The Tree of Life
It was the Babylonians who originally created the idea of the Tree of Life. 10 aspects (seferit) of God’s nature that are connected in 32 paths of a higher circle represent the Tree of Life. It became a part of Kabbalistic understanding of God’s essence when Jewish mystics started to adapt it. The Tree of Life is a mystical symbol used to depict the nature of God and how He created the universe out of nothing. It visually represents the descent of God into the earthly world.
The symbol is represented by 10 circles that are related to each other, signifying the interrelationship of the different aspects of the nature of God. The Tree of Life is a representative diagram that helps Kabbalists understand fully the relationship of the diverse aspects of God’s divine nature.
It contains three sections with a masculine and feminine element, and a combining element at the center.
The first section is called the top sefiroth (creative forces). It describes the indescribable through representation and has no direct connection with reality.
| 1. | Crown (Keter) – The Tree of life’s highest aspect that can be understood. It is the union of God and is the mind of God that the people cannot recognize. |
| 2. | Wisdom (Hokhmah, Chockmah) – God’s primordial masculine and contemplative aspect. It is the expressive action of God. |
| 3. | Understanding (Binah) – It is God’s analytical aspect. God’s highest feminine aspect and is the formation of wisdom. |
The second section contains the three sefiroth considered as the reflections of the first section, on a lower level.
| 4. | Mercy (Hesed, Chesed) - It symbolizes the masculine and kind side of God. |
| 5. | Judgement, Severity (Din) – Feminine side of God representing punishment, wrath, and judgment. |
| 6. | Beauty, Balance (Tiferet) – Represented as the balance of mercy and justice. Takes both sides of the masculine and the feminine. |
The last section contains four aspects and is the expression of the two upper sections.
| 7. | Eternity, Passion (Nezah) – Represents the grace of God that works throughout the world. |
| 8. | Splendor, Thought (Hod) – Represented as the area of thought and truth, and is the means by which the judgment of God enters the world. |
| 9. | Foundation, Feeling (Yesod) – Beauty and good forces pass into the world through this channel. Manifesting the realization through intuition and instinct. |
| 10. | Kingdom, Body (Shekhinah, Malkuth) – It is in this channel that the upper aspects pass through and sent into the world and realized in the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. |
Zohar and Sefer Yetzirah
Zohar or the “Book of Splendor” is supposed to be the most important Kabbalistic work. Written in medieval Aramaic and medieval Hebrew, it is a mystical explanation of the Torah. Some topics concerning about the nature of God, the structure of the universe, and the nature of good and evil are found in Zohar. It was during the 13th century in Spain when it first appeared. A Jewish writer named Moses de Leon published the Zohar.
Sefer Yetzirah or the “Book of Creation” is considered to be the earliest existing book on Jewish Esotericism. It provides information about the nature of God’s creation of the world. Allegedly, it was Abraham who wrote the book. The origin of the text is still unknown, and modern historians are still debating about it.