Sefirot - Revision history

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	== ~~Correspondences~~ of ~~the sefirot~~ ==		== The sefirot and the Chart of Your Divine Self ==

	[[File:ChartPresence-treeoflife-medres.jpg\|thumb\|The Chart of Your Divine Self and the Tree of Life]]		[[File:ChartPresence-treeoflife-medres.jpg\|thumb\|The Chart of Your Divine Self and the Tree of Life]]

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	[[Kabbalah\|Kabbalists]] have used many synonyms for the ''sefirot'' including: emanations, vessels, lights, stages, pillars, garments and inner faces of God. Each name describes another aspect of the nature and function of the sefirot.		[[Kabbalah\|Kabbalists]] have used many synonyms for the ''sefirot'' including: emanations, vessels, lights, stages, pillars, garments and inner faces of God. Each name describes another aspect of the nature and function of the sefirot.

	== ~~History~~ ==		== The Tree of Life ==

	The term ''sefirot'' first appeared in the Sefer Yetzirah (the “Book of Formation” or the “Book of Creation”), the oldest known Hebrew text on cosmology. Tradition says that the priest [[Melchizedek]] revealed the teachings recorded in the Sefer Yetzirah to the patriarch [[Abraham]], who either recorded them himself or transmitted them orally to his sons.		The term ''sefirot'' first appeared in the Sefer Yetzirah (the “Book of Formation” or the “Book of Creation”), the oldest known Hebrew text on cosmology. Tradition says that the priest [[Melchizedek]] revealed the teachings recorded in the Sefer Yetzirah to the patriarch [[Abraham]], who either recorded them himself or transmitted them orally to his sons.
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	The tenth ''sefirah'', ''Malkhut'' (“Kingdom”), also called ''Shekhinah'' (“Divine Presence”), is at the base of the Tree of Life. In Kabbalah, ''Shekhinah'' figures as the mother of the world. ''Malkhut/Shekhinah'' is at the nexus of two worlds, representing the point where spiritual and physical forces meet. In the world of the ''sefirot'', she is the lowest point; in our world, she is the uppermost point. Thus ''Malkhut'' serves as both the channel through which the divine forces of the ''sefirot'' flow downward to this world as well as the gate through which we on earth reach upward to God. ''Malkhut'' is the gate we must pass through as we begin our ascent up the ladder of the ''sefirot'' to ''Ein Sof''.		The tenth ''sefirah'', ''Malkhut'' (“Kingdom”), also called ''Shekhinah'' (“Divine Presence”), is at the base of the Tree of Life. In Kabbalah, ''Shekhinah'' figures as the mother of the world. ''Malkhut/Shekhinah'' is at the nexus of two worlds, representing the point where spiritual and physical forces meet. In the world of the ''sefirot'', she is the lowest point; in our world, she is the uppermost point. Thus ''Malkhut'' serves as both the channel through which the divine forces of the ''sefirot'' flow downward to this world as well as the gate through which we on earth reach upward to God. ''Malkhut'' is the gate we must pass through as we begin our ascent up the ladder of the ''sefirot'' to ''Ein Sof''.

			== The Lightning Flash ==

			In addition to the [[Tree of Life]], another diagram some Kabbalists use to depict the emanation of the ''sefirot'' is the Lightning Flash. The ''Sefer Yetzirah'' (the oldest known Hebrew text on cosmology) says of the ''sefirot'', “Their countenance is like the scintillating flame flashing in lightning, invisible and boundless.”<ref>Sefer Yetzirah 1.6, translation by W. Wynn Westcott, ''Sepher Yetzirah: The Book of Formation,'' 3d ed., rev. (1893; reprint, New York: Samuel Weiser, 1980), p. 16.</ref> This has also been translated as: “The ten ineffable ''sefirot'' have the appearance of the Lightning Flash.”

			Some Kabbalists take this description to mean the ''sefirot'' are luminescent or that they can only be seen for an instant, like a flash of lightning. Others believe that the Lightning Flash depicts the continual descent of divine forces through the Tree of Life in a zigzag pattern like lightning.

			The pattern of the Tree of Life, writes author Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi,

			<blockquote>is the model on which everything that is to come into manifestation is based.... The relationships set forth in the Tree underlie the whole of existence; and so the properties of the ''sefirot'' may be seen in terms of any branch of knowledge.<ref>Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi, ''Kabbalah: Tradition of Hidden Knowledge'' (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1980), pp. 5, 6. </ref> The ''sefirot'' on the Tree might be regarded as a system of functions in a circuit through which flows a divine current.<ref>Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi, ''An Introduction to the Cabala: Tree of Life'' (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1972), p. 32.</ref></blockquote>

			The divine flash continuously travels from a ''sefirah'' on the expansive Pillar of Mercy to a ''sefirah'' on the constrictive Pillar of Judgment then to a ''sefirah'' on the harmonizing Pillar of Compassion. The flash begins at ''Keter'', flows to ''Hokhmah'' and ''Binah'' and then to ''Da’at''. Next it travels to the expansive sefirah ''Hesed'', then its constrictive opposite, ''Gevurah'', then the balancing force of ''Tiferet''. From there it moves to ''Netzah'', ''Hod'', ''Yesod'' and ''Malkhut''.

	== See also ==		== See also ==

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	[[File:303179C.jpg\|thumb\|The Tree of Life]]		[[File:303179C.jpg\|thumb\|The Tree of Life]]

	[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the '''''sefirot''''' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is the term used to describe God prior to creation. ''Ein Sof'' is usually translated as “the Infinite.” It is the ultimate reality, the First Cause: unmanifest, incomprehensible, imperceptible and indescribable—the “divine nothingness.”		[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the '''''sefirot''''' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''[[Ein Sof]]''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is the term used to describe God prior to creation. ''Ein Sof'' is usually translated as “the Infinite.” It is the ultimate reality, the First Cause: unmanifest, incomprehensible, imperceptible and indescribable—the “divine nothingness.”

	The ''sefirot'' are names which God gave to himself, each part of himself having a specific name with a specific vibration that we could access through the universal “computer” of the mind of God. The ''sefirot'' bridge the gap between the finite creation and the infinite God.		The ''sefirot'' are names which God gave to himself, each part of himself having a specific name with a specific vibration that we could access through the universal “computer” of the mind of God. The ''sefirot'' bridge the gap between the finite creation and the infinite God.

Pduffy: links

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	[[File:303179C.jpg\|thumb\|The Tree of Life]]		[[File:303179C.jpg\|thumb\|The Tree of Life]]

	[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the ''sefirot'' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is the term used to describe God prior to creation. ''Ein Sof'' is usually translated as “the Infinite.” It is the ultimate reality, the First Cause: unmanifest, incomprehensible, imperceptible and indescribable—the “divine nothingness.”		[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the '''''sefirot''''' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is the term used to describe God prior to creation. ''Ein Sof'' is usually translated as “the Infinite.” It is the ultimate reality, the First Cause: unmanifest, incomprehensible, imperceptible and indescribable—the “divine nothingness.”

	The ''sefirot'' are names which God gave to himself, each part of himself having a specific name with a specific vibration that we could access through the universal “computer” of the mind of God. The ''sefirot'' bridge the gap between the finite creation and the infinite God.		The ''sefirot'' are names which God gave to himself, each part of himself having a specific name with a specific vibration that we could access through the universal “computer” of the mind of God. The ''sefirot'' bridge the gap between the finite creation and the infinite God.

	Kabbalists have used many synonyms for the ''sefirot'' including: emanations, vessels, lights, stages, pillars, garments and inner faces of God. Each name describes another aspect of the nature and function of the sefirot.		[[Kabbalah\|Kabbalists]] have used many synonyms for the ''sefirot'' including: emanations, vessels, lights, stages, pillars, garments and inner faces of God. Each name describes another aspect of the nature and function of the sefirot.

	== History ==		== History ==
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	The tenth ''sefirah'', ''Malkhut'' (“Kingdom”), also called ''Shekhinah'' (“Divine Presence”), is at the base of the Tree of Life. In Kabbalah, ''Shekhinah'' figures as the mother of the world. ''Malkhut/Shekhinah'' is at the nexus of two worlds, representing the point where spiritual and physical forces meet. In the world of the ''sefirot'', she is the lowest point; in our world, she is the uppermost point. Thus ''Malkhut'' serves as both the channel through which the divine forces of the ''sefirot'' flow downward to this world as well as the gate through which we on earth reach upward to God. ''Malkhut'' is the gate we must pass through as we begin our ascent up the ladder of the ''sefirot'' to ''Ein Sof''.		The tenth ''sefirah'', ''Malkhut'' (“Kingdom”), also called ''Shekhinah'' (“Divine Presence”), is at the base of the Tree of Life. In Kabbalah, ''Shekhinah'' figures as the mother of the world. ''Malkhut/Shekhinah'' is at the nexus of two worlds, representing the point where spiritual and physical forces meet. In the world of the ''sefirot'', she is the lowest point; in our world, she is the uppermost point. Thus ''Malkhut'' serves as both the channel through which the divine forces of the ''sefirot'' flow downward to this world as well as the gate through which we on earth reach upward to God. ''Malkhut'' is the gate we must pass through as we begin our ascent up the ladder of the ''sefirot'' to ''Ein Sof''.

			== See also ==

			[[Kabbalah]]

	== For more information ==		== For more information ==

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	== Correspondences of the sefirot ==		== Correspondences of the sefirot ==

			[[File:ChartPresence-treeoflife-medres.jpg\|thumb\|The Chart of Your Divine Self and the Tree of Life]]

	=== Keter ===		=== Keter ===

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			[[File:303179C.jpg\|thumb\|The Tree of Life]]

	[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the ''sefirot'' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is the term used to describe God prior to creation. ''Ein Sof'' is usually translated as “the Infinite.” It is the ultimate reality, the First Cause: unmanifest, incomprehensible, imperceptible and indescribable—the “divine nothingness.”		[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the ''sefirot'' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is the term used to describe God prior to creation. ''Ein Sof'' is usually translated as “the Infinite.” It is the ultimate reality, the First Cause: unmanifest, incomprehensible, imperceptible and indescribable—the “divine nothingness.”

Pduffy: Created page with "[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the ''sefirot'' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is..."

2016-06-19T03:14:09Z

Created page with "[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the ''sefirot'' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is..."

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[plural of ''sefirah''] In Jewish mysticism, the ''sefirot'' are the ten aspects of God’s being that manifest from ''Ein Sof''. ''Ein Sof'' (literally, “without end”) is the term used to describe God prior to creation. ''Ein Sof'' is usually translated as “the Infinite.” It is the ultimate reality, the First Cause: unmanifest, incomprehensible, imperceptible and indescribable—the “divine nothingness.”

The ''sefirot'' are names which God gave to himself, each part of himself having a specific name with a specific vibration that we could access through the universal “computer” of the mind of God. The ''sefirot'' bridge the gap between the finite creation and the infinite God.

Kabbalists have used many synonyms for the ''sefirot'' including: emanations, vessels, lights, stages, pillars, garments and inner faces of God. Each name describes another aspect of the nature and function of the sefirot.

== History ==

The term ''sefirot'' first appeared in the Sefer Yetzirah (the “Book of Formation” or the “Book of Creation”), the oldest known Hebrew text on cosmology. Tradition says that the priest [[Melchizedek]] revealed the teachings recorded in the Sefer Yetzirah to the patriarch [[Abraham]], who either recorded them himself or transmitted them orally to his sons.

Early Kabbalists made diagrams of the structure of creation as it progressed from ''Ein Sof'' down through the ''sefirot''. The most common diagram is called the “Tree of Life.” Kabbalists conceived of many possible groupings of the ''sefirot'' within the Tree of Life. They also considered the creation of the cosmos to have resulted from the creation of language. Thus, they believed the twenty-two letters and sounds of the Hebrew alphabet were the instrument of creation itself.

In addition to the ten sefirot, there is one “quasi ''sefirah'',” which is sometimes described as a secret or hidden attribute. The power of thirty-three present in the Tree of Life derives from the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the ten ''sefirot'' and the one quasi ''sefirah''.

== Names of God and the sefirot ==

The Hebrew names of God associated in Kabbalah with the ten sefirot are:

{| class="wikitable"
|+
|'''Sefirah'''
|'''Name of God'''
|-
|Malkhut
|''Adonai'', “Lord”
|-
|Yesod
|''Shaddai'', “Almighty,” and ''El Hai'', “Living God”
|-
|Hod
|''Elohim Tzevaot'', “God of hosts”
|-
|Netzah
|''YHVH Tzevao''t, spoken ''Adonai Tzevaot'', “Lord of hosts”
|-
|Tiferet
|''YHVH'', spoken ''Adonai''
|-
|Gevurah
|''Elohim'', “God”
|-
|Hesed
|''El'', “God”
|-
|Binah
|''YHVH'', spoken ''Elohim''
|-
|Hokhmah
|''Yah'', “the Eternal”
|-
|Keter
|''Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh'', “I AM THAT I AM”
|}

== Correspondences of the sefirot ==

=== Keter ===

''Keter'' (“Crown”) is the first ''sefirah'', the highest ''sefirah'' on the Tree of Life. ''Keter'' corresponds to the [[I AM Presence]] in the [[Chart of Your Divine Self]].

=== Tiferet ===

''Tiferet'' (“Beauty” or “Adornment,” also known as Rahamim, “Compassion”), is the sixth ''sefirah'', located in the center of the Tree of Life. ''Tiferet'' is the mediator who brings into harmony the extremes of Mercy and Judgment and represents wholeness and balance. Kabbalists see ''Tiferet'' as the son of the ''sefirot'' ''Hokhmah'' and ''Binah'', and the Zohar refers to ''Tiferet'' as the Son.

The ascended masters teach that ''Tiferet'' corresponds to the [[Universal Christ]], who is individualized in each of us as the Higher Self, or [[Holy Christ Self]] (the middle figure in the Chart of Your Divine Self).

=== Malkhut/Shekhinah ===

The tenth ''sefirah'', ''Malkhut'' (“Kingdom”), also called ''Shekhinah'' (“Divine Presence”), is at the base of the Tree of Life. In Kabbalah, ''Shekhinah'' figures as the mother of the world. ''Malkhut/Shekhinah'' is at the nexus of two worlds, representing the point where spiritual and physical forces meet. In the world of the ''sefirot'', she is the lowest point; in our world, she is the uppermost point. Thus ''Malkhut'' serves as both the channel through which the divine forces of the ''sefirot'' flow downward to this world as well as the gate through which we on earth reach upward to God. ''Malkhut'' is the gate we must pass through as we begin our ascent up the ladder of the ''sefirot'' to ''Ein Sof''.

== For more information ==

{{KAB}}.

== Sources ==

{{POWref|35|59|, December 2, 1992}}

{{KAB}}, pp. 23, 24.

{{POWref|38|10|, March 5, 1995}}