Kabbalah

This is a system of mystical teaching derived from oral traditions of classical Judaism and has the aim of union with God while remaining part of the Jewish community and carrying out the implied social and family responsibilities. The system derives from the "Book of Creation" - [Sefer Yetzirah]

- which is at least 1,000 years old and possibly derives from the 3rd century. This refers to 32 secret paths of wisdom that were the means by which God created the world. The paths are related to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the ten [sephiroth]

(originally numbers and subsequently related to the emanations which structure reality). The first sephirah is an emanation of God, at least three derive from the first, the others are the dimensions of space, and they constitute a unity together; while the sounds of the letters of the alphabet are the foundation of all that is created.

Practical Kabbalism, emphasizing the magic of words and of [gematria]

, a complex system involving the numerical value of words based on the letters that make them up, flourished mainly in Italy and Germany from the 10th century. It taught that God was too exalted for the understanding of man, but that the mystic could be united with the glory of God, the female aspect - [Shekinah]

- which was the first creation and could be perceived as divine fire or light. It also delineated four souls - that of God's glory, that of the angels, the animal soul and that of the intellect. Classical Kabbalism arose in France in the 13th century and extended to Spain. The main source of wisdom was the "Book of Splendour" - [Sefer ha-Zohar]

- which teaches that the world was created by God from himself and the ultimate purpose is to realize union with God. Since all creation is interrelated, the uniting of one's soul with God raises up all the other entities as well.

The ten sephiroth are attributes of God and are described by his names. Each sephirah has four sections operating in the four worlds of the cosmos, which are: [Atziluth]

, the world of archetypal ideas from which all forms are derived; [Briah]

, where the ideas become the patterns of creation; [Yetzirah]

, where the patterns are expressed as forms; and [Assiah]

which is where the forms have material existence. The four letters of the sacred name of God - the [tetragrammaton]

- correspond to these four worlds. The sephirah are the basis for a diagram known as the Tree of Life. This diagram can be interpreted and used in many ways. Its chief use is as a map of stages and levels of consciousness. The Tree structure includes references to all parts of human being: thoughts, feelings, sensations, deeper levels of awareness and archetypes. The structure also indicates the various pathways that lead to increased personal, interpersonal and transpersonal clarity. Various techniques and exercises can be used to explore these pathways.

The Kabbalah may be described in many ways. But the truly universal and living Kabbalah is based on direct experience. From this perspective the Tree of Life is a living entity through which people may communicate individual experiences to others. It is the path by which the divine descends to the material world and by which the individual can ascend to the divine. The ten sephiroth or levels are the means by which man may make the mystical ascent, and each represents an attainment of knowledge. These ten are divided into the seven lower levels, representing levels of spiritual attainment which are symbolized in mythology but still within the sphere of the fallen; and into three higher levels, unaffected by the fall and the great abyss, representing a great trinity. Beyond and above these is the unknown and formless, limitless light, [Ain soph aur]

; while below is an obverse, "black" tree of life with branches reaching far below the earth, representing the lower, less-evolved, animal aspects of personality, which have to some extent been overcome. The lower seven sephiroth have been seen as corresponding to levels of energy on the spine - in the same way as the [cakra]

of Hinduism and Buddhism - with the top three being the mystic path to unity with God.

By meditation and contemplation on the sephirah, including visualization of the related colours and Hebrew letters, the Kabbalist ascends the tree in a similar way to that of [kundalini yoga]

and with similar illumination as a result. A similar technique developed in the 13th century was based upon [tzeruf]

, meditation on the attributes and numerical values of Hebrew letters. This rapidly brought experience of "divine influx" - [shefa]

- descending into the person meditating, who experienced meaning beyond meaning. Use of this technique was confused by later writings and it is no longer practised.

The Tree of Life is said to have three pillars - positive, negative and neutral. The manifestation of the universe begins in pure energy. Then, with the interplay between force and form, between male and female polarities, the world comes into being. The aim to universalize consciousness is achieved, having overcome the lower, material side of personality, in retracing these stages. The ten levels each have their own divine name and mantra - they can be viewed as metaphors for an orderly and gradual ascent by stages in the transformation of personality. Within the whole, each level to some extent reflects every other.

The Kabbalah and the Tarot are closely related. In the system of Tarot, there are 22 paths of wisdom or doorways connecting the ten levels. The magician ascends via these paths but is always aware that the reverse tree, transcendental evil, is lurking to trick the unwary on the pathway to transcendental good. The Hebrew Kabbalah identifies 32 paths of wisdom.

The Kabbalah is considered one of the foundations of the western esoteric tradition. It constitutes a great body of theoretical and practical philosophy and psychology interwoven into the religious texts of Judaism and in a vast complex of alchemical, astrological, occult, Rosicrucian and Masonic symbolism, including the Tarot. The Hebrew word Kabbalah means both to "receive" and to "reveal". The Tree of Life has been described as a "mighty, all-embracing glyph of the Soul and the Universe." The sephiroth, the ten metaphysical numbers or numerations of the divine aspects, are the principal keys to the mysteries of the Torah of Judaism. They form a tenfold hierarchy and in their totality constitute the doctrinal basis of Jewish esotericism. They are to the Kabbalah, or mystical tradition of Judaism, what the Ten Commandments are to the Torah, as the exoteric law.