hemsess , kivah and korkeban

thantifaxath

hemsess , kivah and korkeban what on earth do these words mean , wynn westcott has had a stab at them but his translation of the sepher yetzirah has come under much fire .. can't seem to find the translation for these words ..
 

thantifaxath

oo , perhaps its one of them is the tongue

oo , perhaps its one of them is the tongue , as the sepher yetzirah does specify the tongue as one of the the evil letters ...the search goes on
 

jmd

These words are found in some versions of the Sefer Yetzirah 5:6, and A. Kaplan comments on them on pages 212-214 of his translation and commentary of the same.

In there, he mentions that the Hemsess usually refers to the 'third-stomach' in ruminating animals, and used to grind food - and roughly corresponding in the human being to the small intestines.

The Korkeban, according to Kaplan, 'is most often used to denote the gizzard in fowl'. The Zohar apparently 'clearly' identifies it with the stomach.

The Kivah corresponds to the fourth stomach in ruminating animals, and perhaps the esophagus (according to an analogy explained by Maimonides).

In any event, what these three terms refer to is not clear, except that each is in some manner associated with parts of the digestive process or a digestive organ, and possibly not a human one.

Remembering that Kaplan has two and a half pages on these three words, I would, as with any discussion on the Sefer Yetzirah, highly recommend perusing his work directly.
 

thantifaxath

kaplan

howdy JMD , i have kaplans sepher yetzirah on order and should be with me around wednesday . I mentioned the tongue because of chapter 6 of the sepher yetzirah where '3 each stands alone . & 7 are divided .12 stand in war .........3 who love are the heart , ears and mouth , 3 who hate are liver , gall bladder and the tongue ...couldn't find the tongue mentioned elsewhere except maybe 'peh' but i thought that unlikely ...
There are others ..pehaps it will all come clear on study of kaplan's sepher yetzirah ..
thanks for the reply's
 

thantifaxath

i get SO excited

yee-ha, gran-ma kaplan sy arrived this am , shall be digesting it straight after breakfast ....God i love getting new books !
au revoir