The Backyard Professor

Zohar Teachings on God & His Shekhinah (Wife)

From one of the most delightful friends I have on the net, who goes by the tag "Gaia."

The Relationshp between God and His Shekhina

(from Patai's "The Hebrew Goddess") --

[I]"The Central Creation myth of the Kabbalah (the Jewish
mystical-magical system) said that "no sooner did Adam become a sentient
being than he began to contemplate the physical and spiritual worlds
into which he was placed, and committed a grave sin that ever since has
dogged the steps of man:

God's spiritual being is understood as comprised of ten "Sefirot"
(emanations or aspects) but in contemplating God, Adam MISTOOK the tenth
and lowest Sefira which was the Shekhina, the female manifestation of
God, for the totality of Godhead.

Since the Creator endowed Adam with...

Zohar Shekhinah, the Heavenly Mother & Bride of God

The Heavenly Mother Shechinah: The Bride of God

By Kerry A. Shirts

Daniel C. Matt’s notes in the Pritzker edition of the Zohar (he has 3 volumes, [ca 2004 - 2006] out so far, slated for 10) has shown one thing fully and unmistakably, and that is that the Shekhinah is the most fundamental and important concept, with an almost universally applicable symbolism from everything to the Ark of the Covenant, to the sea, rivers, buildings, space, time, people, events, and deity(s).

Were the rabbis making up for having something lost? That is one idea which crossed my mind. It is incredible how interesting, extensive, and in-depth the Shekhinah’s symbolisms are, and how often she is mentioned and connected with the rabbis commentaries.

The Cabalah/Cosmological Ze'ir Anpin (Small Face)

My very good and dear friend Joe Steve Swick III has shared this little Kabbalistic/Zoharic ditty with me. Ponder this in relation to the Council of the Gods ideas of my pod cast, and I shall return with yet more commentary and ideas on this Kabbalistic notion, (for instance, notice the mention and significance of the Hebrew letter Aleph, below in the missive, which I have also extensively discussed in my DVD about "Abraham in the Zohar,") and how it ties in our own humanity, our own cosmic consciousness, our place in the cosmos, and the purposes of being spirits having an in-body experience… and for added interest, I note, that the new state of Quantum Physics and Quantum Mechanics discussions have begun leading into the realm of the consciousness as the ground of all being, of all living, and of all universal activity going on in the Cosmos!

I just purchased Bruce Rosenblum (professor of Physics, Santa Cruz, California) and Fred Kuttner (Physics at Unversity of California) book, Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness, Oxford University Press, 2006, where they note that "every interpretation of quantum physics encounters consciousness..." and so they explore this area extensively. It is, whether it need be said or not, also one of the most fundamental grounds of mysticism, in all her varieties, not least of which the Kabbalistic views are extensive.

The "many worlds" interpretations of the quantum are well known, and this aspect of ancient Jewish cosmology has now come home to roost in the fine scholarly writings of Leonora Leet, amongst others.

When referring to the active aspect of the NOT, the Zohar speaks of
"Small Face" Ze 'ir Anafin, also Ze'ir Afim), represented by the letter
Alef. Small Face is the power of the Ayn to superimpose billions of
illusory
universes (and their apparent sustenance and dissolution over time) upon
the
Vast Face of the Deep. The generation of universes is brought about by the
balanced tension between Vast and Small Face, or between the Ayin and the
manifest Alef of Unity. In the Sifra Detzniyutha, this tension in the Tree
is called "weight" and the "balancing in weight." The relationship between
Vast and Small Face is depicted in the Tree of Life... Some of the most
important Names of Small Face are YHVH, El (pronounced "ale," opposite of
Lo), and Adonai (Lord, Master).

Each universe has its own Small Face who-like a dreamer who knows he/she
is dreaming-creates, sustains, and dissolves the Creation moment by moment
by moment. Our sense of time is formed by our imperfect perception of the
higher planes of existence. Our hopes for the future and our memories of a
past (also created, sustained, and dissolved moment by moment) instill the
impression that time is onflowing. To access the consciousness of Vast
Face,
one must renounce Small Face (in whose dream you are a creature) for
release
from the dream universe. Hence, it is "only through the Son (Small Face)
that one can know the Father (Vast Face)."

-- Feldman, Qabalah: The Mystical Heritage of the Children of Abraham 81-2

The Zohar and the year 1839

One of the many readers of my blog, David Littlefield made an observation to me that I simply have to share.

In Daniel Matt's Zohar Vol. 2, p. 180, in the Va-Yera, the rabbis are discussing the various Milleniums of history and the Hebrew letters they are associated with. In the 6th millenium, the Zohar reads:

"Every sixty years of that sixth millenium, he is invigorated, scaling its rungs. In the six hundreth year of the sixth, springs of wisdom will open above, springs of wisdom below, and the world will prepare to enter the seventh..." (p. 180).

Matt's note #501 says that the six hundreth year of the sixth corresponds to the year 1839. What happened in 1839?

This is the year that the first revelation of the Doctrine & Covenants records a revelation of the year 1839, as section 121, and another section, 122. Joseph Smith's prayer or rather plea of desperation while languishing in the cold, filthy Liberty Jail... Read those sections in line with what the Zohar said. A most interesting exercise!

Zohar's Understanding of Abraham Lying about Sarah as His Sister

The question is often asked why did Abraham lie to Pharaoh about Sarah being his sister rather than his wife?

Howard Schwartz (Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, Oxford University Press, 2004) has presented the ideas of the Shekhinah as a Jewish understanding and demonstration that Abraham did not lie to Pharaoh about this relationship. How the Jews present this is just delightful...

Zohar Adam-God Doctrine?!

In Matt's translation of the Zohar, Pritzker edition, in Be-Reshit, we read that Adam and Eve were "uprooted" and "transplanted." "Similarly the worlds were adjoined; the blessed Holy One uprooting them, transplanting them elsewhere; where they endured." Concerning Adam and Eve, the Zohar further teaches that Once firmly planted, their light increased and they were called Cedars of Lebanon. Adam and Eve, as well, did not grow until planted, gave forth no fragrance; indeed they were uprooted, transplanted, fittingly arrayed." (Vol. 1: 221-222).

The LDS scholar, the late Hugh Nibley, (Nibley on the Timely and Timeless, "Treasures in the Heavens," p. 60) noted that

The order and stability of a foundation are achieved through the operation of a "Spark."

Zohar & Nephi on White fruit

It is a startling enough dream in the first place, the Tree of Life and Iron Rod which both Lehi and Nephi dreamed. It is even more breath taking that the Methodist preacher and Bible scholar Margaret Barker in her address at the Library of Congress conference on Joseph Smith in 2005, "Joseph Smith and Pre-Exilic Religion, indicated that nowhere else than in the recently found Egyptian text are the fruit of the Tree of Life mentioned as white. Her response to the Book of Mormon view is well worth quoting!

"I do not know of any other source that describes the fruit as white grapes. Imagine my surprise when I read the account of Lehi's vision of the tree whose white fruit made one happy... this revelation to Joseph Smith was the ancient Wisdom symbolism intact, and almost certainly as it was known in 600 B.C." (The Worlds of Joseph Smith, John W. Welch, ed., BYU Press, 2006: 76).

The LDS scholar, the late Hugh Nibley, taught us years ago that "Whiteness is not an appetizing quality in trees or fruit, and so it is impressive to learn from the Creation Apocryphon that though the tree of life looks like a cypress, its fruit is perfectly white." (Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah, 2nd ed, John W. Welch General Editor, Deseret Book/FARMS, 1988: 161).

Now we can add an unnoticed, interesting insight from the Zohar. In the Matt translation of the Pritzker edition, in the Va-Yeshev, we read, "We have learned: One who sees grapes in a dream - if white, a good omen for him; if black, no." (Zohar, Vol. 3, Stanford Univ. Press, 2006: 173). Matt's footnote, #555 indicates that a dark grape in dreams signifies the harshness of Din, that is judgment, whilst the light, white grapes signifies "that judgment has already been softened by compassionate care and tending."

Zohar on Spirits Shrinking

In the Mi-Qets in Matt's Pritzker edition of the Zohar, we read, "When a human being is created and the blessed Holy One endows him with a soul and he emerges into the atmosphere, that spirit within him does not find enough body into which it can expand, so it remains in an ambulatory inside of him. As the person's body expands, that spirit expands, imparting its energy." (Vol. 3: 207).

This exact same principle was taught by Orson Pratt back in the early days of the LDS church in his publication The Seer. I don't have my copy accessible at the moment, but it is one of the points that the Tanners simply guffawed at. Pratt contended that the spirit had shrunk, and this is one of the reasons why we don't remember the Pre-Mortal Existence.

Now we find this principle elaborated on in an interesting manner by the Jewish rabbis of the Zohar. Did Pratt have the Zohar?! Where did he get his idea? So far as I am aware, the Zohar was simply not available to any of the early brethren in the church. It is an interesting thing to come across this tidbit of information.

The Zohar on encircling as holy

In Daniel Matt's Pritzker edition of the Zohar, Vol. 2, p. 215, in the "Hayyei Sarah" we read that "in the middle of the sky, a lustrous path is woven - Celestial Serpent - all gossamer stars clustered within..."

This Celestial Serpent is called the "Teli" by the rabbis. It is discussing the Milky Way and its influences on us for both good and evil. Besides the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Zohar itself is telling us the Jews were very good astronomers/astrologers.

This Teli is Draco, the celestial constellation in the north which winds around the entire zodiac because it is nearer the pole, and actually winds between the Big and Little Dipper. This teli was created from fire and water, and connected the 7 heavens with the above and below.

According to the Sefer Yetzirah, this teli is the imaginary axis around which the heavens rotate. (Aryeh Kaplan's translation, Sefer Yetzirah, Samuel Weiser, 1997, p. 232f). "Draco is seen as the overseer and director of all the other stars." (p. 234) It's name, the teli, is such, because all the other constellations hang (talah) from it, since it is the northern most constellation. It is the source of gravity according to one rabbi, (Kaplan, The Bahir, Samuel Weiser, 1979, p. 196). Does this sound similar to our notion of Kolob, which can mean in the Semitic languages, the heart, or to be near to something? An interesting notion worth looking further into for another time. The book Hamlet's Mill calls the heart shaped rock at the end of the Egyptian plumb bob line the heart, or the "center of gravity." It was used to measure time from the earth, as Joseph Smith indicated in his interpretations in facsimile 2, the round picture in the Book of Abraham.

Further in the Zohar, we read that when a person works on purifying themselves, his Lord's assistance encircles him, and he is protected, called holy." (Matt, Vol. 2, p. 215). The LDS scholar, the late Hugh Nibley in his lectures on the Atonement noted that Nephi prayed that the Lord would encircle him round with his robes of righteousness! This encircling idea is fascinating as it ties into the Zohar concepts of the Galgal, the cycle, or circling. It can obviously tie in with the astronomical aspects of the constellation of the teli (Draco) as well. All time is cyclical according to the rabbis. This cycle, or circular aspect is also associated with God's voice, "The voice of your thunder was in the sphere (galgal) Psalm 77:19. The Galgal is the womb, from which the present is the womb in which the future is born. (Kaplan, Sefer Yetzirah, p. 240). "The Galgal is the womb from which one is reborn into a spiritual plane." (Kaplan, Ibid., p. 240).

Just some notes to ponder and expand on later. All comments, ideas, and views are, of course, very welcome.