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Jewish mysticism
Merkava
Ma ase Merkava
• research of the mysteries of Ma ase Merkava is just as acceptable as a prayer
• watch out for falling into error!!!!• kabalah can be taught only through hints and
allusions – litterary or superficial understanding are misleading
• Mishna: „The mysteries of Merkava are not supposed to be pronounced in the presence of one student if he is not wise and if he does not understand with knowledge.“
Gematria
• from greek Geometria• one of 32 rules of agada for interpretation of
Torah – new meaning through counting of numerical values of letters
Jewish mysticism
Sefer Jecira – Book of Creation• 10 sefirot = ten basic
spiritual ur-numbers• 32 pathes of wisdom
• Bereshit– G d said = 10 x = 10 sefirot– Creation– 32 – LEV – Bereshit- Israel– Elohim – 32 x = paths of
wisdom
hypercube
Gra versi
on
Antipode position of hypercube
Tesseract
• 10 sefirot define the natural space – define 10 directions = 5 dimensions
• fourdimensional hypercube has 16 points (2 raised on the power of 4 - exponentiation)
• fivedimensional hypercube has 32 points (2 raised on the power of five)
Jewish mysticism
• Bahir (Book of the Brightness)– Midrash of rabbi
Nechunja ban Hakana – besides Bahir is ascribed
to him a prayer ANA BEACHOACH – the initial letters form a 42 letter long name of G d
– Published in Provence 1176
• Jb 37, 21: "Now men do not see the light which is bright (BAHIR) in the skies.“
• Rabi Moshe Cordovero: „The words of the text are bright (bahir) and sparkling, but their brilliance can blind the eyes”
Jewish Mysticism
• Zohar (Brightness)– The main character
Rabbi Shimon ben Jochaj – rabbi Akiva´s follower, 2nd c. CE – who was hiding from Romans
– Published in the 13th c. by Moshe de Leon
– mystical midrash = explanation of a hidden meaning
PARDES1) Pschat= simple litterary sense2) Remez= hint, allegory3) Drash= homiletic sense4) Sod= mystical meaning = DERECH HA-KABALA
Sefer ha-Tagin• TAGA – arameic• Ketarim – hebrew• when combined, the letters
with the tagin form the divine names by which heaven and earth were created creative power
• oral tradition• Rabi Akiva deduced from tagin
many important teachings– he RECEIVED the tradition of
Merkava
Jewish Mysticism
• Expulsion from Spain - • Safed – Galilee,16th c.– Moshe Cordovero –
Pardes Rimonim– Jicchak Luria, ha-Ari,
CimcumJicchak Luria
• Tohu and Bohu• Zohar: In the beginning
of the King's authority, the Lamp of Darkness engraved a hollow in the Supernal Luminescence.
Jicchak Luria
• The meaning of the human existence is to help to renew the original order of the world – tikkun
• Every human thought and action plays a very important role in this process
Gilgul
• Gilgul – transmigration of souls– Galgal = circle,
rotation– Mystical organization
of 22 lettres– System of alternation
of lettres
• 22 lettres 231 gates