Yichudim (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: "Unifications") is a specific form of
Jewish meditation
Jewish meditation includes practices of settling the mind, introspection, visualization, emotional insight, contemplation of Names of God in Judaism, divine names, or concentration on philosophical, ethical or mystical ideas. Meditation may accom ...
in
Kabbalistic
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'' "rece ...
Jewish mysticism, especially denoting the complete meditative method developed by
Isaac Luria
Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mean ...
(1534–1572). The term
Yichud
In Jewish religious law (''halakha''), the laws of ''yichud'' ( he, איסור ייחוד ''issur yichud'', ''prohibition of seclusion'') prohibit seclusion in a private area of a man and a woman who are not married to each other. Such seclusio ...
is found in
Halakha
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
(Jewish law), denoting male-female "seclusion". In the esoteric
anthropomorphism in Kabbalah
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Kabbalah, the central system in Jewish mysticism, uses anthropomorphic mythic symbols to metaphorically describe manifestations of God in Judaism. Based on the verses "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created h ...
, ''Yichudim'' denote unifications between male and female Divine aspects in the supernal
sephirot
Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm an ...
.
In the Zohar
The
Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
speaks of two types of Yichudim in general, a ''Yichud Mah u Ban'' and a ''Yichud Ava''. These divine names derive from esoteric expansions of the
Tetragrammaton
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...
, representing different supernal forces.
Kabbalistic theosophy explores the esoteric function of Yichudim in the unfolding creation of the spiritual realms, while
meditative Kabbalah
Jewish meditation includes practices of settling the mind, introspection, visualization, emotional insight, contemplation of divine names, or concentration on philosophical, ethical or mystical ideas. Meditation may accompany unstructured, person ...
experiences and influences these supernal forces through the human psyche, as mystical
Kavanot
Kavanah, kavvanah or kavana (also pronounced /kaˈvonə/ by some Ashkenazi Jews) (כַּוָּנָה; in Biblical Hebrew kawwānā), plural kavanot or kavanos (Ashkenazim), literally means "intention" or "sincere feeling, direction of the heart" ...
intentions during prayer, Jewish observance, or isolated practice. Kabbalistic doctrine sees unifications in the divine realm among the
sephirot
Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm an ...
, and between God and lower creation, as the
theurgic
Theurgy (; ) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting wi ...
restorative task of man. Among the sephirot this is symbolised by the unification of the revealed male principle
Tiferet
Tiferet ( he, תִּפְאֶרֶת ''Tip̄ʾereṯ,'' in pausa: תִּפְאָרֶת ''Tip̄ʾāreṯ'', lit. 'beauty, glory, adornment') alternatively Tifaret, Tiphareth, Tifereth or Tiphereth, is the sixth sefira in the kabbalistic Tree of ...
("The Holy One Blessed be He") and the female
Malkuth
Modern: ''Malḵūt'' , Tiberian: ''Malḵūṯ'' , Ashkenazi: ''Malḵūs'' , 'kingdom'), Malkhut Malkhuth or Malchus is the tenth of the sephirot in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It sits at the bottom of the Tree, below Yesod. This sephira ...
(which descends immanently into creation as the exiled
Shekhina
Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the Divine ...
divine Presence).
Hasidic explanation of the Zohar
''Yichud Mah u Ban'' in the human psyche is the unification of one's emotions with action.
''Yichud Ava'' is the process whereby a
Kabbalist traces an object or concept in this physical world, up through the various levels of God's creative process of that object or concept. The goal of a unification is twofold. One, to uncover the inherent
Godliness
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine< ...](_blank)
in the subject that is being meditated on, and second, to bring the Godliness "back home", so to speak. Once the Godliness of the thing is uncovered, the Kabbalist will endeavour to conceptually understand how all the levels that once separated him and God are actually all one.
Hasidic thought
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 th ...
describes two levels of this Divine ''Yichud'' (Unity) with Creation: ''Yichuda Ila'ah'' (Higher Unity) in which Creation is nullified within the Divine totality, ''Yichudah Tata'ah'' (Lower Unity) in which Creation perceives its own existence dependent on God.
Lurianic meditation system
Isaac Luria
Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mean ...
, the father of modern Kabbalah, developed the Zoharic references to Yichudim into a complete esoteric system of meditation, based on the new mythological scheme of
Lurianic Kabbalah
Lurianic Kabbalah is a school of kabbalah named after Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the Jewish rabbi who developed it. Lurianic Kabbalah gave a seminal new account of Kabbalistic thought that its followers synthesised with, and read into, the earlie ...
. Outwardly, the Zohar appears to be solely a theosophical text. However, through Luria's theosophical description of the cosmic structure as a complete interacting dynamic system, the soul of man embodies and dynamically interacts with the supernal processes of creation. Where
Moses Cordovero
Moses Cordovero was a physician who lived at Leghorn (Livorno), Tuscany
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previously developed a linear Zoharic method of meditation based on his conception of the sephirot as discreet powers, Luria's Yichudim meditation method is based on the sephirot as
anthropomorphic mutually enclothing
Partzufim
Partzufim/Partsufim ( he, פרצופים, singular partzuf, he, פרצוף), meaning "Divine Personas", are particular reconfigured arrangements of the ten sefirot, divine attributes/emanations of Kabbalah. Each partzuf is thus a configuration ...
(divine personas). His systemisation of Zoharic doctrine into a comprehensive process, enabled him to extract Yichudim meditation practices from the most esoteric descriptions in the Zohar. These elite meditative practices engaged the attention of subsequent Kabbalistic worship, and were further expanded, and practiced in a communal setting by
Shalom Sharabi
Sar Shalom Sharabi ( he, שר שלום מזרחי דידיע שרעבי), also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a Sharabi (1720–1777), was a Yemenite Rabbi, Halachist, Chazzan and Kabbalist. In later life, ...
and the
Beit El circle.
Example of Lurianic Yichudim meditation
In the same way that the Lurianic
partzufim
Partzufim/Partsufim ( he, פרצופים, singular partzuf, he, פרצוף), meaning "Divine Personas", are particular reconfigured arrangements of the ten sefirot, divine attributes/emanations of Kabbalah. Each partzuf is thus a configuration ...
interact and enclothe within each other, so in Lurianic Yichudim meditations these supernal processes are theurgically enacted in the psyche by combining, and usually enclothing the letters of particular divine names within each other. A simple Yichud meditation example:
"The lower soul (nefesh) is from the Universe of Assiah
Assiah (also 'Asiya'MEIJERS, L. D., and J. TENNEKES. “SPIRIT AND MATTER IN THE COSMOLOGY OF CHASSIDIC JUDAISM.” Symbolic Anthropology in the Netherlands, edited by P.E. DE JOSSELIN DE JONG and ERIK SCHWIMMER, vol. 95, Brill, 1982, pp. 200–21 ...
, which is associated with the name Adonay ("Lord" the divine name associated with the Sefirah Malkuth
Modern: ''Malḵūt'' , Tiberian: ''Malḵūṯ'' , Ashkenazi: ''Malḵūs'' , 'kingdom'), Malkhut Malkhuth or Malchus is the tenth of the sephirot in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It sits at the bottom of the Tree, below Yesod. This sephira ...
). One should therefore meditate on the name Adony (ADNY) binding it to the name YHVH (Tetragrammaton
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...
name associated with the Sefirah Tiferet
Tiferet ( he, תִּפְאֶרֶת ''Tip̄ʾereṯ,'' in pausa: תִּפְאָרֶת ''Tip̄ʾāreṯ'', lit. 'beauty, glory, adornment') alternatively Tifaret, Tiphareth, Tifereth or Tiphereth, is the sixth sefira in the kabbalistic Tree of ...
) in the Universe of Assiah. He should then bind this to the name Ehyeh (AHYH "I Am" associated with the Sefirah Keter
Keter ( he-a, כֶּתֶר, Keter.ogg, link=yes, ''Keṯer'', lit. "crown") also known as Kether, is the topmost of the sephirot of the Tree of Life in Kabbalah. Since its meaning is "crown", it is interpreted as both the "topmost" of the Sep ...
) in the Universe of Assiah.
He should then meditate on this, elevating the name Ehyeh of Assiah, and binding it to Adonay of Yetzirah
Yetzirah (also known as ''Olam Yetsirah'', עוֹלָם יְצִירָה in Hebrew) is the third of four worlds in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, following Atziluth and Beri'ah and preceding Assiah. It is known as the "World of Formation".
"Yet ...
. Adonay of Yetzirah should then be bound to YHVH of Yetzirah.
One proceeds in this manner step by step, until he reaches Ehyeh of Atziluth
Atziluth or Atzilut (also ''Olam Atsiluth'', עוֹלָם אֲצִילוּת, literally "the World of Emanation") is the highest of four worlds in which exists the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It is also known as "near to God."MEIJERS, L. D., and J. ...
. He should then bind Ehyeh of Atzilut to the very highest level, which is the Ein Sof."
Luria instructs many detailed and advanced Yichudim meditations for particular purposes. As well as
Kavanot
Kavanah, kavvanah or kavana (also pronounced /kaˈvonə/ by some Ashkenazi Jews) (כַּוָּנָה; in Biblical Hebrew kawwānā), plural kavanot or kavanos (Ashkenazim), literally means "intention" or "sincere feeling, direction of the heart" ...
for prayer and to accompany Jewish observances, these include meditations enacted while prostrated on the grave of a saint, a practice of the 16th century
Safed Kabbalists in order to commune with the righteous soul.
Kavanot of prayer in Hasidism
The elaborate esoteric Lurianic Yichudim to accompany liturgical prayer were replaced in early 18th century
Hasidism
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...
by new
Jewish meditation
Jewish meditation includes practices of settling the mind, introspection, visualization, emotional insight, contemplation of Names of God in Judaism, divine names, or concentration on philosophical, ethical or mystical ideas. Meditation may accom ...
forms taught by the
Baal Shem Tov
Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...
, based on its concern with
deveikut
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 Jewi ...
direct internal consciousness of divinity. However, a very small number of extant Yichudim for other purposes, taught by the Baal Shem Tov, are recorded in early Hasidic texts.
[''Meditation and Kabbalah'', Aryeh Kaplan, section on Hasidism records a Yichud to be practiced during immersion in a mikveh.]
See also
*
Kavanah
Kavanah, kavvanah or kavana (also pronounced /kaˈvonə/ by some Ashkenazi Jews) (כַּוָּנָה; in Biblical Hebrew kawwānā), plural kavanot or kavanos (Ashkenazim), literally means "intention" or "sincere feeling, direction of the heart". ...
*
Zeir Anpin
{{Kabbalah
Ze`ir Anpin (Aramaic: זְעֵיר אַנפִּין meaning "Lesser Countenance/Small Face", called Microprosopus in the Kabbala Denudata) is a revealed aspect of God in Kabbalah, comprising the emotional sephirot attributes: Chesed, G ...
Notes
{{reflist
References
* ''Meditation and Kabbalah'',
Aryeh Kaplan
Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan ( he, אריה משה אליהו קפלן; October 23, 1934 – January 28, 1983) was an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and translator, best known for his Living Torah edition of the Torah. He became well known as ...
, Weiser New York
* ''Gate of Unity'' by
Dovber Schneuri
Dovber Schneuri (13 November 1773 – 16 November 1827 OS) was the second Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. Rabbi Dovber was the first Chabad rebbe to live in the town of Lyubavichi (in present-day Belarus), t ...
Kabbalah
Hasidic thought
Kabbalistic words and phrases