conceived in mythical, dynamic terms, tending to emphasize processes that are expressed in erotic terms. The image of the sefirot as a gigantic anthropomorphic figure is a central one in many kabbalistic works, including the Zohar, while other kabbalists tended to marginalize these terms and use more “logical” ones.
Another most prominent system found in most kabbalistic works is that of the sefirot representing the stages of divine emanation. Within the supreme, perfect, and infinite Godhead, the ein sof, a point began shining, expressing the divine will to create something beside itself ( keter ). This will was transformed into a plan, a program for the future—this is divine wisdom ( hokhmah ). The third sefirah, binah , is portrayed in this system as the supreme fountain from which divine existence emerges; the will and the wisdom, which are just potentialities, are transformed here into actual emanated entities. The first two powers to emerge from binah are the modes by which existence is regulated: the right side, hesed, expressing love and mercy, and the left, din or gevurah, representing divine strict law and justice. They are united in the sixth sefirah, tiferet , creating a mix-ture that sustains an existence that cannot suffer just pure love or just pure justice. Nezah and hod represent lower forms of 43
K A B B A L A H
hesed and din , and the ninth, yesod , is the vehicle by which divine power is poured into the lower realms. The tenth, the feminine power, is the intermediary that transfers the divine flow to creation, and it is the power of divine revelation to creatures. The system of the sefirot is thus conceived as a demiurgic entity, a kind of detailed logos, which bridges the abstract, infinite Godhead and the functions needed to emanate the divine powers, endows them with their specific functions, and enables them to sustain and provide for all existence.
Most kabbalists integrated the biblical names of God into the system of the sefirot. Thus, for instance, the tetragrammaton— the biblical name of God written in four letters, YHVH, which, in Hebrew, it is forbidden to pronounce—was interpreted as presenting the first sefirah, keter, in the almost-hidden little point above the first letter, yod, which represents the second sefirah, divine wisdom ( hokhmah ). The first letter, he, is the binah, followed by the vav, which represents the number six, and thus relates to the six central sefirot from hesed to yesod . The last he represents the female entity, the shekhinah. This just one of the many interpretations of this name, and all other divine appellations in the Bible and Talmud are conceived as representing one or a group of sefirot . It can be stated that the system of the sefirot is viewed by most kabbalists to represent hidden, secret name or names of God. In this way, the myth of the ten entities and the linguistic expressions of the divine realm are united in the kabbalistic worldview. Kabbalists utilized the names that were used by prekabbalistic esoterics, including the names of twelve, forty-two, and seventy-two letters, and integrated them in this system.
The kabbalists translated almost all the classical—biblical and talmudic—terms into their system of divine emanations.
Every linguistic “pair” has been interpreted as relating to the gender duality in the divine world, the masculine and the feminine: the sun and the moon, heaven and earth, and day and night were understood to represent this duality. The heroes of biblical narratives were identified with these supreme emana-44
M A I N I D E A S O F T H E M E D I E V A L K A B B A L A H
tions; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are hesed , din, and tiferet ; Joseph is yesod ; David is the shekhinah ; and many other combinations. The structure of the human soul was conceived as reflecting this structure, the various powers in the human psyche being identified with the divine powers. In the medieval kabbalah we find systems in which
Another most prominent system found in most kabbalistic works is that of the sefirot representing the stages of divine emanation. Within the supreme, perfect, and infinite Godhead, the ein sof, a point began shining, expressing the divine will to create something beside itself ( keter ). This will was transformed into a plan, a program for the future—this is divine wisdom ( hokhmah ). The third sefirah, binah , is portrayed in this system as the supreme fountain from which divine existence emerges; the will and the wisdom, which are just potentialities, are transformed here into actual emanated entities. The first two powers to emerge from binah are the modes by which existence is regulated: the right side, hesed, expressing love and mercy, and the left, din or gevurah, representing divine strict law and justice. They are united in the sixth sefirah, tiferet , creating a mix-ture that sustains an existence that cannot suffer just pure love or just pure justice. Nezah and hod represent lower forms of 43
K A B B A L A H
hesed and din , and the ninth, yesod , is the vehicle by which divine power is poured into the lower realms. The tenth, the feminine power, is the intermediary that transfers the divine flow to creation, and it is the power of divine revelation to creatures. The system of the sefirot is thus conceived as a demiurgic entity, a kind of detailed logos, which bridges the abstract, infinite Godhead and the functions needed to emanate the divine powers, endows them with their specific functions, and enables them to sustain and provide for all existence.
Most kabbalists integrated the biblical names of God into the system of the sefirot. Thus, for instance, the tetragrammaton— the biblical name of God written in four letters, YHVH, which, in Hebrew, it is forbidden to pronounce—was interpreted as presenting the first sefirah, keter, in the almost-hidden little point above the first letter, yod, which represents the second sefirah, divine wisdom ( hokhmah ). The first letter, he, is the binah, followed by the vav, which represents the number six, and thus relates to the six central sefirot from hesed to yesod . The last he represents the female entity, the shekhinah. This just one of the many interpretations of this name, and all other divine appellations in the Bible and Talmud are conceived as representing one or a group of sefirot . It can be stated that the system of the sefirot is viewed by most kabbalists to represent hidden, secret name or names of God. In this way, the myth of the ten entities and the linguistic expressions of the divine realm are united in the kabbalistic worldview. Kabbalists utilized the names that were used by prekabbalistic esoterics, including the names of twelve, forty-two, and seventy-two letters, and integrated them in this system.
The kabbalists translated almost all the classical—biblical and talmudic—terms into their system of divine emanations.
Every linguistic “pair” has been interpreted as relating to the gender duality in the divine world, the masculine and the feminine: the sun and the moon, heaven and earth, and day and night were understood to represent this duality. The heroes of biblical narratives were identified with these supreme emana-44
M A I N I D E A S O F T H E M E D I E V A L K A B B A L A H
tions; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are hesed , din, and tiferet ; Joseph is yesod ; David is the shekhinah ; and many other combinations. The structure of the human soul was conceived as reflecting this structure, the various powers in the human psyche being identified with the divine powers. In the medieval kabbalah we find systems in which
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