The Kabbalah: History and Methods

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>>2063022
Contemporary scholarship suggests that various schools of Jewish esotericism arose at different periods of Jewish history, each reflecting not only prior forms of mysticism, but also the intellectual and cultural milieu of that historical period. Answers to questions of transmission, lineage, influence, and innovation vary greatly and cannot be easily summarised.

Originally, Kabbalistic knowledge was believed to be an integral part of the Oral Torah, given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai around the 13th century BCE, although there is a view that Kabbalah began with Adam. That said, I'm going to skip ahead, quite a bit, because some of the earlier bits are tied up in the Talmud and honestly these topics are wild enough without having to drag the tractates into shit.

Mark Verman has distinguished four periods in early Jewish mysticism, developing from Isaiah's and Ezekiel's visions of the Throne/Chariot, to later extant merkabah mysticism texts:

800–500 BCE, mystical elements in Prophetic Judaism such as Ezekiel's chariot
Beginning c. 530s BCE, especially 300–100 BCE, Apocalyptic literature mysticism
Beginning c. 100 BCE, especially 0-130s CE, early Rabbinic merkabah mysticism referred to briefly in exoteric Rabbinic literature such as the Pardes ascent; also related to early Christian mysticism
c. 0–200 CE, continuing till c. 1000 CE, merkabah mystical ascent accounts in the esoteric Merkabah-Hekhalot literature

When the Israelites arrived at their destination and settled in Canaan, for a few centuries the esoteric knowledge was referred to by its aspect practice—meditation Hitbonenut ( התבוננות), Rebbe Nachman of Breslov's Hitbodedut ( התבודדות), translated as "being alone" or "isolating oneself", or by a different term describing the actual, desired goal of the practice—prophecy ( Hebrew: נבואה).

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>>2063027
The first echoes of what is recognizable as Kabbalah come from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, exiled in Babylon, during the 22 years 593-571 BCE, although it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the very words of the prophet. C.C. Torrey (1863–1956) and Morton Smith place it variously in the 3rd century BCE and in the 8th/7th. The pendulum swung back in the post-war period, with an increasing acceptance of the book's essential unity and historical placement in the Exile. The most influential modern scholarly work on Ezekiel, Walther Zimmerli's two-volume commentary, appeared in German in 1969 and in English in 1979 and 1983. Zimmerli traces the process by which Ezekiel's oracles were delivered orally and transformed into a written text by the prophet and his followers through a process of ongoing re-writing and re-interpretation. He isolates the oracles and speeches behind the present text, and traces Ezekiel's interaction with a mass of mythological, legendary and literary material as he developed his insights into Yahweh's purposes during the period of destruction and exile.

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>>2063051
Kabbalah relates the Merkabah vision of Ezekiel and the Throne vision of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1–8) describing the seraph angels, to its comprehensive Four spiritual realms. The highest World, Atziluth ("Emanation"-Divine wisdom), is the realm of absolute Divine manifestation without self-awareness, metaphorically described in the vision as the likeness of a Man on the throne. The throne of sapphire is an etymological root in Kabbalah for the Sephirot divine powers. The second World, Beriah ("Creation"-Divine understanding), is the first independent root creation, the realm of the Throne,[20] denoting God descending into Creation, as a king limits his true greatness and revealed posture when seated. The World of Beriah is the realm of the higher angels, the Seraphim ("burning" in ascent and descent as their understanding of God motivates self-annihilation). The third World, Yetzirah ("Formation"-Divine emotions), is the realm of archetypal existence, the abode of the main Hayyot angels ("alive" with divine emotion). They are described with faces of a lion, ox and eagle, as their emotional nature is instinctive like animals, and they are the archetypal origins of creatures in this World. The lowest World, Assiah ("Action"-Divine rulership), is the realm guided by the lower channels of the Ophanim (humble "ways" in realised creation).

The Kabbalistic account explains this difference in terms of the Four Worlds. All prophecy emanates from the divine chokhmah (wisdom) realm of Atziluth. However, in order to be perceived it descends to be enclothed in vessels of lower Worlds. Isaiah's prophecy saw the Merkabah in the World of Beriah divine understanding, restraining his explanation by realising the inadequacy of description. Ezekiel saw the Merkabah in the lower World of Yetzirah divine emotions, causing him to describe the vision in rapturous detail.

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>>2063058
According to the Kabbalistic explanation, the Seraphim ("burning" angels) in Beriah (divine understanding) realise their distance from the absolute divinity of Atziluth. Their call, "Holy", repeated three times, means removed or separated. This causes their "burning up" continual self-nullification, ascending to God and returning to their place. Their understanding realises instead that God's true purpose (glory) for creation is with lowly man. The lower Hayyot ("living" angels) in Yetzirah (divine emotions) say, "Blessed" (etymologically in Kabbalah "drawing down" blessing) be the glory...from "His (distant-unknown to them) place" of Atziluth. Though lower than the Seraphim, their emotional self-awareness has a superior advantage of powerful desire. This causes them to be able to draw down divine vitality from a higher source, the supreme realm of Atziluth, to lower creation and man. In Ezekiel's vision, the Hayyot have a central role in the merkabah's channeling of the divine flow in creation.

During the 5th century BCE, when the works of the Tanakh were edited and canonised and the secret knowledge encrypted within the various writings and scrolls ("Megilot"), the knowledge was referred to as Ma'aseh Merkavah ( מעשה מרכבה) and Ma'aseh B'reshit ( מעשה בראשית), respectively "the act of the Chariot" and "the act of Creation". Merkabah mysticism alluded to the encrypted knowledge within the book of the prophet Ezekiel describing his vision of the "Divine Chariot". B'reshit mysticism referred to the first chapter of Genesis ( בראשית) in the Torah that is believed to contain secrets of the creation of the universe and forces of nature.

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>>2063064
Other materials inside of this apocalyptic tradition include proto-apocalyptic literature canonical to exoteric religion at large and the later full blown apocalypses: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Zechariah, Daniel. The later traditions would arise somewhat late and include Apocalypse of Abraham, Apocalypse of Adam, Apocalypse of Baruch (Greek), Apocalypse of Baruch (Syriac), Apocalypse of Daniel, Apocalypse of Daniel (Greek), Apocalypse of Elijah, Apocalypse of Ezra (Greek), Gabriel's Revelation, Apocalypse of Lamech, Apocalypse of Metatron, Apocalypse of Moses, Apocalypse of Sedrach, Apocalypse of Zephaniah, Apocalypse of Zerubbabel, Aramaic Apocalypse.

Jewish apocalyptists also engaged in visionary exegeses concerning the divine realm and the divine creatures which are remarkably similar to the rabbinic material. A small number of texts unearthed at Qumran indicate that the Dead Sea community also engaged in merkabah exegesis. Recently uncovered Jewish mystical texts also evidence a deep affinity with the rabbinic merkabah homilies.

When read by later generations of Kabbalists, the Torah's description of the creation in the Book of Genesis reveals mysteries about God himself, the true nature of Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life, as well as the interaction of these supernatural entities with the Serpent which leads to disaster when they eat the forbidden fruit, as recorded in Genesis 3.

The Bible provides ample additional material for mythic and mystical speculation. The prophet Ezekiel's visions in particular attracted much mystical speculation, as did Isaiah's Temple vision—Isaiah, Ch.6. Jacob's vision of the ladder to heaven provided another example of esoteric experience. Moses' encounters with the Burning bush and God on Mount Sinai are evidence of mystical events in the Torah that form the origin of Jewish mystical beliefs.

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>>2063067
The 72 letter name of God which is used in Jewish mysticism for meditation purposes is derived from the Hebrew verbal utterance Moses spoke in the presence of an angel, while the Sea of Reeds parted, allowing the Hebrews to escape their approaching attackers. The miracle of the Exodus, which led to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and the Jewish Orthodox view of the acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai, preceded the creation of the first Jewish nation approximately three hundred years before King Saul.

In early rabbinic Judaism (the early centuries of the 1st millennium CE), the terms Ma'aseh Bereshit ("Works of Creation") and Ma'aseh Merkabah ("Works of the Divine Throne/Chariot") clearly indicate the Midrashic nature of these speculations; they are really based upon Genesis 1 and Book of Ezekiel 1:4–28, while the names Sitrei Torah (Hidden aspects of the Torah) (Talmud Hag. 13a) and Razei Torah (Torah secrets) (Ab. vi. 1) indicate their character as secret lore. An additional term also expanded Jewish esoteric knowledge, namely Chochmah Nistara (Hidden wisdom).

The mystical methods and doctrines of Hekhalot (Heavenly "Chambers") and Merkabah (Divine "Chariot") texts, named by modern scholars from these repeated motifs, lasted from the 1st century BCE through to the 10th century, before giving way to the documented manuscript emergence of Kabbalah. Initiates were said to "descend the chariot", possibly a reference to internal introspection on the Heavenly journey through the spiritual realms. The ultimate aim was to arrive before the transcendent awe, rather than nearness, of the Divine. From the 8th to 11th centuries, the Hekhalot texts, and the proto-Kabbalistic early Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Creation") made their way into European Jewish circles.

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>>2063077
Maaseh Merkabah (Working of the Chariot) is the modern name given to a Hekhalot text, discovered by scholar Gershom Scholem. Works of the Chariot dates from late Hellenistic period, after the end of the Second Temple period following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE when the physical cult ceased to function. The idea of making a journey to the heavenly hekhal seems to be a kind of spiritualization of the pilgrimages to the earthly hekhal that were now no longer possible. It is a form of pre-Kabbalah Jewish mysticism that teaches both of the possibility of making a sublime journey to God and of the ability of man to draw down divine powers to earth; it seems to have been an esoteric movement that grew out of the priestly mysticism already evident in the Dead Sea Scrolls and some apocalyptic writings (see the studies by Rachel Elior).

Several movements in Jewish mysticism and, later, students of the Kabbalah have focused on these passages from Ezekiel, seeking underlying meaning and the secrets of Creation in what they argued was the metaphoric language of the verses.

Due to the concern of some Torah scholars that misunderstanding these passages as literal descriptions of God's image might lead to blasphemy or idolatry, there was great opposition to studying this topic without the proper initiation. Jewish biblical commentaries emphasize that the imagery of the merkabah is not meant to be taken literally; rather the chariot and its accompanying angels are analogies for the various ways that God reveals himself in this world. Hasidic philosophy and kabbalah discuss at length what each aspect of this vision represents in this world, and how the vision does not imply that God is made up of these forms.

Jews customarily read the Biblical passages concerning the merkabah in the synagogue every year on the holiday of Shavuot, and the merkabah is also referenced in several places in traditional Jewish liturgy.

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>>2063088
The ascent texts are extant in four principal works, all redacted well after the third but certainly before the ninth century CE. They are: 1) Hekhalot Zutartey ("The Lesser Palaces"), which details an ascent of Rabbi Akiva; 2) Hekhalot Rabbati ("The Greater Palaces"), which details an ascent of Rabbi Ishmael; 3) Ma'aseh Merkabah ("Account of the Chariot"), a collection of hymns recited by the "descenders" and heard during their ascent; and 4) Sepher Hekhalot ("Book of Palaces," also known as 3 Enoch), which recounts an ascent and divine transformation of the biblical figure Enoch into the archangel Metatron, as related by Rabbi Ishmael.

A fifth work provides a detailed description of the Creator as seen by the "descenders" at the climax of their ascent. This work, preserved in various forms, is called Shi'ur Qomah ("Measurement of the Body"), and is rooted in a mystical exegesis of the Song of Songs, a book reputedly venerated by Rabbi Akiva. The literal message of the work was repulsive to those who maintained God's incorporeality; Maimonides (d. 1204) wrote that the book should be erased and all mention of its existence deleted.

While throughout the era of merkabah mysticism the problem of creation was not of paramount importance, the treatise Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Creation") represents an attempted cosmogony from within a merkabah milieu. This text was probably composed during the seventh century, and evidence suggests Neoplatonic, Pythagoric, and Stoic influences. It features a linguistic theory of creation in which God creates the universe by combining the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, along with emanations represented by the ten numerals, or sefirot.

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>>2063100
Sefer Yetzirah (Hebrew, Sēpher Yəṣîrâh, 'Book of Formation, or Book of Creation, ספר יצירה) is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to Kabbalah. "Yetzirah" is more literally translated as "Formation"; the word "Briah" is used for "Creation". The book is traditionally ascribed to the patriarch Abraham, although others attribute its writing to Rabbi Akiva. Modern scholars haven't reached consensus on the question of its origins. According to Rabbi Saadia Gaon, the objective of the book's author was to convey in writing how the things of our universe came into existence.

According to modern historians, the origin of the text is unknown, and hotly debated. Some scholars believe it might have an early Medieval origin, while others emphasize earlier traditions appearing in the book. The division of the letters into the three classes of vowels, mutes, and sonants also appears in Hellenic texts.

The historical origin of the Sefer Yetzirah was placed by Reitzenstein (Poimandres, p. 291) in the 2nd century BCE. Christopher P. Benton dates it later (~100 CE.). The date and origin of the book can not be definitely determined so long as there is no critical text of it.

Sefer Yetzirah describes how the universe was created by the "God of Israel" (a list of all of God's Hebrew names appears in the first sentence of the book) through "32 wondrous ways of wisdom":

The famous opening words of the book are as follows:

2nd temple Judaism is merely a copy of Zoroastrianism, which is a superior religion in every single way.

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>>2063107
By thirty-two mysterious paths of wisdom Jah has engraved [all things], [who is] the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the living God, the Almighty God, He that is uplifted and exalted, He that Dwells forever, and whose Name is holy; having created His world by three [derivatives] of [the Hebrew root-word] sefar : namely, sefer (a book), sefor (a count) and sippur (a story), along with ten calibrations of empty space, twenty-two letters [of the Hebrew alphabet], [of which] three are principal [letters] (i.e. א מ ש), seven are double-sounding [consonants] (i.e. בג"ד כפר"ת) and twelve are ordinary [letters] (i.e. ה ו ז ח ט י ל נ ס ע צ ק).

These divisions correspond to Jewish concepts such as the 3 letters making up God's name (yud, he, and vav), the 7 days of the Jewish week, the 12 tribes of Israel, and the 12 months of the Hebrew calendar, as well as to early "scientific" or philosophical ideas such as the 4 elements (fire, water, air, earth), the 7 planets, 10 directions, the 12 zodiacal constellations, various human physical functions, and a list of the parts of the human body. The book describes how God used the 10 sefirot and the 22 Hebrew letters in various combinations, and finally (as described in the closing section of the book), how he revealed this secret to Abraham as a covenant with him. God's covenant with Abraham is described as being two-fold:

>Between the 10 toes of the feet is the "covenant of the circumcision" (mila in Hebrew, which also means "word")
>Between the 10 fingers of the hands (also identified with the 10 sephirot) is the "covenant of the tongue" (lashon in Hebrew, which also means "language")

The last sentence describes how God "connects" the 22 letters of the Torah to Abraham's tongue, and reveals its secret to Abraham.

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>>2063022
I've been looking forward to this one. Thanks Thoth.

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>>2063115
I like Zoroastrainism too.
Enjoy:
https://mega.nz/#F!dIhi0Y5B!MwSi9d4DWxLerpoLAiPBzQ

>>2063116
According to the Sefer Yetzirah, the first emanation from the spirit of God was the ruach (= "spirit," "air") that produced water, which, in its turn, formed the genesis of fire. In the beginning, however, these three substances had only a potential existence, and came into actual being only by means of the three letters Aleph, Mem, Shin; and as these are the principal parts of speech, so those three substances are the elements from which the cosmos has been formed.

The cosmos consists of three parts, the world, the year (or time), and man, which are combined in such a way that the three primordial elements are contained in each of the three categories. The water formed the earth; heaven was produced from the fire; and the ruach produced the air between heaven and earth. The three seasons of the year, winter, summer, and the rainy season, correspond to water, fire, and ruach in the same way as man consists of a head (corresponding to fire), torso (represented by ruach), and the other parts of the body (equivalent to water).

The seven double letters produced the seven planets, the "seven days," and the seven apertures in man (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and one mouth). Again, as the seven double letters vary, being pronounced either hard or soft, so the seven planets are in continuous movement, approaching or receding from the earth. The "seven days," in like manner, were created by the seven double letters because they change in time according to their relation to the planets. The seven apertures in man connect him with the outer world as the seven planets join heaven and earth. Hence these organs are subject to the influence of the planets, the right eye being under Saturn, the left eye under Jupiter, and the like.

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>>2063119
I do hope you realize when I make a thread this size I'm just copy/pasting very obscure wiki articles with a splash of commentary.

I encourage folks to follow my citations to their logical conclusions. That link in the OP has a very robust collection of practical, source, and academic materials on Kabbalah.

>>2063120
The twelve "simple" letters created the twelve signs of the zodiac, whose relation to the earth is always simple or stable; and to them belong the twelve months in time, and the twelve "leaders" in man. The latter are those organs which perform functions in the body independent of the outside world, being the hands, feet, kidneys, gall, intestines, stomach, liver, pancreas, and spleen; and they are, accordingly, subject to the twelve signs of the Zodiac.

In its relation to the construction of the cosmos, matter consists of the three primordial elements, which, however, are not chemically connected with one another, but modify one another only physically. Power (δύναμις) emanates from the seven and the twelve heavenly bodies, or, in other words, from the planets and the signs of the zodiac. The "dragon" rules over the world (matter and the heavenly bodies); the sphere rules time; and the heart rules over the human body. The author sums up this explanation in a single sentence: "The dragon is like to a king on his throne, the sphere like a king traveling in his country, and the heart like a king at war."

To harmonize the biblical statement of the creation "ex nihilo" with the doctrine of the primordial elements, the Sefer Yetzirah assumes a double creation, one ideal and the other real.

>>2063134
yes I realize. I just like being spoon fed.

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>>2063134
Their name is possibly derived from the fact that as numbers express only the relations of two objects to each other, so the ten Sefirot are only abstractions and not realities. Again, as the numbers from two to ten are derived from the number one, so the ten Sefirot are derived from one "their end is fixed in their beginning, as the flame is bound to the coal". Hence the Sefirot must not be conceived as emanations in the ordinary sense of the word, but rather as modifications of the will of God, which first changes to air, then becomes water, and finally fire, the last being no further removed from God than the first. The Sefer Yetzirah shows how the sephirot are a creation of God and the will of God in its varied manifestations.

Besides these abstract ten Sefirot, which are conceived only ideally, the twenty-two letters of the alphabet produced the material world, for they are real, and are the formative powers of all existence and development. By means of these elements the actual creation of the world took place, and the ten Sefirot, which before this had only an ideal existence, became realities. This is, then, a modified form of the Talmudic doctrine that God created heaven and earth by means of letters (Berachot 58a). The explanation on this point is obscure since the relation of the twenty-two letters to the ten Sefirot is not clearly defined.

The first sentence of the book reads: "Thirty-two paths, marvels of wisdom, hath God engraved...," these paths being then explained as the ten Sefirot and the twenty-two letters. While the Sefirot are expressly designated as "abstracts", it is said of the letters: "Twenty-two letters: God drew them, hewed them, combined them, weighed them, interchanged them, and through them produced the whole creation and everything that is destined to come into being".

>fin, pt 1

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>>2063147
I do think my synthesis and commentary helps unite disparate articles that may not be linked.

>>2063149
With the frame of Sefer Yetzirah made, those with some background in these materials should immediately recognize the form of the Tree of Life. BUT, it should be noted that before the Tree, it was a geometric solid, pictured here, and again yanked from Ezekiel. As time went on with exposure to Neoplatonism, concentric circles were used to represent the Sefirot, but this mode only persisted until about 1600 AD.

To finish the transition between old forms and new forms, we must turn to Geniza Egypt where the final surviving Hekhalot literature was found before the establishment of the new Lurianic Kabbalah.

The Cairo Genizah, alternatively spelled Geniza, is a collection of some 300,000 Jewish manuscript fragments that were found in the genizah or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, Egypt. These manuscripts outline a 1,000-year continuum (870 CE to 19th century) of Jewish Middle-Eastern and North African history and comprise the largest and most diverse collection of medieval manuscripts in the world. The Genizah texts are written in various languages, especially Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic, mainly on vellum and paper, but also on papyrus and cloth. In addition to containing Jewish religious texts such as Biblical, Talmudic and later Rabbinic works (some in the original hands of the authors), the Genizah gives a detailed picture of the economic and cultural life of the North African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, especially during the 10th to 13th centuries.

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>>2063158
The first European to note the collection was apparently Simon van Gelderen (an ancestor of Heinrich Heine), who visited the Ben Ezra synagogue and reported about the Cairo Genizah in 1752 or 1753. In 1864 the traveler and scholar Jacob Saphir visited the synagogue and explored the Genizah for two days; while he did not identify any specific item of significance he suggested that possibly valuable items might be in store. In 1896, the Scottish scholars, twin sisters Agnes S. Lewis and Margaret D. Gibson returned from Egypt with fragments from the Genizah they considered to be of interest, and showed them to Solomon Schechter "their irrepressibly curious rabbinical friend". Schechter, immediately recognized the importance of the material. With the financial assistance of his Cambridge colleague and friend Charles Taylor, Schechter made an expedition to Egypt, where, with the assistance of the Chief Rabbi, he sorted and removed the greater part of the contents of the Genizah chamber. Agnes and Margaret joined him there en route to Sinai (their fourth visit in five years) and he showed them the chamber which Agnes reported was "simply indescribable".

The Cairo Genizah documents include both religious and secular writings, composed from about 870 AD to as late as 1880. The normal practice for genizot (pl. of genizah) was to remove the contents periodically and bury them in a cemetery. As the Jews considered Hebrew to be the language of God, and the Hebrew script to be the literal writing of God, the texts could not be destroyed even long after they had served their purpose. The Jews who wrote the materials in the Genizah were familiar with the culture and language of their contemporary society. They also demonstrate that the Jewish creators of the documents were part of their contemporary society: they practiced the same trades as their Muslim and Christian neighbors, including farming; they bought, sold, and rented properties.

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>>2063170
The find was staggeringly important as it contained an unknown Hekhalot fragment known as the Ozhayah Fragment, the beginning and end of which are now lost. The surviving Ozhayah Fragment consists of a Hebrew narrative text in three demarcated sections. The first (2a 1–2b 24a) is marked with the concluding title “The Seal of the Chariot.” It is a narration by the angel Ozhayah and it includes a number of verbal parallels with the Hekhalot Rabbati and one each with the Hekhalot Zutarti and the Sar Torah. It opens with an obscure and poorly-preserved story involving creation and the Flood, segueing into a mysterious description of a future sage in Babylonia. Ozhayah describes an ascent praxis called “the seal of the descent to the chariot” (2a 25) culminating in the presentation of the heavenly angel called “the Youth,” who greets the successful practitioner at the end of his ascent. This section closes with testimony from R. Ishmael to the efficacy of the praxis. The second section (2b 24b–44a) has the opening title “The Prince of Torah that belongs to it” and is a Sar Torah praxis that apparently is intended to go with the preceding ascent praxis. It quotes R. Ishmael twice and it shares a hymn with Sar Torah §306. A blank space on line 44 indicates the end of this section. The third section (2b 44b–49a) opens with “Anaphel said:” and closes with the title “the might of Anaphel.” It is a variant formulation of material found in Hekhalot Zutarti §§420–421, some of which pertains to the angel Anaphiel. Line 49b begins a new unit with a quotation of R. Ishmael in which he adjures an angel. The rest of the text is lost.

The relevant mystical Genizah fragments are in "Hekhalot Literature in Translation", in the folder.

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>>2063174
In Judaic and Christian lore, Uzza has been also used as an alternative name for the angel Metatron in the Sefer ha-heshek. More commonly he is referred to as either the seraph Semyaza or as one of the three guardian angels of Egypt (Rahab, Mastema, and Duma) that harried the Jews during the Exodus. As Semyaza in legend he is the seraph tempted by Ishtahar into revealing the explicit name of God and was thus burned alive and hung head down between heaven and earth as the constellation Orion. In the 3rd book of Enoch and in the Zohar he is one of the fallen angels punished for cohabiting with human women and fathering the anakim. ‘Uzzā is also identified with Abezi Thibod ("father devoid of counsel") who in early Jewish lore is also used as another name for Samael and Mastema referring to a powerful spirit who shared princedom of Egypt with Rahab and opposed Moses to eventually drown in the Red Sea.

According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, Uzza was a garden in which Manasseh and Amon were buried (2 Kings 21:18, 26). It was probably near the king's palace in Jerusalem, or may have formed part of the palace grounds. Manasseh may probably have acquired it from someone of this name. Another view is that these kings were culpable of idolatry and drew the attention of Ezekiel.

Al-‘Uzzá (Arabic: العزى al-ʻUzzá [al ʕuzzaː]) was one of the three chief goddesses of Arabian religion in pre-Islamic times and was worshiped by the pre-Islamic Arabs along with Allāt and Manāt. The Nabataeans equated her with the Greek goddess Aphrodite Ourania (Roman Venus Caelestis). A stone cube at aṭ-Ṭā’if (near Mecca) was held sacred as part of her cult. She is mentioned in the Qur'an Sura 53:19 as being one of the goddesses that people worshiped.

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>>2063181
Al-‘Uzzá, like Hubal, was called upon for protection by the pre-Islamic Quraysh. "In 624 at the 'battle called Uhud', the war cry of the Qurayshites was, "O people of Uzzā, people of Hubal!" Al-‘Uzzá also later appears in Ibn Ishaq's account of the alleged Satanic Verses.

The temple dedicated to al-‘Uzzá and the statue itself was destroyed by Khalid ibn al Walid in Nakhla in 630 AD.

Ouza, also Semyaza, Shemhazai, Amezyarak, Azza, Uzza, Semyaza, a major leader of the fall from heaven in Christian mythology, he was also one of the angels that came down from heaven alongside Azazel to interbreed with humans. Ouza before the fall was of the rank of Seraphim. In legend, he is the seraph tempted by the maiden Ishtahar to reveal to her the Explicit Name of God. Often it is speculated that a main reason for Azza's expulsion from heaven is that Azza objected to the high rank given to Enoch when the latter was transformed from a mortal into the angel Metatron. In Solomonic lore the story is that Azza was the angel who revealed to the Jewish king the heavenly arcana, thus making Solomon the wisest man on earth. Of the 2 groups of angels headed by Metatron, one of the groups, the angels of justice, were under the rulership of Azza, who at this time had not yet fallen. Uzza is the tutelary angel of the Egyptians. The name Semyaza means literally "the name Azza."

Semyaza's sons, Hiwa and Hiya, by one of Eve's daughters, were so mighty that they daily ate 1000 camels, 1000 horses, and 1000 oxen.

Azza, according to the rabbinic tradition, is suspended between Heaven and Earth along with Azazel as punishment for having had carnal knowledge of mortal women. Ouza (Azza, Uzza, Semyaza, etc.) is said to be constantly falling, with one eye shut and the other open, to see his plight and suffer the more. It is said that he now hangs, head down, and is the constellation of Orion.

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>>2063185
Modern scholars have identified several mystical brotherhoods that functioned in Europe starting in the 12th century. Some, such as the "Iyyun Circle" and the "Unique Cherub Circle", were truly esoteric, remaining largely anonymous.

There were certain Rishonim ("Elder Sages") of exoteric Judaism who are known to have been experts in Kabbalah. One of the best known is Nahmanides (the Ramban) (1194–1270) whose commentary on the Torah is considered to be based on Kabbalistic knowledge. Bahya ben Asher (the Rabbeinu Behaye) (d 1340) also combined Torah commentary and Kabbalah. Another was Isaac the Blind (1160–1235), the teacher of Nahmanides, who is widely argued to have written the first work of classic Kabbalah, the Bahir (Book of "Brightness").

The Franciscan Ramon Llull (1232-1316) was "the first Christian to acknowledge and appreciate kabbalah as a tool of conversion", though he was "not a Kabbalist, nor was he versed in any particular Kabbalistic approach". Not interested in the possibilities of scholarly Jewish influence, which began later in the Renaissance, his reading of newly emergent Kabbalah was for the possibilities of theological debate with the Jews.

Many Orthodox Jews reject the idea that Kabbalah underwent significant historical development or change such as has been proposed above. After the composition known as the Zohar was presented to the public in the 13th century, the term "Kabbalah" began to refer more specifically to teachings derived from, or related to, the Zohar. At an even later time, the term began to generally be applied to Zoharic teachings as elaborated upon by Isaac Luria Arizal. Historians generally date the start of Kabbalah as a major influence in Jewish thought and practice with the publication of the Zohar and climaxing with the spread of the Arizal's teachings. The majority of Haredi Jews accept the Zohar as the representative of the Ma'aseh Merkavah and Ma'aseh B'reshit that are referred to in Talmudic texts.

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>>2063186
An early expression of Christian Kabbalah was among the Spanish conversos from Judaism, from the late 13th century to the Expulsion from Spain of 1492. These include Abner of Burgos and Pablo de Heredia. Heredia's "Epistle of Secrets" is "the first recognizable work of Christian Kabbalah", and was quoted by Pietro Galatino who influenced Athanasius Kircher. However, Heredia’s Kabbalah consists of quotes from non-existent Kabbalistic works, and distorted or fake quotes from real Kabbalistic sources.

The Platonic Academy (also known as the Neoplatonic Florentine Academy) was a 15th-century discussion group in Florence, Italy. It was founded after Gemistus Pletho reintroduced Plato's thoughts to Western Europe during the 1438 - 1439 Council of Florence. It was sponsored by Cosimo de' Medici, led by Marsilio Ficino and supported by Medici until death of Lorenzo Medici. The academy would proceed to translate into Latin all of Plato's works, the Enneads of Plotinus, and various other Neoplatonic works.

Lorenzo de' Medici, named "il Magnifico" (piazzale degli Uffizi) Pico della Mirandola became the first Christian scholar to master the Jewish mystical theology of Kabbalah. He was a student of Marsilio Ficino at the Florentine Academy. His syncretic world-view combined Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Hermeticism and Kabbalah. He attempted to develop a form of syncretism whereby different systems of thought could be harmonized based on shared elements of truth. Pico asserted that even though Platonism and Christianity had different views, they held some truths in common. An important aspect of Pico’s philosophical thought was his defense of the dignity and liberty of the human being, set forth in On the Dignity of Man (1486). Both Ficino and Pico resurrected the humanistic views of ancient Greece. However, the humanism of the Renaissance was more individualistic than the humanism of ancient times.

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>>2063194
The biographer John Addington Symonds speculates that Michelangelo Buonarroti spent time among the members of the Platonic Academy during Buonarroti's early years in Florence, fully absorbing its doctrines and later authoring poems and other works demonstrating agreement with their doctrines.

Platonic Academy was in fact dissolved soon after death of Lorenzo Medici in 1492. Poliziano and Mirandola died under very mysterious circumstances in 1494.

Mirandola's work on Kabbalah was further developed by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), a Jesuit priest, Hermeticist and polymath; in 1652, Kircher wrote on the subject in Oedipus Aegyptiacus. Though they both worked from within the Christian tradition, both were more interested in the syncretic approach. Their work led directly into Occult and Hermetic Qabalah.

That could not be said of Reuchlin, Knorr von Rosenroth and Kemper.

Johann Reuchlin, (1455–1522), was "Pico's most important follower". His main sources for Kabbalah were Menahem Recanati (Commentary on the Torah, Commentary on the Daily Prayers) and Joseph Gikatilla (Sha'are Orah, Ginnat 'Egoz). Reuchlin argued that human history divides into three periods: a natural period in which God revealed Himself as Shaddai (שדי), the period of the Torah in which God "revealed Himself to Moses through the four-lettered name of the Tetragrammaton" (יהוה), and the period of redemption. The five-letter name associated with this period is the tetragrammaton with the additional letter shin (ש). This name, YHShVH (יהשוה for 'Jesus', though the name's Hebrew version would be יהושוע), is also known as the pentagrammaton. The first of Reuchlin's two books on Cabala, De verbo mirifico, "speaks of the […] miraculous name of Jesus derived from the tetragrammaton". His second book, De arte cabalistica, is "a broader, more informed excursion into various kabbalistic concerns".

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>>2063202
Jewish Kabbalah was absorbed into the Hermetic tradition at least as early as the 15th century when Giovanni Pico della Mirandola promoted a syncretic world view combining Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Hermeticism and Kabbalah. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535), a German magician, occult writer, theologian, astrologer, and alchemist, wrote the influential Three Books of Occult Philosophy, incorporating Kabbalah in its theory and practice of Western magic. It contributed strongly to the Renaissance view of ritual magic's relationship with Christianity. Pico's Hermetic syncretism was further developed by Athanasius Kircher, a Jesuit priest, hermeticist and polymath, who wrote extensively on the subject in 1652, bringing further elements such as Orphism and Egyptian mythology to the mix.

Following the upheavals and dislocations in the Jewish world as a result of anti-Judaism during the Middle Ages, and the national trauma of the expulsion from Spain in 1492, closing the Spanish Jewish flowering, Jews began to search for signs of when the long-awaited Jewish Messiah would come to comfort them in their painful exiles. In the 16th century, the community of Safed in the Galilee became the centre of Jewish mystical, exegetical, legal and liturgical developments. The Safed mystics responded to the Spanish expulsion by turning Kabbalistic doctrine and practice towards a messianic focus. Moses Cordovero and his school popularized the teachings of the Zohar which had until then been only a restricted work. Cordovero's comprehensive works achieved the systemisation of preceding Kabbalah. The author of the Shulkhan Arukh (the normative Jewish "Code of Law"), Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488–1575), was also a scholar of Kabbalah who kept a personal mystical diary. Moshe Alshich wrote a mystical commentary on the Torah, and Shlomo Alkabetz wrote Kabbalistic commentaries and poems.

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>>2063210
Jewish Kabbalah was absorbed into the Hermetic tradition at least as early as the 15th century when Giovanni Pico della Mirandola promoted a syncretic world view combining Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Hermeticism and Kabbalah. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535), a German magician, occult writer, theologian, astrologer, and alchemist, wrote the influential Three Books of Occult Philosophy, incorporating Kabbalah in its theory and practice of Western magic. It contributed strongly to the Renaissance view of ritual magic's relationship with Christianity. Pico's Hermetic syncretism was further developed by Athanasius Kircher, a Jesuit priest, hermeticist and polymath, who wrote extensively on the subject in 1652, bringing further elements such as Orphism and Egyptian mythology to the mix.

Following the upheavals and dislocations in the Jewish world as a result of anti-Judaism during the Middle Ages, and the national trauma of the expulsion from Spain in 1492, closing the Spanish Jewish flowering, Jews began to search for signs of when the long-awaited Jewish Messiah would come to comfort them in their painful exiles. In the 16th century, the community of Safed in the Galilee became the centre of Jewish mystical, exegetical, legal and liturgical developments. The Safed mystics responded to the Spanish expulsion by turning Kabbalistic doctrine and practice towards a messianic focus. Moses Cordovero and his school popularized the teachings of the Zohar which had until then been only a restricted work. Cordovero's comprehensive works achieved the systemisation of preceding Kabbalah. The author of the Shulkhan Arukh (the normative Jewish "Code of Law"), Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488–1575), was also a scholar of Kabbalah who kept a personal mystical diary. Moshe Alshich wrote a mystical commentary on the Torah, and Shlomo Alkabetz wrote Kabbalistic commentaries and poems.

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>>2063216
The messianism of the Safed mystics culminated in Kabbalah receiving its biggest transformation in the Jewish world with the explication of its new interpretation from Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572), by his disciples Hayim Vital and Israel Sarug. Both transcribed Luria's teachings (in variant forms) gaining them widespread popularity, Sarug taking Lurianic Kabbalah to Europe, Vital authoring the latterly canonical version. Luria's teachings came to rival the influence of the Zohar and Luria stands, alongside Moses de Leon, as the most influential mystic in Jewish history.

Balthasar Walther, (1558 - before 1630), was a Silesian physician. In 1598-1599, Walther undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to learn about the intricacies of the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism from groups in Safed and elsewhere, including amongst the followers of Isaac Luria. Despite his claim to have spent six years in these travels, it appears that he only made several shorter trips. Walther himself did not author any significant works of Christian Kabbalah, but maintained a voluminous manuscript collection of magical and kabbalistic works. His significance for the history of Christian Kabbalah is that his ideas and doctrines exercised a profound influence on the works of the German theosopher, Jakob Böhme, in particular Böhme's Forty Questions on the Soul (c.1621.

The Kabbalah of the Sefardi (Iberian Peninsula) and Mizrahi (Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus) Torah scholars has a long history. Kabbalah in various forms was widely studied, commented upon, and expanded by North African, Turkish, Yemenite, and Asian scholars from the 16th century onward. It flourished among Sefardic Jews in Tzfat (Safed), Israel even before the arrival of Isaac Luria. Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Arukh was part of the Tzfat school of Kabbalah. Shlomo Alkabetz, author of the hymn Lekhah Dodi, taught there.

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>>2063229
His disciple Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (or Cordoeiro) authored Pardes Rimonim, an organised, exhaustive compilation of kabbalistic teachings on a variety of subjects up to that point. Cordovero headed the academy of Tzfat until his death, when Isaac Luria rose to prominence. Rabbi Moshe's disciple Eliyahu De Vidas authored the classic work, Reishit Chochma, combining kabbalistic and mussar (moral) teachings. Chaim Vital also studied under Cordovero, but with the arrival of Luria became his main disciple. Vital claimed to be the only one authorised to transmit the Ari's teachings, though other disciples also published books presenting Luria's teachings.

The Oriental Kabbalist tradition continues until today among Sephardi and Mizrachi Hakham sages and study circles. Among leading figures were the Yemenite Shalom Sharabi (1720–1777) of the Beit El Synagogue, the Jerusalemite Hida (1724–1806), the Baghdad leader Ben Ish Chai (1832–1909), and the Abuhatzeira dynasty.

One of the most innovative theologians in early-modern Judaism was Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1525–1609) known as the "Maharal of Prague". Many of his written works survive and are studied for their unusual combination of the mystical and philosophical approaches in Judaism. While conversant in Kabbalistic learning, he expresses Jewish mystical thought in his own individual approach without reference to Kabbalistic terms. The Maharal is most well known in popular culture for the legend of the golem of Prague, associated with him in folklore. However, his thought influenced Hasidism, for example being studied in the introspective Przysucha school. During the 20th century, Isaac Hutner (1906–1980) continued to spread the Maharal's works indirectly through his own teachings and publications within the non-Hasidic yeshiva world.

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>>2063245
The spiritual and mystical yearnings of many Jews remained frustrated after the death of Isaac Luria and his disciples and colleagues. No hope was in sight for many following the devastation and mass killings of the pogroms that followed in the wake of the Chmielnicki Uprising (1648–1654), the largest single massacre of Jews until the Holocaust, and it was at this time that a controversial scholar by the name of Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676) captured the hearts and minds of the Jewish masses of that time with the promise of a newly minted messianic Millennialism in the form of his own personage.

His charisma, mystical teachings that included repeated pronunciations of the holy Tetragrammaton in public, tied to an unstable personality, and with the help of his greatest enthusiast, Nathan of Gaza, convinced the Jewish masses that the Jewish Messiah had finally come. It seemed that the esoteric teachings of Kabbalah had found their "champion" and had triumphed, but this era of Jewish history unravelled when Zevi became an apostate to Judaism by converting to Islam after he was arrested by the Ottoman Sultan and threatened with execution for attempting a plan to conquer the world and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Unwilling to give up their messianic expectations, a minority of Zvi's Jewish followers converted to Islam along with him.

Many of his followers, known as Sabbatians, continued to worship him in secret, explaining his conversion not as an effort to save his life but to recover the sparks of the holy in each religion, and most leading rabbis were always on guard to root them out. The Dönmeh movement in modern Turkey is a surviving remnant of the Sabbatian schism.

>>2063250
The following century produced Athanasius Kircher, a German Jesuit priest, scholar and polymath. He wrote extensively on the subject in 1652, bringing further elements such as Orphism and Egyptian mythology to the mix in his work, Oedipus Aegyptiacus. It was illustrated by Kircher's own adaptation of the Tree of Life. Kircher's version of the Tree of Life is still used in Western Kabbalah.

Adorján Czipleá (1639–1664) was a Hungarian Christian Kabbalist and mystic. Not much is known about his life except for the fact that in 1662 – after some years of formal education in his native country – he journeyed to England in order to continue his philosophical and theological studies. There is no knowledge regarding the circumstances of his death, which occurred within two years after his arrival.

While in England, Czipleá wrote a controversial short treatise entitled De ente et malo (On Being and Evil) which circulated among a narrow group of prominent European intellectuals including, among others, Henry More, Joseph Glanvill, Thomas Vaughan and Franciscus Mercurius van Helmont. Although this work appears to be lost, records of its radical views (indictable for heresy at the time) survived in contemporary accounts of it. Probably the most detailed of these accounts is found in Méric Casaubon’s letter to Edward Stillingfleet, dated September 1670:

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>>2063250
*
>Kircher's version of the Tree of Life is still used in Western Kabbalah.
(The previous configuration wast the Lurianic version, pictured here).
*

"One such queer scholar was Mr. Adorján Czipleá, who held that the fallen angels did nevertheless not fall from Being since they possesse the attribute of intelligence which is, according to Plato, equivalente to that of existence. From this he deriv’d the preposterous idea that the first emanation, or Intelligence, or Being, is compromis’d withe the fallen ones: esse (sive intellectus) est diabolus. Being is thus always torn, in perpetual strife, between Satan and the Lord’s angels. The Kabbalah, the Magyar claim’d, is the only one capable of discerning the two sides, and therefore delivering us from the grasp of Being towards Union to the One and Only God, for it alone can accesse His angels through His Word and climbe to the mystical Presence of God."

Scholarly interest in his idiosyncratic mysticism has only recently begun to emerge. Speculation regarding Czipleá’s Hermetic and Kabbalistic sources ranges from John Dee, Pico della Mirandola and Johann Reuchlin, while attention has been drawn to his possible influence on the Cambridge Platonists and Metaphysical Poets.

Johan Kemper (1670–1716) was a Hebrew teacher, whose tenure at Uppsala University lasted from 1697 to 1716. He was Emanuel Swedenborg's probable Hebrew tutor.

>>2063270
Kemper, formerly known as Moses ben Aaron of Cracow, was a convert to Lutheranism from Judaism. During his time at Uppsala, he wrote his three-volume work on the Zohar entitled Matteh Mosche ('The Staff of Moses'). In it, he attempted to show that the Zohar contained the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

This belief also drove him to make a literal translation of the Gospel of Matthew into Hebrew and to write a kabbalistic commentary on it.

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707–1746), based in Italy, was a precocious Talmudic scholar who deduced a need for the public teaching and study of Kabbalah. He established a yeshiva for Kabbalah study and actively recruited students. He wrote copious manuscripts in an appealing clear Hebrew style, all of which gained the attention of both admirers and rabbinical critics, who feared another "Shabbetai Zevi (false messiah) in the making". His rabbinical opponents forced him to close his school, hand over and destroy many of his most precious unpublished kabbalistic writings, and go into exile in the Netherlands. He eventually moved to the Land of Israel. Some of his most important works, such as Derekh Hashem, survive and are used as a gateway to the world of Jewish mysticism.

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>>2063278
Rabbi Elijah of Vilna (Vilna Gaon) (1720–1797), based in Lithuania, had his teachings encoded and publicised by his disciples, such as Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, who (poshumously) published the mystical-ethical work Nefesh HaChaim. He staunchly opposed the new Hasidic movement and warned against their public displays of religious fervour inspired by the mystical teachings of their rabbis. Although the Vilna Gaon did not look with favor on the Hasidic movement, he did not prohibit the study and engagement in the Kabbalah. This is evident from his writings in the Even Shlema. "He that is able to understand secrets of the Torah and does not try to understand them will be judged harshly, may God have mercy". (The Vilna Gaon, Even Shlema, 8:24). "The Redemption will only come about through learning Torah, and the essence of the Redemption depends upon learning Kabbalah" (The Vilna Gaon, Even Shlema, 11:3).

Post-Enlightenment Romanticism encouraged societal interest in occultism, of which Hermetic Qabalistic writing was a feature. Francis Barrett's The Magus (1801) handbook of ceremonial magic gained little notice until it influenced the French magical enthusiast Eliphas Levi (1810-1875). His fanciful literary embellishments of magical invocations presented Qabalism as synonymous with both so-called White and so-called Black magic. Levi's innovations included attributing the Hebrew letters to the Tarot cards, thus formulating a link between Western magic and Jewish esotericism which has remained fundamental ever since in Western magic. Levi had a deep impact on the magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Through the occultists inspired by him (including Aleister Crowley, who considered himself Levi's reincarnation) Levi is remembered as one of the key founders of the 20th century revival of magic.

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>>2063285
One author it's incredibly worthwhile to read is Scholem.

There's one issue, he doesn't like to give exegesis in his footnotes. He'll drop a bit of lore and not expound upon it.

Gerhard Scholem who, after his immigration from Germany to Israel, changed his name to Gershom Scholem (Hebrew: גרשם שלום) (December 5, 1897 – February 21, 1982), was a German-born Israeli philosopher and historian. He is widely regarded as the founder of the modern, academic study of Kabbalah, becoming the first Professor of Jewish Mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His close friends included Walter Benjamin and Leo Strauss, and selected letters from his correspondence with those philosophers have been published.

Scholem wrote his doctoral thesis on the oldest known kabbalistic text, Sefer ha-Bahir. Drawn to Zionism, and influenced by Buber, he emigrated in 1923 to the British Mandate of Palestine, where he devoted his time to studying Jewish mysticism and became a librarian, and eventually head of the Department of Hebrew and Judaica at the National Library. He later became a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Scholem taught the Kabbalah and mysticism from a scientific point of view and became the first professor of Jewish mysticism at the university in 1933, working in this post until his retirement in 1965, when he became an emeritus professor.

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>>2063300
Another author, one much more practical, is Aryeh Kaplan. I've got some of his books as well; Jewish Meditation, his translation of Sefer Yetzirah, his Bahir, Inner Space, and a couple others IIRC.

Kaplan produced works on topics as varied as prayer, Jewish marriage and meditation; his writing was also remarkable in that it incorporated ideas from across the spectrum of Rabbinic literature, including Kabbalah and Hasidut. His introductory and background material contain much scholarly and original research. In researching his books, Kaplan once remarked: "I use my physics background to analyze and systematize data, very much as a physicist would deal with physical reality." This ability enabled him to undertake large projects, producing over 60 books. His works have been translated into Czech, French, Hungarian, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

>>2063327
Finally there's David Chaim Smith.

He's got a scholarly/exegetical work, "Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis" which is stellar. And advanced practice (which results in the artwork in the first portion of the thread) in "The Blazing Dew of Stars", and finally an outline of basic practical exercise in "The Awakening Ground".

>>2063352
Also, I was having a decent conversation with >>2055429 in the last thread. If you're around I was wondering if you wanted to continue our chat.

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>>2063379
After the Sefer HaShmoth (Book of Names) and ancient portions of the Torah that pre-date Master Mosheh, the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) is the oldest book of the written Mystical Qabalah, dating to the times of and attributed to Master Abraham. The Sefer Yetzirah is a manual on the mystical nature of the Hebrew alphabet recorded by Master Abraham in the original Sinatic Hebrew alphabet. The Sefer Yetzirah presents a number of unique forms of the Tree of Life.

The first of the six chapters of the (Sefer Yetzirah) begins: “By thirty two wonderful paths of wisdom hy, hvhy of Hosts, Elohim of Israel, Living Elohim, and Eternal King, El Shadai, Merciful and Gracious, High and Uplifted, Who inhabits Eternity, Exalted and Holy is His Name, engraved. And He created His universe by three signs: by border and letter and number.”

The “thirty-two paths” which comprise the Tree of Life are the ten Sefiroth (tvrpc, lit. Spheres) and the twenty-two release gates interconnecting the Sefiroth. The gates are the twenty-two Hebrew letters (see Diagram). Spheres The first verse above is immediately followed in the second verse with the five root phrases that serve as the “skeleton” upon which the body of the book hangs. One or another of these root phrases lead into most of the verses throughout the rest of the text.

“There are Ten Intangible Sefiroth (hmylb tvrypc rsi, Eser Sefiroth Belimah) and Twenty-Two Letters are the Foundation (dvcy tvytva ,ytsv ,yrsi, Esrim Ooshtayim Autiot Yesod): Three Mothers (tvma sls, Shalosh Imote) and Seven Double Letters (tvlvpk ibs, Shevah Kuhfoolote) and Twelve Simple Letters (tvuvsp hrsi, Esrae Puhshootote).” (Sefer Yetzirah 1:2)

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>>2063438

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>>2063448
Atziluth— Archetypical
The first and highest of the Four Worlds, corresponding to Fire of the elements, Chiah of the soul, and Yod of the Tetragrammaton, is called Atzilut. Atzilut is usually translated as "Emanation", but literally means "closeness". This is the "World", or primordial Substance which is the first emanation out of God's unique and pure Essence, and is therefore the "World" closest to Divinity. This Substance corresponds to Philosophic Fire, which - as opposed to literal fire - is best described as "living light". The Substance of "living light" is intangible and has no definite, specific Form, but its dynamic qualities of vitality and illumination are distinguishable. Life and light are the two qualities that must be postulated as being prevalent in any Divinely creative act. Since these qualities can be discerned as having existence distinct from Essential Divinity, the emanation of the primal "living light" (Substance) is the preliminary phase of Divine Creation. This phase is what is called Atzilut. As this is the primal spiritual Substance from which all other matter evolves, it corresponds to that which is called Chiah in the evolution of souls.

Briah— Creative
The next phase, corresponding to Water of the elements, Neshamah of the soul, and the first Heh of the Tetragrammaton, is called the World of Briah, which translates as "Creation". Like Neshamah, the function of Briah is to define specific Form and function in the amorphous energy of Atzilut. This is the evolutionary stage where matter begins to condense, "solidify", and to acquire specific, distinguishable qualities of it's own. This is because the Divine Unity is indivisible. Specification, which is division from that Unity, cannot be classified as Divine because the condensation of primal Substance into specific Form begins to occur at this stage. Thus, Briah corresponds to Neshamah, the stage where the human soul acquires individual personality and identity.

>>2063491
Yetzirah— Formative
It must be understood that Briah is a stage where specification and differentiation are applied only in an abstract sense, identifying the potential function of specific Forms and forces. The actual separation and division of these different qualities occurs in the next phase of evolution, called Yetzirah, which literally translates as "Formation". The world of Yetzirah corresponds to Air of the elements, Ruach of the soul, and Vau of the Tetragrammaton. As Air is generally associated with the intellect, this is the stage where differentiation of qualities (analysis) is applied to matter, and where these qualities are combined (synthesis) and Formed into archetypal conceptual compositions with a view towards various specific applications. This is the function of the intellect with which an individual theoretically experiments with various courses of action with the intellect and comes to a decision that the individual thinks will best serve the primal motivation or desire. Yetzirah corresponds to Ruach in that this is the stage where a specific compound is identified and given personal existence in the same way that an individual human personality necessitates a physical vehicle.

Assiah— Material
Here we come naturally to the fourth and final stage of development, called Assiah, which translates as "Action". The World of Assiah corresponds to Earth of the elements, Nefesh of the soul, the human body, and the final Heh of the Tetragrammaton. Assiah is the actual physical universe in which all things live and carry out their functions. This is the final proving ground where all the preceding Worlds and Spheres are actualized. The results are judged according to how well they perform their intended purpose, which is conceived in Briah and gestates and takes Form in Yetzirah. In correspondence, the human body is the proving ground of the soul, where the soul is evaluated according to how well it fulfills it's intended purpose/

>>2063498
The Kabbalah posits that the human soul has three elements, the nefesh, ru'ach, and neshamah. The nefesh is found in all humans, and enters the physical body at birth. It is the source of one's physical and psychological nature. The next two parts of the soul are not implanted at birth, but can be developed over time; their development depends on the actions and beliefs of the individual. They are said to only fully exist in people awakened spiritually. A common way of explaining the three parts of the soul is as follows:

Nefesh (נפש): the lower part, or "animal part", of the soul. It is linked to instincts and bodily cravings. This part of the soul is provided at birth.
Ruach (רוח): the middle soul, the "spirit". It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil.
Neshamah (נשמה): the higher soul, or "super-soul". This separates man from all other life-forms. It is related to the intellect and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God.

The Raaya Meheimna, a section of related teachings spread throughout the Zohar, discusses fourth and fifth parts of the human soul, the chayyah and yehidah (first mentioned in the Midrash Rabbah). Gershom Scholem writes that these "were considered to represent the sublimest levels of intuitive cognition, and to be within the grasp of only a few chosen individuals". The Chayyah and the Yechidah do not enter into the body like the other three—thus they received less attention in other sections of the Zohar.

Chayyah (חיה): The part of the soul that allows one to have an awareness of the divine life force itself.
Yehidah (יחידה): The highest plane of the soul, in which one can achieve as full a union with God as is possible.

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>>2063507
Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, (Hebrew ספר רזיאל המלאך Book of Raziel the Angel), is a medieval Practical Kabbalah grimoire, primarily written in Hebrew and Aramaic, but surviving also in Latin translation, as Liber Razielis Archangeli, in a 13th-century manuscript produced under Alfonso X.

The book cannot be shown to predate the 13th century, but may in parts date back to Late Antiquity. Like other obscure ancient texts such as the Bahir and Sefer Yetzirah, the work has been extant in a number of versions. The tradition around the book attributes it to have been revealed to Adam by the angel Raziel. The title itself is mentioned in another magical work of late antiquity, The Sword of Moses. Critical historians regard it as a medieval work, most probably originating among the Chassidei Ashkenaz, as citations from it begin to appear only in the 13th century. Sections of it are no doubt older. The likely compiler of the medieval version is Eleazer of Worms, as "Sefer Galei Razia", which developed to what we have now as "Sefer Raziel HaMalakh", including more writings written by people of various theological opinions.

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fuck traitor lore and stolen tech.
this is what they destroyed robed and drove to ruin along with all of us.
after the war there was nothing left of earth .
there armada rained fire down from the heavens killing us all.
I will rise to kill yhwh.
the revenge of earth will be soon ,

>>2063628
>WE WUZ, etc.
C'mon, mate, at least put in effort.

FAR IN THE DISTANCE
IS CAST A SHADOW

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>>2063739

>>2063746
An Ramiel a day keeps the Reifags away

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>>2063757

>>2063761
It makes me cringe how the alt-right has somehow appropriated anime. It really makes no sense to me. Also Misato is a shit choice.

Thanks, Thoth. Good thread.

>>2063823
Anime was cringe to begin with. Also right wing boards on the internet liking anime and cartoon was well established so it's not like progressives were the original fans.

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>>2063818

>>2063832
Very welcome.

>>2063967
And what the fuck does this have to do with anything I posted?

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Guys, keep it on the DL but I think the anthology I'm writing for just locked in the memelord from my pic to contribute.

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Bump for Kabbalah.

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>>2065288

I wonder how many replies I'd get with a thread starting a slapfight about Justification in the NT?

How necessary it is to know hebrew to understand kabbalah? Hermetic kabbalah more precisely

>>2065741
>Hermetic kabbalah more precisely
I mean, that depends.

You need to be able to at least recognize and sound out the letters. You don't need to be able to recite the Masoretic text by heart.

As you advance you'll pick up bits of the language mostly via exploring gematria:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gematria
http://numberman.net/
http://www.billheidrick.com/works/hgemat.htm

For example:
Nachash (Hebrew, NChSh, "serpent") signifies the serpent of the Tree of Knowledge, and has a particular role in Kabbalistic symbolism. In Kabbalistic gematria the numeric value of Nachash is 358, equaled to MShICh, Meshiach or Messiah.

>>2065765
Yeah i was also wondering about gemateria. How important would you say it is? My esoteric background is mostly a combination of shamanism/neoplatonism/hermeticism without almost any focus on kabbalah or gematria. I do know the basics of kabbalah but have lately been thinking of trying to really get a grasp on it

Are Kabbalah and Orthodox Christianity compatible?

>>2065765
Moreover there are indices of symbolism in some of Crowley's works (777) which were elaborated upon (Complete Magician's Tables by Skinner) that outline some basic correspondences with like Godnames, etc., in a 3...3? No 34 rows, each relating to one of the 10 sefira or 22 paths in various subjects (Names of God, names of angels, tarot, plants, animals, minerals, elements, body parts, etc., etc., etc.).

>How important would you say it is?
Integral. Get ready for exploring texts with a calculator handy. This is straight up Bible Code shit, minus the fuckcrazy fundamentalist idiocy.

>shamanism/neoplatonism/hermeticism without almost any focus on kabbalah or gematria.
You'll be fine. It's ahistorical as fuck, but there are enough natural correspondences in Greek to use it as a gematria base as well, hence why Numberman carries a calculator for Greek as well.

>I do know the basics of kabbalah but have lately been thinking of trying to really get a grasp on it
You seem like the sort of dude who'd get a lot out of Aryeh Kaplan.
David Chaim Smith has kept some concepts from Hermetica but thrown most out in favor of reconstructing early Hebrew mystical contemplation (Iyyun), and is rather advanced in terms of philosophical outlook. That said, "Kabbalistic Mirror" is just great if you want a sorta intro through Berashit.

>>2065801
Iunno.

>>2063051
>The first echoes of what is recognizable as Kabbalah come from the book of the prophet Ezekiel

>According to Matthew Henry a Bible commentator who flourished in the 17th century, Ezekiel is also believed to have been known as Nazaratus Assyrius, a teacher to Pythagoras.
>In the book "Pythagoras: Greek philosopher" it states; "Nazaratus, the Assyrian, one of Pythagoras' masters, was supposed to be the prophet Ezekiel, and Thomas Stanley's Life of Pythagoras says that Ezekiel and Pythagoras flourished together.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel
Thoughts?

>>2065835
>Thoughts?
Pretty early and rough 'sources'. I'm not sure of any further scholarship on this. I'd be inclined to dismiss it unless I can find anything more stiff in terms of validation.

Contemporaries? Maybe. Guru/chela? Doubtful.

>>2065830
I know david chaim smith, but what is aryeh kaplan about? Got his stuff in your library?

>>2066157
>aryeh kaplan about
>>2063327
>Another author, one much more practical, is Aryeh Kaplan. I've got some of his books as well; Jewish Meditation, his translation of Sefer Yetzirah, his Bahir, Inner Space, and a couple others IIRC.
>Kaplan produced works on topics as varied as prayer, Jewish marriage and meditation; his writing was also remarkable in that it incorporated ideas from across the spectrum of Rabbinic literature, including Kabbalah and Hasidut. His introductory and background material contain much scholarly and original research. In researching his books, Kaplan once remarked: "I use my physics background to analyze and systematize data, very much as a physicist would deal with physical reality." This ability enabled him to undertake large projects, producing over 60 books. His works have been translated into Czech, French, Hungarian, Modern Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Some anon someday said that kabbalah traces its roots to babylonian/egyptian mysticism. I have not been able to confirm this, any ideas if thats the case? The absolute origin may lie in some common shamanistic practice, but is there any reason to consider kabbalah as a continuation of babylonian/egyptian mysticism?

>>2066243
>its roots to babylonian/egyptian mysticism
Its roots are not in Egyptian mysticism and are only Babylonian in the vaguest sense.

It's my personal opinion that the seeds were planted in early Canaanite henotheism.

There's no reason, in my view, to consider the Kabbalah as a continuation of Egyptian materials (this should be fairly clear going through materials like the Pyramid Texts and Coming Forth by Day).

Is numerology significant in Kabbalah? I've heard a bit about Jewish numerology and its relation to the Hebrew alphabet but I never went very deep. Great thread, by the way!

>>2066412
Yes, see:
>>2065765

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The mystics of spirit declare that they possess an extra sense you lack: this special sixth sense consists of contradicting the whole of the knowledge of your five. The mystics of muscle do not bother to assert any claim to extrasensory perception: they merely declare that your senses are not valid, and that their wisdom consists of perceiving your blindness by some manner of unspecified means. Both kinds demand that you invalidate your own consciousness and surrender yourself into their power. They offer you, as proof of their superior knowledge, the fact that they assert the opposite of everything you know, and as proof of their superior ability to deal with existence, the fact that they lead you to misery, self-sacrifice, starvation, destruction.

They claim that they perceive a mode of being superior to your existence on this earth. The mystics of spirit call it “another dimension,” which consists of denying dimensions. The mystics of muscle call it “the future,” which consists of denying the present.

>>2066454
Next time please reply with a refutation from a philosopher and not a welfare leech, please and thank you.

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Bump.

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>>2066888
>888 is a gematria result for Christ

>>2067007
>888
that's funny. I've been using this number for years in my online nick. As a teenager I liked it for edgelord reasons, I thought 8 was number of chaos, so triple 8 is turbo uber chaos. It turns out it quite the opposite, it's the Logos in it self

>>2067069
If you don't learn something new erry day, you're life unfit for life :^)

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>>2067081
"The brain appears to be made up of matter in electrocolloidal
suspension (protoplasm).
Colloids are pulled together, toward a condition of gel, by
their surface tensions. This is because surface tensions pull
all glue-like substances together.
Colloids are also, conversely, pushed apart, toward a
condition of sol, by their electrical charges. This is because
their electrical charges are similar, and similar electrical
charges always repel each other.
In the equilibrium between gel and sol, the colloidal
suspension maintains its continuity and life continues. Move
the suspension too far toward gel, or too far toward sol,
and life ends. "

To quote ole dirty hippy

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>>2067134
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH9ufx-Wq3w

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>>2067144
Telemachus Sneezed - that's actually fucking funny : D

>Atlas shrugged
>Uranus Itched

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF6JkaF2oxY

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>>2067205

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>>2067216
on a more serious note, is 358 why rosicucian cross variation has snake on it?
>besides nehushtan
>besids john 3:14
SUDDEN REALIZATION:
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
Revelation 22:16
Nahash = Meshiach
Helel = Jesus?????

>>2067254
Shhhh, don't let the normies hear you.

>It was midnight, and the Devil came down and sat in the midst; but my Fairy Prince whispered: “Hush! It is a great secret, but his name is Yeheswah, and he is the Saviour of the World.” And that was very funny, because the girl next me thought it was Jesus Christ, till another Fairy Prince (my Prince’s brother) whispered as he kissed her: “Hush, tell nobody ever, that is Satan, and he is the Saviour of the World.”~Crowley, “The Wake World”

>>2067254
Is this what Albert Pike ment by infamous: "Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. [...] Thus, the doctrine of Satanism is a heresy; and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay; but Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil."
That actually makes a lot of sense considering why Old Testament God is so...vile

>>2067267
So that's what those wacky gnostics were all about

>>2067274
In particular, in his book, Woman and child in Universal Freemasonry, de la Rive wrote three paragraphs that he laid to Albert Pike, which he sourced in a footnote to Diana Vaughn, Léo Taxil's fictitious creation. This writing is part of the texts that Clarin de la Rive recanted, and said that they should not be considered to have ever existed. The text in mention:

>That which we must say to the world is that we worship a god, but it is the god that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, we say this, that you may repeat it to the brethren of the 32nd, 31st and 30th degrees: The masonic Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the higher degrees, maintained in the Purity of the Luciferian doctrine. If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay and his priests calumniate him?

>Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also god. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade, no beauty without ugliness, no white without black, for the absolute can only exist as two gods; darkness being necessary for light to serve as its foil as the pedestal is necessary to the statue, and the brake to the locomotive....

No actual edition of Morals and Dogma contains this. Or the WWIII bullshit either.

>>2067287
In all seriousness, tho, there's some nuance here. Early Hebrew sources have Satan not as all powerful. Some don't even have him with Samael as the angel of life, death, and fortune.

Azra'il is the angel of death, lifted up from a mortal, like Enoch was, named Azra (Ezra).

It's doubtful the OT "Morning Star" passage means anything about Satan.

Apocalypse might actually be a story of equilibrium, Christ becoming the Morning Star, and Israel (Maybe Sophia or Barbelo) going to Babylon to redemption.

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>>2067267
My foken brain got ejected into outer realms from mindfuck. I had enough thinking for today. Goodnight Ape, here have cat doing tikkun olam, one spakly at the time

>>2067319
Any other takers?

>>2067313
Nobody has satan as all powerful, because he is not.

Enoch was raptured directly from life into heaven.

He's talking about the horrible job Jerome did at translating "Helel ben Shachar" into "Lucifer", when it should be "Shining One, Son of the Dawn". An angel.

Jesus is the bright and morning star.

The NIV conflates the two, and is to be avoided at all costs.

>>2067597
Satan already has your soul, and you got nothing in return. Sad.

>>2067615
>Satan already has your soul, and you got nothing in return. Sad.
Yup, full blown reprobate.

>>2067597
How come when I pray to Jesus or God my life becomes worse off? Also, what's a good book to start out with? I won't say what I would like to start with but seeing as you're a very bright mind I'd like you to interpret a starting point from your own experiences. Please

>>2067843
Crowley's Liber 65, the book of the Serpent Braided Heart.

>>2067853
Thanks for the reply. Care to take a stab at my first question? I'm not trying to provoke anything I just want to hear your thoughts and opinions.

>>2067924
God's tests.
Baptism of tears.
Fasting of the heart.

>>2067932
I get gods tests and fasting of the heart but what's the deal with the baptism of tears?

>>2067957
There is no birth without blood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CZfpDlRC4A

>>2067973
Lilber LXV. What is this? A poem? Care to elaborate?

>>2068077
It's an elaboration on communion with the Lord in five chapters representing elements and early spheres on the Tree of Life.

>>2068126
Dude please stop spamming.

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>>2063022

Last bump for the evening.

>>2063022
Nice blog.

>>2069154
Informative reply.

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>>2063022
Kabbalistic pathworking makes up the largest backbone of practices.

Each letter and sphere on the Tree of Life corresponds with a variety of mystical concepts. You should probably be proficient with yoga, contemplation, and astral projection.

The goal is to "project" into the path or sphere, and record visions therein. Early on, this would be completed using simply the Hebrew letters. Since most of us are not Hebrew linguists, the Hermetic tradition has offered an 'out' for this.

The paths on the Tree correspond to tarot trumps. Pic related.

Using these symbols one can have an easier time gliding into knowledge of God's creation.

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>>2069625
Rather, wrong pic.
You'll maybe wanna switch Tzaddi and Pe; Star and Emperor.

Or you can use the old Lurianic configuration:
>>2063270

For the purposes of Merkavah work, one should use a contemplative standard of a geometric figure, and instead of 'ascending and descending' on the Tree, you're rotating a platonic solid, with the different facets and edges being aims of focus.

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>>2069631
Yet another method of contemplation is Iyyun but it's a tad advanced and covered in Blazing Dew of Stars. You can also see it on the cover of "Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis" and here, >>2063120, and in pic related.

Shiviti (שויתי in Hebrew, also: Shivisi, in the Ashkenazic pronunciation) are meditative representations of a candlestick used in some Jewish communities for contemplation over God's name. They are usually placed over the amud - the podium from which the prayer service is led by the hazzan. A decorated parochet or mizrach tapestry, or a special illustrated page in the siddur with similar imagery may also serve the same function.

The Shiviti displays the Divine Name of God (the Tetragrammaton) followed by a representation of the Temple seven-branched candlelabrum, or more accurately, lamp-stand (since oil rather than wax was used) as described in Exodus 25:31.

The basic idea here is that each letter in Hebrew has a number of mystical correspondences. This means that while each word has it's own unique gematria, it also consists of subsymbols. These symbols melt and merge into other words entirely in a successive manner. By careful analysis of the symbolism of the word, one may gain new insight into spiritual processes (if it's relevant to the word).

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>>2069673
Shemhamphorasch (alternatively Shem ha-Mephorash or Schemhamphoras, originally Shem HaMephorash (שם המפורש)) is an originally Tannaitic term describing a hidden name of God in Kabbalah (including Christian and Hermetic variants), and in some more mainstream Jewish discourses. It is composed of either 4, 12, 22, 42, or 72 letters (or triads of letters), the last version being the most common.

The "72-fold name" is highly important to Sefer Raziel, and a key (but often missing) component to the magical practices in The Lesser Key of Solomon. It is derived from Exodus 14:19-21, read boustrophedonically to produce 72 names of three letters. This method was explained by Rashi, (b. Sukkah 45a), Kabbalist and occultist legends state that the 72-fold name was used by Moses to cross the Red Sea, and that it can grant later holymen the power to control demons, heal the sick, prevent natural disasters, and even kill enemies.

The 72-fold name is mentioned by Roger Bacon, who complained about a book titled Liber semamphoras, more specifically the linguistic corruption that occurred in translating Hebrew to Latin. The angels of the Shemhamphorash factored heavily into the cosmology of Johann Reuchlin influencing Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Athanasius Kircher. Thomas Rudd featured the 72 angels in his magic, as a balancing force against the evil spirits of the Ars Goetia or in isolation.

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>>2069698

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>>2069712
Extracted from various comments by David Chaim Smith as well as his book "Blazing Dew of Stars".

The Lamp of Darkness:

Jewish mysticism posits that the ultimate mystery is En (without) Sof (limit), the infinite, which is absolute essential creativity. Theism and nihilism equally reify its living mystery with their respective conceptual stances of affirmation and negation. Although En Sof always escapes the clutches of such conceptualizations, it can be realized in the gnostic sense if its nature is directly recognized and surrendered to completely. In this, the practitioner is consumed, swallowed whole, yet paradoxically stands as the body of all worlds. This vivid paradox is the seal of the creative mystery. It cannot be imprisoned by any world, yet it blazes with the pristine primordial beauty all worlds are based on. This is the secret elixir that frees mind from itself, and uncoils the reflexes that impure the defining boundaries of inner and out, being and nothingness, and sef and other.
…
The difficulty is in understanding that En Sof shines forth without ever leaving itself. Since Kabbalistic metaphors rely on unexplained emanation imagery, a serious reexamination is needed. The hishtalshelut (chain of worlds) is presented as a ladder with a linear top and bottom; but this should never be accepted literally. Various models calibrate it differently. Some early schools articulate the sefirot within concentric circles (or 3-D shapes). Later schools offer the concentric model in exchange with the common lineal model. This was meant to offset the problem of directionality, which human beings impute by virtue of habit. However, all of these symbolic models remain imprisoned within the collective habit field until they are recognized as virtues of the mind's essential nature. Until that point, the symbolism will remain mere psychospiritual conjecture.

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>>2069743
Conventionally fixated magicians are often seduced into the dark glamour of the klipot’s temporary illusion of power. This stems from a conventional hunger to dominate and manipulate phenomena and inflate one’s sense of identity in the process. Both the adolescent mage and the fretful religionist share the habit of reifying phenomena. The solution to both is a shift in view. Continually holding to primordial purity mitigates the rigidity of the klipot, but its vividness can still shine through. Through its playful brightness the primordial sparks can break through their mundane shells and be gathered. Holding the gnostic view dissolves their prisons, and breaks them free to enter one’s practice. Facing any kind of phenomena directly and nakedly is spiritual practice. Its strength and disposition is shaped in each moment, and in turn, shapes the meaning of our life.

Once realization ripens, it is only a matter of how stable it remains. The tzadik, or stable realizer, does not fall back into the klipot to reify a subject or an object. The tzadik’s life is the seal of the primordial purity that is the basis of a living gnosis. However this distinction does not imply objective moral status. This represents a decisive break from the view of Judeo-Christian religion and theism in general, which generally holds the klipot as barriers between man from god, thus becoming the mechanisms of ‘evil’. The non-emanationist view neither supports the existence of a barrier or the implied dichotomy of good or evil. These issues are the exclusive domain of religion, and can be a tremendous sidetrack for a contemplator.

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>>2069745
"By means of the creation of the world (which is an emanation of the Divine) the Infinite became, as it were, 'contracted' (Tsimtsum) and took on certain attributes of the finite. To this finite belongs the 'darkness' of the first chaos or, in other words, evil. Hence the finite stands at the uttermost extremity of the Divine emanation, i.e. the world. And as it is man's duty to strive after union with the Infinite, his pursuit of the finite leads him to that which lies at the extremity of the Divine nature rather than that which lies at the heart of it. This constitutes evil. It is a state of absence, a negation, because man who, like the universe, is but one of the manifestations of the Divine, can only attain the real when he seeks the Real who is his fount, his home."

The klipot are the thickened echoes of the tzimtzum. Structurally from the perspective of the human realm, they perform a viable function. However the mystic is not satisfied abiding within their limiting structures. The goal of mysticism is to penetrate the shells of every world. This aspiration should not be confused with ordinary goals, which point to a set of destinations at the end of a linear path. The gnostic disposition is a continuous stream of breakthrough, always penetrating deeper and further without end. What the mystic ultimately realizes is that this process never reaches anywhere. Its endlessness is the point. This would be very frustrating and boring from the standpoint of ordinary fixations.

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>>2069748
The klipot (so-called qlipoth) are mere divisive mental barriers, formed by habits of cognitive reification. They gather both personally and collectively, as cognitive obscurations and obstructions build momentum. They are purified by recognizing their essential primordial nature,which rests at the heart of the tzimtzum reflex. This occurs as both simultaneous gnosis as well as the slow unfolding of spiritual transformation, however both share a single ground, which is the basis of the realization as well as that which is realized.

The labyrinth of connections within each divine name offers a radically direct path to the lamp of darkness. The esoteric roots are unlike other symbolic construcs. Through them the open matrix of cretative process is splayed open naked. However, in order for this gnosis to unfuld, the mind must fight through many bariers (klipot) within its habitual momentum. The deeper it goes, the more subtle the opacifying klipot become. The most elusive layers are what Kaplan refers to as 'semi-permiable'. They are exchanges of an incredibly fine resonance, which bear a very delicate yet deadly propensity for reification. Their resonance is so sublte that they often might seem like gnosis itself This is a concealed trap for a few advanced ones who even travel this far.

The three-fold klipot which obstruct burgeoning gnosis are its bones, blood, and flesh. Each creates inner, mediating, and outer aspects of reification. All become permeable as the phenomena becomes a heart-sacrifice. From above and below the blood of space floods the body of space. Anything and everything becomes the sacrificial beast. Its lungs are Saturn and Jupiter. Its kidneys are mars and venus. Its belly and head are sun and moon, which temper and shape the mercury in its heart.

>>2069752
When we become our own redeemer and deliverer, a self-sacrificial pig messiah, the process of tikkun olam (the repair of the world) begins in earnest. We face the klipot of our resistances head on, to recognize the ubiquitous spark of perfection that displays itself within the disguise of imperfection. The feast of the kosher pig consumes the root of identity and the universe of identification that has been fabricated around it. Its presentational flesh is malkut, called ‘Garden’. The energy of its formative motion is tiferet, called ‘Eden’. Their unifying continuum is the digestion of the feast and its enjoyment, personified by the serpent called Nachash. It seals the motion display as a single continuum that can equally fall into degenerate fiction or rise to the occasion of gnosis. Its undulating frequencies shape every nuance of phenomena.

The sacrificial beast draws the consuming fire forth from the heart of the five organ array. The corners of its quadrisected body split in two. Head and belly are flanked by the left and right kidneys and lungs. From within, a blazing halo emerges to hold the organs in the glow of its own intention, like an altar. Each thought, movement, feeling, and form is such a beast on such an altar. Each presents its organ body splayed in the light of aspiration. All that is needed is a spark from the deep to ignite the glow into the wild abandon of consumption; the spontaneous regenerating self-consumption of standing-in-dissolving.

All klipot are primordially pure from the outset, and serve as the ultimate offering. Impurity is an opinion offered as food. The body of the beast swells with impulses, and its forbidden flesh is eaten with impunity when spontaneously realized as intrinsically pure. Gnostic intoxication is the feast of a kosher pig.

blah blah blah, get to the fucking point.

>>2069760
The fire bellows forth from within. It caresses the beast’s yellowing skin, passes through its red meat, and smolders its white bones. All three are usurped into smoke to fill the blue sky, suffusing the five worlds with the meaning and intention of the sacrifice, each according to its level. The three sides…right, left, and center…are configured as Adam on the right, Chavah on the left, and between them is the enveloping Nachash embracing all equally. Through it the wedding is consummated, and Chavah copulates twice.

Practitioners pass through the precarious junctures by adopting an attitude common in theistic systems. This is the view that absolute knowledge is ungraspable, thus one never meets 'face to face' with “God”. There is no concrete destination that can be reached. This leaves raw aspirations free to mix with pregnat space. Once theistic associations are extracted, the disposition of 'not reaching' remains an effective contemplative method. It naturally adapts to the disposition of phenomena, which are indeed infinite, with no (En) end (Sof), and it prevents subtle reification from coagulating into the most intangible of klipot.

>>2069789
Ain't nobody putting a gun to your head making you read the thread, mate.

>>2069793
>93
REACHING BEYOND GOD

The primary catalyst for spiritual growth is the discovery of compassion. In the sense intended here, compassion refers to the primal expansiveness (Chesed) of En Sof, which gives itself freely as infinite variation without ever departing from its primordial essence. From an esoteric perspective this has nothing whatsoever to do with do-gooderism, dogmatic fixed morality, or dualistic codes of rules. It abides in the opening of cognition, to purify the perceptual field into a gnosimic continuum, revealing what is obstructed by the coarseness of habitual reificiation. Cultivating compassion is the antidote to alienating fictions of self and other that reify all klipot.

Who is the doer of a thing? In the language of Zohar, 'who' (50), is code for Binah's gates, which open the responsive spaces of Keter. The question 'who is the doer' is a powerful mantric phrase of inquiry. Gnosis unfolds as the hollow sheslls of idnetity are dissolved, and its momentum mixes, merges, and rests coequal with the womb space of creation.

Wisdom is encoded in the phrase “I am that I am” which poses the divine name of keter as a reflexive equation. It is given in the Torah as Moses inquires before the burning bush not consumed by its enveloping flame. The most common translation is not exactly accurate. AHYH AshR AHYH is better understood as 'I will be that by which I will be', thereby stressing the meeting point of potentiality with its capacity to manifest anything.

>>2069795
The phrase pinpoints the precise intersection of the mirror of mind as it reflects itself. The first AHYH represents an open capacity to reflect. The second represents reflected variation. They are a true unity, thus posit wholeness in the aspect of 'front' and 'back'. The phrases poses a continuum in which beginning and end are equalized by the balance point at their heart. This is the nexus of the fire of self-consumption, which is a thrust beyond coming into being or passing away, thus 'the bush was not consumed'.
AshR has a value of 501. Its gematria equates with the word TMVNH (Ex. 20:4), which means 'in a manner of likeness'. This poses the magical continuum again, like a mirror. The manner of likeness the worlds assume is a result of how their motion display is apprehended. If one inquires to penetrate the automaton reflex of the status quo, artificial constructs begin to melt away.

More hidden layers can be unfolded letter by letter. Alef is absolute wholeness set within the paradox of unity. This is illustrated by the letter's graphic form, in which two yuds (above and below) are poised with a vav between them. This alludes to the structure of BeYeA (Briah, yetzirah, assiah), which pose the upper and lower aspects of Sechinah (correpsonding to the two hehs, or binah and malkut). In the standard tree diagram, they balance above and below the middle six sefirot (vav). All of these arrangements suggest a mirror. When alef is esoterically converted into the coded sequence YVY, the implication is that the seeds of Atik the father (yud/Y) equalizes 'before' and 'after' the expression of its energetic motion, which is Zer Anpin (the Son). As “The Fountain of Wisdom” states: Alef is never less than two.

Thus, the scales rest in balance.

>>2069801
Alef as YVY equals 26, which is the gematria of YHVH. Keter is called Alef, because it is the first sefirah. Thus, through that number, keter (alef as 26) connects to tifaret (YHVH). In this connection, the king passes down the crown to his son without diminishment. This represents the pure cognizance (yechida/chaya) extending as the perceptual motion of variation (ruach).AHYH is a set of scales in balance. Both formulas of HYH and YVY reflect and balance each other, as a reflection reflecting itself. This mirror presents as its reflection from any point of view, like a hand that shapes itself, and a seed that displays its own womb. Thus, within AHYH, the secret pivot can be recognized, and binding to it allows 'that by which' to return phenomena to the single root from which both trees grow. Through this unified root, all things bask in the question 'what is meaning in itself?'. The space of the question exudes fathomless beatuy, regardless of the aesthetic or moral implications to which it becomes appended. This is a reflection of 'that by which' En Sof opens. Reductive mechanistic understanding cannot reproduce it. It is where wisdom overlaps convention, and where mystery outshines the ordinary.

Beyond success and failure, beauty cannot be imprisoned within experience, but paradoxically, it cannot happen elsewhere.

Take the chance on overcoming death by negation of birth. Shed your markers, identity, and self esteem. Walk upright, as no-one, nowhere, vividly delighting in the reflected feasts of frequencies.

>>2069808
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAB19Jyp1BA

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>>2071447

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You'd think for a board so interested in Christism this thread on pre/contemporary Christian mysticism routing through the OT would get more replies.

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>>2071541

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>>2071602

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>>2071673

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>>2071732

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Got enough books for a library update if anyone wants me to make the thread here.

I definitely believe Jesus Christ was an ordinary mortal who achieved a permanent state of divine union. The only way he was able to achieve this is through some school of Jewish mysticism as it is highly unlikely he came up with the "path" all on his own.

Is there specific name to this type of Kabbalah that would have given rise to Christ ??

>>2072595
Merkavah or Hekhalot mysticism, depending on how we parse our timelines.

>>2063027
>Beginning c. 100 BCE, especially 0-130s CE, early Rabbinic merkabah mysticism referred to briefly in exoteric Rabbinic literature such as the Pardes ascent; also related to early Christian mysticism
>c. 0–200 CE, continuing till c. 1000 CE, merkabah mystical ascent accounts in the esoteric Merkabah-Hekhalot literature

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Why does the kabbalah and the OT feel so uniquely evil? Does it have to do with pic related?

>>2072666
Lam is not an alien.
That's a meme propagated by Ken Grant and the Typhonians as metaphor until the cheese slid off his cracker.

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>>2072670
>Lam is not an alien.
How do you know? Is it really so implausible that the same creepy spirits that inspired the prophets of the OT also fucked with Crowley?

>>2072704
>How do you know? Is it really so implausible that the same creepy spirits that inspired the prophets of the OT also fucked with Crowley?
Well, I'm an OTO initiate who is proficient with astral projection, keeps and reads a digitization of the Yorke microfilms, and Lam identifies himself pretty clearly as an astral entity. There is no whiff of an abduction narrative, or any other usually associated EBE phenomenon. The only real reference he makes to it in the published works is in Voice of Silence, a commentary on Blavatsky, referring to it as a 'personal' rather than cosmic entity.

>One of the earlier visions of the Amalantrah Working ended with the sentence "It’s all in the egg". During the final surviving vision of this Working, in reference to a question about the egg, Crowley was told that "Thou art to go this Way".

>Examining the portrait, we can see the connections. The head of Lam is egg-shaped, and of course the drawing is called The Way. In the whorlings of the face can clearly be seen a stylized ankh, the Egyptian symbol for Going; as a matter of interest, ankh can best be transliterated into Hebrew as kaph nun aleph, 71.

>The main theme of The Voice of the Silence, clearly brought out by Crowley, is the need to establish contact with the Silent Self. The corresponds to the Dwarf Self, the phallic consciousness, Harpocrates, Hadit; and the theme runs through much of Crowley’s writing. It is noteworthy in this context that ALIL, ’the image of Nothingness and Silence’, enumerates as 71.

>Crowley gave the drawing to Kenneth Grant in May 1945, following an astral working in which they were both involved

>>2072734
>Lam identifies himself pretty clearly as an astral entity
Yes, I'm sure aliens have souls too.

>astral projection
What's the fastest way to learn to AP? There's no point arguing about astral ayys until I actually see them myself.

>>2072777
How easily can you put yourself in a trance state?

>>2072779
Can't, but I tried yesterday and managed to calm my body to where I could barely feel it.

>>2072789
>calm my body to where I could barely feel it.
That's a good start.

Begin with yoga until you can do asana and pranayama for roughly an hour solid.

You should probably feel something that's akin to a minor electric shock or vibrations.

Cultivate that feeling.

Imagine a sphere of light between three and six feet above or behind your head. Once you've got a good visual on that, begin rotating it around. Find a spot where those "vibrations" or little electric jolts feel strongest.

Begin to visualize a double for your body where that light is centered.

Transfer the seat of your consciousness into it, reorienting all sense input to feel to be arising from that point.

If you've trained decently well, you should simply be able to open your eyes on your astral body and see yourself in meditation.

>>2072804
>Begin with yoga until you can do asana and pranayama for roughly an hour solid.
Bless you ape. Will come back after I manage this.

>>2072819
No problem mate.

>>2072595
Fun bullshit conjecture: Yeshu experienced some sort of transformative union with god and believed that, since he now understood that he and god were one that he had the authority and power of god. Pilate disabused him of this misapprehension.

>>2072804
>do asana
If I'm in the posture, but sometimes catch my back bending forward a bit and have to straighten it, am i doing asana?

>>2069808
>Beyond success and failure, beauty cannot be imprisoned within experience, but paradoxically, it cannot happen elsewhere.
"I and Thou motherfucker"
- Boobin' Martyr

>>2067597
I'm gonna throw a bunch of questions at you, but I know your busy and none of this is urgent. I'm probably sticking to basics for the next year or so regardless of what you say, so don't worry if you dont have a chance to answer.

Is there any formal instructions in the kabbalistic corpus for observation of thoughts as they arise or bodily sensations of the sort you see in a lot of modern buddhist schools? I know Azriel of Gerona refers to 'mind watching mind until they both cease' or something like that but is there anything formal?

Do you know people who actively practice merkavah and hekhalot workings? Do they have a reputation for being efficacious? Same questions but for Abulafia's techniques. Thanks for your time.

>>2073376
>observation of thoughts as they arise or bodily sensations of the sort you see in a lot of modern buddhist schools?
Yes, see Iyuun and Blazing Dew of Stars.

It starts off real structured and formal but if you know the language well enough you can cut off thought at its source.

>I know Azriel of Gerona refers to 'mind watching mind until they both cease' or something like that but is there anything formal?
Again, see above.

>Do you know people who actively practice merkavah and hekhalot workings? Do they have a reputation for being efficacious?
Eeeeyup.

>Abulafia's techniques
Nope.

>>2074103
Thanks
>Blazing Dew of Stars.
Does DCS claim a lineage/does that lineage accept his work? I love the stuff you posted but some of it feels pretty far from what i'd guess is standard doctrine

>>2074242
>DCS claim a lineage
Of what?
He claims a few.
The one he references most often is a secretive Gnostic commune in the midwest.

>Do they accept him
Absolutely.

>pretty far from what i'd guess is standard doctrine
That's because "standard doctrines" are watered down perversions of actual mystical and spiritual attainment.

>>2074249
Bump.

>>2075171
Back to the top.

We done here?

We need a religion board asap.

>>2080375
Why, exactly?

I offer plenty of anthrohistorical discussion early in the thread.

If y'all don't wanna interact with it, cool, I'll make one on a different topic. But don't pretend like it don't belong.

>>2072779
Please help me, How do I begin astral projection? I meditate and do the interrrupted sleep and stuff but I seem to be getting nowhere.

>>2080533
You getting those 'electrical' jolts?

>>2080551
Closest I've gotten was once, and only once, I felt a pressure around my third eye area and then I felt myself rising and was immediately back in my body. I can't even get close to that state now

>>2081170
>I can't even get close to that state now
What were you doing that got you there?

>>2081174
I just lay there and try to do nothing. I kinda repeat a song lyric or something over and over in my head to try and keep my mind awake. It just kinda happened though. Is there something I can do to induce this? I read in this thread that you're an avid astral projector and I just want some advice, please.

>>2081170
Brain tumor.

http://unsongbook.com/

>>2081245
I love Scott's novel.

>>2081203
Get into yoga.

>>2081254
Will do, thanks. Also, would masturbating a lot have anything to do with this? I'm beginning to read Taoist Cultivating Sexual Energy and he's talking a lot about sexual energy as Prana and harnessing this energy to activate chakras and stuff.

>>2081254
Hate to make you pull out your feeding spoon but is there any particular kind of Yoga you recommend?

>>2080533
Refer to >>2072804. Goodluck.

>>2081292
Hathayoga. Rajayoga. Shiva Samhita.

>>2081284
Probably not unless you've got a personal hangup about sexuality.

>>2080551
I've had a couple experiences which could be described that way, whould you let me know if either of them are conducive to astral projection and what the next step would be once i've begun haveing those experiences?

When I do vipassana and my concentration is good, the sensations get subtler and subtler until my perception of my body is a shifting field made of little squirming electric waves rising and falling.
The other is when i hold a posture for a long time with near perfect stillness, my sense of where my body is body starts to jolt around faster and faster, with my diaphragm the still point in the centre. At first it's like i'm buzzing, then it gets to the point where i feel like i'm half-rotating around my diaphragm.

I apologize if those descriptions aren't clear.

Do you know if the muslim descendants of the sabbateans practice or study kabbalah and if so is there any publicly available work on it? what do you think of Donmeh West?

>>2082770
>At first it's like i'm buzzing, then it gets to the point where i feel like i'm half-rotating around my diaphragm.
Cultivate this to it's deepest extent and you should be fine.

>Do you know if the muslim descendants of the sabbateans practice or study kabbalah and if so is there any publicly available work on it? what do you think of Donmeh West?
I don't think so, explicitly. Sufis work godnames and numerology but this does not a Kabbalah make. Never heard of 'em.

>>2067297
> If Lucifer were not God, would Adonay and his priests calumniate him?
I don't understand this reasoning. They can calumniate each other and be God at the same time.

>>2084209
>I don't understand this reasoning. They can calumniate each other and be God at the same time.
The point is that the quote is a confirmed fake. It does NOT appear in any actual edition of Pike's work.

Y'all mind if I post a new library update on /his/?
Mostly Neoplatonism with a splash of other shit.

I know they're not big on the afterlife, but do jewish mystics believe in anything that suggests reincarnation at all?

>>2085489
yes, but only as humans

a lot of them aren't small on the afterlife

>>2085489
Yes, read the Zohar.

It's my assertion that reincarnation was fundamental to earlier Jewish mysticism.

There's a reference in Zohar to God uprooting human souls and replanting them elsewhere like a garden.

>>2084418
>Y'all mind if I post a new library update on /his/?
>Mostly Neoplatonism with a splash of other shit.

Save'd from page ten.

>>2072804
Can you do this in floatation tank?
I might try to do this

>>2089011
Should be able to.

>>2087041
I am a big fan of Neoplatonism. Post it wherever you like. I follow the threads on /x/ too.

Stop spamming this bullshit you twisted fuck.

>>2091131
Thanks for the vote of confidence.

>>2091148
What's bullshit about it and moreover what's "twisted" here?