thought, vol. 6, nos. 3-4: proceedings of the second international conference on the history of jewish mysticism: the beginnings of jewish mysticism in medieval europe, edited by joseph dan (jerusalem: the hebrew university, 1987. laenen, j. h. jewish mysticism: an introduction, translated by david e. orton [original dutch: joodse mystie

implified selection of streams representative of.or having influence upon.jewish mysticism can be outlined thus: 1. early beginnings a. pseudepigrapha (ca. 200 bce onward) b. philo (ca. 20 bce to 50 ce) c. qumran= dead sea scrolls: 100 bce onward) d. rabbinic and synagogue traditions (100 ce onward) e. miscellaneous magic texts and other goccult h works 2. merkabah and hekhalot (200 ce onward) 3. sefer yezirah (between 200 and 900 ce) 4. transition a. geonic period (600-1000) b. early commentaries on sefer yezirah c. religious philosophers i. solomon ibn gebirol (1020-1070) ii. judah halevi (1075-1141) iii. abraham ibn ezra (1089-1164) 5. hasidei ashkenaz (german hasidism: ca 1170-1240) 1. early beginnings since jewish mysticism is ultimately based on the hebrew bible, the beginning, reall

KNOWLEDGE LECTURE TWO

the deity, archangel and angelic host attributed to it. the twenty-two paths are bound together by the serpent of wisdom. it unites the paths but does not touch any of the sephiroth, which are linked by the flaming sword. the flaming sword is formed by the natural order of the tree of life. it resembles a flash of lightning. together the sephiroth and the twenty-two paths form the 32 paths of the sefer yetzirah, or book of formation. the two pillars on either side of the altar represent: active: the white pillar on the south side. male. adam. pillar of light and fire. right kerub. metatron. passive: the black pillar on the north side. female. eve. pillar of cloud. left kerub. sandalphon. the second meditation let the zelator meditate on a straight line. let him take a ruler or pencil and b

LAITMAN M BASIC CONCEPTS IN KABBALAH

t grants absolute knowledge, calm, and the sensation of immortality. question: how is the kabbalistic information conveyed? kabbalists have passed on their knowledge about the upper world both orally and in writing. initially, it appeared in mesopotamia in the 18th century bce. the accumulated knowledge was f r e q u e n t ly a s k e d q u e s t i o n s 105 expounded upon in the book of creation (sefer yetzira, ascribed to abraham. this book is still available in bookstores. in every generation, kabbalists wrote their books for the souls of that particular generation. several languages have been used in kabbalah over the centuries. this is because the development of the human soul occurs gradually. from generation to generation, the increasingly coarser souls return to this world with the

LAITMAN M FROM CHAOS TO HARMONY

service of others. when we correct each of the desires by using them altruistically instead of egoistically, kabbalah calls this performing mitzvot (keeping commandments. this refers to changing the intention with which we use our desires, not to any physical actions. the method for achieving equilibrium with nature, beyond the ego, was discovered by abraham. it is called the wisdom of kabbalah. sefer yetzira (the book of creation) is also ascribed to abraham. abraham began to teach this wisdom to his people, the ancient babylonians. it was written that abraham the patriarch would bring them into his home, give them food and drink, and would bring them closer (bereshit raba 84:4. however, most of the people did not take interest in correcting their egos. but after abraham and his wife, sa

of the hidden light of the internality of the secrets of the torah (kabbalah) in a clear language letters of the raiah, p. 92. only when we are what we should be will humanism return to humanity, the highest virtue, whose essence will be able to the spiritual light concealed within its quality; and it will israel s role 173 naturally soar in its entirety, and with pride it will know its happiness sefer orot (book of lights, p. 155. we should know that just as the people of israel are not counted among the seventy nations of the world, but are considered a special group intended to pass the correction method to all of humanity, the land of israel will not exist on planet earth unless it is a land where a spiritual nation resides. therefore, the people of israel deserve to live in that land

LAITMAN M KABBALAH SCIENCE AND THE MEANING OF LIFE

sensation of eternal life, and endless, boundless stream of pleasures. this is where our lives are leading us. 26 t h e n at u r e o f m at t e r the wisdom of kabbalah 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

n his introduction to the book of zohar. the first researcher to ask about the universe and the forces that conduct humanity was abraham. he was one of many people who lived in mesopotamia (ancient persia, and in those days there was no division into nations. he discovered the method by which we can know the reality beyond our ordinary perception, and described his research and discoveries in his sefer yetzira (book of creation. abraham began to gather students and teach them the wisdom of kabbalah. in time, this group of kabbalists became a nation. many years 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. t

LAITMAN M THE KABBALAH EXPERIENCE

reality works. using charts and formut h e k a b b a l a h e x p e r i e n c e 72 las, it depicts the control room of reality in a form much like a user s manual. these visuals teach us how the laws work in spirituality, and how we can influence them with mind and will, consequently affecting the results that return to affect us. t h e b o o k o f c r e at i o n q: rav laitman, when you say that sefer yetzira (the book of creation) was written by abraham the patriarch, should we imagine one man who reached the spiritual level called, abraham, or was it abraham, the historical figure. in the second case, if abraham wrote the book before moses, then how is the name of the prophet, yehezkel (ezekiel, mentioned there (mishnah 8, p.1? this prophet lived centuries after abraham did. a: the book

t, yehezkel (ezekiel, mentioned there (mishnah 8, p.1? this prophet lived centuries after abraham did. a: the book of creation was supposedly written by abraham. this is the opinion of judaism, not my own. i actually never say anything on my own and can always provide a reference for my words. that is why my adversaries do not oppose me, they oppose kabbalah! baal hasulam says in his letters that sefer yetzira was written by some other kabbalist. regarding the time, this is a question only for you and not for abraham or another kabbalist. however, nothing will help until you, too, see from the beginning of the world to its end. the kabbalist mastering a certain spiritual level sees, feels and bonds with everyone on that level regardless of whether it already happened in our world or is yet

r, as it says: the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads, and delight in the splendor of divinity. the sensation of the creator (the light) in the collective soul is called divinity, according to the zohar. in any place where the books of kabbalah say, so it was written in the book k this always refers to the zohar. all the others are seemingly not considered books because the word book (sefer in hebrew) comes from the word sefira, which comes from the word sapphire, radiance, a revelation (of the light, the creator. this is found only in the zohar. q: there have been many debates about the zohar over the years. what is the essence of these universal secrets? how can it be written in familiar books, but still remain a mystery? when will i be able to buy the zohar at a bookstore, r

ck from reality. that is the science involved, and today it can be revealed to anyone who seeks it. 85 c h a p t e r 3. t h e s t u dy o f k a b b a l a h i n t r o d u c t i o n kabbalah has always been taught through books. the first books about kabbalah were written thousands of years ago. adam ha rishon (the first man) wrote the book, the angel raziel, and abraham the patriarch wrote the book sefer yetzira (book of creation. the zohar was written some 1900 years ago. all of these books are still for sale today. through them, we can study the wisdom of kabbalah. the principal, fundamental book that we study by is called talmud eser hasefirot (the study of the ten sefirot. it consists of six volumes and more than 2000 pages that depict the laws of the system of creation in scientific ter

LAITMAN M THE PATH OF KABBALAH

eration. that is why there are leaders and spiritual guides in every generation who adapt the wisdom of kabbalah to the unique properties of their time. there have been hundreds of books written over the years on the subject of the wisdom of kabbalah. these began with the very first book on the wisdom of kabbalah, raziel hamalaach (the angel raziel, written by adam ha rishon, and the second book, sefer yetzira (book of creation, written by abraham the patriarch. however, the most popular book in the wisdom of kabbalah is the book of zohar. it was written in the second century ad by rabbi shimon bar-yochay. the contemporary kabbalist, rabbi yehuda ashlag (1884-1954) wrote a commentary on the zohar and on all the writings of the ari in a contemporary language so that we could understand it

velopment that constitutes the purpose of creation and its preliminary design. t h e pa t h o f k a b b a l a h 332 in fact, the torah provides us with this entire plan, but tells us about it in a special way. the torah can be perceived as a historic narrative, or as pictures from people s ordinary lives, both are of course completely incorrect. our torah is holy; it is not just another novel. is sefer yetzira (book of creation) that abraham wrote studied equally with the zohar? the book of creation that abraham wrote was written in pr.cis, as though in brevity. the book writes simply: this world was created in apparent, semi apparent and concealed form, in thirty-two paths of wisdom. it can take years to understand even the first sentence properly. this book was written succinctly, as tho

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

azazel, it is said, taught men how to fashion weapons, and women such things as cosmetics (encouraging vanity. demons are also mentioned later in the talmud and midrash, though they are not viewed as independent powers in revolt against god. by the middle ages, they were sometimes portrayed more as mischiefmakers, though this image alternated with a much more sinister one. the book of the pious (sefer hasidm, one of the most influential texts of the medieval period, mentions demons frequently, and there are many discussions of exorcism in its pages. demons also appear in the zohar and in other cabalistic literature. the jewish satan was never as sinister as his christian counterpart. initially, in fact, satan was not a being at all, but was, rather, an accusatory or adversarial role assig

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 1

s and their interrelationships with each other, the intellect, the desire and the self, we must first understand several important matters in regard to lights and vessels. the zohar states that "he and his life force are one" and "he and his organs are one "he and his life force are one" refers to the lights of the sefirot, and "he and his organs are one" refers to the vessels of the sefirot. the sefer yetzirah calls the lights of the ten sefirot "the ten sefirot without whatness (esser sefirot blee mah. in other words, the lights themselves are beyond form or description. as we learned above, the essential light is a quintessential singularity which is beyond description altogether. it is specifically the vessels which give description and tangible existence to the lights. this will now b

(chochmah) founded the daughter (speech, we see that the source of speech is actually higher than the source of thought (binah, only "lends the clothing to the daughter) why then does thought precede speech? furthermore, a human being is called a "speaking soul" or "speaking spirit. why is this so if we see that thought precedes speech by several years? the reason for this is because as stated in sefer yetzirah "the beginning is bound up with the end and the end with the beginning. therefore speech, which is the end, is bound up with the beginning (chochmah. furthermore, from this we see that something which essentially is higher descends further down. the example for this is a very large bonfire, whose light can be seen at a great distance. in contrast the light of a small fire will not b

(sof kol dargin) is g-d s desire and pleasure to be king over the created worlds of briyah, yetzirah and asiyah (creation, formation and action. now, in order for this kingship to be realized, there must be a tzimtzum and a separation between atzilut and the created worlds. this is called a masach (screen, and will be discussed later. from the above, we may also gain insight into the statement in sefer yetzirah that "the beginning is bound up with the end, and the end is bound up with the beginning. in other words, the "end, in which g-d actually rules over the world, is dependant on the essential desire to rule, which is in the "beginning. however, the "beginning" must also be bound up with the "end. this is to say that the essential desire to rule must be awakened by the "end, i.e. by th

however, chochmah is likewise called a yesh (something) relative to its depth, as stated "chochmah is found from "nothingness. be understanding with wisdom, and wise in understanding from the above, we understand that there are different depths within the intellect, such as the depth and source of chochmah (insight) and the depth and source of binah (comprehension. this clarifies the statement in sefer yetzirah "be understanding in wisdom, and wise in understanding" this statement refers to binah of chochmah and chochmah of binah. be wise in understanding, refers to chochmah of binah (insight of comprehension. this is the innovative insight into the subject of one s study. as explained above, this is the automatic result of the analysis into the particulars of the subject matter in which h

RABBI AMIRAM MARKEL MARKEL THE KNOWLEDGE OF G D VOL 2

however, chochmah is likewise called a yesh (something) relative to its depth, as stated "chochmah is found from "nothingness. be understanding with wisdom, and wise in understanding from the above, we understand that there are different depths within the intellect, such as the depth and source of chochmah (insight) and the depth and source of binah (comprehension. this clarifies the statement in sefer yetzirah "be understanding in wisdom, and wise in understanding" this statement refers to binah of chochmah and chochmah of binah. be wise in understanding, refers to chochmah of binah (insight of comprehension. this is the innovative insight into the subject of one s study. as explained above, this is the automatic result of the analysis into the particulars of the subject matter in which h

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

t 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 remains a sizeable amount of the arizal fs material on the torah to be translated. please g-d, when this additional material is ready, we will reis

hrei and the half of the year it ushers in is thus clearly an expression of g-d fs left hand (cf. g-d as judge on rosh hashanah, etc, while nisan and its halfyear are an expression of g-d fs right hand. this is also why [in the entire account of creation] the name elokim is mentioned 32 times. for the 32 pathways of abba are 32 names havayah, while in ima they are 32 names elokim. it is stated in sefer yetzirah that there are 32 gpathways of chochmah. h3 the simplest understanding of these pathways is that they are the ten sefirot and the 22 letters of the hebrew alphabet, i.e, ideas and their means of expression. the two principle names of g-d, havayah and elokim, are associated with chochmah and binah, respectively. this is because the name elokim, whose numerical value (86) is the same

in the beit [the first letter] of bereishit[ gin the beginning h [the dagesh inside the letter] alludes to gthe point in its palace, h i.e [the state in which] abba and ima are equal and together. the dagesh (point) inside the beit alludes to chochmah, the gpoint h or gdrop h of insight surrounded and encompassed by the three-line (i.e, three-dimensional) letter beit itself, alluding to binah. 3 sefer yetzirah 1:1. 4 psalms 111:10; proverbs 4:7. the arizal on parashat bereishit 13 as we have mentioned previously, chochmah and binah have a gsymbiotic h relationship. the insight of chochmah, if not processed by binah, will disappear and be forgotten, since it was not integrated into the individual fs mental structures. on the other hand, if binah is left to pursue its analysis unchecked, it

he changed his names, as it is written, gcome, let us descend and confound their speech. h furthermore, he confounded their language, so they could no longer speak the holy language, and even if they would try to adjure the angels in other languages, this would be totally ineffective. he therefore made them forget hebrew, and thus they no longer knew how to do anything [like this .translated from sefer halikutim and likutei torah 13 jeremiah 51:44. 39 parashat noach [third installment] gthe water prevailed fifteen cubits above, and the mountains were covered. h1 thus, during the flood, the highest mountaintop was submerged 15 cubits. let us understand why [the mountaintops were submerged] fifteen cubits, no more and no less. furthermore, once [the torah] says that[ gthe water prevailed fif

the unrectified aspect within it.wants what it considers is its due. it therefore enlists the evil inclination to make sure 11 genesis 14:12. the arizal on parashat lech lecha 77 that the divine soul does not neglect it. in the end, the divine soul recaptures the evil inclination and uses it for its own purposes, rather than letting it serve the animal soul .translated from sha far hapesukim and sefer halikutim 79 parashat vayeira the portion of the torah read this week begins: gand g-d appeared to him [i.e, abraham] in the plains of mam-re, as he was sitting at the opening of the tent in the heat of the day. h1 the initials of the words gand g-d appeared to him in the plains of h [vayeira eilav y-k-v-k be-eilonei, vav-alef-yud-beit] spell gjob h [iyov, alef-yud-vav-beit. the initials of

eplace idolatry with its opposite, the true spiritual path, job fs task and trial was merely to renounce idolatry and remain true to g-d throughout his test. since he thus represented the hope and perfection of the rest of humanity, satan was satisfied to vex him instead of the jewish people. unwittingly, he thereby enabled job, and by extension, all humanity, to reach perfection .translated from sefer halikutim 17 job 1:1. 18 rashi on numbers 14:9. 85 parashat vayeira [second installment] gand g-d appeared to [abraham] in the plains of mam-re. h1 all that we are required to rectify in this world is only for the purpose of causing z feir anpin and nukva to couple. for we receive the means of livelihood, divine beneficence, and children only from them, who are our [spiritual] father and mot

how did the shechinah appear to him? g cin the plains of c, h meaning gin the strength of h: g-d revealed himself to abraham in the strength of the states of gevurah, which are alluded to by the word g cmam-re, h whose numerical value is 280, as we explained [the states of gevurah revealed themselves to abraham] in order to be sweetened by the coupling [of z feir anpin and nukva .translated from sefer halikutim and likutei torah 12 chagigah 12a. 13 see ramban on genesis 17:1. 91 parashat vayeira [third installment] this parashah includes the story of how sodom and gomorrah were destroyed.1 [we will now explain] the [mystical] explanation of the story of sodom and gomorrah [we will also explain] why the three angels.michael, who announced to abraham that sarah was going to have a child; ga

s-out of the name havayah (72, 63, 45, 52) correspond to the four letters of the name and the four basic partzufim. specifically, the 72-name corresponds to the yud and abba, the partzuf of chochmah. here we have an additional indication that the fact that abraham fathered isaac at the age of 100 was because only then did he achieve the level of divine chochmah necessary for this .translated from sefer halikutim 99 parashat chayei sarah the portion of the torah read this week begins: gthe life of sarah was one hundred twenty seven years [long, the years of the life of sarah. sarah died in kiryat arba, which is hebron, in the land of canaan. abraham came to eulogize sarah and weep for her. h1 the numerical value of the word for gwas h [i.e, the first word of] this verse [va-yih fyu, vav-yud

ricate malchut from this exile. when jacob had finished blessing and commanding his sons on his deathbed, ghe gathered his feet into the bed, and he expired, and was gathered unto his people. h furthermore [the chaf here is small] because [the letter chaf signifies keter, and since with her death] the attribute of keter was removed and lacking [from the world, it is written small .translated from sefer halikutim, likutei torah, and sha far hapesukim 3 genesis 49:33. 103 parashat chayei sarah [second installment] when eliezer, abraham fs slave, arrived in haran looking for a wife for isaac, he asked g-d that one of the signs identifying the right girl be that gthe girl to whom i will say, eplease tip your pitcher so that i may drink f h will respond g edrink, and i will give your camels als

sion, with new intellectual understanding. doing so enables his expression to influence his emotion, for gthe media h to make gthe message, h so to speak. in either case, once the gwife h succeeds in re-inspiring her ghusband, h she restores him to his original vigor and the redemption can proceed.6 understand this well, for what i have told you is a deep secret .translated from likutei torah and sefer halikutim 6 as mentioned previously, each of us comprises a male and a female aspect, and therefore the roles of male and female partner as described can be reversed. since the male aspect obviously dominates in the husband and the female in the wife, however, the usual case is the way it is described in the text. 107 parashat chayei sarah [third installment] gand these are the days of the y

t have h] because that was listening for bad purposes. and because the sin of adam was that [eve] squeezed grapes and gave him [to drink],16 so too, here, g[jacob] brought [isaac] wine and he drank. h [this was real wine] not one-day old grape juice with its dregs. he who understands will understand all this at length. i copied this from the book etz hada fat by rabbi chaim vital .translated from sefer halikutim 16 bereishit rabbah 19:8; zohar 3:236a. 129 parashat toldot [third installment] the following is a continuation of the first installment, which we suggest the reader review before proceeding. in short, we learned that there are two mazal fs (channels of divine flow) in the beard of arich anpin, the eighth and the thirteenth. relative to each other, these mazal fs are masculine and

depends upon them. were they to be dependent upon [our merit, as expressed in] the states of gevurah, the world would be lost. other aspects of life, however, which are not so essential, are dependent upon our merit. thus, even if our merit is insufficient, we can still pray to g-d for these three essentials, relying upon his mercy to override our lack of merits .translated from likutei torah and sefer halikutim 133 parashat toldot [fourth installment] in this parashah, the torah describes how isaac re-dug the wells that his father, abraham had dug. the philistines had stopped them up.1 the [mystical] significance of these wells is as follows. isaac fs gservants h are the states of gevurah within ima, which dig out the vessel of feminine waters in nukva, making her into a vessel. this is w

ive of kabbalah, the opening of the bladder into the urethra is the gleft channel h of the reproductive organ and the openings of the ejaculatory ducts into the urethra are its gright channel. h the closing of the hei, making it into a chet, is reflected in the gclosing h of the right channel of the reproductive organ, allowing it to serve as the urinary channel .translated from likutei torah and sefer halikutim* the following passage is truncated and appears to be not finally edited, but its main purpose appear to be to establish the associations between isaac fs wells and the spellings out of the name havayah. there are four wells mentioned in this section of the torah:5 isaac went away from there and encamped in the gerar valley, and settled there. he re-dug the wells of water that had

aving 6 other letters in the first spelling out of the 63-name. the [expanded] numerical value of 6 is 60, for each letter sub-divides into 10, as above. to [the 300 and the 60] add the kolel; this gives 361, which is, again, the numerical value of ga well of fresh spring water. h up to here is what i found written in the name of one of the master fs [i.e, the arizal fs] students .translated from sefer halikutim 9 genesis 26:19. 141 parashat vayeitzei in the beginning of the portion of the torah read this week, we are told that gjacob left be fer sheva and went to haran. h1 based on this verse, the arizal discusses certain details of how z feir anpin is developed out of abba and ima. jacob represents the full development of the concept of gpatriarch, h the individual fully fit to become th

age] the person first couples with his spouse of his own goodwill and volition, and he thereby acquires merit for fulfilling the commandment.and if he does not want to marry, he incurs punishment. it is only after the marriage that g-d gforces h the couple to remain together in one house. this is the meaning of the verse, ghe causes individuals to dwell in the house, h as we said .translated from sefer halikutim 21 deuteronomy 1:47. 155 parashat vayeitzei [third installment] parashat vayeitzei describes the jacob fs marriage to leah and rachel:1 now laban had two daughters. the name of the older one was leah, and the name of the younger one was rachel. leah fs eyes were tender, while rachel had beautiful features and was of beautiful appearance. jacob loved rachel, and he said [to laban, g

recall that he wages the war not on his own merits alone, but that the merits of the righteous of all generations combine with his own and their combined energy outweighs that of evil. also, the individual should realize the centrality and importance of his struggle; through his efforts the efforts of all generations is given meaning and, hopefully, fulfillment .translated from sha far hapesukim, sefer halikutim, and likutei torah 165 parashat vayishlach [second installment] in the portion of the torah read this week, we are told that there were eight kings gwho ruled in the land of edom before any king ruled the children of israel: gand bela ben be for ruled in edom, and the name of his city was dinhavah. bela died. gand yovav ben zerach of batzrah ruled in his place. yovav died. gand chu

n the torah are those of z feir anpin and those mentioned in the book of chronicles are those of nukva of z feir anpin. therefore, regarding the kings of z feir anpin the torah says gand [bela ben be for] ruled in edom c, h while regarding those of nukva the book of chronicles does not say ghe ruled in edom h [itself, only that they rule gin the land of edom. h .translated from sha far hapesukim, sefer halikutim, and likutei torah 169 parashat vayishlach [third installment] in the previous installment, we began to explain the shattering of the vessels, the mystical significance of the eight kings gwho ruled in the land of edom before any king ruled the children of israel: gand bela ben be for ruled in edom, and the name of his city was dinhavah. bela died. gand yovav ben zerach of batzrah

be judged. the word dinhavah is seen as the combination of the two words din havah, meaning ggive judgment. h the gcity h here is seen as the concretization of the ideals of the person who built it. just as king david fs ideals were concretized in the city of zion, the focus of the kingdom of israel, so were the ideals of bela ben be for concretized in dinhavah .translated from sha far hapesukim, sefer halikutim, and likutei torah 13 see zohar 2:123a; the hebrew letters, p. 252; the mystery of marriage, p. 142. 14 1 kings 8:1. 15 ecclesiastes 7:14. 173 parashat vayishlach [fourth installment] in the previous installments, we began to explain the shattering of the vessels, the mystical significance of the eight kings gwho ruled in the land of edom before any king ruled the children of israe

SIFRA DETZNIYUTHA

pecial place, we can only say that its address may be found somewhere along the astral. the keys, of course, will be presented by your conception of the force when the time is right. just let it come to you "all the children of lucifer have their own "safe harbor" in the astral. the cbr folks just get theirs a little sooner, that's allnc1 sifra detzniyutha book of that which is concealed from the sefer hazohar mantuan codex: shmoth ii: 186b copyright work of the chariot 2001 2 sifra detzniyutha book of that which is concealed the original work of the chariot translation is presented here in its entirety. a substantial appendix follows the five core chapters. the first appendix is an extensive addition from the sixteenth century which is intended to follow after the verse, and elohim said t

s an allusion to the single combination of all the sefiroth; weights are individual sefirah. 7 face-to-face is the condition whereby small face (ze ir anafim) is turned toward vast face (arikh anafim, so no creation is manifest. 8 the primordial kings are the unmanifest sefiroth in the alef worlds, which are witness states of vast face. 9 the term crowns here alludes to the world of atziluth. see sefer yetzirah, chapter three. 10 head (sar, rosh) is another name for the supernal sefirah crown/above. 11 the garments of splendor are the manifest sefiroth. 12 hy( yah or yod heh) constitute the first two letters of the name hvhy, indicating the action described is in the world of creation (b riyah. the yod y corresponds to world of emanation, upper heh h to the world of creation, the vav v to

4. 42 torah b reshith 1:4. 43 isaiah 3:10. 44 proverbs 7:4, say unto wisdom (sefirah wisdom/east, you are my sister, and call understanding (sefirah understanding/north) friend. 45 daniel 7:8, 20. the tongue is the sefirah knowledge (of the ayn)/the first. see zohar ii:123a. 46 isaiah 44:5. 47 these are the first three letters of the name hvhy, extending only through the world of yetzirah. in the sefer yetzirah, the six directions are sealed with permutations of the three letters. 48 torah b reshith 1:14. 49 proverbs 10:25. 50 the hairs of the beard are the atziluthic letters convoluting into divine names. see fig. 51 man sya, ish, pronounced eesh as in leash. 52 adam kadmon, celestial man, vast face. in the eleventh chapter of the bhagavad gita, this is described as the universal form (vi

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL 3

ed 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 city s jewish sector. m delving deeper frankenstein and the golem. jewish gothic [online] http//www. jewishgothic.com/golem.html. kaplan, aryeh. sefer yetsirah: the book of creation in theory and practice. new york: samuel weiser, 1990. unterman, alan. dictionary of jewish lore and legend. london and new york: thames and hudson, 1991. winkler, gershon. the golem of prague. new york: judaica press, 1994. imp in old english impe means a young plant shoot or a tree sapling. over the years, the word came to refer to smallish entities that were

THE MAGICIAN S KABBALAH

ough which the mystics ascended. the description of these journeys seems to bear similarities to the journey of the soul into the underworld depicted in the egyptian book of coming forth by day, with magical words or appropriate names of the gods to be spoken before each door is passed and each palace entered. three classical texts formulate the basic structure of traditional kabbalah, being; the sefer-ha-zohar; book of splendour- first printed 1558-60 and 1559-60 the sefer yetzirah; book of formation- first printed in mantua 1562 the sefer-ha-bahir; book of light- first printed in amsterdam 1651 the zohar was written around 1280-86 by 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 kabbali

wish thinkers, on the other hand, identified the logos with wisdom, and the memra, or word. john states "in the beginning was the logos, and the "wisdom of solomon" says "like a fine mist she [wisdom] rises from the power of god. she is the reflection of the everlasting light. herself unchanging, but makes all things new. she spans the world from end to end, and orders all things benignly" in the sefer hapardes, it is noted that chockmah is called fear (as geburah is also entitled pachad, or fear. whereas the fear of geburah is the fear of the "vengeful lord, the fear spoken of in chockmah is the mystical fear, which is that when the contemplative's thoughts reach this "high place, a place without measure or boundary, where the mind does not have the power to grasp. the relationship betwee

THE PATH OF KABBALAH

very generation. that is why there are leaders and spiritual guides in every generation, who adapt the wisdom of kabbalah to the unique properties of their time. there are hundreds of books that were written over the years on the subject of the wisdom of kabbalah. beginning with the very first book on the wisdom of kabbalah, raziel the angel that was written by adam harishon, and the second book, sefer yetzira (book of creation, which was written by abraham the patriarch. however, the most popular book in the wisdom of kabbalah is the book of zohar. it was written in the third century ac by rabbi shimon bar-yochay. the contemporary kabbalist, rabbi yehuda ashlag (1885-1954) wrote a commentary on the zohar and on all the writings of the ari in a language that is adapted to our generation so

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

led from a wide range of kabbalistic texts, that serves as the backdrop for 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 cas

sing of similar ones.3 in the particular cultural ambiance of medieval kabbalah, language performs this function by expressing the inexpressible, rendering the invisible visible. the symbol, therefore, brings the unknown into relation with the known, but without reducing the difference that binds the two incongruities into a selfsame identity.4 the obfuscation between story and event displayed in sefer ha-bahir, and even more extremely in sefer ha-zohar, represents an embellishment of the rabbinic parable to the point that one can no longer distinguish between signifier and signified, mashal and nimshal.5 in the kabbalistic mind-set, there is no gap between signifier and signified, for every nimshal becomes a mashal vis -vis xii preface another nimshal, which quickly turns into another mas

return of the moment that has perpetually never been. in this linear circularity, the emanations are unified in a true unity in their connecting beginning to end and end to beginning, 155 and hence the distinction between beginning and end is destabilized. the comment just cited is from a passage in cordovero s pardes rimmonim where he interprets the depiction of the sefirot in the first part of sefer yesirah, their end is fixed in their beginning and their beginning in their end (na us sofan bi-tehillatan u-tehillatan be-sofan).156 this uroboric symbol notionally and visually conveys the fusion of the linear and cyclical, the innovative and repetitive. in one of the earliest kabbalistic commentaries on sefer yesirah, a text that preserves the teachings of the proven al master isaac the b

ticulation of the notion of time connected to the paradoxical image of the end fixed in the beginning: a wellspring that spreads forth all that spreads forth is from the source, and if the source ceases, everything ceases, and since they emanate in every moment[ be-khol et, the beginning has no end [tehillah ein lah sof. therefore it says their end in their beginning. 158 in his own commentary on sefer yesirah, cordovero elucidates the matter of the bond of the emanations, the first in the last and the last in the first [qesher ha-sefirot ri shon besofan we-sofan be-ri shon, in terms of his doctrine of the two types of light: the straight light, or yashar, that issues from keter to malkhut, and the restored light, or hozer, that is reflected back from malkhut to keter:159 this is the way t

eternity, accordingly, are to be construed not as logical antinomies resolved by a dialectic synthesis that effaces difference in the a rmation of the nonidentity of identity but as ontic variations held together in the identity of nonidentity, an indifference that preserves the distinctiveness of one and the other, the time of eternity manifestly concealed in the eternity of time.166 already in sefer ha-bahir, long considered one of the most important early textual aggregates to espouse the mytho-theosophic orientation that has been identified as the singular contribution of the medieval kabbalistic tradition, the days of creation are interpreted as semiotic ciphers of the divine attributes.167 building on the ancient wisdom transmitted in the bahir, subsequent kabbalists made a point of

ri shonim, primordial days (deut 4:32),169 linear circularity (a)temporal poetics 83 yemot olam, days of old (ibid. 32:7),170 or, in the language of the zoharic kabbalists based on these earlier formulations, yomin ila in, supernal days, 171 and yomin qadma in, primeval days. 172 the tenor of this temporality is brought into clearer focus in the following passage from the thirteenth-century work sefer ha-yihud by the proven al kabbalist asher ben david: on the basis of the tradition all of these attributes in the six extremities are also called garden [gan, as it says, the lord god planted a garden in eden in the east (gen 2:8, that is to say, from before [mi-qedem]173 the creation of the world. and, in truth, eden refers to hokhmah, the inception of all the emanations [ro sh le-khol ha-s

y revert to what they were in the beginning, and thus it is permanently such that in their end they return to their beginning. 186 mundane time approximates the ceaselessness of timeless time in the nature of cosmic cyclicality, things returning in their end to their beginning, the luminal emanations themselves often depicted in medieval kabbalistic literature by the description of the sefirot in sefer yesirah mentioned above: their end is fixed in their beginning and their beginning in their end. in the final remark concerning the permanent return of all things to their beginning, azriel alludes to the eschatological doctrine of apokastasis, the return of the many to the one, which, in this context, is formulated in temporal terms.187 however, as azriel explicitly notes in another passage

ith an alef, in thought and not in speech.199 the long-standing assumption on the part of kabbalists that time depicts the dynamic recounting of the divine potencies is expressed here through the symbolic correlation of the three tenses of time, the threefold repetition of the tetragrammaton, and the three books by means of which the world was created an idea based on the numerical equivalence of sefer, book, and shem, name, that is, both words equal 340, and also on the opening paragraph of sefer yesirah, where it is stated that god created the world by means of three books.200 the triadic temporal structure is associated as well with the rabbinic idiom oryan telita ah, threefold torah. 201 use of this terminology is predicated no doubt on the presumed identity of torah and god, a belief

niversal (kelal, which contains the vessel (keli, is the perfect unity beyond time (le-ma alah min ha-zeman, the interminable temporal deportment (hanhagat ha-zeman le-nishiyyut) whence there is a transition to the flow of revealed time (ha-zeman ha-galuy. significantly, the three stages of time, symbolized by the three books through which the world was created according to the opening section of sefer yesirah,233 the three occurrences of yhwh in the priestly blessing (num 6:24 26, and the three parts of the masoretic division of the scriptural canon, derive from the place of unity above time. it follows, therefore, that the 97 fullness of divine temporality consists of the lower seven aspects together with the upper three aspects. in this moment: engendering time and feminine indeterminac

yond the margin of time.310 linear circularity (a)temporal poetics 117 before alef/ where beginnings end wachs, ungeschriebnes zu siegeln, das deinen namen erriet, das deinen namen verschl sselt. celan, mit brief und uhr 118 3 before alef comes beit here in a nutshell lies the wisdom of kabbalah. this parabolic utterance finds expression in what is presumably an older mythologoumenon preserved in sefer ha-bahir, long considered one of the earliest sources that contains, albeit in rudimentary form, the panoply of theosophic symbols expounded by kabbalists through the generations.1 a translation of the passage that has served as the basis for my reflections is followed by a philosophical analysis of its content that links the salient images to other statements in the bahiric anthology. the i

ception, but, ideally, the mythopoeic orientation of the kabbalists embraces both concurrently. this dialectic marks the beginning, beit, of torah, stuttering to be heard in the beginning of the way, setting out to break open the open that is broken. in the beginning that cannot begin, time comes to be in its having been. we are surely justified in translating the term sha ashu a as it is used in sefer ha- bahir and in later works of kabbalah by the lacanian expression jouissance, that is, the ecstatic state of orgasmic unity wherein the self of consciousness does not relate to the other in its heterogeneity.98 the happiness that does not concern the other, the drive that has no other, is jouissance, the surplus enjoyment that defies signification, what lacan himself calls knowledge of the

ime: to look ahead one must turn back, a restoration to a past that is always yet to come in the present of the future. subsequently, we shall have the opportunity to pursue this symbolism in more detail, but su ce it to note at this juncture that the salvific import of contrition is linked to the redundancy of mem imprinted in and from the middle. 4 137 let me turn now to the depiction of mem in sefer ha-bahir, the same text that served as the basis for our analysis of alef. departing, however, from the textual strategy deployed in the previous chapter, it will be necessary here to introduce other kabbalistic sources, including especially passages from zoharic literature, which will assist us in decoding the esoteric significance of mem and by consequence the symbolic status of the middle

onsisted of elevating one s thought to the limit of thought that extends limitlessly beyond thought.20 expressed semiotically, alef, which is compared to the ear and brain, is symbolic of the uppermost gradation of the divine the thought that expands infinitely to the thoughtless, to that which thought cannot comprehend (she-ein ha-mahshavah masseget, in the locution employed in the commentary on sefer yesirah that purports to preserve the teachings of isaac the blind.21 alef is identified, moreover, as the holy palace (heikhal qodesh),22 and is linked to the tetragrammaton, an association based exegetically on the expression the lord is at their head (wa-yhwh be-ro sham, that is, yhwh, the name that is at the head in the beginning is alef, which is the first of all letters (ro sh le-khol

un in the name yinnon, offering a naturalistic conception of the birth of the messiah that is antithetical to the supernatural understanding implied in the doctrine of the incarnation.46 the polemical point is sharpened when we examine more carefully the symbolic value assigned to the letter, for the parabolic approach deployed by the kabbalists responsible for the (relatively final) redaction of sefer ha-bahir is predicated on the hermeneutical assumption that the inner core safeguards and solidifies the external shell. hence the double nun in yinnon not only signifies the birth of the messiah from the coupling of man and woman; it also marks the within mem/ returning forward 145 ontological locus of sexual differentiation within the divine. this, i surmise, should be identified as the ph

as black and white; indeed, in the state of ontological indifference, one can no longer discriminate between black and white, morning and night. support for this interpretation is found in the following passage from a fragment of a work by moses de le n, one of the castilian kabbalists responsible for the composition and dissemination of textual units that were eventually woven into the fabric of sefer ha-zohar: know that the secret of the attribute of truth [sod middat emet] is the one that incites and overflows to the place of death [meqom ha-mawet, for life motivates death. indeed, the attribute of truth is the justice that overflows and emanates blessing upon the bundle of souls. the one who performs an act of kindness with the deceased disseminates blessing and emanates the e ux from

a- qodesh, 1:8, p. 17; and cordovero, shi ur qomah, 10b c (to be precise, in that context the author distinguishes two aspects of will, rason and hefes, both of which are said to be within keter, though neither can be ascribed to ein sof. 270. see scholem, ber einige grundbegriffe, pp. 75 84; tishby, wisdom, pp. 280 281; matt, ayin, pp. 121 159. 271. moses ben shem tov de le n, r. moses de le n s sefer sheqel ha-qodesh, p. 5. see fishbane, mystical contemplation. on the apophatic interpretation of the term ayin, see also the text from gikatilla s sha arei sedeq published in gottlieb, studies, pp. 139 140, and his comments, ibid, p. 272. 272. my description is based primarily on zohar 3:135b, a passage from the idra rabba section that may have been known to schelling from the latin translat

ance, will to power, sec. 462, p. 255: in place of metaphysics and religion, the theory of eternal recurrence (this as a means of breeding and selection. 89. stambaugh, nietzsche s thought, pp. 103 112. 90. see bregman, past and present, pp. 47 49; wolfson, iconic visualization, p. 141, and other references cited on p. 157 n. 37. 91. babylonian talmud, menahot 110a. 92. shalom dovber schneersohn, sefer ha-ma amarim 5663, vol. 2, p. 199. 93. al-qushayri thus referred to the sufi as the son of his moment, ibn waqtihi, that is, the sufi is distinguished by the fact that he lives fully in the moment in which he must fulfill his religious duty. see sells, early islamic mysticism, p. 100; rumi, mathnawi, 1:132 133, 3:1426. the intrinsic connection between sufism and being-in-the-moment is repeat

ll the sefirot with the exception of the first one had a beginning in time. my point, however, is that this conception of non-temporal time is not exceptional in kabbalistic literature. 107. scholem, major trends, p. 223. 108. for example, abraham bar hiyya, hegyon ha-nephesch ha-atzuvah, pp. 40 41, and see editor s remarks on pp. 18 19; maimonides, guide, 2.12, p. 276; 2.15, p. 288; joseph albo, sefer ha-iqqarim, 2:18, 80a. it is worth noting that in the aforecited section of sefer ha-iqqarim, 80b, albo does refer to the rabbinic notion of seder zemannim, which he contrasts with zeman: the latter is the time that is measurable in accord with the movement of the heavenly sphere, and thus it can be characterized in terms of before and after, whereas the former is not subject to measurement

Return to Occult Library Index



Related Matches
abraham adam alchemy allah ancient azriel binah children chochmah christian consciousness creation divine doctrine east enoch esoteric fear female form forms formation france generation god golem hebrew hermetic history holy humanity israel jerusalem jewish kabbalist kabbalists cabala kabbalah qabalah kabbalistic qabalistic keys king kings knowledge magic material medieval meditation messiah modern moses mystical mysticism myth north order paths people re rabbi reality religious secret secrets sefer sefirah sefirot sefiroth sephiroth seven solomon soul spiritual state states symbolic symbolism teachings temple temporal three torah tradition tree vessels white wisdom world yetzirah yetzira yezirah zohar


http://www.hollywoodinsiders.net
MWLibCreator Ver.2 By:Michael Wynn