Something I’ve skimmed over in discussing the sephirot is their associations, and how they fit together in the Tree of Life. Of course, there are so many associations assigned to each sephirah, and not all of them are completely agreed on, that it can sometimes seem easier to just skip it all. That really isn’t an option though. To fully understand the sephirot we must understand them together. A scientist can spend years studying a trees fruit, or leaves, or …
Studying the Tree of Life – On not missing the tree for the leaves
In writing this blog, I have tried to introduce one of the sephirah each week. I though that this would allow a steady progression through the Tree of Life, while giving time to consider and meditate on each sephirah before moving onto the next. Yet for several weeks now, I have not written of the Tree of Life, or any of the sephirot. I’m not sure why that is. I don’t have a plan for this blog, no thoughtout path …
Seeking the Path to Enlightenment – Kill the Buddha
“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill the Buddha.” There are a number of ideas in Buddhism that I have never been able to accept. The very idea of non-attachment strikes me as both rediculous and thoroughly unrealistic. But this idea, I have always embraced. If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill the Buddha. Why? Because if you meet what you think is the Buddha, you will stop searching for enlightenment and follow this Buddha; and …
Before the Beginning – When Creation Began
For centuries, Kabbalahists have discussed, debated and sought to find answers to the same question that physicists are working on today. Where did everything come from? While physics wrestles with the idea of the Big Bang and its implications and importance, Kabbalah has found answers of its own. Here is my understanding of the time before creation, based on the work of Rebs Isaac of Luria, Yehuda Ashlag, and others. The Divine was light and the light was everywhere. …
Why is there Suffering? – God as Our Partner
I read somewhere that in the 18th century a bunch of rabbis got together to debate whether it was better to die young, or to not be born at all. Eventually, they decided that it was better not to be born at all, but since we are all born, we have to make the best of it. I think the Buddhist response to that would be something along the lines of ‘Duh, life is suffering.’ Sometimes, it seems like John …
Now is the Time for Kabbalah
Interest in kabbalah has exploded in recent years. From an obscure tradition known to only a few, it has become a highly popular field of esoteric study for people all over the world. Many people believe that this explosion is simply a part of the change in attitude on the part of experience kabbalists, that instead of keeping restricting the teachings to a few select students; it is being taught and shared widely and openly. Certainly kabbalah could not be …
Angels in Kabbalah – God’s Messengers of Life
Angels are very much a part of Kabbalistic philosophy. A number of stories involve famous Kabbalists meeting angels, and the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel provides hours of Kabbalistic interpretation, discussion and debate as to its meaning, significance and metaphor. Angels are G-d’s messengers, Its go-phers and couriers. Every moment, there is an angel whispering in your ear ‘Live’. This angel was created specifically to deliver this message. As soon as it’s job is done, it ceases to …
God Can Make It Beautiful – We Just Need to Try
This is a story from the Baal Shem Tov: G-d Can Make the Prayers A carter stopped on the road in the evening as the time for prayer drew near. With great reverence, he looked up to the Heaven, and recited the alphabet. ‘Oh Lord,’ he said, ‘I am an uneducated man, and do not know the prayers. So I am sending you the letters, and You can put them together.’ The carter may have been uneducated, but he must …
Knowledge in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life – Da’at
Da’at – the Sephirah that is not. Da’at or daat is sometimes called the hidden sephirah. It really isn’t a sephirah at all, even though it is sometimes shown on the Tree of Life. Da’at translates as knowledge, and is sometimes seen as being a balance point for the sephirah above it – chochma and binah, as tiferet balances chesed and gevurah. In many ways that doesn’t make sense to me since da’at isn’t a sephirah, but then, da’at doesn’t …
A World Appearing From Fog
All sorts of desires are appearing within me now, and I feel that they aren’t mine, they appear from somewhere else. I ask myself: “Who am I?” “What am I?” “What am I for?” “Where does this come from within me?” “Do I need this or not?” “Actually, I don’t even want anything.” Suddenly, I start thinking: “Why don’t I want anything?” Because all of this isn’t mine, there is some outside source that spins and manipulates me. On one …
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- Understanding the Tree of Life – The Body of the Sephirot
- Studying the Tree of Life – On not missing the tree for the leaves
- Seeking the Path to Enlightenment – Kill the Buddha
- Before the Beginning – When Creation Began
- Why is there Suffering? – God as Our Partner
