{"id":239,"date":"2010-12-19T07:43:22","date_gmt":"2010-12-19T11:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ramchal.wordpress.com\/?p=239"},"modified":"2010-12-19T07:43:22","modified_gmt":"2010-12-19T11:43:22","slug":"sephirot-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/2010\/12\/19\/sephirot-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Sephirot (2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ll start with the Mishnayot<\/em> of this section:<\/p>\n

Petach<\/em> 5<\/p>\n

\u05d4\u05e1\u05e4\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05dd \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea \u05e9\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea\u05e0\u05d5 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e8\u05d0\u05d5\u05ea, \u05de\u05d4 \u05e9\u05dc\u05d0 \u05e0\u05d9\u05ea\u05df \u05d0\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d4\u05e4\u05e9\u05d5\u05d8 \u05d0”\u05e1 \u05d1”\u05d4:<\/p>\n

Sephirot <\/em>are those illuminations that were allowed to be envisioned<\/strong> (prophetically), unlike God\u2019s own simple light <\/strong>(and other lights that are more sublime than the Sephirot <\/em>under discussion, which cannot be envisioned whatsoever).<\/p>\n

Petach<\/em> 6<\/p>\n

\u05db\u05dc \u05e1\u05e4\u05d9\u05e8\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05de\u05d3\u05d4 \u05d0\u05d7\u05ea \u05de\u05df \u05d4\u05de\u05d3\u05d5\u05ea \u05e9\u05dc \u05d0”\u05e1 \u05d1”\u05d4, \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05d1\u05e8\u05d0 \u05d1\u05dd \u05d0\u05ea \u05d4\u05e2\u05d5\u05dc\u05de\u05d5\u05ea, \u05d5\u05de\u05e0\u05d4\u05d2 \u05d0\u05d5\u05ea\u05dd. \u05e9\u05d1\u05e8\u05e6\u05d5\u05ea\u05d5 \u05e9\u05ea\u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05e0\u05d4 \u05e0\u05d5\u05d3\u05e2\u05d5\u05ea, \u05e2\u05e9\u05d4 \u05e9\u05db\u05dc \u05de\u05d3\u05d4 \u05ea\u05e8\u05d0\u05d4 \u05d1\u05e1\u05d5\u05d3 \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05d4 \u05d0\u05d7\u05ea, \u05e9\u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d0\u05d5\u05ea\u05d4 – \u05de\u05d1\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd \u05d4\u05de\u05d3\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d4\u05d9\u05d0. \u05d5\u05d1\u05e8\u05d0\u05d5\u05ea \u05ea\u05e0\u05d5\u05e2\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d4\u05d9\u05d0 – \u05de\u05d1\u05d9\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd \u05de\u05d4 \u05e9\u05e0\u05e2\u05e9\u05d4 \u05d1\u05d4\u05e0\u05d4\u05d2\u05d4 \u05d1\u05de\u05d3\u05d4 \u05d4\u05d4\u05d9\u05d0 \u05d1\u05d6\u05de\u05df \u05d4\u05d4\u05d5\u05d0:<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Each Sephira<\/em> is an attribute of The Infinite that He used to create the <\/strong>(various esoteric and concrete) worlds and which He<\/strong> (now) uses to govern them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now, since He wanted them to be known of, He had each attribute appear as a single, mystical \u201cillumination\u201d. So by \u201cenvisioning\u201d it we can understand the attribute itself, and by \u201cenvisioning\u201d its movements we can understand what would be taking place in the governing process through that attribute at that time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

And we\u2019ll add these essential points:<\/p>\n

The Sefer<\/em> Yetzirah<\/em> is the first printed work to speak of the Sephirot<\/em>. It speaks of \u00a0\u201cten Sephirot<\/em> of \u2018sheer nothingness\u2019\u201d referring to their utterly immaterial nature or, put another way, to \u201cten ineffable Sephirot<\/em>\u201d (1:2) [1].<\/p>\n

______________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

[1] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Sefer<\/em> Yetzirah<\/em> also speaks of close homonyms to Sephirot<\/em>, \u201cSepher<\/em> (book), S\u2019phar<\/em> (number), and Sippur<\/em> (communication)\u201d (1:1) which tell us something about their overall makeup.<\/p>\n

For as Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan put it, \u201cLike a book<\/strong>, each Sephira<\/em> can record information. The Sephirot<\/em> thus serve as a memory bank in the domain of the Divine. A permanent record of everything that has ever taken place in all of creation is thus made on the Sephirot<\/em>\u2026. The Sephirot<\/em> (also) introduce an element of number<\/strong> and plurality into existence. The Creator, the Infinite Being, is the most absolute unity, and the concept of number does not apply to Him in any manner whatever\u2026. It is only with the creation of the Sephirot<\/em> that the concept of number comes into being. In this mode, ever event and action is measured and weighed by the Sephirot<\/em>, and the appropriate response is conceived and calculated\u2026. The Sephirot<\/em> are (also) the means through which God communicates<\/strong> with His creation. They are also the means through which man communicates with God. If not for the Sephirot<\/em>, God, the Infinite Being, would be absolutely unknowable and unreachable\u201d (Sefer<\/em> Yetzirah<\/em>, Aryeh Kaplan, p. 21).<\/p>\n

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ll start with the Mishnayot of this section: Petach 5 \u05d4\u05e1\u05e4\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05dd \u05d4\u05d0\u05e8\u05d5\u05ea \u05e9\u05e0\u05d9\u05ea\u05e0\u05d5 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e8\u05d0\u05d5\u05ea, \u05de\u05d4 \u05e9\u05dc\u05d0 \u05e0\u05d9\u05ea\u05df \u05d0\u05d5\u05e8 \u05d4\u05e4\u05e9\u05d5\u05d8 \u05d0”\u05e1 \u05d1”\u05d4: Sephirot are those illuminations that were allowed to be envisioned (prophetically), unlike God\u2019s own simple light (and other … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}