DOCSLIB.ORG

Traditional Martinist Order Discourse KABBALAH (The Tree of the Sephiroth)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Traditional Martinist Order Discourse KABBALAH (The Tree of the Sephiroth) Traditional Martinist Order Discourse KABBALAH (The Tree of the Sephiroth) We present below a sample discourse from the teachings of the Traditional Martinist Order, this one featuring a discussion of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. greet you before the luminaries of the Geburah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, Traditional Martinist Order! and Malkuth. Together they form The Tree I of the Sephiroth, which is, in some man- ner, the invisible skeleton of Creation. As In the Sepher Yetzirah, it is said that indicated in the Sepher Bahir, the branches the benevolent and merciful God created of this tree nourish themselves in the Ain- the universe through thirty-two wonderful Soph, the hidden transcendence. Rather paths of Wisdom. These thirty-two paths than discuss the Ain-Soph today, we will correspond to the twenty-two Hebrew study this concept in the next discourse. letters and to the ten Sephiroth. After As you will notice on the diagram, the having studied the twenty-two letters in ten Sephiroth are arranged in three col- the two previous discourses, the moment umns forming a symbolic structure called has now come to approach the topic of Binyam. the ten Sephiroth. The left column is Severity. It extends The Kabbalists say that when the Pri- from the sephira Binah to the sephira mordial Light descended from the Ain- Hod. Associated with the letter Mem, and Soph, or in other words the Infinite, to with water, it symbolizes passivity and has give the breath of life to all the worlds and a negative polarity. all creatures, It arrayed itself in the shape of The right column is Mercy, some- ten lights. These are the Sephiroth, which times called Clemency. It extends from the the Zohar compares to the “ten forms that sephira Chokhmah to the sephira Netzach. God produced to direct the unknown and Associated with the letter Shin and with invisible worlds, and the visible worlds.” In fire, it symbolizes the force of expansion the first chapter of theSepher Yetzirah, it is and has a positive polarity. said that they came out of the nothingness Finally, the central column is Equilib- and that their appearance “is as a flash of rium. It extends from the sephira Kether light whose extremities are without limit.” to the sephira Malkuth. Associated with One can also read in this book that the the letter Aleph, and with air, it symbol- Word of the Divine “comes and goes with- izes the equilibrium between the two po- in them and [that] when the Word speaks, larities, as well as the union between the such as a hurricane, they bow before the Divine World and the Material World. Divine Throne and they celebrate.” The kabbalistic tradition relates these The word sephiroth is the plural of three columns with the patriarchs Abra- sephira, a feminine word that means nu- ham, Isaac, and Jacob. You will also note meration. As you know, the ten Sephiroth that the columns descend from the infinite Rosicrucian are arranged in a hierarchical manner and to the finite through the four levels, or four Digest are linked one to another by channels. They materialized worlds, indicated by the dot- No. 1 2014 are: Kether, Chokhmah, Binah, Chesed, ted lines in the diagram. Page 32 The first level is theOlam Atziluth, is Kether, a word that we can translate as the World of Emanation. Formed by the Crown. It represents Divine Will, the be- sephiroth Kether, Chokhmah, and Binah, ginning of existence, and the eternal pres- it represents the Divine Will in a pure state. ent. The Sepher Yetzirah associates it with The second level is the Olam Briah, the the “Breath of the living Elohim.” World of Creation. Formed by the sephi- The second sephira is Chokhmah, a roth Chesed, Geburah, and Tiphereth, it word meaning “Wisdom.” Some Kabbal- is the world where Divine Will is trans- ists compare it with the Primordial To- formed into creative energy. rah, the Secret Wisdom. It represents the The third level is the Olam Yetzirah, masculine and active principle. The Sep- the World of Formation. Formed by the her Yetzirah associates it with the “Breath sephiroth Netzach, Hod, and Yesod, it is coming from the Breath.” the world of movement and generation, The third sephira is Binah, a word where all forms are elaborated. meaning “Intelligence.” It represents the feminine and passive principle. The Sepher Finally, the fourth level is Olam Assiah, Yetzirah associates it with the “Waters com- the World of Action. Formed by the sephi- ing from the Breath.” We should note that ra Malkuth, it is the world of phenomena, the Kabbalists call it Ima meaning “Moth- of matter and human beings. er,” whereas they refer to Chokhmah by It can be said that the four worlds sym- the name Abba, meaning “Father.” bolize the expansion of the Divine through If the first three sephiroth are inti- the visible and invisible planes of Creation. mately linked to the Divine World, the It is the reason why they are associated with next seven sephiroth are more particularly the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, the linked to the Terrestrial World. Some Kab- Sacred Name of the Divine. As one can see balists associate them with the seven days in the diagram, Atziluth corresponds to of Creation. Between these two worlds, we Yod, the first letter of the Tetragrammaton; find Daath, a hidden sephira whose name Briah to He, the second letter; Yetzirah to means “Knowledge.” It represents the Vav, the third letter; and Assiah to He, the Knowledge that directly emanates from fourth letter. the Divine. As such, it is inaccessible to in- Kabbalists consider that the Tree of the carnate Humanity. Sephiroth is an expression of the face of The fourth sephira is Chesed, meaning the Divine and the means by which the In- “Mercy.” Sometimes called Gedolah, it is visible acquires a certain visibility. They di- the first sephira of the World of Briah, the vide it into two faces: Arik Anpin (the Long world of Creation. It represents sharing, Face), and Zeir Anpin (the Small Face). goodness, and love. That is why the Zohar The long face comprises the three superior relates Chesed to the patriarch Abraham, sephiroth: Kether, Chokhmah, and Binah. who personifies these qualities. It is also as- As has previously been said, the Long Face sociated with the Oral Torah, the Esoteric represents the superior world, the world of Revelation. The Sepher Yetzirah considers the Divine Will. The Small Face is made Chesed the “Fire coming from the Waters.” up of the following six sephiroth: Chesed, The fifth sephira is Geburah, mean- Geburah, Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod, and ing “Rigor” or “Justice.” Sometimes called Yesod. These are the sephiroth that are said Din, it is associated with the Written To- to be of Construction, fully manifested in rah, the Exoteric Revelation. The Zohar Malkuth, the tenth, or last sephira. relates Geburah with the patriarch Isaac, Let us now examine one by one the because of his absolute obedience to God’s Sephiroth of the Kabbalistic Tree. The first commands. Page 33 The sixth sephira is Tiphereth, mean- the merciful and benevolent God created ing “Beauty.” Placed between Chesed and the universe through thirty-two wonderful Geburah, in the middle of the central paths of Wisdom, which correspond to the column, it symbolizes the equilibrium of twenty-two Hebrew letters and to the ten oppositions. The Zohar relates Tiphereth Sephiroth. Here is what Athanasius Kirch- with the patriarch Jacob, whose manner is er, an adept of Kabbalah, said concerning a model of equilibrium between love and these paths: rigor. Among the six sephiroth of Con- “The thirty-two paths of Wisdom are struction, it is the only one to be directly the luminous paths by which the holy linked to Kether. men and women, devoted to God, are The seventh sephira is Netzach, mean- able to understand hidden things by a ing “Victory,” in the sense of mastery. This great application of the Divine Laws sephira is often associated with Joseph. The and a long meditation upon them.” Bible says that it is after having resisted his passions, symbolized by Potiphar’s wife, Note that each of these thirty-two that he became the Pharaoh’s minister and paths has a name and a precise significa- succeeded in reorganizing the economy of tion that is shown on Table 1. As you can Egypt. Netzach is at the base of the col- see, each path corresponds to a Hebrew umn of Mercy and receives its energy from letter or a sephira, with which is associated Chesed, placed directly above it. a quality of Divine Wisdom. Thus, Kether, The eighth sephira is Hod, meaning the first path, is Wisdom of Supreme Will; “Glory” or “Splendor.” Across from Net- Aleph, the second, Wisdom of Celestial zach, it is placed at the base of the column Unity; Chokhmah, the third, Superior of Rigor and receives its energy from Ge- Wisdom; etc. burah, situated just above it. It represents This first approach to the Tree of the the accomplishment of Divine Will. Sephiroth may seem complex to you. That The ninth sephira is Yesod, meaning being said, the most important thing is to “Foundation” or “Transmission.” As the become familiar with the name and the last sephira of the world of Yetzirah, World position of each of these sephiroth. After of Formation, it represents the foundation that, it is recommended that you follow of the created world. It also transmits the the advice given in the Sepher Yetzirah: breath of life, which comes from the high- “Keep your mouth from speaking of it, er sephiroth, toward Malkuth.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 1. Keter (Primary Meaning: Crown
    1. KETER (PRIMARY MEANING: CROWN. ALSO KNOWN AS: UPPER CROWN, AYIN (NOTHINGNESS), CHOKHMAH PENIMIT (INTERNAL WISDOM), MAHSHAVAH ELOHIT (DIVINE THOUGHT), SPIRIT OF G-D, ROOT OF ROOTS, MYSTERIOUS WISDOM, EHYEH ASHER EHYEH, (I AM THAT I AM) 2. CHOKHMAH (PRIMARY MEANING: WISDOM. ALSO KNOWN AS: REVELATION, THE PRIMORDIAL TORAH (THE TORAH THAT EXISTED BEFORE CREATION), FATHER, YESH ME-AYIN (BEING FROM NOTHINGNESS), BEGINNING, YAH, YHVH) 3. BINAH (PRIMARY MEANING: UNDERSTANDING. ALSO KNOWN AS: INTELLECT, TESHUVAH (REPENTANCE), REASON, PALACE, TEMPLE, WOMB, UPPER MOTHER, JERUSALEM ABOVE, FREEDOM, JUBILEE, "YHVH PRONOUNCED AS ELOHIM") 4. CHESED (PRIMARY MEANING: MERCY. ALSO KNOWN AS: GRACE, LOVE OF G-D, RIGHT ARM OF G-D, WHITE, EL, ASSOCIATED WITH ABRAHAM) 5. GEVURAH (ALSO CALLED "DIN" - PRIMARY MEANING: JUDGMENT. ALSO KNOWN AS: STRENGTH, SEVERITY, FEAR OF G-D, LEFT ARM OF G-D, RED, ELOHIM, YAH, ASSOCIATED WITH ISAAC) 6. TIPHERET (PRIMARY MEANING: BEAUTY. ALSO KNOWN AS: HARMONY, RACHAMIM (COMPASSION), THE ATTRIBUTE OF MERCY, THE WRITTEN TORAH, BRIDEGROOM, HUSBAND, SON, KING, FATHER, MESSIAH, TABERNACLE/TEMPLE, THE HOLY TREE, (TREE OF LIFE), HEAVEN, THE LETTER "VAV," CREATOR, GATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, SUN, "THE HOLY ONE BLESSED BE HE," HA-SHEM, YHVH, YHVH-ELOHIM, THE GREAT NAME, THE UNIQUE NAME, THE LUCID MIRROR, OPEN MIRACLES, LULAV [ON SUCCOTH], THE SHOFAR [AS RELATED TO THE MITZVOT OF BLOWING THE SHOFAR], GREEN, TEFILLIN OF THE HEAD, ASSOCIATED WITH JACOB) 7. NETZACH (PRIMARY MEANING: VICTORY. ALSO KNOWN AS: ETERNITY, PROPHECY, ORCHESTRATION, INITIATIVE, PERSISTENCE, BITACHON (CONFIDENCE), RIGHT LEG, "HOSTS OF YHVH," ASSOCIATED WITH MOSES) 8. HOD (PRIMARY MEANING: GLORY. ALSO KNOWN AS: MAJESTY, SPLENDOR, REVERBERATION, PROPHECY, SURRENDER, TEMIMUT (SINCERITY), ANCHOR, STEADFASTNESS, LEFT LEG, "HOSTS OF ELOHIM," ASSOCIATED WITH AARON) 9.
    [Show full text]
  • Kabbalah and Ecology
    excursus 1 Nefesh and related terms The primary meanings of n’shamah and nefesh in Torah can be understood by examining their relationship to ru’ach, meaning “spirit” and “wind”. Let us assume for the sake of argument that the triad ru’ach–nefesh–n’shamah covers one and the same “semantic space” as the triad of spirit–wind–breath. How does this semantic space get divided differently in modern English and in Biblical Hebrew? Starting from what is most similar, n’shamah,like“breath”,denotesthe respiration of a living, physical subject. From here the concepts diverge vastly. Breath is physical, while “spirit” denotes something metaphysical; breath is alive, while “wind” is not. One can visualize “breath” to be like a firmament, a flat plane, separating the metaphysical “spirit” above from the physical “wind” below. Thus a simple hierarchy is delineated: the metaphysical and animate spirit stands above the physical but still animate breath, which stands above the physical and inanimate wind. In this manner “spirit–wind–breath” defines its semantic space by dividing it into hierarchical levels, and it follows the history of conquest by reserving the Latin-derived word for the top of the hierarchy. The fact that spirit and wind are unified in the single word ru’ach suggests averydifferentarrangementofsemanticspace.Whatspiritandwindshareis that they both transcend physical bodies and are independent from any physical subject. Thus, ru’ach can be conceptualized as the external breath, the breath of Elohim, which both strikes the prophets and sways the tree branches. Ru’ach, which could be translated “spirit-wind”, would mean any un- or disembodied invisible flow (which could therefore be attributed to God), including the wind.
    [Show full text]
  • Phenomenon, Vigilantism, and Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh's
    ‘THE SIMPLE JEW’: THE ‘PRICE TAG’ PHENOMENON, VIGILANTISM, AND RABBI YITZCHAK GINSBURGH’S POLITICAL KABBALAH Tessa Satherley* ABSTRACT: This paper explores the Kabbalistic theosophy of Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, and allegations of links between his yeshiva and violent political activism and vigilantism. Ginsburgh is head of the yeshiva Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) in Samaria/the northern West Bank. His students and colleagues have been accused by the authorities of violence and vandalism against Arabs in the context of ‘price tag’ actions and vigilante attacks, while publications by Ginsburgh and his yeshiva colleagues such as Barukh HaGever (Barukh the Man/Blessed is the Man) and Torat HaMelekh (The King’s Torah) have been accused of inciting racist violence. This paper sketches the yeshiva’s history in the public spotlight and describes the esoteric, Kabbalistic framework behind Ginsburgh’s politics, focusing on his political readings of Zoharic Kabbalah and teachings about the mystical value of spontaneous revenge attacks by ‘the simple Jew’, who acts upon his feelings of righteous indignation without prior reflection. The conclusion explores and attempts to delimit the explanatory power of such mystical teachings in light of the sociological characteristics of the Hilltop Youth most often implicated as price tag ‘operatives’ and existing scholarly models of vigilantism. It also points to aspects of the mystical teachings with potential for special potency in this context. Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh (1944-) is a Chabad rabbi and head of the Od Yosef Chai (Joseph Still Lives) yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement, near the major Palestinian population centre of Nablus (biblical Shechem). The yeshiva occupies an unusual discursive space – neither mainstream religious Zionist (though some of its teaching staff were educated in this tradition) nor formally affiliated with the Hasidic movement, despite Ginsburgh’s own affiliation with Chabad and despite his teachings being steeped in its Kabbalistic inheritance.
    [Show full text]
  • Triangle of Solomon
    TRIANGLE OF A Translation of Dogme Et Rituel De La Haute Magie SOLOMON By Arthur Edward Waite Chapter 3 from Transcendental Magic: FIRST PUBLISHED IN LONDON ITS DOCTRINE BY GEORGE REDWAY 1896 Part I With annotations and notes by Benebell Wen By Eliphas Levi Magical doctrine of the trinity. “The magical dogma is also one in three and three in one. The triad is the universal dogma. In Magic—principle, realization, adaptation; in alchemy—azoth, incorporation, transmutation; in theology—God, incarnation, redemption; in the human soul—thought, love and action…” PLENITUDO VOCIS BINAH PHYSIS Manifestation Voice Nature Note: Physis (νόμος, or nomos) is the theological and philosophical concept of one’s physical nature, hence the derivation of the word “physics.” Physis also means “to grow” or “to appear,” as in observable development. Magical doctrine of the trinity. “The magical dogma is also one in three and three in one. The triad is the universal dogma. In Magic—principle, realization, adaptation; in alchemy—azoth, incorporation, transmutation; in theology—God, incarnation, redemption; in the human soul—thought, love and action…” PLENITUDO VOCIS BINAH PHYSIS Manifestation Voice Nature Note: Physis (νόμος, or nomos) is the theological and philosophical concept of one’s physical nature, hence the derivation of the word “physics.” Physis also means “to grow” or “to appear,” as in observable development. III. The Triangle of Solomon THE PERFECT WORD IS THE TRIAD, because it supposes an intelligent principle, a speaking principle, and a principle spoken. The absolute, revealing itself by speech, endows this speech with a sense equivalent to itself, and in the understanding thereof creates itself a third time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Forlorn Young Woman a Recently Discovered Fragment of the Zohar Translated and Edited by Henry Rasof
    The Forlorn Young Woman A Recently Discovered Fragment of the Zohar Translated and Edited by Henry Rasof Rabbi Shimon1 walked over to a fig tree2 and sat down.3 Rabbi Eleazar, Rabbi Isaac, Rabbi Abba, and Rabbi Yose followed him and also sat down.4 A mule driver5 sat down to the left of the rabbis, a little ways off, tending the animals.6 At that moment a young woman7 walked gracefully8 by on the nearby road, then seemed to disappear from sight.9 "Who’s the young woman10 with the big white head11 and long face12 who looks forlorn, as if her old man13 just threw her out of house and home?"14 Rabbi Abba asked. Rabbi Shimon's son, Rabbi Eleazar, replied: "Rachel."15 "Not the wife16 of Jacob?"17 Rabbi Isaac asked. "Yes," Rabbi Eleazar replied. All the rabbis said a prayer.18 __________ Note: Terms, names, and some notes in the main text and footnotes are at the end of the fragment. 1 Binah, understanding. 2 The sefirotic tree, representing the ten kabbalistic attributes of God; the fig tree, the third tree mentioned in the Torah, represents the three upper sefirot―keter, chokhmah, and binah: intellect, wisdom, and understanding. 3 Grounding himself in sefira yesod, foundation. Sefira is the singular form of sefirot. 4 This describes the emanation of the sefirot. 5 The sefira chokhmah, wisdom. 6 The sefirot. 7 The Shekhinah, or presence of God; also, the lowest sefira, malkhut, the queen. 8 Grace is one of the characteristics of the sefira chesed, usually interpreted as lovingkindness.
    [Show full text]
  • A Qabalistic Examination of Symbolist Poetry and the Music of Claude Debussy
    The Muse of Secrecy: A Qabalistic Examination of Symbolist Poetry and the Music of Claude Debussy Author Churchill, Christina Published 2020-06-03 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School School of Hum, Lang & Soc Sc DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/1355 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/394685 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au The Muse of Secrecy: A Qabalistic Examination of Symbolist Poetry and the Music of Claude Debussy Christina Churchill MMus Perf Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of Doctor of Philosophy August 2019 School of Humanities Griffith University i Abstract The Qabalah played an important role to a number of esoteric and cultural groups in Paris from the 1840s through to the end of the 19th century. This Qabalistic brand of esotericism was spearheaded by Eliphas Lévi who combined facets of the Cabala of the Renaissance that held a Christian view of ancient Jewish Kabbalah, with Gnostic, Hermetic, Pythagorean, and Neoplatonic sources. Initiates sought the hidden and cryptographic meaning of Qabalistic texts and were attracted to the concept of a Divine language and its evocatory potential. This thesis shows how esoteric ideas were circulated though networks and clubs, including Le Chat Noir, Librairie de l'Art indépendant, and Mallarmé’s Tuesday salons. It argues that the Qabalah was especially important in these circles through the influence of Lévi, Gérard Encausse (Papus), and Joséphin Péladan. Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Verlaine, and Debussy, along with other Symbolist poets and composers such as Villiers de l’Isle Adam, J.-K.
    [Show full text]
  • Kabbalah Kabbalah - by the Blessing of G-D H”B with the Knowledge of Heaven D”Sb Contents Everything Belongs to Hashem
    Kabbalah Kabbalah - By the blessing of G-d h”b With the knowledge of heaven d”sb Contents Everything belongs to Hashem. }”hl Kabbalah - Title Page Kabbalah Meditation from Torah to Self-improvement to Prophecy ● I. Introduction hawbn la rswm la hrwt }m twnnwbth hlbq ● II. Torah Prophetic Truth and Version - 11/1/2001 Talmudic Dialectic Hermeneutical This work in progress is intended to train one to experience authentic Reality kabbalah. Study the manual by browsing the table of contents, links, ● III. The Written Law and footnotes. Let your spirit be your guide and Ribono Shel Olam (the ❍ A. Torah Master of the World) will reveal what you need to learn next. The work ■ 1. Bereshis -- In the focuses on learning kabbalah through character improvement through Beginning – Genesis the theoretical, meditative, and practical kabbalah. While I have written down some of my own kabbalistic journeys, in the final analysis one ■ a) Parsha Bereshsis must choose his own path and with the blessing of G-d reveal another truth path to the Infinite. ■ b) Parsha Noach This work uses a Hebrew true-type font that should be downloaded and ■ c) Parsha Lech installed on a PC to view the work correctly. To install the Hebrew true L’hah type font: ■ 2. Shemot - Names - Exodus ● Open location heb_tt.zip ● ■ a) Parsha Save the file to a location on your disc Terumah ● Double click on heb_tt.zip and extract files to a directory ● Double click on Install_Hebrew.ttf.vbs ■ 3. Vayikra - And Called - Leviticus ■ 4. Bamidbar - In the Your Hebrew fonts should now be installed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Marrano Phenomenon Jewish ‘Hidden Tradition’ and Modernity
    The Marrano Phenomenon Jewish ‘Hidden Tradition’ and Modernity Edited by Agata Bielik-Robson Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Religions www.mdpi.com/journal/religions The Marrano Phenomenon The Marrano Phenomenon Jewish ‘Hidden Tradition’ and Modernity Special Issue Editor Agata Bielik-Robson MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade Special Issue Editor Agata Bielik-Robson The University of Nottingham UK Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Religions (ISSN 2077-1444) from 2018 to 2019 (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special issues/marrano) For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Article Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-03897-904-3 (Pbk) ISBN 978-3-03897-905-0 (PDF) This special issue of Religions has been supported by the NCN Opus 13 Grant: /The Marrano Phenomenon: The Jewish ‘Hidden Tradition’ and Modernity/, registered in the OSF system as 2017/25/B/HS2/02901. c 2019 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Day of Jewish Learning Curriculum: Creating Together
    Global Day of Jewish Learning Curriculum: Creating Together A Project of the Aleph Society Title Bezalel’s Creativity: Art as FACILITATOR’S GUIDE an Expression of the Divine www.theglobalday.com Written by: Daniel Rose, PhD Introduction (10 minutes) abbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine and the spiritual father of Religious Zionism, Rfound himself trapped in Europe for the duration of the First World War. He settled in London and became the rabbi of the Machazikei Adass congregation in London’s East End. He would often visit the National Gallery to enjoy the masterpieces. His favorite artist was Rembrandt whom he called a tzadik, a righteous man (see Text #5 below). The Rabbi especially enjoyed visiting the gallery to examine Rembrandt’s works, drawing spiritual inspiration from them. The painting to the left, entitled Belshazzar’s Feast, is housed at the National Gallery to this day and would have been one of those paintings. Information on this painting: Rembrandt’s source for this painting, the Old Testament book of Daniel (Chapter 5), tells of a banquet Belshazzar, King of Babylon, gave for his nobles. At this banquet he blasphemously served wine in the sacred vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had looted from the Temple in Jerusalem. Rembrandt shows the moment when a divine hand appeared and wrote on the wall a phrase only Daniel could decipher. When transliterated the inscription reads: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation: ‘God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; your kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians.’ That very night Belshazzar was slain.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy and Kabbalah. Elia Benamozegh (1823–1900), a Progressive/Traditional Thinker
    religions Article Philosophy and Kabbalah. Elia Benamozegh (1823–1900), a Progressive/Traditional Thinker Alessandro Guetta Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, 75007 Paris, France; [email protected] Abstract: Elia Benamozegh (born—1823 in Livorno and died—1900 in Livorno)—philosopher, biblical exegete, teacher at the Rabbinical College—was an original and fruitful thinker. At a time when the Jewish kabbalah, or esoteric tradition, was considered by the protagonists of Jewish studies as the result of an era of intellectual and religious decadence, Benamozegh indicated it to be the authentic theology of Judaism. In numerous works of varying nature, in Italian, French and Hebrew, the kabbalah is studied by comparing it with the thought of Spinoza and with German idealism (Hegel in particular), and, at a later stage, also with positivism and evolutionism. Benamozegh formulated a pluralistic religious philosophy open to progress by constantly referring to the first phase of Vico’s historicist philosophy and above all to the work of Vincenzo Gioberti. We can read this philosophy as an original and consistent response to the challenges of Modern, secularized thought. Keywords: Judaism; philosophy; kabbalah 1. Elia Benamozegh, His Life and Cultural Context Elia Benamozegh (born—1823 in Livorno and died—1900 in Livorno) is probably the Citation: Guetta, Alessandro. 2021. last representative of the long Italian Jewish philosophical tradition of rabbinic inspiration, Philosophy and Kabbalah. Elia and also one of the rare modern Jewish philosophers of religion that doesn’t stem from the Benamozegh (1823–1900), a Progressive/Traditional Thinker. German or Polish–Lithuanian area. The son of Moroccan parents, he was trained in Jewish Religions 12: 625.
    [Show full text]
  • The Catholic University of America
    THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Sabbath / Sunday: Their spiritual Dimensions in the Light of Selected Jewish and Christian Discussions A DISSERTATION Submitted to the faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Jeanne Brennan Kamat Washington, D.C. 2013 Sabbath / Sunday: Their Spiritual Dimensions in the Light of Selected Jewish and Christian Discussions Jeanne Brennan Kamat, Ph.D. Christopher Begg, S.T.D., Ph.D. The Sabbath as the central commandment of the Law relates all of Judaism to God, to creation, to redemption, and to the final fulfillment of the promises in the eternal Sabbath of the end-time. However, early in the inception of Christianity, Sunday replaced the Sabbath as the day of worship for Christians. This dissertation is a study of the various aspects of the Sabbath in order to gain a deeper insight into Jesus’ relationship to the day and to understand the implications of his appropriation of the Sabbath to himself. Scholars have not looked significantly into Jesus and the Sabbath from the point of view of its meaning in Judaism. Rabbi Abraham Heschel gives insight into the Sabbath in his description of the day as a window into eternity bringing the presence of God to earth; Rabbi André Chouraqui contends that the Sabbath is the essence of life for Jews. According to S. Bacchiocchi when Christianity separated from Judaism by the second century, Sunday worship was established as an ecclesiastical institution.
    [Show full text]
  • A Year of Change a Year of Impact
    The Covenant & Conversation trust A yeAr of chAnge A yeAr of ImpAct AnnuAl Review 5774 • 2013 – 2014 “The challenge of our time is to go out The CovenanT & ConversaTIon TrusT to Jews with a Judaism that relates to the world – their world – with intellectual integrity, ethical passion and spiritual power, a Judaism Since its establishment in July 2013, the covenant & conversation trust has neither intimidated by the world sought to advance the vision, mission and nor dismissive of it, a Judaism fully teachings of rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. expressive of the broad horizons and high ideals of our heritage. There is these are based on the articulation and promotion of a Judaism of both Torah v’Chokhmah (torah and Wisdom), no contradiction, not even a conflict, one that is connected to its rich heritage and engaged between contributing to humanity with the challenges and opportunities presented by the and affirming our distinctive identity. modern world. To the contrary: by being what only we are, we contribute to the world what only we can give. Over the past year, The Covenant & Conversation To make Judaism’s classical texts more accessible Trust has focused its work 1 and engaging – Rabbi Sacks as a Teacher of Torah “In the twenty-first century, Jews will and Rabbi Sacks’ activities need the world, and the world will around three broad aims: need the Jews. We will not win the respect of the world if we ourselves To demonstrate the contribution of Jewish thought do not respect the world: if we look 2 and ethical values to wider society, including down on non-Jews and on Jews less academia – Rabbi Sacks as a Moral voice religious than ourselves.
    [Show full text]