Astrology & Kabbalah
by Patrick Mulcahy
The Mystery of the Ten Sefirot
[An hypothesis suggesting how the ten sefirot of the Sefer Yetzirah might align with the sefirot of the kabbalistic Tree of Life.]
There is a high degree of mystery and uncertainty surrounding the alignment of the ten sefirot of the Sefer Yetzirah to the ten sefirot of the kabbalistic Tree of Life. This is especially the case regarding the assignment of the highest sefirot. There are two main schools of thought...
1. Keter: (Alef, א) Breath
2. Hockmah: (Maym, מ) Water from Breath
3. Binah: (Shin, ש) Fire from Water
And...
1. Keter: (Alef, א) Breath
2. Hockmah: (Shin, ש) Fire from Water
3. Binah: (Maym, מ) Water from Breath
As you can see, it is generally agreed that 'Breath' (Alef, א) is associated with Keter, but some kabbalists associate 'Water from Breath' (Maym, מ) with Hockmah, while others associate it with Binah.
The former appears to be the more logical choice because the phrase "Water from Breath" suggests that Water (Maym, מ) has to come after Breath (Alef, א), and the phrase "Fire from Water" suggests that Fire (Shin, ש) follows after Water (Maym, מ). (This is also the natural order in which the three Mother letters occur in the Hebrew alphabet.)
Here is how I understand the meaning of the Sefer Yetzirah in this regard...
The Sefer Yetzirah states:
The Breath of the Living God
Breath from Breath
Water from Breath
Fire from Water
Up down east west north south. [SY. 1:14]
The meaning of the curious word 'belimah' [Heb: BLYMH, בלימה] is ambiguous and uncertain. It is usually interpreted as BLY MH—meaning 'without what?'. This is generally translated into English as 'nothingness'.
I interpret the word differently however.
In the early part of the book Zohar (where it discusses the Creation process of the the first book of the Torah—i.e. Berashith) the Hebrew word MH (Mah, מה) is interpreted as referring to the tenth sefirah Malkut. Therefore, the word BLY-MH can (I believe) be interpreted to mean 'without Malkut'. Therefore, the oft-repeated phrase of the Sefer Yetzirah "ten sefirot belimah" can be interpreted to mean "ten sefirot without Malkut".
So, if there are ten sefirot without the sefirah Malkut what are they?
Before we enumerate the ten sefirot, consider verse 1:4 of the Sefer Yetzirah:
ten and not nine
ten and not eleven
Understand with Wisdom
Be wise with Understanding
Examine with them
and probe from them
Make [each] thing stand on its essence
And make the Creator sit on His base. [SY. 1:4]
Firstly, note in verse 1:4 the unusual phrase "Understand with Wisdom; Be wise with Understanding". This phrase combines the names of the two sefirot Binah ('Understanding') and Hockmah ('Wisdom'). This phrase is (I believe) a clue that tells us that we must include the sefirah Da'at among the sefirot (even though it is not actually enumerated as one of the ten).
My reasoning relates to the kabbalistic principle that when Hockmah combines with Binah, the sefirah Da'at emerges within the Abyss of the Tree of Life. I believe that this is what verse 1:4 is hinting at.
Da'at is the 'base' (referred to in verse 1:4 above) that the 'Creator' must sit upon. The Creator (i.e. 'Macroprosopus') is represented by the three supernal sefirot of the the Tree of Life. The three supernals—Keter, Hockmah, and Binah, are supported by the sefirah Da'at as they hover over the Abyss.
The six 'directional' sefirot (as described in the Sefer Yetzirah) are generally recognised as corresponding to the six sefirot directly below the Abyss of the Tree of Life—i.e. the sefirot from Hesed to Yesod. I also agree with this designation.
The first four sefirot mentioned in the Sefer Yetzirah, however, do not so obviously align themselves with the (now) standardised version of the Tree of Life diagram.
To assign the first four sefirot to the Tree of Life diagram we must find and interpret the clues hidden within the text of the Sefer Yetzirah.
The first four sefirot are specifically discussed in verses 1:9 to 1:12.
The first thing to notice is that verses 1:10 to 1:12 (i.e. enumerating the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sefirot) are distinctly different from verse 1:9 (i.e. which delineates the 1st sefirah).
Verse 1:9 describes the first sefirah as "the Breath of the Living God", "The voice of breath and speech", and "the Holy Breath".
One is the Breath of the Living God
Blessed and benedicted is the name
of the Life of Worlds
The voice of breath and speech
And this is the Holy Breath. [1:9]
This 'Holy Breath' is actually the divine force that is used by the Creator to "engrave and carve" the next three sefirot. All three of the following verses (i.e. verses 1:10 to 1:12) contain the phrase "With it He engraved and carved...".
What does "it" refer to in the phrase: "With it He engraved and carved"?
It is the 'Holy Breath'.
In fact, it is stated openly in the Sefer Yetzirah that it is the Holy Breath (also called "the Voice of Breath and Speech")...
He engraved them with voice
He carved them with breath... [SY. 2:3]
(See verse 1:10 quoted below.)
In other words, the 'Holy Breath' is used by the Creator to form the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sefirot.
The first sefirah, the Holy Breath, symbolises the in-breath of the Creator Who subsequently breathes out the Holy Breath in order to manifest the Creation (i.e. by carving out the remaining sefirot). The Holy Breath corresponds to Ain Sof (the 'Limitless')—the unknown realm into which the essence of the Creation will return when the Creator next inhales His divine Breath.
With it [i.e. the Holy Breath] He engraved and carved
22 Foundation Letters
Three Mothers
Seven Doubles
and Twelve Elementals
And one Breath is from them. [SY. 1:10]
With it [i.e. the Holy Breath] He engraved and carved
[22 letters from]
chaos and void
mire and clay
He engraved them like a sort of garden
He carved them like a sort of wall
He covered them like a sort of ceiling
[And He poured snow over them
and it became dust
as it is written
"For to snow He said, 'Become earth'" (Job 37:6).] [SY. 1:11]
With it [i.e. the Holy Breath] He engraved and carved
the Throne of Glory
Serafim, Ophanim, and holy Chayot
and Ministering angels
From these three He founded His dwelling
as it is written:
"He makes His angels of breaths,
His ministers of flaming fire" (Psalms 104:4). [SY. 1:12]
In all three of these verses the sefirot are firstly named...
2. Breath from Breath ("22 Foundation Letters")
3. Water from Breath ("22 Letters from Chaos and Void")
4. Fire from Water ("The Throne of Glory")
...and then their formation is described in terms of the exhalation of the Holy Breath as it 'engraves and carves' their attributes. This is made clear in verse 1:10 where it states: "With it He engraved and carved 22 Foundation letters...And one Breath is from them". The 'Breath' that is "from them" is 'Breath from Breath' which emanates from this sefirah after the '22 Foundation Letters" have been "engraved and carved" by the Holy Breath (i.e. of verse 1:9).
Notice in verse 1:12 (above) the inclusion of the phrase "Throne of Glory"—a well-known significator of the sefirah Binah. That is a big clue.
Verse 1:12 also contains the phrase "From these three He founded His dwelling".
What does this mean—"from these three"?
It means that the Creator built His dwelling (or 'House') from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sefirot (i.e. 'the last three mentioned sefirot').
The phrase "His dwelling" specifically refers to the sefirah Da'at (and the six lowest sefirot of the Tree of Life).
The seven lower sefirot (including Da'at) are associated with the seven Double letters of the Hebrew alphabet, just as the three sefirot above them are associated with the three Mother letters.
The sefirah Da'at (which is not enumerated in the Sefer Yetzirah because it is 'concealed') is associated with the first Double letter—i.e. the letter Bayt, ב, meaning 'House', or 'dwelling'. The lower six sefirot are associated with the other six Double letters.
Thus, when it is stated in SY verse 1:12... "From these three He founded His dwelling", it is actually saying: 'From these last three mentioned sefirot He created the sefirah Da'at and the six sefirot below the Abyss'.
The phrase "He founded His dwelling" refers to the 'dwelling' (Bayt, ב) that extends from Da'at through the next six 'directional' sefirot of the Tree of Life.
The letter Bayt (as Da'at) is itself specifically referred to (in the Sefer Yetzirah) as the Holy Palace, or Temple (Heb: HYKL HQVDSh, היכל הקודש). It represents the 'inner sanctum'—the most sacred 'room' of the House. In my view, the term Holy Palace (or, Temple) as used in the Sefer Yetzirah, does not refer to the sefirah Malkut as most kabbalists appear to believe. As I mentioned above, the ten sefirot of the Sefer Yetzirah do not include the sefirah Malkut.
Up and Down
East and West
North and South
And the Holy Palace precisely in the center
and it supports them all. [SY. 4:4]
The term 'Holy Palace' does NOT refer to one of the ten enumerated sefirot of the Sefer Yetzirah, because as we know, the ten sefirot are comprised of the first four sefirot (as delineated in SY verses 1:9 to 1:12), and the six directional sefirot (as stated in verse 1:14 quoted above).
Interestingly, when we total the Hebrew letter values of the term 'holy palace' we derive:
HYKL QVDSh = היכל קודש = 475
...while the value of the Hebrew word "Da'at" is:
DOTh = דעת = 474.
The traditional rules of gematria allow a computational discrepancy of 1 unit, so this result is quite significant.
The Sefer Yetzirah describes the process of 'formation' (or 'creation') and the sefirah Malkut symbolises the final result of the creative process. In other words, the sefirah Malkut (symbolising the 'world of Assiah') is an appendage to the Tree of Life that emerges only after the yetziratic processes are complete. That is why the creative formulae (i.e. the six 'seals') given in Sefer Yetzirah 1:15 are derived from YHV (Heb: יהו), and not YHVH (Heb: יהוה). The final Heh (ה) representing Malkut is not included in the formulae.
Bayt (as Da'at) "supports" the other six Double letters by holding them all together in structured formation as the House of the Creator. One can imagine it metaphorically as a hanging basket that contains within itself the six lower sefirot. It is located "precisely in the centre" [SY. 4:4] of the yetziratic Tree of Life (i.e. when the first sefirah—the Holy Breath—is included). (See the diagram below.)
The six 'directional' sefirot are the beams (the 'mighty cedars' mentioned in the Zohar) that together construct the 'cube of space' which is a symbol of the Creator's House. Da'at symbolises the House (i.e. the Universe) in its entirety and is therefore unable to be perceived except by the Creator who 'sits' upon it.
Thus, the ten sefirot (as enumerated in the Sefer Yetzirah) are as follows:
The Breath of the Living God
Breath from Breath
Water from Breath
Fire from Water
Up down east west north south. [SY. 1:14]
...which translates to the Tree of Life as...
1. [Ain Sof] - The Breath of the Living God (The Holy Breath) - Alef, א (Air)
2. Keter - Breath from Breath - Alef, א (Air)
3. Hockmah - Water from Breath - Maym, מ (Water)
4. Binah - Fire from Water - Shin, ש (Fire)
Da'at ('concealed' and un-enumerated) - Bayt, ב (Saturn)
5. Hesed - South - Gimel, ג (Jupiter)
6. Geburah - East - Dalet, ד (Mars)
7. Tifaret - Up - Kaf, כ (Sun)
8. Netzah - West - Peh, פ (Venus)
9. Hod - North - Raysh, ר (Mercury)
10. Yesod - Down - Tav, ת (Moon)
Blessings,
Patrick. [Sept, 2008.]
[Updated: 3rd Oct, 2008]