The Ten Sefirot

The Ten Sefirot Sefirot Bina Understanding Inner Reflecting Comparing Intelligence Khokhma Wisdom Lightning Flash Conceiving Creative Intelligence Isaac/ Leah Abraham / Miriam Gevura Strength Justice Setting Limits and Boundaries Khesed Kindness Hod Glory Splendor from defining and refining Jacob/ Hanna Tiferet Beauty Harmony of Contrasting Balance of the Limitless and tructured Victory Endurance Exuberance of Triumph Yesod Foundation Communication Sexuality Point of Contact with the Outside Rachel / David Malkhut The Kingdom Action in the Grounded Plane Integration The Ultimate Stage Sefirot means shining, and is associated with the word Sapphire and the name Shapiro. The Sefirot are qualities of being which were designated by the early kabbalists as being creative and transformative. They are therefore considered to be the qualities of the divine, the personality of that which created the big bang, if you will. Sevens The ancients claimed that there were seven planets in the heavens; the lunar cycle divides into four quarters of approximately seven days; the Pleiades, important to ancient peoples' had seven stars. Seven is the sum of two other sacred numbers: three and four. There are six directions, which add up to seven if one includes the center as a vantage point. There are seven colors of the rainbow and seven notes in the Western musical scale. Seven Lower Sefirot The seven lower Sefirot were considered in a class by themselves, more relevant to manifestation and groundedness than the upper three. The seven lower sefirot correspond to the days of the week An idea new to me is that the seven lower Sefirot can be seen as a ladder. Three stairs rise up towards a center stage, and three stairs descend from it on the other side. If the central stage would be considered to be the Shabbat, then it would seem to have been the culmination of the previous triad of days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. (We know from the Shir she/ Yam, the song of the day recited towards the end of the daily prayers that Wednesday's song ends with the l'khu n'rannena, a few lines reminiscent of the beginning of the Kabblat Shabbat, the Friday night prayers.) So Shabbat preparation begins in earnest from Wednesday. Sefirot: A Dynamic of Manifestation The following attribution of activities to Sefirot suggests a top down process of development from one's essence towards a manifestation in the external world: KETER KHOKHMA BINA DA'AT KHESED GEVURA TIFERET NETZAKH HOD YESOD MALKHUT Being it Conceiving its possible design Digesting it Stop changing it, it's fine. Fill it out; expand it to its limits Control and adjust it See it as a blend and accept it Design a prototype Refine it Duplicate it; Aim it at its market. Birth it Let it go