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קבלה
Kabbalah library.
76 articles, each built on a Hebrew or Aramaic source text, with its translation and references.
Foundations
Ein Sof, the Infinite without a nameBefore any beginning, a simple light without edge. The kabbalists give it no name, only a negation: without end.Tzimtzum, the withdrawal that makes roomFor a world to exist, the Infinite withdraws from a point and leaves an empty space, round, equal on every side.Kav, the thread of lightInto the empty space a single straight line descends from the Infinite. Through it pass all the light and all the worlds.Reshimu, the trace that remainsWhen the light withdraws, it leaves an imprint, like scent in an empty flask. From this trace the vessels are born.The breaking of the vesselsThe first vessels could not bear the light. They broke, and sparks fell: this is where the world's disorder comes from.Tikkun, lifting the sparksWhat broke can be repaired. Through prayer and good deeds, each person raises a share of light back to its place.
The ten Sefirot
The tree of the ten SefirotTen lights, three columns, one tree. Elijah describes them as a body: arms, trunk, legs, mouth.Keter, the crownAbove the head, the crown is not part of the body. Keter is will before any thought, and its trait is humility.Chokhmah, wisdomThe point of the flash, the idea before words. Chokhmah is cultivated by teaching each person according to their strength.Binah, understandingThe heart that understands, the mother who unfolds the idea into a world. Binah is return, teshuvah, which sweetens every severity.Da'at, knowledgeNeither an eleventh Sefirah nor mere information: Da'at is the union of wisdom and understanding, the knowledge that binds.Chesed, loving-kindnessThe right arm, Abraham's measure, the first of the seven. Cordovero turns it into eight precise deeds, from cradle to grave.Gevurah, strengthThe left arm, the fear of Isaac, the strength that limits. Cordovero teaches how to turn the inclination toward the good of the home.Tiferet, beautyThe trunk, the truth of Jacob, the balance of kindness and severity. Its path is Torah study without pride.Netzach, victoryThe right leg, prophecy, the endurance that crosses time. Its path is to support those who study.Hod, splendorThe left leg, acknowledgment, Aaron's measure. Its path is the study of the Mishnah and the praise that gives thanks.Yesod, foundationThe righteous one is the foundation of the world. Yesod gathers all that comes from above and passes it on; its guard is purity.Malkhut, kingshipThe mouth, the Shekhinah, David's measure. It has nothing of its own and receives everything; its path is poverty of heart and awe.
The four worlds
Adam Kadmon, the primordial ManBefore the four worlds, a first Man of light contains them all. The Ari places him above Atzilut; Cordovero identifies him with Keter.Atzilut, the world of emanationThe first of the four worlds is not yet a creation: the light there stays united with its source, like a flame lit from another flame.Beriah, the world of the ThroneThe second world is the first truly "created" one: separated from its source, it becomes the Throne of glory, where the light of Atzilut comes to sit.Yetzirah, the world of the angelsThe third world, the world of shaping: the chayot that Ezekiel saw, the ten classes of angels, and at their head Metatron, the prince of the Face.Assiyah, the world of actionThe last world is ours: the visible heavens, the earth, the elements, and the husks as well. Here matter reaches its end, and the work begins.Created, formed, made: Isaiah's verseA single verse of Isaiah holds three verbs. The kabbalists read in it the ladder of the worlds, the letters of the Name and the levels of the soul.
The Partzufim
Partzuf, a complete faceToo strong a light shattered isolated vessels. Tikkun rebuilds them into whole faces, where the light at last becomes receivable.Atik Yomin, the Ancient of DaysDaniel sees an Ancient One seated, clothed in white, His hair like pure wool. The Ari makes him the most hidden partzuf, shown only through his "days."Arich Anpin, the long FaceThe partzuf of Keter: a white head and a beard inscribed with the thirteen attributes of mercy. All of Atzilut clothes itself around him.Abba, the FatherChokhmah become a face: the yod of the Name, the point of wisdom that makes fruitful. With Ima he goes forth together, dwells together, and never parts.Ima, the MotherBinah become a face: she conceives, carries, nurses and protects. The Ari describes the growth of Zeir Anpin as a motherhood.Zeir Anpin, the small FaceThe six broken Sefirot become a single face, the vav of the Name. He is conceived, nursed, then grows to maturity, like a human child.Nukva, the feminine FaceThe last point, Malkhut, becomes the partner of Zeir Anpin. Born back to back with him, she grows until she stands face to face.
The twenty-two letters
The letters, stones of creationThree mothers, seven doubles, twelve simples. For Sefer Yetzirah, G-d formed the world by engraving and combining twenty-two letters.Alef, the first letterValue one, a breath. Alef complained that it did not open creation; G-d reserved for it the first word at Sinai.Bet, the houseValue two, the letter that opens the Torah. Closed on three sides, open to the front: a house, and a blessing.Gimel, the one who givesValue three. The foot of Gimel stretches toward Dalet, for the one who does good runs after the poor.Dalet, the poor oneValue four. Dalet makes itself available to Gimel, but turns its face away, so that the gift is given in secret.Heh, the open doorValue five. This world was created through Heh: open below for whoever wants to leave, with an opening above for whoever returns.Vav, the hook and six directionsValue six. A straight line that joins, the hook of the Tabernacle pillars, and the seal of the six directions of the world.Zayin, the crowned letterValue seven. Moses found G-d binding crowns to the letters, and Zayin is among those that carry three.Chet, life at the summitValue eight. Scribes draw a hump on the roof of Chet: He lives, at the height of the world.Tet, the letter of goodValue nine. The first Tet in the Torah is that of "it is good." Seeing a Tet in a dream is a good sign.Yod, the smallest letterValue ten. The world to come was created through Yod, for the righteous there are few, and their heads are bowed.Kaf, the palm and the crownValue twenty. Kaf is the palm and the pan of the scale; the children of the house of study read in it the crown promised in the world to come.Lamed, the heart that learnsThirty, the letter of Tishrei in Sefer Yetzirah. Rabbi Akiva reads its name as a heart that understands knowledge.Mem, water and the hidden wordForty, mother of water in Sefer Yetzirah. Open in the middle of a word, closed at the end: a revealed word, a hidden word.Nun, the faithful one bent, then uprightFifty. Bent in the middle of a word, straight at the end: the humble faithful one and the upright one. For Rabbi Akiva, the lamp of the soul.Samekh, support for those who fallSixty, a closed letter that stood by a miracle in the tablets. The children of the study hall read in it: support the poor.Ayin, the eye of the TorahSeventy, a letter of the throat. The children read in it the poor; Rabbi Akiva, the eye of the Torah, light of every light.Peh, the open and closed mouthEighty, bent in the middle of a word, straight at the end. The children of the study hall read in it: open mouth, closed mouth.Tzadi, the righteous one bent, then uprightNinety. The Talmud adds the bending of the righteous to that of the faithful: hence the Torah was given with bowed head.Kuf, holiness that waitsOne hundred. The Talmud reads in it the Holy One who turns His face from the wicked, yet turns His crown toward him and leaves him an open door.Reish, the head and the fallTwo hundred. Head of all things for Rabbi Akiva, the wicked for the children of the study hall: the same letter carries the beginning and the fall.Shin, the fire with three branchesThree hundred, mother of fire in Sefer Yetzirah. It opens the name Shaddai, but also the word sheker, and falsehood has no feet.Tav, the mark of truthFour hundred, the last letter. For the children of the study hall, truth on wide bases; for Rabbi Akiva, the first to come forward.
The twelve tribes
Twelve tribes, one structureTwelve sons, twelve blessings, twelve stones, four camps of three around a center: the number twelve returns everywhere, even when the list changes.Reuben, the firstbornThe son of seeing: "G-d has seen my affliction." A firstborn unstable as water, to whom Moses wishes only that he live.Simeon, G-d has heardAfter seeing comes hearing. Blessed together with Levi by Jacob, absent from the blessing of Moses, Simeon lives in the midst of another.Levi, the tribe at the centerScattered by Jacob, charged by Moses to teach and to serve: Levi is not counted with the others, it encamps in the middle.Judah, the lion cubBorn of a thank you, praised by his brothers, bearer of the scepter: Judah encamps to the east and sets out first.Issachar, the rewardA strong donkey that bends its shoulder, a people that stays in the tent and knows "the understanding of the times."Zebulun, at the shore of the seasThe gift and the dwelling: Zebulun lives on the shore, rejoices in his going out and draws the abundance of the seas.Dan, the judge"G-d has judged me." Judge of his people, serpent on the road, lion cub of Bashan: Dan closes the march of the camp.Naphtali, the hind let looseBorn of a struggle, sated with favor: Naphtali gives words of beauty, and the Ari links him to Adar, the month of laughter.Gad, the troop"Good fortune has come." Raided by a troop and raiding it in return, Gad is blessed as the one who enlarges.Asher, the rich bread"For my happiness!" Rich bread, royal delicacies, a foot dipped in oil: Asher is the tribe of abundance.Joseph, Ephraim and ManassehA son added, a fruitful vine by a spring, and two tribes instead of one: Joseph receives the double portion.Benjamin, the belovedBorn on the road at the cost of his mother's life, a wolf that divides the spoil, beloved of G-d who dwells between his shoulders.
The 72 Names
Where the 72 Names come fromThree verses of 72 letters, read forwards, backwards, then forwards: so 72 names are born, which the tradition keeps for prayer.Names 1 to 9The first nine names, from the very first, והו, which Rashi works out letter by letter, to the ninth, with the Psalm verse of each.Names 10 to 18Names 10 to 18. Two of them share the same letters, לאו, at places 11 and 17: the list counts the place, not only the letters.Names 19 to 27Names 19 to 27. Four of them take their last letter from the Name of the Lord written in the third verse.Names 28 to 36Names 28 to 36: the camp of Israel moves on, cloud and darkness come between, the east wind blows, and each name receives its verse.Names 37 to 45Names 37 to 45. The first, אני, is the one Rabbi Yehudah said around the altar, together with והו, according to the Mishnah and Rashi.Names 46 to 54Names 46 to 54. Name 49 repeats the letters of the very first, והו, with a verse of praise: "Great is the Lord."Names 55 to 63Names 55 to 63: the pillar stands behind Israel, the sea becomes dry land, and the verses speak of the throne, salvation and blessing.Names 64 to 72The last nine names, up to מום, formed from the last letter of the first verse, the first of the second and the last of the third.
FAQ
What is Kabbalah?
Kabbalah, 'reception', is the Jewish mystical tradition: the inner reading of the Torah handed down from master to student. Its major texts are the Sefer Yetzirah, the Zohar and the Etz Chaim of Rabbi Chaim Vital, which records the teaching of the Ari, Rabbi Isaac Luria.
What are the ten Sefirot?
The Sefirot are the ten emanations through which the light of Ein Sof is revealed and governs the worlds: Keter, Chochmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchut. Daat is sometimes counted in place of Keter.
What are the four worlds?
Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: four degrees of revelation, from the emanation closest to the source down to the world of action where we live. Above them, Adam Kadmon.
What are the 72 Names?
Three verses of Exodus (14:19 to 21) of 72 letters each. Written one beneath the other, the second in reverse, they form 72 triplets of letters that tradition calls the Shem Ayin Bet, the Name of 72.
Where do these texts come from?
Each article cites its source: Zohar and Tikkunei Zohar, Sefer Yetzirah, Etz Chaim, Pardes Rimonim, Talmud, Midrash. Hebrew and Aramaic passages come from Sefaria and Wikisource and are reproduced word for word; translations are by Zion Torah.
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