The Kabbalah: its doctrines, development, and literatureGinsburg, Christian D. (Christian David)
Religion
The Kabbalah: its doctrines, development, and literature
Ginsburg, Christian D. (Christian David)
Cabala
The Assiatic World, called the World of Action (עולם
העשיה) and the World of Matter (עולם הקליפות) which emanated from
the preceding world, the ten Sephiroth of which are made up of the
grosser elements of all the former three worlds, and which has sunk
down in consequence of its materiality and heaviness. Its substances
consist of matter limited by space and perceptible to the senses in a
multiplicity of forms. It is subject to constant changes, generations,
and corruptions, and is the abode of the Evil Spirit.
Before leaving this doctrine about the creation and the relationship of
the Supreme Being to the universe, we must reiterate two things. I.
Though the trinity of the Sephiroth gave birth to the universe, or, in
other words, is an evolution of the emanations, and is thus a further
expansion of the Deity itself, it must not be supposed that the
Kabbalists believe in a Trinity in our sense of the word. Their view on
this subject will best be understood from the following remark in the
Sohar—“Whoso wishes to have an insight into the sacred unity, let him
consider a flame rising from a burning coal or a burning lamp. He will
see first a twofold light, a bright white and a black or blue light;
the white light is above, and ascends in a direct light, whilst the
blue or dark light is below, and seems as the chair of the former, yet
both are so intimately connected together that they constitute only one
flame. The seat, however, formed by the blue or dark light, is again
connected with the burning matter which is under it again. The white
light never changes its colour, it always remains white; but various
shades are observed in the lower light, whilst the lowest light,
moreover, takes two directions—above it is connected with the white
light, and below with the burning matter. Now this is constantly
consuming itself, and perpetually ascends to the upper light, and thus
everything merges into a single unity (וכולא אתקשר ביחודא חד Sohar,
i, 51 a). [10] And II. The creation, or the universe, is simply the
garment of God woven from the Deity’s own substance; or, as Spinoza
expresses it, God is the immanent basis of the universe. For although,
to reveal himself to us, the Concealed of all the Concealed sent forth
the ten emanations called the Form of God, Form of the Heavenly Man,
yet since even this luminous form was too dazzling for our vision, it
had to assume another form, or had to put on another garment which
consists of the universe. The universe, therefore, or the visible
world, is a further expansion of the Divine Substance, and is called in
the Kabbalah “the Garment of God.” Thus we are told, “when the
Concealed of all the Concealed wanted to reveal himself, he first made
a point [i.e. the first Sephira], shaped it into a sacred form [i.e.
the totality of the Sephiroth], and covered it with a rich and splendid
garment that is the world.” (Sohar, i, 2 a).
III. The Creation of Angels and Men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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