SEPHIROT cc24

by Hebrewletters SL

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$2,000

Dimensions

24.000 x 36.000 inches

Title

SEPHIROT cc24

Artist

Hebrewletters SL

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Watercolor Paper

Description

SEPHIROT IN MOTION


The SEPHIROT are first mentioned Sefer Yetzirah. The text states that God created the world by means of 22 foundation letters and TEN SEPHIROT OF NOTHINGNESS. The Sephirot are the Divine Emanations which God created in order to direct the Universe. Their vision is like the ‘appearance of lightening,’ Their limit has no end, And His word in them is ‘running and returning.’ They rush to His saying like a whirlwind, and before His throne they prostrate themselves. Their end is embedded in their beginning and their beginning in their end.

One of the problems for the Kabbalists was in trying to explain how God created a material world when God, Itself is immaterial? How did God create space when God is beyond space and time? How can the Creator create that which It is not? The notion evolved that God projected Itself into these non-material, non spatial Sephirot of Nothingness. It is through Sephirot that the process of creation emanates. The archetypes of creation reside in the Sephirot.

‘God created man in His form’ (Genesis 1:27).
First he created His form in Sephirot. The body of man emanated from these Sephirot of Nothingness
The names of the ten sephirot are, in ascending order, Malchut, KINGSHIP; Hod, SPLENDOR, Netzach, VICTORY or GLORY; Yesod, FOUNDATION; Tiferet, BEAUTY; Gevura, STRENGTH, Chesed, LOVE; Binah UNDERSTANDING; Chochmah, WISDOM; Keter, CROWN. Any number of sages have related each of these sephirah to different colors, God names, vowels, locations in the body etc. (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 22, 51, 57; Kaplan, Aryeh. 1982. Meditation and Kabbalah. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 317, 256; Scholem, Gershom. 1974. Kabbalah New York: Schocken Books. 98).

From the 13th century onward a complementary Sephira Daat, KNOWLEDGE, appears between Chochmah, WISDOM and Binah, UNDERSTANDING, a kind of harmonizing of the two that was not considered a separate Sephira, but rather ‘the external aspect’ of Keter, CROWN.
This addition arose from the desire by some kabbalists, Azriel in particular, to see each group of the three Sephirot as a unit comprising the opposing attributes and as a synthesis which finally resolved them (Scholem, Gershom. 1974. Kabbalah. New York: Schocken Books. 107).


The Hebrew Letters featured in this painting Samech Pey Yud Resh Vav Tav. Taken together they spell SEPHIROT.
SEFIROT is an Anglicized spelling.

Each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet has a special meaning and a story to tell. Here a few brief ones about the letters on this painting.



SAMECH is the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 60, makes a sound like the S in Sun, is shaped like a circle and means SUPPORT, TO TRUST, TO RELY ON.

Tradition tells us that the engraving of the letters of the 10 commandments went all the way through the tablets – from the front side to the back side. Therefore the Samech, since it is completely closed, should have fallen out. Because it did not, R. Hisda said that it stood there be means of a miracle (Shabbat 104a).

It must be ‘kethibah tamma’h [perfect writing]; the Mem as a Samech or the Mem as a Mem, closed [letters] open or open letters closed (Shabbat 103b).

[In the alphabet the letter Samech is followed by the Ayin]. Samech Ayin [means] support [Semach] the poor [aniyim] (Shabbat 104a).

Meditating with the Samech has been an interesting experience for me. I had the notion that the Samech would roll around and generally have a good time. I had been repeatedly surprised to find that the Samech, for me, is very calm. My Samech definitely does not roll around , at least not yet. But it does lie down and I am able to sit in it as though it were an inner tube and float on the ocean. It also becomes a swing and we sway back and forth. Let me know of your experience with the Samech.



Pey is the 17th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 80, makes a sound either like the P in Peace or the F in Food, means MOUTH and is constructed of a Caf with a Yud situated at the top and rotated inward.
If one looks carefully at the Pey one can see that there is a Beit, which makes up the empty space within it. The Beit is the first letter of the word Bereshit, IN A BEGINNING, which is the first word of Torah. God opened up God’s MOUTH and out came the Beit, BEGINNING, CREATION.

Pey is one of 5 letters: [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM,- SOFIT, used as the last letter of a word (Shabbat 4a).

I [PEY] signify redemption and deliverance (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:2b).

The bent Pey and the straight Pey [intimate] an open mouth Pey], a closed mouth (Shabbat 104a).

The medial (bent) Pey is almost closed. ‘A time to keep silence, and a time to speak’ (Ecclesiastes 3:7) (Shabbat 104a).

[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… Tet as a Pey or the Pey as a Tet Shabbat 103b).

Meditating in the Beit, which is inside the Pey, is like being in the vortex of creation. “God opened up God’s MOUTH [Pey] and out came the Beit,” BEGINNING, CREATION. I feel in meditation that I am in the primordial mix. It is a feeling of being one with everything and one with a nothingness at the same time. Ain Sof. There is power here.




YUD is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 10, means HAND, makes a sound like the Y in Year and is a simple point. It is the smallest letter in the alphabet and yet is frequently associated with the very large concept of EMANATION, the highest level in the Four World paradigm of Kabbalah.

Menachot 29b teaches that the WORLD TO COME was created by use of the letter Yud.

Yud has the important job of being the first letter of the Tetragrammaton - Yud Hey Vav Hey. Zohar states that, in this context, the Yud represents the head of all creatures (Zohar. 1984 Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 3:130).

[The writing of the letters] must be ‘kethibah tammah’ [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the… Vav as a Yud or the Yud as a Vav (Shabbat 103b).

[Zayyin Chet Tet Yud Kaf Lamed]: [this sequence teaches,] and if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, will sustain[ Zan] thee, be gracious [Hen] unto thee, show goodness [Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage [Yerushah], and bind a crown [Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat 104a).
When meditating with the YUD, the YUD presents itself right in front of me. It then enters into me right away filling me with a most peaceful feeling. I like to sit with this feeling as long as I can. When I think of the YUD I thing of sitting still.

If you enter meditation and the Yud comes to you, ask Yud a question and wait for the answer. Amazing results. The
Yud is also capable of taking you any where in the Universe. Give it a try and let me know the results.




Resh is the 20th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a numerical value of 200, makes a sound like the R in Radiant and means BEGINNING or HEAD. When one spells out the letter Resh in Hebrew, it is Resh Yud Shin. Yud and Shin spell Yesh - THERE IS. The letter Resh means BEGINNING. So it is possible to say that the Resh literally means THERE IS A BEGINNING.
The Resh looks very much like the Dalet. The only difference is that the right angle of the Resh is a rounded 45-degree angle. The horizontal line of the Dalet has a little foot that extends backwards toward the Gimel. Talmud cautions us not to mistakenly write the Dalet as a Resh or the Resh as a Dalet (Shabbat 103b).

“Kuf [stands for] Kadosh [holy]; Resh [for] Rasha’ [wicked]: why is the face of the Kuf averted from, the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I cannot look at the wicked. And why is the crown of the Kuf turned toward the Resh? The Holy One, blessed be He, saith: If he repents, I will bind a crown on him like Mine. And why is the foot of the Kuf suspended? [To show] that if he repents, he can enter and be brought in [to God's favor] through this [opening]. This supports Resh Lakish, for Resh Lakish, said: What is meant by, Surely he scorns the scorners, But he giveth grace unto the lowly If one comes to defile himself, he is given an opening; if one comes to cleanse himself, he is helped” (Shabbat 104a).

One method of meditation is called PERMUTATION. This is simply the process of rearranging the order or sequence of the letters. There are extremely complex systems like those developed by the 13th century kabbalist Abulafia. And then there are simple ones. For instance the Resh is spelled Resh Yud Shin. Yud and Shin spell Yesh - THERE IS. The letter Resh means BEGINNING. So it is possible to say that the Resh literally means THERE IS A BEGINNING.
Yesh also means EXISTENCE, SUBSTANCE, BEING, REALITY. How would these words fit with the word BEGIN? The word ROSH – HEAD is closely associated with the Resh. Rosh is spelled Resh Aleph Shin. But if one spells it Aleph Shin Resh it is Asher. Asher means WEALTH, or Shin Resh is MINISTER. The gematria of these of these 3 letters is 510 which is also the gematria for Yenaten - SHALL BE GIVEN. One can spend a lifetime doing this. This can be called FUN.




VAV is the 6th letter, has a numerical value of 6, is constructed of a single vertical line, means HOOK and makes a sound like the V in Victory. When used as a vowel, Vav can sound like a long `o’ or a long `u.’ Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. Vav appears in the Four Letter name of God - Yud Hey Vav Hey.
“VAV is the sound if beiing joined. And VAV is a the sound of and. One and another” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot.Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 35).

The 6 Sephirot represented by the Vav are - Chesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 146-172).

What does the letter VAV resemble? It is alluded to in the verse “He spreads out light like a garment” (Psalms 104:5). For VAV is nothing other than six directions [ east, west, north south, up and down]? (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1979. Tr. The Bahir. York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 30).

The first word in Torah is Bereshit which t means IN A BEGINNING. If you divide Bereshit into bara and sheet it means HE CREATED SIX [sheet is 6 in Aramaic] Six what? The 6 days in which creation was completed? (Zohar . 1984 Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3b. 13).

When used as a vowel, Vav can sound like a long `o’ or a long `u.’ Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. Vav appears in the Four Letter name of God - Yud Hey Vav Hey
“VAV is the sound if beiing joined. And VAV is a the sound of and. One and another” (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot.Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 35).

In meditation, the Vav is a place where you can leave your body in order to descend to a deeper place.




TAV is the 22nd letter in Hebrew alphabet - the last letter. It has a numerical value of 400, means MARK, SIGN. In 1500 B.C.E. the Tav was written as an X. Perhaps this contributed to its meaning. Tav makes a sound like the T in Tall. The Tav is composed of a Dalet and a Nun.

Hebrew Bible source - ‘And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark Tav upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof’ (Ezekiel 9:4)

“The [Hebrew] letter Tav advanced in front and pleaded: May it please Thee, O Lord of the world, to place me first in the creation of the world, seeing that I am the concluding letter of Emet (Truth) which is engraved upon Thy seal, and seeing that Thou art called by this very name of Emet, it is most appropriate for the King to begin with the final letter of Emet and to create with me the world. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: Thou art worthy and deserving, but it is not proper that I begin with thee the creation of the world, since thou art destined to serve as a mark on the foreheads of the faithful ones (Ezekiel 9:4) who have kept the Law from Aleph Tav, and through the absence of this mark the rest will be killed; and, further, you form the conclusion of MaWeTh (death). Hence thou art not meet to initiate the creation of the world” (Zohar 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:2b).

Talmud - God said to the Angel Gabriel: ‘Go set a Tav [MARK] on the foreheads of the righteous so that they will be protected’ Shabbat 55a).

The Hebrew letters of EMET [Aleph Mem Tav] are located far apart in the alphabet, 1st, 13th and 22nd respectively, because TRUTH in found infrequently, at elongated intervals (Shabbat 104a).

They used to write a Tav for Teruma! [OFFERING, GIFT, DONATION, CONTRIBUTION] (Yevamoth 115b).

One can think of the following thought in meditation with the Tav. The Hebrew letters of EMET [Aleph Mem Tav] are located far apart in the alphabet, 1st, 13th and 22nd respectively, because TRUTH in found infrequently, at elongated intervals (Shabbat 104a).

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February 21st, 2021

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