For if the laws defied at length requite And sins made worse by practice, taught by thee,- Thou, from whose head, where endless follies reign, Expects thy dwelling soon a stranger guest? But ere she thank thee, let that country know T THE KABBALAH BY SAMUEL A. BINION HE mass of literature and of learning which the word Kabbalah designates is abstruse and difficult; but a knowledge of it is essential to an understanding of the Hebrew thought in the middle centuries of our era, and also of its influence in Europe during the same and later periods. The fascination which the doctrines grouped under the name Kabbalah had for the mystic, the theologian, and the philosopher, has hardly yet passed entirely away. The reason for this is obvious. This Hebrew esoteric philosophy sought to explain the INFINITE in terms comprehensible to men. The sublime names of God in the Old Testament awed the world, and the attributes attached to those Divine names enriched it. A study of the doctrines of the Kabbalah opened and illuminated the Bible. It enlarged the religious conception of the Christian world. That the pure theosophy of the Kabbalah shared the fate of other theosophies, and was prostituted to wonder-working and to "practical" uses, was to be expected. It is the common fate of all theosophies. My subject divides itself into two branches: first, the Theoretical Kabbalah, an esoteric theosophy; and second, the Practical Kabbalah, the various treatises on which comprise the great majority of the books belonging to the subject: and I will try to state broadly what the Kabbalah is, and indicate its various stages and the uses made of it. The word Kabbalah (also spelled Cabala and Qabalah) is derived from the Hebrew verb kabbal (to receive). In addition to the received Hebrew Scripture designated as 'Torah Shebikthabh' (the Written Law), there is the Torah sheb'al* pěh' (the Oral or Traditional Law). The Rabbis affirm that both laws were derived from the same source, having been communicated to Moses by the Almighty on Mount Sinai. *NOTES.-The a, e, i, o, preceded by an apostrophe ('), have each a peculiar sound which has no equivalent in Western languages. The approximate sound can only be produced by pronouncing the above-named vowels with the assistance of the soft palate and throat. The Hebrew alphabet has no vowels. The vowel sounds are indicated by signs above or below the letters. The Talmud declares (Tract. 'Pirke Abhoth' or Patristic Chapters, Chap. i., 1) that Mosheh kibbel (Moses received) the Law from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; that Joshua transmitted it to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets; and the Prophets to the "Men of the Great Congregation," who flourished from the end of the sixth century B. C. till the time of Rabbi Shimeon Hatsadik (Simeon the Just), who was the last of the line, and died 300 B. C. The famous Hebrew philosopher Maimonides, who died in the earlier part of the thirteenth century A. D., gives us the names of the receivers of the 'Oral Law' since Simeon the Just, as follows:Simeon the Just bequeathed the tradition to the Sophrim (Scribes); the Scribes to the Hakhamim (Wise Men) or Tanaim (Repeaters). The Hakhamim flourished between 70 and 220 A. D., and were the composers of the Mishna' (Repetition), which was compiled by Rabbi Jehudah the Holy, about the close of the second century A. D. By them it was transmitted to the Amorāïm (Speakers), the authors of the voluminous commentary on the 'Mishna' called 'Gemara' (Completion). The 'Mishna' and 'Gemara' form the great Jewish National Code of laws, ethics, and traditions known as the Talmud. This great work was completed by Rabina, Rab Ashi, and the latter's son Mar, the last of the Amorāïm, 365-427 A. D. The Amoraïm were succeeded by the Sabboraïm, or Rabbanan Sabboraï (Reasoners), who arranged, sifted, and gave the final touch to the great work. The Sabboraim period is 500-689 A. D., followed by the Geônim (Magnificent or Eminent Men). The latter made no alteration in the letter nor in the text of the Talmud, but confined themselves to writing many works explanatory of it. The Geônim period is from 689 to 895 A. D. Maimonides's reason for the composition of his magnum opus called 'Yad Hahazakah' (Mighty Hand), or 'Mishnah Torah' (the Repeated Law), is as follows (Preface):-"On account of the troubles and persecutions, the wisdom of our learned men is lost and the knowledge of our sages is hidden; so that certain parts of the exposition of the 'Talmud' by the Geônim became obscured, and great confusion had arisen in their interpretation. . . Therefore," he adds, "since the Rabbis in captivity cannot communicate on account of war and distance, with the help of my Creator, and being well versed in all those works, I have endeavored to collate and explain in the clearest possible manner all that which was said since the time of our Rabbi Jehudah the Holy" (i. e., since the compilation of the 'Mishna,' to the last of the Geônim). Thus in the writings of the Rabbis, the entire Oral Law,' including the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmuds, Midrashim, etc., is designated as 'Kabbalah' (the Received Doctrines): but the name is now applied to that part of tradition which treats, first, of the "Heavenly Chariot" and throne as described by the Prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah (Ezek. i.; Isaiah vi. 1-4); second, of the Work of Creation, embodied in the first chapter of Genesis; and third, of the whole system of the symbolic interpretation of Scripture adopted by the 'Zohar' and its commentaries. The Kabbalah is the technical name of the Jewish Esoteric Philosophy. It is divided into two principal parts: the 'Iyunith (Theoretical or Speculative), and the Ma'asiyoth (Active or Practical). It was also denominated Hakhmah Nistarah (Hidden Wisdom), because its study was hidden from the profane, and known only to the few "elect" who received it by tradition. As the initials of Hakhma Nistarah, H. N., form the Hebrew word HeN (Grace), the modern Kabbalists designate the Kabbalah by that short but meaning cryptogram. Separating from its principal dogmas the accretions which modern Kabbalistic writers added, and freeing it from its parasite, the pretended wonder-workings of the 'Practical Kabbalah,' we shall behold in the principal doctrines of the Theoretical Kabbalah' a pure theosophy far superior to the Trimurti (the triad of the Vedas), and in many respects not conflicting with the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. THE PRINCIPAL DOGMA OF THE KABBALAH The starting-point of the Theoretical Kabbalah' is the nature of the Deity prior to the creation of the universe. The Kabbalists designate him as the EN-SOPH (the Infinite), without any Dimyon (shape or form) whatsoever. He was above being. He was the Aïn (nothing). Yet in that non-existent state he is designated as the 'Ilath Kol Ha-'Iloth Sibath Kol Hassiboth (the Cause of all Causes). This doctrine according to our understanding is paradoxical, since, as the Hindu philosophy has it, Navastuno vastu siddhih (Nothing is made of nothing); the terms "manifestation" or "will" imply "being.” The Kabbalists nevertheless affirm that he willed to become known, and the Concealed of all Concealed manifested himself by means of Ten Sephiroth (Emanations). THE TEN SEPHIROTH The exact meaning of the Hebrew word Sephirah, plural Sephiroth, is in dispute. According to some it is derived from the Hebrew verb saphar (to count); while others render it "declaration," from saper (to declare) as in Psalm xix. 1, Hash-shamaim Mesaprim, . . "The heavens declare the glory of God." Others again translate it "sphere" or "sapphire." This name, the Kabbalists affirm, was given by no less an authority than the Prophet Elijah himself in addressing himself to the Deity he exclaimed, "Thou art he who hast brought forth the ten things which we call Sephiroth, in order to illuminate the world." (Second pref. of Tikûnē Zohar.') In order to introduce the reader into the maze of the Sephīritic Spheres and facilitate his progress therein, a diagram of the Ten Sephiroth is inserted on page 8429. This will assist to a clearer understanding of their emanation, their coming into existence, their Divine Scriptural names, their functions in the "worlds, "— Briah (Creation), Yetsirah (Formation), and 'Asiyah (Action),- and their position in the Adam-Kadmon (the Archetypal Man); or the 'Olam Ha-Atsilôth (the World of Emanations). A complete understanding of this diagram will reward the reader and give him the key to the foundation of the whole theosophy. It is very easy of comprehension, if followed by the description and guided by the arrows shown. The first "Emanation," or "Intelligence," is designated the Nekudah (point); which the Kabbalah identifies with the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Yod ('), the first letter of the Tetragrammaton IH V H, the numerical value of which is equal to 10 (see diagram of values), symbolizing the Ten Sephiroth by which the world was created. The Zohar' (i. 15a and 16b) describes the manifestation of the first "Intelligence" thus: "The air surrounding the 'Concealed of all Concealed' (the En-Soph), was cleft and it was not cleft. He was absolutely unknown until from the midst of the cleft a luminous Nekūdah appeared. After this he (the Concealed) continued in his unknown state. This point is therefore designated the Reshith (beginning), because it is the primordial word of all." Thus it follows that since the Nekudah Rishônah (the first luminous point) directly emanated from the En-Soph, it must possess the same nature as the source whence it proceeded. This "luminous point" the Kabbalists call the "First Sephirah," out of which nine other Sephiroth emanated in succession. It was by the agency of these Ten Sephiroth, called the Adam Kadmon (the Archetypal Man), that the universe was created. Rabbi Simeon* opens his mystic discourse on this subject as follows: "What is meant by the words, 'I am my beloved's and his desire is towards me'? (Canticles, vii. 10). It means that all the days that we are joined together in this world we are united by one bond with the Holy One, blessed be he. Therefore is it written, 'And his desire is towards me.'» While thus expounding the Divine truth, the Zohar' relates (iii. 288a): "The Deity and his holy company came to listen to the * Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai is the reputed author of the great Kabbalistic work called Zohar' or 'Sohar' (Brilliant Light). |