By April 10, 2008 Read More →

Zohar 2:23b-24a

Jewish Mysticism
“And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob by [the name] God Almighty [el shaddai], and my name YHWH I did not make known to them” (Ex. 6-3). Rabbi Hezekiah opened “Happy is the Man whom the Lord imputes no inequity…” (Ps. 32-2). How foolish are those people who do not know and do regard what the world sustains itself upon, for when the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He created man in His image, and He adorned him with His adornments so that he would occupy himself with the Torah and walk in his ways. For when He created man, He adorned him with the dust of the lower Temple, and the four sides of the world [i.e. the dimensions of space] are combined in that place which is called Temple. And these four sides of the world are combined in the four aspects of the elements of the lower world, fire, air, water and earth. And these four aspects were combined with the four sides of the world and the Holy One, blessed be He, prepared from it a single body [adorned in] supernal adornments. This body was combined in two worlds, in this lower world and in the world above. Rabbi Simon said, come and see. These four initial ones are the mystery of faith, and they are the fathers of all the worlds, and the mystery of the supernal holy chariot. And these four elements, fire, air, water and earth, these are the supernal mystery, and from these go forth Gold, Silver, Copper and Iron, and from these, other metals that resemble them. Come and see, fire, water, air and earth, these are the origins and roots of above and below, and the lower things and upper things depend upon them. And they are four, for the four sides of the world, and they are sustained in these four, North, South, East and West. These are the four sides of the world and they are sustained by these four; fire in the north, air in the east, water in the south, since the south is warm and dry, water is cold and wet. Earth in the west. And these four are crowned by these four, and everything is one. And these make four metals, which are Gold, Silver, Copper and Iron, and these are twelve, and everything is one [had =12].

Translated by Hartley Lachter

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