Kabbalah
Kabbalah (קבלה) is an ancient Hebrew word meaning to receive. A true kabbalist is one who is receiving knowledge from the divine.
Three Parts of Kabbalah
1. The Spirit of the Doctrine. In the Jewish tradition, the first part of the doctrine that Moses received was the secret oral tradition that was later written down in The Zohar (ספר הזהר Sepher ha Zohar, The Book of Splendor). In the beginning, this knowledge was only transmitted from lip to ear. But later on, the mysterious Zohar was written, which is called “the Spirit of the doctrine.” Every religion originally had the secret, oral tradition, or Spirit of the teaching.
2. The Soul of the Doctrine. In the Jewish tradition, there is another book that Moses gave, which is called Talmud (תלמוד). The Talmud is “the soul of the doctrine.”
3. The Body of the Doctrine. In the Jewish tradition, the body of the doctrine is the Torah (תורה). In the Christian tradition, it is the Bible. That is why in the Torah or Bible you find many symbols, many stories whose meaning is hard to grasp if you do not know the Spirit and Soul of the doctrine. Without the Spirit and Soul of the doctrine, you then enter into confusion.
These three parts are not the ownership of Judaism. In fact, we find these three levels across all the world religions:
Body: Exoteric, Public level of instruction
Soul: Mesoteric, Private level of instruction
Spirit: Esoteric, Secret level of instruction
The two lower levels act like a cloak or garment that hides the inner teachings. Unfortunately, the Esoteric level of instruction has often been lost. The Zohar says that many people confuse the real teaching for what is actually just the outer dress.
“All matters in the Torah are of a superior nature and are uppermost secrets.
Woe to those wicked who say that the Torah is merely a story and nothing more, for they look at the dress and no further.”
— Zohar, Bamidbar 152a
Twenty Two Letters of Kabbalah
| Letter | Sofit (Final Form) |
Name | Sound | Ordinal Value | Absolute Value | Reduced Value | Literal Meaning | Symbolic Meaning | Arcanum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| א | Aleph | a | 1 | 1 | 1 | ox, bull | strength, leader, first | Magician | |
| ב | Bet / Beth | b/v | 2 | 2 | 2 | tent, house | household, in, into | Priestess | |
| ג | Gimel | g | 3 | 3 | 3 | camel | pride, lift up | Empress | |
| ד | Daleth | d | 4 | 4 | 4 | door | pathway, to enter | Emperor | |
| ה | He / Hei / Heh | h | 5 | 5 | 5 | window, fence | the, to reveal | Hierarch | |
| ו | Vav | u | 6 | 6 | 6 | nail | and, add, secure, hook | Indecision / The Lover | |
| ז | Zayin / Zain | z | 7 | 7 | 7 | weapon | cut, to cut off | Triumph / The Chariot | |
| ח | Chet / Cheth | ch | 8 | 8 | 8 | fence, hedge, chamber | private, to separate | Justice | |
| ט | Teth / Tet | t | 9 | 9 | 9 | to twist, a snake | to surround | The Hermit | |
| י | Iod / Yod | i | 10 | 10 | 1 | closed hand | deed, work, to make | Retribution / The Wheel | |
| כ | ך | Kaph / Kaf | j | 11 | 20 | 2 | arm, wing, open hand | to cover, allow, strength | Persuasion |
| ל | Lamed | l | 12 | 30 | 3 | cattle goad, a staff | prod, go toward, tongue | The Apostalate | |
| מ | ם | Mem | m | 13 | 40 | 4 | water | massive, overpower, chaos | Immortality / Death |
| נ | ן | Nun | n | 14 | 50 | 5 | moving fish | activity, life | Temperance |
| ס | Samech | x | 15 | 60 | 6 | a prop | support, turn | Passion | |
| ע | Ayin | o | 16 | 70 | 7 | eye | see, know, experience | The Fulminated Tower | |
| פ | ף | Peh / Pei | p/f | 17 | 80 | 8 | mouth | speak, open, word | Hope |
| צ | ץ | Tzadi / Tsadi | c | 18 | 90 | 9 | fish-hook | harvest, desire | Twilight |
| ק | Quph / Kuf | q | 19 | 100 | 1 | back of the head | behind, the last, least | Inspiration / Alliance | |
| ר | Resh / Reish | r | 20 | 200 | 2 | head | person, head, highest | Resurrection | |
| ש | Shin / Sin | s/sh | 21 | 300 | 3 | teeth | consume, destroy | Transmutation / The Fool | |
| ת | Tav | t | 22 | 400 | 4 | sign, cross | covenant, seal | Return / Crown of Life |
All the characters, places, and events in the Bible can be broken down according to symbolic meaning of the letters. For example, Moses (Moshe) is spelled with three letters: משה.
Mem (מ) represents water.
Shin (ש) represents fire (that which consumes, transforms, renews).
Hei (ה) represents birth.
Therefore, Moses means “born of the water and the fire.” Fire is a symbol of the spirit (Acts 2) or God (Exodus 3) in both the Old and New Testaments.
The Tree of Life
A Map of the Soul & Spirit
A Map of the Cosmos
The Tree of Life (עץ החיים) is simultaneously an exposition of our “inner worlds” and the cosmic organization of the Divine. The image above is focusing on our inner constitution.
There are ten main aspects of the Tree of Life, plus three aspects of the Unmanifested, and a secret aspect called Daath.
The three aspects of the Unmanifested:
Ain (אין). Ain in Hebrew means “nothingness.”
Ain Soph (אין סוף), meaning “the limitless.”
Ain Soph Aur (אין סוף אור), “the limitless light.”
From the unmanifested, come ten manifested aspects or sephiroth (ספירת).
The first three are the Trinity as it is known in Christianity:
Kether (כתר) - “Crown” - Father
Chokmah (חכמה) - “Wisdom” - Son
Binah (בינה) - “Intelligence” - Holy Spirit
Below the trinity are the seven aspects of the Spirit:
Chesed (חסד) - “Mercy” - Also called Gedulah (גדולה). Our unique Inner Spirit.
Geburah (גבורה) - “Strength” - Spiritual Soul, where all the wisdom of experience is deposited, and the source of intuition.
Tiphereth (תפארת) - “Beauty” - Human Soul, that which can do the will of God, or the will of the ego.
Netzach (נצח) - “Victory” - Intellect, Reasoning, Mind which is trapped by our desires.
Hod (הוד) - “Glory” - Emotions, which is also trapped by our desires.
Yesod (יסוד) - “Foundation” - our vital energy, sexual / creative energy
Malkuth (מלכות) - “Kingdom” - the physical body.