7.8. CABBALA and Its Significance

Cabbala, this mystic teaching of the Jewish people strongly influenced our lives; we do not have enough space here to give a realistic overview of its width and value. The study of Cabbala takes a lot of time and previous knowledge, and therefore, it is understandable that some researchers, analysts and psychologists have said that they have studied Cabbala for their whole lives.

As I have already mentioned in the previous chapters, Cabbala defines the worlds above us and gives us a certain insight into the universe (ain sof or, ain sof, ain). The development of creations and the ways to implement individual ideas are presented by the ‘tree of life’.

The tree of life presents all the revelations; it consists of three pillars: the right one - the active one, the middle one, and the left one - the passive one; the three pillars represent the three principles, formed by ten sephirots or ten divine attributes. The basis of the tree of life is therefore the sephirots, mutually connected with paths, determining us the ways of the realisation of a certain idea and leading from one attribute to another. There are 22 such paths: they are marked with Hebrew letters or with the attributes of the 22 cards of the great Arcanum in Tarot.

Thus, for instance, the cabbalist colouring of the body is performed through the following sephirots: keter (crown), chokmah (wisdom), binah (understanding), chesed (merci), gevurah (judgement), tiphereth (beauty), netzach (eternity), hod (reflection), yesod (basis) and malkhut (kingdom), which is also the principle or path of the idea and creation, i.e. emergence or creation of the first human being, Adam Kadmon. The sephirots cover four mutually entangled worlds, so that certain sephirots exist in the upper and others in the lower world.

CABBALA – Tree of life

Root - ATZILUTH (world of emanation)

Trunk - BRIAH (world of creation)

Branch - YETZIRAH (world of formation)

Fruit - ASIAH (world of action)

The wise Hebrews only partially disclosed the tree of life, this complex and ancient mystic teaching: I suppose that today we only know one part, an incomplete Cabbala. I believe that certain paths are missing: if we consider the eternal dualism of the natural law and envisage the perfection of this mystic teaching, we will ascertain that two paths or two attributes of the great Arcanum in Tarot are missing.