The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. membe rship. The ownersh ip of, the legal title , and an d the righ r igh t of possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O.R.C. and it should be returned upon its request. The contents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the statutes of this Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
Number
l
THE KABALA UNVEILED -C-CPAGE ONE
SPECIAL DISCOURSE NUMBER NUM BER ONE INTRODUCTION
The study of the Kabala has gathered to itself through the centuries the aura of the mysterious. Those who have written wri tten of it it have done so vaguely and in veiled terms as though it were too sacrosanct to be dealt with wit h openly and plainly. Their reasons for doing so have been understandable, but they are no longer justifiable. Mystics and occultists the world over have revered the Kabala and have have been genuinely appreciative of it as an aid to spiritual unfoldment unfoldment. . They know it it to contain fundamental esoteric esot eric teachings. The Rosicrucian Order Ord er has long recognize recogn ized d it as such. such. For this this reason, reason, A.M.O.R.C. does not want to deny its its members acquaintance acquaintanc e with the Kabala Kabal a as as a system even though for equally good reasons it has not been incorpo rated as such in the Order's regular graded course of study. You have now progressed to a point in your Rosicrucian studies where you may be said to have grasped the fundamentals of sound judgment as to essential essen tial Cosmic Co smic laws laws and principles. In your you r next Degree, Degree, you will begin to apply these to the mystical and philosophic writings of others others. . It is possible that an acquaintance with the Kabala will be useful to you in this respect, respect, and we are therefore offering offe ring this supplementary suppl ementary teaching to those especially interested and qualified. We as ask, k, therefore, therefore, that that you consider this this series series of discourses discourses as con fidential and and private privat e as as your regular Rosicrucian Rosic rucian monographs. All Rosicrucian Rosicr ucian members in or above the Fourth Degree may apply for these discourses on the Kabala. * * * * * * * * The word Kabala means traditio tradition. n. It is esoteric Jewish Jewish mysticism usu ally associated associat ed with the Zoh Z ohar ar, , but actually ac tually including inclu ding other works, and having a history which goes back to the early centuries A.D. when the Sepher Seph er Yezirah Yezi rah was written, if not earlier. earlier. The spelling Kabala Kabal a has been adopted for this this series series, , although transcription of the word from Hebrew Hebr ew includes a number numb er of different diffe rent spellings. The Zohar is the "Book of Splendor" while the Sepher Yezirah is the "Book of Creation." The English translation of the Zohar by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon in five volumes was published in London by The Soncino Press in 1931 19 31. . The Sepher Yezirah may be obtained from the Rosicrucian Supply Bureau. The Aramaic language of the Zohar is primarily a literary form of the thirteenth thirtee nth century, century, although part of the work is from the Babylonian Talmud Talm ud and in the style of the old translati trans lation on of the Torah. Torah. In the work Rabbi Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai of the second century teaches his students students the mysteries of the Kabala, and the the Zohar has often been attributed attr ibuted to him. Some correspondences to other mystical teachings are probably not from direct influence but are similar because they are archetypal concepts
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NUM BER BE R ONE and symbols symbols. . There are influences on the Kabala from Gnostic and Neo Neo platonistic platon istic works and teachings. These cannot be used to date the work. work. However# Jewish sources, sources, written writt en and oral, no doubt influenced the author autho r of the the Zoha Zo ha r, and these may be used for this this purpose. What the Zohar says about Islam and Christianity and the Near East is in accord with events of about 1280 1280, , according acco rding to Scholem. Scholem. This agrees agrees with the dates of the life of Moses de Leon who died in 1305 1305, , and his his knowledge of Abulafia and other kabalists and their thought of the thirteenth century. The author says he is revealing secret mysteries, which may be a refer ence to oral teachings or secret manuscripts, indicating indicat ing the the nature and method met hod of carrying carry ing on the teachings. It cannot be proved, but it it is possible that the Kabala was taught in this way from the time of the Sepher Yezirah and perhaps earlier. This brings us to the Sepher Yezirah which is the earliest known kabalistic work dated usually between the third and sixth centuries A.D. This work and the the Zohar will wil l be taken up in in later discourses. To give a brief bri ef idea of the the Sepher Sephe r Yezi Ye zi ra h, it is is, in the edition editi on transl tr anslated ated by Isidor Kalisch, Kalisch, an explanation expl anation of the ten spheres or emanations, the Hebrew letters letters divided di vided into three groups groups, , the mother moth er letters, double letters letters, , and single letters, letters, their number corr espondences esponden ces and their mean me anin ings gs . The basic philosophy of the Kabala is rooted in the Bible, especially the books of Moses, Moses, the Talmud, and other othe r early Jewish writings. It is the mystical interpretation of the ideas and symbolism which is specif ically kabalistic. It is related rela ted to, to, but not the same same as, as, Merkab Mer kabah ah mys my s ticism or the throne or chariot mysticism based on Ezekiel's vision. The cultural elements in the Kabala are similar to other mystical phi losophies and religions. religions. There are many Jewish concepts which whi ch are are not to be found in other mystic mys tical al works, at least least in the same form. form. This is true of the Torah or books of o f Moses and ideas base d on them, them, the presence presenc e of the Shekinah, Shekinah, and the letter-number letter -number symbolism. symbolism. History Histo ry of the Kabala Kaba la may be divided into periods, even though these may be somewhat arbitrary and may overlap. 1.
The time time of the Sepher Sephe r Yezirah Yezir ah written writ ten about the the third to the sixth centuries ce nturies A. D.
2.
Oral tradition passed on from teacher teach er to student. student.
3.
The Zohar which whi ch dates from about 1280 1280 to 1290; 1290; Spanish Spani sh kabalism, expuls exp ulsion ion of the kabalists kabalis ts from Spain Spai n (149 (1492) 2) .
4.
Kabalists Kabal ists after the expulsion.
Abraha Abr aham m Abulafia Abul afia and the author of the Zohar were contemporaries. Men such as Isaac Luria and Moses Cordovera of the sixteenth century are examples of later kabalists who will be discussed in a later discourse.
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The Kabala Kaba la is said to be practical pract ical and theoretical. Practical Pract ical Kabala included magic, but magic was practiced and believed in by people in Europe and elsewhere. elsewhere. Theoretical Theoret ical Kabala is is a philosophy philoso phy and meta met a physics which is essentially mystical, mystical, but mysticism mysti cism must be applie applied. d. We can say, say, therefore, therefore, that theoretical Kabala is its study as a philos philo s ophy or mystical religion and its application for mystical purposes. There Ther e are said to be two paths in the Kabala. The path pat h of the sephirot seph iroth h or spheres is based on number symbolism as well as the names of the sephiroth sephirot h and the names of Go God. d. However, the path of names as such is is based on the symbolism of the Hebrew letter letters. s. These ar are, e, in a sense, sense, two aspects of the same concept, since sinc e the letters also represent numbers. Both number and letter symbolism was used as the basis of mystical meditation meditat ion and rituals to enable the student to attain knowledge and mystical un unio ion. n. Application Applic ation of the letter symbolism is threefold: threefold: 1.
Temurah Temu rah is the transpos tran spositio ition n of the letters in a word wor d accordin acco rding g to specific speci fic rules. rules. This is is more easily eas ily done in Hebrew because the vowels are are not printed. The Zohar (I, 14 14) ) says BeHiBa BeHi BaRe ReAm Am is is an an anag agram ram of BeAB Be ABeR eRaH aH eM eM; ; the first means when they were wer e cr ea eate ted, d, and the second means through Ab Abra raha ha m. Through Abraham Abra ham what had been sealed up became serviceable.
2.
Notari Not arikon kon is the use of the letters of a wo word rd as the initial Tetters for other othe r phrases phras es of sentences. This is simply a form of acrostics.
3.
Gematria Gematr ia is is the substitution substit ution of the numeric num erical al value of of the letters for the letters themselves, finding the numerical value of the the whole word. word. Words with the the same same numerical value were thought to have some relationship. Ada m means man and consists of the letters aleph, aleph, daleth daleth, , and mem; mem; their the ir numerical numeri cal values valu es are 1, 1, 4, 4, and 40, 40, which whic h adds adds to 45 45. . Basically, gemat g ematria ria is a letter-nu lett er-number mber cipher which could be used for mystical purposes as well as secret messages. We a are re interes int erested ted in in these discourses in the mysticism basic to the Kabala.
Mystical Mystica l experience is intensely personal. The symbols used in an any y mystical philosophy philos ophy or religion will have generally accepted cultural cultural meanings, but they have personal, individual levels levels of meaning mea ning al also so. . Even though they express metaphysical and cosmological principles, these are experienced experi enced along with personal emotions and id idea eas. s. They rep resent the concept of union and oneness and the experience of the union and oneness. This applies to the symbol of the sephiroth sephirot h a and nd the kabalistic tree as well as other kabalistic symbols. The wo word rd or creative utterance utteranc e is a concept and symbol common to many cultures, for example. It has a basic basi c meanin mea ning g which whi ch is found in in these
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uses. This is, is, in Carl Jung's Jun g's sense sen se of the term, an archet arc hetypa ypal l symbol, symbol, a common human huma n symbol, and it has a common meanin mea ning g as well as meanings which pertain to various v arious cultures and indi i ndivid vidual ual s. Both the basic mysticism and its symbolic function can be directed so that the initiate learns to understand himself and the field of which he is is part. part. They can and should sho uld be used to attain mystical myst ical union. union. The following followi ng gives the form of each Hebrew Heb rew letter, its name, name, the nume nu mer r ical value, and derivation. derivati on. For example, the letter aleph represents the number numb er 1, 1, and is is said to to have been derived derive d from the ox. ox. The letter beth represents the number n umber 2, and its form is said to be derived from from the the hou se. LETTER
NUMERAL
DERIVATION DERIVATION
Aleph
^
1 .... ...... .... ..
Ox
2
.......
House
................
Camel
Beth
^ Gimel .......................
3
...................
4 ................
Door
...................
5 ................
Window
Daleth
1
He
^ V*v
^
6
..... ... ...
Hook or nail
Ziyin
T
7
Weapon
Heth n
8
Fence or hedge
9
Cross in a circle
Teth D
Yod
•1
10
Hand
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DERIVATION
Ktf
20
.
Hollow Hollo w of the hand
...............
3
Lamed
3°
................
Goad
Water
Fish
S
Mem
40
................
£
Nun
3
50
................
Samek
D
Prop or support
Ayin
V
70
Eye or well
................
Pe
B
80
................
Mouth
Trade Fisher
5
Kof Kof
P
1 0 0
Back of head
................
Re*h n
200
................
Head
Tooth
Shin
6
300
................
Tav
400 400
Sign of the cross
It should be remembered that the spelling of the Hebrew lerrers differs when they are transcr t ranscribed ibed into roman letter letters. s.
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SUMMARY:
1. 2.
The word wor d Kabala Kabal a means tradition. tradition. The best known kabalist kabal istic ic works wor ks are the Sepher Sep her Yezirah Yezi rah A.D. A.D.) ) and the Zohar (l (lat ate e thirteenth century) century). .
(300 (3 00 - 600
3.
Kabalistic Kabali stic mystici mys ticism sm was influenced influenc ed by Gnosticism and and Neoplatonism. Neoplatonism. There may have been other othe r influences, but most others are archetypal similarities.
4.
The history of the Kabala Kabal a ma may y be divided divid ed into int o four periods: 1) the the Sephe Se pher r Y ez ir ah , 2) oral traditio tradi tion, n, 3) the Zohar Zoh ar , 4) after af ter the expulsion from Spain in 1492.
5.
The Kabala Kaba la is both bot h practical pract ical and theoretical. theoretica l.
6.
The two two paths in the the Kabala are those of the sephiroth sephiro th and of the names.
7.
The basic mysticism mystic ism and its its symbolic function should be used to attain mystical union.
8.
The Hebrew Hebr ew letters, letters, numbers, given.
and derivatives derivat ives of the letters are
The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the r igh t of possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M. A.M.O. O.R. R.C. C. an d it should be returne d upon its request. The contents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the statutes of this Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
Number 2
O fin tor l In I T.fi. T.fi.A. A.
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There The re is a pa parab rable le or allego all egory ry in the Zohar (I, 9-13) 9-13) regar reg ardin ding g the choice choice of the the letter with which to begin making the world. world. All the the letters present themselves before God with the reasons why each should be placed fi firs rst. t. The meanin m eaning g of the letters comes comes from association with the particular parti cular Hebrew Hebre w words of which whic h they ar are e part. part. "'When the Holy One, blesse ble ssed d be He, He, was about to make the world, all the letters of the Alphabet Alph abet were still embryonic, and for two thousand thousan d years the Holy One, One, blessed ble ssed be He, He, had contempla co ntemplated ted them and toyed with them. them. When He came to create the world, world, al all l the letters presented presente d themselves before Him in reversed order order. . The letter Tau advanced in front and pleaded: May it please Thee, 0 Lord of the the world, to place me first in in the creation of the world, seeing seein g that I am the concluding conclud ing letter of EMeTh (T (Tru ruth th) ) which whi ch is engraved engrav ed upon Thy seal, and an d seeing that Thou art called by this very name of EM eT h, it is is most appropria appro priate te for the the King to begin with the final letter of EMeTh and to create with me the world. The Holy On One, e, blessed bless ed be He, said to her: Thou Tho u art worthy wort hy and deserving, deserving, but it is not proper prope r that I begin with wi th thee the creation creatio n of the world, since thou th ou art destined desti ned to serve as a mark on the forehe f oreheads ads of the faithful faith ful ones (vide Ezek. IX IX, , 4) wh who o have hav e kept the Law from Aleph to Ta u , and through thro ugh the absence abs ence of this mark mar k the rest will be killed; killed; and further further, , thou formest the conclusion of MaWeTh (death). (deat h). Hence thou tho u are not meet mee t t to o initiate the creation creatio n of the world. The Shin then came to the fore and pleaded: 0 Lord of the world, may it please Thee to begin with me th the e world, seeing that I am the initial letter of Thy name ShaDDal (Almight (Alm ighty), y), and it is is most fitting to create the world wor ld through that Holy Name. Said He in reply: reply: Thou Th ou art art worthy, thou art good, good, thou art true, true, but b ut I may not begin throu th rough gh thee the creation creatio n of the world, since thou formest part of the the group grou p of letters expres exp ressing sing forgery, forgery, Shek S hekeR eR (Falseh (Fal sehood) ood), , wh whic ich h i is s not able to exist unless the Koph and Resh draw thee into their thei r company. (Hence (Hence it is that a lie, to obtain credence, must always commence with something true. true. For the the shin is is a letter of truth, that letter lett er by wh whic ich h the Patriarchs Patriarch s communed with Go God; d; but koph and resh are are letters belonging belongi ng to the evil side, which in order to stand firm attach to themselves the sh in , thus forming a conspiracy consp iracy (QeSge (QeSgeR). R).) ) Having Hav ing heard hear d all this, this, the shin departed. departed. Enters Enter s the Zade Zade and says: says: 0 Lord of the world, may ma y it please Thee to create with me the world, world, inasmuch as I am the sign of the righteous righteou s (Za Zadi diki kim) m) and of Thysel Thy self f wh who o art called righteous, as it is written, writ ten, For the Lord Lor d is righteous, righteo us, he loveth love th righteo righ teous usnes ness s (Ps. XI, XI, 7), and hence it is meet to create the world wor ld with wit h me. The Lord made answer: answer: 0 Zade Za de , thou art Zad e, and thou signifiest signif iest righteousne rig hteousness, ss, but thou tho u must be concealed, thou mayest not come out in the open so much lest thou givest the the wo worl rld d cause for for offence. For thou consistest consistes t of of the letter nun surmounted surmounte d b by y the letter yod (representing together the male and the female princ pri ncip iple les) s). . And this" is the mystery my stery of the cre ation of the first man, man, who wh o was created creat ed with wit h two faces (m (mal ale e and female comb co mbin ined ed). ). In the same way the nun and the yod in the zade are turned back to back and not face to fa face ce, , whether whet her the'Zade the' Zade is upright or turned tur ned downwards. The Holy One, bl bles essed sed be He, said to her further, further, I will wil l in time divide thee in two, two, so as to appear face to fa face ce, , but thou wilt go up in another an other place. She then departed. departed. The letter Pe pre-
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sented herself hers elf and pleaded plead ed thus: thus: M May ay it please Thee, O Lord of the the world, to create through thro ugh me the world, seeing that I signify signi fy redemption and deliveranc deliv erance e (Pu rk an a, Pe Pedu du th ) , which whi ch Thou art to vouchsafe to the world. It is, hence, meet that through throug h me the world wor ld be created. created. The Lord answered: Thou art worthy, but thou representest transgression (Pesha), and moreove more over r thou are shapen sha pen like the serpent, w ho had his head curled up within withi n his body, body, symbolic of the guilty man who bends his head and extends his hand. The letter 'Ayin 'Ayin was likewise likew ise refused as standing for iniquity iniqu ity (’Awon), despite her plea that she represents humility humil ity ('Anav ('Anavah) ah). . Then the Samekh appeared appe ared and said: said: 0 Lord of the world, may it please plea se Thee to create through throug h me the world, inasmuch as I represent uphol u pholding ding (S (Sem emik ikah ah) ) of the fallen as it it is written, The Lord upholdet upho ldeth h all that fall (Ps, CXLV, CXLV, 14 14). ). The Lord Lor d answer ans wered ed her: her: This is just the reason why thou shouldst shoulds t remain in thy place, for shouldst thou tho u leave it, it, what will be the fate of the fallen, fallen, seeing that they are upheld by thee? She immediatel immedi ately y departed. The Nun entered entere d and pleaded plea ded her h er merits m erits as being the initial letter in Fearful Fearf ul (Nora) in praises, (Ex. XV XV, , 11 11), ), as well as in Comely (N (Naw awa) a) is praise prais e for the righteous righte ous (Ps. XXXVIII, 1) 1). . The Lo Lord rd said: said: 0 N u n , return retu rn to thy place, place, for it is for thy sake (as represe repr esenti nting ng the falling, No fe li m) that the Samekh returned to her place. Remain, Remain, therefore, under her suppo support. rt. The Nun immediately immedi ately returned return ed to her place. place. The Mi Mim m came up and sa said id: : 0 Lord of the world, may it please Thee to create by me the world, inasmuch inas much as as I commenc com mence e the wo word rd Melekh Mel ekh (K (Kin ing) g) wh whic ich h is Thy title. The Lord replied: It is so assuredly, assured ly, bu but t I cannot canno t employ emplo y thee in the cre ation of the world for the reason that the world required a King. Return, Return, therefore, to thy place, thou tho u along wi with th the Lamed and the the Ka ph , since the the world wor ld cannot exist with wit h a MeLeKh MeL eKh (King). (King ). At the the moment, moment, the Kaph descended from its throne of glory and quaking and trembling said sa id: : 0 Lord of the universe, may it please Thee to begin through me the creation of the the world, seeing seein g that I am Thine own Kabod (honour). And when whe n Kaph descended descend ed from its throne of glory, glory, two hundred hundr ed thousand worlds began to shake, shake, the throne trembled, and all the worlds w orlds quaked and were about to fall in ruins. ruins. Said to her the Holy On One, e, blessed ble ssed be be His Name: Ka ph , K a p h , what wha t doest does t thou here: I wi will ll not create cr eate the world wor ld with th thee ee. . Go back to thy place, since thou standest for extermination exterm ination (Kelay (Ke layah) ah). . Return, then, then, to thy place plac e and remain remai n there. Immediate Imme diately ly she sh e departed and returned return ed to to her own p l a ce . The letter Yod then pre pre sented sente d herself hers elf and said: said: May Ma y it please ple ase Thee, O Lord Lord, , to vouchsafe vouchsa fe me first place in the creati on of the world, since I stand first in the the Sacred Name. Name. The Lord said to her: It is suffici suf ficient ent for thee that thou art engraven and marked in Myself and that thou art the channel of My will; will; thou must m ust not be removed from My Name. The Teth then came up and said sa id: : 0 Lord of the universe, may it please Thee to place me at the head in the creation of the world, since through throug h me Th Thou ou art Good (To Tob) b) and upright. upright. The Lord said to her: her: I will wil l not create the world wor ld through thee, thee, as the goodness which whic h thou representes repre sentest t is hidden hidd en and concealed within withi n thyself, thyself, as it is written, 0 how ho w abundant is thy goodness which thou tho u hast laid up up for th them em that fear fe ar Thee (Ps. XXXI, 20). 20). Since then it is is treasured treasu red within withi n thyself, it has no part in the world wor ld which whic h I am going to create, but only in the wo worl rld d to come. come. And An d further, further, it is is because becaus e thy goodness is hidden hidde n withi wit hin n thee that the gates of the Temple
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sank san k into the t he g ground, round, as it is written writ ten, , Sunk (Tabe Tab e *u ) in the ground gro und are her he r gates (La Lam. m. II, II, 9). 9). And An d furthermore, the letter Heth is is at thy side, side, and a nd when whe n joined joine d yo you u make sin (He T ) . (I (It t is for that reason that these two letters are not to be found in the names of any of the tribes.) tribes.). . She departed depart ed immediately. Then the Zayin present pres ented ed herself and put forth he her r claim, claim, saying, 0 Lord of the World, may it please Thee to put me me at the head of the creation, since I represent the obser obs er vance of the Sabbath, as it is writte wri tten, n, Rememb Rem ember er (Za Zakh khor or) ) the day of the Sabbat Sabb ath h to keep kee p it holy hol y (Ex. XX XX, , 8). The Lord replied: I will wil l not create the world wor ld through thee, thee, since thou representest represen test war, war, being bei ng in shape like like a sharp-po shar p-pointe inted d sword, sword, or a lance. lance. The Zayin immediately immediatel y departed depa rted from His presence. The Vau entered and put forth her claim claim, , saying: 0 Lord Lor d of the world, world , may ma y it please Thee Th ee to use me first in the creation of the world, inasmuch as I am one of the letters letter s of Thy name. name. Said the Lord to her: her: Thou, V a u , as we well ll as He, suffic su ffice e it to yo you u that you are of the letters of My name, part of the mystery of My name, name, engraven engra ven and impressed impr essed in My name. I will wil l therefore not give give you first place in the creation of the world. world. Then appeared the letter Daleth as well wel l as the letter Gi Giroel and put forth similar simi lar claims. The Lord gave them a similar simila r reply reply, , saying: saying: It should suffice you to remain side by side side together, together, since since th the e poor p oor will not cease from the the land (Deut. XV, 11), 11 ), who will thus need benevolence. benevolen ce. For the Daleth signifies poverty (Dallut Dal luth) h) and the Gimel benefice bene ficence nce (Ge Gemu mul) l) . Therefore Theref ore separate separat e not from each other, other, and let it suffice you that one maintains maintai ns the other. The Beth then entered ente red and said: said: 0 Lord of the world, may it please Thee to put me first in the creation of the world, since I represent repre sent the benedictions (Berakh Ber akhoth oth) ) offered offered to Thee on high and below below. . The Holy One, blessed bles sed be He, He, said to her: her: Assuredly, with thee I will create the world, world, and thou shalt form the the beginnin be ginning g in the creation of the world. world. The letter Aleph remained in her place without presenting herself. Said the Holy One, One, blesse bl essed d by His name: name: Ale A le ph , Al ep h, wherefo whe refore re comest thou tho u not before befor e Me like the rest of the letters? She answered: answered: Because I saw all the the other letters leaving Thy presence presenc e withou wit hout t any success. success. What, What, then, then, could I achieve there? And furthe further, r, since Thou hast already bestowed bestowe d on the letter Beth this great gift it is not meet for the the Supreme King to take away the gift which He has made to His servant and give it to another. The Lord said to her: Ale Al e ph , A l ep h, although alth ough I will begin the creation of the world with wi th the be t h, thou wilt remain the first of the letters. letters. My unity shall not be expressed expres sed except excep t through thee, thee, on thee shall be based bas ed all calculations calcul ations and operations opera tions of the the world, and unity shall shall not be expressed express ed save by the letter Alep Al ep h. Then the Holy One, blessed by His name, made higher-world letters of a large pattern and lower-world lower-wo rld letters of a small pattern. It is therefore that we have here two words beginning begi nning with beth (Bereshit (Bereshith h bar a) and then two words word s beginni beg inning ng with wit h aleph (Elohim Elo him et h) . They represent the higher-world letters and the lower-world letters, which two operate, above and below, toge t ogethe ther r as on e. ’" (Zohar (Zohar, , I, I, 9-1 9-13) 3) The passage not only gives the Hebrew letters but the use of words and meanings which is typically kabalistic. It also at the end of th the e passage uses uses the higher-world higher-wo rld and lower-world, lower-world, or the Above and Below correspondence which a number of mystical philosophies made an impor tant part of their concepts.
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The first sefirah is Kether, the Crown, but all ten sefiroth are some times called call ed crowns, crowns, as in the following followi ng passage pass age from the Zohar concern ing letters as the symbolic, creative Utterance. "These twenty-two letters which are inscribed in the Torah are all illustrated illustra ted in in the Ten Creative Utterances. Each of those ten ten, , which are the crowns of the King, is traced tra ced in certain cert ain letters. letters. Hence the Holy Name is disguised under other letters and each Utterance lends to the one above it certain letters, letters, so that they are comprised com prised in one another. another. Therefore Theref ore we trace the Holy Name in other letters not its own one set being bei ng concealed conceale d in the the other, other, though they are linked together. together. He who desires to know the combinations of the holy names must know the letters which are inscribed in each crown and then combine them." (Z o h a r , V, 85) 85) The basic symbolism of the Kabala is letter, name, and word symbolism which, because of the nature natur e of the Hebrew Hebr ew language and alphabet, alphabet, is associated with number nu mber symbolism symbolism. . The object of this type of symbolism and of rituals connected with it is to attain harmonium and mystical union, to understand the nature of cosmos, man, and God, God, and their relationship. relationshi p. This must be used cre atively in daily life. The Kabala and its symbolism, therefore, is a means to an end, not an end in itself. In the long run, run, it is a means which whic h the mystic mys tic learns to use to accomplish accomp lish union, union, the oneness of o f all. all. The creative creat ive voice and utterance utter ance are shown show n in another anot her passage passag e (II, 382) "The "T he Voice speaks to the Utterance, there being no voice without with out utter ut ter ance an ce. . This Voice is sent from a deep recess above in order to guide the Utterance, the two being related relat ed as general and particular. The Voice issues from the south and speaks to the west, inheriting inheriti ng two sides, sides, and therefore therefo re Moses said to Naphtali: Possess thou the west and the south (D (Deu eut. t. XXXIII, XXXIII, 23). Observe Obse rve that Thought Thou ght is is the beginni beg inning ng of al all. l. This Thought is is recondite and inscrutable, inscrutable, but when it expands it reaches the place where spirit abides and is then called Understanding (Bi Bina nah) h) , wh which ich is not so recondit reco ndite e as as the preceding. precedi ng. This spirit expands and produces a Voice composed of fire, fire, water, water, and air air, , which corresponds to north, south, south, and east. east. This Voice embraces in itself all forces, forces, and speaks to Utterance, Utteran ce, and this shapes the wo word rd properly. properly. When you examine the grades closely, closely, you find that Thought, Understa Unde rstand nd ing, in g, Voice, Utteran Utte rance ce are all one and the same, same, and there ther e is no separa sepa ra tion between betw een them, and this is wha t is meant by the words: words: The Lord is one and His Name Nam e is is One." One. " (Zohar (Zohar, , II, 382 382) ) SUMMARY: 1.
The parable parab le regarding regard ing the choice of the the letter with wit h which whi ch to begin the creation of the world is typical of the symbolism of and play on words word s used in the Kabala. It is based bas ed on the correspondence corresponden ce of the above and below, below, common to many mystical myst ical writings.
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(cont'd):
2.
The Creative Utterance Utter ance or Word Wor d in the Kabala Kaba la i is s also typical typic al of other forms of mysticism.
3.
Letter, name, name, and wo word rd symbolism, symbolism, along with wit h number num ber symbolism, is charateristic of the Kabala because of the nature of the Hebrew language.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Meltzer, David, David, editor The Secret Ga rd en en: : An Antholog Anth ology y in the Ka Kabb bbal alah ah. . Seabury Seabur y Press, 1976. 1976. •
New York, York,
Scholem, Gershom Gers hom G. G. Kabbalah. New York, Quadrangle, The Ne New w York Times Book Co Co., ., IS 74. Scholem, Gershom Ger shom G. G. Major Trends in Jewish M ys ysti tici cism sm, , third edition. Scnocken Scnoc ken Book Bo ok s, 19 1954 54. . Scholem, Gershom Gersh om G. On the Kabbalah Kabba lah and and It Its s Sy Symb mbol olis ism. m. Kegan Kega n Paul, 1965. 1965.
New York, York,
London, London, Routledge Routl edge and
Kalish, Isidor, translator Sepher Yezi Ye zi ra h, photoli phot olitho thogra graph ph of 1877 edition by L. H. Frank and Company, Company , Ne New w York. (Sold (Sold by the Rosic Ros icruc rucian ian Order, AMORC) The Zoha Zo ha r, transla tran slated ted by by Harry Sperling Sp erling and Maurice Mau rice Simon, Simon, volumes. volumes. London, Soncino Sonc ino Press, 193 1931. 1. For further reading Frank, Adolphe The Ka Kabb bb al a h.
five
(to be read critic cri ticall ally): y):
Secaucas, Secauc as, N. J. J., ,
1967 1967. .
Myer, Isaac Qabb Qa bbal alah aht t The Philosophical Philosop hical Writings of Solomon Ben Ye Yehu huda dah.. h... . Ibn GebTrol GebTrol or Aviceb Avi cebron ron. . Philade Phi lade lphi a, The Au Auth thor or ,1 ,188 888. 8. Reprint, New York, Samuel Weiser, 1970. 1970. (Thi (T his s does not dis tinguish between the kabala and corresponding systems and concepts such as the I Ching, Ching, Dionysios, Akkadia Akka dian n and Chaldean Chaldea n idea id ea s.) Wai W ai te , Arthur Edward The Holy Ka Kabb bbal alah ah, , reprint. Books, 1950.
New Ne w Hyde Park, New York, York, University Univ ersity
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
(cont'd)
Waite, Arthu Arthur r Edward The Secret Doctrine no date.
in Is Isra rael el. .
New Y o r k , Occul Occult t Research Pr Pres es s,
The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, of, the legal title, and the r igh t of possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O A.M.O.R .R.C .C.. and it should be returned upon its request. The contents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the statutes of this Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
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The Zohar seeks primaril y to teach the relationship between betwe en man man, , the universe, universe, and God, God, or as as much of deity de ity as man can attain attai n and understand. understand. It does this by explaining the creation of the cosmos and man from the cosmic or archetypal pattern and the resulting correspondences in the attributes attri butes of God, God, grades of manifestatio manife station, n, or letters of creation. creation. The Creative Creativ e Agent is expressed express ed in symbols, symbols, some of which whic h are the cre ative utterance or Maamar, the letters of the alphabet and their combi nations, Wis do dom m and its its nature, nature, the two pillars of Mercy or Hesed and Judgment or Geburah. In form, form, the t he Zo ha r, or Book of Sple Sp lend ndor or, , is a comment com mentary ary on the five five books of Moses by means of conversations conversati ons resulting resultin g from meditations of the Rabbis. Rabbis. Some of these commentaries are interpretations interpretat ions of partic part ic ular passages by simply expoundin expo unding g a meaning. In some case cases, s, there is is more than one interpretatio interpr etation n of the same passage. There are also some parables, such as the one of the alphabet to be used in the creati creation. on. God, or what God, wha t we might migh t call the Absolute, is unknowabl unkno wable e to man in His ultimate ultima te essence. Hence, creation creati on begins wi with th En-Sof, the Infinite or Unknowable. God is known by his radiations, emanations, emanati ons, grades, or attributes, which are what man knows of that which is actually without attributes. The most important symbols of these attributes attribute s are are the ten sefiroth, and the names of God, God, which whi ch are not the same as the sefiroth, but which do correspond. As in the case in many mystical m ystical systems, systems, man's ascent to God is the re re verse of the Cosmic Cosm ic Creation. The ten sefiroth sefi roth or attributes attr ibutes are are emanated eman ated from Go God; d; first is Wisdom, then Understanding Understa nding, , then t hen Mercy, Mercy, then Judgment, and so on. Man ascends to God in reverse revers e o order rder, , the first step being the last sefiroth. The Zohar has the basic elements of mysticism found in other systems so that it is often difficult to know when there has been any influence of one philos phi losoph ophy y or religion on another. another. It has, as we have seen, seen, the basic As ab abov ove, e, so below concept and the related idea of the archetypal pattern from which whic h the type is derived. derived. On this is based base d the macroc m acrocosm osm and microcosm, microcosm , the great and small worlds, the cosmos and man, or as as it is is put in the Zohar the Macroprosopus Macroproso pus and Microprosopus, the concept of God as the Great Man and of man as the lesser les ser god, god, and the the kabalistic kabalist ic greater and lesser countenances. The above-below idea is related to the doctrine doctrin e of correspondences correspondences. . If the lower realm is like the upper realm, then the things and beings of the two realms realms correspond, or in kabalist kaba listic ic terms the grades form cor responding series. The concept of polarity or duality is often expressed in the Zohar in terms of man and woman, king ki ng and queen. queen. The king and queen are are symbol symbols s also used in alche alchemy. my. The two pillars pillar s unite in in a central column result ing in in three or the the triangle. triangle. Each pair of sefiroth unite to form a third, third, so that the central sefiroth sef iroth and pillar are perfect per fect creation. creation.
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The Torah itself, the foundat fou ndation ion of Judaism, is also dual dual in a sense; sense; it is oral and written, and these corresp cor respond ond to the two pillars. The two names of God YHVH and Elohim, Elohim, are a corresponding correspond ing duality. duality. The Zohar involves a complex system of mystical interpretation of biblical passages on different levels levels, , and the interpretations interpretat ions do not always agree agree. . This implies that the interpretation interpretati on is is to some extent up to the the individual; however, any interpretation interpre tation is based base d on esoteric tradition whether oral or or written. written. The main method of interpretation consists of manipulation of and play on words and numbers, which is possible because of the nature of the Hebrew Hebre w language. language. In a sense, sense, the Bible constitutes a kind of symbolic symbo lic realm rea lm which whic h is both archetype and type, type, and which represents the Divine Archetype Archety pe of which it is thought to be the emanation eman ation or expression. This is true in the dogma of most religions, whether it is consciously realized or not. not. This is also the concept of the cosmos, cosmos, the Earth, and an d the Cosmic man. man. Each is a symbolic archetype and type whic w hich h is an emanation emana tion of the Divine. The Zohar is cosmological because it explains the creation and order of the un univ iver erse se. . It is philos phi losoph ophica ical l in in that it it is a systemat syst ematic ic exposi exp osi tion of the beliefs beli efs and attitudes attitud es of a group. It is mystical myst ical since its its aim is the perfection of man through mystical experience and the mani festation of the Divine plan. The importance of the accounts of creation in the Zohar and other kabalistic works can hardly be overestimated. Next in importance is proba prob a bly the nature of man. man. These lectures, lectures, therefore, explain expla in these by quotations from the Zohar and by an explanation explanati on of the Sepher Ye Yezi zira rah. h. The material has sometimes been abridged, but this will be noted. "When God designed to create the universe, His thought compassed all worlds at once, once, and by means of this thought though t were they all created. created.... ... By th this is thought— thought— which is is His His Wisdom— were this this world and th the e world above creat created. ed. He stretched forth His right hand and created the the world abov ab ove. e. He stretched forth His left hand han d and created this world.... All were wer e created in one moment. And He made mad e this wor ld corresponding correspondin g to the world wor ld above, above, and everything everythi ng which whi ch is above has its counterpart here below, below, and everything here below be low has its counterpart counter part in the sea; sea; and yet all constitute consti tute a unity." (Zohar III, III, 65 65) "Furthermore, "Furthermore, the Holy One, One, when about to create the world, used the the Torah as a copy, and also the Divine Name, which is the epitome of the Torah, and by it firmly firmly establish estab lished ed the world. By three energies is is the world worl d u uphel pheld, d, to wit, wit, by Wisdom, Understanding, Underst anding, and Knowledge. So scripture says: says: 'T 'The he Lord by wis dom founded the earth, earth, by understanding he establish esta blished ed the heavens. By his knowledge knowledg e the depths were broken up' (Pro (P rov. v. Ill Ill, , 19-20). 19-20). Observe Obser ve that wi with th the same three the Tabernacle Tabern acle was built, as it is written: written: 'And 'And I have filled him hi m with wit h the spirit of God, in wi wisd sdom om and in underst und erstand anding ing, , and in knowledge' knowle dge' (Ex Ex. . XXXI, 3) ? and all these are indicated indicate d in the story stor y of creation. Thus, Thus, 'I 'In n the
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beginning' beginning' corresponds to Wisdom, Wisdom, 'G 'God od created created' ' hints at Understanding; Understanding; 'The 'T he heaven' to Knowledge.... Knowledge... . The two two thus correspon corr espond d to each other." other." (Z o h a r, IV, 253) 253) "For just as one hammer-blow causes sparks to fly off in all directions, so God brought into being simultaneously manifold species and hosts, each differing from the other, other, without number. number. The world worl d was brought into being by a word and a breath toget to gether her.. ... .. One is is inoperative wit h out the other, but from their combined action there came into being hosts upon hosts all simultaneously. Now when whe n God was about to create the world, world, He produced a secret secret spark from which whic h there issued issu ed and radi ated all the lights which whi ch are disclosed. First there spread sprea d from it those lights which constitute the upper world. Then it continued continu ed its its radiation, and the Artifice Artif icer r made it into a light withou wit hout t brightness, and thus He made the lower world. And by reason of its being bein g a ligh light, t, but without witho ut illumination, illumination, it feels feels itself attracted towards towa rds the upper world. Now it is that light without illumination which whi ch through it its s attachment to the upper world brought into being all those legions and hosts of existences, of all all the multitudi mult itudinous nous species, of which whi ch it is is written, 'H 'How ow manifold are thy works.' works.' And whatever what ever is on earth has its counterpart counterpar t on high, high, there being no object, however howe ver small, but what is subordinate subord inate to t o its counterpa coun terpart rt above which whi ch has charge over it; it; and so whenev whe never er the thing below'sti belo w'stirs rs itself, itself, there is a simultaneous simulta neous stim s tim ulation ulati on of its counterp count erpart art above, as the two realms form one inter inte r conne co nnect cted ed whole. who le." " (Z o h a r , II II, , 10 101) 1) One passage uses correspo co rrespondences ndences betwe be tween en the Earth, the Sanctuary and Jerus Jer usal alem em as as the point poin t and first circle, circle, and the human hum an eye. "Thus the point is in the centre centre, , and the various expansions encircle it. The first expansion embraces the Sanctuary and all its courts and enclosures and all its appurt app urtena enance nces, s, as well as the the whole whol e city of Jerusal Jer usalem em bounded by the wa l l; the the second expansion embraces the whole of the Land of Israe Isr ael, l, the Land which was declared d eclared Ho H o l y ? the third expansion comprehends comprehend s the rest of the the ea rt h, the dwelling-p dwell ing-place lace of all the other nati na ti on s. Then comes the great ocean which whi ch surrounds the the w h o l e . The whole arrangement is symbolized by the structure of the human Ey e. e." " (Zohar IV, IV, 259) 259) Diagrammed, Diagram med, this wo woul uld d consist of the central do t , three concentric circles circles, , and then the wa te rs .
SUMMARY: 1.
The Zohar is is a commen com mentary tary on the Bible, parti pa rticul cularl arly y the books of Mo se s.
2.
It teaches the the relationship relationsh ip between betw een man, man, the un univ iver erse se, , and G o d .
3.
One importan impor tant t aspect of the Zohar Zoha r is its explan exp lanati ations ons of creation.
4.
The diagram diagr am on on page four is is based base d on the explanation explana tion of the the rela tionship tion ship betwee bet ween n the center point, the Sanctuary, Jerusalem, Israel Israel, , the Earth, and the the waters.
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The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council Council of the A.M.O A.M.O.R .R.C .C.. All All m atter s here in con tained are stric tly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ow nership of, the leg al title, and the r igh t of possession to this special special discourse discourse is and sha ll remain i n th e Supreme Supreme Grand Lodge Lodge of of A.M.0 R.C. and it should be returned upon its request. request. The contents herein herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate all righ ts of the member, member, and is a violation of the statutes of this Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
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Using the symboli symb olism sm of the the letters, one passage pas sage says, says, "The very first thing taught to children, the Aleph Beth, Beth, transcends the comprehension comprehensi on and the the mind of man, man, and even of the higher and highest angels angels, , because the Holy Name is concealed in the letters. letters. A thousand thousan d and four four hundred and five worlds worl ds are suspended suspe nded from the point of the ale ph ph, , and seventytwo holy names traced in their full spelling, which uphold heaven and earth, earth, upper uppe r and lower beings, and the Throne Thr one of the King, King, are suspended along the stroke of the a le leyh yh, , while whil e the mystery myster y of Wisdo Wis dom m and the the hidden paths and the deep rivers and the ten Words all issue from the lower point of the al alep eph. h. From this this point aleph begins to extend into beth, and there is no end e nd to the wisdo wi sdom m that is here inscribed." T Z o h a r , V, 74 74) Aleph is the beginnin beg inning g of the alphabet and of number. number. In Hebrew it is a consonant having no actual sound but is the beginning of all spoken sound, sound, including the symbolic Creative Word. It i is s the beginn beg inning ing of both spoken spok en sound soun d and wr writt itten en letters, letters, and it it is is thus the beginning of creation and the beginning of the revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai. Sinai. "R. Ju Judah dah foll f ollowe owed d wi with th a discour disc ourse se on the verse: ’The counsel coun sel (s od ) of the Lord is with them that fear hi him; m; and his covenant to make them know it' it ' (Ps Ps. . XXV, 14). ’Th The e counse cou nsel' l' (s o d ) he said, 'allude 'all udes s to the su sub b lime mystical knowledge which remains hidden and undisclosed save for those that fear the Lord continuously and thus prove themselves worthy of these secrets and able to keep them. them. Observe Obse rve that the wo worl rld d has been made and established establi shed by an engraving engravi ng of forty-two letter letters, s, al all l of which whic h ar are e the adornment of the Divine Name. These letters letters combined and soared aloft and dived downwards, forming themselves themsel ves into crowns in the four directions directio ns of the world, so that it might endure. They then went forth forth and created the upper world wor ld and the the lower, lower, the world worl d of unifica tion and the world wor ld of division. In the latter they they are are called 'moun tains of separation' (ba bath ther er) ) (S.S (S.S. . II, 17), 17), wh whic ich h are wa wate tere red d wh when en the the south side begins to come near them. them. The water wat er flows with wit h supernal energy and with ecstatic joy joy. . Whilst the Thought mounts mounts up with exult ing joy out of the most Undis Und iscl clos osed ed One, One, there ther e flows out of it a spark: spark: the two then come into contact with wit h each other, other, as explained explai ned elsewhere. elsewhere. These forty-two letters thus constitute the supernal mystical principle; by them were created the upper and the lower worlds, worlds, and they indeed constitute the basis and recondite significance of all all the the worlds. worlds. Thus he explai exp lained ned the verse, verse, 'T 'The he secret secre t of the the Lord is to th them em that fear him; him; and his covenant to make the m kn know ow it', it', the first part alluding allu ding to the undisclosed engraven letters, whereas the latter speaks of the revealed. Now, it is written: 'And 'And thou shalt put in in the breastpla breas tplate te of judgem jud gement ent the Ur Urim im and the Thummin' Thummin ' (Ex. XXVIII, 30 30). ). The term 'Uri 'U rim' m' (l (lit it. . light, light, illuminat illum ination) ion) signifi sign ifies es the luminou lum inous s speculum, which consisted of the engravure of the Divine Name composed of forty-two letters by which the world was created; whereas the Thummin consisted of the non-luminous speculum made of the Divine Name as manifested in the twenty-tw twent y-two o letters. letters. The combination combina tion of the two is thus called Urim Uri m and Thummim. Observe Obser ve that by the power pow er o of f these sunken letters letters
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were the other o ther letters, letters, namely, the raised letters forming the names of the tribes, now illumined, illumined, now darkened. The letters of the Divine Name embrace the mystery myst ery of the Torah, Torah, and al all l the worlds worl ds are a projec proj ec tion of the mystery myste ry of those letters. letters. The Torah begins with a Beth followed by an an Al ep h, indicating indic ating thereby there by that the wor ld was created by the power of these le tte rs, the Beth symbolizing symboliz ing the female principle and the the Aleph the male principle, principl e, and both engendering, engend ering, as it were, the group of the twenty twe nty-tw -two o le lett tter ers. s.’" ’" (Zo Zoha har, r, IV IV, , 299-300) Another Anot her passag p assage e is pertinent pert inent to this: this: "For the Torah To rah is the Name Na me of the Holy One, blessed bless ed by He He. . As the Name of the Holy One is engraved engrav ed in in Ten Words (creative (creative utterances) utterances) of Creation, Creation, so is is the whole who le Torah en graved in the Ten Words (Decalo (De calogue) gue), , and these Ten Words are the Name of the Holy One, and the whole who le Torah To rah is thus one Name, the Holy Name of God Himself. Blesse Ble ssed d is he wh who o i is s worth wor thy y of her, the Torah, for he will be worthy wor thy of the Holy Name." Name ." (Zohar II III, I, 278) "R. Eleaz El eazar ar further fu rther discour disc oursed sed on the verse: verse: 'A song of ascents; of Solomon. Solomon. Except Excep t the Lord build the the house, thy labour is is in in vain', vain', etc. etc. (Ps. CXXVII, 1) 1). . 'This verse', he h e said, 'w 'was as ut utter tered ed by Solomo Sol omon n at the time when, when, having havin g begun to build the Temple he became aware that the the work proceeded proce eded of itself, itself, as it were, in the hands ha nds of the labourers labourers. . Except Exce pt the Lord', he thus said said, , 'build the hours', etc. This alludes to the the statement that 'In the beginning beginn ing God Go d created heaven and ea earth rth' ' (Ge (G en. I, 1), 1), and tells tell s us that the Holy One, ble b less ssed ed by He, crea c reated ted and garnished garni shed this world wor ld and fitted it out wi with th all its its requirements, require ments, thus thus making it a House. House. 'They 'They labour l abour in vain that build buil d it it': ': this alludes alludes to the streams that come forth and enter the House in order to furnish it with wit h all its needs; needs; try as they may, yet y et except exc ept the Lord Lor d of the the supernal world make the House and put it in proper order, they labour in vain. 'Except the Lord keep kee p the city', etc. (I b i d .) This is in harmony harm ony with the verse: 'T 'The he eyes eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, it , from the the beginnin begin ning g of the year yea r even unto the end of the year year' ' (D (Deu eut. t. XI, 12 12), ), indic i ndicatin ating g the provide pro vidence nce by which whic h it is is guarded guard ed on all all sides. sides. And though it is also written, written, 'B 'Beh ehold old, , it is the couch of Solomon; Solomon; three thr eesc scor ore e mi might ghty y me men n are about it it' (S (S.S .S. . Ill, 7), all gu guard arding ing it, it, this is 'because of dread in the night' (I b i d . 8) 8), , to wit, the dread of Gehinn Geh innom om that confronts it and tries to annihila anni hilate te it it. All thus are are standing guard round about it it. When the Thought is illumined, illumined, it re mains undisclosed undisclo sed and unknowable, but it forms forms a centre of energies and of expansion expans ion in in all directions. One outcome of that expansion expans ion is the Supernal World, World, the world wor ld of interrogation, as it were, or o r of the Supreme Utterance, Utteranc e, the world wor ld called cal led 'Who?', 'Who?', alluded all uded to in 'Lift 'Lift up your eyes on high, and see see: : Who Wh o hath creat cr eated ed these?', or in other othe r words, the creative utterance, utterance, the Who?, created the t he se ; but subsequently subseq uently it ex ex panded pande d and became the se sea, a, symbolic of the lowest grade, grade, and created a lower world worl d after the pattern of the upper, upper, the two being bein g the counter parts of each other. other. Hence the guarding of the universe is from above downwards, that is, is, from the the upper world which was formed by the the expan expa n sion of of the Thought. Thought. We thus thus understand under stand the meaning mean ing of the passage, passage, saying, saying, 'Except the Lord keep the city, city, the watch wat chman man watchet watc heth h in vain', vain', 'the 't he watchman' referring to the watchman watc hman of Israel, Israel, since protection
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depends not on on him but on the higher high er world. Note that the blue employed emplo yed in the work of the Tabernacle symbolized the mystery of the upper world, the blue and the purple together symbolized the knitting together of the upper uppe r wo worl rld d and the lo lowe wer. r.' ' ' (Z o h a r , IV IV, , 272-273) M,AND M,AND BEHOLD BE HOLD A LADDER LAD DER SET UP ON EARTH.* EARTH.* This ladder signifies the grade on which whic h the other grades rest, rest, to wit, wit, the ’Foundation Foundati on of the wo rl d* . AND THE TOP OF IT REACHED TO HEAVEN, HEAVEN, so as to be attached to it it. . For this grade is the conclusion of the Body standing between the upper and the lower wo rl d. ... " The ladder symbolizes symboli zes the ascent from Earth to heaven and is another commonly used symbol. ’’’Lift Lif t up yo your ur heads, O ye gates' (Ps. XXIV, 7) 7), , and refer ref er to the supe su per r nal grades by and through which alone a knowledge of the Almighty is possible to man, man, and but for which man could not commune with Go God. d. Sim Sim ilarly, ilarly, man's man' s soul cannot be known know n directly, save through thro ugh the members of the body, which are the grades forming the instruments of the soul. The soul soul is thus known and unknown. So it it is with wit h the Holy One, One, blessed bles sed be He, since He is the Soul Soul of souls, the Spirit of spirits, spirits, covered and veiled veile d from anyone; anyone; nevertheless, nevert heless, through throug h those gates, gates, which whi ch are doors for fo r the soul so ul , the Holy One makes Himself Himse lf known. For there is is door door within do door or, , grade grade behind gra de, through which the glory of the Holy One is made known. known. Hence Henc e here 't 'the he tent door' door' is the door of righte rig hteous ous ness, ness, referred refer red to in the words, 'Open 'Open to me the gates of righteousness' (Ps. CX C X V I I I, 19), 19), and this is the first firs t en entr tran ance ce door; throu th rough gh this door a view is is opened to al all l the other supernal supern al doo d oo rs . He who succeeds in entering this door is privileged to know both it and all the other doors, doors, since they all repose on this o n e . At the present pres ent time this this door remains unknown unknow n because Israel is in in e xi l e; and therefore therefo re al all l the the other othe r doors doors are removed from them, them, so that that they cannot know or commun com mune; e; but when Israel Israel returns returns from exile exile, , all the supernal grades ar are e des tined to to rest rest harmoniously upon this o n e . Then men men will obtain a knowl know l edge of the precious supernal wisdom of which hitherto they wist not, as it is is written, writt en, 'And the spirit spi rit of the Lord Lor d shall rest upon him, him, the spirit of wi wisdo sdom m and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, might, the spirit of knowled know ledge ge and of the fear of the L o r d ' (Is. X I , 2). All these are destined dest ined to rest on the lower door which whi ch is the the 'tent 'tent do door or'; '; all too will rest upon the Messiah Messia h in order that he may judge th the e world, as it is written, writ ten, 'But wi with th righ r ighteou teousne sness ss shall sh all he judge the poor, etc' etc' (Ibid. 4)." (Zohar, I, 332-33 332-333) 3) SUMMARY; 1.
The Holy Name is is concealed conceale d i in n the letters? letters? Aleph Alep h and its symbolism symbo lism is important because the worlds, holy names, upper and lower realms, realms, among other things are suspended from it.
2.
Some of the letter lette r sy symbo mbolis lism m is given.
3.
The importance and symbol sym bolism ism of the Torah is indicated.
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SUMMARY 4.
5. 6.
(cont'd)
The world wor ld is is compared compa red to a house which whi ch God made. The passage ex plains the upper worl w orld d and the formation of the universe from above downwards. The ladder lad der is compar com pared ed to the grades of the sefiroth. Knowled Know ledge ge of the s ou l, man and God is explained. explaine d. There Ther e is grade wit hin grade through which whi ch the glory of the Holy One is known.
The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, of, the legal title, a nd t he r igh t of possession possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O.R A.M.O.R.C. .C. and it should be retu rned upon its request. The contents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the statu tes of this Order. Order. Such violation will be legally legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
Number 5
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The Zohar discusses this passage from the biblical account of creation: "'AND THE LORD GOD BUILT (VAYI VA YIVE VEN) N) THE SIDE WHICH WHIC H HE HAD TAKEN FROM FRO M MAN, MAN, E T C . ' Said R. Simeon^ Simeon^ 'It is written, God understandeth understande th the way ther th ereo eof, f, and he knoweth knowet h the place thereof thereo f (J obXX ob XXVII VII I, 23). 23). This verse may be taken in many ways. ways. One is that the word wo rd 'understoo 'understood' d' (he vi n) has the same sense se nse as vayiven vayi ven in the second secon d chapter cha pter of Genesis. Genesis. Hence Hen ce the 'sid 'side' e' here he re is the Oral Or al Law, which whi ch forms a 'way', 'way', as it it is is written, 'who 'who maketh a way in the sea' ea' (Is. XLIII, XLIII, 16). 16). Similarly, Similarly, 'pla 'place ce' ' here can be interp int erprete reted d as as the Writte Wri tten n Law, Law, which whi ch is the the source of knowledge. knowledg e. The double name 'Lord God' God' is used to show that it was complete comp leted d in all details. Hence it is called both bot h Hokmah Hok mah (wis (wisdo dom) m) and Binah (understandin (under standing).. g)....becaus ..because e the the Oral Law issued from the the Written Torah. INTO A WOMAN: to be linked with wi th the flame on the left side side, , because the Torah was given from the side of Geb urah ur ah♦ ♦ Further, Further, ishah (wom (woman an) ) may be analyz ana lyzed ed into esh he (fire (fire of he) he) signi si gnifyi fying ng the union of the two. two. AND HE BROUGH BRO UGHT T HER HE R TO THE MAN: as much muc h as to to say that the Oral Torah must not be studied by itself but in conjunction with the Written Writte n Torah, Torah, which whic h then nourishes and supports it and provides all all its its n ee d s... s.... Accord Acc ording ing to another anoth er explanatio expl anation, n, this verse has a deep esoteri eso teric c meaning, namely, that the primal prim al is unknowable unkno wable save to God, God, who 'understands 'understands its its way,' i.e. .e. the future world, world, while 'He', i.e. i.e. the great grea t inscru ins crutab table le called cal led hu (he) 'knows its place'. plac e'." " (Zohar (Zohar, , I, I, 153154) "Accor "Ac cordin ding g to R. Judah, 'father' 'father' represen repre sents ts Wisd Wi sdom om (Ho kh mah) ma h) and 'm o t h e r ' Unde Un derst rstan andin ding g (B i n a h ) . Said R. J u d a h : 'Both interp int erpret retati ations ons mean one and the same thing, thing, for for we have taught that the Torah emanated emanate d from the Supernal Wi s do m. ' R. Jose said that Torah Tora h emanat ema nated ed from Under Unde r standing, for it says: says: 'to perceive perce ive the words word s of understanding' understandi ng' and 'forsake not the Torah Tor ah of thy m o t h e r . ' Said R. R. J u d a h : 'The Torah Tor ah is is an emanation of both Wisdo m and Understanding, and combines combines the influ ence enc e of b o t h . ...'" ...'" (Zo h ar , I I I , 258) 258) Summarizing Summarizi ng Jacob was a Ancient and harmonizing
another passage concerning the sephiroth, it says says that complete man, perfect per fect in regard to both sides, sides, the Holy Holy the Mi cro proso pro sopus pus, , and and also to the supernal Grace and Power the two.
Wisdom Wisdo m (Hokma Ho kmah) h) is the totality of the holy Sephiroth, Sephiroth, and supernal Grace (Hese He se d) emanates emanate s from Wisdom, and Power (Gebu Ge bura rah) h) from Understa Unde rstand nd ing (Binah Bin ah) ). Wisdom Wisd om beat against the stones of the thirty-two Paths and caused the wind win d to gather many waters wa ters into one place. From the Paths emanated ten luminous crow cr owns ns, , and there were left twenty-two twenty-t wo Pat hs . The wind whirled whir led down those Paths, and fifty Gates of Understa Und erstanding nding were opened and the twenty-two letters were engraved upon fifty gates of the Jubi lee and were crowned with the seventy-two letters of the Holy Name. These opened s i d e w a y s a n d w e r e crowned with the seventy-two letters of Compassion which are contained in the Ancient of Days, who bestows light on them, e a c h according to its its place. place. Fifty engraved letters letters also were crowned with forty-two supernal letters letters of the Holy Name, Name, by
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which whi ch heaven and Earth were wer e created created. . And eight gates gates were we re opened, opened, which whi ch are eight significations of Mercy, which emanate from the Holy Ancient Ancie nt and proceed pro ceed to the Microprosopus Micropr osopus or Lesser Le sser Countenance. They unite with those holy crowns, crowns, Supernal Wisdo m and Understanding, taking Supernal Mercy from the one side and Judgment or Power from the other. Then came the merit of Jacob and synthesized both and made them one, for he signifies supernal harmony. When Wisdom Wis dom began to cause the shaping of th the e Cr ow owns ns, , it began with wit h Understan Unde rstanding ding (Binah), (Binah) , for in Understandi Unders tanding ng all is contained. contained. There The re fore fifty gates gate s are opened open ed in its n a m e , and thus it is found that all the letters and all the crowns are engraved in Wisdom. "Who has measure meas ured d the wa wate ter r in the hollow holl ow of his his hand, hand, and meted mete d out heaven hea ven with the span, span, and comprehend compre hended ed the dust of the earth in a me mea a sure , and weighe wei ghed d the mountains mount ains in sca s cale les, s, and the hills in a balance?" (Ia. XL, 12 12) ) "The "The water" symbolizes symboli zes Unders Und erstan tandin ding g and Gr ac e. "Heaven" symbolizes Beauty Beau ty (Tifer (Ti fereth eth), ), and "dust" "dust" refers to Power Pow er (Ge Gebu bura rah) h) . "Mountains" refers to the other othe r cro wn wns, s, and "hil "h ills" ls" alludes to somewhat lower chariots. Judgment proceeds from Me r c y, and Mercy from Ju Judg dgme ment nt. . One quality emanat ema nates es from another, another, each imbibes imbibe s from each, each, and finally it is made manifest manife st that all are one, one, and all depend on One, and One is al all l in all all There can be no perfection unless one aspect is joined to the other and a third holds them together to harmonize and complete them. All this differentiation differen tiation of the Divine Personalit Perso nality y is from our side and relative relati ve to our knowledge; above, all is is o one, ne, all is set in one balance balanc e unvarying and eternal. eternal. All the heavenly heaven ly lights are are illumined from one and depend on one one, , and all the lights there ther e form only one Light, Light, and desire never to be separated, and he who does separate separa te them t hem in his mind is as though thoug h he separated separat ed himsel him self f from life eternal. (Zo Zoha ha r, IV, 108f 108f) ) The Zohar uses colors to symboli sym bolize ze the attributes attrib utes of Go God. d. One passage says, says, "There "There ar are e colours disclose dis closed d and undisclosed, undisclosed, this being a part of the mystery of Faith, but men neither know nor reflect on these matters. The visible colours were wer e not perce p erceived ived by any human being b e fore the Patriarchs, Patriarch s, Abraham, Abr aham, Isaac, Isaac, and Jacob.... And what wha t are are these visible colours? Those of El Shaddai Shaddai (which (which means God Al Almi migh ghty ty), ), th the e reflection of higher highe r colou colours. rs. But these latter are are hidden, and Moses alone perceive perc eived d them. them. The Patriarchs, however, were not entirely igno rant of th them; em; since they apprehended apprehen ded those undisclose und isclosed d ones through the the visible visibl e ones which whi ch they knew. knew. And An d i it t is written: writte n: 'A 'And nd the wise shall be resplendent as the splendor of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness shall be like the stars for ever and ev er .' Th The e 'wis 'w ise' e' is he who by the power pow er of hi» own oonLcmpl oon Lcmplation ation attains to the perception perce ption of profound profo und mysteries which cannot be expressed expres sed in word words. s. The 'firmament' is the 'firmament 'firmam ent of Moses' (h (his is grade gra de of Divine Divi ne knowlknowl -
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e d g e ) , wh whic ich h is is set at the centre and whose who se splendou splen dour r i is s ve il ed . This firmament is above that other which is non-resplendent and the colours of which whic h are visible and not so so bright brigh t as the invis inv isib ible le. . There are four lights (i. i.e e. Ema E mana nati tion ons) s), , three of which whi ch are recondite recondi te and one disclosed. disclose d. There Ther e is one wh whic ich h sheds light abroad abro ad (He Hese se d) ; one shines for itself only (Gebura (Ge burah), h), being bei ng like the heavens in purity; purity; one of of purple hue gathers gathers light light into itself (Tife reth) ret h) ; and one which is of itself lightless lightles s (Ma Malk lkut uth) h) , but which whi ch looks up to the others and re flects them as as a lamp reflects the sun sun. . The first three are are recondite and brood bro od over the one which whi ch is disclosed. (Of all this the eye is the symbol. symbol. In the eye three colours are visible, but none of these shines, shines, because they are non-l no n-l uminou umi nous. s. They are the parallel of those lights lights which are revealed; revealed; and it was by means of o f these visible colours that the Patriarchs were enabled to discern the colours which are luminous but invisible— invisib le— that is is, , those colours of which whic h Moses alone alone had cogni zance, which were concealed from all others but revealed to him in that firmament to which whi ch he had attained, attained, and which whi ch are above the visible colours.) colours.) To understan under stand d this mystery, close thine eye and press thine eyeball, and thou wilt wil t discern discer n radiating radiati ng and luminous colours which can only be seen wi with th closed eyes." (Zo h ar , III, III, 77-78) 77-78) One passage says that God constructed for the world seven pillars by which it was to be be upheld upheld. . These in turn ar are e upheld by one grade grade from among them called "the "the Righteous One, One, the t he everlastin everla sting g foundation." When the world was created created, , it was started from that that spot spot which is the perfection of the world, world, the central point of the u niv er erse se, , which is Zi o n. Zion and Jerusalem, Jerusa lem, while whi le o n e , represen repr esent t two degrees, the one being th the e channel of Judg Ju dgme ment nt, , the other of Mer M er cy . First there issues issues from one the sound of Mercy and afterwards the other voice of Judgment, the two forming one source from which the paths of Judgment and Mercy issue iss ue and d i v e r g e . (Zohar, I I , 21 210) 0)
Zion, Jerusalem Central point
t Seven Pillars
t The Righteous One
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The Oral Law forms a wa way y of knowledge, knowl edge, as does the Writte Wri tten n L Law aw. . Lord Lor d Go God, d, Hokmah and Binah are related. related. The Oral and Written Writ ten Torah must be studied studie d together, perhaps alluding to an oral tradition.
2.
Some of the sephiroth sephi roth are discussed, discuss ed,
3.
Colors and firmaments firmam ents are related relat ed to creation creat ion and the sephiroth. The passage also uses the eye as a symbol.
4.
as well as letter lette r symbolism.
The chart explains expla ins creation creati on ba base sed d on the Righteous one, one, seven pillars, Zi Zion on, , Jerusalem, and Mercy Merc y and Judgment.
The Kabalistic Tree on page five is usually done as follows:
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The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. members hip. The ownership of, the legal title, and the ri gh t of possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O A.M.O.R. .R.C. C. and it should shou ld be return ed upon its request. The contents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the s tatut es of this Order. Order. Such violation will will be legally legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
Number 0
» - 3 1(V 7S 7S
Printed in U.S.A.
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Discussing the idea that the world was created with ten sayings, the Zohar says, says, "Yet "Yet on examinati exami nation on they prove to be be only three, three, vi viz. z. Wis Wi s dom, do m, Understanding, and Knowledge. The world wor ld was created crea ted only for the sake of Israel. Israel. When the the Holy One One, , bless bl essed ed be H He, e, desired to e n d o w the Earth with permanence, He formed Abraham Abraha m in the mystery myster y of Wisdom, Wisdom, Isaac in the mystery myster y of Understanding, Underst anding, and Jacob in the the myster mys tery y of Perception, that is is to sa say, y, of Knowledge. Therefo The refore re it is said: said: 'With 'With wisdom wisd om is the house built, built, and by understanding understandi ng it is established, and by knowledge kno wledge shall shall the chambers be filled.. filled...' .' (Pro (P rov v. XXIV, XXIV, 4-5)." 4-5)." (Z o h a r , III, 46-47) In another passage these three attributes are said to correspond to three books of Solomon, the Song S ong of Songs to Wisdom, Ecclesia Eccl esiastes stes to Understanding, Understan ding, and Proverbs Prov erbs to Knowledge. (Zo ha r, V, 53 53-5 -54) 4) R. Simeon Simeo n ben Yochai interpr inte rprets ets the verse, "God created crea ted the (et eth h) he heav av ens and the (e t h ) Earth" Ear th" (G (Gen en. . I, 1) 1) by saying sayin g that the first eth re re ferred to to the Right Hand and the second to to the Left Hand. Hand. The passage states, "These two 'stand together' together ' (I (Isa sa. . XLVIII, 13) 13) thro t hrough ugh the agency of the Crown which is called zoth zoth and which comprises both Mercy and Judgement." Judge ment." Later in the passage passag e there is is a reference referen ce to the Song of So Solo lomo mon, n, II III, I, 6 "Who is is this that cometh out of the wi wild ldern erness ess like pillars of smoke?" smoke?" This is interpretated interpr etated by saying, saying, "This "This smoke sym bolizes th the e Crown which whic h is called Zoth Zoth (Lit. this, this, i. i.e. e. the Sephira Malkuth Mal kuth— — Kingdo Kingdom) m) and 'W 'Wom oman an' ' (Gen. II, 23 23). )." " (Zo Zoha ha r, II III, I, 116-11 116-117) 7) The Zaddik symbolizes sym bolizes the righteous right eous man, man, and one passage pass age refers the sephiroth sephiro th to his body. body. It is explaini expl aining ng the river that becomes become s four heads hea ds (G (Gen en. . II, II, 10 10). ). "The first firs t of these the se is He Hese sed d (Kindness), (Ki ndness), wh whic ich h is the right ar arm. m. From this shall drink the camp of Michael, and with wit h i it t the tribe of Judah and his two accompanying accompa nying tribes. The second is is Geburah (Force), (Force ), and from it it shall drink the camp of Gabriel, and with it the tribe of Dan and his two accompanying accompa nying tribes. tribes. The third is is Nezah (Victory), the right leg, and from it shall drink the camp of Nuriel, Nuriel, and with it the tribe of Reuben and his his two accompanying tribes tribes. . The fourth four th is Hod (Majesty), (Majesty), the 'left 'left leg' leg' (referred to in what wha t was said of Jacob, that he ha halt lted ed on his left thi t hi g h ) , and from fr om it it shall shall drink the camp of Raphael, whose mission is to heal the ills of the captivity, and with wit h it the tribe of Ephrai Eph raim m and his two accompanying accompa nying t r i b e s ." (Zo h a r , I , 102-103) One passage is on wisdom, but it also points out the importance of the symbolis symb olism m of the the Voice and the the W o r d . The latter are are not only important in kabalistic symbolism but in many other religious and mystical systems as w e l l . R. Jose is is discoursi disc oursing ng on the ve rs e: She openeth opene th her mouth with wi sd om , and the law of kindness is on her tongue (Pr Prov ov. . XX XI , 26) 6). . 'The wo word rd wi sd om ', he said, said, 'signifies the Beth of the the word wor d bereshith bereshit h (in (i n the beginnin begi nning), g), as already alre ady ex expl plain ained ed elsew els ew he re . The Be Beth th" " is closed in o on n one side as as symbolic symb olic of that which whi ch is written: 'A 'And nd thou shalt see my b a c x 1 (Ex. X XX X XI I I , 23), ana open on tne other oth er side so as as to il illu lu mine the higher w or ld s. (It is also open on one side side in order to receive from the higher highe r worlds, like a hall in which whi ch guests gather.) gather.)
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NUMBE NU MBER R SIX For that reason rea son it is is placed place d at the beginnin begin ning g of the the Torah, and was later on on filled in in. . Again, 'S 'She he openet ope neth h her mouth mou th wi with th wisdom', wisdom ', for so the word bereshith beres hith is rendered in the Chaldaic version, version, behokhmetha behokhm etha (with (with wi wisd sdom om!" !"! ! 'And the law of ki kindn ndness ess (h es e d) is on he her r t o n g u e ', i.e. i. e. in her subsequ sub sequent ent utteran ut terances, ces, as it it is is written: writte n: 'And 'And God said: said: Let there ther e be light, light, and there ther e was light.' The 'mouth' 'mouth' again aga in is an allusion to the He of the Divine Name, which contains the Whole, which is both unreveal u nrevealed ed and revealed, revealed, and comprises both the higher high er and lower emanations, being bei ng emblematic embl ematic of both. both. 'She 'S he openeth openet h her mouth with wisdom', inasmuch as, though herself hers elf hidden hidd en and absolutely abs olutely unknow able, as it says, 'And it is is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air air' ' (J (Job ob XXVIII, 21), yet wh when en she begins to expand by means of the Wisdom to which she is attached and in which she resides, she put forth a Voice Voic e which whic h is the 'law 'law of kindness' (he s ed ) . Or again, the 'mouth' 'mouth' can ca n be taken tak en as as alludi all uding ng to the final He of the the Divine Name, whic w hich h is the Word that emanates em anates from Wisdom, Wisdom, while th the e 'l 'law aw of kindness kindne ss on her tongue' tongue' signifies the Voice which is above the Word, control cont rollin ling g it and guiding guidin g it it, , since s ince speech spee ch cannot be formed form ed wi with thou out t voice, as has be been en agreed. agr eed.'" '" (Zo ha r , II II, , 6 67-68 7-68) ) R. Isaac interprets inter prets the revelatio revel ation n to Moses Mose s on Mount Moun t Sinai. "In the hour when whe n the Holy One, One, bless bl essed ed be He, He, revealed Himself Hi mself on Mount Sinai, Sinai, that mountain began mightily to shake and all the other hills and high places of the earth ea rth trembled tremb led in accord acco rd with wit h it it, , so that they heaved heav ed and quaked until the Holy One stretched out His hand and calmed them, and a voice was heard: heard: 'What 'What aileth thee, 0 thou sea, sea, that t hat thou fledfleddest, dest, and thou Jordan that thou wast driven back? Ye mountains mountain s that ye skipped skip ped like rams, rams, and ye hills like young sheep?' sheep?' And An d the answer was: 'Tremble 0 earth, at the presenc pre sence e of the Lord, Lord, at the presence presen ce of the the God of Jacob' (Ps, CXIV, 5-7). 5-7). Now, 't 'the he Lord' in this verse refers to the 'Mother' (B i n a h ) ; 'earth' to the 'Mother' be belo low w (M a l k u t h ) ; 'the 'the God of Jacob', to the Father Fath er (Ho Hokm km ah ah) ), whose whos e 'firstborn son is is Israel' Israel' (Ex. IV IV, , 23), whom wh om 'h 'his is mo moth ther er crow c rowned ned in the day of his espousal espo usals': s': she crowned hi him m with wit h the symbolic symbol ic colours, white, red, red, and green, in which all other oth er colours are included, and in him they were all uni u nite ted. d.' ' According Accor ding to R. Judah, the 'c 'cro rown wn' ' symbolizes Israel, Israel, who is God's glory, as it is writte wri tten: n: 'Israel, in wh whom om I am glorified' glorif ied' (Is Isa. a. XLIX, XLIX, 3); 'and I wi will ll glori gl orify fy the house hous e of my glory' (I (Ibi bid. d. LX, 7)." 7)." (Zohar III, 252-253) "I AM THE LORD THY GOD WHO BROUGHT BRO UGHT THEE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT. R. Eleaz El eazar ar referred refer red to the verse: verse: 'My so son, n, hear the instructi instru ction on of thy father, and forsake for sake not the Torah Tor ah of thy mother' mother ' (Prov (Prov. . I, I, 18) 18). . 'The 'T he instruct inst ruction ion of thy father', father', he said, 'refers 'refers to the Holy One; One; 't 'the he Torah of thy mother' to the Community Communi ty of Is ra el .' Ac Accor cordin ding g to R. Judah, Judah, 'Fath 'Father' er' represents represen ts Wi Wisd sdom om (Ho kh ma mah) h) and 'mothe 'mother' r' Underst Unde rstand anding ing (Bi Bina na h) ♦ Said R. R. Judah: 'Both 'Both interpr inte rpreta etatio tions ns mean one and the same thing, fo for r we have been taught that the Torah emanated emana ted from the Supernal Wi sd om om.' .' R. Jose said that the Torah emanat ema nated ed from Understandi Unders tanding, ng, for it sa says ys: : 'to perceive perc eive the words of understandin unders tanding' g' and 'forsake not the Torah of thy mother'. Said R. R. J u d a h : 'The Torah Tora h is is an an emanatio eman ation n of both Wisdom Wisd om and Understanding, and combines the influence of bo t h, for it says: say s:
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*My So S o n , hear hea r the instru ins tructi ction on of thy father, and forsake not n ot the Torah To rah of thy m o t h e r '.' R. Abba Abb a s a i d : 'It contains cont ains the influen inf luence ce of all the eman em anat atio ions ns, , in virtue of containing containi ng those tw t w o : gr grac ac e, judgement, and mercy, mercy, and every one required for perfe cti on on. . When the King and Matrona are in harmonious harmo nious union all attributes attribu tes are harmoni harm onious ously ly united, and wherever where ver these ar are e found found all the others ar are e found as we l l .'" Matrona is a name for the Shekinah and Malkuth; the King Kin g may refer either eithe r to Kether Ket her or Tifereth. Tifere th. (Z oh ar , I I I , 25 258) 8) "R. Simeon here discou di scoursed rsed on the ve rs e : WISDO WIS DOM M CRIETH ALOUD IN THE STREET, SHE UTTERETH UTTE RETH HER HE R VOICE VOIC E IN THE BROAD BRO AD PLACES PLAC ES (P (Pro rov. v. I, 20). 20). T h e term 'This 'This verse', he said, 'contains a deep mystical mystic al teaching. teaching . hokhmot hokh moth h (lit. wisdoms) wisdoms) implies the superior superio r Wisdom Wis dom and the the lesser Wis T h e dom which is included in the superior Wisdom and abides therein. superior Wisdom is an essence most recondite and concealed, concealed, unknown and unrevealed, as Scripture Scriptu re says: says: 'M 'Man an knoweth kno weth not the price thereof, etc.' etc.' (Job (J ob XXVIII, 13 13); ); and when whe n it expands into a source of light, light, its illu illu mination minati on is that of the world wor ld to come, come, and that worl d is created by it: for fo r so we have learne learned, d, that the world to come was created by the Yo d , and there Wisdom Wis dom remained hidd hidden, en, th the e two being one. one. When God was crowned, it was throug t hrough h the mystery mys tery of the future world, as already said. said. There was joy at at this illumination, illumination , but all was in silence wi with th out a sound being heard abroad. abroad. Wisdom Wis dom then willed wil led it to expand fur ther, so that from that space there issued is sued fire and water wat er and air, air, as already said, said, from which whi ch there spran s prang g up a voice which issued is sued forth forth abroad and was heard, heard, as already said. said. From Fro m that point poin t onwards all is is exterior exte rior (h u z) z), , whereas where as in the interior interi or the voice is silent and not heard hear d abroad. abroad. O n c e , however, the secret force has become audi au dibl ble, e, it is called call ed 'wi ' with thou out' t' (h u z ). Hence Hen ce it is incumben incu mbent t on man to be zealous in searching searc hing after wisdo wis dom m 'in 'in the wide places' (ba-reho (ba- rehoboth both). ). This refers to the firmament, which wh ich contains all the luminous st ar s,and which constitutes th the e fountain of perennial wa te rs , referred to in the v e r s e: 'And a river rive r went wen t fo forth rth from Eden Ede n to wa wate ter r the gar ga r d e n' (G (Gen en. . II, 10). 10 ). And there 'she uttereth utte reth her vo ic e' e', , both the superior and the lower Wisdom, which whic h in in truth are o n e . Solomon alluded all uded to this in sa say y ing: in g: 'Prepare thy work wor k wi with thou out t (ba -h uz ), and make it ready for thee in the fi f i e l d ' (Prov (Prov. . XXIV, 27), wh wher ere e the wo word rd 'w 'wit itho hout ut' ' is us used ed as as in in the verse 'Wisdom 'Wisdom crieth out wi th ou out' t', , indicating indicatin g the point from which man can commence to inquire and investigate, invest igate, as it it is is written: 'F 'For or ask now of the days pa p a s t ... and from One end of heaven hea ven unto u nto another' (D (Deu eut, t, IV IV, , 32). 32 ). The 'field 'field' ' again is is the 'field wh whic ich h the Lord Lor d ha hath th blessed' blesse d' (Gen en. . XXVII XX VII, , 27 27). ). When a man has has penetrated penetra ted into the mystery of Wisdom Wisd om and and perfected perfect ed himself h imself therein, therein, then Solomon tells him h im to 'build 'build his house' house' (Pro (P rov. v. XXIV, 27 27), ), i.e. i.e. to cultiva cult ivate te his soul in his body, so as to attain perfection. Hence, when Isaac digged and and prepared prepar ed the the well in peace he called it Rehoboth (w (wid ide e pl ac aces es), ), and al all l was done in the right manner. Happy the righteous by whose whos e works work s the Holy One sustains the world, as it s a y s : 'For the Upright Upr ight shall s hall inhabi inh abit t the land' land' (P (Pro rov. v. I I , 21), 21), where wher e the term yi yish shke kenu nu (they (they will wil l inhabit) may be read yashkinu yashki nu they they shall cause to bo in inhab hab ite d. ' " (Z o h a r , I I , 52-53) R ah a h a m im i m i s s o m e t im im e s u s e d i n t h e Z o h a r i n p l a c e o f s a i d t h a t w h e n t h e H o l y On On e c a m e t o r e v e a l H i m s e l f
T ife re th . " R. R. S i m e o n o n M ou o u n t S i n a i , He He
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called together togeth er His His whole celestial celest ial Family and said to the them: m: 'At present the Israelites are like children, they will not know how to deport themselves in My Presence. If I should reveal Myself Myse lf to them in the attribu a ttribute te of Power (Ge Gebu bura rah) h) they will not be able to bear bea r it, it, but when wh en I manifest Myself to them in inlove love (Ra Raha hami mim) m) they will wil l accept My L a w . ' Therefore Therefo re the manifes ma nifestatio tation n on Mount Sinai took place on the third thi rd day, wh whic ich h is is the Day of Love Lov e (Ra Raha hami mim) m) ." (Zohar, (Zohar, III, III, 242 242) ) The third day corresponds to the third or middle pillar; hence, this is the pillar of love. "R. Simeon Si meon disc d iscours oursed ed on the verse: verse: 'As a hind hin d panteth after af ter the water wate r course cou rses s so my soul pante pan teth th for thee, 0 Lord' (Ps. XLII, XLII, 2). 'Happy are Israel,' Israel,' he said, said, 'for 'for that God gave them the Holy Law and caused them to inherit holy souls from a holy place, place, that they might keep His His commandment comman dments s and delight deligh t themselve them selves s in His La Law. w. For the Torah is is called call ed a delight, delight, and this is what is meant mea nt by the saying sayi ng that God comes comes to delight Himself with the righteous in the Garden of Eden, Eden, to wit, wit, to regale Himse H imself lf from the selfsame stream as the righteous. righteous. And whoever whoe ver studies studies the Torah Tor ah is privi p rivileged leged to delight himself himse lf along with the righteous righte ous from the waters wat ers of this this stream. stream. So we are told here that the 'h 'hin ind' d', , to wit, the Communi Comm unity ty of Israel, Israel, pants for the water brooks to receive a draught drau ght from the sources of the stream at the hands of the Righteous Right eous One. One. What are are these sources? One is above, above, of which whi ch it is is written, 'And 'And a river went forth from fro m Eden Ede n to water wat er the Garden', etc., etc., and from there it flows forth and waters wat ers the Garden Gar den and all the streams issue from it and meet again in two sources called Nezah Neza h and Hod, Hod, and these pour forth water into that grade of Zaddik which goes forth from thence and water waters' s' the Garden. Garden. Observe that the soul and the spirit are inseparable. We have learnt that the the perfect service offered by man to God consists in loving Him with his soul and his spirit. spirit. As these cleave clea ve to to the body and the body loves them, them, so a man should s hould cleave cleav e to God with wit h the love of his souland his spirit. Hence it says, says, 'With 'With my soul I have desi d esired red thee and with wit h my spirit I seek thee early'. early'. It has been taught: Happy Hap py is the man who loves the Almighty Almig hty with wi th such a love; love; such are the truly virtuous for whose sake sake the world is established and who can annul all evil decrees both above abov e and below." belo w." (Zo h ar , V, 61-62) 61-62) The Zohar speaks of wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, referring to the upper upp er sephiroth. In this case, case, Kether, the Crown is uppermo uppe rmost st but is not connec co nnected ted to the Tree, Tree, and the diagram diag ram of the tree would wou ld be: be: (See diagram of the tree on page five). The Tree symbolizes symboliz es God, God, man, and the universe. En-Sof En-S of is is said to be the infinite infinit e and is unknown unkn own except to to Go God. d. The sephiroth sephi roth make En-Sof known or ma ni fe st . Creation is from the point by which originally motion becomes l in e, pl an e.
THE
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DISCOURSE
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FIVE
NUMB NUMBER ER S I X Kether
Hokhmah
Binah
Daath
SUMMARY:
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The W o rld w as c r e a t e d and Knowledge.
2.
The s e p h i r o t h Zaddik.
3.
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4.
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The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council Council o f the A.M.O. A.M.O.R. R.C. C. All All m atters herein containe d a re stric tly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The own ership of, of, the legal title, a nd the ri gh t of possession to to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M. A.M.O. O.R. R.C. C. and it should be return ed upon its request. The conten ts herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate all righ ts o f the member, member, and is a violation of the statutes of this Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
Number 7
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SPECIAL DISCOURSE NUMBER SEVEN
"R . J o s e t h e r e u p o n b e g a n t o s p e a k o n t h e w o r d s : The s o ng o f s o n g s , w h i c h i s S o l o m o n ' s ( S . S . I , 1 ) . S a i d h e : ' T h i s s o n g K in g Solom on p o u r e d f o r t h w he h e n t h e T e m p le le w a s e r e c t e d a n d a l l t h e w o r l d s , a b o v e a n d b e l o w , h a d r e a c h e d t h e i r p e r f e c t c o n su m m a ti o n . And a l t h o u g h c o n c e r n i n g t h e e x a c t t i m e o f i t s s i n g i n g t h e r e i s s o m e d i f f e r e n c e o f o p i n i o n am am o n g t h e m em ber s o f t h e F e l l o w s h i p , we may b e c e r t a i n t h a t i t w as n o t s u n g u n t i l t h a t t i m e o f a b s o l u t e c o m p l e t i o n , w he h e n t h e Mo Mo o n — t h e S h e k i n a h - cam e t o h e r f u l n e s s a n d w as r e v e a l e d i n t h e f u l l p e r f e c t i o n o f h e r r a d i a n c e , an d when th e T em ple ha d b e en e r e c t e d i n t h e l i k e n e s s o f t h e T e m p l e t h a t i s a b o v e . The H o ly O ne, b l e s s e d b e H e, t h e n e x p e r i e n c e d s u c h j o y a s He He h a d n o t k n o w n s i n c e t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e w o r l d . When M os e s s e t up t h e T a b e r n a c l e i n t h e w i l d e r n e s s , a n o t h e r s u c h w as r a i s e d i n t h e h e a v e n l y s p h e r e s , a s w e l e a r n f r o m t h e w o r d s : ' An d i t c a m e t o p a s s . . . . t h a t t h e T a b e r n a c l e w as r e a r e d u p ' , t h e r e f e r e n c e b e i n g t o t h e o t h e r T a b e r n a c l e , t o t h a t w h i c h w as a b o v e , n a m e ly t h e T a b e r n a c l e o f t h e ' Y o ung M a n ' , M e t a t r o n , a nd n o t h i n g g r e a t e r . B u t w he he n t h e f i r s t T e m p l e w a s c o m p l e t e d a n o t h e r T e m p l e w a s e r e c t e d a t t h e s a m e t i m e , w h i c h w a s a c e n t e r f o r a l l t h e w o r l d s , s h e d d i n g r a d i a n c e u p o n a l l t h i n g s , a n d givin g lig h t to all the sphe res. T h e n t h e w o r l d w aass f i r m l y e s t a b l i s h e d , an d a l l t h e s u p e r n a l c as e m e n ts w e re op en ed t o p o u r f o r t h l i g h t , an d a l l t h e w o r l d s e x p e r i e n c e d s u ch j o y a s h ad n e v e r b e e n known to t h e m b e f o r e , and c e l e s t i a l an d t e r r e s t r i a l b e i n g s a l i k e b r o k e f o r t h i n s o n g . And t h e s o n g w h i ch t h e y s a n g i s t h e ' S on g o f S o n g s ' , . . . ' " ( Z o h a r , IV , 3- 4) T h e T e m p l e i s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e Z o h a r i n a n u m b e r o f p l a c e s , a n d t h e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e o f t h e T e m p l e b u i l t B e lo l o w b y hu h u m a n h a n d s t o t h e o ne ne A b o v e i s i m p o r t a n t . T h i s p a s s a g e a l s o s a y s t h a t t h e moon i s t h e S h e k i n a h. M e ta tr o n i s th e h i g h e s t a n g e l . The j o y , o f c o u r s e , i s e x p r e s s e d b y b o th t h e l i g h t an d t h e s o n g . " R . S i m e o n c o n t i n u e d : ' W e h a v e a t r a d i t i o n t h a t w h e n t h e H o l y O ne ne , b l e s s e d b e H e, e , c r e a t e d t h e w o r l d , He e n g r a v e d i n t h e m i d s t o f t h e m y s t e r i o u s , i n e f f a b l e a n d m o s t g l o r i o u s l i g h t s , t h e l e t t e r s Y od , H e, V a u , H e, w h ic h a r e i n t h e m s e l v e s t h e s y n t h e s i s o f a l l w o r l d s b o t h a b o ve a n d below. The u p p e r w a s b r o u g h t t o c o m p l e t io n b y t h e i n f l u e n c e s y m b o l i z e d b y t h e l e t t e r Y o d , r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e p r i m o r d i a l s u p e r n a l p o i n t w h ic ic h i s s u e d fro m t h e a b s o l u t e l y h id d e n a nd u n k n o w a b l e, t h e m y s t e r i o u s L i m i t l e s s (E n - S o f ) . O ut o f t h i s u n k n o w a b le i s s u e d a s l e n d e r t h r e a d o f l i g h t w h i c h w a s i t s e l f c o n c e a l e d a n d i n v i s i b l e , b u t w h i c h y e t c o n t a i n e d a l l o t h e r l i g h t s , a n d w h i ch r e c e i v e d v i b r a t i o n s fro m T h at w h i c h d o es n o t v i b r a t e a n d r e f l e c t e d l i g h t f r o m T h a t w h i c h d i f f u s e d i t n o t . T h is s l e n d e r l i g h t i n t u r n g av e b i r t h t o a n o t h e r l i g h t w h e re in t o d i s p o r t an d t o c o n c e a l i t s e l f ; an d i n t h i s l i g h t w er e w o ven a n d f a s h io n e d s i x i m p r e s s i o n s w h ic h a r e n o t known s a v e t o t h a t s l e n d e r l i g h t when i t g o e s i n to h i d e i t s e l f and s h i n e th ro u gh th e o t h e r l i g h t . The l i g h t w h ic h i s s u e s f r o m t h e s l e n d e r l i g h t i s m i g h t y a n d t e r r i b l e , an d i t e x p a n d s a n d b ec om e s a w o r l d w h i ch i l l u m i n e s a l l s u c c e e d i n g w o r l d s — a h i d d e n a nd unkno w n w o r l d i n w h i ch d w e l l s i x m y r i a d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f s u p e r n a l p o w e rs a nd h o s t s . When t h e w o r l d s w e r e a l l c o m p l e t e d t h e y w e r e j o i n e d i n t o a s i n g l e o r g a n i s m , a nd a r e s y m b o l i z e d b y t h e l e t t e r V au ( =6) w h en i t i s u n i t e d w i th th e v e i l e d w o r ld . And t h i s i s t h e e s o t e r i c m e a n i n g o f t h e w o r d s , ' F o r J a c o b h a s c h o s e n J a h u n t o h i m s e l f . ' " (Z o h ar, I I I , 358-359)
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" S a i d R . S i m e o n : ' Ho Ho w p l e a s a n t i s t h e s h a d e o f t h e s e t r e e s ! S u r e l y th e b e a u t y a n d p e a c e o f t h i s p l a c e i s w o r t h y o f b e i n g c ro w n e d w i t h some e x p o s i t io n o f t h e T o r a h ? ' He t h e n b e g a n t o d i s c o u r s e , s a y i n g : ' I t i s w r i t t e n : ' K i n g S o l o m o n m a d e h i m a p a l a n q u i n ( a p i r y o n ) o f t h e t r e e s o f L eb an o n . He m a d e t h e p i l l a r s t h e r e o f o f s i l v e r , t h e b o tt tt o m t h e r e o f o f g o l d , t h e c o v e r i n g o f i t o f p u r p l e , t h e m i d s t t h e r e o f b e in g p av ed w i th l o v e b y t h e d a u g h t e rs o f J e r u s a l e m ' ( S . S . I l l , 9 , 1 0 ) . T h i s v e r s e we i n t e r p r e t as f o l l o w s . A p i r y o n s y m b o l i z e s th e P a l a c e b e lo w w h ic h i s f o rm e d i n t h e l i k e n e s s o f th e P a l a c e a b o v e . T h i s t h e H o ly l y O ne ne , b l e s s e d b e H e, e , c a l l s ' T h e G a r d e n o f E d e n ' , f o r He c r e a t e d i t i n o r d e r t o s a t i s f y H i s ow o w n a r d e n t d e s i r e f o r j o y o u s a n d c o n t i n u a l c o m mu mu n i o n w i t h t h e s o u l s o f t h e r i g h t e o u s who h a v e t h e i r a b od e t h e r e — t h e s e b e i n g t h o s e s o u l s w h i c h h a v e n o b o d i e s i n t h i s w o r l d . T h ese a l l a s c e n d and a r e crow n ed i n t h a t p l a c e o f p e r f e c t d e l i g h t , and h av e e ac h t h e i r a p p o i n te d p l a c e s f r o m w h e n ce t h e y c a n p e r c e i v e t h e ' l o v e l i n e s s o f t h e L o r d ' , a n d p a r t a k e o f a l l t h e d e l i c i o u s s t r e a m s o f p u r e b a l s am ( a p a r s a m o n ) . T h i s a p a rs am o n s y m b o l iz e s t h e h i d d en S u p e r n a l P a l a c e , w h e r e as a p i ry o n i s t h e P a l a c e b e lo w , w h ic h h a s no ' s t a y ' u n t i l i t o b t a in s i t fro m t h e up p e r P a l a c e . Now t h e s t r e a m s o f t h e a p a r s a m o n i s s u e f o r t h f r o m t h e c e l e s t i a l s p h e r e a n d t h e s o u l s w h i c h h a v e no no e a r t h l y b o d i e s a s c e n d t o i m b i b e f r o m t h e l i g h t w h i ch e m e rg e s fro m th em , a nd t o r e v e l t h e r e i n . As f o r t h e s o u l s wh w h o a r e c l o t h e d i n b o d i l y r a i m e n t a n d g a r m e n t e d w i t h f l e s h , t h e y a s c e n d l i k e w i s e a n d i m b i b e n o u r i s h m e n t , b u t f ro m t h e l i g h t o f t h e s p h e r e a p i r y o n , f o r t h a t i s t h e r e g i o n w h ic h a p p e r t a i n s t o t h e m : w h ic h h a v i n g done, th ey descen d ag ai n . T h ey ey b o t h g i v e a n d t a k e . T h e y e m i t swTe e t s a v o u r s f ro r o m t h e g oo oo d w o r k s w h i c h t h e y h a v e w r o u g h t i n t h i s w o r l d , a n d t h e y i m b ib e t h e aro m a w h i ch w as l e f t i n t h e G a rd en , a nd o f w h i ch i t i s w r i t t e n : ' a s t h e s a v o u r o f t h e f i e l d w7h i c h t h e L o r d h a s b l e s s e d ' ( G e n . X XV XV I I , 2 7 ) , t h e ' f i e l d ' b e i n g t h e G a r d e n o f E d e n . And i n t h i s G ar d en a l l t h e s o u l s a p p e a r , b o t h t h o s e wh wh o d w e l l i n e a r t h l y b o d i e s a n d t h o s e w h o s e s o l e b e i n g a n d j o y i s i n t h e w o r l d a b o v e . The v e r s e p r o c e e d s : ' K i n g S o l o m o n m aad d e h i m ' : t h a t i s , He m aad d e i t f o r H i s ow ow n g l o r y . Should y e a s k , B u t d o n o t t h e s o u l s o f t h e r i g h t e o u s s h a r e t h e j o y w i t h Hi Hi m ? I w o u ld s a y , M o s t a s s u r e d l y ! F o r H i s j o y w o ul d b e a s n a u g h t w i th o u t t h em , s i n c e t o h a v e p l e a s u r e i n t h e i r c o m p an i o n s h ip i s t h e v e r y e s s e n c e o f H is d e s i r e an d d e l i g h t . T h e t e r m ' K i n g S o l o m o n ' r e f e r s t o t h e K in in g ' t o wh wh o m p e a c e b e l o n g s ' — n a m e l y , t h e S u p e r n a l K i n g : a n d t h e t e r m ' k i n g ' b y i t s e l f r e f e r s t o t h e K in g M e s s ia h . 'T he t r e e s o f L e ba no n' d e n o te s t h o s e t r e e s w h i c h t h e H o l y One u p r o o t e d a n d p l a n t e d i n a n o t h e r p l a c e , a s i t i s w r i t t e n : ' t h e c e d a r s o f L e b an an o n w h i c h h e h a t h p l a n t e d ' ( P s . C IV IV , 1 6 ) . Of t h e s e t r e e s t h e a p i r y o n w a s b u i l t . And w h a t a r e t h e s e t r e e s , t h e ' t r e e s o f L e b a n o n '? T h e y a r e t h e s i x p r i m o r d i a l D ay ay s o f C reation . Now e a c h o f t h e s e D ay ay s p e r f o r m s i n t h i s a p i r y o n t h e p a r t w h i c h i s a s s i g n e d t o i t . " 'B y t h e f i r s t o r d e r i n g , t h e p r im e v a l l i g h t w h ic h w a s a f t e r w a r d s s t o r e d a wa y w as t a k e n fro m t h e R i g h t S i d e a nd b r o u g h t i n t o t h e a p i r y o n b y m ea ea n s o f a c e r t a i n ' F o u n d a t i o n ' , a n d p e r f o r m e d i t s f u n c t i o n t h e r e i n . A f t e r w a r d s t h e a p i r y o n p r o d u c e d a n i m a g e i n t h e l i k e n e s s o f t h a t o r i g i n a l l i g h t , a s i s i n d i c a t e d b y t h e w o rd s , 'L e t t h e r e be l i g h t , and t h e r e w a s l i g h t ' (G en . I , 3 ) , t h e r e p e t i t i o n o f t h e w o r d ' l i g h t ' d e n o t i n g t h a t t h e f i r s t l i g h t b r o ug h t f o r t h a n o th e r l i g h t . T h i s w as t h e f i r s t d a y o f t h e ' t r e e s o f L e b a n o n '.
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" 'B y t h e s e co n d o r d e r i n g , t h e r e was dra wn fro m t h e L e f t S i d e t h e d i v i s i o n o f w a t e r s t h ro u g h th e s t r o k e o f a m i g h ty f i r e , w h ic h e n t e r e d i n t o t h i s a p i r y o n an d p e rf o rm e d i t s f u n c t i o n t h e r e i n , d i v i d i n g b e tw e e n t h e w a t e r s o f t h e R i g h t S i d e , a n d t h o s e o f t h e L e f t ; a n d a f t e r w a r d s t h e a p i r y o n b r o u g h t f o r t h an i m a ge i n t h e l i k e n e s s t h e r e o f . T h i s w as t h e s e co n d da y o f th e ' t r e e s o f L e b an o n ' . " ' B y t h e t h i r d o r d e r i n g , t h e r e w a s d ra ra w n f r o m t h e s p h e r e o f t h e c e n t r e an d t h e R i g h t S i d e a c e r t a i n t h i r d d a y w h i ch made p e a c e i n t h e w o r l d an d fro m w h i ch w e re d e r i v e d th e s e e d s o f a l l t h i n g s . T h i s p e rf o rm e d i t s f u n c t i o n in th e a p i r y o n , an d b r o u gh t f o r t h v a r i o u s s p e c i e s , h e r b s a n d g r a s s e s an d t r e e s . I t s l i k e n e s s w as l e f t t h e r e , a n d t h e a p i r y o n b r o u g h t f o r t h s i m i l a r s p e c i e s , a n d t h i s w as t h e t h i r d d ay o f t h e 1t r e e s o f L e b a n o n 1 . " ’ By t h e f o u r t h o r d e r i n g , t h e l i g h t h e d a r k n e s s of t h e a p i r y o n , an d i d i d n o t p e rf or m i t s f u n c t i o n t i l l i n th e l i k e n e s s t h e r e o f , an d t h i s of Lebanon '.
t o f t h e S u n w as as k i n d l e d t o t en tered ther ein to give l i t he f i f t h d a y . The a p i r y o n was t h e f o u r t h d a y o f t h o s e
illum ine g h t , but p ro d uc ed 'tre e s
" 1B y t h e f i f t h o r d e r i n g , t h e r e w a s p r o d u c e d a c e r t a i n m o ve v e m en en t i n t h e w a t e r s , w h i c h l a b o u r e d t o b r i n g f o r t h t h e l i g h t o f t h e o r d e r i n g o f t h e f o u r t h d a y , an d i t p e rf o rm e d i t s f u n c t i o n i n t h e a p i r y o n an d b r o u g h t f o r th v a r i o u s s p e c i e s ; and a l l r em a in ed in s u sp e n se u n t i l t h e s i x t h d a y , when t h e a p i ry o n b r o u g h t f o r t h a l l t h a t w as s t o r e d i n i t , a s i t i s w r i t t e n , ' L e t t h e e a r t h b r i n g f o rt h l i v i n g c r e a t u r e a f t e r i t s k i n d , e tc .' (G en. I , 2 4 ) . T h i s w as t h e f i f t h d a y o f t h e ' t r e e s o f L e b a n o n ' . " ' T h e s i x t h o r d e r i n g w a s t h e d a y on w h i c h t h e a p i r y o n c am e i n t o c o m p l e t i o n , and a p a r t from t h a t s i x t h d ay o f C r e a t io n i t c an h av e n e i t h e r c o m p l eti o n n o r l i f e - e n e r g y . B ut when t h a t d a y w as a t le n g t h a r r i v e d t h e a p i r y o n w a s c o m p l e t e d , w i t h man y s p i r i t s , m an y s o u l s , m an y b e a u t i f u l v i r g i n s , p r i v i l e g e d t o ab i d e i n t h e P a l a c e o f t he K in g. In t he c o m p l et io n o f t h i s d a y t h e p r e v i o u s f i v e d a y s a r e c o m p l e te d a l s o , and t he u p pe r and l o w e r s p h e r e s a re p e r f e c t l y u n i te d i n f r i e n d s h i p , i n j o y , a nd i n on e a r d e n t d e s i r e f o r t h e c o m p a n i o n s h i p o f t h e i r K i n g . T hu hu s w as t h e a p i r y o n s a n c t i f i e d w i t h s u p e r n a l s a n c t i f i c a t i o n s a n d c r o w n ed w i t h i t s c r o w n s , u n t i l f i n a l l y i t w a s e x a l t e d w i t h t h e C rown o f R e s t an d w as d e s i g n a t e d w i t h a n o b l e n am am e , a n a m e o f h o l i n e s s , t o w i t , S a b b a t h , w h i c h p r e s a g e s r e s t a n d p e a c e , t h e p e r f e c t h a r m o n i z a t i o n o f a l l t h i n g s b o t h a b o v e a nd b e l o w . T h a t i s t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f th e w o r d s , 'T he K in g S ol o l o m o n m aad d e h i m an an a p i r y o n o u t o f t h e t r e e s o f L e b a n o n . ' He w h o i s w o r t h y o f t h i s A p i r y o n i s w o r t h y o f a l l t h i n g s , i s w o r t h y t o r e p o s e i n t h e p e a c e o f t h e H o l y O n e ' s s h a d o w , a s i t i s w r i t t e n ; ' I s a t do down u n d e r h i s s h ad ad o w w i t h g r e a t d e l i g h t ' (S.S. II , 3). And n o w , a s we o u r s e l v e s h e r e s i t u n d e r t h e s h a d ow o f t h i s p e a c e , i t b e h o v e s us t o o b s e r v e t h a t w e r e a l l y a b i d e i n t h e s h a d o w o f t h e H o l y O n e , w i t h t h a t A p i r y o n , a n d r e m a i n f o r e v e r t h e r e : a nd we m u st cr o wn t h i s p l a c e w i t h s u p e r n a l c ro w n s , s o t h a t t h e t r e e s o f t h a t A p i ry o n may b e i n d u c e d t o c o v e r u s w i t h a s h a d e y e t m o r e c o m f o r t i n g . ,Tf ,Tf (Z o h ar, I I I , 36 0-36 3 )
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One p a s s a g e d i s c u s s e s t h e q u o t a t i o n f r o m D e u t e r o n o m y , V I , 4 , " H e r e , 0 I s r a e l : The L o rd o u r God, t h e L o r d i s o n e . " " ' A n c i e n t I s r a e l ' s ym b o l i z e s t h e u n io n o f t h e S h e k i n a h w i t h h e r S p o u s e , a nd i n p r o n o u n c i n g t h a t n a m e w e h a v e t o c o n c e n t r a t e o u r m in i n d o n t h e p r i n c i p l e o f u n i t y , on on t h e u n i o n o f t h e tw tw o h a b i t a t i o n s ; we h a v e to p u t a l l o u r b e i n g , a l l t h e m em be r s o f o u r b o d y , o u r c o m p l e t e d e v o t i o n , i n t o t h a t t h o u g h t s o a s to r i s e an d a t t a c h o u r s e l v e s t o th e E n -s o f ( I n f i n i t e ) , an d t h u s a c h i e v e t h e o n e n e s s o f t h e u p p e r a nd t h e l o w e r w o r l d s . The w o r d s , ' t h e Lo rd o u r G od o d ' a r e t o r e u n i t e a l l t h e M e m be b e r s t o t h e p l a c e f ro ro m w h i c h t h e y i s s u e d , w h ic h i s t h e in n e r m o s t S a n c t u a r y . The sam e t h o u g h t i s c o n t i n u e d i n t h e w o r d s , " t h e L o r d i s o n e ' , i n t h e r e c i t a l o f w h i c h we h a v e t o m a k e o u r t h o u g h t s r a n g e t h r o u g h o u t a l l t h e g r a d e s up t o t h e I n f i n i t e (E n - s o f ) i n l o v e a n d f e a r . T h i s i s t h e m eth od o f a v o w in g t h e u n i t y o f G o d p r a c t i s e d b y R a b H a m n u n a t h e V e n e r a b l e , wh wh o l e a r n t i t f r o m h i s f a t h e r , who h a d i t f r o m h i s m a s t e r , an d s o o n , t i l l i t c am e f r o m t h e m outh o f E l i j a h . ' ” ( Z o h a r , IV , 2 35 ) T h i s e x p r e s s e s t h e u n i o n o f n o t o n l y M a l k u t h b u t a l l t h e s e p h i r o t h w i t h t h e I n f i n i t e , o r w h a t we m i g h t c a l l t h e u n i o n o f t h e w h o l e , w h i c h i m p l i e s t h e u n i o n o f man w i t h w h a t w e w o u l d c a l l t h e C o s m i c . A ll is O ne. The l a s t p a r t may a l s o i n d i c a t e t h e m e th od o f p a s s i n g on t h e K a b a l a f r o m on on e p e r s o n t o a n o t h e r o r a l l y . R . S im im e o n i s a g a i n s p e a k i n g . " ' Ho Ho w f o o l i s h ' , h e s a i d , ' a r e t h e s o n s o f men who n e i t h e r k n o w n o r c a r e a b o u t t h e w a y s o f t h e A l m i g h t y , t h e i r eyes being closed as in sl e e p . God m a d e m a n a f t e r t h e s u p e r n a l p a t t e r n , e a c h l i m b c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o s o m e t h i n g i n t h e s c h e m e o f W i s do do m . F o r w he he n t h e w h o l e b o d y o f ma m a n h a d b e e n d u l y s h a p e d w i t h a l l i t s m e m b e r s , Go d a s s o c i a t e d H i m s e l f w i t h him an d p u t a h o l y s o u l i n t o h im , s o as t o t e a c h m a n t o w a l k i n t h e w a y s o f t h e T o r a h a n d t o o b s e r v e H i s c o m m a n dm d m e n ts ts i n o r d e r t h a t he m ig ht a t t a i n t o h i s f u l l p e r f e c t i o n . H e n ce , w h i l e th e h o l y s o u l i s s t i l l w i t h i n m a n 's b o d y, i t i s i n c u m b en t on h im t o m u l t i p l y t h e im im a g e o f t h e K in g i n t h e w o r l d . T h e re i s h e r e i n an e s o t e r i c t h o u g h t i n v o l v e d , n a m e l y , t h a t j u s t a s t h e c e l e s t i a l s tr e a m f l o w s on f o r e v e r w i t h o u t c e a s i n g , s o m u s t m a n s e e t h a t h i s own r i v e r a n d s p r i n g s h a l l n o t c e a se i n t h i s w o r l d . An d s o l o n g a s a man i s u n s u c c e s s f u l i n h i s p u r p o s e i n t h i s w o r l d , t h e H o l y O n e , b l e s s e d b e H e , u p r o o t s h im im a n d r e p l a n t s h im im o v e r a n d o v e r a g a i n . ' " (Z o h a r , I I , 212) SUMMARY: 1.
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The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, an d th e rig ht of possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M. A.M.O. O.R. R.C. C. an d it should be returned upon its request. The contents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate all righ ts of the memb member, er, and is a violation of the statutes of this Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
n-a io7«
Number 8
Printed in U.S.A.
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"R. Eleaz El eazar ar asked of R. R. Simeon Si meon how far in the heights the burnt bu rnt-of -offer fer ing reaches. In reply R. R. Simeon said: said: 'Even as far as En En-S -Sof of (without end)— end) — the Infinit Infinite, e, where is the union union and consummation of al all l in in com plete mystery. En-Sof cannot be known, known, nor how ho w it makes beginning beg inning or end, end, just as as the zero zero number numb er produces prod uces beginn beg inning ing and en end. d. What is the beginning? This is the supernal Point, the beginning begin ning of al all, l, hidden in 'Thought' 'Thought'. . And An d it it makes the end which whi ch is called 't 'the he end of the matter' matter' (E (Ecc ccle les. s. XII, XII, 13 13). ). But beyond, there is 'no end*— neither inten inten tion nor light nor lamp; all the lights are dependent depend ent on it, it, but it cannot be reached. reached. This is a Supreme Will, mysteriou myste rious s above all all my mys s teries. teries. It is Zero (' ('En En). ). Wh When en the supreme supre me Point and the World-t Wor ld-toocome ascend, they catclTno catclT no more than a scent of it....'" (Zoh (Z ohar ar, , IV, IV, 314) "R. Hiya Hi ya discoursed dis coursed on the words: words: Who coverest thyself with light as with wit h a garmen gar ment, t, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain (yer aT aTah) ah) (Ps. (P s. CIV, 2). Said Sa id Eel 'These words have been interpreted as follows: When the Holy One was about to create the world He robed himself himsel f in the primordial primordi al light and created th the e heavens. At first the light was at the right and the darkness at the left. left. What, then, then, did the Holy One do? do ? He merged the one into the other and from them formed the heavens: heavens: sham sh amaim aim (heaven (heavens) s) is compos com posed ed of esh and m a y i m ' (fire (fire and water, water , i. i.e. e. right and and left ). He brought them together and harmonized harmo nized them them, , and When they were united as one, one, He stretched them out like like a curtain curtain, , and formed them into the letter v a u . From this letter the the light spread, spread, so that 'curtain' 'curtain' became beca me 'c 'cur urta tain ins' s', , as it is written wri tten: : 'And 'And th thou ou shalt shal t make the tabernacle with ten curtains. curtains.' ' Seven firmaments are stretched out and stored in the the supernal treasure-house, tre asure-house, as has been explained, explained, and over them is one firmament which has no colour and no place in the world of cognition, and is outside the range of contemplation; bu but, t, though thoug h hidden, hidden, it diffuses diffuse s light lig ht to all and speeds them th em each on its its fitting orbit. orbit. Beyond Beyon d that firmament knowled know ledge ge cannot penetrate, penetrate , and man must close his mouth and not seek to reflect upon it. He who does so reflect is turned tur ned backwards, for it passes our knowledge. The ten curtains of the Tabernacle symbolized the ten firmaments, firmaments, and their mystery can be comprehended compreh ended only onl y by the wise of heart. He who grasps this attains great wisdom and penetrates into the mysteries of the universe, for he contemplat cont emplates es in this that which whi ch is above in the region to which every one of them is attached, except those two that are at the right and at the left, left, and which whic h are hidden with wit h the Shekin Shek inah. ah. ' "Said R. R. Jose: Jose: 'There 'There are are nine firmaments, and the Shekinah completes the number, bringi bri nging ng them up to te ten. n. For if there are ten apart from the Shekinah, then She would wou ld be the eleventh, in addition to the ten ten. . Thus really there are nine, and the nine days which whi ch come between betw een New Year's Day and the Day of Atonement Atonem ent are the the symbol of them: them: nine days, which whic h ar are e completed by the tenth. tenth. The same is true of the ten curtains in the Tabernacle, Tabernacl e, corresp cor respondi onding ng to the ten firmaments. firmaments. Here is is a mystery of mysteries, which none but bu t the adepts in esoteric wisdom wi sdom can fathom— one of those those mysteries of the the Holy Holy Lamp (R. Simeo Simeon) n) who wh o could expound the mystery of every firmament and of every every being who officiates in each of them. them. There are seven seve n firmaments above, above, and correspond corr esponding ing to them another seven below. below. There are seven firmaments in which the
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stars and planets have been placed to direct the world in its path. And in both, those above and those below, the seventh se venth is the most ex ex alted, with the exception of the eighth, which stands above and directs them all. '"It is written: writ ten: 'Extol hi m that rideth ride th upon arab ar ab ot h* (P (Ps. LXVIII, 4). Who Wh o is it that rides upon ar arab abot oth, h, and what is meant by araboth? arab oth? It is is the seventh firmament, and it iscalled araboth (lit. mixtures) because it is composed compose d of fire and water, from the the region reg ion of the South and from the region of the North, being bei ng 'm 'mix ixed ed' ' from both these regions regions. . And as as Araboth Arabot h is intrinsi intr insicially cially the synthesis synthes is of all other oth er firmaments, firmaments, it forms intrin int rinsic sicall ally y the Supernal Super nal Chariot.'" Chari ot.'" (Zoha (Zohar, r, IV IV, , 67-69) 67-69) The footnotes say that the seventh firmament is Hesed and the eighth is Binah. The passage explains a complex series of correspondences including the firmaments above and below, the ten curtains of the Tabernacle which like the temple are also above and a nd below, and the South Sout h and North, fire and water. R. Simeon Simeo n is commenti comme nting ng on the text from fr om Psalms Psal ms L X X VI , 3: "In Salem Sal em also is his tabernacle." tabernacl e." "He "H e said: 'When 'When God decide dec ided d to create the world, He first produce pro duced d a flame of a scintilla scint illating ting la lamp mp. . He blew bl ew spark against spark, spark, causing darkness and fire, fire, and a nd produce prod uced d from the recesses of the the abyss a certain drop which He joined with the flame, flame, and from the two He created the world. The flame ascended ascende d an and d encircled encir cled itself with the Left, and the drop ascended ascend ed and encir en circled cled itself with wi th the Right. Right. They then crossed and changed places, going goi ng up and down alter nately until until they were wer e closely interlocked, inter locked, and there issued from be tween twee n them the m a full full wind. Then those two sides were wer e made one, one, and the wind was set betwee bet ween n them the m and they were we re entwined entwi ned with wi th one another, another, and so there was harmony above and harmony harm ony below; below; the grade was firmly established, the letter he was crowned crown ed with vau and vau with he, and so he ascended asce nded and was joined joine d in a perfec per fect t b o n d . 1" (Zo Zoha har, r, I, 290 290) ) This, of course, course, is still anothe ano ther r explan exp lanati ation on of creation, and it is interesting and helpful to compare these passages and their symbolism. "R. Sime S imeon on said: 'When praying, I raise my hand on high, that t hat wh when en my mind is concent co ncentrate rated d on the highest, there is higher highe r still that which can never neve r be known or grasped, grasped, the starting-poin starting -point t that is absolutely conceal concealed, ed, that produced what it produced produce d while remaining unknowabl unknowable, e, and irradiated what it irradiated while remaining r emaining undisclo undisclosed. sed. It is the .d .des esir ire e of the upwar u pward-s d-stri triving ving thought to pursue after this and to be illumined illumi ned by b y it. In the process proces s a certain certa in fragment is detached, an and d from that fragment, fragment, through thro ugh the pursuit of the upward-str upward -strivin iving g thou thought, ght, which whi ch reaches and yet does not reach it, there is a certain illumi ill uminat nation ion. . The upward-striving thought is thus illumined by a light undisclosed and unknowable unknowabl e even to that thought. That unknowable unknowab le light of Thought impinges on the light of the detached fragment which radiates from the unknowable and undisclosed, so that they are fused into one light light, , from which whic h are formed nine Palaces (Hekaloth (Hek aloth). ). These Palaces Palace s are neither ne ither
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lights nor spirits nor souls, neither is there anyone who can grasp them. them. The longing of the nine illuminations illumina tions which whi ch are all centered center ed in in the Thought— th the e latter being indeed indeed count counted ed as as one one of them— is to to pur sue these Palaces at the time when they are stationed in the thought, though they are not (even (even then) then) graspe gra sped d or known, nor are they attained by the highest effort of the mind mi nd or the thought. thought. All the mysteries of faith are contained in those Palaces and all those lights which proceed from the mystic supreme Thought are are called EN-SOF EN-SO F (Limitless). Up to this point the lights reach and yet do not reach: this is beyond the attainment of mind and thought. thought. When Whe n Thought illumines, illumines, though from what source is not known, it is clothed and enveloped envel oped in Binah (under (under standing) standing) , and then further furthe r lights appear appea r and one is embraced embra ced with the other until all all are are intertwined. intertwined. The symbolism of of the the sacrifices sacrifices consists, then, in this. this. When Whe n the whole whol e ascends, one part par t is is knit with wit h the other othe r and its its elements shine through throu gh one another, so that all as cend and the thought thou ght is is embrace embr aced d in in the limitless. The light from which whic h the upward-striving upward-str iving thought is illumined is called E nn-So So f, and and from it all radiation proceeds and on it is based the whole of exist ence. (Z oh a r , I, 212-213 212-213) ) Even though human thought cannot attain the unknowable light of Thought, it is illumined by that undisclosed Thoug Thought. ht. It is then enveloped with understanding understandi ng or Binah, Binah, this being the aim of the mystic. mystic. R. Isaac Isa ac and R. Judah Juda h were wer e studyin stu dying g the Torah, and R. R. Judah Juda h said: said: "It is written: writt en: 'Thus 'Thus saith God the Lord, he that creates create s the heavens, and stretcheth stre tcheth them th em forth, forth, he that spreads forth the earth, and that which whi ch comes out of it it, , he that giveth gi veth breath brea th unto the people peop le upon it, it, and spirit spi rit to th them em that walk wal k therein' (Is. XI, 5). 5). The first part par t of the verse refers re fers to the the Holy One,.bl One, .bless essed ed be He, He, in His operations operat ions on high, as He 'createth 'createth the heavens' and continually continu ally and at all times renews them. them. The 'e 'ear arth th' ' here is an an allusion to the holy land which whi ch consti cons ti tutes the 'bundle of life'; life'; and it is this earth ear th wh whic ich h 'gives 'gives soul (n e s h a m a h , li lit, t, breath) unto the pe peop ople le upon upo n i t . ' Sa Said id R. Isaac: 'The 'The whole verse speaks of the upper world, as it is from thence that the soul of life emerges eme rges into that land; and that land, land, in its its turn, turn, is the reservoir from which issue souls for al all. l. Observe that when the Holy One, One, bless bl essed ed be He, He, created c reated Adam, Adam, He gathered gathe red his his earthly matter mat ter from fr om the four comers of the world and fashioned him therefrom on the site of the Temple here below and drew to him a soul of life out of the Temple on high. high. Now the soul is compound comp ounded ed of three grades, and hence it has three names, to wit, nefesh n efesh (vital (vital principle), princip le), ruah (spiri (spirit), t), and neshamah nesh amah (s (sou oul l pr op oper er). ). Nefesh Nef esh is the lowest lowes t of the three, three, ruah is is a grade high higher, er, whilst neshamah i s t h e highest of all all and dominate dominates s the others. others. These three grades are are harmoniously harmoni ously combined comb ined in those men who have the good fortune to render service to their the ir Master. For at at first man possesses ne fe sh , which whic h is a holy preparative pr eparative for a higher st stage age. . After he has achieved purity puri ty in the grade of nefesh he becomes fi fit t to be crowned by the holy grade that rests upon it it, , namely ru ruah ah . When he has thus attained attai ned to the indwelling of nefesh and ru ah , and qualifies qualifies himself for the the worship wors hip of his his Master Mast er in the requisite manner, manner, th the e nesh ne sham amah ah, , the holy super s uperior ior grade that dominates all the others, others, takes
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up its abode with him h im and crowns him, so that he becomes complete and perfecte perf ected d on al all l sides; sides; he becomes worthy wort hy of the world wo rld to come and is beloved belo ved of the Holy One, One, blessed bles sed be He; He; of him h im Scripture Scriptur e says; says; 'To cause my be belov loved ed ones to inherit inhe rit substance' (P (Pro rov. v. VIII, 21), the 'be loved on ones es' ' being b eing those who have attained attain ed to the holy nesha nes hama mah. h.' ' R. Judah remarked: 'If that be so, how can we understan under stand d the the verse in the the account of the Flood: Flood: 'A 'All ll in whose who se nostrils no strils was the soul of the spirit (ni nish shma ma th th-r -rua ua h) of life.. lif e...di .died' ed' (Gen (G en. . XII, 22)?' R. Isaac Isa ac replied: 'This bears out what wha t I said. said. Among Amo ng the generation gener ation of the Flood no one one was left that possess pos sessed ed the holy h oly ne nesh sham amah ah, , as, as, for instance, Enoch or Jered or any of the other righteous who by their merits could have saved the the earth from destruction, and its inhabitants from being exter minated. Scripture Script ure thus tells us that 'a 'all ll those on dry land died', died', that is to say say, , they had died d ied already and departed this world, world, so that none was left to shield shie ld the wor ld at that time. time. Observe that ne nefe fesh sh, , ruah, ruah, and neshamah nesha mah are an an ascending series of of grades. grades. The lowest of them, them, n ef es h, has its source in the perennial peren nial celestial celestia l stream, stream, but it cannot exist permanentl perman ently y save with the help of ru a h, which whi ch abides be tween fire and water. Ruah Ru ah , in its turn, turn, is sustain sus tained ed by ne nesh sham am ah ah, , that higher grade above it, which is thus the source of both nefesh and ru ah . When ruah receives its sustenance sustena nce from ne nesh sham am ah ah, , then neiesh re ceives it in turn through thr ough ru ruah ah, , so that the three form a un it y. *" (Zoh (Z ohar ar, , II, 279-281 279- 281) )
SUMMARY: 1. 2.
En-Sof, beginning begi nning, ,
and end are discussed. discusse d.
The ten curtains of the Tabernacle Taber nacle symbolize sym bolize the ten firmaments firmaments, , both above and below. below.
3.
Creati Cre ation on is expla exp laine ined d by the flame of a la lamp mp. .
4.
Human thought cannot attain the unknowable unknowa ble light of Thought, Thought, but it is illumined by that Thought.
5.
The three thre e grades grade s of soul are explained, explai ned, nefesh, nefesh ,
ruah, ruah, and neshamah.
The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, and the r igh t of possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M. A.M.O. O.R. R.C. C. and it should be returne d upon its request. The con tents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the statutes of this Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
T » O 1 A f f O
Number 9
P r m f w l I n T7 .S .S . A .
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The following fo llowing passage from the Zohar uses the symbol of the brain. brain. "The Holy One, One, blessed bles sed be He, He, found it necessa nec essary ry to create al all l these things in the world wor ld to ensure its permanence, so that there should shoul d be, be, as it were, a brain with wit h many membranes membr anes encirc en circling ling it. it. The whole whol e world wor ld is constructed construct ed on this principle, upper and lower lower, , from the first mystic point up to the furthest furthest removed of all the stages stages. . They ar are e all coverings one to another another, , brain within brain and spirit within spirit, so that one is a shell to another. The primal pri mal point is the innermost innermos t light of of a tramslucency, tenuity, and purity purit y passing pass ing compre comp re hension. The extens ext ension ion of that point poin t become bec omes s a 'palace 'palace' ' (Hekal), (Hek al), which whi ch forms a vestment for that point with a radiance which is still unknow able on account of its tr tran ansl sluc ucen ency cy. . The 'palac 'palace* e* which whi ch is the vestment vestmen t for that unknowable point is also a radiance which cannot be compre hended, yet withal less subtle and translucent than the primal mystic point. point. This 'p 'pal alac ace' e' extends into the primal Light, which is a vest ves t ment fo for r it. it. From this point there is extension after extension, each one forming a vestment to the other, being in the relation of membrane and brain to one another. another. Although Altho ugh at first first a vestment, each stage becomes a brain to the next stage. stage. The same process takes place below, below, so that on this model man in this world combines brain and shell, spirit and body, all for the better bet ter or orde derin ring g of the world." worl d." (Zoha (Z ohar, r, I, I, 83-84) The following is a brief brie f explanatio explan ation n of what wha t is meant by the statement, "Let "L et us us make man in our im ag e, after our lik l iken enes ess, s, i. i.e. e. partak pa rtaking ing of six directions, compounded compoun ded of all, all, after the the supernal superna l pattern, with limbs arranged so as as to to suggest the esoteric esoter ic Wisdom, Wisdom, altogether altog ether an ex ex ceptional cepti onal creature. 'Let 'L et us make mak e man': the wo word rd adam ada m (ma (man) implies male and fe femal male, e, created wholly through the supernal and holy wisdom. wisdom. 'In our image, image, after our likeness': likenes s': the two being bei ng combined, combine d, so that man should shou ld be unique uniqu e in the wo worl rld d and ruler over ove r all." all." (Zo Zoha har, r, I, 147) 147) As to Adam, Adam, the Zohar says, says, "I "In n the heavenly Academy, however, however, the words ish middah midd ah (m (man an of dimensions) were explained expl ained as 'o 'one ne whose whos e dimensions dimens ions were the dimensions of the first first man Adam.'" (Zo Zoha har, r, I, 38) "R. Isaac Isaac discoursed on the the vers verse: e: And the the dust re r e t u m e t h to the earth earth as it w a s , and the spirit return ret urneth eth unto unt o God wh who o gave it (E (Ecc ccl. l. XII, 7) . He sa saicfT 'When the Holy Ho ly One, ble b less ssed ed be He, He, cr crea eate ted d Adam, He took the dust from the the site of the Temple and built buil t his body out of the four corners of the world, al all l of of which whi ch contribu cont ributed ted to his formation. After that He poured pour ed over him the spirit of life, as it says, says, 'and 'and he breathed breath ed into his nostri nos trils ls the breath bre ath of life' life' (G (Gen en. . II, 7). 7). Ad am then the n arose and realized that he was both of heaven and of earth, earth, and so he he united himself to the the Divine Divine and was endowed with mystic Wisdom. Wisdom. Each son of man is, after the same model, model, a composite of the heavenly and the earthly; earthly; and all those those who know how to sanctify themselves themsel ves in the the right manner in this world, when they beget beg et a son cause cause the holy spirit to be drawn upon him hi m from the the region whence al all l sanctities emerge. emerge. Such are called the children childr en of the Holy One; One; and as as their bodies were formed in sanctity, so are are they given a spirit from the supernal superna l holy region. region. Observe Observ e that the day on which whi ch a man is about to depart from
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this world is a day of reckoning when the body and the soul in combina tion have to give an account of their works. The soul soul afterwards leaves him him, , and the body returns to the earth, earth, both bot h thus returning return ing to their original s o u r c e ( Z o h a r , II, 20-21) R. Jose is speaking on the following: following: "MOREOVER "MOREO VER THOU SHALT MAKE THE TABERNA TABE RNACLE CLE WITH WIT H TEN PIECES PIEC ES OF TAPEST TAP ESTRY RY (Ex. XXVI, XXVI, 1). 1). 'Here', 'Here', said he he, , 'again 'again we have symbolism symbol ism of the Unity, Unity, for the the Tabernacle Taberna cle was made up of many parts, and yet it says (v. 6), 6), 'and the tabernacl taber nacle e shall be one'. one'. Now as the human body possesses posses ses many organs, organs, higher highe r and lo lower wer, , some internal and not visible, visible, others external and visible, and yet they all form f orm one one body, body, so also was it wi with th the Tabernacle: Tabernac le: all its its individual parts were formed in the pattern patter n of that that above, above, and when they were all properly proper ly fitted together togeth er 't 'the he Tabernacle Taber nacle was one'. one'. Of the commandm comm andments ents of the the Torah the same is true: true: they the y are each and all all members and limbs in the myste m ystery ry above, above, and when they al all l unite as one whole, they all ascend into the one mystery. The mystery of the Tabernacle, which thus consists of members and limbs all ascending into the mystery of the heavenly heav enly Man, Man, is after the the pattern patte rn of the command ments of the Torah, which whic h ar are e ai ail l also in the mystery m ystery of Man, both Male and Female, which, when whe n united, form one mystery myst ery of Man. And An d he who, by breaking br eaking even one commandment, sullies it its s perfection, has marred, as it were, the prototype protot ype of the Faith, for the commandme comm andments nts are members and limbs after the likeness of man. man. Therefor Ther efore e all ascends in the mystery of Unity. Unity. For the same reason is Israel called 'a unique nation'; natio n'; 'who 'who is like thy peopl peo ple e Israel, one na natio tion n on earth?' (2 Sa Sam. m. VII, VII, 23 23); ); 'Ye ar are e my fl floc ock, k, the flock of my pasture, ye are man' man' (Ezek, XXXIV, 21)' "R. Isaac happe hap pene ned d to be in the compa co mpany ny of R. R. Eleazar, Eleaz ar, and said sai d to him: him: 'Verily, the love o f man to the Holy One arises primari pr imarily ly out of th the e emotions emotio ns of the he ar t, for the heart is the source of the awakenin awa kening g of love. love. This being bein g sc sc, , wh why y does it say also 'with 'with all thy soul', as though there were two sources from whence love could emanate, the heart and the soul? If the heart hea rt is is the source, why mentio men tion n the soul?' R. Eleazar Elea zar replied: 'T 'The here re are indeed two sources, sources, yet they are united as as one, one, for heart, soul, and posses pos sessio sions ns are united unit ed as as one, one, though thou gh the heart remains intrinsicall intrin sically y the centre centre and basis of of a all ll. . 'Wit 'W ith h a all ll thy heart' heart' means with the good and the evil evil inclinations, each of which whic h is called 'heart' 'heart'. . 'With 'With all thy soul'— soul '— the 'a 'all' includes all aspects of the soul, soul, viz, viz, neph ne ph es h, ruah, and ne sh am ah . As to 'with all thy posse pos ses s sions' sions', , these also have various aspects, each ea ch one different from the other. True love to the Holy One, One, bless ble ssed ed be He, consists cons ists in just this, this, that we give over to Him all all our emotional, emotional, intellectual, and material faculties and possession posse ssions, s, and love Him. Should Sho uld it it be asked, asked, How can a man love love Him with wit h the evil inclination? inclinat ion? Is not the evil inclination inclinati on the seducer, seducer, preventin prev enting g man man from approaching approachi ng the Holy One to serve serve him? him? How, then, can man use the evil evil inclin in clinati ation on as an an instrum inst rument ent of love to God? The answer lies in this, that there can be no greater grea ter service done to the Holy One than to bring into subjection subject ion the 'evil 'evil inclination' inclination' by the power of love to the Holy One, One, blessed bles sed be He He. . For, Fo r, when it is subdued and its power powe r broken by man in this this way, way, then he becomes a true
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lover of the Holy One One, , since he has has learnt how to make the 'e 'evi vil l incli incli nation' itself serve the Holy One. One. Here is is a myster mys tery y entrus ent rusted ted to the masters of exoteric exoteri c lo love ve. . All that the Holy One has made, both above above and below, is for the purpose purpos e of manife man ifesti sting ng His Glory and to make all things serve hi m . ... It is the will wil l of the Holy One that men should worship wors hip Him and walk in the way of truth that they may be rewarded with many benefits.'" (Zo Zoha har, r, IV IV, 60 60-6 -62) 2) Good and and evil are discussed discus sed in another passage. "'Man was formed with two inclinations, the good and the evil evil, , one correspo corr espondin nding g t to o Water Wat er and the other oth er to Fire. Fire. The wo word rd 'm 'man an' ' (a (ad dam am) ) indicates indica tes a combinatio combin ation n of male and female female. . The dust from which whi ch he was formed was that of the Holy Land, Land, of the Sanctuary. 'He 'H e breath bre athed ed in his nostrils nost rils the breath brea th of life': life': this is is the holy hol y soul which whi ch derives from f rom the life above above. . 'And 'A nd the man became a living s ou l' l': : he was provided prov ided with a holy soul from the supernal 'living being' which whic h the earth eart h brough bro ught t fort forth. h. Now, Now, as long as that holy soul is attached attach ed to a man, he is beloved belo ved of his Master, he is guarded on all sides, he is marked mar ked out for good above and below, and the holy divine presence presenc e rests upon hi him. m. But if he perverts his way the divine presence leaves him, the super-soul does not cling to him, and from the side of the evil serpent a spirit arises which can abide only in a place whence when ce the heaven hea venly ly holiness holi ness has departed, and so so a man becomes defiled and his fl fles esh, h, his facial appearance appearanc e and his whole being, being, is distorted. Observe that because be cause this 'living 'living so soul ul' ' is holy, holy, therefore theref ore when the holy land absorbs it, it, it is called 'super-sou 'super-soul' l' (ne nesh sham amah ah) ) ? it is is this which whi ch ascends and speaks before befor e holy King and enters without witho ut le let t or hindran hind rance ce in all all gates, gates, and therefore there fore it is is called 'speaki 'spe aking ng spirit spi rit'." '." (Z o h a r , V, 12) "'We have learnt: "'We learnt: Man in in the Scripture has has four names— nam es— ad adam am, , geb er er, , en os h, ish— and the highes hig hest t of them the m is ad am .' Said R. Judah: 'B 'But ut is it not written, writ ten, 'When 'When a man (ad am am) ) shall brin br ing g from yo you u an offering' offering ' (Lev (L ev. . I, 2), 2), and wh who o i is s i it t that require req uires s to br brin ing g a an n offeri off ering? ng? Is it not a sinner?' R. Isaac replied: 'T 'The he offeri off ering ng is the ma mains instay tay of the world, of the upper and lower beings, beings, the solace of the Almighty, and who is fitting to offer it it? ? Surely this man who is called calle d Ad A d am .' Said R. Judah: 'I 'If f so so, , wh what at of the verse, 'When a ma man n (a d a m ) has on the skin sk in of his flesh...and it become in the skin of his flesh the plague of leprosy'? He replied: replied: 'This 'This one God desires to to heal more than all all others, and therefore ther efore it is is wr writ itte ten n concern con cerning ing him, him, 'he shall be brought bro ught unto the priest'; it is is the duty of anyone wh who o sees hi him m to bring brin g him to the priest, in order that the holy hol y image may not remain thus.' thus.' Said R. R. Judah: Jud ah: 'But it is wr writt itten en, , 'Now Mo Mose ses s the man ma n (i s h ) '; wh why y is he not called 'a da m '? He replied: replied: 'Because he was the 'servant of the king', and therefo ther efore re he is called ish in relation relati on to the supernal superna l Adam. But,' But,' he said, 'why 'why then the n is it writte wri tten, n, 'T 'The he Lord Lor d is is a man (i s h ) of war'?' war' ?' He replied: replied: 'T 'The he secret of the Lord is to them the m that fear h i m . ' Said R. R. Judah: 'I too am one of them, them, yet I have not been privil pri vilege eged d to hear this.' Said the other: 'G 'Go o to R. Abba, for I learnt lear nt it from hi him m only on conditi cond ition on that I should sho uld not t e l l . ' So he we went nt to R. Abba, and found him hi m discour dis coursing sing and a nd saying: 'When 'When i is s there said to be completeness completen ess above? Wh When en the Holy One, blesse ble ssed d be He, sits on his throne. For so it is written: 'And 'And upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as
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the appea ap pearan rance ce of a man (a da m) upon it above' above' (Ezek. (Ezek. I, I, 26); 26); the term 'ad am 1 indicates indicat es wholen who leness ess and complet com pletenes eness.'" s.'" (Zo ha r, V, 14-15) 14-15) "AND "AND THE THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN THE WILDERNES WILDE RNESS S OF SINAI, IN THE TENT OF MEETING, MEETING , ETC. R. Abba cited here the verse: verse: 'And 'And God created create d man in his own image, in the image imag e of God created crea ted he him', etc. (Gen (G en. . I, 27) 27). . 'We have already a lready explained', explai ned', he said, said, 'that 'that wh when en the Holy One, blessed blesse d be H e , created create d man, man, He made ma de him in the image of the higher hig her and lower grad gr ades es, , so that he epitomised epitomi sed the whole, and his light shone forth from one end of the world wor ld to the other, other, and the the whole of creation cr eation feared him. him. It is necessary, neces sary, however, to look deeper deep er into this verse. For since Scripture Scrip ture says 'And 'And God created creat ed man in his own im i m ag e ', why repeat 'in the image of God created he him '? But what it signifies is a two foldness of grades grades, , of male and female comprised compr ised within the man, man, which made him a duality of pr pros osop opa, a, so that he was complete in al all l respect respects, s, and he contemplated in wisdom both what was above and what was below. But once he sinned his prosopa (i (ima mage ge) ) diminished, wisd w isd om departed from from him, and he could survey only the affairs of his bo d y . He then begat offspring offspri ng partaking partaki ng both of the higher and of the lower nature, nature, but the world was not settled by either of them until until Ad Adam am begat be gat a son called Seth Se th, , by wh whom om the the world worl d was made co mp le lete te. . Yet was not the the lower world worl d finally completed, completed, nor was it firmly established establi shed until Abraham Abrah am appeared, appeared, until Abraham took hold of it by the right hand as one upholds with his right hand han d one wh who o is is falling. falling. Then came Isaac Isaac, , who seized seiz ed the world worl d by the left hand, hand, establish esta blishing ing it still more fi firm rmly ly. . When Jacob ca came me, , he held the world worl d by the the centre of the bo d y , uniting uniti ng the the two side si de s, whereby wher eby the world wor ld became firm and immovable. With all that it did not take deep root until there were born the twelve tribes and their off spring, spring, numbering numbe ring seventy soul souls. s. Nor yet was the world wor ld finally com pleted until until Israel received the Torah Tor ah on Mount Sinai and the Tabernacle was set up. All worlds wo rlds were then finally estab e stablishe lished d and perfected, perfected, and higher highe r and and lower creatures were properly proper ly based. The Torah and th the e Tabernacle Taberna cle thus havin g been established, the Holy One, One, blessed b lessed be He, He, desired desi red to take a muster, as it it were, of the the forces of the Torah Tor ah and the forces forces of the Tabernacle. For a thing thin g cannot be finally settled in its place until its name has been called and it has been assigned there. We thus see here that the Holy O n e , blessed ble ssed be H e , decided deci ded on an enumer enumer ation of the forces of the Torah and of those of the Tabernacle, these two being in essence one and inseparable insepara ble on the celestial model. model. Their forces forces were thus enumerat enum erated ed and noted, noted, exceptin exce pting g some who did not not enter into the count. count. Therefore There fore it is writte wri tten n that 't 'the he Lord spoke unto unto Moses in the wildern wi lderness ess of Si na i, in the tent of m ee ti ng *, the two cor responding respon ding one to the Torah and the other to tEe Ta be bern rnac acle le. . Both were 'in 'i n the first day of the the second seco nd month', month' , t the he two being bei ng one. one. That month, besides, is called c alled Ziv (= brightness, splendour), in allusion all usion to the brightness bright ness of the moon of that month m onth in that year, by reason that the world wor ld altogether altoget her found themselv th emselves es in completion.'" completion. '" (Zo Zoha ha r, V, 16 1633-16 164) 4)
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SUMMARY:
1.
All created things from the first mystic mys tic point to the furthest removed are are like coverings one to another. another. They are are compared to the brain and its its membrane, the membrane memb rane becomin bec oming g like another brain to the next stage.
2.
Man, ad a m, is made mad e after the supernal supe rnal pattern. patter n.
3.
Adam, and each eac h man, is a composit comp osite e of the heaven hea venly ly and earthly.
4.
The taberna tab ernacle cle and man are both made of many parts, parts, yet each is is one, and ea each ch is part par t of the Unity. Unity.
5.
True love of the Holy One consists cons ists in giving givi ng Hi Him m all in in l love ove. .
6.
Good and evil are discussed. discuss ed.
7.
Man is made in the image of the higher hig her and lower grades or sefiroth. sefiroth. The world worl d was finally completed when the Torah was received recei ved on Mt Mt. . Sinai and the Tabernacle Tabern acle was set up up.
The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, the legal title, a nd the righ t of possession possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O. A.M.O.R.C R.C.. an d it should be retur ned upon its request. The conten ts herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the sta tutes of this Order. Order. Such violation will be legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
Specia Special l Discourse Disco urse
R-3 1078
N u m b e r
Printed in U.S.A.
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The colors in the following passage represent the attributes of God. Again, Again, it symbolizes the process of creation. creation. "At the outset the decision of the King made a tracing in the supernal effulgence, a lamp of scintillation, scintillation, and there issued within the impen etrable recess of the mysterious limitless a shapeless nucleus enclosed in a rin ring, g, neither neithe r white nor black nor red nor green nor any colour at all. al l. When he took measurements, he fashioned colours to show within, within, and within the lamp there issued a certain effluence from which colours were imprinted below. below. The most mysterio m ysterious us Power enshrouded enshro uded in the limitless limitles s clave, as it it were, withou wit hout t cleaving cleav ing its void, void, remaining remai ning wholly who lly unknowable until from the force of the strokes there shone forth a supernal and mysterious mysteri ous point. point. Beyond Beyon d that that point there is is no knowable, knowable, and therefor ther efore e it is called Reshith Reshit h (beginn (be ginning) ing), , the creative utterance which whic h is the starting-point of all." all." (Zohar Zoh ar, , I, 63) The shapeless nucleus is enclosed enclose d in in a ri ring ng. . The Power remained unknow able until there shone forth a supernal supe rnal and mysteriou myst erious s point. This above is is unknowable by whatever wha tever is below. below. The point is a kind of di vider between the unknowable and knowable knowable, , and it is is called beginning, beginning, the creative utterance. "It is written: And the intelligen intel ligent t shall shine like the brightness brigh tness of the fi firm rmam ament ent, , and they that turn many to righteousn righte ousness ess like the the stars for ever eve r and ever (Da Dan. n. XII XII, , 3). There Ther e was indeed inde ed a 'brightness' (Zo Zoha har) r) . The Most Mysterious Myster ious struck st ruck its void, void, and caused this this point to shine. shine. This 'beginning' 'beginning' then extended, and made for itself itsel f a palace for its honour honou r and glory. glory. There Ther e it sowed a sacred seed which whic h was to generate gener ate for the benefit bene fit of the universe, and to which whi ch may be applied the Scriptu Scri ptural ral words word s 't 'the he ho holy ly seed is the stock thereof' (Is. V VI, I, 13 13), ), Again there was Zo Zoha har, r, in in that it sowed a seed fo for r its glory, just as the silkwo si lkworm rm enclosed itself, itself, as it were, in a palace pala ce of its own pr pro o duction ducti on which whi ch is both useful and beautiful. Thus by means of this this 'beginning' 'beginning' the Mysterio Myst erious us Unknown made this palace. This palace is is called Eloh El oh im , and this doctrine doc trine is contained contain ed in the words, 'B 'By y means of a beginni beg inning ng (it) created crea ted El oh im .' The Zohar Zoha r (meaning brightness, brightnes s, not the book) book) is that from which whi ch were created crea ted all the creative creati ve utter utte r ances through the extension of the point of this mysterious brightness. Nor need we be surprised at the us use e of the word wo rd 'c 'crea reated ted' ' in this con nection, seeing that we read further furthe r on on, , 'And 'And God created creat ed man in his image' image' (Gen. I, I, 27) 27). . A further esoteri esot eric c interpre inte rpretati tation on of the word wor d bereshith beresh ith is as follow follows. s. The name of the starting-point starting -point of all is Ehyeh Ehy eh 'I shall be). be). The holy name wh when en inscribe ins cribed d at its side is El oh im , but when whe n inscribed by circumscription circumscr iption is A sh er , the hidden hidd en and recon re con dite temple, temple, the source of that which whic h is mystically myst ically called Reshith." (Zoh ar , I, 63-64) From the brightness were created the creative utterances through the extensio exte nsion n of the point. However, it is the point poin t which whi ch divides the the un knowable know able from the knowable, and it is called "I "I shall be." The passages passa ges above and those which follow are are continuous; nothing nothin g has has been omitted from them. them. What follows is is a typical typica l kabali kab alisti stic c play pla y on words.
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"The wo word rd Asher Ashe r (i (i.e .e. . the letters lett ers Al e ph , S h i n , Resh from fro m the word wor d beresh ber eshith ith) ) is anagra anagraro roma mati tica call lly y Rosh (head), the beginning beginni ng which issues issues from Reshi Res hith. th. So when the point and the temple were firmly established establis hed together, together, then bereshith combined the supernal Beginning Begin ning with Wisdom Wisdom. . Afterwards the character of that temple was change changed, d, and it was was called called 'house 'house' ' (ba bavi vi th th) ) . The combina com binatio tion n of this with wit h the supernal supe rnal point which is called rosh gives gives bere b ereshi shith, th, which is the name used so long as as the house was unTnabited. When, however, it was sown with wit h seed to make it habitable, it was called El Eloh ohim im, , hidden hidd en and mysterious. The Zohar was hidden and withdrawn withd rawn so long long as the building was within wit hin and yet to bring fo fort rth, h, and the house was extended only so fa far r as to find find room fo for r the holy seed seed. . Before it had conceived and had extended sufficiently to be habitable, it was not called Elo hi m, but all was still included inclu ded in the term Be Bere resh shit ith. h. After Afte r it had acquired the name of El Eloh ohim im, , it brought forth forth offspring offsprin g from the seed that had been implanted in it it. "What is this seed? It consists consist s of the graven grave n letters, letters, the secret source of the Torah, which issued issu ed from the first point. point. That point sowed in the palace palac e certain cert ain three vowel-points, holem, sh shur ureg eg, , and hi re q, which combined with wit h one another and formed one entity, to wit, the Voice which whic h issued through their union. union. (The (T he vowel points are the points written or printed under the Hebrew Hebr ew letters letters to indicate what vowels the wo word rd has. has. Vowels in some Gnostic Gnosti c systems were thought to to be esoteric, possibly even sacred sacred, , especially A, I, and 0. 0.) When this Voice issued issued, , there issued with it its mate which comprises comprises al all l the letters; letters; hence it is is written wri tten Eth hashamm has hammaim aim (t (the he heavens), to wi wit, t, the Voice and its mate. mate. This voice, voice, indicated by the word wor d 'h 'hea eave ven' n', , is the second Ehyeh of the the sacred sacre d name, name, the Zohar which whi ch includes includ es all letters and colours, in this manner. manner. Up to this point poi nt the words wor ds 'T 'The he Lord our God the Lor Lord' d' (Yhvh Elohenu Elohe nu Yh Yhvh vh ) represent three grades corresponding correspon ding to this deep mystery myster y of bereshith beresh ith bara El oh im . Bereshith Beres hith represents the mysterious source source from from w h i c h t h e whole whole expanded. expanded. Elohim represents represents the force force which sustains all below. below. The words eth hashamma hash ammaim im indicate that the two latter lat ter are on no account accou nt to be separated, separate d, and are are male and female female together. together. The word wor d eth consists of of the letters aleph aleph and and t a u , which whi ch include inclu de between betw een them th em all the letters, as being bei ng the first and and last of of the alphabet, Afterw Aft erward ards s he was added, so that all letters should shou ld be attache at tached d to he, and this gave the name attah att ah (T (Tho hou) u); ; hence we read 'and 'and Thou (ve ve-a -att ttaF aF) ) keepest kee pest all of th them em a li ve r (N (Ne eh. IX, IX, 6). 6). Eth again alludes to Adonai Adona i (Lord), (Lord ), wh who o is so called. Hasha Has hamm mmaim aim is YhvK Yhv K in its higher hig her signi sig nifi fica cati tion on. . The next word, ve-e v e-eth” th” indicates indicate s th the" firm union of male and female female; ; it also also alludes to tKe appellation appella tion ve-Yhvh (and (a nd the Lo rd rd), ), both explanations explanat ions coming to the same thing. thing. Ha-aretz Ha -aretz (th (t he earth) earth) designat desi gnates es an El Eloh ohim im corres cor respon pondin ding g to the high hi gher er Torm Tor m , to bring forth forth fruit fruit and produc produce. e. This name is here found in three applica tions, and thence the same name branches branch es out to various si sides des. . "Up to this point only extend the allusions to the Most Mysterious who carves out and builds and vivifies in mysterious ways, through th the e esoteric explanation of one vers verse. e. From this point onwards onwards bara shith shith 'he 'h e created six', from the end of heaven hea ven to the end thereof, six sides which extend from the the supernal mystic m ystic essence, through the expansion
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of creative creative force force from a primal point. point. Here has been bee n inscribed the mystery myster y of the name of forty-two lette letters. rs. “And the intell int ellige igent nt shall shine (D (Dan an. . XII, XII, 3). 3). This Thi s 'shining' corre corre sponds to the movement given by the accents and notes to the letters and vowel-points which pay obeisance to them and march after them like troops behind behi nd their kings. kings. The letters being the body and the vowel points the animating spirit, spirit, together togethe r they keep ke ep step with the notes and come come to a halt with them. them. When Whe n the chanting of the notes marches forward forward, , the letters with their vowel-points march behind behi nd them, them, and when it stops they also stop. stop. So here: here: 't 'the he intelligent' correspond to the letters and the the vowel-points; 't 'the he brightness' brightne ss' to the notes; 'the 't he firmament' to the flow of of the the chant chan t through the succes su ccession sion of notes; while whi le 'they 'they that turn to righteousness' correspond corre spond to the pausal pausa l notes, which stop the march of the words and bring out clearly the sense. sense. These Thes e 'cause 'cause to shine' shine' letters lette rs and vowels, so that they all flow together toget her in in their own mystical manner mann er through secret paths. paths. From this impetus the whole who le was extended. Again, the words word s 'and 'and the int intel elli li' ' gent shall shine as the brightness of the firmament' may be referred to t „ . e pillars and sockets of the 'celestia 'celestial l palenguin' (apiryon). The 'wise 'wise and intelligent* are the supernal pillars pil lars and sockets, sockets, since they ponder with wit h understanding unders tanding all things needful for the upholding of the palace. palace. This use of the term 'intell 'intelligen igent' t' (ma mask skili ilim) m) has it its s parallel paralle l in the passage: passa ge: 'Blessed is he that consi co nsider deret etE E (ma mas s ki l ) the poor' (Ps. X L I , 2). 'They 'They will wil l shine', for if they do not shine and give light, they cannot we well ll consider con sider and ponder pond er the needs of the palace. 'As the brightness of the firmament', firmament', namely, namely, of that firmament which rests rests upon those 'intelligent* 'intelligent* we have mentioned, mentione d, and of which whi ch it is is written, 'And over the head of the Hayyah there was the likeness of a firmament, like the colou col our r of the te terr rrib ible le ice' ice' (Ezek. (Ezek. I, 22). 'The 'T he bright bri ghtnes ness' s' is that which whi ch illumines il lumines the Torah, and which whi ch illumines illu mines also the heads of the Ha yy ah , those heads being bei ng the 'intelligent', who shine contin conti n ually and ever contemplate conte mplate the 'firmament'; 'firmament'; and the light wh which ich issues therefrom, therefrom, to wit, the light of the the Torah which whic h radiates perpetually perpet ually without witho ut cease." cease." (Zo Zoha har, r, I, I, 64 64-6 -66) 6) The letters aleph and tau which are the first and last letters of the alphabet alphab et are are not to be separated. Furthermore, Furtherm ore, they are are called male and female together, alluding allud ing to the right and left pillars pilla rs of the the tree symbol. "NOW "NOW THE EARTH HAD BEEN VOID AND WITHOUT WITHO UT FORM FORM. . The word wor d hoithah (was), being pluperfect, implies that the earth had ha d been bee n pr ev evio ious usly ly. . There was snow in the midst mids t of water, water, from the action of which was wa s produced a slime. slime. Then a mighty migh ty fire fire beat upon it and produc pro duced ed in it a refuse. refuse. So it was trans tr ansfor formed med and became bec ame Tohu Toh u (chaos), (cha os), the abode of slime slime, , the nest of refuse, refuse, and also Bohu Boh u (forml (fo rmless essnes ness), s), the finer part which whic h was sifted from the the Tohu Toh u and rested on it it. . The word wor d 'darkne 'darkness' ss' in the the text alludes to this mighty migh ty fire. fire. This darkness covered cover ed the T o h u , namely, the refuse, and was buoye buo yed d up by it. it. The 'spirit of G o d ’ is a holy spirit that proceeded proceede d from Elohim Elo him Hayyim Hayyi m (livin (living g God) Go d) , and this this was was 'hovering over o ver the face of the wa wat ters rs" "' . When Whe n this wind wi nd blew, a certain certai n
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film detached detache d itself from the refuse, like like the film which whi ch remains on the top of boiling boili ng broth when whe n the froth has has been skimmed off two or three time times. s. When Tohu had thus thus been sifted and purified, there issued from it it 'a great and strong wind win d rending the mountains mountain s and breaking in pieces the ro rock ck s’ s’, , like that which w hich Elijah saw (I Kings XI XIX, X, 11 11-1 -12). 2). Similarly Bohu was sifted and purified, and there issued from it earth quake, as with wit h Elijah. Then what wha t we call 'da 'da rk ne ss ' was sifted, sifted, and there was containe cont ained d in it fire fire, , just as to Elijah Eli jah there appeared appea red 'after 'after the earthqua eart hquake ke fire'. fire'. When Wh en wh what at we call 'spirit 'spirit' ' was sifted, there was contained conta ined in it a s ti ll , small voice. voice. Tohu Toh u i is s a place which whic h has no colour and no form, form, and the esoteric esote ric principl prin ciple e of 'fo form rm' ' does not apply to it it. . It seems for a moment mom ent to have a fo form rm, , but bu t when whe n looked look ed at again it has no form. form. Ever Ev eryt ythi hing ng has a 've st me nt ' except exc ept t h i s . B o h u , on the other hand, has shape and form, namely, stones immersed in the chasm of To hu , but sometimes somet imes emer e mergin ging g from the chasm in which whi ch they ar are e sunk, sunk, and drawing therefrom ther efrom sustenance for the world. world. Through the form form of their vestment they draw sustenance su stenance from above to below, below, and ascend ascend from below belo w abov ab ov e, and there fore they are hollow hol low and strong. These are suspended suspen ded in the expanse; that is to say say, , sometimes sometim es they ar are e suspende susp ended d in the expanse expans e wh when en they rise out of the the chasm, chasm, and some times they are hidden, to wit, on the 'd 'day ay of cloud', cloud', when wh en they draw waters from the abyss abyss to supply therewith therewi th T o h u , for for then there is joy that Tohu Toh u has spread spr ead in the universe. univers e. 'Dar 'D arkn knes ess' s' is a black blac k fire, fire, strong stron g in color. There Ther e is is a red fire fi re , strong str ong in visibilit visi bility; y; a yellow yello w fire, fire, strong in shape; shape; and a white whi te fi fire re, , the colour which whi ch in in cludes all. all. 'Darkness' 'Darkness' is the strong str ongest est of all fires, fires, and this it was which took hold of T o h u . 'Darkn 'Darkness ess' ' is fire, fire, but fire is not darkness, darkness, save sav e wh when en it ta take kes s ho hold ld of Tohu. Toh u. The Th e sy symb mbol ol for th this is i is, s, 'hi-'-*s were dim so that he could not se see, e, and he called Esau, et c. ' XXVII, 1). 1). Here, too, 'the 'the count cou nten enanc ance e of the evil one was darkened' because becau se it countenan co untenanced ced the evil on one. e. Hence this fire fire is called 'dark 'dark ness' ness' beca b ecause use it rested upon upo n Tohu and took hold of it; it; this is the inner me meani aning ng of the words, 'and 'and darkness darkn ess on the face of the abyss'. abyss'. 'Spi 'S pirit rit' ' is the voice which whi ch rests on Bo h u , and grasps it and guides it as required. This is symbol sym bolize ized d i in n the words word s 'T 'The he voice of the Lord is on the waters' wate rs' (Ps. XXIX, 3); and a nd so too, 'the 'the spirit of o f the Lord Lor d was hovering hoveri ng over o ver the face face of the waters'. By 'f 'fac ace e of the waters' waters' is meant stones sunk in the ab abys yss, s, so called because bec ause waters issue from them. them. Thus each was provided provid ed as befitted. Tohu Toh u is under the aegis aegis of the name Shad Sh adda dai; i; Bohu Boh u under that of Ze ba baot oth; h; Darkness, under unde r that of of Eloh El ohim im; ; Sp Spiri irit, t, un u n d e r t h a t of Yh vh . We now understand what happened to Elijah: 'there 'there was a strong wi wind nd breaking break ing the mountains, but b ut the the Lord was not in the wind', because becau se this name was not in it, it, since Shaddai presides over ove r it through throu gh the mystic mysti c nature natu re of Tohu. Tohu. 'After 'After the win d there was a quaking, but the Lord Lor d was not in the quaking', since over it presides the name of Zebaoth, Zebaoth, through the mystic mysti c nature of Bohu (which (which is called calle d 'quaking' 'quaking' (ra ra*a *ash sh) ) , becaus bec ause e it quakes quake s conti con tinu nual ally ly). ). 'After the quaking quak ing there the re was a f fire ire, , b but ut the Lord Lor d was not in the fire', fire', because beca use over it presides the name Elohim Eloh im from the side of darkness. darkness. 'And 'And after the fire there was a small still st ill voice'; and here at last last was found the name Y hv h . There are in this verse four clauses corre spondi spo nding ng to the four so-calle so-ca lled d 'sections of the body' and 'limb 'limbs' s' which,
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being bein g fo four ur, , are resolvable into twelve. Here, Here, to too, o, is the graven name of twelve letters which was transmitted to Elijah in the cave." (Zoh (Z ohar ar, , I, 66-68) SUMMARY: To give an an adequate summary of this discourse discourse would woul d be impossibl impossible. e. It explains expla ins the creation crea tion and the point, the seed, seed, the brightness bright ness or o r Zoha Zohar, r, and gives an example exampl e of kabali kab alisti stic c anagrams. It uses the utterance utte rance and letter symbolism. symbolism. Snow and water wat er produce slime slime. . Fire beat on on it and produced produce d a refuse and the slime became ch chao aos. s. Tohu is chaos, chaos, while Bohu Boh u is formlessness. Darkness is fir fire, e, but fire is not darkness ex ex cept when it takes hold of chaos.
The matter contained herein is officially issued through the Supreme Council of the A.M.O.R.C. All matters herein contained are strictly confidential to the member receiving and are imparted only as an incident to membership. The ownership of, of, the legal title, and the ri gh t of possession possession to this special discourse is and shall remain in the Supreme Grand Lodge of A.M.O. A.M.O.R.C R.C.. and an d it should be returne d upon its request. The contents cont ents herein are to be used for the sole and exclusive information of the receiving Rosicrucian member and not otherwise. Any other use or attempted use, does, ipso facto, terminate facto, terminate all rights of the member, and is a violation of the statu tes of this Order. Order. Such violation will will be legally legally dealt with. By FRATER TEMPORATOR Scribe
Special Discourse
Number 11
R-3 1078
Printed in U.S.A.
THE KABALA UNVEILED -C-CPAGE ONE
SPECIAL DISCOURSE NUMBER NUMB ER ELEVEN
Continuing Conti nuing the previous discourse, the Zohar is is explaining crea creation. tion. "AND GOD SAID SAID, , LET L ET THERE BE LIGHT: AND THERE WAS LIGHT. LIGHT. From Fr om this point we can begin to discover hidden things relating to the creation of the wor world ld in detail. detail. For up to this point the Creation has been described in genera general, l, and lower down the general description is re peated, so that we have a combination of general-particular-general. Up to this point the whole was suspended in the void in direct dependence on the limitless. When, however, energy ene rgy had been extended exten ded through the supernal super nal palace alluded allud ed to in in the name Elo hi him, m, the term 's 'say ayin ing* g* is used use d in con connec nection tion with it, it, in the wor wordi di ’And God sa id '. For to that which is beyond beyo nd no detail 's 'say ayin ing' g' is ascribed ascribed; ; fo for r although the word bereshith is a creative utterance (ma maam amar ar), ), the actua actual l words 'a 'and nd sai said' d' are not used in in connection connec tion wit with h it it. This expression express ion 'a 'and nd sa said id' ' (va vayo yome mer) r) opens the door to to inqui inquiry ry and unders understandi tanding. ng. We define this 'saying' 'say ing' as an ene energy rgy that was culled, as it were, in silence from the mystic limitless limitless through the mystic power of thought. thought. Hence 'a 'and nd God said' sai d' means that now the the above-me abo ve-mentio ntioned ned palace generated gener ated from the the holy seed with whi which ch it was pregnant. While it brou brought ght forth in in si lence, len ce, that which it bore was heard without. That which bore, bore, bore in silence without with out making makin g a soun sound, d, but whe when n that issued issue d from it which did issue, iss ue, it beca became me a voice whi which ch was heard hear d without, to wit, 'L 'Let et there be li gh ght. t.’ ’ Wha Whatev tever er issued came forth under this category. category. The wor word d Yehi (le let t there be be) indicates that the union of the Father and Mother sym s ym bolized by th the e lett letters ers Yod He be became came now a starting-point (symb (symboli olized zed by the second Yo d) for further extension. extension. "LIGHT, "LIGHT, AND THERE WAS LIGHT. LIGHT. These words imply impl y that there had already been li ligh ght. t. The word, word, awr (light), contains in itself a hidden signifi s ignifi cance. canc e. The expansive expan sive force pro proceed ceeding ing from the hidd hidden en recesses of the secret supernal ether opened a path and produced from itself a mysteri ous point (or, rather, the En Sof (Limit (Limitless) less) clave its own ethe ether r and disclose disc losed d this poi point nt), ), Y o d . Whe When n this expanded, expanded, that whi which ch was left of of the myst mysterious erious AWIR AW IR (e (eth ther er) ) was found to be AW AWR R (light). (light ). When the the first point had developed from it it, it showed itself upon it, touching and yet not touching touchin g i it t. When Whe n it expanded, it emer emerged ged into being, and thus was light (awr) left from ether (aw awir ir); ); and this i is s wh what at we mean mea n by saying that tha t it "' "'ha had d been' previous pre viously; ly; and so it remained. It we went nt up and was stored awa away, y, and there was left of it one one dot, dot, which whi ch continually continu ally ap ap proaches by invisible paths the other point, touching and yet not touch ing, in g, illuminating illumin ating it in the the manner of the first point from which it issued. issued. Therefore Ther efore the who whole le is linked together, and it it illumines both one and the other. other. When Wh en it ascends, all asce ascend nd and are atta attached ched to it, and it reaches the place of En So f, whe where re it is stored away, away, and all all becomes on one. e. This dot of the word Awr Aw r is Light. Light. It extended, extended, and there shone forth in it seven letters of the alphabet, which did not solidify but remained fl flui uid. d. Afterwards Darkness iss issued ued, , and there issued in it seven other letters of the alphabet, and they too were not solidified and remained flu fluid id. . There then issued the the Firmament, Firmament, which prevented discord dis cord betw between een the two sides. sides. In it there issued eight other letters letters, , making makin g twenty twenty-two -two in all. all. Seven letter letters s jumped from one side.and seven from the other, other, and all were graven in this this Firmament, wher where e they re mained for a time fl flui uid. d. When the firmament solidi solidified, fied, the letters were
