Mysteries of Sepher Yetzirah

Huck

The following figure appeared in the thread about the early phoenicean alphabet. It is part of a suggestion, how to interprete the given data, that is 22 iconographical forms of the letters and
22 "memory-names" of the same letters.

head-group

6 (16-21)
|
1 (mother-letter)
|
letter 22 -- (mother-letter) -- 6 (4 - 9) (Soul-group)
|
1 (mother-letter)
|
6 (10 - 15)

(body-group)

The same group a little easier shown, better recognizeable in its strcture:

6
|
1
|
1 --- 1 --- 6
|
1
|
6

About this form I can do some statements:

A.
This is part of the mathematical concepts in Sepher Yetzirah. The Sepher Yetzirah describes 32 elements as the "32 ways of wisdom", 22 are described to refer to the Hebrew alphabet, 10 to the 10 Sephiroth. The 22 letters are described by the SY in a

3-7-12 structure

that means, 3 "mothers", 7 double and 12 simple letters.
In the text of SY and in other accompanying texts of the time it becomes apparent, that this "7" should be interpreted as a "6+1", although the text of SY treats it a little "hidden". The 6+1 is for instance given with the picture of a palace with 6 sides and a 7th center (".... parallel the seven extremities. These are the six extremeties: up. down, east, west, south, north. And the Holy Palace in the middle." SY 4,3 short version), also with the 7 days of the week, in which the 7th has a special function. So, what we actually have is:

3 + (6+1) + 12

B.
In the researched context between letters and names of letters in the Phoenician alphabet we (or at least me) could decipher a group with 12 elements (letter 10-21, ABC-Man), parted in two groups of 6 elements (10-15 body, 16 - 21 head) and a single element (letter 22). The other nine letters were not recognizeable, but I assumed an identity with the concept of the SY, which existed - my opinion - already in the early time.

Well ---- actually I'm teachable .... I disrupt here my interpretation, just falling back in the discussion we had around the ABC-man .... we had the problem, that we (me and autorbis) thought, that letter quof should be interpreted as "ear", we neglected the "back-head", but now ... the picture turns clear:

iod = hands (that's top)
kaph = feets (that's bottom)
Lamed = leg (that's between top and bottom)

mem = female genital (that's polar)
nun = male genital (that's polar)
samekh = back-bone (that's a skeleton impression)

ain = eye (that's top)
pe = mouth (that's bottom)
tzade = nose (that's between top and bottom)

NOW:
quof = backhead (that's polar)
resh = head (probably understood as front head)(that's polar)
shin = tooth (that's a skeleton impression)

Well, this is much clearer now and the ABC-man has a mirroring appearance (6 versus 6, head mirrors body, top-top, bottom-bottom, between-between, polar-polar, polar-polar, skeleton-skeleton). Also we see, that there is 3-3-3-3-order, which was not clear viewable, as long quof was held as "ears".

:) ... thank you, that helped.

The individual 3's do organize in the standard pattern. Thesis-Antithesis, Synthesis.

Hm ... open riddle.

then naturally one has to assume, that letters 4-6 and letters 7-9 also follow the standard pattern. And then we are in the life-tree, 4 = Thesis, 5 = Anti-thesis, 6 = Synthesis etc.):

5 ------ 4
---- 6 ----
8 ------ 7
---- 9 ----

Well .... learn something of it, life is always good for a surprize.

Okay, I've to think about it ... perhaps autorbis has an idea.

I explain the mysteries of the Sepher Yetzirah another time.
 

kwaw

Huck said:
: mem = female genital (that's polar)
nun = male genital (that's polar)
quof = backhead (that's polar)
resh = head (probably understood as front head)(that's polar)

Your polar attributes. SY says 'male and female'. The only sexual [or polar] attribute is resh, but that again is the covenant, the union of 'male and female'. What do you mean by 'polar'? Maybe I am mistaken as taking it as 'polar' opposites, male/female, positive/negative? Even the elements ether/fire/water are not the positive or negative four astrological elements. It is clear they are triune, not quatrane, and have both positive and negative characteristics. In many ways more in common with the astrological qualities cardinal, kerubic, and mutable than the elements air, earth, fire and water?

kwaw
 

kwaw

Two 'SY' models of the 32 paths

There are at least two, and maybe more, models of the 32 paths of wisdom reference in the SY. The main two, that I can discern, are the anthropomorphic and the concentric circular [onion] models.

In the anthropomorphic, each of the 22 letters is attrbuted to a part of the human body [male and female]. The sephiroth are referenced in relation to 'body' at center according to a spacial axis [before, behind, left, right, above, below], temporal axis [beginning, end] and spiritual [good,evil].

As to the second model, 'set the letters in a circle' and pair each with each. So do it, and what do you get? Do it systematically. Each letter with each adjacent letter, aleph with beit, aleph with tau. Each letter with every second letter, aleph with gimel, aleph with shin. Imagine then that within the tangents of each pairing is a circle. You end up with 10 circles [sephiroth], 22 radii [paths] and 231 connections or paths [gates].

In another ancient tradition one only has 221 gates, how so? Draw 10 concentric circles, put the 22 letters around it, inscribe a line between opposite [ALBaM] letters.

You now have 11 diameters or 22 radii. 22 radii that intersect the 10 concentric circles and 22x10=220, plus the intersection of the ALBaM letters in the center equals 221 [note, in the emblematic traditon, which I believe maybe connected to tarot and the mythological origins of its 'egyptian' beginnings, 221 is a recurring number/theme].

According to Lurianic tradition the outer circle represents kether, the inner malkuth. We may note the resemblance to the greek geocentric model of the cosmos, and the relationship between the judaic-gnostic sephiroth/logoi of the SY and the greek gnostic planetary archons.

Kwaw
 

Huck

Re: Re: Mysteries of Sepher Yetzirah

kwaw said:
Your polar attributes. SY says 'male and female'. The only sexual [or polar] attribute is resh, but that again is the covenant, the union of 'male and female'. What do you mean by 'polar'? Maybe I am mistaken as taking it as 'polar' opposites, male/female, positive/negative? Even the elements ether/fire/water are not the positive or negative four astrological elements. It is clear they are triune, not quatrane, and have both positive and negative characteristics. In many ways more in common with the astrological qualities cardinal, kerubic, and mutable than the elements air, earth, fire and water?

kwaw

Yes, I mean it "polar" as - for instance - male/female, left/right (hand), front/back (head).

But it was said in context of the "old alphabet", not in context of "Sepher Yetzirah". I beg to see here a clear difference. There are possibly 2000 years difference. Of course there are between both worlds also things, which are similar, but it changes not the problem to keep them separated.
What Jesus said in his youth, is also not that, what the pope stated 2004.

In the elements water/fire are polar - in most contexts and I guess also in SY. In SY just a 3rd function is given as 3rd relation factor between the polar pair - air.
As in other element models. Earth is in the standard model the mixing of the other 3 elements. In SY it is for hidden reason missing.
:) If you don't know about the hidden reason, perhaps you'll learn about it in next future.

The astrological elements are simply from "another world and system".
 

Huck

Re: Two 'SY' models of the 32 paths

kwaw said:
There are at least two, and maybe more, models of the 32 paths of wisdom reference in the SY. The main two, that I can discern, are the anthropomorphic and the concentric circular [onion] models.

In the anthropomorphic, each of the 22 letters is attrbuted to a part of the human body [male and female]. The sephiroth are referenced in relation to 'body' at center according to a spacial axis [before, behind, left, right, above, below], temporal axis [beginning, end] and spiritual [good,evil].

As to the second model, 'set the letters in a circle' and pair each with each. So do it, and what do you get? Do it systematically. Each letter with each adjacent letter, aleph with beit, aleph with tau. Each letter with every second letter, aleph with gimel, aleph with shin. Imagine then that within the tangents of each pairing is a circle. You end up with 10 circles [sephiroth], 22 radii [paths] and 231 connections or paths [gates].

In another ancient tradition one only has 221 gates, how so? Draw 10 concentric circles, put the 22 letters around it, inscribe a line between opposite [ALBaM] letters.

You now have 11 diameters or 22 radii. 22 radii that intersect the 10 concentric circles and 22x10=220, plus the intersection of the ALBaM letters in the center equals 221 [note, in the emblematic traditon, which I believe maybe connected to tarot and the mythological origins of its 'egyptian' beginnings, 221 is a recurring number/theme].

According to Lurianic tradition the outer circle represents kether, the inner malkuth. We may note the resemblance to the greek geocentric model of the cosmos, and the relationship between the judaic-gnostic sephiroth/logoi of the SY and the greek gnostic planetary archons.

Kwaw

Thanks,
that you note it here, actually I would have left it as unimportant.

The number 231 refers to a childly joy of the author of SY about letter-combinatoric, 231= 21x11 or

1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18+19+20+21= 231

or the consideration, that each letter is paired "without position" which each other letter.

This is already understood in thousands of books about the SY, so I don't refer to it as a "mystery".

About the number 221 I've read, that it simply was the same thing as 231, but actually found its way to life as a writing error.

But nice, that somebody found a way to explain the writing error as a genious act. Is mathematic not wonderful? Finally even the errors are right.

Alright, this also I do not regard as mystery.

For that, what I do call the real "mysteries of SY" both models are rather unimportant.

:) So, I do hope, I made you curious enough, that you wish to know, what mysteries I'm speaking of.
 

kwaw

Re: Re: Two 'SY' models of the 32 paths

Originally posted by Huck

1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18+19+20+21= 231


Yes I know, but it is not unimportant, for much symbolic meaning was attached to the relationship between triangular [unmanifest, soul] numbers and square [manifest, physical, hylech] numbers.

It is said in the SY that all then are derived from the one name. We may note that the name YHV/IAO (remembering that the text is considered of gnostic origins) [10+5+6] = 21, and as you point out, the sum of 1 - 21 = 231. There is also astrological references which are important, but the main triangular significant numbers are 3=6, 7=21, 12=78.

And of course this is no mystery if by that you mean it is 'well known' [though one may consider it a mystery still, if one was to take it simply as a childish joy in numbers with no reference to the significance it may have had for the authors and others in the tradition], but it may be relevant to anyone here unfamiliar with the SY to have some of the basics pointed out.

About the number 221 I've read, that it simply was the same thing as 231, but actually found its way to life as a writing error.

But nice, that somebody found a way to explain the writing error as a genious act. Is mathematic not wonderful? Finally even the errors are right.

Yes I too have read in some books that it is an error and it is considered so by many commentators, but in fact it has its own tradition and was favoured in several schools of prominent Rabbi's and kabbalistic teachers. see page 118/119 of Kaplans SY for example. Personally I favour the 231 gates, but offered a possible derivation of the 221 gates for the sake of completeness in reference and respect to another and equally ancient tradition.

Kwaw
 

Ross G Caldwell

Re: Re: Re: Two 'SY' models of the 32 paths

kwaw said:

It is said in the SY that all then are derived from the one name. We may note that the name YHV/IAO (remembering that the text is considered of gnostic origins)

It may be of interest that a fragment of the Greek (LXX) Leviticus 2-5 from Qumran cave 4 (4Q120) has IAO (O=Omega) where the Hebrew has the Tetragrammaton. Normally of course the Tetragrammaton is translated "Kyrios" (Lord) in the LXX.

Very striking turn-of-the-era witness to a (probably) non-gnostic use of IAO, and an indication of the pronunciation of the name.

See
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/lxx4qlevb.jpg

(middle of the 4th line of the big fragment; the omega is slightly abraded)

See also
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/lxxjewpap/4QLevB.jpg

There are also instances where the Qumran copies of the Greek Bible use Hebrew or Palaeo-Hebrew to transcribe the Divine Name -
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/lxxmprssm.jpg
larger -
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/lxxmprstetr.jpg

http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/POxy/papyri/vol50/300dpi/3522_300.jpg
(fifth line down)



From the superb page "The Textual Mechanics of Early Jewish LXX/OG Papyri and Fragments"
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/earlypap.html

[information - (7). 4Q120=LXXLev\b, Leviticus 2-5 [#802 = vh046 = AT22];
papyrus roll, 1st bce; Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.
From Qumran cave 4; ed. E.Ulrich, DJD 9 (1992) 168 (plates 39- 41), with paleographical analysis by P.Parsons, 10.

A tall scroll, about 31 cm high (about 38 lines per column), with columns of about 10-11 cm in width (23-29 letters).

This fragment is written in a highly decorated bilinear script, with no significant shading (compare #848 and #943b, items 8 and 13 below).

Spacing is used before and after the divine name (represented by IAW) and occasionally between sense-divisions or sentences. Paragraph signs also occur at the left margin. The manuscript also uses iota adscript (usually); and contains some corrections.]

Ross
 

Ross G Caldwell

Here is the considered opinion of Rolf Friuli (University of Oslo) on the use of IAW in 4QLXXLevb -

"I am not aware of a single piece of evidence which suggests that the phonetic transcription IAW in 4QLXXLevb was chosen as a substitute for YHWH because of some magic viewpoint. It is true that YAW *later* was used as a magic word - several papyrii from the third century C.E. at the University library of Oslo testify to this - but this is hardly the case in the LXX. The phonetic transcription IAW evidently represents the real pronunciatiation of the shortened form of YHWH when the LXX-copy was made,
just as YHW was used by Aramaic-speaking Jews on the Egyptian island of Elephantine in the 5th century B.C.E. Corroborating this are the forms PIPI and HEHE (not anything resembling IAW) in the marigin of old Syraic Biblical manuscripts. So I see no connection between IAW and magic or between the Masoretes and IAW.

As to the LXX manuscripts from the second century onward, several divine designations, such as for instance QS (for QEOS)[Q=theta] are abbreviated, and magic cannot play any role in connection with these abbreviations. So why should it in connection with KS?. There is evidence that some groups, including the Qumran sect, stopped pronouncing the divine name at the beginning of the second century B.C.E. while others continued to pronounce it, perhaps as long as the middle of the first century C.E."

http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2001-February/015797.html

IAW = IAO, IAWE = IAVE
 

Huck

I enjoy your engagement very much, Kwaw .... not that you misunderstand me, but I wanted to talk of the mysteries of SY, not of that of the commentators.

Ross, also ... :) not the Qumram texts, but the SY. Only the SY.

And also: not the wonderful connections to which all the letter-numerological considerations with Aleph = 1, beth = 2 etc might lead.
Not inside the first mystery, I intend to talk about.
The second mystery will have something of this, but not in the way, that most of you are used, I guess.

Only the SY. Just a very short text. But too much for you amd me.
And as I'm lazy I throw the most part of SY now out of the ring, just keeping a few sentences.

This I must keep in reserve, in the case if you come to special questions.

Do you remember, what I said in one of my last posts to Ross? I said, the trick is to make them listen .... :)

Okay, Kwaw, here is the first riddle for you. What's this?

(3 + (6+1) + 12) + (1 + 3 + 6)

I know, that you'll find it ... It's inside SY.

Ah, I note , that you're not curious enough. Then I'll say, it is something, which will guide you to something which Aryeh Kaplan didn't note. Not this what is written above, but the follow-up.
 

kwaw

Huck said:
I enjoy your engagement very much, Kwaw .... not that you misunderstand me, but I wanted to talk of the mysteries of SY, not of that of the commentators.


Well I am interested in everyone's view of this complex text, not just yours Huck, though if you care to share it, I am sure that will be of interest as well.

Ross, also ... :) not the Qumram texts, but the SY. Only the SY.

Well thats one persons opinion Ross, personally I would like very much the opinions and references to the historic milieu in which the complexities of this text may be understood. It is a common problem from the several commentaries that I have read that people take the text in isolation. Thank you for your Qumran references and research into the name YHV/IAO, personally I think it relevant.

I don't know enough about gnosticism and Qumran, but certainly there is a strong element of dualism in the Qumran texts, that may elude to an influence that affected both Qumran and the judeo-christian gnostic traditions.

And also: not the wonderful connections to which all the letter-numerological considerations with Aleph = 1, beth = 2 etc might lead.

I would very much like to discuss these to anyone who is interested.

Not inside the first mystery, I intend to talk about.
The second mystery will have something of this, but not in the way, that most of you are used, I guess.

One of the most boring aspects of occultism and occultists IMHO is the self puffing claims to mysteries no one else is akin too. Put up or shut up, I am not interested in your games. I am interested in sharing viewpoints, knowedge and personal and historical exegesis of the SY, which includes commentaries and the context of its origins. There is no reason IMHO to examine it in isolation as somehow totally seperate and unique from any other historical context.

Only the SY. Just a very short text. But too much for you amd me.

Certainly too much for me. Without the explanations of commentators and teachers I don't think I would have fathomed as much as I have or been able to make headway in my own examination. With their help I have been able to do some of what the SY instructs and form my own observations and experience, and been able to understand a few of its contents. Not as much as yourself however I admit, to decide what is true and what is forged and delude myself of mysteries I can only offer others in riddles.

And as I'm lazy I throw the most part of SY now out of the ring, just keeping a few sentences.

This I must keep in reserve, in the case if you come to special questions.

Do you remember, what I said in one of my last posts to Ross? I said, the trick is to make them listen .... :)

Okay, Kwaw, here is the first riddle for you. What's this?

(3 + (6+1) + 12) + (1 + 3 + 6)

I know, that you'll find it ... It's inside SY.

Ah, I note , that you're not curious enough. Then I'll say, it is something, which will guide you to something which Aryeh Kaplan didn't note. Not this what is written above, but the follow-up.

I am curious of what anyone has made of this text and of their understanding of it. I am not interested in playing riddles or games or playng into individual delusions of grandeur and mysterious insights to which no one else is priviledged. If you want to post riddles I suggest you post over in the fun and games forum. If you want to share your insights, I am all ears.

Kwaw