Bahir - Book of Brightness

Описание: Sefer ha-Bahir, widely considered the first kabbalistic text, was finalized in southern France during the end of the 12th century. Its author is unknown. Bahir means “bright” or “clear,” which is ironic because the text is extremely dense and difficult. Written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic, Sefer ha-Bahir divides into two parts.

The first part is a discussion of the Sefer Yetzirah written in a choppy, haphazard style. The second is an attempt to clarify the order of the sefirot, which the Sefer Yetzirah describes as ten numbers. In the Sefer ha-Bahir the sefirot are described for the first time as “emanations” or attributes of God. In addition to representing a particular part of God, each sefirah also corresponds to a stage in creation and a character from the Bible.

Another concept that the Sefer ha-Bahir introduces for the first time is the Tree of Life, a visual representation of the ten sefirot. The Sefer ha-Bahir describes the locations of each sefirah on the Tree of Life—left side, middle, and right side—and reveals which objects on Earth embody that sefirah’s qualities. (See “Tree of Life” under Terms for a fuller description of the sefirot). The Tree is intended to symbolize the body of “Adam Kadmon,” also known as “primordial Adam.” Adam Kadmon is not the Adam of “Adam and Eve” that we read about in Genesis, but a kind of mystical template for human beings that God made before creating everything else. Though he never existed in the human world, Adam Kadmon was God’s most important creation. He also serves as the first example of man being created in God’s image: as a product of God, Adam Kadmon was a part of God. The Tree, the body of Adam, and the spiritual form of God are linked symbolically in visual diagrams of the ten sefirot. #kabbalah #bahir #spirituality #spiritual #religion #god