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Ohr Elchanan Street Sign
''Ohr'' ("Light" he, אור; plural: ''Ohros/Ohrot'' "Lights" ) is a central Kabbalistic term in the Jewish mystical tradition. The analogy of physical light is used as a way of describing metaphysical Divine emanations. ''Shefa'' ("Flow" and its derivative, ''Hashpoah'' "Influence" ) is sometimes alternatively used in Kabbalah, a term also used in Medieval Jewish philosophy to mean Divine influence, while the Kabbalists favour ''Ohr'' because its numerical value equals ''Raz'' ("mystery"). It is one of the two main metaphors in Kabbalah for understanding Divinity, along with the other metaphor of the human soul-body relationship for the Sephirot. The metaphorical description of spiritual Divine creative-flow, using the term for physical "light" perceived with the eye, arises from analogous similarities. These include the intangible physicality of light, the delight it inspires and the illumination it gives, its apparently immediate transmission and constant connection with its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keilim
''Keilim ''or ''Kelim'' ( he, כֵּלִים, literally "Vessels") is the first tractate in the Order of Tohorot in the Mishnah. It contains thirty chapters, making it the longest tractate in the entire Mishnah. The Tosefta on Keilim consists of twenty-five chapters,Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: *Z. Frankel, Hodegetica in Mischnam', p. 263, Leipsic, 1859. divided into ''Bava Kama'' ("First Gate"), ''Bava Metzia'' ("Middle Gate"), and ''Bava Batra'' ("Final Gate") of ''Keilim''. The tractate discusses the laws of ritual purity and impurity pertaining to all types of vessels. * Chapter 1 clarifies the ranking of ritual impurities * Chapters 2–10 discuss earthenware vessels ( clay ovens, ranges, etc.) * Chapters 11–14 discuss metal vessels * Chapters 15–19 discuss vessels made of wood, leather, and bone * Chapters 20–25 discuss laws of purity and impurity pertaining to all vessels * Chapters 26–28 discuss laws pertaining to leather and clothing * Chapter 29 discusses t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasidic Philosophy
Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism ( he, חסידות), alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic ''rebbes'', often in the form of commentary on the Torah (the Five books of Moses) and Kabbalah ( Jewish mysticism). Hasidism deals with a range of spiritual concepts such as God, the soul, and the Torah, dealing with esoteric matters but often making them understandable, applicable and finding practical expressions. With the spread of Hasidism throughout Ukraine, Galicia, Poland, and Russia, divergent schools emerged within Hasidism. Some schools place more stress on intellectual understanding of the Divine, others on the emotional connection with the Divine. Some schools stress specific traits or exhibit behavior not common to other schools. Most if not all schools of Hasidic Judaism stress the central role of the Tzadik, or spiritual and communal leader, in the life of the individual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Worlds
The Four Worlds ( he, עולמות ''Olamot'', singular: ''Olam'' עולם), sometimes counted with a prior stage to make Five Worlds, are the comprehensive categories of spiritual realms in Kabbalah in the descending chain of Existence. The concept of "Worlds" denotes the emanation of creative lifeforce from the Ein Sof Divine Infinite, through progressive, innumerable tzimtzumim (concealments/veilings/condensations). As particular sefirot dominate in each realm, so the primordial fifth World, Adam Kadmon, is often excluded for its transcendence, and the four subsequent Worlds are usually referred to. Their names are read out from Isaiah 43:7, "Every one that is called by My name and for ''My glory'', I have ''created'', I have ''formed'', even I have ''made''" each elucidating the names Atziluth ("Emanation/Close"), Beriah ("Creation"), Yetzirah ("Formation"), and Asiyah ("Action"). Below Asiyah, the lowest spiritual World, is ''Asiyah-Gashmi'' ("Physical Asiyah"), our Ph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ein Sof
Ein Sof, or Eyn Sof (, he, '; meaning "infinite", ), in Kabbalah, is understood as God prior to any self-manifestation in the production of any spiritual realm, probably derived from Solomon ibn Gabirol's ( 1021 – 1070) term, "the Endless One" (''she-en lo tiklah''). ''Ein Sof'' may be translated as "unending", "(there is) no end", or infinity. It was first used by Azriel ( 1160 – 1238), who, sharing the Neoplatonic belief that God can have no desire, thought, word, or action, emphasized by it the negation of any attribute. Of the Ein Sof, nothing (" Ein") can be grasped ("Sof"-limitation). It is the origin of the Ohr Ein Sof, the "Infinite Light" of paradoxical divine self-knowledge, nullified within the Ein Sof prior to creation. In Lurianic Kabbalah, the first act of creation, the Tzimtzum self "withdrawal" of God to create an "empty space", takes place from there. In Hasidic Judaism, the Tzimtzum is only the illusionary concealment of the Ohr Ein Sof, giving rise to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divine Transcendence
In religion, transcendence is the aspect of a deity's nature and power that is completely independent of the material universe, beyond all known physical laws. This is contrasted with immanence, where a god is said to be fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways. In religious experience, transcendence is a state of being that has overcome the limitations of physical existence, and by some definitions, has also become independent of it. This is typically manifested in prayer, rituals, meditation, psychedelics and paranormal "visions". It is affirmed in various religious traditions' concept of the divine, which contrasts with the notion of a god (or, the Absolute) that exists exclusively in the physical order (immanentism), or is indistinguishable from it (pantheism). Transcendence can be attributed to the divine not only in its being, but also in its knowledge. Thus, a god may transcend both the universe and knowledge (is beyond the gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divine Immanence
The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pantheistic, pandeistic, or panentheistic faiths to suggest that the spiritual world permeates the mundane. It is often contrasted with theories of transcendence, in which the divine is seen to be outside the material world. Major faiths commonly devote significant philosophical efforts to explaining the relationship between immanence and transcendence but do so in different ways, such as: * casting immanence as a characteristic of a transcendent God (common in Abrahamic religions), * subsuming immanent personal gods in a greater transcendent being (such as with Brahman in Hinduism), or * approaching the question of transcendence as something which can only be answered through an appraisal of immanence. Western Esotericism Another meaning of i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seder Hishtalshelus
In Kabbalistic and Hasidic philosophy, ''seder hishtalshelut'' or ''hishtalshelut'' ( he, סדר השתלשלות) refers to the chain-like descent of spiritual worlds ( ''Olam/Olamot'') between God and Creation. Each spiritual world denotes a complete realm of existence, resulting from its general proximity or distance to divine revelation. Each realm is also a form of consciousness reflected in this world through the psychology of the soul. The theosophical tradition in Kabbalah is concerned with defining in great detail the esoteric nature, particular divine manifestations, and functional role of each level between the infinite and the finite. Each spiritual realm embodies a creative stage God continually uses to go from his self to the creation of the physical world, the material Universe being the end of the chain, and the only physical realm. Hasidic thought applies the Kabbalistic scheme to its own concern of perceiving divine omnipresence in this material world. In this, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabbalistic Texts
The primary texts of Kabbalah were allegedly once part of an ongoing oral tradition. The written texts are obscure and difficult for readers who are unfamiliar with Jewish spirituality which assumes extensive knowledge of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Midrash (Jewish hermeneutic tradition) and halakha (Jewish religious law). The Torah For kabbalists, ten utterances in Genesis with which God created the world are linked to the ten sefirot—the divine structure of all being. According to the Zohar and the Sefer ha-Yihud, the Torah is synonymous with God.Kabbalah: New Perspectives, Moshe Idel, Yale University Press, 1988. More specifically, in the Sefer ha-Yihud, the letters in the Torah are the forms of God. The kabbalist looks beyond the literal aspects of the text, to find the hidden mystical meaning. The text not only offers traditions and ways of thinking, but it also reveals the reality of God. One of the first Jewish philosophers, Philo of Alexandria (20BCE-40), said that A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dveikus
Devekut, debekuth, deveikuth or deveikus ( Heb. דבקות; Mod. Heb. "dedication", traditionally "clinging on" to God) is a Jewish concept referring to closeness to God. It may refer to a deep, trance-like meditative state attained during Jewish prayer, Torah study, or when performing the 613 mitzvot (the "commandments"). It is particularly associated with the Jewish mystical tradition. Etymology דבק, or ''deveq'', the modern Hebrew word for glue, literally means 'to cling'. It is sometimes referred to as ''devequt'', "dvequt" or ''devequs''. The concept of Devequt is important in Jewish culture, particularly in Hasidism and in the history of Jewish thought, mysticism, and ethics. In modern Israeli Hebrew, "Devequt" or "dvequt" is also often a synonym for dedication toward a particular goal. In religious Judaism and in academia, "Dvequt" refers most commonly to the philosophical, mystical and Hasidic understanding of "Devequt" as "cleaving" or "attaching oneself" to God in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The definition of Kabbalah varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it, from its origin in medieval Judaism to its later adaptations in Western esotericism (Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah). Jewish Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God in Judaism, God—the mysterious ''Ein Sof'' (, ''"The Infinite"'')—and the mortal, finite universe (God's Genesis creation narrative, creation). It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. List of Jewish Kabbalists, Jewish Kabbalists originally developed their own transmission of Primary texts of Kabbalah, sacred texts within the realm of Jewish traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Malachi
The Book of Malachi (Hebrew: , ') is the last book of the Neviim contained in the Tanakh, canonically the last of the Twelve Minor Prophets. In the Christian ordering, the grouping of the prophetic books is the last section of the Old Testament, making Malachi the last book before the New Testament. The book is commonly attributed to a prophet named Malachi, as its title has frequently been understood as a proper name, although its Hebrew meaning is simply "My Messenger" (the Septuagint reads "his messenger") and may not be the author's name at all. The name occurs in the superscription at 1:1 and in 3:1, although it is highly unlikely that the word refers to the same character in both of these references. Thus, there is substantial debate regarding the identity of the book's author. One of the Targums identifies Ezra (or Esdras) as the author of Malachi. Priest and Historian Jerome suggests that this may be because Ezra is seen as an intermediary between the prophets and the "gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godhead (Judaism)
Godhead refers to the aspect or substratum of God that lies behind God's actions or properties (i.e., it is the essence of God), and its nature has been the subject of long debate in every major religion. Terminology The closest corresponding term in the classical and modern languages of Jewish scholarship is אלוהות (''elohút''), meaning deity (essential nature of a god) or divinity. Max Kadushin notes that "The plural 'Elohim, gods, must not be confused with 'Elohut, Godhead. The latter is used with reference to God".Kadushin, M. ''The rabbinic mind'' (2001) p. 199. Conceptions Neoplatonic The leading Jewish Neoplatonic writer was Solomon ibn Gabirol. In his ''Fons Vitae'', Gabirol's position is that everything that exists may be reduced to three categories: the first substance (God), matter and form (the world), with the will as intermediary. Gabirol derives matter and form from absolute being. In the Godhead he seems to differentiate ''essentia'' (being) from ''propriet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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