The sefer yetzirah is a small and concise book, only 0 words long in the short version and 2500 words long in the long version. There is nothing in evil lower than plague nega sepher yetzirah 2. Thus, the name sefer yetzirah could refer to the act of creating or forming the cosmos, or to the cosmos itself, or both. There is no book entitled kabbalah, as that is a descriptive word for the teachings as a whole. Israel oriental studies, volume 1 tel aviv university. Like the tao teh ching, it is a brief work whose terse verses can easily mask its depth and complexity. He was lauded as an original thinker and prolific writer and is most well known for his translations of the torah, writings on kabbalah, and introductory pamphlets on jewish. Westcotts translation of the sepher yetzirah was a primary source for the rituals and knowledge lectures of the golden dawn. Pdf notes on editions of sefer yetzirah in english don karr. The second chapter is a discussion of the letters of the hebrew alphabet, and the 231 gates. Rabbi kaplans translation of this oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts provides a unique perspective on the meditative and magical aspects of kabbalah. The number of camps is four, corresponding to the four realms and the four letters of gds holy name yhwh. Benton the word kabbalah, which is often used to denote the corpus of jewish mysticism and which literally means receiving, has a gematria1 of 7.
He sealed above, and he turned upward and sealed it with vhy. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. The ancient sefer yetzirah which explains the spiritual mechanics of creation science opens its text by saying that gd created this universe with three versions of this sapar. Chapters three to five discuss the divisions of the letters in relation to astrology. Sefer yetzirah, the cube of space, and the emergence of the tree of life by christopher p. Sepher yirah, book of formation, or book of creation is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish mysticism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to kabbalah.
If we now momentarily turn our attention deuteronomy 8. Wynn westcott the sepher yetzirah is one of the most famous of the ancient qabbalistic texts. The first commentary upon it appears in the first century, and thus, from the perspective of the christian kabbalah it is a sacred text of the kabbalah most likely known to yeshua and, therefore, the most likely to have influenced his inner and secret teachings. The saadia commentary on the sefer yetzirah by saadia ben joseph alfayumi 882942 ad jewish scholar, b. October 23, 1934 january 28, 1983 was an american orthodox rabbi, author, and translator known for his knowledge of physics and kabbalah. Sefer yetzirah, the cube of space, and the emergence of.
Sefer yetzirah wikisource, the free online library. Of reverence, the torah is given to teach the truth to human beings. He was the head of the great jewish academy at sura, babylonia, which under his leadership became the highest seat of jewish learning, and a vigorous opponent of the. The sefer yetzirah is considered the most ancient kabbalistic text. He placed them in a circle like a wall with 231 gates. For the sefer yetzirah, language is the very stuff of creation, and grammar the way in which it is formed. The sefer yetzirah book of creation was one of those medieval jewish.
God did not talk to himself, like and absolute monarch who wills and it is done. Best viewed at around 160% zoom the english language version starts on page 38. Yezira in israel oriental studies, volume 1 tel aviv university. Who makes winds his messengers, the flaming fire his ministers. The sepher yetzirah, according to adolph franck, differs from other sacred books in that it does not explain the world and the phenomena of which it is the stage by leaning on the idea of god or by setting itself up as the interpreter of the supreme will. It was written prior to rabbi shimons zohar, or the book of splendor. The question of sufi influence on the early kabbalah. With 32 wonderous paths of wisdom engrave yah, the lord of hosts, god of israel, the living god, king of the universe, almighty god, merciful and gracious, high and exalted, dwelling in eternity, whose name is holy, and create his universe with three books, with text sepher, with number sephar, and with communication sippur. The month of tishrei according to sefer yetzirah according to sefer yetzirah, each month of the jewish year has a letter of the hebrew alphabet, a zodiac sign, one of the twelve tribes of israel, a sense, and a controlling limb of the body that correspond to it. The first written text of the kabbalah was the sefer yetzirah, the book of formation. The sepher yetzirah is one of the most famous of the ancient qabalistic texts. The translation is based on 1926 edition, prepared by abraham haim freimann, published in frankfurt am main, incorporating corrections done in the following years.
According to modern historians, the origin of the sefer yetzirah is unknown, but it is believed by many to date back as far as 100 bc to 200 ad. Man does not live by bread only, but by every word that. Egypt and the division of the letters into three classes of vowels can be traced back to. The book of creation pdf file for free from our online library. The text states that the universe was created with a sapar, a sefer and a sippur. Pdf this paper argues that kabbalah, the generic term for jewish mysticism. He sealed below, and he turned downward and sealed it with hvy. Of course, the sefer yetzirah works with hebrew, but you get the idea. Sepher yetzirah the book of formation translated from the hebrew by wm. This is the book of the great rezial part 1 blessed are the wise by the mysteries coming from the wisdom. The bok of formation, and the thirty two paths of wisdom. Third, sefer yetzirah interprets the speech of god in a very clear way.
Reprinted with permission from the hebrew alphabet. From the earliest metaphysical text known as the sefer yetzirah book of formation, jewish mystics have extolled the hebrew alphabet as the manifestation of. The sefer yetzirah the holy kabbalah book of creation riders of the chariot this is a hebrewenglish translation of the kabbalists book the sefer yetzirah book of creation. The one who receives should try to receive the sefirot first in order to receive the divine overflow. The sefer yetzirah, or the book of creation, was written approximately 3,000 bce, and was the first kabbalistic book to be written. Sefer yetzirah hebrew, book of creation, is the title of the earliest book on jewish esoterecism. Additionally, both the time of its composition and its author. Description download sefer yetzirah the book of creation aryeh kaplan version free in pdf format. The historical origin of the sefer yetzirah was placed. It was composed probably between the 3rd and 6th centuries of the christian era and was later attributed to r.
Second, sefer yetzirah clearly interprets image of god in which man was created as the power of hewing and engraving, i. Sefer yetzirah the sefer yetzirah book of creation or book of. An introduction to the kabbalah, notes on the zohar in english, sefer yetzirah book of creation, tarot and the kabbalah lesson one, traditions. The sefer yetzirah is devoted to speculations concerning gods creation of the world. He expounds on the dynamics of the spiritual domain, the worlds of sefirot. Yetzirah is more literally translated as formation. The 231 gates of the sepher yetzirah bibles, wheels, and. Sefer yetzirah book of formation, hereafter sy is the oldest known. Three letters from the simple ones he sealed air14 through three, and set them into his great name vhy27, and sealed through them the six extremities. Gan naul is one of three commentaries on sefer yetzirah by abraham abulafia. He was the head of the great jewish academy at sura, babylonia, which under his leadership became the highest seat of jewish learning, and a.
Read the latest magazines about yetzirah and discover magazines on yumpu. This ancient work rather reveals god by estimating his manifold handiwork. The first person known to have used the term was the spanish poet and neoplatonic. Ten sefirot of nothingness plus twenty two foundations. Now in its 7th printing since republication in 1997, the sefer yetzirah has established itself as a primary source for all serious students of kabbalah. The sefer yetzirah or yesira, or other transliterations has been dated to wildly different periods of time, and is, depending on the commentary you read, the earliest hebrewlanguage book of science, or a key work of kabbalah a form of jewish mysticism apparently beginning in the late.
See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Benton the sefer yetzirah, or book of formation, is one of the oldest extant works on jewish kabbalah. The shekhina, the divine presence of gd revealed in the lower worlds, is served by the camps of the angels. You should get a full page in view the full screen option may not work on some. The division of the letters into the three classes of vowels, mutes, and sonants also appears in hellenic texts. The sepher yetzirah is one of the most important founding works of qabalah. It is also the root verb for the word sippur story and sefer book. The sepher yetzirah is the ultimate basis of the golden dawn system of correspondences embodied in crowleys liber 777. As i wrote on the last page, a rose by any other name would not be a rose because the essence of rose is rose. Englishhebrew translation of the sefer yetzirah the. According to the zohar, a foundational text for kabbalistic thought, 12 torah study can proceed along four levels of interpretation exegesis. The sepher yetzirah bill heidrick hermetic library. The sefer yetzirah, or book of formation, is one of the oldest extant works on jewish. Because learning azs translations mirror the content and structure of the original text while reflecting the natural flow of.
Books of rabbi yisrael meir hakohen kagan the chofetz chaim. Aryeh kaplan translation chapter 1 with 32 wonderous paths of wisdom engrave yah, the lord of hosts, god of israel, the living god, king of the universe, almighty god, merciful and gracious, high and exalted, dwelling in eternity, whose name is holy, and create his universe with three books, with text sepher. The ascription of its authorship to the biblical patriarch abraham shows the high esteem which it enjoyed for centuries. Some books might have spanish levels that vary slightly from the english level. Learn to draw the flow of goodness and blessings upon yourself.