The Kaballah The Ten Sefirot Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes

Sefirot are God's messengers, or extensions of God. Because God is infinite, God's energy is too vast for the finite material world that humans inhabit. God ... Searchallof SparkNotes Search Suggestions Useupanddownarrowstoreviewandentertoselect. CrimeandPunishment GreatExpectations Hamlet Macbeth TheTempest Searchallof SparkNotes Search Suggestions Useupanddownarrowstoreviewandentertoselect. 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Signupandgetinstantaccesstosavethepageasyourfavorite. Ad-Freeexperience Easy-to-accessstudynotes Flashcards&Quizzes AP®Englishtestprep plusmuchmore SignUptoStartYourFreeTrial Alreadyhaveanaccount?SignIn Summary TheTenSefirot Page1 Page2 Page3 Summary IntheSeferha-Bahir,thetensefirotinvolved inthecreationoftheworld—describedasnumbersintheSefer Yetzirah—becomeemanations,orqualities,ofGod.Listed inorderoftheirappearanceandwithaliteraltranslationoftheir Hebrewmeaninginparentheses,theyareKeter(crown),Binah(understanding), Chochmah(wisdom),Gevurah(strength),Chesed(love),Tiferet(beauty), Hod(splendor),Netzach(endurance),Yesod(foundation),andShekhinah (kingdom).Eachsefirahrepresentsmanythings, includingoneofGod’squalities,astageinthecreationofthe world,abiblicalcharacter,andapartofGod’sbody.Kabbalists portraythetensefirotonaTreeofLifethat servesasavisualmap.Thelocationofeachsefirahon theTreeofLiferepresentsavarietyofqualities,includingthesefirah’s genderandpositiononGod’sbody. ThefirstsefirahthatemergedfromGod liesatthetopoftheTree.Then,beginningwithKeter,eachsefiraharose outofandslightlymodifiedthesefirah(orsefirot) thatprecededit.BinahcamefromKeter.GevurahcamefromKeter andBinah,alteringbothofthem.Thesefiroton theleftsideoftheTree(Binah,Gevurah,andHod)areassociated withfemininetraits,whereasthoseontherightside(Chochmah, Chesed,andNetzach)arethoughttobemoremasculine.Thosein thecentercolumn(Keter,Tiferet,Yesod,andShekhinah)areneutral. AllofthefeminineaspectsarethoughttobethedaughtersofBinah, whoisknownasthemotherofthetensefirot. Analysis Oneofthemostmysteriousandpowerfulaspectsofthe tensefirotisthattheyexistseparatelyandtogether atonce.Evenmorepuzzling,theyarebothapartofGodandare Godatthesametime.SefirotareGod’smessengers, orextensionsofGod.BecauseGodisinfinite,God’senergyistoo vastforthefinitematerialworldthathumansinhabit.Godused thesefirottotranslateGod’senergyandinfinitequalities intothefiniteworld.Asaresult,thesefirotare formlessandconsistpurelyofenergy.Theirenergyreflectsthe sourceofallenergyintheuniverse—God.Kabbalistsmostoften describethesefirotaslights. TheTreeofLifeshowstheimportanceofwomenandfemininityto Kabbalah.IntheTreeofLife,maleandfemaleenergiescomplement oneanother,preservingharmonyintheuniverse,despitetheirintrinsic differences.Thisreinforcestheideathatthepairingofmaleand femaleisanaturalandnecessarypairing.Themasculinesideofthe Treerepresentspureenergy:force,expansion,andexpression.The left,orfeminineside,representslimitation,restraint,andstrength, allofwhichprovideguidanceanddirectiontotheenergyonthe rightside.Thetwosidesneedeachotherandthriveoffofwhat eachprovidestheother. NothingdistinguishesKabbalahfrommainstreamJewishthought morethanthesefirot.Theunderlyingimplication ofthesefirotisthatGodiscomposedofmany things,buttheTorahstrictlydemandsabeliefinonlyoneGod, abeliefknownasmonotheism.Polytheism,thebeliefinmorethan oneGod,isentirelyunacceptabletoJews,andmanyJewsconsider Kabbalahapolytheisticreligionduetothesefirot. Kabbalistsarguethatthesefirotarenotseparate fromGod.TheyarisefromGod,butalwaysremainapartofGod, extensionsofGod’spresencethroughouttheworld. Summary:TheFirstThreeSefirot Keter,thefirstofthetensefirot,means “crown”andservesasthelinkbetweenthefinitehumanworldand theinfiniteworldofGod.Inthestagesofcreation,Keterrepresents thepointatwhichmaterialreality—theworldwecantouch,taste, andsmell—beginstocomeintoexistence.Similarly,Keterrepresents thepartofGod’sbodythat’salsothesourceofsensoryexperience withinourbodies—thehead.Asthefirstofallsefirot,Keter producesandaffectsthenineothersefirotthat follow. 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