The Sefirot are the ten emanations through which the utterly hidden Infinite, Ein Sof ("Without-End"), becomes the active, knowable, addressable God of religion.
Imported citation, not independently checked: G. Scholem, Kabbalah (1974)
religion · Shared topic · Revision 0
What Are the Sefirot?
What Are the Sefirot?
The current answer
How the hidden Infinite (Ein Sof) becomes a God you can name, address, and wound.
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The familiar diagram, ten circles strung on three columns and joined by paths, is a development of the tradition, not a fixture of its oldest layers.
Imported citation, not independently checked: G. Scholem, Kabbalah (1974); A. Green, A Guide to the Zohar
The classic attempt at reconciliation is Moses Cordovero's Pardes Rimonim ("Pomegranate Orchard," 1548), which works through the distinction of atzmut (essence) and kelim (vessels).
Imported citation, not independently checked: Moses Cordovero, Pardes Rimonim (1548)
Crucially, the Zohar makes the flow two-way: human action below, prayer, ethics, the commandments, is said to repair, unite, or wound the Sefirot above.
Imported citation, not independently checked: Zohar; I. Tishby, The Wisdom of the Zohar
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