Sepher Yezirah - A Book on Creation

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SEPHER YEZIRAH

A BOOK ON CREATION



EDtezed MIClllI'lUngto Act of Ocmgreu, in the Je&r 18'JT. bJ1.. B. I'B.A.:N It • CO.,

in the oalce of &be Ll1ll'IdaD of CoJIIJ- at WubJDaton, D. C.

(ALL BIGHTS BESKBVED]



4

PREFACE.

This metaphysical essay, called "Sepher Yezirah,"(book on creation, or cosmogony,) which I have en~deavored to render into English, with explanatorynotes, is considered by all modern literati as the firsiphilosophical book that ever was written in the He-brew language. But the time of its composition andthe name of its author have not yet been ascertained,despite of the most elaborate researches of renownedarchaeologists. Some maintain that this essay ismentioned in the Talmud treatise Sanhedrin, p. 66 b.and ibid. 6'1b. which passage is according to the com-mentary of Rashi, to treatise Erubin, p. 63 a., a re-liable historical notice. Hence this book was knownalready in the second or at the beginning of the thirdcentury of the Christian Era. The historian, Dr.Graetz, tries to show very ingeniously in his work;entitled "Gnosticism," p. 104 and 110, that it waswritten in the early centuries of the Christian Church,especially when the ideas and views of the Gnosticswere in vogue. This opinion, however, he afterwardsrevoked. (See Dr. Graetz's "History of the Jews,"Vol. V, p. 315 in a note.)



PREFACE. 5

that Saadjah Goon, who lived in the tenth, and Judah

Halevi, who lived in the twelfth century, representedthe book "Yezirah" as a 'Veryancient work. There-fore it seems to me, that Dr. Graetz had no sufficientcalISe to repudiate his assertion concerning the ageof this book; because all the difficulties which hehimself and others raised against his supposition,

fall to the ground, when we consider that the mostancient works, holy as well as profane, had one andthe same fate, namely, that from age to age more orless interpolations were made by copyists and com-mentators. Compare also Prof. Tenneman's "Grund-riss der Geschichte der Philosophie," improved by

Prof. Wendt, p. 207.Tradition, which ascribes the authorship of tIlls

book to the patriarch Abraham, is fabulous, as canbe proved by many reasons; but the idea tha.t RabbiAkiba, who lived about the beginning of the secondcentury, composed the book "Yezirah," is very likelypossible. Be this-as it may, it is worth while to knowthe extravagant hypotheses which ancient Jewishphilosophers and theologians framed as soon as theybegan to contemplate and to reason, endeavoring tocombine oriental and Greek theories. Although thereis an exuberance of weeds, we will find, nevertheless,many germs of truisms, which are of the greatest im-



6 PBD'ACE.

doctrine of the Jews, which must be carefally dis-tingaished from its excrescences, is in close connec-tion and perfect accord with the Old and New Test-aments; and in the second place, that the knowledgeof it is of great imporlance to the philosophical in-quirers, and can not be put aside. Like a cloud per-meated by beams of light which makes one infer that

there is more light behind it, so do the contents of this book, enveloped in obscurity, abound in corns-cations of thought, reveal to the mind that there is astill more e1folgent light lurking somewhere, and thusinviting us to a further contemplafion and investiga-tion, and at the same time demonstrating the danger

of a superficial investigation, which is so prevalentin modem times, rejecting that which can not beunderstood at first sight."

I shall now try to give a sketch of the system asit is displayed in the book "Yezirah," which forms alink in the chain of the ancient theoretical specula-tions of philosophers, who were striving to ascertainthe truth mainly by reasoning a-priori, and who im-agined that it is thus possible to permeate all thesecrets of nature. It teaches that a first cause, eter-nal, all-wise, almighty and holy, is the origin andthe centre of the whole universe, from whom gradu-ally all beings emanated. Thought, speech and



PREFACE. 7

and its reduction to writing, form a unity which pro-duce a creative effect. *

The self-existing first cause called the creation intoexistence by quantity and quality; the former re-presented by ten numbers, (Sephiroth,) the latter bytwenty-two letters, which form together thirty-twoways of the divlne wisdom. Three of the twenty-twoletters, namely, Aleph, Mem, Sheen, are the mothers,

or the first elements, from which came forth the prim-itive matter of the world: air, water and fire, thathave their parallel in man, (male and female): breast,body and head, and in the year: moisture, cold andheat. The other seven double and twelvet simpleletters are then represented as stamina, from whichother spheres or media of existence emanated.

Manis a microcosm, as the neck separates rational-ity from vitality, so does diaphragm the vitalityfrom the vegetativeness.

-Thus for instance, they imagined that the name of Jehovah.,m n'is by reversing the alphabet; l'E l:tC (mzpz) j mem signifies the

letter jod, zaddi, the letter he, and pe, the letter wav. These .un-meaning sounds, they said, have magio power. Some maintainedthat the Hebrew language consists of twenty-two consonants, be-canse being the complex of all beings, its number is equal to themost perfect figure, namely, of the periphery, as it is well knownthat the diameter is always to the periphery as seven to twenty-two,

tIt was frequently observed by Jewish and Christian theolo-gians, that the Marcosianio Gnostic system, as well as that of the

Clemt'ntinians of the second century, contain many analogies andparallels with the book "Yezirah." Marcus divides the Greek al.h b t i t th t l i t t tX J(J{)



8 PREFACE.

God stands in close connection with the U Diverse,and just so is Tali connected with the world, that is,

an invisible, celestial or universal axis carnes thewhole fabric. In the year by the sphere, in man bythe heart, and thus is the ruling spirit of God every-where. Notwithstanding the decay of the individual,the genus is produced by the antithesis of man andwife.

Hebrew commentaries on the book "Yezirah" werecomposed by: first, Saadjah Gaon, of Fajum inEgypt, (892-942); second, Rabbi Abraham benDior Halevi; third, Rabbi Moses ben Nachman;fourth, Elieser of Germisa; fifth, Moses Botarel; sixth,

Babbi Eliah Wilna: The book "Yezirah," togetherwith all these commentaries, was published in 1860,in the city of Lemberg. But although the commen-tator Saadjah was a sober minded scholar in asuperstitious age, a good Hebrew. grammarian, a re-nowned theologian and a good translator of the He-

brew Pentateuch, Isaiah and Job into the Arabianlanguage, his ideas and views were, nevertheless,very often much benighted. See his comments onYez. Chap. I, ete., etc.; his notes on "Yezirah" Chap.III, 2, prove undoubtedly that he had no knowledgewhatever of natural science, and therefore his anno-

tations on the book "Yezirah" are of little or no useat all. .A.llthe other commentaries mentioned above,



PREFACE. 9

alsuperstitions, a metaphysical jargon, a poor know~ledge of physics and not a correct elucidation of theancient book; they drew mostly from their own im-agination, and credited the author of "Yezirah" withsaying very strange things which he never thoughtof. I must not omit to mention two other Hebrewcommentaries, one by Judah Halevi, and the otherby Ebn Ezra, who lived in the :firstpart of the twelfthcentury. They succeeded in explaining the book "Ye-

zirah in a sound scientific manner, but failed inmaking themselves generally understood, on accountof the superstitious age in which they lived, and thetenacity with which the people in that period adheredto the marvelous and supernatural; they found, there-fore, but few followers, and the hook "Yezirah" re-mained to the public an enigma and an ancient curios-ity, giving rise to a system of metaphysical delirium,called Cabala.

Translations of the book "Yezirah" and commentsthereon by learned Christian authors are: first, a

translation of the book "Yezirah" with explanatorynotes in the Latin langnage, by Wilhelm Postellus,Paris, France, 1552; second, another Latin version iscontained in J o. Pistorii artis cabalistical scriptorum,Tom I, p. 869, sqq., differing from that of Postellus.Some are of the opinion that John Reuchlin, whileothers maintain that Paul Riccius was the author of



10 PREFACE.

Rabbi Abraham. F. D. (filii Dior) super 32 SemitisSapientiae, a quibus liber Yezirah incipit. Translatuset notis illustratus, a Joanne Stephano Rittangelio,ling. Orient. in Elect. Acad. Regiomontana Prof.extraord. Amstelodami ap. J o. and J odoc. Jansson-ios," 1642, in quarto; fourth, Johann Friedrich vonMayer, D. D., published the book "Yezirah" in He-brew with a translation and explanatory notes in theGerman language, Leipzig, 1830.

All these translations are out of print and arerarely found even in well regulated libraries. I wasso fortunate as to obtain a copy of Dr. Mayer'sedition of the book "Yezirah." He states in the pre-face to it, that he had a copy of Postellus' transla-tion in manuscript as well as some others, and com-pared them. The explanatory notes given by thisauthor are, nevertheless, insufficient and sometimesvery incorrect. The present translation is, as far asI could ascertain, the first that was ever publishedin the English language. Again, I have to add thatI have not only endeavored to correct a great manymistakes and erroneous ideas of my predecessors, butI have also endeavored to give more complete anno-tations. I therefore hope that the candid reader willconsider the great difficulties I had to overcome inthis still unbeaten way of the ancient Jewish spirit-

ual region, and will receive with indulgence this newcontribution to archaeological knowledge



14SEPHER YEZIRAH.

15

CHAPTER 1.SECTION 1.

Yah,l the Lord of hosts, the living God, King of the Universe, Omnipotent, All-Kind and Merciful,Supreme and Extolled, who is Eternal, Sublimeand Most-Holy, ordained (formed) and created theUniverse in thirty-two 2 mysterious paths 3 of wisdomby three' Sepharim, namely: 1) S'for .,¥t?;2) Sip-pur"~EQ;and 3) Sapher .,~~which are in Him oneandthe same. They consist of a.decade out of nothingland of twenty-two fundamental letters. He dividedthe twenty-two consonants into three dj.visions: 1)three n,~~mothers, fundamental letters or first ele-ments; 2)seven double; and 3) twelve simple con-

sonants.SECTION 2.

The decadeoout of nothing is analogous to that of the ten fingers (and toes) of the human body, fiveparallel to five, and in the centre of which is thecovenant with the only One, by the word of thetongue and the rite of Abraham.

SECTION 3.

Ten are the numbers out of nothing, and not thenumber nine, ten and not eleven. Comprehend thisgreat wisdom, understand this 7 knowledge, inquireinto it and ponder on it, render it evident and leadSthe Creator back to His throne again.

1) Bee Notes oommendng on Page 50

+i'tt'~'P"~.Ill: ;,~ U ,,:

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.: T:' •T : T:' T ••• TT

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: nito1~~l""I"'W~

.::1 ;,~m'l:

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:ii17tfijn~Qt~liili~ijn~Qt

.':1 ;,~m'l:

~" ib17 17ilin~" ib17 i10~':;:)nii~Doib17: •••••• -.. :.,'... T': .: ••••••

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:iJiJt.r'~



16 SEPHEB YEZIRAH. .:1 j , Y' j ~ 0 17

SECTION 4.

The decade out of nothing has the following teninfinitudes:

1) The beginning 9 infinite. 6) The depth infinite.2) " end "7) "East "3) " good "8)" West u

4) " evil lo "9)" North "5) " height •• 10) u South u

and the only Lord God, the faithful King, rules overall from His holy habitation for ever and ever.

SECTION 5.

The appearance of the ten spheres out of nothingis like a flash of lightning, being without an end, Hisword is in them, when they go and return; they runby His order like a whirlwind and humble them-selves before His throne.

SECTION 6.

The decade of existence out of nothing has its end

linked to its beginning and its beginning linked toits end, just as the flame is wedded to the live coal;because the Lord is one and there is not a secondone, and before one what wilt thou count?ll

SECTION 7.

Concerning the number ten of the spheres of ex-istence out of nothing keep thy tongue from speak-ing and thy mind from pondering on it, and if thymouth urges thee to speak, and thy heart to think about it, return! as it reads: "And the living creaturesran and returned," (Ezekiel 1,14.) and upon this 12 wasthe covenant made.

.j Mj'tl''=i

0 v 7l"~~ i~~ l\'l~ iiti?? riii'~? i~P7?i~1:liiOPt?i~n'!Q~ Pt?i~1n'~N 'J Pt?'l'0Pt?i~in!.l~ P7?i~ri/j0 Pt?i~lOii Pt?l?t? ,~ "T}~ li'~ Oiil P7?i~11iD¥ p~i~:l1lL

:,~ '!.lL:'~ iiV1R1i~rp~O?:p '~iO •M l"n 'tD ' = i

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., Mj'tD'=i

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.T Mj'tl''=i

;P ?1i~"J~~9'~ Oi'~ i1t1'~fnii'~9 i~:l1rtJiiJlij? 9??1i~1~ 9'~ Y1 O~1i0"Vitl '~1 :liiV!NiYlni~ /jijJi~~:~1~7~Oiptt?

:n'i:l ni~.J i1.: - :. " 0 "



18 SEPHER YEZIRAH. .i1 ., , !t' ., £l 0 19

SECTION 8,

The followingare the ten categories of existence

out of nothing:1) The spirit of the living God, praised and glori-

fied be the name of Him who lives to all eternity.The articulate word of creative power, the spirit andthe word are what we call the holy spirit. IS

2) Air emanated from the spirit by which Heformed and established twenty-two consonants, sta.-mina. Three of them, however, are fundamentalletters, or mothers, seven double and twelve simpleconsonants; hence the spirit is the first one.

3) Primitive water emanated from the air. Heformed and established by it Bohu u (water, stones)mud and loam, made them like a bed, put them uplike a wall, and surrounded them as with a rampart,put coldness upon them and they became dust, as itreads: "He says to the snow (coldness) be thou

earth," (Job 37, 6.)4) Fire or ether emanated from the water. He

established by it the throne of glory, the Seraphimand Ophanim, theholylivingcreatures and the angels,and of these three He formed His habitation, as itreads: "Who made His angels spirits, His ministersa flaming fire." (Psalm 104,4,) He selected threeconsonants from the simple ones which are in thehidden secret of three mothers or first elements:.V)"t)"N air, water and ether or fire, He sealed themwith spirit and fastened them to His great name and

sealed with it six dimensions. 11l

.n n:Jm ~

C"~r::tc"ibN n1i nnN ilO"S::ln'i"ElO ., ','; - - - T' : ' : '.' '.'

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T , •• -: ':".' T -T:

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11~"7?H~n,~~ ~S~"0:t n'i01~~lj lQ n'~t

: n'Pii?~r;iCij~ CQ ~':"'#i1 'o~~ C~

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:~~ , It :: l rn, cnn :~D'Oii'le" (I IT "'I'" •• T '.. -



5) He sealed 18 the height and turned towardsabove, and sealed it with 'i1~

6) He sealed the depth, turned towards below andsealed it with '-i1

7) He sealed the east and turned forward, andsealed it with n - '

8) He sealed the west and turned backward, andsealed it with "'i1'

9) He sealed the south and turned to the right andsealed it with i'i'"10) He sealed the north and turned to the left and

sealed it with ..\,SECTION 9.

These are the ten spheres of existence out of nothing. From the spirit of the living God emana-ted air, from the air, water, from the water, fire orether, from the ether, the height and the depth, theEast and West, the North anJ South.

20 BEPHER YEZIRAH..M i ' !l' i £ ) 0 21

,n'J ;0t}n1i1S~.td?i1.J~~O~ionn tdon, T , T " T T - T " T

'''MJ ;Or}nln~td? i1.J~~nn~ onn r;)td• T , T, T T - - - T "

n"'J ;0t}n1'''J~7 i1J~~n'lO onn ~Jr;), T • TT • T T -: ' - T - '.'

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CHAPTER ll.

SECTION 1.There are twenty-two letters, stamina.. Three of

them, however, are the first elements, fundamentalsor mothers, seven double and twelve simple conso-nants. The three fundamental letters V:"l:l"~have astheir basis the balance. In one scale 17 is the meritand in the other criminality, which are placed inequilibrium by the tongue. The three fundamentalletters V:"l:l"~signify, ajjl:l is mute like the water and:¥ D hissing like the fire, there is l't among them, a.breath of air which reconciles them.

SECTION 2,The twenty-two letters which form the stamina.

+'.~iOP'~.~ M ~ 't% H l

~~~ rw~~rl1Sr;)';0': n;ll~;~ O"~r;)~C'ift'~, T. • - • • •••

ttJ U rtU ~ n;~~ td,~ nito~r;)~i11f?'~C"~rp~n;S~~~

C".~1~~'!~td Pr:'1 , r ; ) 7 1n~;n ~~~:n~~1'~~n;i'1~ '~ nR~)td lr;)nT?~;' '0 r;)/lqu~n;~~ r;),r

, , T

:C'~,):;)~"i~On1i. -:. - .: - -.~ M~'lt'~

1 ~ '"1 ¥1 1 ¥ ~m r ~';0": n;llt}'~C",~~1C'!ff'~



after having been appointed and established by God,He combined, weighed and changed them, and formedby them all beings which are in existence, and allthose which will be formed in all time to come.

SECTION 3.

He established twenty-two letters, stamina, by thevoice, formed by the breath of air and fixed them onfiveplaces in the human mouth, namely: 1) gutturals,3' n iI N 2) palatals, i'~' :l 3) linguals, n ~, ~ .,4) dentals, y i C 1 i . it 5) labials, : ' J ~ ~: J

SECTION 4.

He fixed the twenty-two letters, stamina, on theBphere like a wall with two hundred and thirty-onegates,18and turned the spheres forward andbackward.For an illustration may serve the three letters, ~~ 3 '

There is nothing better than joy, and nothing worsethan sorrow or plague. 19

SECTION 5.

But how was it done? He combined,20weighed andchanged: the N with all the other letters in succession,and all the others again with N; :l with all, and allagain with :l; and so the whole series of letters. 21

Hence it follows that there are two hundred andthirty-one 22 formations, and that every creature andevery word emanated from one name. 23

SECTION 6.

He created a reality out of nothing, called thenonentity into existence and hewed, as it were, co-lossal pillars from intangible air. This has beenshown by thfl example of combining the letter N with

22 SEPHER YEZIRAH. ,M., , Y' ., E)0 23

'f n~1 iiY~ij'f n~ Cvil i¥11l'~ij! :iiY' , 'nyT • T",•

• ' :1 ;':i'Q)~

l?¥O ~ ii'f lRi?O'iO; nN }iN 0:~~Y 'lJq~ nillI}iNn;oip9 ~~O? n~?

O:~~?Y'1t?~11i~7fnil~?rp"J~ P ::9plI~'Jliip: O~Q~ifi~ ~1I~iJ

" ;'~ 'Q)'=l

r~:p'~?Jf 1~~R.'iO~ nillI)iNo:tJ~ OiinN ' O'.:l~O'~;1';1ninn, O'iY ~ NMoi

T : " T " - : - - .": • T : : T

n~l~P ~ 1~Y ~ n7~R ? M ?irofr~i~171 ~ ':Y J1l0n~

-"." " T -:

. ;, 1"D'Q) ' = l

N O~ 1~~11~~"O~ N rT~ij117P~l~l~'1t'~n;N ¥t?~ ln7'?7; n;i~n1:3Cl! 1~~::1~~Cl! : N Yi'iiJ'1n ;;:" iiYllM~;: ,N Y O.: l'O'iY~ N "

•• • - T : : - T T : ": " T : :

:,nN .OWT "." """

., ;'~'Q)'=l

:3Yril i.:l~' i,J'N tl~ n~y, 1iino ~~O i :3: '- T : : """ "" ".. T T : " T - - T

niN 19 'Q n~ ~0~t;1~ i.:l'~~i'1~~ 0"';'i'10:C~ N"J (.



all the other letters, and all the other letters withAleph (x). He 2 4 0 predetermined, and by speakingcreated every creature and every word by one name.For an illustration may serve the twenty-two ele-mentary substances by the primitive substance of

Aleph 25 (x).

.n i ' !.l' i tI 024 SEPHER YEZIR.A.H. 25

~f n~ M~~1i~"7;?1M~iY~ O~ 1?~11~~ 03; ~

i~l~ 1 9 " P 1'Q~ D~ i1:l~iJ ~f t"i~1 i1Y~ij

: ~ ~ 1~ ~o"~~q0" .~ o/1 O ''

.,~,~~P'~CHAPTER III.

n'T;;)~~t& i1::li'j' '~T c'p,nnt.:l'C'r-l' t&~ C'~~' 'jr-lT;;)' ~"j C ' "

. T T " ; ': :J ~ T ~ ~ ~ ~-~;~~tf'ntl~ " ~ ,? ,;:l~~' 'i~ ,o~w"9"

.':\ i1~'tD~

o'~ilJ ilJ~,O'~1i'1~ OS;~:l ilJl~"~ n;~~ ilJ~id•- j '0:. - "- T T .: ',': • T

1J1 i 9 i"~.~l O~~Q n~11~ Y!.~lv~q 1N.'P~

: O'.r]~~ ~_'lj~Q

.~ i1~'tD~

ii:t iil ~~!n1~1~~ 11iO~ ilJII911~: ni~~ ilJ~tl/

,io ilJllPII~ ni~~ ilJ~~ D : t2 't~l!.'''!= ? 9P Q liilJ7'"1~Y'"ni~J\O ilJiV:lD1nil' M01~t.'i ~S~1t.'Si,~

:-T: T- •• :- T: T : T:- T

rii:~~t.'1ni:J~ 1'~i.:lOilt.'1 ilJ~,0'0' i"1~ Oilt.'T " T: .,' - •• : • - ••- .,' ••

:n;,?;n. : : : 1i1~'tD~

17P ~l~l¥ l~ ¥ Q m R QiVlI~"~ ni~~ ilJ~~

ilJ~tl/107 ;~ ~ilJI9"~ n;~~ iV~~ 0C-!?i¥J rT ~ilJp~? ilJI9"~ ri;~~ ilJ~~1M 1 ~ ?ilJN9"~: n;~~

: M ? R 11 i 1 J

SECTION 2.

God appointed and established the three mothers,t'''l;l''X combined, weighed and changed them, andformed by them three mothers t''''r.)''X in the world,in the year and in man, male and female.

SEOTION 3.

The three mothers t''''r.)''X in the world are: air,water and fire. Heaven was created from fire orether; the earth (comprising sea and land) from theelementary water; and the atmospheric air from theelementary air, or spirit, which establishes the bal-ance among them.

SECTION 1.

The three first elements, t'''l;l''X are typified by a.balance, in one scale the merit and in the other thecriminality, which are placed in equilibrium by thetongue. These three mothers, t'''l;l''X are a great,wonderful and unknown mystery, and are sealed bysix 26 rings, or elementary circles, namely: air, waterand fire emanated from them, which gave birth toprogenitors, and these progenitors gave birth again

to some offspring.



26 SEPHEB YEZIBAH. .i1i'Y' i~O 27

.., l"'Dttl~

CiMn~:~ iiPl OiMn1~~~"Q"~ ni~~~S~• '. T

3l"" p 9lJ~i~ n~1i;'O:~ t.?N l~~ iip~~q N l?~:C:8t~

,l"'i l"'i:lttl ~

lre.?~~~i n~p~~i1 !~p.~~~ 1 Ir :? "~ ni~Ntth~• • • ••• • T

ti~H ~O;tp t.?N l?~lre .~ ~~~~N l?~~~i n;!1: C "~.J::l!J"i~OiI~• - :. - ,0: _ _

" l"'i:lttl~

"t:)~ is i~R1 r:J~if IN niN ~r?t.?i)•N Nnt~1 n~n0 7i!Jf i"1~ CV f i¥1M .}~nt.i~!¥

: OI~"~9 n ~ R ~ ~~u~"~9i~! ~~~f n ~ ,i l"'i:lttl~

"t'~is i~R1 O:~1'rj niN l"~9i).:l

N 1~nt~~ iiPl O?i!J~ y~.~0V ~ i¥1 n!.~n . ! ,1~!¥:N"~"Qf n1p.~~"~"9"~9 i 1t ~~~firpt.

,n l"'i:lttl~

~ ~ is i~ R 1~ttf '~ niN l"?91} •J N ~~n~~f OiM!O?i!J~O;Q ~O ij~i¥1 nJ?n.}i~:¥l

:n1p.~~i 1t ~p.~~~~il. . . .

SECTION8.

THIRDDIVISION.He let the letter Sheen ( - a 1 )pre-dominate in primitive fire, crowned it, combined onewith the other, and formed by them, heaven in theworld, heat in the year, and the head of male and

female. 82

SECTION7.

SECONDDmsION. He let the letter :Mem(~)pre-dominate in primitive water, and crowned it, combinedone with the other, and formed by them the earth,(including land and sea) coldness in the year, andthe belly in male and female; in male by ,~,,~,,~1 in

female by : N"-a1"~

SECTION6.

FIRSTDmsION. God let the letter. Aleph (N )pre-dominate in primitive air, crowned 29 it, combined onewith the other,SOand formed by them the air in theworld, moistness in the year, and the breast in man,male and female; in male by ~"~"N and in female

by :C"~"N

SlJ:CTION 4.

The three mothers -a1"~"N produce in the yearr:heat, coldness 28 and moistness. Heat was createdfrom fire, coldness from water, and moistness fromair which equalizes them.

SECTION5.

The three mothers ~"~"N produce in man, maleand female, breast, body and head. The head wascreated from fire, the breast from water, and thebody from air, which places them in eq1i.librium.



28 SEPHER 'iEZIRAH. 29

CHAPTER IV.

SECTION 1.

The8Sseven double letters, n.,t~ '1~:J with a.duplicity

of pronunciation, aspirated and unaspirated, namely:

.M•.,": '\ .t~ .~!l . '1"1 .~ ; :. : J : Jserve as a model of softness and

hardness, strength and weakness.

SECTION 2.

SevenS' double letters, .n.,t~ '1~:J shall, as it were,

symbolize wisdom, wealth, fruitfulness, life,dominion,

peace and beauty.SECTION 3.

Seven dODble letters serve to sigt'ify the antithesis

to which human life is exposed. The antithesis of

wisdom is foolishness; of wealth, poverty; of fruit-

fulness, childlessness; of life, death; of dominion,

dependence; of peace, war; and of beauty, ugliness.

SECTION 4.

The seven double consonants are analogous to the

six dimensions: height and depth, East and West,

North and South, and the holy temple that stands

in the centre, which carries them all.

SECTION 5.

The double cOIlllonantsare seven, n.,t~ '1~:J and not

six, they are seven and not eight; reflect upon this

.~ t1~'ll:'ti

.,~~::;)ni.1i1JnO n'iD~ '".1:;)t"iiS1D~ 11~tJ .. : . -: - : . -: - - : : - - . -

1"\"J:3~1 " \N n .,"~Due ~"~ ''', .1";1~.::;)niJitth. : - :

: t1~Q1.,i::;)1i1~R1 ~n.:J t1~'ll:'ti

";;ii11 il9~Q i1i o; n61~~'6J~ ni'1D:p i1~~

: ilJl CiS~ i1~~t.?~C"~lJl ~"Jn

.:1 t1~'ll:'ti

n""On:31"1::;)~ t"i'iD~ ".1::;)t"iiS1D~ i1~t1T :. .: -: - -: : - '.'

1"\""on".Jii1"~i1 t"ii10n nS1~ no~n ni10r-\ - :. '.' -: ••••••• T: T -:

nSt100 n""on n,o o"~n n.,.,on nootY i1iTT T : '.' -: '.'T '.- - : T T: -.~

: ""i1"~jlJ nl'0t;' n9Q?~ CiS~ nl'0t;' n1'1~•., t1::l'll:'ti

MilO n~o, i1Si10n"iD~ '11.1::;) niS1~~ i1~t1T: • T - T -:- -: - -: : - '.'

i1~9~9 iP9 t1~f'O S~"iJ!Oii11 iiD¥ :Jl3!~:i~~n~ ~~i.J N 1 i1

.n n~'l:Dti

nwtJ ~t;, ni1~t1n"iD~ '''.1:;)t"i;SlD~ i1:3t1T. . : T:. -; - - : : - .••



SECTION10.

TltIRD DIVISION.He let the letter., predomina.tein producibility, crowned it, combined one with theother, and formed by them: the sun in the world,the third day in the year, the right nostril in man,male and female.

SECTION 11.

FOURTHDmSION. He let the letter;:, predominatein life, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Venus in the world, the fourthday in the year, and the left eye in man, male andfemale.

SECTION12.

FIFl'H DmsloN. He let the letter c predominatein dominion, crowned it, combined onewith the other,and formed by them: Mercury in the world, the fifthday in the year, and the left ear in man, male andfemale.

SECTION13.

SIXTHDmsION. He let the letter., predominatein peace, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Saturn in the world, the sixthday in the year, and the left nostril in man, male andfemale.

SECTION14.

SEVENTHDmsION. He let the letter n predominatein beauty, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Jupiter in the world, theseventh day in the year, and the mouth of man,male and female.

,'I n J ' ttl ~

'\.9 ,~'~R1 ~'iP" n ,~' :1 "7 9 0 •J to9~'l~'17~0''1O~'l1~ M ~ rjO\!~ '¥': M ~ .1M ~ .l~

:Mij?~~'~J rd~~~1 " t ; ' ~' ' 1 r : v ~Mt~~

33. i" I . , ,Y ' ., D [)

,~/I'l n J '!II ~

,~ ,S'~mO'l~lJf'~ n , ~'~i"~9o., ~1~'l1 !'1 ~ '" 1oi'l 07'l1 f j:'I~i.J 0 G 1 f ,~! j'1 }.1i!j l~l~!

: M 1 P . - t ~'~J rd~~f~~O~ 1'117.'M~~,~/I'l n J m ~

,~~ is'~mM ~ ~ 9 9 ~ '~n , ~~r~t?0·M~1~'1~,!'l~Qoi'l 07il1f~ti~ O~f ,~! M .]1 M J1 ~ '"

: M 1 P . 1 ~'~t rd~~:p,~O~ 1 j . ~ 1M~~~

,:I"'l n:J ' tt l ~

,~~ " '~R1O;;~t'i ni~ 1'l~9o., ~~'liP~0''1O~'l1~ '1tJ~~o\!~ '¥ 1M~.~M t ,l~ i:¥

: M 1 P t~i~t r d ~ ~ ?;~O~''1~;1~ M ~ ~,i"'l n ~ ' ttl ~

,~ it..,i~ R 1 1 /j t 'n tl,~ 1 'l7 9 i) •T to < 1 ~

Ii~~ oi'l 07'l1 f Pl};0Vf '¥1 M~~M!. 1~!¥

:M~P.~~'~t rd~~?M~~M~~t

SEPHERYEZIRAlI.32



34 BBPHEB IEZIBAB..i1i'JP iElD 35

SECTION 15.

By the BeTendouble consonants, mc~')~ were also

designed seven worlds (at'03YEs),seven heavens, seven

lands, (probably climates,) seven seas, (probably

around Palestine,) seven rivers, seven deserts, seven

days a week. seven weeks from Passover to Pente-cost, there is a cycle of seven years, the seventh is

the release year, and after seven release years is ju-

bilee. Hence, God loves the number seven under

the whole heaven.1'1 (In the whole nature.)

SECTION 16.

Two stones build two hOUBes,three stones build

six houses, four build twenty-four houses, five build

one hundred and twenty houses, six build seven

hundred and twenty houses and seven build five

thousand and fortY'" houses. From thence further

go and reckon what the mouth cannot express and

the ear cannot hear,

CHAPTER V.

SECTION 1.

The twelve simple letters p"3:"l 'c"':'" ""~"n f"''';'

symbolize, as it were, the organs of speaking, think-

•,u'O ti J '1 2 ) 7 :2

n~~ li? R ':"~lC 9~n/j~~ "'~ ni"'~~~~~, "

C~~ n~?~ ni~1~ n~1~ l"'V'~1n¥1~ n;C~;3n31~~C"Q'n31:;3~ni~~ n~rtJ ni-,nJ n~::JttI

T • T T.. T :. T:. T : T : .•

ni':t i' n~1~ l't?~~ n~~ c'~~ n3p~ ni310~

:O~~Lt~f~~ ni!l~'~~v n~ ~rj 'i')~'~7

•fI'O l " IJ ' 1 2 ) 7 : 2

O'~~ ttI,~ O'I:'J ,~~ t"iiJiJ O'J::JN,~~T. T T. • T -: .':

n¥~~ n'iJiJ C'~~ 31~'~ O't:'1 n~~ niJiJ

C'l!~~ nN~ niJ'b C'J::JN~~n C'~J o,-,ft/311,., T 'T -; •• T ' T ': '.':

O""~~.1niN~ ~~~ niJiJ O'JJN ~~ O'~J• " , ' T -;.. • T

O'~,~ t"i~t:?o.t"iiJiJ O'JJN ~JtcJO'r-oT. " 'T-: -'.' .T

::3itn:p.N~ 'i')?'~11~t.?C'~ C'~~~l(31J'1N

n 7 i:~ ;lt~v 1"'~1~1? M7 0 ; M~V 1"'~~~:1tiC~

•'rt"~n~'ij• l l t l"I:J '1 2 ) 7 :2

p U ~ 3 1O UJ' 'I/ron T '1nn;to-,ttI~n..,~~.O'IJ~. ... .



ing, walking, seeing, hearing, working, coition, smell-

ing, sleep, anger, swallowing and laughing.

36 BEPHER YEZIBAH.

-

.1'1., , Y' ., ~ 0 37

n~~~n~~t;'~ n:~! ~rbi},~nli}ii~~~ l"O~:pin~ ni9'~7l~,i'n~'~lJ~', t'~~rp

SECTION 2.

The twelve simpleconsonants i'''~''J' O"':"~ ~"~"n t"''';'

symbolize also twelve oblique points: east height,

north east, east depth, south height, south east, Bouth

depth, west height, south west, west depth, north

height, north west, north depth. They grew wider

and wider to all eternity, and these arll the boundaries

of the world.

SECTION 3.

The twelve simple letters i'''~''J' r::".:"~ ~"~"n t""';'

stamina, having been designed, established, com-

bined, weighed and changed by God, He performed

by them: twelve constellations in the world, twelve

months in the year, and twelve leaders (organs) in the

human body, male and female.

SECTION 4,

The twelve constellations in the world are: Aries,

.::1 \1~'C:)7:J

i:'IIY~oll:h,lIiOnTII,nrW.o1tJ~ii'fo~ C~r-\tI ' ".. , ".. . . .

t'i'rj~1~,.'::l1liO??~'?~:3~'~~T

C'~.~1 1 in'r-\nr-\ n'mro ~1:3~n'Ji~Yn'n"ro '1::l~n'oi• : - 'T:' : ' : 'T:' : '

~1:J~n'mttJ' n'oi" '1:J~n'oi, n'oi,'1 '1: • T:' , : : • .::

t.,1::l~n~o1't'i'::l'~Ot.,1::l~t'i'r-\n~t'i'01,'1:. . T-:- : ' : - • :

~1:J~t'i't:'r;'IIJn'~1~~ t.,~::l¥ n'~1'l t'i'~1~n'J1~Y~1::l~n'::l '~t'n'l'Ji~Y'1::l~n'o1, n'J1.: :.. T-:- .: : . .:

1~ J ljl , ~ ', ~ : , ~r~71n1r~Qlt;"'~1t'i'~~t::0'1~n1~0

T :

.'1 \1~'C:)~

PII!l~0 1 1J' ~lIiOnTII,nt'i1to~tJ~n-:w~,C'~~00t '¥1 ll'~ijl 1 7 P ~l~!¥ 1 1 ¥ ': 'lR P ':'1 1 1 o~tJ,n ,fo~ 0'JtJ O'i~::1ni~ro n,fo~ O

• T-: T T ,. : T T T - •• : '.' " :

:n 1 i? 11'~t tJ~~~ 0'~~0~~,~~ O '~ o /n~~~

. , \ 1 ~ 'C : ) ~

C~t'iN~,itl n,to O'i~::;)n;,ro n,~~ O'r-\t.: '.' T T T T - "": ".' •• :



Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio,Sagitarius, Capricornus, Aquarius and Pisces. Thetwelve months of the year are: Nisan, 1yar, Sivan,Tamus, Ab, Elul, Tishri, Marcheshvan, Rislev,Teves, Schevat and Adar. The twelve organs of thehuman body are: two hands, two feet, two kidneys,gall, small intestines, liver, gullet 89 or esophagus,

stomach and milt.SECTION5.

First Part.

FmsT DIVISION. God let the letter i1 predominatein speaking, crowned it, combined one with theother, and formed by them: Aries (the Ram) in theworld, the month Nisan in the year, and the rightfoot of the human body, male and female.

SECTION6.

SECONDDIVISION. He let the letter' predominatein thinking, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Taurus (the Bull) in the world,the month 1yar in the year and the right kidney of the human body, male and female.

SECTION7.

THIRD DIVISION. He let the letter t predominatein walking, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Gemini (the Twins) in theworld, the month Sivan in the year, and the left footof the human body, male and female.

38 SEPHERYEZIRAH..~ ., , It' ., El0 3 9

'?i '!1 n;;R.~lP~ t:r~~1~oii71t"9ii:l~ i i 9 ' "

n'Q i"~~i9"~ii~~~ C"~!p:i~~ C"~~ ::il~ to~~ n~~'~q~ntfllj"i.tflt:'~1~~:~~ m~rJ

0;1: "~~ ii;JR;11i1 t ~~~ C"~"i)~~i~¥ C"~

q :J P i'P >'~f

P?1iil~n '''7 f '~9

C :2 r l ":~,ni9M ~ Rnlt1~.l'i l'i~m~

,~ i~Rl iir:'''~~1 Mn'N l"~t.?i)•NC1~INN?:t

i9'~1C~'~? ii?t9 Cij:ti¥1i1!.~ i1 ]1 ~ '" 1 ¥ 1iV~: M ~ R - t 1i~t ~?~~i"~~'r~~iit~~

., l" l ~m ~

" i~R1 i1iil0~ " n'N l";t?0 •N~~ '~i"~~i C~'~f i,rtJ O~:t i¥1 iiJ.~M ! .1 ~ '"1 ~ 1iV~

:iitRt1 i~t~?~~n"~9;N~71~JM~~~

.T l'i ~ m ~

" i~m l1~i}:P'l n'N l"?t.?i) .Ni:;I~'.1 N~:t

IrQi C7'~f C"~'N~Cij~i¥1 ii~~iit1 ~ '" 1 ¥ 1iV~:ii~R~1 i1t.~~~~ '~0f¥ '~'1~ M~~



40 SEPHERYEZIRAH.41

SECTION8.Second Part.

FIRST DIVISION. He let the letter M predominatein seeing, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Cancer (the Crab) in the world,the month Tamus in the year, and the right hand of the human body, male and femalfl.

SECTION9.SECONDDIVISION. He let the letter ~ predominate

in hearing, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Leo (the Lion) in the world,the month Ab in the year, and the left kidney of thehuman body, male and female.

SECTION10.THIRD DIVISION. He let the letter ~pr<ldominate

in working, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Virgo (the Virgin) in the world,the month Elul in the year, and the left hand of thehuman body, male and female.

SECTION II.Third Part.

FIRST DIVISION. He let the letter, predominatein coition, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them; Libra (the Balance) in theworld, the month Tishri in the year, and the gall of the human body, male and female.

SECTION12.SECONDDIVISION. He let the letter.: predominate

in smelling, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Scorpio (the Scorpion) in theworld, the month Marcheshvan in the year, and thesmall intestines of the human body, male and female.

.n 11~~i':J

'~ mi1:~!~'n n;~ 'T~t?i}·i1~~iPiJi~'~ ~1~O~;~? i~lg 0 1 : : 9'¥1 i1 .!?i1~. i~l¥l'tJ? ;~

: i11P .-t~'tt e'~~~i " t ? ;'~1 i1~~:Pi1 0 tJJ

.~ 11~~~

i1~i~tp:;l'tDtl;~ l"~9i} .i1;~iPiJi~':) ~1~D ~ ;~ ?i1~'l~ 0 v ~'¥1nl~i1 .Ji~l~J'Q ? , ; ~'~ m

: n?p.~~'~t e'~~?n"~~9fp~:?~~1n~~:p:)~1." 11~~i':J

'~ R J n~~9?'"n;~l"~9i}.i1~~~iJ i~'J ~~~

c~;~f n?1n?0iJ~'~1 i1~~i1 o!i?l~1 'Q ? , ; ,

: n~p.11'~J e'~~? ,~ofp'2 1n~~:p~1~.~

. ~ u .,11 ~ ~ ~

rt'''r.?tp~~I~ n;~ l"? 9 i} •n"~"~9iJi~'~~~~c:J1~o 0 v ~'~1 n~.~no!i~!¥1't:)~;~ '~~J

: n ~ p .1 1'~t e'~~:pi1l9~n~~:p"!~t:"Jo~;~:p• ~ "., 1 1 ~ ~ ~

'~R! /j" '1 :j)1 J n;~l"~9i}·n"iP"~~iJi~':) ~?~c~;~:j): ) ' X ? 3 l0 v ~ ,~ ~n.9 n o ! .i~l¥l 'r.? ;,

:n~p.-t~'1~ tl~~:p1 " f 1 1n~~:pn~ljl~1



•••• ------------------------

42, SEPHEB YEZIBAH.. :' 1 , ,Sf' " El C 43

SECTION13.

THIRDDIVISION.He let the letter c predominatein sleep, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Sagittarius (the Archer) in theworld, the month Rislev in the year, and the stomachof the human body, male and female.

SECTION14.Fourth Part.

FmsT DIVISION.He let the letter l' predominatein anger, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Capricornus (the Goat) in theworld, the month Teves in the year, and the liver inthe human body, male and female.

SECTION15.

SECONDDIVISION.He let the letter.)l predominatein swallowing, crowned it, combined one with the

other, and formed by them: Aquarius (the Water.man) in the world, the month Schwat in the year,and the esophagus of the human body, male and

female.SECTION16.

THIRDDIVISION.He let the letter i' predominatein laughing, crowned it, combined one with the other,and formed by them: Pisces (the Fishes) in the world,the month Adar in the year, and the milt of thehuman body, male and female.

He made them as a conflict, drew them up like a

wall; and set one against the other as in warfare.

,';I'" l1:J to 7 : l

n~~?'0 ni~T~9o '.n,~,h~~Q1~'.1 ~f C7i~f n~ R ,0Vfi¥1 n~.:;:il.J1~l¥1it:)~is i~

:n1P~~i1~ ~~~f n1'p.ln~~:p'?9~,i"., l1:J W ~

~1iif'~ ni~T~?;:1·n'~':;1lQ It;''~ ~1n7i~1'!~ 0V f i¥': n~~n~.l~l¥1~ t:)~i, i~R

:n1p.-t~i1t ~P~f '~~1 M~~~ n~~,,"0 l1:J to ~

ni9'~?:;3'~ ni~1'790 .·n'~':;110It;''~ ~~C7i~1'?~:0Vf i¥l n9 n.!.i~l¥l it:)~ is i~:n1p.~~i~t~~~:t n1~.lJ1Q1Ri;'Pl)n~~f ro1

.T"O l1 ~ W ~

piil~:;3I pni~ 1'~9i:t.n'~':;3lQ 1~'. 1 ~9f 07i~f C'~10V f i¥1.n.!,1M~.I~l¥liP~ i, i~R1't;':PIt$rp~n.1p .-t~i~JtlJ~~~ 'iilt9~n~~~ i~

:i1rt~?~rt;'f'I~I~ nrtiilr~:pr r T P"n?''J~

: m'"1O ;~ ilJ'"10 W') ("T .: T .:



44 SEPHER YEZIRAH, .;, "1' !I' "1D0 45

CHAPTER VI.

.1 i1J'tV~

l?9f i11~?'J ? J;~9~,~ l?9:j' Cl7i~~~~~

: M9 Q7y~l?9:j' iZJ?2.~:J? "Mt'R:

.~ nJ'tV~

nidSid Cli1~1~Y~' idl/~I/~n;i.:)~idSiZJ Cli1~b~T : ••• •• : T: a." ".": •. T" "

niZJSidn;,S;n ni:J~~1iZJ~,Cl~~1 '~1~ Clil'n;::)~T: : T •• " : • - ••- •• : T

Oil~n;~::)y,O~:JJ;~ i1~:JiZJ, Cli1~n;,S;n,ri;:J~','.. :.: ' T T: ': .,'.. :: T

: i;O ~ ?~ :~?1:J~,~~ O~~~1

.::1 nJ'tV~

tJ~.:Ji1.:JidO';~J Cl"j~~.:l O~'~ ':J" i1~~'••• "," T T T TOT •••;... • ••. T T- T -: _

~~t:'f np~1 ii~Srp1 ii~1iP1 p r : ;'ff'~ O~~iP1

::J" , b . •• T -:-:. ':\ nJ'tV~

MS~~, td~ Cl~~1td~ '~1~ iZJl/~l/~nii.:)~iZJSidT -;- : •• • - •• ..- ••• •••: • T

i9~P)Cl:D~~ ~~"'p~p r : ;1]1i "~~': i1~~?O~~1

n8~~iZJ'~; n99" '~ Cl:~On~ ~~'JiZJ~~i11~

:Cl:Dt~ ~~-9~PQij1i "~~ '~

SECTION 1.

These are the three mothers or the first elements,IV"l:i"X fromwhich emanated three progenitors; prim-itive air, water and fire, and from which emanatedas their offspring, three progenitors and their off-

spring, namely: the seven planets and their hosts,and the twelve oblique points,

SECTION 2.

To confirmthis there are faithful witnesses; theworld, year and man, the twelve, the Equipoise, theheptade, which God regulates like the Dragon,(O(Tali) sphere and the heart.

SECTION 3,

The first elements lV"l:i"X are air, water and fire;

the fire is above, the water below, and a breath ofairestablishes the balance among them, For an illus-tration may serve, that the fire carries the water isthe phonetic character of l:i which is mute and IV ishissing like fire, there is ~ among them, a.breath of air which places them in eqilibrium,'l

SECTION 4.

Dragon (Tali) is in the world like a king upon histhrone, the sphere is in the year like a king in theempire, and the heart is in the human body like aking'2 in war.



48 BEPHEB 'iEZIRAH.49

SECTION 9.

There 43 are twenty-two letters by which the I am,Yah, the Lord of hosts, Almighty and Eternal, de-signed, formed and created by three Sepharim, Hiswhole world, and formed by them creatures and allthose that will be formed in time to come.

SECTION 10.When" the patriarch Abraham comprehended the

great truism, revolved it in his mind, conceived itperfectly, made careful investigations and profoundinquiries, pondered upon it and succeeded in contem-plations, the Lord of the Universe appeared to him,called him his friend, made with him a covenantbetween the ten fingers of his hands, which is thecovenant of the tongue/Ii and the covenant betweenthe ten toes of his feet, which is the covenant of cir-cumcision, and said of him: "Before I formed thee

in the belly I knew thee." (Jer. 1,5.)

.~ tn'l%)~

M~!!~ P R 'Jm f~nN}iN O~~~1O'~~ Oi:)~

0V~ M ~~ lO~~~ i1~n;,~ 'tt niN~¥ i1~n~~;OM ~'Y'l iO,i17~~ nN OMON':;j~O"DO i1~~r

'.' T T ; T T ',' '.' " TT • T : T :

: , . , y ~,"n17i1~~ nN' '1Y~i1~~ n~

T 'T'.' T '.'; :- T '.'

," t'i:J m ~

: : 1 1 1 1 ; 1 1P R 0 1i1~,iro '~i:'ll~J'~~ O ~1 ?~i'~~;'?''l~~N iN 1R 1~~~1;'~ "?~ii?1 ~;';1 M t : n'!,? N1i11"1~n;17f¥~ ,~~, i"~ n'!1 i~ nl~1

n?'~ij n'!1 N1i1i" 7t1 n;17~¥~'fp~ 1'~1iirtJ7ij

• : 9 't : '1 7 ; 1 ;i~~;19 1 ¥ t to~~ ,,~¥ N 1 R 1

J1io~n~ i, : 'I~?1i J i~~ ni~ryi t(C :J ::I~

t::J'~~~ "~~1t(M J(an : .W •.. C'r:t~ ITJ! : ! ?nl1T:,l~.' ~T~ l)~"~ l~~~~~li'r ..T c~~~ l~~' , . . . . , . :

T-



50 NOTES. 51

NOTES.

I) Our author maintains that there is a first intelligent, self-existing,almighty, eternal ruling cause of all things, and that an everlasting entityproduced nonentities by a progression of effects. The divine knowledge, headds, differs from the human knowledge in such a degree, that it gives ex-istence to all that is. 1:1'~':it '/"l n" ):lpn is a talmudical expression. (SeeTreatise Bava Bathra p. 73.) It seems to me, that the author not onlywanted to contradict Plato's assertion that the Supreme Being had need of apian, like the human architect, to conduct the great design, when he madethe fabric of the Universe, but also the common belief that God reasonsand acts by ideas like a human being. As the prophet Isaiah exclaimed:"Behold! God has no ideas like you, and his ways of acting are not like

yours," (Isaiah 55, 84.)

2) The number thirty-two is not only the fifth power of two, and thesum of ten units and twenty-two letters, but is also the sum of the first andlast letter of the Hebrew Pentateuch, namely: :ll 2. and;' 30, equal thirty.two. (See Kusari p. 34-3, translated into German by Dr. David Cassel.)

3) Paths denote powers, effects, kinds, forms, degrees or stages.

",) These Sepharim or three words of similar expression signify: first,number, calculation or idea j second, the word; third, the writing of the'Word. The idea, word and writing (of the word), are signs to man for a

thing, and is not the thing itself, to the Creator, however, idea, word andwriting (of the word) are the thing itself, or as some ancient Rabbis re-marked: ",nM::lMpl"l::liMIlt "'l::li Zit'n;:m 11'lllJ'~'"'l'~i M::l'lllnO Idea,word and work are one and the same to God," There is an ideal world inthe divine intellect, according to which this sensible world was made. Thedifference between the human and di"ine manner of thinking admits nocomparison.

5) This means to say, that there has not been any matter or hyle ex-isting from all eternity, containing different kinds of primitive atoms ormolecules etc., as the Greek philosopher, Anaxagoras, taught, but that allthings are the gradual emanations of one everlasting being. This idea isthen symbolically explaiued in the next paragraph.

6) The design of the author is evidently to deduce the proof of the de-cade from the phenomena in the nature of man, who is generally consideredthe crown or the fina! cause of the terrestial creation, and upon whom God

vouchsafed two most precious gifts, namely: the articulated word, and the

religious element (spiritual purity). This passage is explained by IsaacSatanow in his Hebrew Dictionary entitled Sephath Emeth, p. 44. b:

i"l:m:m "'l~~' 'C"I;'::IlZ:Mt'1";,,t'1;' ",\"'0 ~J' ~'n i''lll~m mmo,~n n~ 'C"I"Ip::0::'31 t1"1"'l~~,n iM~ ;'::11'C"I"I"'loMnn'i;"t'1;n"lt'1"1~'::l "I~n ,t'1"'l':Z' ''''l~1"l ,"It'1'J':::lZ"It'1'lll;J' t'1"1M:lZ'no"l;'o::The tongue is, as it were, the .,t'1"'l':::Z~nT' ''''li:lM~nT n"lt'1"1l1'i::l"~n'descriptive pen of all the spiritual issues, and the genital parts are the or-iginators of the corporeal substances. Everyone of them is an eternalcovenant in order to preserve the human race for ever, according to its two-fold being: body and spirit. Each working after its own way, physicallyand spiritually.

7) Like Pythagoras, who taught that the digits inclusive number tenwhich are typified in Tetraktys, (TETpaxTv.) namely: 1 plus 2. plus 3plus", equal 10, and which comprise the whole arithmetical system of nature, etc. Our author endeavors to show the gradual emanation of allthings from God, which were completely finished in ten spheres.

8) My Hebrew reading is I "'::l?:l ;'Jl "'l2'''1::l'lll,m There are variousreadings; therefore Postellus rendered it: "restitue figmentum in locumluurn;" Rittangel, "restitue formatorem in throno suo;" Pistorius, "facsedere creatorem in throno suo." The author seems to ridicule here theGnosticians who maintained that Demiurg was the creator of man and thesensual world.

9) In God is the beginning and he is the boundary of the Universe.Compare also the Talmud treatise Chagigah p. 12.

10) Here is contradicted the system of ditheism, consisting of an eternal

God, the Author of all good and of "Hyle" or "Satan," the co-eternal andco-equal principle of evil, maintaining that an all-perfect God alone is theauthor of all good and evil, and has in his infinite wisdom so wonderfullycontrived the nature of things, that physical and moral evil may producegood, and hence contribute to carry out the great design of the SupremeBeing. Compare also Chap. 6 ~5.

II) As the infinite series of numbers starts from one unit, so was thewhole Universe formed a unity, that centres in the Godhead.

12) The meaning is, that as the living creatures which the prophet sawin his vision were stricken with such an awe, that they could not go anyfurther to see the divine glory, and had to return, so Is the decade an eter-nal secret to us and we are not permitted to understand it. We find thisvery idea in the Pythagorean system. The disciples of Pythagoras lookedupon the decade as a holy number, and swore by it and by the Tetrakty'which contain the number ten.

13) See above Note I, God, idea and word are indivisi"le.



52 NOTES. NOTES. 53

14-) I adoptedhere the readingof Judah Halevi, namely: ,n::l ::l:lIm tli'"'1:11 t)"'t), llll:l"l 1n::l with the exception of the word ,i1t"1; becauseit isobvious from "Yezirah," Chap. II, that the author signifies by the word"Tohu," nothing, and not something, as Judah Halevi erroneously thought.Moses Butarel and others tell us that they had before them a correct copyof"Sepher Yenrah," where it reads: tl"'~::l~1;~ 1M::l "::11P1"1"'1p MT'Mn1l;:11~;1l:l~ The same passageis mentioned in the Talmud treatise Chagi-gah, p. 1:7., a, with the addition of '"'~:lI1"' 'i1~1ll tl,i1t"1::lt"I1:PP1'lll~M.tl"'~ The word t"I1l:l;1l:lr.:M is translated by Rashi, moist. Some say it isa compound word of t'I,~ ;'!:lr.l; others of ,","~;~ "'~1;;l:l etc. But theword is not of Semitic origin; it is, accordingto my opinion, borrowedfromthe Greek as the word ,'?:l"'Oetc., IIlLilj.lTJ flood. t"I'l:I;l:lr.l tl"'~::l~ lIood-stones. The same word is used treatise Beza, p. 24-, b, ,'"'r.l;1l:lr.li1 tl"':I'fish that are caught from out of the lIood:

15) According to the author, the space and six dimensions emanatedfrom the ether.

16) Judah Halevi in his book entitled "Kusari," p. 356, illustrates itthus: The Creator is one, and the space has in the figurative expressionsix dimensions. The book "Yezirah," having ascribed to the Creator somenames in the spiritual language, chooses now in the human language thelinest sounds which are, as it were, the spirits of the othersounds, namely:""\1M" and says, that when the divine will was expressed by such a sublimename, it became that which the Exalted by praise wished to call furth ac-cording to the combination of ","\1n" Hence it follows, that the materialworld was created in such a way and manner which corresponds with thematerial, namely, by the sublime spiritual name, which corresponds withthe material name, ,"'n' ,M"\' ,'"'M ''''M ,M'"' .1M"\ and out of each of thembecame one dimension of the world, the sphere.

17) The author shows here by the symbol of a scale and the phoneticcharacter of the fundamental letters ,1ll"r.I"~ that the opposite forces andthe struggle which prevail in the smallest as well as in the largest circle. of creation are appeasedand calmed.

18) Meaning outlets, outgates of the creative power, formations.

19) The word :I~:Psignifiesjoy, and when transposed, forming the word:P:I~it signifiesjust the contrary, trouble, plague. He means to say, thatthe letters of the words '~:P and :P:I~ are the same, but they signify never-theless, opposite ideas on account of transposition. Just as the sphere re-mains the same during the rotation on its axis in its setting and in its rising;yet it appears to us as if it had undergone a great change on account of its

different position.

1

20) My reading is I ' 1 " \ r , l t : ! ' :,~ p .~W'1~21) The combination of the twenty-two letter. without permutation it

represented in the following table:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~q J~ l4 1!J 'Ie: 0 • .. •° -v -u • a :J - - :: J J •..• U :o t

qqqqqq~qqq qqftftqqftqqJ~l4I!J ' le:o~0-v-uqa2~~:J~~U:ot

~~~dJoJJJJ~JJ 'J~JJJJ~ ~........ ° -v-u _ a :J ~ _ :J -I •..• u :ot~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Ie: 0•..• ° -v-u .:J:J _~ :J ..••..• U :ot

~~~~~~5~~~55~~~5~~ g ~ 8 S-8 ~ g 3 ~~ g ~ E S.~

'(j":::a~~'c;: '(j3'S'S'3'S~'jj~

2 g S-S q g g g g g 9 E S ~O~t;~i33~~:i~t:ti%

oOooooo:J°oooo-v-u • a :J _ ~ ..••..• U :ot

lJ,!,"[f:r~~:r:r~lJ~'-4~~!=!~~~~~~

d:i_.~:i":;s.::u:i

gggg5EB~:J :J :J:J:J :J :J :J-~ . .••..• u:ot

:i ::i L: U ~:J:J :J :J. . • . . . .U :o t. . • . . •-I

•..• u :o t• . . . • . . u:ot

u:o t

2.2) The number of combinations of twenty-two letters two and twowithout any permutation is according to the mathematical formula

n--I 22

n'-2-=22--1 x -;-=31.

23) The ancient philosophers maintained that if God is the lirst cause,

and He is necessarily, He, the immediate effectof Him, as an absolute unity,



54 NOTES.

-.NOTES. 55

can only be again a unity. Hence from a being that is in every respect aunique being, there can only emanate one be1ng; becausewould two essen-tially and truly different things issue conjointly from one being, they canonly proceedfrom two different things of substance, that wouldconsequentlyadmit a division that is inconceivable. They then put the question, howcame so many various beings into existence? Our author is therefore en-deavoring to show that the whole universe emanated gradually from thespirit of the one living God.

7 .4 -)The reading of Yon Jo. Meyer andothers isas follows: ~n~t'1~ ":ll:"Cbt'1:1~:I.,lIt~.,,,,1It~ O"~l1":1O""~~' ::1:ll:M'1 ~,~., ~'''1ItI'TIO'~"IO):J~

,MlIt O~::1 O " ., : : 1 ,n~:l t'111t' .,':It''n ~:lI'TlO'3l.,):J"):J,nb~:ll:j):J"O nnI"'1Ml1t ~~:11O:l"",):JO"r.~, O"""I03l "::"1;j):J"O' My reading accordingto a manuscript of Rabbi Isaac Luria, which I have preferred to all others,is thus: 0";1':1 O""~' ::1:ll:m~'"IO"""1It t'llit n~,~ ~mt1~"I07:l~":ll:"n"':ll: lit 03l j;1:l, j;,:l 0' lit t'1~lItj~"O nT~Obt1:1~:I.,lIt~""~N~"l:''; j):J"01 ,nllt O~ "1::1"'1n;:l r.1It1"':ll:.", ';:l t111t 1'TIO''1.,~.,~~

: lit 1:)':1::1 O":l%~nO"t'I~, 0"""10'7.5) It has been already mentioned above Chap. i, SI ,"that God, his idea

and his word are a unity; hence the author signifies by the letter Alephthe air from which emanated the creative speech, etc.

7.6) Here iuneant: ethereal air, ethereal water, ethereal fire, the macro-cosm, the courses of time and microcosm. Many offspringor derivationscame from the latter three, as their progenitors, as it is explained after-wards in the chapter.

7.7) The author endeavors to show how the creative divine word became

more condenBedand how a new series of productions came out of threeelements.

7.8) In ancient times coldness was considered to Dea substance. [SeePsalm 14-7, 17.]

7.9) Id est, made it the reigning power.

30) Namely, with the two other elements.

3 1\ That is to say a different combination of the elements.

37.) According to the opinion of the author, it may bearranged as follows:Aleph. Mem. Sheen.

World: Air, Earth, Heaven or Atmosphere.(belai .•• of Land and 8ea.)

Man: Breast, Bellv, Head.Year, Moistness, Coldness, Heat.

33) The aspirating pronunciation of p in thc Greek, wasadopted by theancient Jews in Palestine for the Hebrew letter". They pronounceditpartly aspirated and partly unaspirated. [See Dr. Geiger's Lehr-und Lese-

buch der Mischnah, p, u, and Dr. Graetz's Gnosticiamna, p. II7.]

34-) According to the idea of our author, there emanated from the unityof God three ethereal elements: primitive air from the spirit, from the air,primitive water, and from the water, primitive fire or ether, out of whichcame other spheres of existence in the significant and highly importzntnumber, seven, from which descended smaller spheres and which producedagain others. He endeavors to show how the ideal became, after numerousemanations, more condensed, palpable and concrete. The whole creation isthus contemplated as a pyramid, terminating in a point at the top with abroad basis. [See Dr. Graetz's Gnosticismu., p. U4-.]

35) Compare Chapter I, Section 3, Note, 8.

36) The order of the planets (including the Sun) i. stated here accordingto the Ptolemaic system which was in vogue even among the learned mentill the middle of the fifteenth century, namely: Moon, Mercury, Yenus,Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. But this arrangcment is undoubtedly aninterpolation of a later time, as the author of the book "Yezirah" livedmany years before Ptolemy. And indeed Prof. Jo. Friedrich Yon Meyerand others of reliable authority had in their copies of "Y ezirah" the follow-ing order: .O"''''lllt~j;)"'l:lt"t'I::l"lO m::l; ::l:l1::ln:l1' nr.m Mars, Jupit~r,Saturn, Moon, Mercury, Yenus, Sun.

37) Philo (Allegor I, 4-2,) after having called attention to the fact thatthe heptade is to be found in many biblical laws, inthe vowelsof the Greek language, in the gamut and in the organs of the human body, exclaims,similar to our author: "The whole nature exults in the heptade !"

38) The rule for permutation is as faHow8: (n-I). n. I X 7 , X 3 X4-X 5 x 6x 7=504-0' In our edition it reads: .0"'t'1::1 ,::1.,lIt, C"b;lIt t'I"IO~n Five

thousand and four houses, which is obviously a mistake, it should read:5°4-0 honaes. ,0"t'I::10"3l::1"1It1C"b;lIt t'I~~n

39) I read t'I"l":I instead of j::~):l"'):l for two reasons. In the firstplace, the same thing is mentioned afterwards, and in the second place,it isproved by the expression nt).,,; that the author meant t'I":I":I and not.'\=l~):l"'):l

4-0) Some maintain that by the expression Tali is understood the con-stellation Draco or Dragon, which is a very large constellation extendingfor a great length from East to West; beginning at the tail which lies half way between the Pointers and the Pole Star, and winding round betweenthe Great and Little Bear by a continued succession of bright sta.s from 5to 10 degreesasunder, it coils round under the feet of the Little Bear, sweepsround the pole of the ecliptic, and terminates in a trapeziumformed by fourconspicuousstars from 30 to 35 degreesfrom North Pole. Dr. Steinshneider(seeM:agazinfuer Literatur des Auslandes, 184-5) and Dr. Cassel (in his

commentary to the bookentitled Kusari,) maintain that the ancient Jewish



~ . . .56 NOTES. 57

astronomers signified by the word Tali, not the con.tellation Draco, butthe line which join. together the two point. in which the orbit of the moonintercepts the ecliptic (Dragon's head and tail). Dr, Ca.sel i. of the opinionthat our author meant here, probably the invi.ible, cele.tial or universalaxis that carrie. the whole Universe. GLOSSARY

OF

RABBINICAL WORDS.

Back. '~ ,~ upon the back id est, upon or above.V I , S .

Cleameas, perspicuity. I, 3. i,!~ ~11 " ; r y'.!?~~and put the subject in a clear'point of view..

Division. V, 5.

To adhere, cohere. VI, 8.

[Syriac ,"MM Greek aqp] Air. II,~.

Sign, letteri ,~: h i'r y .iMfuudamentalletters. I, 1.

'iJ?'~~i~ bine et Ulterius; from now further. IV 16

Thes~. Equals the biblical .~~ VI, I.

[Greek Ufov] Oblique, diagontl direction. V, 2-

Middle. centre. I, 2.

~ n.

c 'm ::l.or c 'n iJ': :l.Composed of ,O 'r :lt. ?r~omitting t: Jbetween them..- : . •- .. I, 1. [See Duke's Spracha der lrfisehnah. p. 68.]

""~ 11.

''1~•.niM n.

'iJ~~ adt'.

\~~ adj.

~C??~a4i.

~M n.T r~

,p) Our author mean. to .ay that the water has a great di.po.ition tounite it.elf with the caloric, thus for instance is the fire latent in steam,but the air equlpoi.e. them.

4-2) The meaning is, as God is the centre of the Univer.e, .0 have themacrocosm, the .eason. and temperature and the microcosm, their centre.receiving power from the principal centre to regulate and rule.

43) The substance of this Mishnah is mentioned in the Talmud treatiseBerachoth, p. 55, a. It reads there: t1'1t1:I"''I:l' 'r.l~ 11"n'l:l" "r.llltlr'lit' b'l7:llD , . . , : 1'~':I)lD l:1''Il:1,lit ~,:v:; ;~;:V::l "Rab Jehudah statedin the name of Rab, that Bezalelunderstood to combine letters by whichheaven and earth were created." To this the commentator Rashi add.:"as it is taught in the book Yezirah." It is undoubtedly certain that thebook Yezirah, or a co.mogony as it i. represented there, was known to Rab,who was a disciple of Jehudah Hanasi, during the secondpart of the secondcentury. (C. E.) See treatise Berachoth, p. 55 a, where the commentatorRashi referred to the book Yezirah.

41-) This whole paragraph is an interpolation of an unknown hand, a. itcan be easily proved.

45) I have translated according to the reading of Rabbi Judah Halevi.

The readingof Rabbi Luria is a. follows: l:11'1l:11~ b'll:11!j'b'l'lD:I' "lDj:l',':1':1 m':l jlD" lDlit:l jj;l;i b'lr.l:l j:llDr.l 1"10 l:1~1; 11;'1:11mlD;:l"He fastened twenty-two letters on , l:1,;1?::l'lD:I' b'l)1!j:l j")I1) 11:1':llD:lhis tongue and revealed to him His mystery, He drew them by water, kin-dled them by fire and thundered them by the wind, He lighted them byseven, and rules them by twelveconstellation••••Pistor. renders it: "Tranatper aquam, accendit in igne grandine signavit in aere. Di.posuit cum sep-tem et gubemavit cum duodecim," Poste1lus' version is: "Attraxit eumin aqua, accendit in spiritu, intlammavit in .eptem aptatum cum duodecim.ignis," Meyer translates it: "Er zog .ie mit Wasser, zundet sie an mitFeuer, erreg'te .ie mit Geist, vebrannte .ie mit .ieben, go••• ie aus mit denswoe1fGestimen:'

Body, substance II,5.

Circle, eelestial orb, or sphere. II, 4.



58 GL08SABY., GLOSSABY. 59

,mi"l tI.

~ n ;;:'lfJ.

n~, fJ.I

M;)in n.T

'm tI."T

i"I~~~n n.T .-:

Word. 1.8.

nThink, muse. meditate, reflect. 1,7.

Refleotion, meditotion;, V, 1.

T

Innocence, purity, godlinell8,merit. II,I.

nMiSdeed,trespass. II, 1.

To return, to turn one's self round. II, 5.

Rotation; from ~ , nto dance round. II, 6.T

D~tcO fJ..-;-mo fJ.

T'

m~ n.TI •

mo n.TT

:a m M O. . -: .

The planet Mars. IV, 7.

Measure, quality, divine attribute. I, 4.

Doctrine, lesson, paragraph.

Constellation~; espeoially the twelve signs of theZodiao. V, 3. ;);t:) ~ ~a happy oonstellation.

T-

It is a particle like ,]I as; it is added the word l'!?kind, denoting: as a kind of, like, as. II, 4.

Chald.info 't?K 1 2or ,'?t? To speak,oommand. II,S.

Substance, reality. II,S.

Rampart, a lioar, pavement. I, 8.

Gall. V,4

See.Jm IV,l .-T

f~ or ltc ~adtI.

Here, there; ftC ? '?thenoe, from thenoe. IV, 16.~;]I n. Star; espeoially the pl8llet lIercury. IV, 7.

T

f\'3 lptell'-~ tI. Direct; n ~ f?directed, lituated. I, 2-

-nll'~ n o Ugliness. IV, 3.

'!l]l ()f' '!l]l~ adll. So, thus. I, 7.- T;

V1]1 Hiph. lI'''1:li''l tI. To intervene in any thing, to mediate the"T 0 '1. ueaoe, aooomodate a quarrel. 11,1.

Opening. IV, 8.

J

The planet Venus. IV, i.

Chald. Stick in, fasten, conjoin, oonneot. I, 6.

oArrange. V, 16.

m,p.eiov Sign, illustration. II, 4. [See Geiger'sLese8~oke der MiFhnah,p. 121.]

Finished; the end (C'f a book or ohapter.)

With a : : lfollowing after it, signifies: to make useof any thing. IV, 1.

3 m !I.°T

j':I)b n.

Y 3 ! ~!I.

;)~.~ n.

"0 tI.'T

~~O n oT'

j)~?~ n o

lfilt, spleen. V, 4.~nt:) n.T

nt:)~" n.T .,

'!l~~~?adtI.

Eating, swallowing. V, 1.

Composedof the words ~!??and .'!l~ Aooording to

that, therefore. IV, 15. '~rw ,..• T

Contention, rivalry. V,6.

Future. II,2.



60

P 1 ~n .

~~eJ~ atfi.

l"~ n.. . . . . .

""El~ n.T • I

GLOBSA.BY.

Chapter, section.

Divested of clothes, undressed, simple. I, 8.

The planet Jupiter. IV, 7.

.Appearance. I, 5.

Refine, melt together, connect, combine. II, 2.

pTo fix, to fasten. I, 8. II, 3.

n ? 'p '.Of' rr~ p' .n. Stomach. T",4.

I~~:~ Of' 1~p';~P n. Stomach. V, 4.

,M'N' n.T-: -

MIN' n.T' :

Ml" n.T' ,

n', tI.

rrn'b/ n.T •

nJ~ v.

.Argument, evidence. VI, 2.

Sight. V,I.

Redundancy of water, moistness. III. 4.

Smen. V,l.

The pl&lletSaturn. IV, 7.

Speaking. V.I.

Hearing. V, 1.

To serve. I,8.



Post script to this Posting:

This is another booklet I have carried around for a long time that I feltthe need to Share/Save on-line. I searched for other postings of this

particular translation and couldn’t get anything to come up with boththe English and Hebrew.

A feature I’ve always liked about this translation.

Here’s is part of a review extracted out of a document by A Don Karr,the complete form of which is posted on Scribd, though I retrieved itfrom a different Web site.

“Notes on Editions of Sefer Yetzirah in EnglishBy Don Karr

Sefer Yetzirah (BOOK OF FORMATION, hereafter SY) is the oldestknown speculative treatise in Hebrew. There are three prime recensionsof SY: short, long, and one somewhere in between called the Saadianrecension (in that it was the basis of Saadia’s commentary of the earlytenth century).* Even the longest of these contains something less than2500 words. The date of SY’s composition remains a matter of somedebate, but most scholars agree that it was written or compiled betweenthe second and sixth centuries. However, Steven M. Wasserstrom hasoffered a strong case for the ninth century within an Islamic milieu. Itwas certainly extant by the tenth century, for it exerted a great influenceon speculative and mystical thought from that time on. . . .Most versions of SY have six chapters containing brief, even laconic,statements, similar in tone to the hekhalot texts of early chariotmysticism. It was from the first chapter of SY that Kabbalah derived theterm sefirot and the notion of these as metaphysical stages of creation.The remaining chapters of SY tell of the powers and correspondences ofthe twenty-two Hebrew letters. . . .



Kalisch, Isadore. Sepher Yezirah. A Book on Creation; or the Jewish Metaphysics of Remote Antiquity, with English Translation, Preface,Explanatory Notes and Glossary. New York: L. H. Frank & Co., 1877. . . .

Kalisch gives a straightforward translation, showing the English andHebrew side by side. His notes clarify the ideas and language of SY,often referring to readings from major commentaries and other rabbinicworks. The publisher’s forward in the AMORC edition says, “Theservice Dr. Kalisch rendered in 1877 by his first English translation ofthe Sepher Yezirah has grown ever greater with the passing years. Othertranslations, it is true, have a certain merit; none the less, none hassurpassed and few have equaled the work which he did.” This commentwas written in 1948, but one could have made a case to fully concuruntil relatively recently ( i.e., until Kaplan [1990]; see below, page 13).Kalisch translated what appears to be the long version. 1 The work is freeof any sort of occult agenda—a feature which plagues many of theversions discussed hereafter.

1 The short version, thought by some to be more representative of the original text, begins (chapter 1,paragraph 1)

Thirty-two mysterious ways has the Lord, Lord of Hosts, ordained through Scribe, Script, andScroll. (from Phineas Mordell’s translation)

By contrast, the long version immerses this simple line in a stream of biblical epithets:In Thirty-two paths of wisdom did Yah, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the living God, king of theuniverse, God almighty, merciful, gracious, exalted, Who dwells in an eternity of holiness, holy isHis name, create His universe by three enumerations: number, word, and script. (from a partialtranslation of my own)

Further, with this first paragraph we run into complications with the last several words, which are rendereddifferently by each translator. Kalisch has “by three Sepharim, namely: 1) S’for; 2) Sippor; and 3) Sapher,”

Sepher Yezirah - A Book on Creation

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Transcript of Sepher Yezirah - A Book on Creation