A Short Introduction to the Kabbalah

At the beginning of the first century AD several major forms of Jewish mysticism began to evolve. The apocalyptic writings began to emerge such as the Book of Enoch, which containe the roots of two further evelopments crystalli!ing aroun the first chapter of E!ikiel an the book of "enisis. These schools of writing represent the presence of a strongly "nostic strain of thought, forming a sort of Jewish "nosticism. #a$aseh #erkabah or The %ork of the &hariot is a system of mysticism that arose uring the 'st century AD base on the first chapter of E!ekiel. (t focuse on the throne of "o , it$s structure an the worl in which it e)iste . The worl of the chariot is broken into palaces through which the chariot travele . The system etails these palaces an presents a metho of me itation an magic to ascen through the palaces to the throne of "o on the chariot itself. *ther concepts a resse inclu e the structure of the Throne, the veil +par!o , concealing "o on the throne, the glory of "o +kavo , behin this veil, an comple) lists an associations of angels. This school of mysticism ha a marke effect on the evelopment of specific Jewish prayers an on the or er of the prayers. #erkabah thought is foun in the Dea -ea -crolls where angels praise .the image of the Throne of the &hariot.. A tra ition of poetry or hymns evelope , use by the aspirant to ascen , sometimes presente as the songs of

the hayyot +holy creatures who bear the throne of glory, mentione in apocalyptic literature. /ragments of an earlier mystical tra ition known as the -hi$ur 0omah +measurements of the bo y of "o , appear in #a$aseh #erkabah writings. These often take the form of commentary on the -ong of -ongs. These fragments concern themselves with fantastic measurements of various portions of the bo y of "o thought to be writings on the 1ualities of "o . #a$aseh Bereshith or The %ork of &reation is a system of mysticism forme aroun the book of "enisis. (t is mainly concerne with the process an nature of creation. An e)tremely influential work on the 0abbalah arose base on the thought of this school of mysticism, the -efir 2et!irah or book of formation, where the sephiroth are first mentione an the significance of the letters of the 3ebrew alphabet are mentione along with attributions. -cholars heavily ispute the time perio in which this work was written but an early ate seems appropriate, sometime between the thir an si)th centuries AD. The te)t of this book uses terms associate with the #a$aseh #erkabah tra ition to escribe the sephiroth associating them with the mythical creatures who bear the throne of glory +hayyot,. The i ea is conveye that the universe was create through the speech of go , beginning with thought that materiali!e through language to become reality. All things came into being through the 45' gates being two letter combinations of the 44 letters of the 3ebrew alphabet, possibly base on the roots of the 3ebrew verbs.

All things e)ist by the power of the 3ebrew alphabet whose foun ation is in one name, the Tetragrammaton, 2u 3eh 6ahv 3eh +HWHY,. The -efir 2et!irah is now foun in two forms, a long an short version. Between the 7th an '5th centuries AD true kabbalistic i eas began to arise as several groups of Jewish mystics began to combine the i eas of the above systems of Jewish #ysticism with philosophy an neo8platonism. The Jewish communities of -pain, particularly in 9rovence, pro uce writers such as Abraham B. Davi an his son (saac the Blin . 9arallel to this evelopment a sect of Ju aism known as the 3asi ei Ashkena! arose in /rance an "ermany. This was a sect teaching e)tremism in ethical an religious behavior +3asi means piety, using 0abbalistic thought e)tensively in their writings. The -efir 3a8Bahir appeare uring this time, reporte to have come from the east. This book is the earliest book we can truly call 0abbalistic, e)poun ing a system of -ephiroth where each is a ivine attribute. (t also is the earliest book interpreting the scriptures as allegory actually escribing events occurring in the ivine realm in place of or along with ortho o) interpretations. (t uses e)planation of scripture to present 0abbalistic i eas. (mportant i eas presente in this book inclu e the i ea that the -ephiroth are mentione throughout scripture calle by many names an escribe the activities of the ivine. The i ea of the transmigration of souls or reincarnation is first presente here, along with the i ea that the -ephiroth can be represente as a iagram in the shape of a tree

The -ephiroth began as a list of the 1ualities of "o , viewe as his servants or as the progressive manifestations of "o $s name. The or er an naming of the -ephiroth greatly influence by ( &hronicles 4:;''; .Thine, * <or =HWHY>, is the greatness, an the power, an the glory an the victory, an the majesty? for all that is in the heavens an in the earth is thine, thine is the king om, * <or =HWHY>, an thou art e)alte as hea above all.. + The @ew *)for Annotate Bible with the Apochrapha ,

+3ebrew Bible, The 1ualities represente by each -ephiroth can best be un erstoo by consi ering various lists of ifferent i eas as they are relate to the -ephiroth.

The names an or er of the -ephiroth as the i eas soli ifie with translations of the names;

'. 0ether + RTK, A The &rown 4. &hokmah + HMKX, A %is om 5. Binah + HNYB, A Bn erstan ing C. &hese + DSX, A #ercy, also calle "e ulah +HLDG,, "reatness D. "eburah + HR)BG, A -everity, also calle Din +nYD,, Ju gement 7. Tiphareth + TR)PT, A Beauty or "lory E. @et!ach + XCN, A 6ictory F. 3o + DWH, A -plen or :. 2eso + DWSY, A The /oun ation 'G. #alkuth + TWKLM, A The 0ing om The activities of the Divine uring the act of creation '. The infinite, not approachable by human un erstan ing 4. The ivine will to create

5. The ivine intelligence, an un erstan ing of what is to be create . C. The ivine thought manifeste , #atter e)ists, the fourth imension implies time D. /orce or motion, the ivine interplay of %ill with #atter 7. Divine beauty or perfection, a reflection of ', the creation has spiritual substance but not material substance. E. Desire A a ivine type of esire propelling the process forwar from the spiritual realm F. The ivine intellect or min , a balancing point in the materiali!ation of the thought. :. The foun ation of all creation, the root of the material worl , a reflection of Tiphareth, the creation e)ists in what is known by many as the astral plane or the emotional plane 'G. The ivine en , creation complete an e)isting in the material. &olors on the tree of life +0nown as the Hueen$s -cale of &olors, with tra itional elemental associations '. %hite Brilliance 4. "ray 5. Black C. Blue D. -carlet Ie 7. 2ellow or "ol E. Emeral F. *range :. 6iolet

'G.

&itrine, *live, Iusset, Black

A selection of "reek go s; '. Jeus 4. Athena 5. Demeter, 3era C. 9osei en D. Ares 7. A onis E. Aphro ite F. 3ermes :. Diana of Ephesus 'G. 9ersephone, 9syche A -election of Ioman "o s; '. Jupiter as the king of "o s 4. Janus 5. Juno, &ybele, 3ecate C. Jupiter D. #ars 7. Apollo E. 6enus F. #ercury :. Diana as luner go es 'G. &eres #athematical K "eometrical E)planation '. EThe #ona , the point, erive from G by e)tension 4. The Dya , the line, erive from ' by reflection 5. The Tria , the soli , erive from ' an 4 by a ition

C. The Huaternary, the soli e)isting in time, erive from 4 by multiplication D. The Huinary, the soli in motion A force, erive from 4 an 5 by a ition. 7. The -enary, the min , erive from 4 an 5 by multiplication E. The -eptenary, esire, erive from 5 an C by a ition F. The *g oa , intellect, erive from 4 an 5, F L 45 :. The Ennea , -tability in &hange, erive from 4 an 5, : L 54 'G. The Deca , represents the ' returning to G, erive from ' M 4 M 5 M C

(n the '5th centuries the sephiroth began to be arrange in specific geometric relationships A several of which evelope . The -efir 3a8Bahir first mentions an arrangement similar to the one we will stu y; .All the ivine powers of the 3oly *ne rest one upon the other, like a tree.. These iagrams most commonly arrange the -ephiroth in the shape of a man, probably ue to the influence of the -hi$ur 0omah literature.

Bpon this concept of the -ephiroth representing the 1ualities or activities of "o theories of emanation began to evelop, along with a theory of planes or worl s through which the -ephiroth emanate . Emanation in the 0abbalah consists of the i ea that each -ephiroth pro uces the ne)t. &oncepts from which these theories forme are first foun in the -efir ha8Bahir an the works of A!riel of "erona. These theories built upon the i eas evelope by the earlier 0abbalistic schools of 9rovence an were combine with them. This type of thought lea s naturally to the i ea that 0ether emanate out of nothing, Ain +nY),. <ater schools of 0abbalists e)pan e this concept by ivi ing Ain into three concepts or levels of abstraction.

These concepts are calle Ain -oph +PWS nY),, or without limit emanate from or below Ain, an Ain -oph Aur, +RW) PWS nY), or limitless light emanate from Ain -oph. Together these conceptions are known as the Three 6eils of @egative e)istence an are place before 0ether.

Emanation can be un erstoo by consi ering a mystical interpretation of the Tetragrammaton =HWHY> an then associating the four letters with the -ephiroth an the four worl s or planes through which the -ephiroth emanate. The following is a formula use in %estern Esoteric Tra ition; Y 2u ; Iepresents the formulation of the first creative force, the supernal father who is .self8begotten.. Associate with the element of /ire. H 3eh +&alle 3eh -uperior,; The a ition of this letter represents the marriage of the /ather with the co8e1ual mother. Associate with the element of %ater. W 6ahv; The son who is brought about by the union of the /ather an #other, partaking of both their natures. Associate with the element of Air.

H 3eh +&alle 3eh (nferior,; The aughter who is both the twin sister an aughter of 6ahv. Associate with the element of Earth.

This scheme is applie in several ifferent fashions to the -ephiroth; 0ether +', is the unity from which the father an mother spring, the father is &hokmah +4, the mother is Binah +5, , the son is &hese 82eso +C8:, an the aughter is #alkuth +'G,. The four worl s or planes as associate with the -ephiroth an the Tetragrammaton +3ere you can see a major 1uality of 0abbalistic thought, the ability to apply the same scheme or mo el over an over to ifferent subjects to escribe ifferent processes an thoughts.,; 3a8olam At!ilut A the worl of Archetypes, the plane where the powers of go e)ist. Analogous to 2u +Y,, inclu es the 'st A 5r -ephiroth. 3a8olam B$riyah A the worl of &reation, the plane of the archangels. Analogous to 3eh -uperior +H,, inclu es the Cth A 7th -ephiroth. 3a8olam 2et!irah A the worl of /ormation, the plane of the choirs of angels. Analogous to 6ahv +W,, inclu es the Eth A :th -ephiroth.

3a8olam Assiah A the worl of Action, the plane where the physical universe e)ists. Analogous to 3eh (nferior +H,, comprise of the 'Gth -ephiroth. (n this scheme 3eh -uperior +the #other, an 6ahv +the -on, overlap somewhat, as 6ahv is associate irectly with Tiphareth, being a reflection of 0ether his father. These worl s can be e)plaine by the actions that occur when you construct something, such as a table. /irst you see a nee , this is the worl of At!ilut. Then you begin to conceive of what the object shoul look like, it has four legs an a flat surface, etcN 3ere you are in the worl of B$riyah. 2ou go buy the materials an tools an actually fashion a table, this is the worl of 2et!irah. %hen the table comes into use you are in the worl of Assiah. Diagram showing the ivision of the -ephiroth into the four worl s;

This iagram also illustrates another ivision of the -ephiroth into three triangles. The upper triangle compose of 0ether, &hokmah an Binah form the &elestial Triangle, pointing up. &hese , "eburah an Tiphareth form the #oral Triangle, pointing own. @et!ach, 3o an 2eso form the #un ane Triangle, pointing own. The i ea that the first three -ephiroth e)ist in At!ilut, a purely spiritual realm, gives rise to another important ivision. The -ephiroth below Binah, C8'G, are treate in a ifferent fashion, applying to more material concepts, things .outsi e the min of go . whereas the -ephiroth of the &elestial Triangle represent the thought process within go $s min itself. The lower E -ephiroth are relate to the E ays of creation, the E planets, the 7 irections of space plus a center point, etcN This type of ivision is prominent in the -efir -ephiroth.

Another common arrangement is calle the three pillars. This illustrates a concept that e)ists throughout the 0abbalah, the i ea that all things below 0ether e)ists in the form of two opposites, an a thir principle which unifies them. This concept is illustrate by the triangles forme above. %is om +4, an Bn erstan ing +5, are unifie in the ultimate +',, -trength +D, an #ercy +C, are unifie in Beauty +7,, 6ictory + esire, movement,E, an -tability +splen or,F, are unifie in 2eso +:,, the foun ation of the material worl +'G,. The entire tree is ivi e in a similar fashion, The 9illar of -everity an the 9illar of #ercy unifie in the mi le pillar, The 9illar of #il ness.

This ivision of the tree clearly emonstrates a basic 0abbalistic octrine. *ne cannot be e)clusively severe employing only Bn erstan ing +5, an -trength +D, to arrive at a false -plen or +F,, or e)clusively merciful employing

only %is om +4, an En urance +C, to arrive at a false 6ictory +E,. *ne must combine all of these 1ualities to buil a /oun ation +:, for your 0ing om +'G, , an win true Beauty +7, an the &rown+',. An ''th -ephiroth began to be theori!e as representing 0nowle ge, Da$ath. This represents a lower unification of &hokmah an Binah, forming another triangle pointing own. (t is also calle the abyss, separating the rest of the -ephiroth from the -ephiroth of the &elestial Triangle. This -ephiroth is usually not picture , for it oes not represent a unifie concept A all in the abyss is in perpetual confusion. (t represents the sum total of human knowle ge, which after a fashion separates us from the ivine. The 44 letters of the 3ebrew alphabet are split into three istinct groups; 5 mother letters, E ouble letters, an '4 single letters. Together with the 'G -ephiroth they form the 54 9aths of %is om. They appear in our iagram as paths between the -ephiroth, an can be un erstoo as the interrelation of the two -ephiroth which they connect. The -ephiroth can also be consi ere as static 1ualities an the paths as the ynamic forces acting between them. There is a correspon ence between the first ten letters of the alphabet +often calle the Aleph8Beth after the first two letters, an the ten -ephiroth themselves. The attributions of each of the letters are base upon the -efir 2et!irah, following the grouping of the letters escribe above.

The three #other <etters are attribute to the three elements, earth is often consi ere a mi)ture of the other three; ) A Aleph, Air M A #em, %ater # 8 -hin, /ire The seven Doubles are attribute to the seven planets. ( have rea translations of two te)ts of the -efir 2et!irah giving two ifferent arrangements of the planets an seven ouble letters. The system ( am familiar with an un erstan reflects neither of these, what follows is the arrangement use by the 3ermetic *r er of the "ol en Dawn; B A Beth, #ercury G A "imel, #oon D A Daleth, 6enus K A 0aph, Jupiter P A 9eh, #ars R A Iesh, -un T A Tau, -aturn The twelve single letters, calle the elementals, are attribute to the '4 signs of the Jo iac; H A 3eh, Aries L A <ame , <ibra

W A 6ahv, Taurus N A @un, -corpio Z A Jayin, "emini S A -amekh, -agittarius X A &heth, &ancer ( 8 Ayin, &apricorn + 8 Teth, <eo C A T!a i, A1uarius

Y A 2u , 6irgo Q A Hoph, 9isces The 44 letters are numbere as .paths. '' A 54, where the -ephiroth make up the first 'G. They are numbere in the tra itional or er of the alphabet. (f you are familiar with the trumps of the Tarot ecks erive from the 3ermetic *r er of the "ol en Dawn +such as the Ii er8%aite eck, %aite being a member of the or er, the following correspon ences will be invaluable to un erstan ing the nature of the paths, or vice8versa. The notes in brackets point out the changes in this arrangement present in the Thoth tarot eck. 9ath <etter @umber Tarot Trump '' Aleph '4 Beth '5 "imel 'C Daleth 'D 3eh '7 6ahv 'E Jayin G ' 4 5 C D 7 The /ool The #agician The 3igh 9riestess The Empress The Emperor =T!a i> The 3ierophant The <overs

'F &heth ': Teth 4G 2u 4' 0aph 44 <ame 45 #em 4C @un

E F : 'G '' '4 '5

The &hariot -trength =<ame A A justment> The 3ermit The %heel of /ortune Justice =Teth A <ust> The 3ange #an Death Temperance =Art> The Devil The Tower The -tar The #oon The -un The <ast Ju gment =The Aeon> The %orl =The Bniverse>

4D -amekh 'C 47 Ayin 4E 9eh 4F T!a 4: Hoph 5G Iesh 5' -hin 54 Tau i 'D '7 'E 'F ': 4' 44

The arrangement of the paths +''854, between the -ephiroth varies greatly with ifferent sources. Tra itional te)ts such as the -efir 2et!irah an the -efir Bahir o not give this matter much attention at all. #ost mo ern literature

on the subject is erive from the system of the 3ermetic *r er of the "ol en Dawn +(srael Iegar ie, Donal #ichael &raig, &hic an Tabetha &iciro, etc.,.

( personally greatly prefer another arrangement presente by &harles -tanfor Jones +/rater Acha ,. (n this system the three paths on the mi le pillar correspon to the three mother letters. (f you consi er the astrological attributions of the -ephiroth an the paths you will fin that in all but one case paths representing the signs of the Jo iac are connecte to -ephiroth relate to their ruling planet. @otice that the paths seem to . escen . own the tree in the "ol en Dawn system an in this system they .rise..

(n the '5th an 'Cth century writings began to surface containing etaile theories concerning creation an the evolution of the universe. The Johar, recor e +some say compose , by #oses b. -hem Tov e <eon in -pain is the first recor of the theories we will stu y. The Johar consists of as many as 4C major sections or books. %e will cover the theories or mo els calle .The Breaking of the 6essels. an Tikkun or restoration. These theories are greatly e)pan e in the work of (saac <uria, calle the Ari. (saac <uria, a member of the 0abbalistic communities that arose in (srael, particularly in -afe , in the '7th century greatly e)pan e these theories. (n my opinion these theories are also present in the -efir ha8Bahir, but are not imme iately evi ent unless one consi ers the work carefully.

The theory of the .Breaking of the 6essels. is the i ea that uring the creation of the universe the ten -ephiroth came into e)istence as purely spiritual conceptions. These -ephiroth are calle vessels because they are containers for the light of the ivine. As the power of the ivine fille these vessels they broke because they coul not contain the light. The lower -ephiroth completely shattere , an the entire tree .fell. into lower plains. The remains of the shattere -ephiroth are often calle 0elliphot +shells,. (t is stresse in many works that the reason these original -ephiroth coul not contain the light was because they were imperfect. (n or er to contain the light of the ivine the -ephiroth woul have to be like the ivine. These -ephiroth coul only receive, an coul not give. The ivine both gives an receives, thus these -ephiroth were not like the ivine an coul not contain the light. (mme iately upon .falling. the -ephiroth began a process of restoration +Tikkun,. This process involves the raising up of the ten -ephiroth back to their original place in the universe, before the fall. The original state of the -ephiroth is known as A am 0a mon, the primor ial man. The Johar also represents these original -ephiroth as the 0ings of E om, as worl s that were not .balance ., containing too much Din or "eburah. As the -ephiroth are restore they form 9arsufim or faces. There are five 9arsufim forme from the restore -ephiroth, Arikh Anpin or the long face containing 0ether. Abba or the father contains &hokmah, (mmu or the mother contains Binah. The ne)t 7 -ephiroth form Je$ir Anpin or the short face. @ukba e8Je$ir, the female counterpart of Je$ir Anpin contains #alkuth. @ote

the correlation to the first arrangement of HWHY an the -ephiroth given in these notes. This process of Tikkun is approaching completion, the last stages of the process are the responsibility of man to complete. Bpon completion the restore -ephiroth will be capable of both giving an receiving, an will thus be able to contain the light of the Divine. Another interesting theory that is first recor e in the works of '5th century -panish 0abbalists is that of -hemittot, the i ea that the worl or universe progresses through a series of stages, relate to the lower E -ephiroth. Each age or -hemittah lasts for E,GGG years, but many writers comment that these numbers are not to be taken literally +a common theme throughout 0abbalistic writings,. The actual lengths of each -hemittah is epen ent on its nature, an there is a concept of the movement of the planets an stars slowing as this process continues. The theory as commonly state woul place us currently in the -hemittah of Din, associate with "eburah. %e are approaching the -hemittah associate with Tiphareth, an age of beauty an peace. The Torah an the Divine @ame are interprete ifferently uring each -hemittah, thus in the previous -hemittah of &hese , the interpretation of the Torah i not contain the prohibitions an strong sense of ju gment as it oes now, in the -hemittah of Din. At the en of this progression, the Eth -hemittah which represents a sort of combination of all of the previous -hemittah, the lower E -ephiroth will all be re8 absorbe into Binah an the process of emanation will begin again creating a new universe.