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 versi

on

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)– The main character

Rabbi Shimon ben Jochaj – rabbi Akiva´s follower, 2nd c. CE – who was hiding from Romans

– Published in the 13th c. by Moshe de Leon

– mystical midrash = explanation of a hidden meaning

PARDES1) Pschat= simple litterary sense2) Remez= hint, allegory3) Drash= homiletic sense4) Sod= mystical meaning = DERECH HA-KABALA

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,

CimcumJicchak 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