by Kabbalah is the school of Jewish mysticism that explains the relationship between the Eternal God and His immanent creation.
Kabbalah can be defined as the Jewish doctrine that combines mystical and esoteric teachings that result from the attempt to learn about God’s occult life and the link between God and His creation. In Hebrew, the term Qabālā (קַבָּלָה), which has the meaning of “reception”, refers to the custom of transmitting knowledge through oral transmission and is synonymous with “tradition”.
The search for the historical roots of kabbalistic thought proves to be a somewhat complex task. Some Kabbalists believed that the Kabbalah was born of a divine revelation given to the first man and his immediate successors. According to historians, the Kabbalah initially embraced many elements akin to Hellenistic Gnosticism, Palestinian theosophical Judaism, Persian religion and Iranian cults for a relatively long time, whose start can be traced back roughly to the construction of the Second Temple [1].
The term Qabālā more specifically indicated the Jewish esoteric current, which, despite having its roots in a very ancient past, developed and flourished starting from the 12th century. Before its spread, it was the Talmud [2] that fuelled speculative mysticism. Several passages in the Bible – creation accounts, prophetic visions – contain doctrines about the nature of Divinity and the universe. Those of the Talmud focus on the Ma’ase Bereshith (The Work of Creation, a treatise on mystical cosmology) and the Ma’ase Merkaba (The Work of the Chariot, on the Divine Chariot of the vision of Ezekiel) and are specifically related to the names of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai, Rabbi Akiba and Rabbi Simeon ben Yochai. The mystics of the Merkaba – who entered the Pardess, the “Garden of Divine Wisdom” according to the Talmudic expression – have described their experiences. Having managed to escape from the physical world, they have integrated into the celestial sphere; initiated into the most profound mysteries, they have entered into contact with the Divine. We find various tales of this type in the so-called Hekhaloth literature, the “Heavenly Palaces”, which dates back to the age of the Gaonim [3]. However, the main mystical work was the Sepher Yetzirah (The Book of Creation), which treats the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the ten Sephiroth in a symbolic key. The Kabbalah reached its apogee with the Zohar, published by Moises De Leon in 1300 and destined to become the Bible of the Jewish mystics. The Zohar was destined to conquer the Jewish world with exceptional speed. The Spanish exiles propagated it in all the countries where they obtained hospitality after being expelled: Turkey, Palestine, Egypt, Italy, Germany, and Holland.
The Kabbalah is generally classified into three sections: the practical Kabbalah, the literal Kabbalah and the dogmatic Kabbalah.
The practical Kabbalah
Practical Kabbalah (ma’asit Kabbalah, Heb. קַבָּלָהמַעֲשִׂית) deals with ceremonial magic, invocations, spells, and knowledge of divine and angelic names for the creation of amulets and talismans. It remained a minor tradition for theological and meditative teachings when not openly accused of deviating towards impure magic.
The literal Kabbalah
Literal Kabbalah is about the permutation of Hebrew letters and numbers and is mentioned almost everywhere in Kabbalistic literature, so knowledge of its basic principles is required. It is divided into three parts: Gematria, Notaricon and Temurah.
Gematria
Gematria (Heb. גמטריא) is the metathesis [4] of the Greek word γραμματεια ( grammateia, grammar) or, according to some, of γεωμετρία (geometry). It is based on the relative numerical value of the words. Words with the same numerical value are considered explanatory of each other, and this theory is extended to sentences as well. Hence the letter Shin, Sh, is 300 and is equivalent to the number obtained by adding the numerical values of the letters of the word RVCh ALHIM, Ruach Elohim, the spirit of Elohim; and is, therefore, a symbol of the spirit of Elohim. For R = 200, V = 6, Ch = 8, A = 1, L = 30, H = 5, I = 10, M = 40 we have a total of 300. Similarly, the words AChD, Achad, Unity, One, and AHBH, Ahebah, love, each make 13. For A = 1, Ch = 8, D = 4, the total is 13; and for A = 1, H = 5, B = 2, H = 5 the total is always 13. And again, the name of the angel MTTRVN, Metatron or Methraton, and the divine name ShDI, Shaddaï, each make 314. Thus, one is the symbolic expression of the other; the angel Metatron, of whom God said, “My name is in him,” is said to have been the guide of the children of Israel during the exile. Regarding the Gematria of the sentences we have, for example (Gen. 49:10) [5], Yeba Shiloh [6], “Shiloh will come” = 358, which is the numbering of the word Messiah. And the passage of Genesis 18: 2, [7] Vehenna Shalisha, “And behold, three men”, is numerically equivalent to Elo Mikhael Gabriel Ve-Raphael, “These are Mikhael, Gabriel and Raphael”; for each sentence, the value is 701.
Notaricon
Notaricon (Heb. נוטריקון) comes from the Latin word notarius, stenographer. There are two forms of Notaricon. In the first, we take each letter of a word as the initial or abbreviation of another word to form a sentence. So, each letter of the word Berashith, the first word of Genesis, is placed as the initial of a word, resulting in Berashith Rahi Eloim Sheyequebelo Israel Torah: “In the beginning, Elohim saw that Israel would accept the law.” There are six fascinating specimens of Notaricon composed of this same word Berashith by Solomon Meir Ben Moses, a Jewish kabbalist. He embraced the Christian faith in 1665 and took the name of Prospero Rugers. These phrases all have a Christian tendency, and thanks to them, Prospero converted another Jew, who had been a staunch opponent of Christianity. The first is Ben, Ruach, Ab, Shaloshethem Yechad Themim: “The Son, the Spirit, the Father, their Trinity, the perfect Oneness”. The second is Ben, Ruach, Ab, Shaloshethem Yechad, Thaubodo, “The Son, the Spirit, the Father; you will equally adore their Trinity”. The third is Bekori Rashuni Asher Shamo Yeshuah Thaubodo: “You will worship My firstborn, whose name is Jesus”. The fourth is Beboa Rabban Asher Shamo Yeshuah Thaubado: “When a Master comes whose name is Jesus, you will worship him”. The fifth is Bethulah Raviah Abachar Shethaled Yeshuah Thrashroah: “I choose a virgin worthy of giving birth to Jesus, and you will call her blessed.” The sixth is Beaugoth Ratzephim Assattar Shegopi Yeshuah Thakelo: “I will hide in bread baked in wood, and you will eat Jesus, my body”. The kabbalistic importance of these phrases as a support to the doctrines of Christianity cannot be underestimated.
Temurah
Temurah (Heb. תְּמוּרָה) is permutation. According to specific rules, we replace a letter with another letter that precedes or follows in the alphabet; therefore, from one word, we can form another word with a different spelling. The alphabet is folded precisely in half, in the middle, and we place one half on top of the other. Alternately replacing the first letter or the first two letters at the beginning of the second line produces twenty-two permutations. These are called “Tzirupa Combination Table” (table 1). As an example, let’s take the method called Albath.
| 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| K | I | T | Ch | Z | V | H | D | G | B | A |
| M | N | S | O | P | Tz | Q | R | Sh | Th | L |
Each method takes its name from the first two pairs that compose it, being the system of pairs of letters at the base of the whole since both pairs are replaced by the other letter.
Thus, for Albath, from RVCh (Ruach) DTzO (Detzau) is formed. The names of the other twenty-two methods are: ABGTh, AGDTh, ADBG, AHBD, AVBH, AZBV, AChBZ, ATBCh, AIBT, AKBI, ALBK, AMBL, ANBM, ASBN, AOBS, APBO, ATzBP, AQBTz, ARBQ, AShBR and AThBSh. To these must be added the ABGD and ALBM modes. Then there is “The Rational Table of Tziruph”, another set of twenty-two combinations. There are also three “Switching Tables”, known as the Right, the Adverse and the Irregular. To compose these tables, a square of 484 boxes is created, inside which the letters are written. For the “Right Table”, we report the alphabet in the first row from right to left; we do the same in the second row of boxes, starting with R and ending with A; the third one begins with G and ends with B; and so on. For the “Adverse Table”, we write the alphabet backwards from right to left, starting with Th and ending with A; in the second line, we begin with Sh and end with Th and so on. The “Irregular Table” is too long to describe. Also, there is a method called Thashraq, formed by simply writing a word backwards. There is still a fundamental form called “Kabbalah of the Nine Rooms”, or Aiq Bekar (table 2).
| 300 | 30 | 3 | 200 | 20 | 2 | 100 | 10 | 1 |
| 000 | 00 | 0 | 000 | 00 | 0 | 000 | 00 | 0 |
| Sh | L | G | R | K | B | Q | I | A |
| 600 | 60 | 6 | 500 | 50 | 5 | 400 | 40 | 4 |
| 000 | 00 | 0 | 000 | 00 | 0 | 000 | 00 | 0 |
| Final M | S | V | Final K | N | H | Th | M | D |
| 900 | 90 | 9 | 800 | 80 | 8 | 700 | 70 | 7 |
| 000 | 00 | 0 | 000 | 00 | 0 | 000 | 00 | 0 |
| Final T | Tz | T | Final P | P | Ch | Final N | O | Z |
We have entered the numbering of each letter at the top to show the affinity between the letters in each room. Sometimes this method is used as a cypher, taking parts of the figure to show the letters they contain, putting a period for the first letter, two for the second, etc. So, the right corner, which includes AIQ, will answer for Q if it has three dots or circles. And again, a square will answer for the final H, N or K depending on whether it has one, two or three points, respectively. So also, for the other letters. But there are many different ways of using Nine Chambers Kabbalah. For example, through the form of Temurah called Athbash, in Jeremiah 25:26, we find that the word ShShK, Sheshach, symbolises BBL, Babel [8]. In addition to all these rules, there are hidden meanings:
- in the form of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet;
- in the form of a particular letter at the end of a word when it is different from that typically used when it is a final letter;
- in a letter written in the middle of a word with a character generally used only at the end;
- in any letter written in a smaller or larger body than the rest of the manuscript, or in a letter written upside down;
- in the variations found in the spelling of certain words, which in some places have one more letter than in others;
- in the peculiarities observed in the position of points or accents and in certain expressions believed to be elliptical or redundant.
For example, the form of the Hebrew letter Aleph, A (א), is said to symbolise a Vau, V (ו), between Yod, I (י) and Daleth, D (ד); hence the letter itself represents the word IDV, Yod. Similarly, the form of the letter He, H (ה) represents Daleth, D, with Yod, I, written in the lower-left corner, etc.
In Isaiah 9:6-8 [9], the letter M in the centre of the word Lemarbah (by multiplication) is written with the final M character instead of the ordinary central spelling. Thus, the total numerical value of the word, instead of being 30 + 40 + 200 + 2 + 5 = 277, is 30 + 600 + 200 + 2 + 5 = 837, for Gematria Tat Zal, the Giver of abundance. It follows that the word takes on a different kabbalistic meaning.
In Deuteronomy. 6: 4 et seq., there is the prayer known as “Shema Yisrael”. It begins like this, ShMO IShRAL IHVH ALHINV IHVH AChD, Shema Yisrael, Tetragrammaton Elohino Tetragrammaton Achad: “Listen Israel, the Tetragrammaton your God is the One Tetragrammaton”. Here, the letter O in ShMO and the D in AChD are written more extensively than the other letters in the text. The kabbalistic symbolism implicit in this occurrence is explained as follows: the letter O, being 70 its value, shows that we can explain the law in seventy different ways, and D = 4 represents the four cardinal points and the letters of the Holy Name. The first word, ShMO, has 410, the years the first temple lasted, etc.
It should also be noted about the first word of the Bible, BRAshITh, Berashith, that the first three letters, BRA, are the initial letters of the names of the three persons of the Trinity: Ben, the Son; Ruach, the Spirit; and Ab, the Father. And again, the first letter of the Bible is B, which is the initial letter of Berakhah, blessing, and not A, which is Arar, i.e., curse. And the letters of Berashith, if we consider their numerical value, express the number of years between the Creation and the birth of Christ, therefore: B = 2000, R = 200, A = 1000, Sh = 300, I = 10, and Th = 400, for a total of 3910 years. Pico Della Mirandola makes the following calculation for BRAshITh: joining the third letter, A, to the first, B, we obtain AB, Ab = Father. If the second letter, R, is added to the doubled first letter, BB, we have BBR, Bebar = through the Son. If you read all but the first letter, you get RAShITh, Rashith = the beginning. If we join the fourth letter, Sh, the first, B, and the last, Th, we have ShBTh, Shebeth = the end of rest. If we take the first three letters, they form BRA, Bera = created. If we leave out the first and accept the following, we form RASh, Rash = head. If we omit the first two and take the following two, they give ASh, Ash = fire. If we combine the fourth and the last, we have ShTh, Sheth = foundation. And again, if we put the second letter before the first, we have RB, Rab = large. If we put the fifth and fourth after the third, we have AISh, Aish = man. If we combine the first two with the last two, we get BRITh, Berith = alliance. And if we add the first to the final, we have ThB, Theb, sometimes used for TVB, Thob = good. Considering all these mystical anagrams in their order, Pico derived the following sentence from the word BRAShITh: Pater in filio (aut per Filium), principium et finem (sive quietum) creavit caput, ignem et fundamentum magni hominis fædere bono: “In Son, the Father created the Head, which is the beginning and the end, the vital fire and foundation of the supernal man (Adam Kadmon), through his righteous covenant “, which is a brief compendium of the teachings of the” Book of Hidden Mystery “.
The dogmatic Kabbalah
The dogmatic Kabbalah contains the doctrinal part. Many treatises from various eras make up the written Kabbalah. The most important are the Sepher Yetzirah and its correlations and the Zohar with developments and commentaries.
Sepher Yetzirah
The Sepher Yetzirah (Heb. ספריצירה), or “Book of Formation”, is attributed to the patriarch Abraham. It deals with cosmogony symbolised by the ten numbers and twenty-two letters of the alphabet, known as the “thirty-two paths”. On these later, Rabbi Abraham Ben Dior wrote a mystical comment. The term “path” is used in the Kabbalah to mean a hieroglyphic idea or sphere of ideas associated with any glyph or symbol.
Zohar
The Zohar (Heb. זֹהַר), or “Splendour”, is considered the most crucial treatise in Kabbalah. It is a mystical commentary on the Torah (the five books of Moses or the Pentateuch), written in medieval Aramaic and Hebrew. It deals with God’s nature, the universe’s origin and structure, the nature of souls, and other related topics. The Zohar is not a book but a set of texts integrating canonical interpretations, theology and mysticism.
Asch Metzareph
The Asch Metzareph, or “Purifying Fire”, is hermetic and alchemical and deals with the relationship between metals and planets. It was probably written between the 16th and 17th centuries and published in Latin by Knorr Von Rosenroth in his Kabbalah Denudata (The Kabbalah Unveiled). The original Hebrew text did not survive.
[1] The Second Temple (or Herod’s Temple) was the reconstruction of the first Jewish temple in Jerusalem, destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC.
[2] The Talmud (teaching) is part of a corpus of scriptures that collects the tradition of the Torah, the oral law. It is a commentary on the Mishna (from a root meaning “to repeat” since repetition alone allows you to memorise what is taught), which contains oral laws and traditions. The Mishna comprises six orders concerned with sanctifying work, the Sabbath and holidays, marriage law, civil and criminal law, sacrificial worship, and ritual purities and impurities.
[3] The gaonim were the heads of two Babylonian religious academies at the time of the captivity of the Jews, called to pronounce on the Law whenever the Talmud did not provide answers to the new problems that arose in that period.
[4] From gr. “Metathesis”, transposition. It is a grammatical figure composed of the transposition of phonetic elements in a word or sentence.
[5] One of the verses of Genesis concerning the announced Messiah: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”
[6] The second part of Genesis 49:10, which in the revised version of the Bible is translated as “… until tribute comes to him,” is reported differently in some versions: “… Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” Shiloh (Heb. שִׁילוֹ) is an ancient city in Samaria, the central region of old Israel. Its meaning is uncertain; it is sometimes translated as a messianic title or “peacemaker”. According to some Christian exegetes, the verse prophesies the coming of Christ.
[7] It is part of the verses of Genesis about Abraham’s intercession for Sodom: “He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.”
[8] The verse is part of the chapter on the Punishment of Babylon: “And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also, the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.” The drink is the wine of wrath (Jer. 25.15), and Babel is the Hebrew name for Babylon.
[9] Isaiah 9:6, coming and power of the Messiah: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:8, threats against the kingdom of Israel: “The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel.”
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