The Sephirot in Jewish Kabbalah

Category:Sephirot
Keter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keter (Hebrew: ! " #" $, lit. Crown) also
known as Kether, is the topmost of the
Sephirot of the Tree of Life in Kabbalah.
Since its meaning is "crown", it is
interpreted as both the "topmost" of the
Sephirot and the "regal crown" of the
Sephirot. It is between Chokmah and
Binah (with Chokmah on the right and
Binah in the left) and it sits above
Tiphereth. It is usually given three paths,
to Chokmah, Tiphereth, and Binah.
Keter is so sublime, it is called in the
Zohar "the most hidden of all hidden
things", and is completely
incomprehensible to man. It is also
described as absolute compassion, and
Rabbi Moshe Cordovero describes it as
the source of the 13 Supernal Attributes of Mercy.
Keter is invisible, colorless.
[1]
Contents
1 Description
2 Qualities
2.1 Ethical Behaviour
2.2 13 Supernal Attributes of Mercy
3 Non-Jewish practices
4 See also
5 References
5.1 Jewish
5.2 Non-Jewish
6 External links
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Description
According to the Bahir: "What are the ten utterances? The rst is
supreme crown, blessed be His name and His people."
[2]
The rst Sephirah is called the Crown, since a crown is worn above the
head. The Crown therefore refers to things that are above the mind's
abilities of comprehension. All of the other Sephirot are likened to the
body which starts with the head and wends its way down into action. But
the crown of a king lies above the head and connects the concept of
"monarchy", which is abstract and intangible, with the tangible and
concrete head of the king.
This rst Serah represents the primal stirrings of intent in the Ein Soph,
or the arousal of desire to come forth into the varied life of being.
[2]
But in
this sense, although it contains all the potential for content, it contains no
content itself, and is therefore called 'Nothing', 'The Hidden Light', 'The
air that cannot be grasped'. Being desire to bring the world into being,
Keter is absolute compassion.
[3]
The name of God associated with Keter is Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh (Hebrew:
!"!# $%# !"!# ), the name through which he revealed himself to Moses
from the burning bush.
[4]
"It is from the name Ehyeh that all kinds of
sustenance emanate, coming from the source, which is the innite".
Keter, although being the highest Sephirah of its world, receives from the
Sephirah of Malkuth of the domain above it (see Sephirot). The
uppermost Keter sits below no other Sephirah, although it is below Or Ein
Soph which is the source of all Sephirot.
Da'at and Keter are the same Sephirah from two different aspects. From
one aspect this Sephirah is referred to Keter and from another aspect it is
referred to as Da'at. Therefore when Da'at is counted then Keter is not
counted and when Keter is counted Da'at is not counted
[citation needed]
.
Qualities
Ethical Behaviour
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Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, in The Palm Tree of Devorah, discusses ethical
behaviour that man should follow, related to the qualities of the Sephirot,
in order that man might emulate his creator. Humility is the rst, because
although Keter is the highest, it is ashamed to look at its cause, and
instead gazes at those below it.
[5]
One's thoughts should be pure, one's
forehead should display no harshness, one's ears should always turn to
hear good, one's eyes should distance themselves from noticing evil,
always looking at the good, one's nose should be free from the breath of
anger, one's face should always shine, and his mouth should express
nothing except good.
13 Supernal Attributes of Mercy
Main article: Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
Through discussion of a line in the Michah, 13 attributes are associated
with the Sephirah Kether:
Who is God like you, who pardons iniquity and forgives the
transgressions of the remnant of his heritage? He does not maintain
His anger forever, for He delights in kindness. He will again show us
compassion, He will vanquish our iniquities, and You will cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. Show faithfulness to Ya'akov,
kindness to Avraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from
days of old. (Michah, 7:18-20)
Accordingly, the 13 attributes are derived from this and described in great
detail.
Additionally, the "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" were described by Rabbi
Chizkiyah in an allegorical depiction of a lily among thorns. The metaphor
in whole is known and taught as "The lily amongst the thorns," a phrase
found in Shir Hashirim 2:2. A summary:
"The secret of spiritual protection is revealed through a richly
metaphorical discourse given by Rabbi Chizkiyah. The Rabbi explains
that the spiritual forces that protect and watch over us are called the 13
Attributes of Mercy. They are transmitted into our physical world through
the rst 13 words of the Torah. When judgments are decreed against us,
these 13 forces can safeguard us from their inuence. We begin drawing
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this Light of protection to ourselves at the very moment we begin to
browse and behold the mystical shapes and sequences of the Aramaic
text, and to learn the spiritual insights presented there."
[6]
Non-Jewish practices
In The Mystical Qabalah Dion Fortune describes Keter as pure
consciousness, beyond all categories, timeless, a point that crystallises
out of the Ein Soph, and commences the process of emanation that ends
in Malkuth.
The name of God given to it is Eheieh, the archangel that presides over it
is Metatron, the order of angels that resides in it are the Holy Living
Creatures (the Chaioth ha Qadesh, Hebrew: &'"! %()! ), and its mundane
chakra is said to be the First Swirlings of the cosmos (Primum Mobile,
Rashith ha Gilgalin).
A.E. Waite made mention that Rabbi Azariel ben Menachem, a student of
Isaac the Blind, in his Commentary on the Sephiroth granted a particular
colour to each Sephira, yet these do not agree with the colours given in
the Zohar, where Kether (which, according to him, is also correlated to
Yechidah) is called colourless, Tiphareth purple, and Malkuth sapphire-
blue.
[7]
As pure formless consciousness, it is often compared with the Sahasrara
chakra, which resides above the crown of the head, in Indian Shakta
Tantra.
In Aleister Crowley's Liber 777, Keter is associated with the Four Aces of
the Tarot deck, White Brilliance, Poseidon, Brahma, Wodan, Zeus, The
Trinity, Almond in ower, Diamond, Elixir Vitae, Dao, and Death (not a
complete list of the 777 associations).
It is said to have a negative aspect, the Qliphah Thaumiel.
Keter is also identied with the former planet Pluto, the Atma in
Theosophy and Raja Yoga, and the Khabs am Pekht in Egyptian
mysticism.
[8]
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See also
Kabbalah
Sephirot
Corona
References
^ "Serot" (http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Theology
/God/The_Middle_Ages/The_Kabbalists_on_God/The_Serot.shtml).
Serot. My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
1.
^
a

b
Arthur Green. Guide to the Zohar 2.
^ Rabbi Moshe Cordovero. The Palm Tree of Devorah 3.
^ Aryeh Kaplan. Meditation and Kabbalah 4.
^ Rabbi Moshe Cordovero. The Palm Tree of Devorah. 5.
^ http://www2.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/zohar 6.
^ A.E. Waite, The Holy Kabbalah 7.
^ David Rankine, Climbing the Tree of Life: A Manual of Practical Magickal
Qabalah
8.
Jewish
Bahir, translated by Aryeh Kaplan, (1995). Aronson. (ISBN
1-56821-383-2)
Lessons in Tanya (http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=6237)
Kabbalah 101: Keter (http://www.aish.com/spirituality/kabbala101
/Kabbalah_24_-_Keter_The_Serah_That_Isnt.asp)
Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, The Palm Tree of Devorah, translated by
Rabbi Moshe Miller (1993). Targum Press Inc. (ISBN 1-56871-027-5)
Non-Jewish
Crowley, Aleister. 777 and other Qabalistic writings of Aleister
Crowley. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1977.
ISBN 0-87728-222-6.
Fortune, Dion. The Mystical Kabbalah. Samuel Weiser, 1935.
ISBN 1-57863-150-5.
Regardie, Israel. A Garden Of Pomegrnates. Llewellyn, 1932.
ISBN 1-56718-141-4.
Waite, Arthur Edward. The Holy Kabbalah. Cosimo Classics, 2007.
ISBN 1-60206-324-9.
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External links
Basics in Kabbalah, The Ten Serot: Keter (http://inner.org/serot
/sefketer.htm) (inner.org)
An Introduction to the Kabala (http://altreligion.about.com/library
/texts/bl_introkabbalahwestcott12.htm) (about.com)
Tree of Life: Keter (http://www.psyche.com/psyche/lex/zohar
/keter.html) (psyche.com)
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Categories: Sephirot Hebrew words and phrases
Kabbalistic words and phrases
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