Sephirot

The Sefirot in Jewish Kabbalah
The Sefirot in Jewish Kabbalah
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 Category:Sephiroth

Sephirot [or "enumerations", Sephiroth, Sefiroth (סְפִירוֹת), singular: Sephirah, also Sefirah (סְפִירָה "enumeration" in Hebrew)], in the Kabbalah of Judaism, are the ten attributes that God (who is referred to as אור אין סוף Aur Ain Soph, "Limitless Light, Light Without End") created through which he can manifest not only in the physical but the metaphysical universe.

Contents

Ten Sephirot

Through a careful study of the Tanakh, Jewish sages identified ten Sephirot (ten being the number of divine perfection). At their fundamental level, the ten Sephirot are a step-by-step process illuminating the Divine plan as it unfolds itself in our world. They are known by the following names/characteristics from highest to lowest:

  1. Keter - Crown - Divine Plan/ Creator/ infinite light/ Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh - I AM THAT I AM (Supreme/ Total Consciousness)
  2. Chokmah - Divine Reality/ revelation/ Yesh me-ayin - being from nothingness (Power of Wisdom)
  3. Binah - Understanding/ repentance/ reason (Power of Love)
  4. Chesed - Mercy/ Grace/ Love of (intention to emulate) God (Power of Vision)
  5. Gevurah - Judgment/ strength/ determination (Power of Intention)
  6. Tipheret - Symmetry/ balance/ compassion (Creative Power)
  7. Netzach - Contemplation/ Initiative/ persistence (Power of the Eternal Now)
  8. Hod - Surrender/ sincerity/ steadfastness (Intellectual/ Observational Power)
  9. Yesod - Foundation/ wholly remembering/ coherent knowledge (Power of Manifesting)
  10. Malkuth - Lower Crown - Kingdom/ physical presence/ vision and illusion (Power of Healing/ Accomplishment/ Level of Realization of Divine Plan)

The Sephirot above are listed in order according to the version given to us by rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero. However, Rabbi Isaac Luria listed the Sephirot somewhat differently by taking out Keter and adding in da'at:

  1. Chokmah - Divine Reality/ revelation/ Yesh me-ayin - being from nothingness (Power of Wisdom)
  2. Binah - Understanding/ repentance/ reason (Power of Love)
  3. Da'at - Knowledge, the bridge between the intellect and emotion
  4. Chesed - Mercy/ Grace/ Love of (intention to emulate) God (Power of Vision)
  5. Gevurah - Judgment/ strength/ determination (Power of Intention)
  6. Tipheret - Symmetry/ balance/ compassion (Creative Power)
  7. Netzach - Contemplation/ Initiative/ persistence (Power of the Eternal Now)
  8. Hod - Surrender/ sincerity/ steadfastness (Intellectual/Observational Power)
  9. Yesod - Foundation/ wholly remembering/ coherent knowledge (Power of Manifesting)
  10. Malkuth/ Lower Crown - Kingdom/ physical presence/ vision and illusion (Power of Healing/ Accomplishment/ Level of Realization of Divine Plan)

The Da'at is the mystical state of unity of the 10 Sephiroth, also called the Tree of Life. These ten levels are associated with Kabbalah's (Zohar) four different "worlds" or "planes" which serve as the guide for returning to the Creator.

  1. Atziluth (אֲצִילוּת), or "World of Emanations", on this level of Creator, Reality/ the light of the Ain Sof radiates and is united with its source.
  2. Beri'ah (בְּרִיאָה) or "World of Creation", on this conceptual level of creation ex nihilo without form, only the highest ranking Angels (purity of being) inhabit.
  3. Yetzirah (יְצִירָה) or "World of Formation" on this level, creation (creativity) is related to form.
  4. Asiyah' (עֲשִׂיָּה) or "World of Actions", on this level creation is relegated to the 'physical Asiyah' comprising our physical world with all its creatures.

Each of these worlds are progressively grosser and further removed from the Divine (Plan), however the ten Sephiroth manifest in all of them.

Whereas in the Zohar and elsewhere there are four worlds or universes (planes of existence), in the Lurianic system, Five Worlds, a fifth plane, Adam Kadmon-manifest Godhead level, mediates between the Ein Sof and the four lower worlds which can be understood as descriptive of dimensional levels of intentionality related to the man's natural "desire to receive" and a (secret Science of Kabbalah) method for the soul's progress upward toward unity with or return to the Creator.

The pillars

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The Sephiroth are organised into 3 different columns or gimel kavim ("three lines" in Hebrew):

Kether heads the central column of the tree, which is known metaphorically speaking as the "Pillar of Mildness" and is associated with Hebrew letter Aleph, "the breath", and the air element. It is a neutral one, a balance between the two opposing forces of male and female tendencies. Some teachings describe the Sephirot on the centre pillar as gender-neutral, while others say that the Sephirot vary in their sexual attributions.

Chokhmah heads the right column of the tree, metaphorically speaking the "Pillar of Mercy", associated with the Hebrew letter Shin, the fire element, and the male aspect;

The left column is headed by Binah and is called the "Pillar of Severity." It is associated with Hebrew letter Mem, the water element and the female aspect.

While the pillars are each given a sexual attribution, this does not mean that every sephirah on a given pillar has the same sexual attribution as the pillar on which they sit. In Jewish Kabbalah, of all the Sephirot only Binah and Malkuth are considered female, while all the other Sephirot are male. Additionally (and this applies to both Jewish and Hermetic Kabbalah), each sephirah is seen as male in relation to the following sephirah in succession on the tree, and female in relation to the foregoing sephirah.

Alternative traditions consider the grammatical genders of the words involved. Thus, Gevurah is feminine because it has an atonal finial Heh. Thus, Severity or Justice becomes a feminine attribute while Chesed (Mercy or Lovingkindness) becomes a masculine one, despite the modern Western tendency to genderize these terms in reverse manner.

Numerology

In a numerological sense, the Tree of Sephiroth also has significance. Between the 10 Sephiroth run 22 channels or paths which connect them, a number which can be associated with the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In addition to each of these channels being assigned a letter of this alphabet, each path is also identified with one of the major arcana of the Tarot deck of symbolic cards. When combined with the 10 Sephiroth, these 22 paths make the number 32 which makes reference to the 32 Qabbalistic Paths of Wisdom and also the 32 degrees of Freemasonry.

To envision the tree, consider each of these ten spheres as being concentric circles with Malkuth being the innermost and all others encompassed by the latter. None of these are separate from the other, and all simply help to form a more complete view of the perfected whole. To speak simply, Malkuth is the Kingdom which is the physical world upon which we live and exist, while Kether, also call Kaether and Kaether Elyon is the Crown of this universe, representing the highest attainable understanding of God that men can understand.

Hypothetically there also exists an Eleventh Sephirah called Daath. Its meaning is the Abyss and its universal element is Neptune which makes it an important element of the Tree of Sephiroth. However, the first Qabbalists did not include any such sphere, making Daath a contested point of philosophical discussion. The Jewish Kabbalists that do accept this entity state that it is not a Sephirah, but rather the absence of one. In the Jewish tradition, the idea of an eleventh Sephirah is tantamount to blasphemy, as stated in the Sefer Yetzirah: "Ten Sephirot of Nothingness, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven.”

Rabbinic significance

As to the actual significance of the numbers 10 and 22 in context of Judaism goes into Kabbalistic interpretation of Genesis. God is said to have created the world through Ten Utterances, marked by the number of times Genesis states, “And God said.” Upon scrutiny, there are only nine, but the Kabbalists count the first verse: “In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.” (Genesis 1:1) This is because something was created, which parallels what happens every time “And God said” is stated. As for the 22 letter-paths, there must first be an explanation of the three different types of letters in Hebrew. See “Bahir Tree” of “Kircher Tree” image for reference.

Each letter grouping has significance in Genesis 1:

In Hermetic Qabalah

Main article: Hermetic Qabalah

The French hermetic occultist author Eliphas Levi wrote extensively and popularized the relationship between the Tarot and the Tree of Life. According to Levi, the tarot cards originated from Gypsies who brought the tree of life out of Egypt in the form of tarot cards. The French occultist Papus, author of The Tarot of the Bohemians, was also a supporter of this theory.[1] This theory lacks credibility now since it is known that Gypsies actually came from India, not Egypt. The earliest known appearances of tarot cards came from the Dukes of Milan, not Gypsies, namely under the rule of Filippo Maria Visconti and Francesco I Sforza. According to Levi and others, the 22 paths of the tree of life are directly related to the 22 trump cards of the tarot deck. The Four Suits are related to the four elements. The Ten numbers are related to the 10 sephiroth.

The sephirotic tree is a representation of both the macrocosm - God - and the microcosm - Man. When depicting the latter it is shown as a human body, usually superimposed over the sephirotic tree and, as such, symbolizes the archetypal Man: Adam Kadmon. Each Sephirah corresponds with a body part or organ of this archetypal man.

Notes

  1. ↑ Papus. The Tarot of the Bohemians

References

External links