PATIENT
Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism
SPAN
Two millennia, 2nd century CE onward
CENTRAL IMAGE
The Tree of Life, ten Sefirot
KEY TEXTS
Sefer Yetzirah, Zohar, Etz Chaim, Tanya
CHIEF COMPLAINT
How does the Infinite become something finite, and what is a human being supposed to do about it?
HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS
A tradition of Jewish mysticism, from ancient texts on creation to medieval Spanish mysticism, to the Lurianic system, to Hasidic psychology. Its central image is the Tree of Life: ten Sefirot, divine attributes through which the Ein Sof (the Infinite) becomes knowable. The Sefer Yetzirah (2nd–6th century CE) is the oldest text. The Bahir (12th century, Provence) is the first to treat the Sefirot as divine attributes. The Zohar was published in 1280 by Moses de León, attributed to the 2nd-century Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The Etz Chaim records Isaac Luria's system. The Tanya (1796) turns it into a psychology of spiritual development.
REVIEW OF SYSTEMS
EIN SOF
The Infinite, beyond all divine attributes. The Bahir's image: the king has no garment at all; the Sefirot are the garments and the souls are the servants.
TZIMTZUM
Luria's contraction: God drew back into Himself to leave an empty space in which a world could exist. Creation required divine self-limitation.
SHEVIRAT HAKELIM
The Shattering of the Vessels: the vessels broke under the intensity of the light. Luria's explanation for all brokenness.
THE THREE PILLARS
Right (Mercy), Left (Severity) and Middle. Chesed and Gevurah are joined in Tiferet as compassion.
TANYA'S BEINONI
The ordinary person in whom evil does not prevail even though it is not eradicated, and who fights his Animal Soul his whole life.
PHYSICAL EXAM — STYLE & STRUCTURE
- —Ten Sefirot in four groups: the supernal triad (Keter, Chokhmah, Binah), the heart (Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet), the lower three (Netzach, Hod, Yesod) and Malkhut.
- —Malkhut is this world: the Earth, the body, the present moment, matter itself.
- —The Sefer Yetzirah is under 2,000 words in its short version and is possibly the oldest Jewish mystical text in existence.
- —The Zohar is the Kabbalistic equivalent of the Talmud, mostly in Aramaic.
- —Every Sefirah in the guide ends with a small practice, because the tradition is about doing something with the idea.
ASSESSMENT & PLAN
Start with the Tree below, one Sefirah at a time, then the Bahir's garments image, then Luria's Tzimtzum. This is a non-denominational reference guide to what the tradition says. Gikatilla's Gate of Light explains the divine names for readers who want to go further.