The sefer yetzirah the holy kabbalah book of creation riders of the chariot this is a hebrewenglish translation of the kabbalists book the sefer yetzirah book of creation. The exposition here is by no means exhaustive, but represents an approach to the sefer yetzirahan approach that i believe is productive the sefer yetzirah meaning book of formation or book of creation is a text written down almost 2000 years ago that is generally. The book of creation sefer yesira is a unique, isolated work that belongs to no school of thought daphne hadas freedman2 sefer yetzirah book of formation, hereafter sy is the oldest known speculative treatise in hebrew. The sefer yetzirah is the earliest hebrew text of speculative mystical jewish thought, appearing sometime between the third and sixth centuries c. The book of creation in theory and practice and over 2 million other books are available for amazon kindle.
Sepher yirah, book of formation, or book of creation is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish mysticism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to kabbalah. Most of sefer yetzirah will deal with these 32 paths, as they are manifest in the letters and numbers. Sepher yetzirah in an english translation is almost a necessary companion to these even more abstruse disquisitions. Jan 16, 2014 sefer yetzirah hebrew, book of creation, is the title of the earliest book on jewish esoterecism. Sefer yetzirah describes how the universe was created by the god of israel a list of all of gods hebrew names appears in the first sentence of the book through 32 wondrous ways of wisdom. God of the armies of israel, everliving god, merciful and gracious, sublime, dwelling on. The sepher yetzirah, according to adolph franck, differs from other sacred books in that it does not explain the world and the phenomena of which it is the stage by leaning on the idea of god or by setting itself up as the interpreter of the supreme will. In two and thirty most occult and wonderful paths of wisdom did jah the lord of hosts engrave his name. Hence, it was the sefirot that defined the numbers, and therefore, the concept of quantity in general.
The first elements of plurality in creation involved the ten sefirot. Now in its 7th printing since republication in 1997, the sefer yetzirah has established itself as a primary source for all serious students of kabbalah. Click download or read online button to get sefer yetzirah book now. The sefer yetzirah meaning book of formation or book of creation is a text written down almost 2000 years ago that is generally considered the first of those texts that came from the pervasive influence known as kaballah. May 09, 2018 the sefer yetzirah, the ancient book of formation which provides the foundationtext for prophetic kabbalah, takes this idea to an ontological extreme. This translation is based on gra version of the sefer yetzirah and includes the authors extraordinary commentary on all its mystical aspects including kabbalistic astrology, ezekiels vision and the 231 gates. Pdf the creation of the world in the sefer yetzirah. God of the armies of israel, everliving god, merciful and gracious, sublime, dwelling on high, who inhabiteth eternity.
Rabbi kaplans translation of this oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts provides a unique perspective. Ten numbers sefirot, the origin for the sefirot of later kabbalah. The book of creation in theory and practice by aryeh kaplan. And with the advent of the patriarch abraham of blessed memory, who looked, saw, investigated, understood.
In thirtytwo mysterious paths of wisdom, yah, eternal of hosts, god of israel, living elohim, almighty god, high and extolled, dwelling in eternity, holy be his name, engraved and created his world in three sefarim. Englishhebrew translation of the sefer yetzirah the. Sefer yetzirah download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. This subject is particularly dense and will not make a whole lot of sense unless the reader has more than the basics of judaism and biblical hebrew. Pdf sefer yetzira the book of creation download full pdf. Now in its 7th printing since republication in 1997, the sefer yetzirah has established itself as. The sefer yetzirah, the book of creation or formation depending on your translator reveals and explores among other things how the names of god were used by the prophets upto the talmudic period. One of the most important books on the kabbalah, sepher yezirah is an outstanding meditation manual on the creation of the universe, both the microcosm and macrocosm. Sefer yezirah book of formation is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to kabbalah. Also included are three alternative versions to make this volume the most complete work on the sefer yetzirah available in english.
The sefer yetzirah is the book of creation, one of the earliest extant texts about the creation of the world of the jewish tradition, a book that some scholars are supposing of an early medieval. One of the earliest known kabbalistic texts is sefer yetzirah, the book of formation. The commandments which can be observed today sefer hamitzvot hakatzar. The book of formation a meditative journey through the ethereal dimensions of creation. The seventh system belongs to the theorist who admits a creation of things, but asserts that the first things created were numbers. Sefer yetzirah book of formation the letters of our father abraham. Jan, 20 the book of formation a meditative journey through the ethereal dimensions of creation. To most people, the very word kabbalah implies the mystical experience par excellence, but most modern books about this subject shed very little light on its ancient mystical and magical aspects. The sefer yetzirah, which means book of formation, is a short book about the theories of maaseh bereshit, the mystical account of the creation of the universe. He expounds on the dynamics of the spiritual domain, the worlds of the sefirot, souls, and. The book of formation translated from the hebrew by wm.
This ancient work rather reveals god by estimating his manifold handiwork. On the eve of every sabbath, judah hanasis pupils, rab. When properly understood, sefer yetzirah becomes the instruction. It was written prior to rabbi shimons zohar, or the book of splendor. Pdf aryeh kaplan, sefer yetzirah gokhan duran academia. This book outlines how god created the universe, mainly focusing on the letters of the hebrew alphabet. The sefer yetzirah is the earliest hebrew text of speculative mystical jewish thought, appearing.
Stopyourmouthfromspeaking,stopyourheart fromthinking,andifyourheartrunstothinkreturntoaplaceofwhichitissaid. He expounds on the dynamics of the spiritual domain, the worlds of the sefirot. Rabbi aryeh kaplan has translated sefer yetzirah, the oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts, and now brings its theoretical, meditative, and magical implications to light. The power of sefer yetzirah sefer yetzirah is first explicitly mentioned over 1500 years ago in the talmud sanhedrin 65b, where rabbi chanina and rabbi oshaia studied it together on friday afternoons. And so, sefer yetzirah begins by stating that god created the universe through lamedbet netivot, thirtytwo paths of creation. The name sepher yetzirah is hebrew for book of formation or creation. All of my quotations from the sefer yetzirah are from this edition maine. It describes how the universe was created by the god of israel a list of all of gods hebrew names appears in the first sentence of the book through 32 wondrous ways of wisdom. Pdf sefer yetzira the book of creation download full. Of these books the sepher yetzirah is consi book of formation. The sefer yetzirah or yesira, or other transliterations has been dated to wildly different periods of time, and is, depending on the commentary you read, the earliest hebrewlanguage book of science, or a key work of kabbalah a form of jewish mysticism apparently beginning in the late.
The sepher yetzirah, although this name means the book of formation, is not in any sense a narrative of creation, or a substitute genesis, but is an ancient and instructive philosophical treatise upon one aspect of the origin of the universe and mankind. Sefer yetzirah wikisource, the free online library. Aug 30, 2017 magic, the occult, astrology all have been painted in the modern world as fringe and we have been discouraged from even learning about such knowledge but what do you do with the fact that the. Axis mundi the creation series book 1 the concise book of mitzvoth. Sefer yetzirah and the 32 paths of creation mayim achronim. Kaballah itself cannot be defined, as it surfaced in jewish, islamic, christian, alchemical, astrological, and other. Sefer yetzirah the book of formation or creation karen. The sefer tells the origin of the world as it was revealed to abraham. Rabbi kaplans translation of this oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts provides a unique perspective on the meditative and magical aspects of kabbalah. The book of creation in theory and practice, revised edition. Feb 17, 2005 rabbi aryeh kaplan has translated sefer yetzirah, the oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts, and now brings its theoretical, meditative, and magical implications to light. The sepher yetzirah although this name means the book of formation,is not in any sense a narrative of creation, or a substitute genesis, but it is a very.
The sepher yetzirah, although this name means the book of formation, is not in any sense a narrative of creation, or a substitute genesis, but is an ancient and instructive philosophical treatise upon one. To most people, the very word kabbalah implies the mystical experience par excellence, but most modern books about this subject shed very little light on its. He expounds on the dynamics of the spiritual domain, the worlds of the sefirot, souls, and angels. For the sefer yetzirah, language is the very stuff of creation, and grammar the way in which it is formed.
The book of creation in theory and practice aryeh kaplan. This version of the sefer yetzirah contains three versions. The sepher yetzirah, or book of formation, is perhaps the oldest rabbinical treatise of kabalistic philosophy which is still extant, but it is not in any sense a narrative of creation, or a substitute genesis, but is an ancient and instructive philosophical treatise upon one aspect of the origin of the universe and mankind. Sefer yetzirah hebrew, book of creation, is the title of the earliest book on jewish esoterecism. Wynn westcott the sepher yetzirah is one of the most famous of the ancient qabbalistic texts. The book of creation in theory and practice aryeh kaplan rabbi aryeh kaplan has translated sefer yetzirah, the oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts, and now brings its theoretical, meditative, and magical implications to light. Definitions and pronunciation abraham the patriarch abraham is the author of the first recension of the book of formation. Sepher yezirah a book on creation by isidor kalisch. This clear english translation of a most ancient work exposes fundamental aspects of the ancient kabbalah without. Magic, the occult, astrology all have been painted in the modern world as fringe and we have been discouraged from even learning about such knowledge but what do. The sefer yetzirah is devoted to speculations concerning gods creation of the world. In this essay i discuss the sefer yetzirah in light of some fourth way ideas. By means of numbers, substances and particles are differentiated. The sefer yetzirah, the ancient book of formation which provides the foundationtext for prophetic kabbalah, takes this idea to an ontological extreme.
Probably, it is also he who authored a mishnah which speaks about abraham. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The 32 paths, themselves, however, will not be mentioned again. This unusual text describes the creation as a world of pure forms and ideas, a time prior to genesis in the beginning there was the word. Sefer yetzirah dates from the 1st to 3rd centuries perhaps around the time of vettius valens and ptolemy, and presents a philosophical model of creation.
Best viewed at around 160% zoom the english language version starts on page 38. Much later, rabbi akiba assembled the correct reading of abrahams composition. Yetzirah book of formation, the sepher zohar book of splendour and the sepher bahir book of brilliance. The sefer yetzirah is the book of creation, one of the earliest extant texts about the creation of the world of the jewish tradition, a book that some scholars are supposing of an early medieval origin. The sefer yetzirah, or the book of creation, was written approximately 3,000 bce, and was the first kabbalistic book to be written. Westcotts translation of the sepher yetzirah was a primary source for the rituals and knowledge lectures of the golden dawn.