The Mystery of Israel’s Birth

The birth of Israel and its recorded lineage reveals some of the deepest most mystical aspects derived from Kabbalah or explained in the Talmud and the accompanying worls of Torah and by analysis of the Sefirot (The vessels of G-d’s defining light).

At 63 Jacob was blessed by his father Isaac[1] after which he moved to the land of his prosperous and well established uncle Laban[2] . The move was triggered to prevent retribution threatened by his twin brother Esau for the superior blessings that Jacob obtained. In the same year Esau married the daughter of Ishmael (Isaac's half brother) and Ishmael died.

Jacob asked Laban if he could marry his daughter Rachel whom he loved and felt destined to marry[3]. Laban was a well known sorcerer who operated intellectually and mystically at a very high level and as such had built a well established and devoted following. Laban demanded Jacob work 7 years before he would consent. He did not want Jacob to establish an independent nation under the progeny of Abraham and Isaac, preferring instead that his direct lineage would lead to a permanent heritage. Jacob completed the 7 years, but Laban surreptitiously desired that Leah (the elder sister) should marry first. From a young age Laban had established that Leah should marry Esau, but she is known to have wept incessantly in fear of marrying a person who was not dedicated to a life of holiness[5]. When it came to marrying Rachel, Laban conspired to have Leah marry Jacob instead. Rachel suppressed her feelings because she knew Leah would be destroyed by shame and guilt if the plot of her father was foiled[4]. In an act of abundant kindness and compassion she revealed to her sister the secret sign that Jacob and Rachel used to confirm they were meeting each other. This was necessary because woman were veiled from head to toe. On the morning after the marriage ceremony, when Jacob discovered the switch, he confronted Laban who advised Jacob he should have known that the younger daughter could not marry before the older one. Laban demanded a further 7 years of work from Jacob in order to marry Rachel. Understanding this to be the work of G-d, Jacob agreed and after 7 days of traditional wedding blessings with Leah he proceeded to marry Rachel.

Isaac’s father (Abraham) did not want him to take a wife from among the 7 pagan Canaanite nations whose lack of moral standing disqualified them from becoming part of the heightened spiritual nation of Abraham[6]. Therefore, he located Isaac's wife from among the family of his brother Nachor. Although the "other side" of Abraham's family had not made the same radical break as Abraham from the corrupt, idolatrous civilizations of the time, they did come from the line of Noah, Shem and Eiver who were guardians of the holy tradition, the Knowledge of Creation, its universal laws and its writings. Isaac and his wife Rebecca had no wish for Jacob to intermarry with the Canaanites preferring instead to send him to the "other side" of the family to find a wife.

Laban (Rebecca's brother) was from the side seen to be living in the evil realm, the Sitra Achra ('Other Side') a side disconnected from the inner aspect of G-dliness, of which Kabbalah and Chassidus speaks. Abraham saw many holy sparks, the potentially holy souls of future generations who were trapped by Laban, captured by the 'dark side'. In the higher worlds there is no distinction between 'good souls' that must first confront their inner evil and 'evil souls' that must first discover their inner good, ultimately all prevailing souls will be redeemed and returned to the higher worlds to be unified with G-d. Isaac and Jacob, considered their task, in the lower world, was to rescue these souls, prevail by overcoming their inner evil or reveal their inner good and bring them back into the light of holiness, the side of good orienting toward the attributes of the right side (Chesed -kindness). Whilst acting the kind, concerned, loving uncle, Laban did everything in his power to prevent any souls from escaping his clutches. For twenty years he mercilessly exploited Jacob to the point of destruction, together with his whole family, to prevent him from building the nation of Israel under his progeny, but Jacob continued to ask the question – What test does G-d make for me?

Jacob considered the unknown reason for his marriage to Leah and the work demands of Laban, like everything else in his life, to be an act of G-d's higher world, which he did not question. His marriage to Rachel was his own decision, a determining of the lower world, the world of the attribute of Malkhut. The result of Jacob’s marriages to Leah and Rachel together with Jacob’s children by their concubines Bilhah and Zilphah, were children born as follows (order of birth follows in parenthesis);

Reuben – Leah (1)
Simeon – Leah (2)
Levi – Leah (3)
Yehuda – Leah (4)
Zebulun – Leah (10)
Issachar – Leah (9)

Dinah (mother of Asenath) - Leah (11)

Dan – Bilhah (5)
Naphtali – Bilhah (6)

Joseph – Rachel (12)
Benjamin – Rachel (13)

Gad – Zilphah (7)
Asher – Zilphah (8)

In the closing verse of the 32nd chapter of Genesis; Jacob (then 99 yrs old) was commanded by G-d to return to the land of Israel, where he would uphold prophecy through the birth of his last son Benjamin whose birth, in Israel, would secure the land in which G-d's temple would ultimately be built. On the way he was struck by a myriad of apparent disasters. These included the death of Rachel, who he buried in Bethlehem and his mother Rebecca who he buried with her husband in the cave of the patriarchs and matriarchs. In addition he had to prepare his people for a major confrontation against the nation of Esau, the clan of his jealous brother, who wanted to kill him to reclaim the birthright blessing[7] he considered Jacob had stolen from him deceitfully. In preparation, Jacob stationed his animals, tribal members and possessions and ferried his family across a fork of the Yabok river. Then, he returned "remaining behind alone" (according to the Talmud, he returned to retrieve a sacred "small jar"of oil, destined for The Temple of the house of Jacob). There, that night, "an unknown man wrestled with him until dawn", Jacob received an injury to his hip in the struggle, but remained undefeated. At daybreak his combatant, an angel of 'darkness' that could not sustain its presence when 'the mercy of G-d' rose, pleaded with him to let him go. Jacob, who perceived this to be the angel of Esau, realized its predicament, demanding confirmation of his birthright saying: "I will not let you go until you bless me." The angel, fearing the ascending mercy of G-d, acceded and conferred upon him the name Israel, "because you have struggled with the divine and with men, and you have prevailed". Jacob had perfected the balance in each attribute of his soul - Yessod (Foundation) had risen, his soul was now dominant Tifferet (Balance)! [Zohar - Miqez 203b]

The value of Israel, ישראל = 541 consider:

· The Hebrew word 'Israel' possesses the symmetrical form of its own national emblem conforming to each of its 12 sides when they comprise 10 number points (on each side) for a total of exactly 541 individual number points, forming the Star of David, (Figure a), and;

· The outline (boundary) of the Star of David comprises 108 number points - identical with the outline of the 37th triangle representing the words from Genesis 1:1 "... and the earth." (Figure b) - 37 represents the inner aspect of Wisdom

· Each of these figures has 37 rows (top to bottom) - 37 having a particular significance in the numerical structure of Genesis1:1 and being equal to the word יחידה -Yechidah; unique-essence, known to be the highest soul state, the point of a Jewish souls connection to G-d.

· Isaac was 37 when offered as a sacrifice to G-d when, by his binding, the attribute of judgment was unified with the attribute of kindness such that it was said Isaac (dominant Gevurah - Judgment) looked exactly like Abraham (dominant Chesed - kindness).

The name “Israel” or ישראל can be rearranged to spell “YeS(h) RLA” or רלא יש which literally means 'there are 231', the total number of energy 'channel' combinations between the Sefirot (attributes / vessels) established by the complete array of the 22 Hebrew letters. (see images at http://beingholy.blogspot.com/2006/11/convergence.html).

The story takes place at the Yabok river, a tributary of the Jordan River, where mans penultimate struggle between good and evil occurs. Jacob overcomes the evil forces by making a permanent correction in his soul and in the soul of all Israelites thereafter, that the logic of life should prevail over the logic of death as the predominant soul construct for the future of Israel.

According to the cipher of swapping letters, a practice that originates when the 22 Hebrew letters are connected in the formation of the 231 Gates and more specifically with G-d's folding the heavens during creation, the letters א - ל (aleph – lamed, the first 11 letters) can be exchanged with letters , ב - ם (bet – mem, the second 11 letters). Then, the word יבק (YaBoK) makes the word שמח (300+40+8=348) - the root word 'same’ach'; happy, happiness, a term for heightened enlightenment and spirituality obtained through the study of Torah and by rearranging the order of letters, the word משח - MoShiaCh (Messiah). This can then be directly compared to its counterpart word יבק (Yabok; 10+2+100 =112). Jacob passed over the river to achieve a heightened level of holiness where the ruling logic of life prevailed over the ruling logic of death indicated by the numerical value of the letters which are equal to three names of G-d:

י'ה'ו'ה + א'ה'י'ה + א'ד'נ'י = (1+5+10+5+10+5+6+5+10+50+4+1 = 112).

These three names correspond to the high, middle and low Sefirot, Keter (Crown), Tiferet (Balance) and Malkhut (Kingdom), revealing that the Divine glory only descends toward enlightenment, joy (happiness). When G-d’s names, reflecting the higher attributes of judgment (א'ל'ק'י'ם = 86) and mercy (י'ה'ו'ה =26), are added they also = 112.

The first letter א (aleph) from two of these names is a particularly important letter reflecting convergence by; the higher world Yud (י) (10) (top right of the letter - א) and the lower world Yud (י) (10) (bottom left of the letter - א), separated by a Vav (ו) (6) (middle of the letter - א). Then, 10+10+6 = 26 the same value as (י'ה'ו'ה) Y'H’V’H. Kabbalah explains the peak of the Yud; ”י” reflects the point from which G-d’s creation and His works continuously emanate before descending into the lower worlds - the point of Yechidah - unique essence of the Jewish soul and the soul of a person who has converted to Judaism. ALePh (א) when written out in full = (אלפ) = 111, with the addition of a single unit for the letters of the full word, a common but less frequently used practice of gematria, we arrive at 112. We also see that the letters in the word ‘ALePh’ (אלפ) reverse to become the word ‘PeLeh’ (פלא) meaning 'miracle' or 'higher wonder', but when re-arranged can also become APhayL (אפל) or 'darkness' of the side of evil[8].

Who is this man with whom Jacob wrestled? According to the Sages, he is the "angel of Esau", and their struggle, which "raised dust up to the Supernal Throne", is the celestial and terrestrial struggle between two nations and two worlds represented by the spirituality of Israel and the physicality or materiality of Edom (representing Christianity in the time to come). The night through which they wrestled is long and dark, in the course, Jacob suffers bodily harm and spiritual anguish, but emerges victorious and enlightened.

Jacob, his family, their extended families and all the tribal leaders from the sides of good and evil who were well versed in the teachings of The Knowledge of Creation knew, by confirmation through their studies, when G-d changed Jacob’s name, to Israel, that his family was destined to become the future nation that would lead the world to its ultimate redemption. More than 50 years before Jacob’s death and only a few years after Joseph’s birth the future emergence of the United Kingdom of Israel had been confirmed and this became known to sorcerers and prophets by their reading and interpretation of the Sefirot and the astrological signs;

Jacob’s soul as the embodiment of the Sefirah of Yesod-Foundation, was elevated to its higher central realm the Sefirah of Tiferet-Balance/Beauty, through the even higher transcendent level represented by Da’at-Knowledge (not displayed in the diagram of the Sefirot provided in previous posts), which is the synthesis of Chokmah-Wisdom and Binah-Understanding and their associations with Keter - The Crown. In order to access Holy Wisdom - Chokmah, the attribute beyond Binah (Understanding), the highest attribute man can master (Jacob's 11th child to Leah was named Dinah, Din= judgment, the lower attribute of Binah), Jacob first had to contemplate and struggle with the unholy opposites: vision and intelligence not harnessed to serve love and creativity, but selfishness and destruction represented by Laban.

Just as there are 32 Pathways of Wisdom (32 in Hebrew = לב ('L'amed 'B'et) = Lev;Heart - see;http://beingholy.blogspot.com/2006/09/thirty-two-is-israel-special.html) so the first part of Laban's name is made up of the letters 'L'amed 'B'et (= 32). However, just as the 50th Gate of Binah-Understanding is the unattainable gate (each Sefirah has 50 gates through which energies flow), so the last letter of Laban's name is 'N'un (= 50). Therefore, the name Laban alludes to a level of divine wisdom known as the "Supreme Whiteness" (in the brain, the seat of wisdom, is considered white), this reflects on Laban’s soul and his desire to use sorcery to go beyond that which man in the lower world is capable.

After Jacob received his new name, his 3 names (found in Torah) were then; Y’israeL, YakoB, and Y’shruN (meaning My Love). Each name begins with the Yud (י), the first letter of G-d’s explicit holy name. Notice the last letter of each name spell L-B-N or LaBaN. This became clear to attentive observers that G-d had intervened and was further clarified by the events following Esau’s announced hostility toward Jacob. On the day Jacob received his new name he sent gifts of many animals forward of him then positioning himself between his camp, his family and Esau’s 400 man army who were poised to attack them he prostrated himself before Esau 7 times. Esau, upon seeing Jacob, ran up to him in the open field, embraced him, wept and immediately brought peace between there tribal nations without any fight taking place.

When considering these detailed passages, one should remember that Jacob and Esau were twins. When still in their mother’s womb G-d said to Rebecca, “Two nations are in your womb. Two governments will separate from inside of you. The upper hand will go from one government to the other, the greater one will server the younger”. At this point it is useful to recap earlier posts that Esau represents Edom (Rome - essentially Christianity) and that he married Ishmael's (essentially Islam) sister. Esau emerged first followed by Jacob whose hand clutched onto the heel of his older brother. In Hebrew the word for heel is NaBaL (NBL the B -Bet and V - Vet are the same letter, only a dot separates them). In NaBaL the Nun ('N') of the 50th gate precedes the word contrasting with LaBaN or LBN where the ('N') it follows.

Since the time that Adam was tempted by evil, through the serpent's deception, the sparks of evil were set free to co-mingle with good. It became know that the only way to access higher world Holy Wisdom is to first encounter good and evil in the "Palace of Exchanges" where everything is mixed up. Here evil masquerades as good whilst true good can appear as evil. Adam's eating of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge caused a total mixing-up of good and evil. Therefore, the only way to separate these forces is to confront the confusion, to identify and separate the influential forces of good from the evil. This is why Jacob had to first struggle against Laban, a man of the highest spiritual order, for more than 14 years before he could resolve that which confronted and confused him in order to rise upward to the higher realm and carry his descendants with him.

The true goodness in Laban’s house was to be found in his daughters Rachel and Leah who had inherited the supreme holiness in their father’s perplexed soul. Together with their maids Bilhah and Zilpah, they were to be the mothers of Jacob's twelve sons, the fathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, root souls of all Jews, the souls of true good in the universe. Jacob was destined to marry these women and with them birth the future souls of Israel.

Jacob, by his complete faith in G-d, perceived Rachel as a soul of the lower world, therefore his marriage to her was to consummate through her dominant feminine Sefirah of Malkhut, which he perceived as the correct connection to his then dominant attribute of Yesod – Foundation (the point of Zer Anpin which connects it to Malkhut). On the other hand, his marriage to Leah was considered by him to be a decision of the higher world and was therefore a reflection through her dominant feminine Sefirah of Binah (the left side). This explains why Jacob, who had no expectations of Leah in fact, had no desire to be married to her, ended up having 6 sons by her, including Yehudah (Judas) whose lineage of Kingship built The Temple in Jerusalem (through King David and King Solomon) and Levi whose tribe became the High Priests of Israel. Leah had correctly perceived that her soul was not to be united with Esau because, although concealed to the lower worlds, through her was to come the universal vindication for the exchange of Esau’s birthright in favor of Jacob. Laban understood this, albeit from the perspective that caused him to believe and cleave to the desire that Leah’s marriage would be to the direct benefit of his lineage.

Esau taunted Jacob by showing his desire for Rachel, but she was terrified, submitting herself entirely to the mercy of G-d. After Jacob married Rachel she was unable to give birth, finally she conceived at the same time as Leah’s 7th child. At first Rachel fell into pregnancy with a girl and Leah a boy, but G-d switched their embryos because He heard the united higher world and lower world prayers of Leah and Rachel, that Rachel should become worthy of her sisters equal [9]. So, He altered nature to grant Rachel a boy and at that moment (on the same day as the birth of Adam, the death of Sarah and Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year, the day Torah was granted to Israel) He declared the conditions that would give rise to the birth of the nation of Israel. It was therefore necessary that the only girl in the family, Dinah (Din = Judgment), be born to Leah in order that her 6 boys correctly reflect the higher world masculine attributes of Zer Anpin and the 7th child of Leah be a girl reflecting the Feminine Sefirah Malkhut. To recap; Leah representing Binah connected the higher worlds to her 6 boys (Zer Anpin) and through Dinah representing Malkhut to the lower world. Separately Jacob – dominant Yesod (later Tifferet) and Rachel – Malkhut would give birth to Joseph and Benjamin.

Toward the end of Jacob’s life, his firstborn Reuben[10] (son of Leah) was slated to lead the tribes, but his higher world soul had been exposed, when he lay in the room of his concubine stepmother Bilah to prevent a further conception through Jacob. This meant he and the house of Leah would lose its traditional birthright. Rachel’s (Jacob's wife by choice) firstborn son Joseph would later become the beneficiary of these rights, but not in the manner expected. Since his marriage to Rachel had been undermined, Jacob saw[11] Joseph’s sons Menasseh and Ephraim as he did Leah’s first two sons Reuben and Simeon. Leah's (higher world) third son in line, Levi was granted The Priesthood and The Kingship went to Leah's fourth son Yehudah (Judas). Joseph's descendents thus comprised two tribes, Menasseh and Ephraim who through him received Jacob’s double portion and ultimately two territories in the Holy Land. It is these territories that eventually divide Israel into the north and the south, which were finally united at the time of the First Temple.

The origin of this unification is a hidden miracle, in the story of Israel, sourced from the time that Dinah was seduced and raped by Shechem (son of Chamor) when she was 8 years old. Asenath, her daughter from the rape, was therefore born out of wedlock. Levi and Simeon demanded the Idol worshipping tribe of Chamor be circumcised as part of the compensation for their dastardly act, they agreed. However, whilst healing from their circumcisions, the brothers led by Reuven and Shimeon killed Shechem, his father Chamor and their entire tribe to vindicate and rescue Dinah and Asenath. They wanted to murder Asenath to purge the sparks of un-holiness from their midst, but Jacob would not allow it, instead the brothers sent Asenath to Egypt where, by arrangement, she was adopted into the house of Poti-phera Priest of On. This highlights one of many early and prominent intra-religious connections between the priestly leadership of Israel and that of Egypt, which had been progressively established from the time of Abraham. Many years later Yehudah (Judas) influenced all the brothers, who were intent on killing Joseph, to trade him through the Ishmaelites and Midianites into Egypt. This act certainly avoided the almost certain demise of the future Jewish nation (the common term 'Jew' comes from Yehudah - Judas) and Joseph later became Viceroy of Egypt with all of the purity and holy integrity of his father and mother in tact. Then, after a serious attempt to seduce Joseph, by Aesnath's adopted Egyptian mother, Potiphars wife, she finally allowed Joseph to marry Aesnath and when he discovered her Israelite origin, established by the ancient Hebrew writing on her amulet, he agreed to immediately marry her. It was this miraculous event, 22 years after the rape of Dinah that resulted in the birth of Joseph’s sons Manaseh and Ephraim. This was the single event that finally united the higher world house of Leah and the lower world house of Rachel by forging the link and establishing the basis on which the Nation of Israel was built.

Jacob considered Joseph his first born by his choice. It was for this reason that Joseph's decendency received a double heritage. 290 years later the tribe of Manaseh and Ephraim became the only indirect descendants of Jacob to transcend their status being recognized as direct members of the 12 tribes of Israel when it came to the division of the holy land. They took the place of Levi (who was assigned the priesthood) and Joseph who, in the “end of days”, would be the first Messiah to prepare the world before being resurrected as the the final Messiah, King David (the tribe of Yehudah) the point of man’s ultimate redemption before the resurrection of the dead.

Logic would dictate Manaseh, the older brother, would retain the birthright over Israel’s future, but Jacob, on his death bed (like his father Isaac before him), switched his blessing, because he deduced the name MaNaSeh and NeShaMa (meaning: soul, spelled here using English equivalents to demonstrate the same letter usage) have the same Hebrew letters and therefore, by the rules of letter substitution and gematria, possessed the same Divine qualities. In Jacob’s eyes, Manaseh (like Leah) was a soul of the higher world, a child who possessed the the soul of Leah, through Dinah and Asenath. Whereas, Rachel was a soul of the lower world through her dominant Sefirah of Malkhut, resulting in Ephraim being blessed by Jacob to become the greater leader of Israel after the death of Joseph. It was the lower world with which Jacob was most concerned, it needed the full commitment of his descendents to make the necessary corrections and elevations in order to bring redemption by re-uniting lower with higher in the same way they were once united at the time of Adam. Jacob’s powers of perception were remarkable he could foresee the role of his future heritage. He was always consciously aware of the responsibility that he had to his own soul and to those of the future generations who would ultimately bring forth and be witness to this unification.

These soul level activities are complex, but they fundamentally align with the signs devised from knowledge of the Sefirot, handed down form Abraham, Isaac and Moses and by Jacob’s innate perception of his own soul. Had G-d not intervened or Jacob’s free will been incorrectly applied, the two second generation tribes of Israel would not have become the instrumental link to merge Israel into one united nation. As we now know Jacob’s decisions, through his deep faith, determined that his descendants would ultimately be the people G-d would designate His Chosen People.

The day that the name Israel was bestowed on Jacob was the 15th of Nissan 2206. It is the same day that;

-G-d made a covenant with Abraham to give him and his descendants the holy land
-Abraham was advised he was to have a son - Isaac, at the age of 99
-Isaac was born
-Moses appeared before G-d at the burning bush
-The exodus from Egypt occurred (Passover)
-Daniel, in the Lions Den after the destruction of the First Temple, received the prophecy that the Second Temple would be built after 70 years

By analogy to Yehudah who foresaw the survival of prophecy through the Jewish Nation by the sale of Joseph, it is now clear from the recently discovered Gospels of Judas (Yehudah at the time of Jesus) – translated in 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Judas (dated to 288CE) that Judas was not the deceitful character portrayed by common interpretations of the New Testament (which mirror some mainstream commentators on the Old Testament). Rather Judas was the person who foresaw the continuity of the Jewish Nation and its messianic prophecy through the death of Jesus (Yeshua) - a Jew, who concurred with the planned betrayal because he intuitively shared knowledge of G-d’s ultimate plan for the redemption of man.

With the imminent destruction of the Temple, originally built by Yehudah's (Judah's) King Solomon and the annihilation of more than 1 million Jews in Jerusalem by the Romans, the background story of Jesus and Judas, that took place almost 30 years earlier, became elevated to penetrate the conscience of the nations of the world, but why this particular story? The evolving Gospels of Christianity were adopted by Emperor Constantine for mainstream Romans in a similar period to the dating of the Judas Gospels, some 250-300 years after the death of Jesus.

It is the continuous misrepresentation of Judas's (Yehudah's) soul character that has led anti-Semitic retribution against the Jews. No more so than, in modern times, through the German people whose single minded adaptation of the New Testament enabled Hitler and his representative forces of evil to prey heavily on their restricted sense of lower and higher world reality.

And on April 13, 2006 (15 Nissan 5766) 3560 years later this is what the Pope had to say:

The Vatican, by word of Pope Benedict XVI, grants the recently surfaced Judas' Gospel no credit with regards to its apocryphal claims that Judas betrayed Jesus in compliance with the latter's own requests. According to the Pope, Judas freely chose to betray Jesus: "an open rejection of God's love". Judas, according to Pope Benedict XVI "viewed Jesus in terms of power and success: his only real interests lied with his power and success, there was no love involved. He was a greedy man: money was more important than communing with Jesus; money came before God and his love". According to the Pope it was due to these traits that led Judas to "turn liar, two-faced, indifferent to the truth", "losing any sense of God", "turning hard, incapable of converting, of being the prodigal son, hence throwing away a spent existence".

Perhaps the Judas scapegoat has been a necessary tool for the advancement and spread of Christianity, but to the Jews it has come at a serious and significant price. In essence, Judaism seeks and has always sought a world in which G-d's uninhibited blessings flow abundantly to every soul, regardless of the race, creed, color or religion of the body it occupies.

The Zohar states that the site of the Holy Temple, the centerpiece of Jewish life for more than 3500 years, stands vacant. Perhaps Christianity, Islam and Judaism's ultimate reconciliation with the actions of Yehudah will enable its reconstruction to commence, in haste, so that the world may benefit by the spiritual dedication of Jewish Priests who, once again, may be afforded the opportunity to perform their duties for the benefit of all.


[1] Genesis Ch27:28-29
[2] Ibid 29:14
[3] Ibid 29:18
[4] Gemara Bava Basra 123a
[5] Rashi 17 – Genesis 29:17
[6] Genesis 28:1
[7] http://www.truekabbalah.com/deh.php?p=TheKnowledge007 -
[8] The Gate of Return Chapter 5 Rabbi Dov Ber of Lubavitch
[9] Artscroll Machsor Rosh Hashanah Pg 313 - אבן
[10] http://www.aish.com/torahportion/moray/Reuben.asp
http://www.targum.com/excerpts/shvatim.html
[11] Genesis 48:3-5 : Zohar Vayehi - 222b

The Kabbalah

To learn about integrated 'spiritual' and 'physical' worlds we draw from works that have consistently survived the most ardent intellectual attack through millennia; the surviving mainstream works of the most ancient sources. Since before Abraham, the most ancient mystical secrets of the Kabbalah, loosely meaning; to make or to be a vessel to receive[1], have been maintained by Israel’s forefathers and holy people, often in secret in the face of adversity from the authoritative view. Understanding the mystical construct described in Kabbalah requires one to have a considerable knowledge of Torah and the many prophetic, priestly and rabbinic interpretations handed down.

The principles of the Kabbalah emanate from 32 Paths of Wisdom manifest in G-d's 10 primary names, the source of 10 Sefirot (vessels) connected by 22 energies contained in everything we know[2]. Everything from the highest heavens through the lower heavens is enabled through the vessels, the Sefirot. Their formation is described in enormous detail and their resulting energy-forces give life to everything physical. In the highest realm the Sefirot form the basis of 10 united or conjoined spiritual vessels and the 22 hybrid energy paths along which energy forces flow. Each path reflects the source energy embodied in each of 22 representative letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each letter a different path, unique and specific connecting G-d's 10 Sefirot, vessels of energy which cascade through the four heavenly realms to earth. In each progressive heavenly realm the 10 Sefirot and their 22 paths establish lower realm qualities connecting, as if chained. The lowest link of the highest world forms the highest link in the world below concealing G-d’s light such that all is connected and all energy is effected in this multilevel, interconnected system.

At the top of this energy system the vessel 'Keter', which in the lowest of the four heavenly realms - Asiyah is known as “The Crown”, the highest source.  Details are generally unable to be understood, comprehended or perceived by man. Keter of Asiyah is the absolute perfection of all that is “I”[3] and influences all energy-forces that fall beneath it. Below Keter, Chokmah the force of all wisdom; Binah the force of understanding; Chesed the force of kindness; compassion and love; Gevurah strength and justice; Tiferet compassion, beauty and balance; Netzach victory through offense; Hod majesty through defense; Yesod foundation; and depicted vertically below this Malkhut, kingdom, action and realization. There are many ways to look upon these vessels and how they manifest in each object, in our personality attributes and in our lives. The ancient teachings provide the most exceptional insights into their meanings, at the deepest of mystical interpretations, those that seek knowledge of Torah broadly find them presented in a manner consistent across all Jewish cultural groups.

At a detailed resolution, each Sefirot can be intricately and intimately analyzed and studied to reveal the most credible of mystical secrets that lie beyond literal interpretations and in depth understandings of even the most educated people. For thousands of years, people have written about these mystical secrets, these energy forms, these vessels and the ways in which we function through them to elevate our spiritual and physical states to realize our innate potential.

G-d is recognized in Jewish mystical studies as The Maker, The Creator of all. G-d is unbounded in His absolute manifestation and can never be correctly imagined. Numerous Prophets, Sages and Rabbi’s have elevated their conscious states to the highest levels, they are known to have contemplated the highest heights, in the deepest meditative sense reaching the next universal realm of Beriyah by following the mystical paths of the Sefirot. In these higher realms they have received spiritual guidance from the purest energies that manifest thorough the 10 Sefirot and 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet as prescribed by G-d.

The teachings of The Zohar, which after the destruction of the second temple (100-200 CE) revealed Kabbalah in a concise form, related to the Hebrew Bible tell how Adam received The Book (mystical Knowledge of Creation) from G-d. All evil was contained before the first vessels of creation were shattered during the episode involving Eve, the Serpent and the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge. Much of this desire for Knowledge was passed from Adam to his son Seth (the son that most resembled Adam’s character), then to Noah, Shem (Malchitzedek), Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and is found today in the book known as Sefer Yetzirah[4]. After Adam ate the 'forbidden fruit' , desired knowledge he lost his complete comprehension of Divine Creation, which was concealed from him. It was only through his repentance that G-d re-revealed His Knowledge, this time in the written word absent of his complete esoteric understanding. Adam spent all his days studying the Knowledge to regain what he once possessed and which contained the deepest mysteries describing the instant of creation and everything that proceeded from it.

Studies of The Knowledge of Creation resulted in limited writings through the generations for around 2000 years leading to the time of Abraham and Isaac[5]. Jacob is known to have studied intensely for 14 years in the same cave of learning that Shem studied in. It is quite clear that knowledge of the concepts contained in these early writings were deeply ingrained in the minds of all Israel’s forefathers. In the book, Sefer Yetzirah, the 10 Sefirot are described as if a Tree of Life including the 22 energy paths (branches) that result from the vessels of the soul defined by G-d.

The Tree of Life (see diagram above) around which the deepest mystical knowledge of the universe and life were formed. Only Torah, read and understood, in its highest most abstract representation contains the revelation that can accurately reflect the intricately detailed make-up of the energies of the Sefirot.

In each vessel (attribute) an aspect of G-d’s light exists which is described in our soulful realm by the Sages as follows;

1 - Keter – Crown – Higher world attribute governing pleasure and desire – closest to G-d therefore representing good. It is the highest dimension and is joined with Malkhut, its opposite, in the cascading heavenly scheme.

2 - Chokmah – Higher world intellectual attribute of Wisdom – Leading the right column it is the masculine form often described as being the right side of good – providing insight. Containing the fixed past, therefore representing the good that emenates from it. This forms the second dimension when joined with Binah. Since the past feeds the future, in a sense fertilizing it, Chokmah is thought of as male.

3 - Binah – Higher world intellectual attribute of Understanding, Awareness, Intelligence – leading the left column it is feminine. Enabling the future and therefore the application of free will often described as being the side of evil – stimulating analysis. Since Binah (the future) receives from the past it is thought of as female.

4 - Chesed – Lower world emotional attribute. Love, Compassion, Kindness, Righteousness – the quality of giving and revealing to others; emanating from Chokmah therefore good

5 - Gevurah – Lower world emotional attribute. Strength, Fortitude, Valor – the quality of withholding from others; emanating from Binah therefore evil

6 - Tiferet – Interfacing lower world (emotional )and higher world (intellectual) attributes. Balance, Beauty, Perfection – representing the center column – bringing down the light of mercy

7 - Netzach – Lower world emotional attribute. Victory, Eternity, Infinity – the desire to overcome obstacles

8 - Hod – Lower world emotional attribute. Splendor, Majesty, Greatness – the quality of grandeur; forming the third dimension when joined with Netzach

9 - Yesod – Lower world emotional attribute. Foundation, Principle – the desire to influence others

10 - Malkhut – Manifestation of Higher world and Lower world attributes through, speech or action by which all connections to our spiritual and physical are carried into life. Sovereignty, Kingship – the desire to rule over others; representing the side of evil in its opposite position to its crown being Keter

In the first chapter of the book of Genesis, (Elokim) The Deity that created the universe designates that Justice and Judgment were executed in His absolute form and not in His form where He presides over His celestial court. In this chapter His specific name is stated on 32 individual and specific occasions associated with His actions during the creation of the heavens, the universe, the world and man[6].

In the highest universal realm, the higher Sefirot (1-3) are commonly referred to as Arich Anpin (The Upper Three) and the lower Sefirot (4-9) – Zer Anpin (The Lower Six). Malkhut (10) is referred to separately as it is the vessel through which we connect to all the energies of the Sefirot, it is the active vessel through which we execute action, in a real world sense, to fulfill G-d’s commands and is generally referred to as Feminine and reflected as the Sabbath. The lower Sefirot are related to the six days of the week with Malkhut being the 7th day(Sabbath). Sabbath (from Friday evening through Saturday evening) is the day on which Jewish people welcome the “Sabbath Bride” when G-d’s holy Feminine presence (the Shekinah) descends to dwell amongst us in peace, protecting and re-invigorating our souls during the Sabbath and by her presence, negating the prominence of evil forces of the other side.

From the 32 times G-d’s name is mentioned in Genesis and the specific acts that emanated from His name, 22 letters and 10 digits are derived as the vessels through which creation took place. Every letter is revealed by and emanates from G-d’s four letter name (י'ה'ו'ה) (Y’H’V’H), which incorporates and is interchangeable with the mother letters א-Aleph-Air, מ-Mem-Water and ש-Shin-Fire. His name is a 6 dimensional analogy for all that exists, the last letter ה denoting the lower world-Malkhut. These 6 dimensions occur in lower and upper worlds often reflected by use of the number 12 representing the completion upper and lower. The array of the 4 letters of His name designates the multiplicity of every conceivable dimension and direction in space. By exhausting all possible arrangements of the letters of His name, the variable flow of energy between each of the vessels of the Sefirot is determined[7]. All roads of Kabbalah lead back to this point no matter how complex the path back may be. Although there are 4 letters in His name, one letter is duplicated the 3 remaining letters parallel 3 Mother Letters representing the elements of Air, Water and Fire reflecting thesis, antithesis and synthesis. The combinational arrays derived by the application of His name together with the Sefirot and their energy flow reveal the primary source for Kabbalah.

The triangle numbers from Genesis 1:1 (see: http://beingholy.blogspot.com/#116408936581140925) in particular the numbers 73 and its whole number midpoint 37 (the 37th inverted triangle that pierced the perimeter of the 73rd triangle on each of its 3 sides to reflect the number 666) establishes the relevance of these precepts. It becomes abundantly clear when we discover that Chokmah the attribute of wisdom in the Sefirot, the highest attribute through which man unites the higher (Keter – The Crown) and lower worlds (The nine remaining Sefirot), contains a unique numerical relationship in that (Chokmah; meaning: wisdom) חכמה = 8+20+40+5 =73. Further, when we look at the ordinal position of its letters we discover that (Chokmah) חכמה= 8th letter +11th letter +13th letter +5th letter = 37. This alludes to the mystery of wisdom being the attribute with the capacity to comprehend all information from the internal and external. However, we can only connect with this understanding through the purity and holiness of each Sefirah that procedes it. To realize our inner wisdom, we must first traverse from the lowest point Malkhut through Yesod, Hod, Netzach, Tiferet, Gevurah, Chesed and Binah to the attribute of Chokmah, only then can Divine Wisdom be accessed by which perfected cognitive reasoning, speech and action can be applied.

Yesod - Foundation (יסוד = 80), the attribute that connects Zer Anpin (the lower 6) to Malkhut - Kingdom (מלכות = 496; the 4th known Perfect Number), is the mystical attribute combination that enables the soul and spiritual essence of the higher world to be brought down to the pragmatic reality of the lower world. When one considers these numbers produce a sum of 576 and that 576 = 24^2 (squared) we are able then to assign a numeric relationship to the importance of the 24 possible permutations[8] of G-d’s explicit name (The letter array of all possible combinations of the Tetragramaton – Y’H’V’H or י'ה'ו'ה). In order to elevate ones thoughts through the ranks of each Sefirah to gain Divine understanding and insight, various ancient mediative techniques using the letter permutations of G-d's name were devised.

Within each attribute are the detailed profiles of each such that the pattern of Sefirot of the highest realm is repeated in a concealed manner within the vessels of the lower realms. Each Sefirah is governed by its unique and specific energy pattern contained in each of its 10 Sefirot, which specifically define the characteristics of that Sefirah. All of our personalities are governed by this balance. It is like the fingerprint of our persona, each one of us being absolutely and perfectly unique.

One of the teachings of the famous Maggid of the city of Mezritch, heard by the Alter Rebbe (the head of the Lubavitcher movement in Russia) in 5524 (1764) casts light on the source of the Sefirot:
"I (Anochi) have made the earth, and upon it created man."[9] Anochi, He who is the true "I",[10] unknown to and concealed from even the loftiest emanations, clothed His blessed Essence through numerous condensations to give rise to the emanations and creatures, to Serafim, Chayot, Ofanim, angels and "worlds" beyond number. Through countless condensations, "I made this (physical) world and upon it created (barati) man." Man is the end-purpose of Creation, and barati is the end-purpose of man. (Barati, "I created," has the numerical equivalent of 613, the number of written commandments in the Torah) and the number of know nerves, sinews and vessels of the human body.



[1] Inner Space – Aryeh Kaplan Pg3 - http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tDate=12/23/2006
[2] Sefer Yetzirah – Aryeh Kaplan Ch1
[3] Inner Space – Aryeh Kaplan Pg 49
[4] See Sefer Yetzirah – The Book of Creation – In Theory and Practice – Revised Edition – Aryeh Kaplan
[5] Sefer Yetzirah – Aryeh Kaplan Pg xii
[6] Sefer Yetzirah – Aryeh Kaplan Ch 1
[7] Sefer Yetzirah – Aryeh Kaplan Pg 83 Table 13.
[8] Meditation and Kabbalah – The Hidden Eden
[9] Yeshayahu 45:12
[10] Lit.: "I, Whoever I Am."

Lessons in History

When Adam received his soul, the pristine world retained a stronger 'memory' of the holy source from which it emerged. This compelled people of all emerging cultures to pursue their journey of spiritual discovery. After the flood and the physical re-population of the world, the most righteous people like Noah, Malchitzedek and Abraham continued their journey, delving toward the center of the mystical source that had left its magical imprint in the world that surrounded them. It is from this common root that today's cultures are still found to be sharing spiritual and mystical rituals as well as a single language source.

Ishmael (Abraham's son and the source of Islamic lineage) and his Egyptian mother Hagar (Pharaohs daughter in servitude to the house of Abraham to learn monotheistic mysticsm), were eventually banished from Abraham's increasingly spiritual home. They traveled back to Egypt where Ishmael established a family of 12 sons. Isaac (Abraham's son with Sarah) remained committed to a deep state of holiness and purity. He remained in the area which later became Israel where his wife Rebecca bore the twin sons of 'future nations', Jacob (representing Israel) and Esau (representing Rome - and all Christian nations). Esau was first and the Bible recounts that Jacob was born grasping Esau's heel, this is important in context of Torah's later prophecies for the development of humanity.

When Abraham died his grandchildren, Jacob and Esau, were 15 years old. Like Ishmael, Esau was more comfortable living and playing in the field while Jacob devoted his time to study and prayer in the continuation of Abraham and Isaacs deeply spiritual, doctrine. At 63, when Jacob received Isaac's blessing, he finally prepared himself for marriage, the ritual unification of the male and female soul. It was 50 years before Jacobs death when, at the Yabbok river, on his way to the site where Jerusalem is today, that he encountered Esau and fought the angel of death, prevailing over it and receiving its blessing, together with the name Israel that was bestowed on him. In the last 17 years of his 147 year life Jacob followed Joseph (his son) into Egypt with his 11 other sons and their families. After their long awaited reconciliation with Joseph, who by that time had become the most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh, the sons of Israel (Jacob) became enormously influential in Egyptian culture and society, especially in the North. Within a few generations they had grown from 70 people to many thousands of influential descendants of Jacob all of whom enjoyed a privileged, aristocratic status in the Egypt.

The mystical construct of their monotheistic belief was substantially different from any other in Egypt and it fascinated the highly spiritual Egyptian intellectual class, including the priests. It is quite apparent from the detailed stories of Joseph that the Egyptian high priests and aristocracy, including Pharaoh, searched for and found a deeper meaning in their actions through Josephs mystical explanations. Pharaoh was consumed by Joseph's abilities of interpretation, foresight and prophecy. During Joseph's reign he opened the way for the rapid spread and integration of Abrahamic mysticism into Egyptian religious culture. The 90 years of Joseph's life in Egypt marked a peak of Israel's tribal growth and influence. Then, because of his death and that of the Pharaoh ruling at that time, Israel's demise was exacerbated by a hostile objenctionable aristocracy over the next 120 years, ultimately leading to their exodus from Egypt. The total exile period was 430 years (since Abraham's first arrival in Egypt), but this shorter 210 year period is arguably the most pivotal point in the history of all civilization. During their lives Jacob and Joseph were celebrated by Egyptians and upon their deaths, they were embalmed, receiving formal and extensive burials sponsored and endorsed by Pharaoh, the nation of Egypt and their allies.

After Israel's exodus from Egypt and at the end of Egypt's Middle Kingdom (a period of great turbulence in the Pharaonic lineage), the New Kingdom was formed, but things were never quite the same because, as the spiritual center of the world, Egyptian culture had been greatly diminished by the seismic shift of Israel's departure leaving behind a massive vacuum that could not be filled with anything as sophisticated, detailed or perfected as the deep mystical construct and logic of ancient Judaism. Israel's departure left Egypt in chaos, grappling with a return to its flawed past, eventually it led to the complete demise as the worlds primary spiritual authority 1000 years later at the end of the New Kingdom.

Following Israel's exile, at the crossing of the Sea and at Mt. Sinai, they (more than 3 million people) were simultaneously subjected to the most intense enlightenment any single mass population group has ever experienced. After 40 years in the desert, committed to a life of purity, the 12 tribes of Israel separated and settled in the land promised to Abraham. There was a hiatus of several hundred years as they built their new cities and integrated into or fought off some of the existing communities. Apart from each other for the first time in their approximate 300 year history since becoming a nation under Jacob, only their holy teachings and common faith, strengthened by G-d's revelation at the crossing of the sea and their receipt of Torah at Mt. Sinai, kept Israel's tribes bonded together as a common people with a common religious identity.

After several hundred years Israel's tribes gathered in two distinct groups represented by the Kingdom of Judah (including the priesthood) in the South and Israel more generally represented in the North. Their variation in religious practices and the influence of other cultures caused them to drift from their absolute common root, but each remained fundamentally connected to the Torah, to its mystical Kabbalah, and key prayers and meditations. Their principle and common belief in G-d, His commandments and their societal commitment to the laws of Torah, kept them from over zealously competing with each other and provided the magnetism that progressively drew them closer to ultimately become the Iron Age United Kingdom of Israel.

Around 800 BCE, King David fought for possession of the strategically placed Jebusite city and he purchased land that eventually led to the establishment of Jerusalem as a city and religious site. This was centered at Mt. Moriah the mountain, which contains the rock of creation, the foundation stone around which the entire world was formed, where Abraham offered Isaac to G-d and where Jacob pledged to build a house for G-d. David's son King Solomon built the first permanent Israelite Temple to house the Holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant holding the stones of the 10 Commandments that were transported through the dessert from Mt. Sinai. Jerusalem progressively became the undisputed mystical and spiritual center of the world, the place where people of all nations came to repent their sins and give sacrifice to G-d for their individual and collective redemption.

Following approximately 300[2] years of the first temple period, mainstream Israelites began to drift away from the purity of their post exile commitments including their direct and daily connection with G-d through the temple. During this time increasingly large groups from other cultures integrated and converted to Judaism. 150 years later, the Jews (including the priesthood) under the Kingdom of Judah, keepers of the land in the south, where the temple was based, were attacked by the Babylonians. The first temple was destroyed and all of Judah and Israel placed into a permanent state of exile, banished from the Holy Land to Babylon (Iran). This marks the beginning of Israel's long diaspora when the Jewish masses continued their migration to other countries and integrated more broadly into other cultures. Then Imperial Greece, under Alexander the Great, conquered Jerusalem and after 70 years of exile, the Holy Priests, with permission from the Babylonian King, cautiously began returning to Jerusalem. The rebuilding of the temple commenced immediately and later in Jerusalem, under Roman rule, massive construction of the second temple continued, and was ultimately completed making it arguably the most important religious site in history.

After 400 hundred years of the second temple period, toward the end of the first century of the Common Era (CE), Jews in Jerusalem, their temple and the increasingly recalcitrant priesthood were destroyed. This occurred because fragmented groups of increasingly powerful secular Jews, including many recent converts, spurred Imperial Rome's politicians to directly oppose Israel's religious core who remained entrenched and unwavering in their commitment to G-d over any national interests. Amongst the Jewish opposition, Yehoshua (Hebrew),Yeshua (Aramaic) or (Jesus), a particularly rebellious spiritual and mystical leader who, from amongst the many false Mesiah's at the time, was tried and crucified for his attempts to stop Roman corruption of temple priesthood and practices. Rome attacked and the Jews were placed into a deep and longlasting exile one more time. This time all Jews in Jerusalem were viciously persecuted and no Jew permitted to live within the cities walls. During this period Israel was scattered in the diaspora, North, through modern day Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Greece, Italy, France and Spain and South through Egypt, Libya and Morocco. Those Jews who remained committed to the core of their spiritual belief adopted the prescribed practices of the Great Council of Elders who after the destruction of the first Temple documented the entire body of Oral Torah handed down through the millennia. However, non-Jews who had previously benefited by bringing sacrifices at the Temple were left in a directionless spiritual void to fend for themselves.

By the end of the 4th century (CE), following Emperor Constantine's official adoption of Christianity (313CE) and the founding of the Byzantine Empire, the Land of Israel had become a predominantly Christian country. Churches were built on once Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Galilee. Around 600 years after this, Arab rulers, followed by the Turks of the Ottoman Empire attacked and took control of Jerusalem in the period before the beginning of Islam (around 800 CE). Successive attempts were made to destroy all that Jerusalem represented, its buildings, monuments, artifacts and articles of substance in order to remove any remnant of Israel's hated Jewish religious culture for fear that it may rise to undermine its opponents one last time. Then, following an appeal by Pope Urban II to reclaim the holy land, the Crusaders of Europe were sent. Initially successful in 1187 (CE) they were eventually overthrown by the Arab's under Saladin. The Arab communities who occupied Jerusalem at that time were particularly vigilant, building over and raising to the ground the remnants of anything that Rome had failed to destroy at the begining of the millennia prior.

At the time of the destruction of the second temple by the Romans (after the time of Jesus), it became evident to the most learned Rabbis that Kabbalah, its rituals, meditation and its teachings were to be strictly practiced underground in order to retain correct standards of its delicately constructed laws and avoid further persecution by those that opposed it. The Holiest Sages and Rabbis continued to move into the north, ( the old Kingdom of Israel) to Tiberias and Zefad where they continued to study and reveal the most mystical aspects of the Torah. Zefad is the site where Jacob studied for 14 years in the school of Malchitzedek. The practices of the Rabbi's began to change to meet the demands of the more modern pragmatic era and teachings of the Kabbalah (representing the scapegoat) became feared by Jewish mainstream communities for the tyranny that the Jews had experienced. Mysticism was buried, allowed only in the deepest underground groups, for almost 1000 years, until around 1100 CE,when the Zohar (the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his pupils recovered from around 100 CE) was first published and open study resumed in certain European cities, but only amongst the most learned holy scholars. As these teachings began to re-emerge for the first time, Jews in exile were persecuted in Spain and throughout Europe. The spread of Catholicism caused serious spiritual, religious and cultural conflict and many newly established derivatives of Christianity and Islam had difficulty reconciling intellectually with their root teachings in Jewish mysticism, so they were forced to 'shape' the views of its teachers and commentators. It was not until approximately 1600-1700 CE when the Chassidic Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe re-established the study of Kabbalah and its' more practical application through the teachings of the Chassidic Masters (first taught by the ba'al Shem Tov) known as Chassidus. Progressively, although not without serious contention from their fellow Jews, certain Rabbi's (led by The Alter Rebbe - founder of modern Chabad) felt that the time had arrived to reveal more and more of the wisdom of Kabbalah through Chassidus.

Around the end of the First World War Russian and Eastern European Jews began to immigrate west toward the major cities of Europe. Following the pogroms in Russia under Stalin, wave after wave of immigrants joined their fellow Jews in Poland, Germany, France and Hungary causing significant social upheavel. Through their practice and study of Torah they remained motivated to struggle and survive despite very difficult conditions imposed on them. Speaking Hebrew and Yiddish, they were the outcasts of society almost everywhere they went, therefore secular Judaism became the 'easier' alternative causing assimilation to spread rapidly into the heart of European Jewish culture and society. This new wave of assimilated 'Jewishness' mixed in with the remnant of ancient Jewish righteousness and mysticsm, once again, became the wekest link, the focus of resentment, stirring up the darkest forces manifest in Hitler and his alien nation principals.

Hitler distorted the views of the role of Judas in the death of Christ, sourced in the comparatively independent and contained writings of the New Testament, which planted the seeds for anti-Semitism and established the ideal conditions for a headonistic disaster. Like a head-on collision of two oncoming trains, it was Hitler's train of steel that crushed and destroyed the train of Jews imigrating into Europe. Through this, the souls of the 6 million Jews, who perished by Hilters evil hand, were elevated to return to the higher worlds to empower the forces of good and G-d's heavenly tribunal was called to weigh scales, judging the nation of Israel and the world. A direct result of these events, 3 years after the end of World War II, was the establishment of the State of Israel. Finally the major nations of the world formally and officially recognized the national right of Jews to the land of Israel as a permanent home for the descendants of Jacob, the keepers of the Jewish faith.

Despite the re-establishment of the modern State of Israel, there remains a fundamental opposition to the Jewish mystical core that protects, shields and benefits all descendants of Israel. This is the same opposition that followed Abraham, Jacob and Joseph into Egypt, the one that caused Egypts resentment, the one that the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Spanish and the Germans followed in order to crush and control Israel's spiritual ideal. This opposition, manifest in ongoing anti-Semitism, (see Iran's latest attempt to deny the holocaust) is so strong that only a comprehensive knowledge, understanding, possesion and identification with Torah and its' inner meanings by the nations of the world will finaly render opposition to the ideal neutral. This is the vision of the Ba'al Shem Tov who, in a deep meditation was told 'when the well springs (his teachings) burst forth and reach the furthest extremities' then the 'shells' (concealers of truth) will cease to exist and the Messiah will be seen in the world.

[1] http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/History/Facts+About+Israel-+History.htm
[2] http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts+About+Israel/History/HISTORY-+Foreign+Domination.htm

Sensitivity and Attachment

Our physical interface to the spiritual realm, from the lowest universe - Asiyah, through the holiest and highest - Azilut, is secured against the dimensional backdrop that gave birth to these universal realms. These are dimensions of such depth, such 'smallness', such infinitesimal nothingness, such purity that their incomprehensibly sensitive qualities manifest in every aspect of any and every possible physical form. In this sense, dimensional finite energies are integrated with the spiritual 'Life Force' energies of thInfiniteie Being (Ain Sof) manifesting in Azilut (our universal realm) and flowing through everything. In a physical sense, at a sub-atomic and atomic scale this is significant because it gives rise to the notion of energy inter-dependencies on a grand unified scale. At a sub-atomic scale this dependency is emphasized because G-d's spiritual forces exert significant influence over the physical structures and sub-structures of each atom in each physical particle, inside every physical object.

If this is the case then, how come we do not feel the presence of this phenomena? Are we oblivious? It is scientifically acknowledged that the predominantly unknown particles, like Neutrino's and other sub-atomic energy forces that take on wave or wave-like forms, pass through our physical bodies every second of every day at the rate of trillions of sub-atomic components per second. So small are these sub-structures and forms that we are unable to detect their presence yet we know they exist. They make up the dark matter and other unknown components of the universe, the jelly mass in which the galaxies, nebula, black holes, stars, planets and people float. We are born into this universal sub atomic jelly, we live in it and it is essential to the forces that sustain life.

So, let's look back at what we have learned: The Infinite Being - The Force of All Forces establishes His will, through which He applies His energy in the form of Eternal Light, which after a shattering of these initial, intensely spiritual energies gives rise to the first finite dimension. His force is applied in 4 major universal realms channeled into 10 cascading 'vessels' of pure spiritual energy of which 7 are the lower vessels, containing remnants of the His original 'light'. The energies of light (good) and darkness (evil) are captured in each of the vessels, which converge. Their intersection becomes the mixing pot in which pre sub-atomic forces are born. The intersection at the peak of the decent (the convergence point) itself is an almost infinite point. At the precise intersection (convergence of all vessels and all realms) the battle of light and dark cannot be resolved by returning to the infinite form because to do so would go beyond G-d's permitted boundary, therefore the only outcome is by reversal, birth and inflatifinitethe fintie force. His beaming spiritual light, drawn to the intersecting singularity of the vessels, releases with enormous force, all that is contained within them giving rise to the creation of the physical world of Asiyah, the lowest spiritual realm, the new home of our physical universe, which expands massively. The dimensions of the most outer spiritual realms remain closest to the forces of G-d. They are the most extremely sensitive dimensions and are instantly responsive to everything He wills.

The extremity of the spiritual dimension of Azilut makes an almost direct connection to The Ain Sof (The Infinite Being), but no connection is actually made. Nevertheless, Atzilut is in such close spiritual proximity that His affect on the extremity of the finite realm of Azilut is instantaneous. It is in Azilut that G-d's spiritual will is transferemanatinge emenating forces of spiritual light that form the basis for His Angels to come into existence. Each next dimensional realm, in turn, transcends each of the other dimensions that fall below Azilut[1]. As discussed earlier, these are the other universal realms; Beriyah (Creation - Something from nothing), Yetzirah (Formation - Something from something) and finally Asiyah (Action - Completion). Connecting and weaving their way through each of these universal realms are the same finite dimensions that originated in Azilut. Although each realm is finite, they and all that they contain remain bounded by the infinite dimension from which they originate and ultimately the root of everything is, The Essence of G-d.

The constrictions that gave rise to each of these universal realms and their cascading vessels, which enabled the light of the Ein Sof to be restricted, shaped the forms of the dimensional structures of the predecessors to space and time before the Big Bang. Consider these dimensions as fractal-like forms, strings, tubes and shapes that connect, weave, and establish the basis for the foundation and primitive structure of space before the emergence of our universal events. However, at the point of the intersection, in the moment of the creation of the singularity, they give rise to the sub-atomic world of our universe in which we now live.

Since these dimensions are the essential foundation of the finite they constitute the building blocks of everything that can ever be physically possible. They contain within them the information that connects every particle of every atom everywhere. At the lowest levels of the sub-atomic dimension, these sub-fractional components are extremely sensitive to force of any type. At a scale relative to the sub-atomic (smaller than anything science has evidence ofenoughbrave enought to theorize), it is the forces of G-d, connected by His Light through His 4 universal realms and their vessels that guide and influence structure in our universe.

Imagine the trillions of sub-atomic particles passing through every cell of your body every second. Imagine, these interact with and impact the atomic behavior of all molecules in your body, which in turn are interconnected and responsive to this External force maintaining its perfect influence over all structure. Under these circumstances, your body and your brain are being affected by this Force and in return the atoms of your body have the capacity to influence this force. This is a two way[2] street, a communication mechanism that connects every atom in your body to the forces of G-d. Every thought and every action has an impact on this External Force and vice versa. With this interpretation, it becomes easier to comprehend the ways in which G-d communicates with us and affects us, for He is able to determine the oscillation of every possible atomic substructure.

It is the inner spiritual workings of your electric pumping heart and your mind and the oscillation of your atoms (in your body) that determine how you ultimately synchronize with His already oscillating Forces. You are directly connected to His Force. His oscillations are directed to everyone and everything and the aggregate of our personal and human oscillations in turn are felt by Him acting as a barometer of our spiritual state and that of the human race. So how do we connect with G-d? How do we respond to Him? How do we tune our spiritual sense to harmonize with Him? How should we live our lives? What mental state should we aspire to? Should we become motivated to think more seriously about Him?

To comprehend this in real terms one must accept that the energies of your body, mind and soul are susceptible to the influence of the forces that surround you, including the input that your brain receives from the brains of other people. Here are a few examples that will set you thinking about this in the right way. If you've ever been in a busy airport catching a flight where the process of moving through lines is necessary, but mundane, your thoughts will in all likelihood sway from the focus of your simple objective - to get on the plane. You will be distracted by events surrounding you, people, stores, food, bathrooms and general activities. The mind noise that emanates from all of the people present, who each have different secondary objectives (gates and times) to consider, is too much for you to bring into order so you tend to drift around in thoughts that are interrupted by the collective minds of those people passing around you. Compare this to a visit to a major sporting event where the entire stadium is focused on the play in the game. Everyone's energy is directed toward a specific focal point and very few distractive thoughts take your attention away from the action in the center. From this example you can see that you are also affected by surrounding (His external indirect) forces that influence you.

Consider your inner voice, the voice that is repetitively heard by you and by no-one else. This is the place in your mind where you 'talk to yourself' confiding in your thoughts, strategizing, analyzing, summing up and determining what your free will course of action should be. It's the place where you silently judge those around you, the place from where you compartmentalize information to establish your personal perception of reality, your kingdom, the one that provides you with foundation from which you can function as a stable person in this world. Internally your thoughts manifest as words (you think in words), somehow they come into mind, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly and they cause reactions, similar thoughts to converge and opposites to repel causing new results that in turn spur other inner voice words, eventually settling with some form of acceptance. Then it starts again. Why do you 'speak' to yourself? Surely we have no need for letters and words especially when they are not expressed in speech itself, but this is not the case. Language, letters and words appear to be the essential elements of our inner voice. So where do these word combinations come from and how do they just form in our brains? Consider the mystical nature of letters and their relative Kabbalistic energy forms, then consider that these energies flow according to the attributes (Sefirot) discussed in Kabbalah. From this we can begin to comprehend that letters are not just some physical manifestation of language, but that they derive from a higher energy source which is universally connected and which affects each of our abilities to function in the world we live and the space that surrounds us.

Most people will find it difficult to tune into or recognize the specific inputs they are receiving. Unexplained events, people you think of who call you, forgotten people that re-connect with you, strangers that talk to you, what are they really saying or doing, is there a hidden higher purpose behind each thought, each action, each event you experience that you may not be interpreting correctly? The more conscious you are, the more you will perceive your higher purpose so that you can apply your free will to this perception, of direct or indirect input, in order to benefit you and those around you.

To many this will just seem like noise, a loud unending hiss, the pain of distraction, or worse, no recognition at all. These are the thoughts and interruptions that prevent you from getting to interpret the pure thoughts that ought to be occupying your conscious mind. These are the levels of thought that would propel all of us to become better people. Blanking out, or reducing the noise or learning to identify with the source of pure thought is a skill that can only be learned with practice, patience and time. It begins by recognizing the negative forces that impede your correct comprehension of thought. Light and dark forces of G-d exist in the ether that surrounds you and the ether within you, your choice is to question the origin of every thought by applying your 'free will' to perceive these spiritual and physical energies. This process has been spoken of and studied since the soul of Adam was 'blown' into him almost 6000 thousands of years ago.

The Chassidic Masters of Jewish teachings, meditations and prayers are some of the deepest thinkers on the mystical subject of 'Thought Energy'. Many of these people lived during difficult times in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries having drawn deeply on their ancient learning heritage. However, it was during this time they clearly defined the teachings that have subsequently helped many millions of people to successfully contain their unholy thoughts and convert them to the highest levels of holiness, elevating darkness into light. It is this ability to recognize and conquer evil thoughts, promoted by angels, people and events of the other side that will ultimately bring the light of redemption to the world and only by our sensitivity to these energies are we able to recognize their existence and respond to them in the appropriate manner. If we fail to recognize this we will simply continue along humanities journey toward the great abyss. However, we can change, we can spend more time devoted to these energies and we can make the penultimate difference to the path for the future of humanity.


[1] Etz Chayim, Shaar 47, ch. 12, et al. 4. Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction II (beginning Patach Eliyahu). http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?NavCal=Heb&Lang=&tDate=9/19/2004
[2] Inner Space Pg 34 Divine Providence

The Origin

Highly reccomended reading by Isaac Mozeson - LINK

At the moment of conception, the soul of a father and mother are united to prepare the embryo, as a vessel, to accept its greatest gift; the soul.

At the precise moment of the male and female union, the conscious and subconscious (emulating the perfect unification of physical and spiritual worlds at the moment of creation) converge, causing the brain of the father to release the sperm (seed) that travels to meet the unfertilized egg in the womb of the mother. Chemicals released in the father's brain trigger immediate and rapidly firing nerve signals that travel down the spinal chord[1] to the genitals, bringing the state of the male body to a euphoric high. The divine point of potential holiness when the father is 'open' and elevated to become a vessel to draw down, from amongst the holiest souls of the side of good or evil forming, by his state of mind and directed through the living sperm, that originate in his brain, the spiritual vessel that will ultimately enable the child to receive its holy soul (N'shamah)[2].

A few seconds later, sperm and egg unite to determine, from a pool of more than 10 billion microscopic proteins that individuallyally activate and select, the connector sequences that define the DNA in the uniting chromosome of the nuclei of that sperm and egg cell. Each protein is individually triggered to establish the foundation for the final genetic blueprint of the child to be. If contemplated correctly this critical moment holds the key to bringing much holiness[3] into our world, but its ritual importance and our appreciation of its depth has been usurped by the rush to satisfy the desires of our distracted lives.

Figure; The enormously complex DNA or RNA genetic chromosome code of a cells nucleus is defined by 22 paired sequences represented by any 3 of 4 letter (codon) combination, plus one additional codon to determine sex. For example, the RNA sequence UUUAAACCC represents a protein sequence three amino acids long. From a pool of more than 10 billion proteins a determination event must construct a specific 22 pair chromosome sequence in order to properly define the function of a plant or animal cell and the future of the organism to which it belongs.


Kabbalah emphasizes that a man who carries out his conscious desire to release semen, outside of the act of the holy union of man and woman, is essentially reducing his potential because he relinquishes to physical desire that can only be subdued by elevating his thoughts, strengthening his mind and reaching for a higher state in which physical desire is ultimately nullified. The purposeless release of sperm is considered sinful because it interferes with the spirits and angels of the higher worlds each time they are summoned through a false call for the potential preparation of an earthly soul.

Most people believe they possess a soul and that their sense of the spiritual comes from it, but few people are aware of its origin or ways to improve their relationship to it. So where does your soul come from and how does it work?

Before Creation the Great Ain Sof in His eternal state, in His ultimate enduring manifestation, in His world beyond, is One and is therefore the origin of all souls. After creation of the perfected heavens and earth, G-d creates Adam and 'blows' his soul into him[4]. The name 'Adam' reveals that the soul is to be found circulating through the blood. The heart being the bloods central organ known as The King of the Soul[5]. The Hebrew name 'dam', (דם = 44) meaning blood, reflects the 22 male and 22 female (autosomes) chromosomes and '(a) + (dam)' [(א or 1)+ (דםor 44) = 45] demonstrates that by the 1 additional specific sex chromosome the sex of a cell is defined by separating from 44 chromosomes the correct pairing of 22 in each of the male and the female.

At first Adam's soul was the complete manifestation of G-d's male and female spiritual attributes, then G-d split from Adam's left side a new physical being into which He 'blows' the soul of Eve. Eve's soul, cleaved from the left side, set the stage for the future of humanity with the embodiment of the left, being the dominant feature of the female soul and the right being the dominant feature of the male soul.

Our souls originate in the higher heavens (worlds). Souls from the highest worlds are those of the holiest beings (complete tzadikim or righteous people who are not capable of evil thoughts[6]). A Souls purpose is made complete when it is elevated to its highest state through the actions of the bodies that possess it or that possessed it previously. A soul can be elevated or relegated by the actions[7] of a person during their life. However, not all souls are destined to return to the earthly dimension because the goal and purpose of our time on earth, through 'free choice' afforded to us in the physcal world, is to guide our soul to its ultimate destination, its origin in the cleft of the rock[8] in G-d's highest heaven. Only the holiest of souls make it to the highest point because G-d's conditions of return to Him are high. This is why all religions based around principles of Torah strive for the arrival of the Messiah, the time when all of our souls will finally be redeemed by G-d and elevated to their highest status in His heavens.

Without parents realizing it, the name they give to their child is the name of the child's soul, received by divine inspiration. Therefore your name is in fact the divine name of your soul and the mystical qualities hidden deep in your name are those which represent all that you are. Simply by analyzing your name (at its root language) almost everything can be deduced about you, because all names originate from a small nomenclature root set, which can be resolved back to the profile attributes of the soul, its name association in the Torah. Some Rabbi's possess a heightened awareness of the Torah and its meaning and are able to deduce, through your name, much of your past and future soulful state. Their sensitivity to this is accurate in the extreme and their impact on people who share the desire of this soulful sensitivity is remarkable and often immediate. When this and similar knowledge of a souls characteristic is accessed by those (of the other side) who apply their lower ego (in Hebrew 'Ani'[9]), particularly those who are intent on using it for wrongful purpose, it can often be pinpointed to the emergence of cults and wayward practices.

Your name is therefore a reflection of the soul that you possess. Your soul contains all of the attributes of your soul state that have come before your attachment to it. Its dominant attributes are indelibly etched into it. When you receive it at birth, you may be able to perceive it, but your correct perception of it dissipates with age when most minds become pre-occupied with other aspects of material life. Therefore, it is difficult to perceive your soul correctly during your life because interference of material culture and selective inability to overcome desire distort perception . Materiality is a distraction from soul culture which would require substantial elevation in order for the majority of us to correctly perceive all of our soul attributes.

One of the external methods used to understand the construct of your soul, according to the original practices of ancient Kabbalistic wisdom, is through astrology, which identifies your Zodiac influence by analysis of your name to reveal your star sign. Unlike the modified astrology inspired through Christian influence Jewish astrology is derived by using your name. Adding the numerical value of letters of your name (or Hebrew name root) with those of your mothers name and dividing by 12 determines the 'remainder'. The remainder is then applied to identify your one of 12 star signs. This is based upon the 12 Elemental letters in the Hebrew Alphabet, the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 primary permutations of G-d's explicit[10] name and the 12 angular divisions of the sky.

Using the same logic and dividing by 7, to factor the 7 primary planets (reflecting 7 days of the week), the 7 attributes of the lower soul (Sefirot) and the 7 pillars (7 Double letters of the Hebrew Alphabet) from which those attributes extend to the upper soul, one is able to determine the major planetary influences. A further important determination is the 28 'camps' of the Divine Presence, corresponding to the one of the 28 days of the lunar month[11] on which you were born. This parallels the 28 times mentioned in Ecclesiastes, which relates back to the 7 double letters of the Hebrew alphabet and each sign is determined according to the extended sacred 42[12] Letter Name of G-d. Using a detailed process of Kabbalistic meditation based upon the 42 Letter Name of G-d, knowledge of the influence of these cycles is gained in specific detail. The 28 Camps are the key to defining the impact of Zodiac cycles on your soul and the qualities associated with each day as follows;

1. A time to be born (seed)
2. A time to die (desolation)
3. A time to plant (seed)
4. A time to uproot (desolation)
5. A time to kill (death)
6. A time to heal (life)
7. A time to wreck (death)
8. A time to build (life)
9. A time to throw stones (poverty)
10. A time to hoard stones (wealth)
11. A time to loose (poverty)
12. A time to seek (wealth)
13. A time to embrace (grace)
14. A time to shun (ugliness)
15. A time to safeguard (grace)
16. A time to discard (ugliness)
17. A time to be still (Wisdom)
18. A time to speak (Foolishness)
19. A time to sew (Wisdom)
20. A time to tear (Foolishness)
21. A time of War (Hate)
22. A time of peace (peace)
23. A time of hate (War)
24. A time of love (Peace)
25. A time of mourning (Subjugation)
26. A time of dancing (Dominance)
27. A time to weep (Subjugation)
28. A time to laugh (Dominance)

These most ancient of practices of Kabbalah, spanning back thousands of years and many like them, are the pre cursor to modern western astrology, tarot, palmistry and other similar systems, which over the millennia have been interpreted in different ways to reveal information related to life cycles. Most Kabbalistic methods directly relate to the soul and your name as a relationship to it.

Notably, at creation the 7 planets (Torah states there are 7 planets) are said to have been created in the sky one hour apart from each other based on their distance from earth. Each planet is therefore dominant based upon a 7 hour cycle that begins with their creation on the fourth day and extends through the day. On this basis the dominant planet in the first hour of each day has the most significant influence on the rest of the day and therefore becomes the source[13] for the day's name, which is the origin of the English (Roman) names of each day of the week.

We take for granted, in our everyday lives, the origin of much of the knowledge and adopted western practices, which were established through Torah culture and from the teachings that have emanated and been expounded from it over the millennia.

Considering the world of the sub atomic, in which we are all rooted, it is quite logical that the greater energies which influence it and the lesser energies from which our physical bodies originate are sufficient to alter reality itself. If our lives were sensitized to these phenomenon perhaps we would all seek a greater degree of knowledge from our root heritage in order to find a path that would more frequently recognize the preciousness of these life energies in the context of G-d the Highest Power.

[1] Bahir - Aryeh Kaplan Pg 56 - 155
[2] http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tDate=11/27/2006
[3] Inner Space Pg 166
[4] Genesis 2:7
[5] Sefer Yetzirah - Kaplan Pg 240
[6] Lessons in Tanya - Pg 147
[7] Derech Chayim - The Way of Life. Pt1 ShÂ’ar HaTeshuva Chapter 1
[8] Zohar - Mishpatim 97a The old sage - Saba : Parshah: Ki Tisa Verses: Shemot 30:11-34:35
[9] Inner Space - Aryeh Kaplan Pg 50
[10] Zohar III Mishpatim 96a
[11] Sefer Yetzirah - Aryeh Kaplan 5:10 Pg 221
[12] Sefer Yetzirah Areyeh Kaplan Pg224 - Table 53
[13] Sefer Yetzirah - Aryeh Kaplan Pg178 Table 33