Birth of The Book ZOHAR - Pt. 4

The Qabbalah and Its Origins: First Developmental Phase of Qabbalism

Qabbalah, meaning The Tradition, is the highest mystical practice of the Hebrew religion in all of its manifestations and has its own well-defined and structured doctrine. There have been great qabbalistic philosophers, psychologists, metaphysicians, and mystics for at least 1,500 years, if not longer

It is probable that the qabbalah conglomerated first picking up mystical bits and pieces from religious communes such as the one at Qumran; then adapting various ideas from Gnostic metaphysics, such as the Valentinian, Manachaen, and Neo-Pythagorean schools, as well as the Catholic Christian writer Dionysius and Pseudo Dionysius; next being extremely influenced by the Talmud, and at that point becoming much more rabbinically oriented, clear, and usable as an intuitional-symbolic structure for the understanding of the human mind, pure consciousness, and physical reality. Also, it was used for finding hidden meanings in texts, divination, and the attempt to create physical change through extraordinary means ( or magic). Underlying the entire Qabbbalistc structure is the idea that for a creation of God, humanity has extraordinary freedom of activity and can switch and combine paradigms, and thus alter his reality. Thus the qabbala is a "hands-on" tool for investigating and perhaps creating, evolutionary, scientific, perceptual, and apocalyptic change, but at the same time maintains its own inner balance as a hierarchical structure descending from Highest Being to Most Basic Knowledge.

The qabbalah in legend dates back to the times of Adam, Abraham, and Moses. Beginnings of the qabbalah are attributed to certain statements in the Dead Sea Scrolls circa 1st century BC or speculated (again through legend) to have begun with the teachings and writing attributed to Rabbi Nachunjah ben Hakana ( fl 75 AD), Rabbi Ismael ben Elisa (fl. 130 AD); and Simeon ben Yohai (fl 150 AD).

Texts from this period include:

1.) Othijoth de Rabbi Akiba: the separate letters of the Hebrew alphabet are given
a moral, religious, mystical, and dream-symbolic, nature within their existence.

2.) Schiur Komah: a determination of the greatness of the divine nature is in the
format of fantastic numeric and numeric/identity sequences are shown to be
living allegories. It is believed that the manuscript exists only partially.

3.) Hechaloth Rabbathi: this is the great treatise on heavenly halls. It gives
methods for reaching mystical ecstasy and what these mystical-ecstatic states
are like.

4.) Gaon Hai: the listing of books containing magic and various amulets, magical
formulas, etc.

5.) Lost books - contents unknown: Sepher ha-Jaschar; Sepher ha-Rasim; Sepher Schem ben Noach.


The Sepher Yetzirah - Second Developmental Phase of Qabbalism:

It is reasonable to say that the earliest proven qabbalistic text is the Sepher Yeztirah.

The Sepher Yetzirah or Book of Formation concerns the beginning of the world with an overall cosmology of the beginning and active elements of appearances. In this book, words themselves and those specifics symbolized by those words create on holistic understanding which actually has life itself. On a level of being greater than this alphabet-word-object-existence-experience are the categories of all that is a part of existence. As part of this understanding of this greater level of being, there exist the numbers 1 to 10, preceeded by several versions of zero: absolute nothing; nothing with the germ of pure possibility; and nothing at that last moment before manifestation. A principle which is higher still is an existing absolute unity above each number and more importantly, above all number per se.


The Four Elementary Numbers:

1 = Unity. The breath of the living God.

2 = The Spirit of Spirits and the voice into which the 22 letters as elements of things
come into being. Physically, breath represents the air.

3 = Primaeval Water of Chaos, developed from air. Here is the separation of earth and
water.

4 = Primaeval Fire, developed from Primaeval Water. Fire in connection with Air and
Water procreates heaven and the inhabitants of heaven.

The Elementary Dimensions as Number:

5 = Height.

6 = Depth.

7 = Eastern Direction.

8 = Western Direction.

9 = Northern Direction

10 = Southern Direction


The Sepher Yetzirah is an attempted demonstration that when the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet connect with the 10 numbers (fundamental principles), being leaves isolation and comes into direct existence. This pre-existence and direct existence are subject to much or continual change and this happens repeatedly. This event structure occurs in accordance with laws, counter-laws, and synthesis between laws and counter-laws. A modern example of this type of thinking is atomic theory.

It is possible that the author of the Sepher Yetzirah was familiar with the philosophy of the Neopythagoreans.

The Sepher Yezirah exists in two versions: a shorter one which usually is considered the book itself; and a longer version which is sometimes printed as an appendix. Both versions were in existence during the 10th century AD. The earliest known manuscript was found in the Cairo Genizah (11th century?) in the late 1890s by -------Ginsburg.

In both versions, this book is divided into 6 chapters of mishnayot or halakhot which are terse statements presenting the anonymous author's absolute view which contains neither explanation or substantiation.

Where did this book come from and what is its date? Some scholars have said that it dates from the Geonic period: 700-1000 AD (Zunz, Graetz, Bacher, Block, and others). Also, it was considered possible that the book had a strong Arab influence. Louis Ginsberg and other scholars dated its composition to the period 200-500 AD. Dr. Erich Bischoff dates the Sepher Yetzirah to the end of the 9th or beginning of the 10th century AD.

Graetz noted analogies between the Sepher Yezirah and the views of Markos the Gnostic of the school of Valentins. Some of the terms in the book are apparently transliterated from from Greek in which the term stoixeia indicates both elements and letters. This duality finds its expression in the Hebrew otiyyot yesod = elemental letters. The Sefer Yezirah contains the view of the 'sealing of the six extremities of the world by the six different combinations of the name YHW which occurs in this book as a n independent, fundamental name of God, equaling the Greek iow, a word which is frequently used in the Gnostic documents concerning religious and magical syncretism.

The idea that an act of creation was sealed with the name of God is one of the earliest tenets of Merkabah mysticism as found in chapter 9 of Heikhalot Rabbati, and also, is found in the Gnostic systems of thought. This Name which has the function to establish the Universe and defining fixed boundaries for the world, is found in Greek consisting of vowels instead of consonants.

The anonymous author of the Sepher Yezirah did not know the symbols for the Hebrew vowels and apparently, he/she used Hebrew consonants which are both vowel letters and components of the Tetragrammaton. There are strong similarities between The Sepher Yezirah and Gnostic concepts during the first few centuries AD.

The earliest known references to the Sepher Yezirah appear in the Baraita di-Shemu'el and in the poems of Eleazar ha-kallir (6th century AD). But is this the same text that exists after the 10th century AD? We do not know.

At the beginning of the 10th century AD, Saadiah Gaon explained the book as an early authoritative text. On the basis of the longer version, he intorduced changes and new divisions. Saadiah's text was translated several times into Hebrew from the 11th century onward and was widely read.

In 955/6 AD, the commentary on the short version by Abu Sahl Dunash ibn Tamim was circulated in Kairouan.It has been said that this commentary was created by Abu Sahl based upon the lectures of his own teacher Isaac Israeli.

Also, during the 10th century AD, another commentary was produced by Shabbetai Donnolo in southern Italy .

At the beginning of the 12th century AD, Judah ben Barzillai of Barcelona made what is generally believed to be the most important literal commentary on the Sepher Yezirah.

Judah Halevi commented on parts of the Sepher Yezirah in his Kuzari (4:25).

Abraham ibn Ezra's commentary on the first chapter is lost, but this commentary was known to Abraham Abulafia as were some other commentaries from the 11th and 12th centuries, including one by the rabbis of Narbonne.

During the 11th century AD, both Ibn Gabirol and Zahallaj ben Nethanel Gaon wrote poems on the various doctrine contained within the Sepher Yezirah.

From this time onwards, there was a steady stream of commentaries by various scholars.

Delineated in more detail, the Sepher Yetzirah begins by declaring that God created the Universe in 32 mysterous paths of wisdom. These 32 paths are defined as 10 Sefirot beli mah and the 22 elemental letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

The 10 Sephirot are spheres, "seals", and aspects of the Living Universe. In the book, literally: the decade out of nothing...

The appearance of the ten spheres out of nothing is like a flash of lightning. His word is in them, when they go and return; they run by His order, like a whirlwind and humble themselves before His throne...

The decade of existence out of nothing has its end linked to its beginning and its beginning linked to its end..."

They are as follows:

1.) Ru'ah: Breath/Spirit of the Living God... The articulate word of creative power, the spirit and the word are what we call the holy spirit..." that there is a primal intelligence which is the self-existing cause of all things and that this self-existing entity produces nonentities by a progression of effects and divine knowledge gives existence to all that exists and to all that does not exist.
Next by way of condensation:

2.)Air emanated from the Spirit and established the 22 consonants of language. Three of these consonant letters are fundamental letters or mothers, plus seven double and twelve simple consonants. The first consonant is the spirit.
Next by way of condensation: comes:

3.)Primitive Water "He says to the snow (coldness), be thou earth" (Job 37,6)."
Next by way of condensation comes:

4.) Fire or Ether. "He established by it the Throne of Glory, the Seraphim, and Ophanim, the holy living creature and the angels, and of these three He formed his habitation, as it reads: 'Who made His angels spirits, His ministers a flaming fire.' (Psalm 104,4). He selected three consonants from the simple ones which are in the hidden secret of three mothers or first elements: Ru'ah, air, water, and ether or fire. He sealed them with spirit and fastened them to his great name and sealed with it 6 dimensions..." (in other words: space and six other dimensions emanated from ether or fire).
Next by way of condensation comes:

5.The sealed Height.
Sealed with: [letter]

6.) The sealed Depth.
Sealed with: [Letter]

7.) The sealed East and the turned Forward.
Sealed with: [letter]

8.) The sealed West and the turned Backward
Sealed with: [letter]

9.) The sealed South and the turned to the Right
Sealed with: [letter]

10.)The sealed North and the turned to the Left
Sealed with [letter]


From the Rise of the Sepheroth System to the Zohar:Third Developmental Phase of Qabbalism:

Ein Soph:
Ein-Soph is Absolute Perfection. There are no distinctions and no differentiations. Some qabbalists say also that here there is no volition. It does not reveal itself in any way which would make knowledge of its Own Nature possible and is probably transcendent to and inaccessible by way of highest thought. Ein-Soph is the First Cause of Infinity and is itself the very maintainer of this paradox. The qabbalist author of Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut propounded the idea that the entire canon of Hebraic texts and the Oral Law did not reference Ein-Soph and that perhaps some mystics had experienced a very small aspect of Ein-Soph.

In the writings of the Gerona qabbalists, there are a series of terms which try to deal with the beyond-concept concept of Ein-Soph:
ha-ta'alumah = the concealment of secrecy

ha-or ha-mit'allem = the concealed light;

yitron [=translation of Greek hyperousia] = superfluity;

mah she-ein ha-mahshavah masseget = that which thought cannot attain;

ha-ahdut ha-shavah = indistinguishable unity;;

ha-mahut = the essence.

Ein-Soph has been identified with Aristotle's Prime Cause and the Neoplatonic Root of All Roots.

From Ein-Soph there are Nine Lights of Thought and Manifestation which shine forth, ending the primal concealment. During the 1770s, the qabbalist Baruch Kosover observed that: Ein-Soph is not His proper name, but it is merely a world which symbolizes His complete concealment. It is not correct to say "Ein-Soph, blessed be He" or again; "may He be blessed because He cannot be blessed by our lips". (Ammud ha-Avodah; 1863; 211d).

The exact form of conceptualization of the single source of creation used by both the Sufis and the kabbalists shows a strong Neoplatonic influence.

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero known as Remak (1522-1570) mentions that the first active and passive steps in which Absolute Divinity goes forward to make itself accessible to human contemplation take place within God Himself and do not leave the category of the Divine. Cordovero wrestled with the question of whether the first "movement" of the Divine was towards the "outer world" or whether it was a "movement" inward of Ein-Soph, into the depths of itslef. His answer was that of Divine movement fowards the outer world. On the other hand, Isaac Luria held the view that the Divine's first movement was inward and augmented this answer with the further belief that all created things returned to their source in God and that God returned into Himself prior to all creation.. Further, Luria said that within Ein-Soph were Spledours (zahzahot) which were higher than any emanation.


Qabalistic Emanation: What is it?
The emergence of God from being within Himself into an Active Creation is the foundation of the Sepheroth. Early qabbalists tended to believe that all creatures and creations below the level of the Sepheroth, were created beings, who were archetypally preexistant in the Sepheroth, and by necessity of their creatiob by God, maintained a personal existence separate from Divine Existence.

Abraham of Cologn (fl. 1260-70 AD) in his Keter Shem Tov, totally rejects the idea that there is an impersonal hidden aspect at the highest level of Kether. He denies that there is any impersonal aspect to or of God and identifies Ein-Soph directly with Kether and finally, that the Sepheroth actually pray to God.

Asher ben David's description of Sepheroth lend agreement to the idea that Sepheroth were vessels for the activity of God-As-Emanator and Sepheroth in essence are identical with God.

The Gnostics in Castille, Spain manitained that emanation had potencies based upon name and color.

The tradition of Rav Solomon ben Adret and David Meser Leon, Meir ibn Gabbai, and Joseph Caro, the later 16th century followers of the Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut propounds that the Sepheroth are not an beings intermediary between God and sentient and physical life, bu the Speheroth are God Himself; therefore Emanation is Divinity and Divinity is Emanation. In the Sepher ha-Zohar, it is stated: He is They and They are He (Zohar:3:1b, 70a)

Menahem Recanati in his Ta'amei ha-Mizvot states that the Sepheroth are not seen as the essence of God, but are only vessels or tools, but the Sepheroth are not separated from Him and should not be considered as we consider a working person's tools as being completely distinct from the working person him/her self.

In the writings of Joseph Ashkenazi (Pseudo-Rabad), he propounds and further develops the original of Moses de Burgos, by stating that, as they are definitely intermediaries, the Sepheroth actualy are unable to perceive the nature of their Emanator and pray to God, Himself

The author A. Franck said that the Qabbalah was a complete emanatist system in which emanation was an actual going forth of God's Own Substance and not merely as God's Demonstrated Power.. He drew his conclusions from his own higly sensitive readings and interpretations of The Sepher ha-Zohar and the writings of Isaac Luria.

D. H. Joel said that the Zohar and early qabbalistic writings siad nothing about emanation and that God in His Absolute Freedom Created from nothing (the creatio ex nihilo attitude)

Gershom Sholem adds that the Sepheroth subsume the archetype of everything created outside the world of emanation. They are contained within the Godhead and impregnate every sentient being outside of the Godhead.

Obviously among qabbalists themselves, there is much disagreement on this subject.


Ayin:
Ayin is considered either part of a complex that includes Ein-Soph, or a creatio ex nihilo preceeding Ein-Soph, or the first true emanation of Ein-Soph. A traditional theological view was that the first Sepherorth was the first effect; that cause was absolutely separated from effect.

Perhaps the best definition of Ayin is that of David ben Abraham ha-Lavan in his Masoret ha-Berit (late 13th century AD) as having more being than any other being in the world, but since it is simple, and all other simple things are complex when compared with its simplicity, so as in comparison, it is called "nothing".


The Three Hidden Lights:
In a responsum attributed to Hai Gaon, it is stated that above all emanating powers, with the Prime Cause, there are three hidden lights which have no beginning and no end.. There is the primeval inner light and the two other lights are called mezuhzah or simply zah. This ne'lam as le-ein sof is a kabbalistic trinity. It preceeds all sepheroth.


Kether:
Most qabbalists believed and believe that Primal Will is eternal and thus part of Ein-Soph. This being accepted, Kether is seen as being externally Kether while being internally Ein-Soph.

Isaac ibn Latif (fl 1230-60 AD) talks of the Divine Will in his texts Ginzei ha-Melekh and Zurat ha-Olam:The Primordial Will is not totally identical with God, but is a garment clinging to all substance of the wearer on all sides...and was....the first thing to be emanated from the only preexistent being...

Communion with the Divine Will was considered the ultimate aspect of prayer.


Hokhmah:
The highest aspect of Hokhmah or Wisdom is a concept called Haskel which is derived from Jeremiah 9:23. Haskel is divine understanding and the activity of Sekhel which is divine intellect. Further, it is believed that this divine understanding can crystalize into wisdom specifics in Hokhmah. Gershom Scholem points out that these conceptualization was used one hundred years later by Meister Eckhardt who called it intelligere.


The Interrelation of Sepheroth to Itself and to Other Sepheroth:
Each Sepheroth comprises all others sucessively and these Sepheroth are infinitely reflected within themselves.There are aspects of each Spheroth that contain millions of worlds. Therefor, within each Sepheroth are other Speheroth and an inifinte number of aspects connected with each Sepheroth (behinot).

According to Cordovero, there are six aspects in each Sepheroth.

1.) The concealed aspect before its manifestation in the Sepheroth which emanates it.

2.) The aspect which is manifest and apparent in the emanating Sepheroth.

3.) The aspect which in which the Sepheroth itself, becomes manifest in its proper
interdependency in the Sepherothic emanation process.

4.) The aspect which allows the preceeding Sepheroth to give the appropriate power to
the Sepheroth in question, itself, and to then further this process through the emanation
and empowering of the subsequent Sepheroth.

5.) The aspect by which the Sepheroth acquires the appropriate power to emanate the
Sepheroth hidden within it to their manifest existence within its own essence.

6.) The aspect by which the following Sepheroth is emanated to its own place; completing
and rebeginning the entire cycle.

Each Sepheroth descends into itself. This process is infinite. Nevertheless the Sepheroth is finite as it has limits. The three zahzahot = three hidden behinot of Kether in Ein-Soph. Therefor, there is no natural boundary between Ein-Soph and Kether and there is a behinot of Kether within Kether within Kether infinitely, but never reach an identity with the Emanator.


The Two Symbolic Modes of Sepheroth Reaching Light to Other Sepheroth:

1. Reflected Light:This is a light which is reflected back from the lower Sepheroth to the higher Sepheroth and this reflected light can reascend from any Sepheroth to any higher Sepheroth. It stimulates differentiation of a greater and greater number of behinot in each Sepheroth to which it reflects back and in doing so facilitates consolidation of potencies and consolidation of behinot of judgement, through its ability to create contraction.

2. Channels: There are specific relationships of radiated light between certain Sepheroth. This is considered a channel (zinnor). This channeling of light is entirely different from emanation. Here there is a process which reverses and counter-reverses cause and effect. There can be "breaks" in the return flow of light from below which has been called breaks in the channels (shevirat ha-zinnorat).


Schematic Order of Sepheroth:

O

O O

O O

O

O O

O

O

The Intellectual Sepheroth (ha-muskal):

Kether Elyon ( The Highest Crown): Zero. Primordial Aura

Hokhman (Wisdom): Primordial Point; the intermediatary between nothingness and being. The Supernal Mother. The Palace is the Womb which through fertilization brings forth the children.

[Daath (Knowledge of the Abyss)]: An "invisible Sepheroth, which was added to the original system of ten Sepheroth during the 13th century.

Binah (Wisdom): The Point Expands Itself Into a Circle

The Psychic Sepheroth (ha-murgash):

Gedulllah (Greatness) or Chesed (Love):

Gevurah (Power) or Din (Judgement)

Tiphereth ( Beauty) or Rahamin (Compassion)

The Sepheroth of Nature (ha-murtha):

Natzach ( Lasting Endurance)

Hod ( Majesty)

Zaddik (Righteous One)

Yesod Olam (Foundations of the World)

Malkuth (Kingdom) or Atarah (Diadem)


The Sepher ha-Bahir:
The Sepher ha Bahir appeared in France at the end of the 12th century. The circumstances of its appearance are unknown.

After the Sepher Yetzirah, the Sepher ha-Bahir is the oldest known work on qabbalah and it is the earliest qabbalistic work to talk directly of the symbolic structure of the qabbalah. It would appear that in the evolution of the qabbalah which simply started with mentions of some aspects of qabbalistic viewpoint in the Dead Sea Scrolls of the 1st century BC, that by the time of the existence of the Sepher ha-Bahir, the qabbalistic system, was fundamentally fully developed having its influences include early Hebraic mysticism, Maccabeen mysticism, a somewhat hidden influence directly from the life of Jesus Christ, tthe Gnostics, the Neoplatonists, pseudo-Dionysus, and splinter groups of advanced mystics and thinkers within the Israelite and Judaic diaspora.

It is possible that the Sepher ha-Bahir got its title from the phrase: And now men see not the light which is bright (bahir) in the skies (Job 37:21).

The Bahir format is one in which explanations of Biblical verses are used for the transmission of a large number of ideas on many subjects. There are commentaries on the mystical significance of specific verses, on vocalization and cantillation signs, on esoteric meanings of some of the ten commandments, on sacred names used in magic, and on the earlier text, the Sepher Yetzirah. The sequence of thought is either random meaning, with the Bahir being "edited" or "put together" like a patchwork quilt or it is a stream of consciousness patterned esoteric structureof such subtlty that one must imerse oneself in this sacred writing and directly experience it.


The Zohar (The Sepher ha Zohar):

The Zohar or The Book of Splendor is considered to be the central Qabbalistic work. It is a body of literature, which exists in five printed volumes. They include:

1, 2, and 3: Sepher ha-Zohar al ha Torah.

4: Tikkunei ha-Zohar.

5: Zohar Hadash: Assembled by Abraham ben Eliezar ha-Levi Berukhim, this is a
collection of sayings, texts, etc which were discovered after the printing of most of the
Zohar. .

This collection includes short midrashic statements, homilies, and discussions on a wide variety of esoterically based subjects. In the Zohar, Itself, it is claimed that the majority of these saying are of the tanna Simeon ben Yohai and his close companions.

This compendium of literature can be divided into three "strata":


Textual Divisions of the Zohar:

1.) items 1-15

2.) Midrash ha Ne'lam and Sitrei Torah: items 16-19.

3.) Ra'aya Meheimna and the Tikkunim: items 21-23. Items 20 and 24 are in some doubt
by some qabbalistic scholars.


Language Divisions of the Zohar:

1.) The Hebrew of the Midrash ha-Ne'lam.

2.) The Aramaic language in the Midrash ha-Ne'lam and in the main sections of the
Zohar.

3.) Imitation of the second division in the Ra'aya Meheimna and the Tikkunim.


Who Wrote the Zohar?
The answer to this question is not entirely agreed upon by readers and devotees of the Zohar. The Zohar began to appear "piece-at-a-time " at the beginning of the 14th century AD. The Zohar was published small segment by small segment by the Spanish qabbalist, Moses ben Shem Tov de Leon, who died in 1305 AD. It appears as though no part of the Zohar was in existence prior to 1270 AD. During the period 1286-1293 AD, Moses de Leon wrote several books in Hebrew, which exist under his own name.

Moses de Leon was supported by and part of a loosely connected group of the great qabbalists of this period, which included Todros Abulafia, Joseph Abulafia (son of Todros Abulafia), Joseph Gikatilla, and Isaac ben Samuel of Acre. A number of Isaac of Acre's collegues believed that Moses de Leon was the actual author of the Zohar.

After de Leon's death a discreet investigation was made. In the Spanish city of Avila, the last city in which Moses de Leon lived, Isaac of Acre was told that a wealthy man proposed marriage of his son to the daughter of Moses de Leon's widow, if, and only if, she would give him the original ancient manuscript used by her deceased husband to create the Sepher ha-Zohar. Both the widow and her daugter clearly stated that no such manuscript existed or, for that matter, had ever existed. They further stated that their respective husband and father, himself, had written the Zohar.

By making a comparison of the language, grammer, and style of the Hebrew writings of Moses de Leon with that of the Zohar; upon the examination of dates for the oldest quotes in the Zohar; and upon thr earliest citations from the Zohar, by Spanish qabbalists during the period 1280 to 1310 AD, it seems clear that the Zohar was written by Moses de Leon..


Isaac Luria -aka- Isaac De Loria -aka- Isaac Ashkenazi of Luria (1534 - July 15, 1572);

Isaac De Luria's father was a member of the Ashkenazi family which originally came from Poland or Germany. His father emigrated to Jerusalem and married into the Sephardi Frances family. His father died when he was a child (probably about the age of 7 years) and his mother took him to Egypt, where he was brought up and educated by his mother's brother, Mordecai Frances, a well-to-do tax-gatherer. Luria studied under David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra and Bezalel Ashkenazi. With the latter, Luria collaborated on a book, Shitate Mekubbezet and a tractate, Zevahim, (which almost two centuries later in 1735, was burned in Izmir.)

Luria retired to of the island Jazirat al-Rawda on the Nile near Cairo. This island was owned by his uncle, who was, also, his father-in-law.

Generally, Isaac Luria did not publicly teach, but we know that he had at least 30 students. In the neighborhood of Safed, he would take long walks with his closest students. He was known as a holy man who possessed the Holy Spirit and had been given the revelation of Elijah. He taught orally, instructing his students in his own system of theoretical Qabbala and how to communicate with the Zaddikim or The Community of the Souls of the Righteous through a process of unification of the Sepheroth and specific tantric-like exercises of meditative concentration on certain divine names and certain combinations of these divine names, and by means of Kavvanah or the creation of meditation and reflection within the act of prayer.

Luria did not teach in any specific sequence of thinking. Whatever came to mind at the time was what then was taught. He died during an epidemic in Safed.

The main chroniclers of Luria's teachings and ideas were:

1.)Moses Jonah of Safed in his work Kanfei Yonah;

2.)Joseph ibn Tabul who divided Luria's teachings into derushim or disquiisitions, which still exist in manuscript;

3.)Hayyim Vital rendered all of Luria's ideas in great detail and according to his own system of classification: Ez Hayyim (The Tree of Life) He, himself wrote four variants of this book. It contains Lurias teachings (as remembered) from 1573 to 1576.

A.) All material written in Luria's handwriting.

B.) Sha'ar ha-Derushim: the systematic presentaion of Luria's Qabbalistic thinking and ideas.

C.) Sha'ar ha-Pesukim: Explanations of Biblical passages in the same sequential order as the Old Testament.

D.) Sha'ar ha-gilgulim: The mystical doctrine of metempsychosis (Gilgul);

E.) Sha'ar ha-Kavannot: An in-depth explanation of the mystical practices and meditative states within and for prayer (Kavannot ha-tiffilah).

F.) Sha'ar ha-Mizvot: The forms of reasoning within religious precepts.

G.) Tikkunei avonot: The doctrine of atonement of sins.

H ) Yihudim: Instructions for creating one's mystical "unifications" (transmitted individually to each student by Luria himself).

Other versions proposed other "Gates" and categories and there has been much disagreement over what is genuine Lurianic Qabbalism.


Lurianic Qabbalism:

Luria believed that the primal action of Ein-Soph was not emanation and revelation, but instead, it was the action of limitation and concealment. The true essence of Ein-Soph leaves no place for creation, because it is impossible to visual or mentally construct any area or place which is not God, because to do so would place limitations upon God's own Infinity. Thus an any primal act of creation is only possible through "the entry of God into Himself" or Zimzum in which He contracts Himself and socreates the possibility for something, not Ein-Soph (Itself) to exist. This retreat of the Godhead, preceeds any emanation. From Gods point of view, one would try to imagine God merely contracting from a small point, while from a human view, God would be contracting from all levels of existence, both spiritual and material.

According to Luira,before Zimzum,all the forces of God were contained within His Own Infinite Self; completely in balance and without separation. When God's Primal Intention to create the Universe began, Ein-Soph came together with the motions which create Din or Judgement, and God's first known activity was that of judgement and self-limitationand this process was to continue through progressive extraction and catharsis of Judgement (Din) intermingled in an ununderstanable pattern with the remnants of light of Ein-Soph which had remained like drops of water in an newly emptied vessel. . This is the hylic aspect of the future universe. In this condition, ther descends Yod, which contains a "cosmic measure" (kav ha-middah) which is the power of organization and formation. This power is part of the attribute of overflowing mercy (Rahamin).

Creation is a double activity; the Emanator acts as both receptive substratum through the light of the Reshimu and is a form-giving force which descends from the essence of Ein-Soph to create order within its own non-order. Thus both subject and object on all planes, all times, and all things, and more beyond thought itself have their origin in God, but were differentiated by Zimzum. This process creates recepticals or vessels (kelim) in which the Divine Essence that remained in primordial space is precipatated out; First this takes place hylically in the Container of "Primordial Air or Avir Kadmon; next this form of Divine Essence become "clearer" in the Container of Primordial Man or Adam Kadmon.

At the beginning of the text Ez Hayyim there is a description of a process whereby an absoulute vacuum was created within Ein-Soph, into which emanated a ray of light which filled this vacuum with Ten Sepheroth. Since the Zimzum took place equally on all sides, the vacuum had to be circular, or more properly spherical. The light which had entered this vacuum, entered it in a straight line and arranged itself as both concentric circles and as a unilinear structure.

This unilinear structure and concentric circles is the form of Adam Kadmon le-khol ha-kedumin or The Primordial Man Which (or Who) Preceeded All Other Primordial Anythings. This double rhythm of concentric circles and unilinear design is necessary for the creation of all things. This is how our universe works. And it is a gift of God's Mercy. This process is given rhythm by the ascent of Ein-Soph into Itself and its partial descent into Zimzum; the expanding outward of Ein-Soph and its desire to return to Itself; Hipashtut or Egression and Histalkut or Regression.

Within these Containers is an Inner Light and around these Containers is a Surrounding Light.. In his fascination with the struture of the spiritual world, Isaac Luria speaks of Kelakut or the structural totality of the forces of emanation and Peratut or the individuality of each power active within the overall structure.

At first, Luria did not differentiate between Ein-Soph and Light. Later, he argued that there was subtle differentiation between Ein-Soph and Light in that Light was the Will of Ein-Soph and thereby possessed Zimzum, whereas Ein-Soph possessed Light.

Zimzum was preceeded by even more subtle processes. In the beginning, Ein-Soph took pleasure in its own autarkic self-sufficiency. This Pleasure created a Shaking (Ni'anu'a) which is the movement of Ein Soph within Itself. This movement or Shaking "from Itself to Itself" aroused the still-indistinguishable root of Din (Justice) still combined with Rahamin (Mercy). This Shaking or these Shakings caused Primordial Points to be "engraved" in the power of Din and becoming the first forms to be within Ein Soph. The shapes of these engravings was primordial space or primordial spaces, which came into being as the end result of this process. The Light of Ein Soph, obviously "outside" and "around" these "engravings" acted upon these "marks" as "points" and the Ideal World came into existence. The "Hidden Law" which is within the "engravings" which produce reality, is active. It expresses itself, in some way through all things, through the power which went into Yod. The World of Points is known as Olim ha-Nekudot. At this stage, this World of Points is without definite structure and describes out beautifully in the descriptive symbolism of atomic physics and Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.


The Talmud and its corollary The Zohar, have an ability to present direct, indirect, implied, and inspired knowledge. In late 20th century terms, these texts and all the knowledge on all levels which they represent are similiar to the windowing of simultaneously opened files on a computer screen. We can move and juxtapose textual information directly, mentally (if trained or disciplined to do so) using a perceptual method on mental, intellectual, and spiritual levels in the same way as a person doing modern word processing can manipulate and "window" their own editing of textual materials. The sophisticated use of modern computer text editing is a good teacher and example for understanding the format of the Talmud and the Zohar.

The 10 Sepheroth, when seen only as structure or a diagram of both regidity and fluidity, confirm this. Obviously, ther are higher and more spiritual and complex levels of understanding, the Talmud, the Zohar, and the 10 Sepheroth, and we should pursue the high aspects of religion and spiritual richness which they offer. Still, it is very instructive to gain and maintain a base-line awareness of these structures as structures, for by doing so, we can begin to understand how we can learn and study our own apparent awareness, and how, under certain circumstances, it works. With the Talmud, the Zohar, and the 10 Sepheroth, we can also perceive the human mind as both monomorphic and polymorphic.

The 10 worlds of the Sepheroth, evolve from highest to lowest, but they also exist in simultaneity, and can exist (all together) in a varied single paradigm or in a series of consecutive and simultaneous paradigms. One might ponder as to whether in our 20th century, the 10 world of the Sepheroth, have been beautifully and publicly represented by the General and Specific Theories of Relativity as formulated by Albert Einstein and have been childishly and egotistically represented by the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre, especially his Being and Nothingness.

The Talmud and the Zohar, are tools for understanding the Will of God, or, if you prefer, for understanding the motivation (s) for All-Creation and our place in this Creation, and our need to constantly adjust to changing conditions without loss of self, loss of spirituality, or loss of the vision of the need and the actual need to remain as close as possible and remain loyal to This Creator who specifically created All and whose Ultmate Purposes (and therefore our own ultimate purposes) are unknown, but intuited by some and revealed to others that the Creator's Purpose and our own ultimate purpose, while Unknown (or Beyond Knowing), nevertheless are Good.


copyright 2001 by Caiyros Verree