Cabalists of the eighteenth century, with the exception of Moses Chayim Luzzatto (born 1707, died 1747), are of little importance. Modern influences gradually put a stop to the authority of the Cabala, and modern Judaism sees in the Cabala in general only an historical curiosity or an object of literary historical disquisitions.
1 See my article s. v. "Moses Cordovero," loc. cit. 57
2 He is the author of a hymn "Lecha dodi," i. e., "Come my beloved," which is found in all Jewish prayer-books, and used in the service for Sabbath eve.
3 See my article s. v. "Vital" in McClintock and Strong.
4 For a description of the component parts of this work, see Fiirst, Bibliotheca Judaica, III, pp. 479-481.
5 The English translation is found in Picard's Ceremonies and Religious Customs of the Various Nations of the Known World, Vol. I, London, 1733.
6 See my article s. v. "Sabbatai Zebi" in McClintock and Strong; see also Geschichte des Sabbatai-Zebi, sein Leben und Treiben, Warsaw, 1883; and Der Erzbetriiger Sabbatai Sevi, der letzte falsche Messias der Juden, etc., Halle, 1760; Berlin, 1908.
7 Called by the Jews shem-hammephorash, on which see my article s. v. in McClintock and Strong.
8 See mv article s. v. "Eybenschutz" in loc. cit., Vol. XII, p. 367.
9 Comp. Gractz, Frank und die Frankisten, Berlin, 1868.
CHAPTER V.
THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCTRINES OF THE CABALA.
God arid Creation.—After having become acquainted in previous chapters with the principal actors in the cabalistic drama we are now prepared to examine the tenets of the Cabala.
Different from the system as exhibited in the Book of Creation or Jezirah is that of the Zohar, because the more difficult, since it embraces not merely the origin of the world, but likewise speculates on the essence of God and the properties of man; in other words it treats of theology, cosmology and anthropology.
Starting from the idea of the Supreme Being as boundless in his nature—which necessarily implies that he is an absolute unity and inscrutable, and that there is nothing without him—God is called En Soph, i. e., "endless," "boundless." In this boundlessness God cannot be comprehended by the intellect, nor described in words; for there is nothing which can grasp him and depict him to us,1 and as such he is in a certain sense not existent (ayin) ; since, as far as our mind is concerned, that which is incomprehensible does not exist.
The En Soph, not being an object of cognition, made his existence known in the creation of the world by means of attributes or mediums, the ten Sephiroth, or intelligences, radiations, emanations, emanating from the En Soph, and which in their totality represent and are called the Adam Kadmon, the "Primordial or Archetypal Man."
The first Sephirah is called Kether, "Crown"; the second Chochma, "Wisdom"; the third Bina, "Intelligence"; the fourth Chesed, "Mercy"; the fifth Din, "Judgment"; the sixth Tiphereth, "Beauty"; the seventh Nczach, "Splendor"; the eighth Hod, "Majesty"; the ninth Jesod, "Foundation" ; the tenth Malchuth, "Kingdom."
Now the first Sephirah, which is called the Crown, the Aged,2 the Primordial or the Smooth Point,3 the White Head, the Long Face, Macroprosopon, the Inscrutable Height,4 contained the other nine Sephiroth and gave rise to them in the following order: from the first Sephirah proceeded a masculine or active potency designated (2) Chochma, "Wisdom," and an opposite, i. e., a feminine or passive potency, called (3) Bina, "Intelligence." These two opposite potencies are joined together by the first potency, and thus yield the first triad of the Sephiroth. From the junction of the foregoing opposites, which are also called "Father" (abba) and "Mother" (imma) emanated again the masculine or active potency called (4) Chesed, "Mercy or Love," also Gedulah, "Greatness," and from this again emanated the feminine or passive potency called (5) Din, "Judgment," also Geburah, "Judical Power." From this again emanated the uniting potency (6) Tiphereth, "Beauty." We have thus the second trinity of the Sephiroth. Now Beauty beamed forth the masculine or active potency (7) Nezach, "Splendor," and this again gave rise to (8) the feminine or passive potency Hod, "Majesty"; from it again emanated (9) Jesod, "Foundation," which yields the third trinity. From Jesod, finally emanated (10) Malchiith, "Kingdom," also called Schechinah.
The Cabalists delight in representing the ten Sephiroth under different forms; now as Adam Kadmon, "Primordial or Archetypal Man," now as the cabalistic tree or the Ilan, in which the crown is represented by the first Sephirah and the root by the last.
The Divine Man.-—As to the Adam Kadmon which is shown in the following figure, the Crown represents the head; Wisdom, the brains; Intelligence which unites the two and produces the first triad, the heart or the understanding. The fourth and fifth Sephiroth, i. e., Love and Justice are the two arms, the former the right arm and the latter the left; one distributing life and the other death. The sixth Sephirah, Beauty, uniting these two opposites and producing the second triad, is the chest. Firmness and Splendor of the third triad represent the two legs, whereas Foundation, the ninth Sephirah, represents the genital organs, since it denotes the basis and source of all things. Finally Kingdom, the tenth Sephirah, represents the harmony of the whole Archetypal Man.
Now in looking at the Sephiroth which constitute the first triad, it will be seen that they represent the intellect; hence this triad is called by Azariel the ''intellectual world" (olam muskal or olam ha-sechel). The second triad which represents moral qualities, is called the "moral" or "sensuous world" (olam murgash, also olam hanephesh) ; and the third, representing power and Stability, is called the "material world" (olam mutba or olam ha-teba).
Fig. 1. ADAM KADMON, THE ARCHETYPAL MAN.
Fig. 2. THE CABALISTIC TREE.
Fig. 3. THE PILLAR ARRANGEMENT.
As concerns the cabalistic tree (the ildn ha-cabala), the Sephiroth are so arranged that the first triad is placed above, the second and third are placed below, in such a manner that the three masculine Sephiroth are on the right, the three feminine on the left, whilst the four uniting Sephiroth occupy the center, as shown in Fig 2.
According to another arrangement the Sephiroth are so ordered that they form three pillars, a right
