By April 10, 2008 Read More →

Anonymous commentary on the sefirot

Jewish Mysticism
Anonymous commentary on the sefirot, written in all probability in Castile in the latter part of the thirteenth century, cited from Scholem, “Index to the Commentaries on the Ten Sefirot,” p. 18.

I will enlighten you and lead you in this way, to inform you of the mystery of unity (sod ha-yihud) through which the King is unified and the knowledge of His truth through which He is elevated, to show you the force of His comprehension, the wealth of the glory of His splendor and His kingdom, and the majesty of the splendor of His greatness in all the places of His dominion. I will show you the splendor to secure you in the Supernal Crown [first sefirah], to cover you in the splendor of the faithful Wisdom [second sefirah], to open for you the gates of Understanding [third sefirah], to cleave to the attributes of Mercy, Strength and Beauty [fourth-sixth sefirot], to take delight in Eternity, Majesty, the Foundation and the Crown [seventh-tenth sefirot]. Then your soul will don the garment of splendor and beauty, grace and love, and you will be crowned with the resplendent light that surrounds the Presence, and this is the secret in which is contained the mystery of the upper and lower knowledge.

Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.

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