Jewish mysticism
Merkava
Ma ase Merkava
• research of the mysteries of Ma ase Merkava is
just as acceptable as a prayer
• watch out for falling into error!!!!
• kabalah can be taught only through hints and
allusions – litterary or superficial understanding
are misleading
• Mishna: „The mysteries of Merkava are not
supposed to be pronounced in the presence of
one student if he is not wise and if he does not
understand with knowledge.“
Gematria
• from greek Geometria
• one of 32 rules of agada for interpretation of
Torah – new meaning through counting of
numerical values of letters
Jewish mysticism
Sefer Jecira – Book of
Creation
• 10 sefirot = ten basic
spiritual ur-numbers
• 32 pathes of wisdom
• Bereshit
–
–
–
–
G d said = 10 x = 10 sefirot
Creation
32 – LEV – Bereshit- Israel
Elohim – 32 x = paths of
wisdom
hypercube
Gra version
Antipode
position of
hypercube
Tesseract
• 10 sefirot define the
natural space – define 10
directions = 5 dimensions
• fourdimensional
hypercube has 16 points
(2 raised on the power of
4 - exponentiation)
• fivedimensional
hypercube has 32 points
(2 raised on the power of
five)
Jewish mysticism
• Bahir (Book of the
Brightness)
– Midrash of rabbi
Nechunja ban Hakana
– besides Bahir is ascribed
to him a prayer ANA
BEACHOACH – the initial
letters form a 42 letter
long name of G d
– Published in Provence
1176
• Jb 37, 21: "Now men do
not see the light which
is bright (BAHIR) in the
skies.“
• Rabi Moshe Cordovero:
„The words of the text
are bright (bahir) and
sparkling, but their
brilliance can blind the
eyes”
Jewish Mysticism
• Zohar (Brightness)
PARDES
– The main character
1) Pschat= simple litterary
Rabbi Shimon ben
sense
Jochaj – rabbi Akiva´s
follower, 2nd c. CE – who 2) Remez= hint, allegory
was hiding from Romans 3) Drash= homiletic sense
– Published in the 13th c.
4) Sod= mystical meaning
by Moshe de Leon
= DERECH HA-KABALA
– mystical midrash =
explanation of a hidden
meaning
Sefer ha-Tagin
• TAGA – arameic
• Ketarim – hebrew
• when combined, the letters
with the tagin form the
divine names by which
heaven and earth were
created  creative power
• oral tradition
• Rabi Akiva deduced from
tagin many important
teachings
– he RECEIVED the tradition of
Merkava
Jewish Mysticism
• Expulsion from Spain -
• Safed – Galilee,16th c.
– Moshe Cordovero –
Pardes Rimonim
– Jicchak Luria, ha-Ari,
Cimcum
Jicchak Luria
• Tohu and Bohu
• Zohar: In the beginning
of the King's authority,
the Lamp of
Darkness engraved a
hollow in the Supernal
Luminescence.
Jicchak Luria
• The meaning of the human existence is to help
to renew the original order of the world –
tikkun
• Every human thought and action plays a very
important role in this process
Gilgul
• Gilgul –
transmigration of
souls
– Galgal = circle,
rotation
– Mystical
organization of 22
lettres
– System of
alternation of lettres
• 22 lettres  231 gates