:CO

CO

THE DOCTRINE AND LITERATURE OF

THE KABALAH

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

The

Life
the

and Doctrine of Louis Claude de Saint-Martin,

Unknown Philosopher, and the Substance of his Trans

Demy

cendental Doctrine.

A Book
Azoth,

of

or,

8vo,

7s. 6d.

Mystery and Vision.

The Star

editions.

Small 4to,

in the East.

75. 6d. net.

Imp. Svo, Cloth.

Cheaper

55. 6d. net.

The conclusions reached in this work are the result of considerable research
the Hermetic and Mystical Symbolisms contained in
alchemical literature, and, as regards fundamental doctrine, they offer a reasonable
harmony between the transcendental teachings of Eastern and Western Theosophy."
"

into the significance of

The Golden
2s.

Stairs.

Tales

from

Wonder-World.

Cloth,

Svo,

6d.

The lessons these stories are intended to convev are unmistakeable, but not so
obtrusive as to weary even those of tender years, and so charming is the language
in which the stories are told, so picturesque the scenes presented, that many
children will turn to these pages again and again with delight."
"

Obermann.

Translated

from the French of Etienne

Pivert

de

With a Biographical Introduction and Study of

of these celebrated
Literary and Philosophical position

Senancour.
the

letters

from Switzerland, in comparison with the

Crown Svo. [In Preparation.}

of Senancour.

later writings

SEP HI ROT 1C SCHEME.

AIN SOPH
LATENT STATE OF DEITY.

THE

DOCTRINE AND LITERATURE

OF

THE KABALAH

BY

ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE

AUTHOR OF
THE LIFE OF LOUIS CLAUDE DE SAINT-MARTIN, THE UNKNOWNPHILOSOPHER," AND TRANSLATOR OF THE WORKS OF
E LIPHAS LEVI.

MICROFORMED
PRESERVEDATE

SERVICES
SEP 1 8 1989

LONDON
The Theosophical Publishing Society
1902.

CONTENTS
PAGE

PREFACE

ix.

BOOK

POST-CHRISTIAN LITERATURE OF THE

JEWS.
I.

INTRODUCTORY

III.

THE OCCULT STANDPOINT

THE KABALAH AND THE TALMUD

14

IV.

DIVISIONS OF THE KABALAH...

22

II.

BOOK

II

THE DOCTRINAL CONTENT OF THE

KABALAH.
I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.
VI.
VII.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE UNMANIFEST GOD

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TEN EMANATION*
THE DOCTRINE OF THE FOUR WORLDS
THE DOCTRINE OF THE COUNTENANCES
THE INSTRUMENTS OF CREATION
THE PATHS OF WISDOM
THE DOCTRINE OF PNEUMATOLOGY...

30
36

44
53

59
65
74

(ontenl0

vi

BOOK

III

SOURCE AND AUTHORITY OF THE

KABALAH.
PACE
I.

II.

III.

DATE AND DOCTRINE OF THE BOOK OF FORMATION

...

...
MODERN CRITICISM OF THE BOOK OF SPLENDOUR
THE DATE AND AUTHORSHIP OF THE BOOK OF SPLEN

DOUR
IV.

V.

95

103

THE AGE OF ZOHARIC TRADITION

115

ALLEGED SOURCES OF KABALISTIC DOCTRINE

122

CONNECTIONS OF THE KABALAH

INFLUENCE OF THE KABALAH ON JEWRY

136

VI. ISLAMIC
VII.

89

BOOK

144

IV

THE WRITTEN WORD OF KABALISM

FIRST PERIOD.
I.

II.

III.

EARLY KABALISTIC LITERATURE

152

THE BOOK OF FORMATION

167

CONNECTIONS AND DEPENDENCIES OF THE BOOK OF

FORMATION

174

..

BOOK V
THE WRITTEN WORD OF KABALISM
SECOND PERIOD.
I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.
VI.

THE BOOK OF SPLENDOUR ITS CONTENT AND

THE BOOK OF CONCEALMENT
THE GREATER HOLY SYNOD
THE LESSER HOLY SYNOD
THE DISCOURSE OF THE AGED MAN
:

THE ILLUSTRIOUS BOOK

DIVISIONS 187
..212
217

226
...

229
234

Contents

vii

PAGE

VII.

VIII.

IX.

X.

THE
THE
THE
THE

FAITHFUL SHEPHERD

246

HIDDEN THINGS OF THE LAW

256

SECRET COMMENTARY

(a)
(b)
(r)

(d)
(<r)

XI.

...

...

...

...

THE
THE
THE
THE
THE

271

COMMENTARY ON RUTH

273

MANSIONS OR ABODES

:.

SECRET OF SECRETS
DISCOURSE OF THE YOUNG

IV.

...

THE ANCIENT AND LATER SUPPLEMENTS

277

280

VI
:

EXPOSITORS OF THE BOOK OF SPLENDOUR

287

(a)

MOSES OF CORDOVA

288

(b)

ISAAC DE LORIA

292

(<r)

II.

274
276

MAN

THE WRITTEN WORD OF KABALISM

THIRD PERIOD.

III.

260
270

ADDITIONS

BOOK

I.

...

LESSER SECTIONS OF THE BOOK OF SPLENDOUR

NAPTHALI HIRTZ

(d)

ABRAHAM COHEN

(e)

R.

303

IRIRA

ISAACHAR BEN NAPHTALI

THE BOOK OF PURIFYING FIRE

THE MYSTERIES OF LOVE
MINOR LITERATURE OF KABALISM

BOOK

306
307
308

314
319

VII

SOME CHRISTIAN STUDENTS OF THE

KABALAH.
INTRODUCTORY
RAYMOND LULLY
III.
ICUS DE MlRANDOLA
IV. CORNELIUS AGRIPPA
I.

II.

323
325
331

344

Qfcntitnfo

viii.

PAGE

V. PARACELSUS
VI.
VII.

349

JOHN REUCHLIN
WILLIAM POSTEL

353
...

...

...

..

...

...

357

THE ROSICRUCIANS
IX. ROBERT FLUDD
X. HENRY MORE
XL THOMAS VAUGHAN
XII. KNORR VON ROSENROTH

370

RALPH CUDWORTH

386

VIII.

XIII.

364
366

375

380

XIV. THOMAS BURNET

389

XV. SAINT-MARTIN

394

XVI. ELIPHAS LEVI

XVII.
XVIII.

Two ACADEMIC

396

CRITICS

408

THE MODERN SCHOOL OF FRENCH KABALISM

...

414

(a)

PAPUS

417

(b)

STANISLAS DE GUAITA

421

(f) LEON MEURIN, S.J

XIX. THE KABALAH AND ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY
XX. THE KABALAH AND MODERN THEOSOPHY

BOOK

425
...

428
433

VIII

THE KABALAH AND OTHER CHANNELS

OF ESOTERIC TRADITION.
I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

THE
THE
THE
THE
THE
THE

KABALAH AND MAGIC

438

KABALAH AND ALCHEMY

449

KABALAH AND ASTROLOGY

461

KABALAH AND FREEMASONRY

KABALAH AND THE TAROT
KABALAH AND MYSTICISM

470
..

479
483

PREFACE
FEW

educated persons, and certainly none belonging

which this work is more

to the class of students for

especially designed, will require to be told that the

Kabalah is a form of esoteric philosophy, that it

a high claim, or that this claim has,

from time to time, been admitted by persons who are

makes

for itself

entitled to our consideration.

Nor

will

it

be needful

to state that the literature called Kabalistic rose

up

the Jews during the Christian centuries which

succeeded their dispersal and the destruction of their

among
Holy

City.

It

scriptures of

offers a strong contrast to the sacred

Israel,

which are

simple, while Kabalism

many ways
The Bible is

repellent
in focus

and we

as

direct, beautiful

and

involved, obscure and in

regards

its

with humanity

outward form.
the Kabalah

is

correspondence with the simple

must grind our intellectual lenses with

distorted out of
senses,

is

all

exceeding care if we would bring it into perspective.

From whatever point of view it may be
approached, the Kabalah is, however, of importance
it connects with literatures which are
greater than
:

itself

and with pregnant

issues of history.

It

is

part
philosophy, and as such it once
It is responsible,
entered into the thought of Europe.

of the history of

speaking, for all that

symbolism and ceremonial which

broadly

strange

made up

tissue

of

the magic

of the Middle Ages; at a later period it sought to

transform alchemy it tinctured many of those con
;

ventional practices and beliefs which

we term

super-

x.

preface

and the guise

stition generically,

them

in

which we know

therefore chiefly a Kabalistic guise.

is

might dare to suppose for a

moment

that

If

we

behind

magic, behind alchemy, behind astrology there is any

mystery of secret and real knowledge, then it is
entitled to peculiar respect, because,

of

some of

by the hypothesis

through this seemingly

impassable literature that the road to the secret lies.
A comprehensive account of the Kabalah, in the
its

defenders,

it

main bibliographical and

establish

its

is

but seeking to
connections with other forms of occult phil
historical,

osophy and to determine its influence and importance

from more than one standpoint, is the design of the
present work, in which special regard has been also paid
and requirements of English readers

to the limitations

unacquainted with the lan

in which Kabalistic literature

in other words, of those

guages, dead and living,

has been, with few exceptions, available heretofore.

The

exceedingly abstruse, and has been

presented by some of its expositors after a highly
subject

is

technical fashion

assumed

this case there is

in

in the reader,

and hence all

no knowledge
have

technicalities

been avoided, while the scope of the enterprise much

exceeds the one or two attempts mostly in foreign
tongues which have been made to simplify the study
of the Kabalah.
taken,

in

the

requirements

It is

and

the result of an inquiry under

instance, for

first

must add,

my own
in

fairness

personal
to

my

readers and in gratitude to early labourers in this

obscure field of research, that the abounding diffi
culties

of the

Hebrew and Aramaic

originals

have

been simplified by recourse to the vast storehouses of

Rabbinical lore entombed for some centuries in such
Latin collections as

those of

Buxtorf,

Bartolocci,

xi.

JkeCace
Pistorius

and Rosenroth

a very large proportion of

the materials necessary for an intelligent familiarity

with Jewish esoteric tradition are, indeed, to be found

These and other resources have been
in these.
strengthened subsequently by a considerable range of

among modern writers in England, France and

Germany who, directly and indirectly, have concerned
themselves with the subject. The work has there
reading

fore the learner s

advantage of being without pretence

and without ambition, but

time to contain

all

it

is

same

believed at the

that the ordinary student

is

likely

order to appreciate at their proper worth

the various claims preferred on behalf of the Kabalah
to require in

by those who take it seriously at this day. It is

necessary to add that it has been written by a transcendentalist and chiefly for the use of transcendentin offering materials for their judgment, it also

alists

indicates the lines of the conclusions to which the

and seeks

writer leans himself,

to enforce

some of

has been preceded in England by only two

books dealing directly with the subject one is the

them.

It

slight but not inconsiderable essay of Dr. Ginsburg,*

which is critical rather than descriptive, and is, on the
It has been, moreover,
tendency.
is the
Kabbalah
other
The
print.
of Mr. S. L. MacGregor Mathers, which

whole, hostile in

long out of
Unveiled"!

its

"

and commentary, and, in

largely translation
addition to other limitations, embraces therefore only
is

the

"The Kabbalah."

I5y

C.

I).

London, 1865.

Gi.uburg.

8vo.

The Kabbalah Unveiled, containing the following books of

Zohar I. The Book of Concealed Mystery 2. The Greater Holy
Holy Assembly, Translated into Hindi, h
3. The
f

"

.:!>;

Lcs>er

from the Latin version ol Knon

original Chaldee and Hebrew Text."

London, 1887. 8vo. The Commentary

and partly the work of ilu;

uolh, and collated with the

L. MacGregor Mathers,
is
partly that of Rosenroth,

.y S.

x.
a

small

an extensive

of

portion

The

literature.

comprehensive account
purpose, and may, it is hoped, be held to occupy,
not altogether unworthily, a vacant place from which
fulfils

present

distinct

a wide prospect, by no means deficient in

importance for those who are not transcendentalists,

there

is

for the student of

philosophy and history, and for the

curious in paths of literature which the elder

Israeli,
enter.
to
forebore
of
his
bias
the
birthright,
despite
The works containing the esoteric tradition of
as distinguished

Israel,

embodied

under two heads

from the exoteric tradition

Talmud and

in the

its

dependencies,

fall,

The Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Formation."

b. The Zohar, or
Splendour."
Connected with the Book of Formation are
"

a.

"

"

"

among which are those of

Ben Menahem and
Azariel
Rabbi
Saadya Gaon,
The treatise itself is
Rabbi Abraham Ben Dior.

its

commentaries, foremost

comprised within a few pages.

The Zohar proper is a commentary on the

five

books of Moses,* but a number of distinct treatises are

connected with or embedded therein. There are also
supplements and additions which must be considered
to some extent separate from the original collection.

With

the

Zohar,

connected

are

furthermore,

certain important developments and commentaries,

some of which are included in the Kabbala Denudata
of Rosenroth.
They fall under two heads
:

Those which deal with the subject-matter of

i.

This at

historian,

alternative.

tateuch,

least is its conventional description

It is

Graetz, the

German

correctness, but does not offer an

really a theosophic medley connected with the Pen

seems uncertain as to

and arising therefrom.

its

xiii.

preface

the work, and are designed to elucidate certain of

most obscure treatises.

Those which
2.

and

expound

extend

its

the

doctrines of Pneumatology which are established in

the Zohar.

These commentaries are, of course, the work of

later Kabalists whose dates can be fixed with more or
Such Zoharistic writings have been
less certainty.
sometimes confused with the Zohar.f
Some classifications of the Kabalah also include

and give prominence to

The Sepher

c.

or

Numerations,"
d.

Sephiroth

i.e.,

the

"

Book

of

Emanations."

treatise entitled

^sk

Metzarcph, or

"

Puri

Fire."

fying

Whatever
is

"

no warrant

great

classics

for

and importance, there

placing these works among the

of

the

their authority

Kabalah.

Book
The
down among
"

of

the
more properly set
of
that
while
of
the
Yetzirah,
Sepher
dependencies
is
as
it
a
peculiar position,
Purifying Fire" occupies
almost without a history, and as it is perhaps the

Emanations

"

is

"

with
only Kabalistic treatise which deals directly
its
Its date is doubtful and
authorship
alchemy.
entirely

unknown.
short but comprehensive account of

works which have been mentioned above

found

in

Books

IV., V.,

and VI.

all

the

will

be

an attempt at such

made

a formal tabulation has not been

previously in
three books contain

The first
the English language.
a historical and critical survey of the entire subject,
t Thus in the
"House

of

God,"

"

Kabbalah

or

of

Mr. Mathers mentions the

Unvcik-d,"

"The

Elohim,"

Revolutions of Souls," among the

Zohar.
(Introduction, p. 15.)

most

and the

"Book

of

the

important sections of the

xv.

showing the philosophical system embodied in the

Kabalah, the method by which it was developed, its
connections with previous theosophies, designed, like
itself, to explain the fundamental mysteries of the
universe,

and the evidences

The seventh book

is

for its antiquity.

devoted to the Christian

students of the Kabalah, and collects for the

first

time

the opinions of the chief Christian scholars whose

names have been connected with Kabalism. The

design of this book is to exhibit a consensus of
opinion among all those authorities who are most in
vogue with occultists as to what is of value in the

Jewish esoteric traditions and as to what is waste

substance.
On this point there has never been any
real

modern

difference of sentiment, except in the

school

of

proper

criterion

entire

transcendentalism,

subject

which,

devoid

of

of judgment, and regarding the

from a new standpoint, has been

disposed to accept everything indiscriminately as part

of the genuine tradition, and has thus esteemed the

apparatus

important

of

Gematria

and

and Notaricon as no
than

mysterious
philosophy of the unconditioned

the

less

Zoharistic

summed up

in

Ain

Soph.

The eighth book

deals briefly with other channels

through which the esoteric tradition is believed to

have been perpetuated in the West and their con
nection with the channel of Kabalism.

To

who may approach the work from the

and bibliographical standpoint the presence
leading motive and its appeal to a single class
those

historical

of

its

of students

may

require

some explanation.

It has,

believe, been suggested that since the appearance of

Dr. Ginsburg s destructive criticism there has been no

xv.

ih-cfacc

scholars in the subject of the

among English

interest

Kabalah.

for special

mere scholars

Among

the region
scholastic horizon
within

mention

of

there

been as

little

was no

at the period

work immediately, and

to

is

has

interest

say,

only

which

calls

which preceded that

quite true that there has

is

it

that

which

research

subsequently to

publication, but not

its

mainly on account of Dr. Ginsburg s criticism. There

has been always, or, speaking exactly, since the days
of Thomas Vaughan, Cudworth and the Cambridge
Platonists, a certain class of thinkers for

whom

the

claims made by and on behalf of the Kabalah have

possessed great interest and importance, and this
class

now much

is

It

1865.

larger than at

also forms intellectually

any date prior to

a more respectable

and considerable body than the academical reader

might be disposed to imagine
acquaintance with
represented.

thinkers

the

One

is

in

the absence of

literature

obliged

under the generic

students, though the phrase

by

to

which

it

of

speak

designation

is

much

of

is

these
occult

somewhat inexact and

who have little

proscribed mode of

has been used to describe persons

title

to earnest consideration.

thought

is

as

here,

in

other

cases,

identified

ungenerously with the meaner capacities that follow

it, and an
unpopular subject is classed according to
the waste and drift which has collected about it. But

the class to which

have adverted does not

in itself

deserve either ridicule or contempt it is that which

believes in the perpetuation of a secret religious, or,
;

more

correctly, theosophical, tradition

period of

human

an unwarrantable

history,

and

this

to

is

from an early
not manifestly
the

draw from

consequence
study of religions undertaken philosophically.

Now,

xv.

the Kabalah

is

not only, as

have

said, the occult

philosophy of Jewry, it is not only one of the chief

sources from which occult science and philosophy
have drawn in the western world, but it has been
further

represented

tradition as

be the channel of such a

to

have just mentioned.

It

therefore

is

not merely reasonable to suppose, but it is true as a

that to occultists, and to them almost exclusively,
an inquiry like the present must appeal.
Other
fact,

interests are accidental

their interest

is

To

vital.

determine the claims of the Kabalah as a department

and inspiring centre of occult philosophy is to deter

mine that which is of most real moment regarding it.
It

is

for

this

reason that

have been led to

consider the Kabalah, not, indeed, as an occultist in

the accepted sense, but from the occult standpoint,
and to recur with so much frequency to the belief in
a secret doctrine of religion, as well as to

some other

connected questions which need reconsideration at the

hands of those who hold them. If I have had in the
course of the inquiry to reduce certain illusions to
their proper place in the realm of the fantastic,

especially

if I

called Mysticism within

that

shall

intention,

From
be
is

its

be

its

proper dimensions,

justified,

whom

so

far

as

any

is

trust

regards

my

have sought to disabuse.

nature the foundation of Mysticism cannot

by those

in occult science or in occult philosophy,

on the

more

have contracted the sphere of what

historical side alone that

it

while

it

connects with

traditions of the past, popular or achromatic.*

*

The reason is indicated by Schopenhauer, when he remarks on

the astonishing unanimity of mystics in all ages, unlike in everything
except those principles which constitute mysticism, and yet not holding
those principles as a sect clings to
never be a sect.

its

tenets, for they are not

and can

xv

the general inquiry I have

Kabalistic
endeavoured to elucidate the most curious
of the soul, its origin and
teachings on the subject
of
state
man, the life of the world
destiny, the primal
of Jewry.
to come and the Messianic dream
In

the course

of

should add that this study is mainly concerned

deal
with the documents, and as such it cannot
biblio
It is also
exhaustively with all the issues.
I

than philosophical. The exhaustive

graphical rather
would have to be made in
study of the Kabalah

demand
connection with that of comparative religion,
and
claim
no
make
can
I
to which

ing qualifications
a space for its development which would have been,
wish
under any circumstances, impossible. I could
of
note-book
the
as
my inquiry to be regarded rather
been
Finally, the work has
a student methodised.

performed
the

haps

perfection.

which
is

a spirit of impartiality, and this

in

side

only

which

on

it

There has been no

interest

is

stake

at

have felt myself compelled to defend,

therefore free from the

per

towards

leans

animus of extreme

and

it

hostile

unreasoned assumptions
criticism, as well as from the
who
of those in the main non-critical believers

have the cause of the Kabalah at heart. I claim,

and
furthermore, that I have considered honestly

still

all

the interests at stake, including

sympathetically
those which the bias of modern scholarship
to overlook, or to dismiss
I

in

an intolerant

is

inclined

spirit.

should add that the history of this book has

been chequered and

somewhat

manuscript was completed

for

unfortunate.
press

at

The

the end of

had
year following the greater part
1898,
been set up and a number of the sheets machined,
s.
which were
destroyed in a fire at the printer

and

in the

wholly

xv.
The delay which

thus occurred was considerable in

and was increased

itself,

still

further

through the

suspension of the publishing house by which it was

to be issued.
In the interval which has elapsed
during the course of those fresh negotiations which

have resulted

in its production under the auspices of

the Theosophical Publishing Society, and during the
resetting of the entire work, Dr. S. Karppe has

published in Paris his elaborate Etude sur

et la

Nature du

les

Origines

Zoliar, which approaches the subject

from a standpoint entirely different to my own, but is

the same time a valuable contribution to our

at

knowledge of Jewish theosophy, and

note with

many debated points on

independently, we have reached

satisfaction that there are

which, working thus

the same conclusion.
for the scholar

Dr.

Karppe s study

and the philosopher, while

is

already explained,
the occult student.

is

designed

my

own, as

intended, primarily at least, for

The Jewish mysticism which

and preceded

the Zohar is very fully

but
of
the
influence exercised by
presented by him,
that work and of its after history he has nothing to
led

up

tell

us.

to

On

the other hand, the scheme of

my own

me

treatise has led

of necessity to pass lightly over

pre-Zoharic theosophy, over Saadyah, Ibn Gebirol,
Judah Ha Levi, Aben Ezra, Maimonides, &c., because

they did not affect materially the occult thought of

Europe,

and

to

give

prominence

Kabalistic

to

literature in its later phases, to the Christian students

of

the

subject,

and

to

its

influence

upon other

channels of esoteric tradition in Europe.

Among

agreement between Dr. Karppe and

be mentioned the common recognition

the points of

myself

may

of the heterogeneous nature of the Zohar, which has

xx.

justified

me in

terming it a medley of the specifically

Zoharic mysticism, which has
;

Jewish character of
justified

to

me

in

denying that

it is

referable exclusively

any one school of thought outside Jewry

of the

rapid deterioration of the Kabalah, subsequent to the

appearance of the Zohar, into a thaumaturgic system
;

of the undue prominence which has been given to the

commentaries on the Zohar and the false impressions
of the preconception
which have been the result
;

which governed the mind of most Christian students

of the literature, by which they were led to regard it
an

as

any

depository of Christian
of the absence in the Sepher Yetzirah of

unacknowledged

doctrine

distinctive

pantheism or emanationism. There is

similarity, both of thought and

considerable

also

treatment, in the development of the Kabalistic and

typically Zoharic doctrines concerning God and the
universe,

more

It

instances, nor less

of divergence,
has,

Ain Soph and

would be easy to multiply these
easy to furnish numerous points

especially concerning

creation ex nihilo.

on the other hand, Dr. Karppe

too much stress on his distinction

for,

think, laid

between the early Jewish mysticism and that of the

Zoharic period, not because such a distinction is either
non-existent or unimportant in itself, but because
I

cannot find that

it

qualified writer.

And

take

to

exception

expressed

or

Mysticism

monotheism

is

has been challenged by any

must, of course, as a mystic,

the

the

for the initiate

may have

mysticism
whole work.

throughout
double doctrine, whether of

implied
not a

and

of

the vulgar, or of any other such

priestcrafts

of

conception

many

deities for

antithesis

as the

derived in the past, but it is

more in the present place than

outside possibility to do

xx.

refer to this point

students to

and

register the bare fact that the

whom

personally I appeal will join issue

with Dr. Karpe as to all that follows from his con
ception, whether it be a matter of simple definition,

such as that mysticism

is

a reprisal of faith against

science, or of historical criticism, as for example, when

he observes that the doctrine of ecstacy is almost

unknown

to Jewish theosophy, a statement, however,

which

the author himself abundantly, though

explicitly, modifies at a later stage of his study.

not

To

exception may be added certain points of critical

importance, to which, personally, I have only had
occasion to refer in passing. The student will also
this

notice a tendency in certain instances to pass over

questions of criticism as if there had never been

regarding them
commentary of Hay Gaon
a

dispute

on the one hand the

is

made

use of as

no

if

scholar had challenged its authenticity and, on the

other, the late date of the Bahir is taken for granted.
Criticism may not have said its last word on either
;

subject, but Dr.

The

Karppe ignores the criticism.

work which, as regards

limits of the present

the original intention, have been already exceeded,

necessitated the omission of a number of

have

not

I
will
unimportant matters.
mention two only certain developments of pneumatology and eschatology which are representative of

subsidiary

yet

the

doctrinal

hells of

or

Kabalism

systematic
:

certain

part

let

us

say,

the

historical consequences,

such as the mission of Sabbatai Zevi, the Neo-Pietists

But in each case these omissions

and the Zoharists.

are without real consequence for the occult student.

BOOK

POST-CHRISTIAN LITERATURE

OF THE JEWS
ARGUMENT
The

literature of

Kabalism has a philosophical,

historical and,
within certain limits, an exegetical interest for ordinary students,
but it has a living interest only for those who believe
(a) That
a secret religious tradition has been perpetuated from the early
;

ages of history, and (b) That Kabalistic literature has been one
of its vehicles.
Such persons are here termed occult students.

The purpose
value of the

second

(h)

of the present book

view

is

to

show

that

whatever be the

imperfect investigation has placed the

in a false position.
The occult estimate of the Talmud
first

(a),

cited as a case in point, and the divisions of the Kabalah are

distinguished to make clear the issues and to correct some other
is

misconceptions.

I.

INTRODUCTORY

Tin; construction of the exile placed by the

"

princes
the
sacred
oracles
of
ancient
Israel
upon
cannot be dismissed as unimportant. From the period
of the exile

"

of the dispersal of the

Jews

after the destruction of

Jerusalem by Vespasian down even to our own times,

Hebrew literature has developed in many of the chief
centres of Europe, but outside the scattered remnant
of the children of the covenant it has remained largely

unknown.

Many

persons, not otherwise ill-formed,

would be astonished
B

to discover that so far

back as the

^Ihe Jtortrine anb |pteratxtre of the Jiabalah

end of the seventeenth century there were nearly four

thousand works* written in the Hebrew tongue which
were individually known and quoted by one authority
on rabbinical bibliography, namely, Julius Bartolocci,
of the

Reformed Order

lectual activity

Almost every
learning and intel

of St. Bernard, t

human

conceivable department of

represented in this literature,! which,

in things secular as in things sacred, has the seal of the
It is otherwise
sanctity of Israel upon all its leaves.
is

an extremely curious and in some respects a profound

literature, which translation has done little to make

known, which is represented incompletely enough

even in the great and authoritative text-books of

Hebrew

There

history.

extent and

its difficulties

of approach.

It
its

still

is,

is

no need to add that

make

its

a formidable subject

it

indeed, an undiscovered country,

a land full of wealth and

Columbus

awaiting
mystery, of strange shrines and sanctuaries shining
weirdly far away through the darkness of our
;

ignorance with a light which might well be a reflection

of the Shekinah, .,56 foreign does it seem to that which
enlightens most

men who

are born into the

modern

world.
*
in

It is

perhaps unnecessary to say that they were for the most part

MS.
+ Bibliotheca

rabbinicis,

ordine

Magna

Rabbinica.

alphabetico

Hebraice

De
et

scriptoribus

Latiue

et

digestis,

scriptis

auctore

D. Julio Bartoloccio de Cellerio, 4 vols.

The
Roma, 1678-1692.
work is printed from right to left, after the Hebrew manner.
J For one of the accessible collections which give some idea
Catalogue of Hebraica and Judaica in the
With a
Corporation of the City of London."
London, 1891.
Subject-Index by the Rev. A. Lowy.
The work of Dr. Moritz Steinschneider, the German biblio

of

its

variety,

Library

of

see the

"

the

grapher of rabbinical literature, is the most important contribution to

our knowledge which has been made during this century.

Within

of the Jctoe

31 iterature

$oet-(hti$tian

so to speak, another
and stranger literature included, the report of which
has been amongst us for several centuries, and in a
this literature there

way and measure

is known to some of us,
made available by the
certain

it

is,

must be admitted that

chiefly because

fathers

of

it

it

has been

bibliographical

This

erudition, the Latin-writing scholars of the past.

Hebrew theosophy, for such it is, has

exercised a peculiar fascination on many great minds
of Christendom, and its Gentile students, even at the
storehouse of

present day, may,

for

all

we can

that

be as

tell,

numerous as its Jewish disciples.

It is called the
Kabalah, of which term there is more than one expla
nation

suggested

makers

by the

romance

of

in

etymology. For example, the word has been derived

from the name of the Hindoo teacher Kapila,* to

whom

a philosophy of numbers is ascribed, seemingly

on the slender ground that one branch of Kabalistic
literature also deals largely

equally fanciful suggestion

with this subject. Another

makes the term an analogue

of Cybele,t the mythological

of Heaven,

Queen

who

thus connected with the Jewish personification of

Wisdom under a female aspect.
As to the true

is

is no room for
uncertainty, and it
possesses that simplicity which is so often the seal of
truth in things of language as it has been said to be in

derivation there

Mr. C.
for this
"

view

W. Heckethorn
in the

has made himself responsible recently

new and enlarged edition of his very unequal work,

Secret Societies of

all

Ages."

t The responsibility in
Kenealy, whose anonymous

See

vol.

i.

p. 83.

this case rests with the late

"

Book of God

"

and

frequently as an authority by occult writers.

period of (iodfn-y Higgins, of the author of

Bryant

"Ancient

Apocalypse of

Mythology."

See Kencnly

Adam-Oannes," p. 613.

Edward Vaughan

sequels are quoted

Its philology is of the
its

"

"

Nimrod

"

and of

Introduction to the

gtfdrine anb literature ot the gabalah

The word comes from

those of Nature and Art.

Hebrew

root which

to

signifies

Kabalah

receive.

The knowledge embodied

equals reception.*

which passes under

have been transmitted orally
literature

this

in the

purports to

title

from generation

to

The literature as it exists is the tradition

generation.
into
writing, and in this form it is supposed to be
put
that

veiled

the surface

is

is

to say, the

meaning which appears on

not the true sense.f

then claims to be the light of a

The Kabalah

knowledge J preserved among the

chosen people," and the subjects with which it is
concerned, as might be expected, are sacred and
secret

traditional

"

they include, indeed, the most pro

found mysteries of God and the emanations of the
divine subjects

the process of
celestial
economy
the scheme of Providence in regard to man
the communications of God in revelation and to the

Deity

the

creation

just in his church

and

evil

soul, its

the offices and ministries of good

the nature and pre-existence of the

angels
union with matter and its metempsychosis
;

the mystery of sin and

*

The

"Encyclopaedia

its

Perthensis"

written also as Gabella, which

and would not be worth noting

in this
iv.

penalties

is,

if

the Messiah, his

observes

that

the

word

is

of course, a nonsensical corruption,

it were not true in fact that it occurs

form among a few old writers on magic.

See

"

Encyc.

Perth."

543, 544.

t We shall see afterwards that

a certain amount of caution.

One
secret

of the

wisdom

titles

ascribed to

it

this

view must be received with

was

ChKMH NSThRH,

that

is,

the initials of these words gave another title, signifying

Kitto s
Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature," s.v.

See
Kabbalah. (Third edition, London, 1864.)
The recipients of this knowledge were termed Mekkubalim, a
name which will be familiar to the readers of the Astrologer Gaffarel.
On this point see the worthless article, s.v. Kabbalah, in T. H. Blunt s
Grace.

"

"

Dictionary of Doctrinal and Historical

Theology."

London, 1872.

00t-(hri0tiau

iL iter.iturc

of the Jctus

kingdom and

his glory to be revealed

the state of
the soul after death and the resurrection of the dead.
;

needless to say that by a literature so consider

its capacity there are many other subjects

It is

able in

embraced, but these are the heads of the instruction

as

find

epistle

in

them

an excerpt from a Latin

the collection of Baron von Rosenroth.*

The Kabalah,

set forth in

in

a word,

is

the hidden thought of

upon the doctrines of the Jewish religion, which

are in most cases Christian doctrines, and upon the
Israel

proper understanding of that Written

Word which

referred to a divine origin both in Christendom

Jewry.
it

It is

is

and

therefore obvious that in a general sense

to cast light of some kind upon

may be expected

the problems of Christian faith

pounders have held that

special way, that the

New

but

Christian ex

its

does this also in a more

Testament and the writings

it

of the early fathers of the church did not only derive

from the inspired memorials of the first covenant, but

from the construction placed on those memorials by

this esoteric tradition. f

According to the

literature

which embodies

tradition in question originated with

*
ft

Kabbala Dtnudata, sen Doctrina

Metaphysica,

vol.

i.

God

Hebmornm

Apparatus in Librum

it,

the

himself,

by

Ttanscendtntalis

Sa/iat;

pars secunda,

PP- 3-5-

t "It is apparent from the many similarities in this Cabbalistic

philosophy to the doctrines in the New Testament and early Patristic
literature that both of the latter most probably have had a common
<

germ and

origin

in

the esoteric teachings of the

Isrru-lites,

as well

more open and exoteric teachings of the Hebrew Holy

Isaac Mycr, LL.B.,
The Philosophical Writings of
Writings."
Solomon Ben Ychudah Ibn Gebirol," Philadelphia, 1888, 8vo., p. 7.

as

in

the

"

The letter of St. Jerome to Paulinus, which dwells consecutively

upon the mysteries contained in all the books of the Old and New
Testaments, has been Mjineiime-. regarded as a case

in

point.

Jtortrine anb JDittratxtre ot the Jiabalah

whom

it

was communicated to chosen ministers in the

and it was imparted by divine revela

angelical world

Adam

tion to

in his unfallen state.

When

he lapsed

from that pure condition he lost this precious deposit,

but it was subsequently restored to him in order that

was handed

he might return towards perfection.

It

down through Noah

thence derived

to Moses.

It

Abraham and

to

the concealed sense of the Mosaic

is

Pentateuch, the secret of which was entrusted by the

law-giver to the seventy elders, and from these in due
course
in

it

passed onward to David, and was possessed

It was not com

an especial manner by Solomon.

mitted to writing until after the destruction of the

second temple.*
genealogy of this kind will, of

course, recall the fabulous origins ascribed to institu

tions like Freemasonry, the appeal made by the
alchemists to the sages of antiquity, and many other
fictions which deserve to be classed as monstrous.

We

should beware, however, of fixing imposture on an

esoteric literature because its attribution is mytho
logical

it

should be remembered that

we

are dealing,

The legend has many variations and has been loosely reproduced
by many inexact writers.
Naturally enough, it takes occasionally
the guise of a book delivered to Adam.
An old Jewish tradition
tells us that this volume was brought by the Angel Razael.
Mr. John
Notes on the Scientific and Religious Mysteries of
Yarker, in his
"

Antiquity"

(London,
"

Book

of

1872,

p.

21),

connects

this

myth with the

not the imposture of Ceremonial

Magic sometimes referred to under this name, but presumably the
ancient legendary Midrash, afterwards developed by Eleazar of Worms
pre-Zoharic

Razael,"

and reproduced under various forms by debased Kabalism. Compare

E. V. Kenealy s mythical notice of a Book of the Wisdom of Adam,
received in an ecstasy and
full of mysteries and signs expressive
of the most profound knowledge."
See
Book of God," p. 243.
See also ibid., p. 273 et seq., for a rabbinical account of a staff
given to Adam, which is supposed to signify the support of a secret
"

"

knowledge.

jtoet-Chrisliau literature of the Jetos

by the hypothesis, with a body

genealogy

may be

oral tradition

itself

and the

of symbolism,

Moreover, an

an evasion.

peculiarly liable to the

exaggerau-n
must
we
and
distinguish therefore
antiquity,
at a remote
existence
between the possible fact of its

of

is

its

We

have
period and the growth of legend about it.
the testimony of Christ Himself as to the existence

and we have

of a tradition in Israel,

ment upon

its

It is in

value.

this inquiry to

one sense he purpose of

determine whether the

of the reception

entitled

is

His judg

also

to

later literature

be included

in

the

condemnation of the Divine Rabbi.

THE OCCULT STANDPOINT

II.

As

the Kabalah claims to be a tradition long

received in secret

reduced

by one generation from another and

at length into writing, so

one of

its

classics

informs us,* because of the bad state of the affairs of

Israel, but yet written after a concealed manner,! it
is

be expected that

to

difficulties

to the

its

literary

methods

ordinary student.

It

will offer

has,

indeed,

proved so unintelligible upon its surface that, on the

one hand, it has been considered merely meaningless
jargon, while a few who pretend to have penetrated
to

its

on the other, found pleasure in

sealed to uninitiated persons, for
must ever remain a matter of curious and

real sense have,

believing that

whom

it

it

is

unrewarded research, though not perhaps wanting

*

ment

The Sepher

Yet.irak or

"

Hook

of

Formation,"

probably the explanation of a commentator.

t Obscurities, complexities and confusions do

but the state

is

point to the existence

double sense.

not

necessarily

nt anb

^itwatww

of the giabalah

The first
some gleams of unexpected suggestion.
view suggests that more patience and greater pains
were needed the second, that the faculty for pains
;

a kind of peculiar election which is possible

taking
to
the
few, and this appears unwarranted
only
is

Specialists in cryptography assure us, and we

have even higher warrant in the testimony of reason
itself, that no cipher writing devised by human in

genuity

incapable of solution
but the assumption, of

is

ingenuity,

also

by human

course,

supposes

the cipher
it must follow a certain
and conceal a definite sense. There is also

faith

in

good
method
no system

of

render

secrets to the searchlight of analysis, pro

symbolism and no form of philosophical

however
speculation,
complex, which will not sur
its

is systematic and that

methodised, however curious in its

vided always that the symbolism

the speculation

is

There are cryptic philosophies and con

cealed metaphysics, even as there is cryptic writing;
but if they possess a meaning, it cannot escape ulti
mately the penetration of the patient and skilled critic,
involutions.

subject, however, to the distinction

which must subsist

of necessity between the sense of a cipher

unmistakable from the

moment

that

it

is

which

is

disengaged

and the construction of a speculative hypothesis

which in its minor issues may always be open to
In regard to occult philosophies

debate.*
*

The

best example of a really cryptic literature

is

it

is

usual

that concerned

with Alchemy, and yet it is not cryptic in the sense of cipher-writing.

It has a perfectly simple surface meaning ; the concealment is the
significance of certain conventional

great difficulty
patience,

example,

it

words and

recipes.

while cryptography must disclose

its

This also

is its

secret to skill

and

say what the word Vitriol, for

represent to any writer, if it be not the ordinary substance

is

may

nearly impossible to

passing under that name.

$oet-Chnetiitn giterature of the Jctus

to say that they are unintelligible
plied,

which

in its legitimate

till

meaning

the key is sup

but just
true

is

as cipher writing will surrender

its

which

cryptography, so will
its mystery,* without

is

the master-key to

all

occult philosophy also disclose

secret to analysis,

conventional initiation, though supposing the exist

ence of a royal road of this kind, it might be regarded
as a labour-saving apparatus which,

if

accessible,

it

would not be prudent to set aside.

There are, however, two considerations on the
surface of a question like the present which will at
The first is whether the occult

once arrest attention.

philosophies are not inherently unmeaning, and unable

therefore to disclose what, in fact, they do not possess.

Or alternately, in the case that they are methodised,

whether the mystery which they cover is not out of
all proportion to the enormous intellectual cost of un
ravelling

it.f

Of

these two points one at least must

be determined according to individual predilection.

For my own part, after spending some years among
strange pathways of human ingenuity, I know cer
a
tainly that the occult sciences do constitute

methodised system which is singularly inwrought, *

and since la science est nne noblesse qui oblige, I must
bear testimony to this fact, even though an imagi
native reader may transfigure the statement and inter
pret too liberally the narrow concession which

made

here
*

to sincerity.

About the second point

In most cases this mystery

is

merely the

have
it is

difficulty of the single

MUM.
t

I refer

any other

here to the unravelling of the fust sense

the existence of

a matter of conjecture.
% In the sense that, for example, numerical mysticism runs through
all departments of occultism.
is

io

^lu

Jbftrine anb fjDiterature

extremely

So
it

difficult to indicate

the Siabalah

.of

even a personal opinion.

knowledge is its own reward, I suppose that

be
worth its cost; but if any department of
.nay
far as

research should be ruled out of the sphere of operation

possessed by this truism, it is occult science and philo

sophy, so far, at least, as the majority are concerned.

The labour involved by their exhaustive study repays
those

who undertake
of

pursuit
finished.

occult

But

it

is

only in a few cases.

it

knowledge

never

precisely for this reason that

the present

inquiry like

Campaspe

In the
is

may be

an

held to deserve a

welcome, because it offers to all those who may be

disposed to concern themselves with one important

department of occult philosophy an intelligible state

ment of the issues which will save most of them the

need of personal research.

The

importance

the

of

written

tradition

of

Kabalism can be regarded only from two standpoints.

There is that which it may possess for the sacred
scriptures of the Jewish

and Christian

for the exoteric doctrines

Under

from these.*
cluded

parative

thought.

which more or

this first

its significance, if

religions

and

less derive

head may be also

in

com
human

any, for the science of

theology and for the history of

Besides such obvious and unquestioned

grounds upon which

it

is

entitled

to

consideration,

From the occult standpoint this is of more consequence than

from that of ordinary exegesis. Adolphe Bertet, in his
Apocalypse du
bienheureux Jean
devoilte (Paris, 1861, p. 51), gives the position
.

"

very clearly.

We

find

on every page of the

five

books of Moses

Kabalistic expressions which proclaim that everything must be taken in

a figurative sense, yet in none of these books do we possess a complete

whence it follows that prior to Moses oral tradition

was alone charged with transmitting the secret of initiation." Bertet
owed his inspiration and frequently his language to Eliphas Levi.
treatise of initiation,

float-Christian literature of the Jetoe

there

another warrant

is

the

in

interest

which

it

And
possesses for the seeker after occult knowledge.
here it is necessary to determine what is meant and
The study of the large litera
involved by occultism.
ture of the secret sciences

is pursued by many persons

from many motives, but few of these can, in the proper
sense of the term, be regarded as occult students.
Nor, indeed, does the attempted practice of any of the

secret sciences in itself constitute a claim to that

number

In a very large

titular distinctions

As

title.

of cases such practices suggest

which are not of a

flattering kind.

understand him, the true student of occultism

knowledge which in

believes in the existence of a

and that

ages,*

handed down from remote

occult science

effect is

it

concerns, broadly speaking, the

between man and God.

of union

It has,

way

according to

its

legend, assumed, for various reasons, the disguise

of

many

veils

people, nor

or of

religion

it

is

it

is

not confined to one country or

interior sense of any single

the

any single cycle

in

literature

to

the

The

best aspects of this belief are, as might be expected, quite

can scarcely be said to have existed prior to the end of the
One
eighteenth century, but even then it had taken no definite shape.
of its aspects was developed in a remarkable manner by M. de Briere,

modern

who
sur

it

Essai sur le symbolisme antique de / Orient, prindpalemctit

symbolisme Egyptian (Paris, 1847), maintained: (a) A common

in his
le

origin for all religions

(b)

The

existence of sacerdotal sciences as the

exclusive patrimony of the priesthood

(c) The existence among all
eastern priests of a common idiom of high antiquity, which passed as a
;

and efficacious language; (tl) The reproduction of

language by hieroglyphics which were also theurgic and magical
A dual sacerdotal method of expressing the principles of priestly

theurgic, magical
this
(e)

sciences,

and

(2)

figures of

gods

(i) Imitation of words

hieroglyphs
Imitation of thoughts = images, idols, emblematic
(/) The existence of the sacred language and hiero

chiefly of theology

of the texts;

glyphic writing among all peoples possessing sacerdotal sciences, the

Phoenicians and Chaldeans for example.

^he

12

|30ctrine anb

exclusion

of

existence in
*

religions

all

all

others;

there

are

traces

of

From

Alchemy;

Kabalah

is

is

one

vehicles.

standpoint the true message of the

not exegetical or historical
it is not of

this

systems, schools, or interpretations

and

of

occult philosophies, Kabalistic literature

most important

its

its

all

nations,

Magic and the transcendental physics

among

of

among
through
behind the conventional occultism of
all

times,

is

it

^itttninu of the

This

kind.

spiritual

is,

is

it

of a living

indeed, the only vital

point of view from which the subject can be regarded,

and it redeems the whole circle of occult science from

the charge of vanity.

Given

this standpoint, Kabalistic literature

is

in

describably momentous, and yet to concede the posi

impossible for ordinary criticism, and should

not, indeed, be expected by those who hold it intelli
tion

is

in truth, very difficult to defend, because

has been occupied either on the warrant
of a knowledge which cannot be made public, and is
It

gently.

heretofore

is,

it

therefore idle

which
If

we

is

proclaim, or on that

to

without

much

title to

of evidence

serious consideration.

take, for example, the expository literature of

Kabalism which has been written from the occult

standpoint in any modern language, there is not a
single work which does not break down at once in

hands of the most temperate

the

criticism.

Mr.

Mathers, in England, has translated a small portion

and has prefixed an introduction which

of the Zohar,
*
"a

the

As

regards the Christian religion, see Eckartshausen concerning

more advanced
"deposition

of

all

the Sanctuary, Letter

1896.

to which
The C/ond upon
Translated by Isabel de Steiger, London,

school,"

or

"

invisible celestial

science has been

I.

confided."

Church,"

}J09t-(Ehnstian giterature of the 3feto0

13

takes the whole claim for granted, while he leaves on

mind of his readers an indistinct impression that

the

Dr. Ginsburg, who errs on the side of hostility, is not

only one of its supporters, but gives credit to the most
fabulous side of Kabalistic legend.
In America, Isaac

Myer, whose erudition entitles him to our respect,

is

forced on crucial points to assume many things that

are required for his hypothesis.*
In France the real
questions at issue are scarcely skirted in the otherwise
careful tabulation attempted by Papus.t In
Germany,
which exhausts everything, I do not know that in any
true

sense

term the position has a single

the

of

defender.
It is not my purpose either to
question 01
maintain the general fact alleged, namely, that a secret
doctrine has been transmitted from antiquity
it
;

would be scandalous as a reasonable person

lenge the possibility.

whether

there

to chal

propose only to determine

ground for believing that the

Kabalah has been a channel of such tradition, and if
this view must be abandoned, to
place those who are
is

willing to follow
it

regarding

me

which

possession of a

in

will

make

its

method

of

existence at least

without taking anything for granted and

without appealing to any source of knowledge which
intelligible

is

not fully in evidence.

*

He

assumes

cealed diffusion of a

in fact the existence,

antiquity

Wisdom

theosophy, and one which,

and general hut -con

Religion, a term borrowed from modern
in the last analysis, is not
entirely

factory to the my^tir.

La

<1f{thodiqitc.

Kabbale.

Tradition

Paris, 1892, 8vo.

Secrete

de

f Occident.

Res

nine"

^ke

14

Jlortrine ani literature of the Jiabaiah

THE KABALAH AND THE TALMUD

III.

The

post-Christian literature which

is

of authority

be distinguished from the

multifarious productions of its scholars and literati
which it was the object of rabbinical bibliographies,

in Israel must, of course,

like those of Bartolocci

and Wolf,*

to

resume

in brief.

In order to understand the place occupied by the

Kabalah it is necessary to say something of that great

known to every
and authoritative collection which
is"

one as the Talmud.

The

latter is a larger as

it is

also

an older growth. Its starting-point has been placed

by a moderate criticism shortly before the birth of
Christ, f and, to use a
its

somewhat conventional phrase,

in the fourth and sixth

two canons were fixed

centuries, A.D., at which periods, although there are

evidences in abundance of a more esoteric doctrine,

cannot be shown conclusively that Kabalistic litera

ture, according to the restricted sense in which the

it

here applied, had as yet co me into existence.

shortly, the sources of the Talmud are said to be

term

Put
"

is

the customs and regulations practised

*

Bibliotheca

cujuscumque
vel

ab

(ftatis,

aliis

Leipsic and

by the

authori-

Hebraa, sire notitia tum auctorum Hebraicorum

qua vel Hebraice primum exarata,

ad nostram catatem deducta. 4 vols.,

turn scriptortim,

conversa sunt,

Hamburg,

1715, 4to.

t There are critics outside occult circles who ascribe a similar

of the article s.v.
antiquity to the Kabalah, as, for example, the author
Cabak in the Grand Dictionnaire Universel du XIX e Siecle (Pierre
In reality the Kabalah originated
Larousse), t. iii. Paris, 1867.
"

among

the

Jews

five centuries

Formed

before our era.

of the mixture

and Mosaism at the epoch of the captivity, it was

elaborated silently, and in the main among the sect of the Karaites, but
did not attain its definite development till the period of Philo and the

of oriental ideas

schools of

Alexandria."

The

inspiration here

is

Franck.

go0t-(hri0tian gitcrature of the Jetos

their

in

ties

administration

of

religious

15

and

civil

claimed that this source goes back to

the period of Esdras, and there can, at least, be no
It is

affairs."*

doubt that the materials embodied

in

are

collected

than

older

far

their

earliest

These materials were certain

the literature
forms.

term

Mishn-.iyoth,

namely, notes of academical

which
received
teachings,
subsequently many addiAbout
the
tions.f
year 220, A.D., a considerable pro
signifying

repetitions

portion of these was engarnered

by whom

Prince, \

comments

short

added.

by Rabbi Judah the

they were methodised

own being also

way the collection

of his

In this

carefully,

occasionally
received the

peculiar views, from which other

impression of his

He

authorities differed.

endeavoured to destroy

Mishuayoth, but some of them were preserved

rival

secret

and came

to light after his death.

In this

all

in

way

we have
The Mishna,

(a)

or repetition, being the

dised selection of Rabbi Judah.

Tosephtoth, or additions,
(b] The
Baraitkoth,\\

or

outsiders,

metho

also

called

secondary matter, terms

KnglMi Translation. By Michael

York, 1896, 8vo., pp. xv., xvi.
t In the Halichol Ohim it is said that Jewish teacher- had little
schedules or scrolls of parchment, in which they set down all the tradi
"The

L. Rodkinson.

tions,

from

Babylonian
Vol.

Talmud."

New

i.

sentences, statutes,
their masters

decision, and

and that these

scrolls

forth which they learned

were called the

BO

v<>lui:

crcl.

He was the third patriarch of the Western Jews, and a legend

says that, having converted the Kmperor Marcus Aurclius, he compiled
the Mishna at the command of that Trince.
See 1. II.
Imer
]

IIi>!

of the Jcwi-h

London, 1883, pp. 204, 205.

For an old account of thi.-. lali-.ur, see David (ian/.

.iy

Davidis, sire Chronologia Sacra

II

And

Xution,"

extravagances,

ft

Pi of liana.

Leyden, 1644.

in the sense of thing-,

extraneous.

Go-men

"oTItr

Jpactrinc

<mt)

|tt*rature of the

applied by the followers of Rabbi Judah to the rival

Mishnayoth, by which the original collection is said in
the course of time to have been almost extinguished.

Their

rival claims

were ultimately harmonised by

later

and thus arose

rabbis,

The Gemara i.e., conclusions or completion.*

The union of the Gemara and the MisJina forms
(c]

the Talmud,f or instruction, from a word signifying

to teach," of which there are two versions, the
"

Mishna being the same

in each.

The Gemara
the

collected

school

of
representing
by Jerusalem
Tiberias and R. Johanon Ben Eliezer, with the Mishna,
forms the Jerusalem Talmud, and belongs to the end
rabbis,

of

the fourth

century.

The Gemara

collected

by

and

especially by Rabhina, R.
Babylonian rabbis,
Ashi and R. Jose, with the Mishna, forms the Talmud
of Babylon, four times larger than that of Jerusalem. J
It

was begun

in the fifth

and completed

in the sixth

much

century, but even subsequently to this period

additional material was gathered into it.

exceedingly important that we should under

stand the position which is occupied by the great
collections of the Talmud in respect of the literature
It is

which

is

termed technically the Kabalah.

place, this
said,
*

of the

has suggested

many

t
it

errors of comparison.

Simeon ben Jochai is represented as

Gemara was more meritorious than

But here a later

the sacred Scriptures.
sheltered itself under an earlier name.
but

In the

name, technical or conventional, as

first

have

By

asserting that the study

that of the Mishna or

predilection

has perhaps

Strictly speaking, the term Talmud applies only to the Gemara,

has obtained the wider application because the Gemara always

accompanies the Mishna, the text being essential to the note.

The proportion of the Babylonian Gemara to the original Mishna
is about eleven to one.

float-fchrietian ^literature of the Jctoe

the

hypothesis

of

both

literatures

Kabalah even as the Zohar

are a reception

Talmud

is

by

17

Talmud

the

is

Kabalah, because both

is

tradition.*

But to say that the

Kabalistic in the sense of the Zohar

is

The cycles are distinct and

extremely misleading.
almost divergent. There is no
question as to the age
and the great authority of the one,t while some cen
turies of inquiry have not as
yet determined the claims
of the other.

Moreover,

if

we assume

the equal

antiquity of both, the nature of the tradition

generically different.

The Talmud

is

primarily a philosophical system; | it is

mentary; it is the construction placed
on the jurisprudence, ecclesiastical and

is

still

not, at least,

hv

and com

by authority

political, cf old

Israel.

It is
sociology,

not metaphysics, even

though
it has admitted
metaphysics and has accretions which
can be termed mystical.
To place it by the arbitrary
In older Jewish literature, the name
(Kabalah) is applied to
body of received religious doctrine with the exception of
Pentateuch, thus including the prophets and
Hagiographa, as
"

the whole

the
well

as the oral traditions

ultimately embodied in the Mishna."
American Encyclopedia, iii., pp. 521,
522.
t I do not mean that there has never been a
question, for the
French ecclesiastic Morin,
proceeding on the principle that the Jews

cannot be believed in anything

relating to the age of their literature,
endeavoured to refer the Mishna to the
beginning of the sixth century
and the Gemaras to some two hundred
years foter.Exercitntionfs
Hil lidf, Paris, 1660.
+ Hence all
the conspicuous
philosophical doctrines of the Kabalah
have no place therein.
For example, the Sephirotic
system, with
which we
be concerned later on, and the
theory of emanation
which it involves, cannot be traced in the
Talmud.
Consult
M
beta
History of the Jewish Nation," third
>hall

It

has

not

Farrar

s
It

the

has been described as

of

edition, p. 406.
corpus juris in which the law

morality and

religion."

illustrated edition,
.,/., p. 758.
possible to institute a compari.son between the Talmud

Kabalah

as

The Talmud

is

been differentiated from

yet

"Life

is

"

See

Christ,"

and
Freemasonry and late Western Occultism.
not mysticism, but it became the
asylum of some
between

^he

attb $tteratttre of tltc

Jtodrine

Jiabalah

use of a conventional term in the same category as

the literature which discusses the mysteries of the
"

Supreme

the evolution of

Crown,"

subsistence,"

"

negative divine

so-called, into positive being, the

tion of the Sephiroth

and destiny of

and the

souls,

is

to

origin,

make a

emana

metempsychosis
foolish and de

M. Isidore Loe b* offers us

ceiving classification.
the equivalent of an admirable distinction between the
two literatures in his observations upon the compara
tive position of the

French and Spanish Jews at the

Talmudic

period of the promulgation of the Zohar.

he

Israel was,

the

Law

it

circumscribed by the circle of

had no horizon and no future it had no
tells us,

of philosophy, f The Zohar gave to

Israel the splendid impulsion of the ideal
it gave

place in the

life

philosophy

it

created a wide horizon

it

brought the

mystic traditions.
Freemasonry is not Occult Science, but under
ihe standard of the Craft all occult science of the eighteenth century

found not only a refuge, but a field of work and of development.

The way of entrance in the one case was the Haggadic morality,
in the other
*

it

was the high grades.

La Grande

t
the

"

fifth

Encyclopedic Paris, 4to, s.v. Cabbale, vol. viii.

In the immense collections which have come down to us from
>

or sixth centuries of the Christian era, in the Talmud as in

interpretations of the Bible, there is no trace of

the allegorical

If we find reminiscences of the Kabalah,

philosophical speculations.
they concern, so to speak, the exoteric portion, or angelology ; the
existence of the speculative part is shown in these books solely by the

reference to the mysteries contained in Bercshith, or the

of Genesis, and in the Mcrcavah, or Vision of Ezekiel."

first

S.

chapter

Munk

La

The author was an

Philosophic chcz lesjuifs, Paris, 1848, p. 8.
informed and accomplished defender of the existence of Kabalistic
tradition in

Talmudic

references to the

would,

if

times.

Work

collated,

go

It

should be added that the Talmudic

of the Creation and the

Work

of the Chariot

opinion that such a tradition

existence, but it was referred to

far to verify the

was known

as regards the fact of its

While the
only enigmatically, and its nature does not really transpire.
Talmud records occasionally that there were conversations betwen the

doctors of Israel thereon,

it

does not report the utterances.

Soet-CChristian literature of the Jetuo

exiled

into correspondence with the

thought of

Jew

the world

The
place a

19

communicated the Eternal.

it

result of the confusion in

question

first

is

to

construction upon Talmudic literature,

to affirm that, as believed of the Kabalah
proper, it
a
double
possesses
meaning, and that we are to look

wrong

below

its literal

that

would be as reasonable

it

sense.*

construction in the
deliberations of a

It

has been well pointed out

to admit a metaphysical

Common Law

Holy Synod

of England,

State Trials, and a theory of transmutation in

Yet

the

in the collections of

Con

what has been done actually

veyancing.
in the case of the Talmud
by the one Kabalistic ex
positor whose influence with occult students in France
and England is so paramount as to have been con
this is

sidered almost beyond appeal.

who, as a fact, misstated so much,

To

Eliphas Levi,
a grandiose

we owe

presentation of the Talmudic system which does grave

outrage to good sense. f He lays down that the first

Talmud, the only truly Kabalistic one, was collected

during the second century of the Christian era by
Rabbi Jehudah Hakadosh Hanassi that is,
Judah

"

Edersheim divides Talmudic traditionalism into two

portions
= the legislative enactments of the Fathers; and
Haggada
:

Ilalakha

free interpretation.
Some
History of the Jewish Nation, p. 136.
of the Haggadic legends
may possess an inner meaning, that is, they
are allegorical stories; the
history of the salting of Leviathan is so
absurd in it., literal sense that one is driven out of mere
generosity to
"

meant something which does not appear on its surface.

among the Nations," by Anatole Leruy-Beaulieu,
As Ilalakha is rule, norma, so Haggada is
24.
legend,
collection of miscellaneous utterances
touching on every possible

suppose that
"

Compare
p.
"a

subject."

La

it

Israel

The Ilalakha

alone

is

law.

Clef des Grands Mysteres.

See also Waite

1897, 8vo, pp.

"Mysteries

12- 120.

of

Paris, 1861, 8vo, p. 351, et seq.

Magic."

Second

edition,

London,

20

^he

Jtoctrine anb |Citerature oi the

who composed his

the most holy and the prince
book according to all the rules of supreme initiation."
"

He

"

wrote

"

within and without, as Ezekiel and

it

St.

it, and he indicated its transcendental sense

by the sacred letters and numbers corresponding to

John have
the

the

Bereshith of

six

first

Sephiroth?*

This

asserted Sephirotic correspondence has no place in

The Mishna comprises six sections, of which the
fact.
first

concerns

tithes,

the beasts which

it is

unlawful to

in the
pair, the seeds which must not be sown together
earth, the threads which must not be interwoven, the

which must not be gathered till the trees have

passed their third year, and so forth. It is by no

fruits

means
Levi,

chiefly,

who had

much

less exclusively, agricultural,

obviously not read

it,

represents.

as

Nor

any special correspondence with Kether, except

on the thin ground that in the notion of the Supreme

has

it

"

Crown

is

contained that of the fructifying principle

Any attribution could
production."

and of universal

be accredited after

this fashion.

The second book

concerns the festivals of

Israel,

the meats which are prohibited on these, the days of

no attempt to justify
The
the attribution which connects it with Chokmah.
third book concerns marriage and divorce, or, in the

and so

fasting

forth.

There

is

should note that, long prior to Eliphas Levi, Adrianus Relandus

(Analecta Rabbinica, 1702) and Galatinus (De Arcanis Catholics
It was not,
Veritatis, 1656) supposed a second sense in the Talmud.
however, metaphysical or mystical, but was a concealment prompted
not less
by the necessities of a persecuting time. This supposition is
idle than the other, for the first thing which prudence would have
towards
suggested would be to hide the real feelings of Talmudic Jews
I

Christians,
are,

of

and these are not dissembled

course,

construed

many

literally,

histories

but,

in

the

in

the Talmud.

Talmud which must

There
not be

as in the case previously cited, they belong

merely to the domain of allegory.

Jost-Chrietian gitcrature of the

21

jfetos

words of Levi, it is more particularly consecrated to

women and the fundamental basis of the family."
"

The

book deals with civil contracts, general

civil and criminal actions, penalties, &c.

fourth

jurisdiction,

Eliphas LeVi says that

it

of Israel through

all

its

any code of

superior to

is

Ages and accounts

the Middle

for the preservation

persecutions.

the natural order of the Sephiroth,

According to

corresponds with

it

Chesed or Mercy, but as it looks better under the

attribution of Justice, the Sephirotic system is re
versed accordingly.
to

Mercy by

The

fifth

book, which

this transposition,

treats,

is

allotted

according to

the French transcendentalist, of consoling beliefs and

things

holy,

which creates a completely

As

pression concerning
dedicated to votive offerings.
it.

a matter of

The

sixth

false
fact,

book

im
it

is

treats

of purifications, which Levi terms "the most hidden

*
secrets of life and the morality which directs
it."

It

is

procedures of this kind which have

occult criticism deservedly a

byword among

made

scholars.!

The exegesis thus inaugurated loses nothing in the hands of later

For example, an occult opuscuhtm observes that the key
occult writers.
which

will alone

manifest

The Astral Light," by

Second edition, London, 1892, pp. 50, 51. It is just to add
work is not regarded as of consequence by the circle to which

Christian Church
Nizida.
that this
it

open the revelations of the Christian Scriptures and

sense, "exists in a book proscribed by the

interior

their

the Jewish

Talmud."

See

"

makes appeal.

Some

which is not the work of occultists deserves the

Secret
Mr. C. W. Heckethorn, author of the
Societies of all Ages and Countries" (new edition, 2 vols., 1897), lias
presumed to treat the subject of the Kabalah in the absence of
elementary knowledge. Thus, he tells us that the literal Kabalah is
called the Mishna (vol. I. p. 85), which, as we have seen, is the
t

criticism

same condemnation.

"

commentary on the legislative part of the Mosaic Thorah.

So also Walton, in his eighth prolegomena to the
Polyglot Bible,"
observes that the terms Kabalah and Massorah are applied to one science
by the Jews. Richard Simon draws attention to this error, saying that

traditional

"

^he

22

gtortritu auii ipterattire ot iht giabalah

The

Talmud has its correspondences with the

Kabalah, but they are of method rather than material.
It is highly desirable to
study it in connection with
the Zohar, but it is a consummate act of
ignorance to
confound and to regard them as written upon the

same

and with the same

principle

Another

writer, also

an

objects.

but governed by

occultist,

very different sentiments of scholarship, Mr. Isaac

Myer, makes an exceedingly proper distinction when
he affirms that the Kabalah and the Zohar allow a
"

He means to
great margin to speculative thought."
that
are
say
they
purely speculative philosophy, while
the

Talmud

"

Law

under the

deals with everyday life and humanity

that the one
starts from a spiritual
"

"

point of view,

contemplating a spiritual

finality

as

regards the Law and its explanation," but that the

other is
eminently practical in both its starting-point
"

and end, and having, in the face of ignorance, want

and natural waywardness of the masses,

of perception

nothing but the

details in

IV.

view."

strict

observance of the

DIVISIONS OF

necessary to

in all its

THE KABALAH

we can proceed with

Before

Law

our subject

remove some further

it

will

be

false impressions

which, unlike the transcendental aspect attributed to

the Massorah

is

the criticism of the

Vieux Testament,
*
"

"

p. 498.

Philosophy of Ibn

The Blazing

the converse

Star,"

of

the

Hebrew

Histoirc Critique

text.

du

Amsterdam, 1685.
Gebirol,"

1872, I2mo.

Kabalah.

openly delivered by the Rabbi

and mysteriously received by the

"

p. 35.
Compare W. B. Greene,
The Massorah is in every respect

The Massorah
the

Kabalah

disciple,"

is

is

that

p. 29.

that which was

which was secretly

float-Christian gitmiturc of the

Jf etos

23

the Talmud, are not errors peculiar to occult writers,

and have consequently a wider sphere of operation.

and applications of the

tradition which is supposed to have been perpetuated
For most popular writers, for almost all
in Israel.

They concern

the

nature

encyclopaedias which have not had recourse to a

specialist, the Kabalistic art is simply the use of sacred

names

in the

above

evocation of

and more than

all

of reference

sources

while

spirits,* or

We

all.f

the

like

obtains

it is

find

great

it

that at least
in

standard

dictionary

of

in

many slipshod
accounts which pass from book to book, without any
attempt at verification on the part of those who
reproduce them. It illustrates the importance which
Calmet,*

is

it

still

everywhere attributed to magic, for

analysis

occult science

all

and

all

its

in

the last

oral traditions

by the popular mind into a commerce

with the denizens of the unseen world. I have done
are resolved

full justice

elsewhere

to the

enormous influence exer

by the belief in this commerce, so that the vulgar

In a higher sense
instinct is not entirely at fault.

cised

than that of ceremonial magic the ends of

science are assuredly in the unseen,
*

all

and as

occult
to the

Le Triple Vocabulaire Infernal (Paris,

Frinellan
What is termed the Kabalah is the art of commercing
30
with elementary spirits."
united with astrology, and to
t Sometimes, however, it is
n.d.

Compare

"

),

p.

cl<>.->ely

speak of

considered equivalent to speaking of

Kabalistic matters.
Such, apparently, was the notion of D^meunier,
Esprit des Usages et des coutumes des different reuplcs> font. ii. lib.
this

occult science

is

\\.

London, 1776.
"

Dictionary of the

consult C. Taylor

Bible."

For convenience of reference,

London, 1823, vol. i. s. v. Cabbala.

The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts," part i. c. i. p. 5 et seq.
London, 1898, 410. It must be admitted that th-_- term Kabalah was
applied early in its history to some form of theurgic practice.
"

translation,

^he

24

jportrine anb literature of the

gabalah

processes of evocation I have said already that they

are largely Kabalistic processes.* They are, however,

and corrupt derivatives which are not the

tradition, but applications, and hence acci
dents thereof; or, if we must admit that there were

either late
esoteric

magical practices involving a conventional procedure

and a formal ritual prevalent among the Hebrews at

a remote

period,-)-

which were also handed down, and

are therefore entitled to be classed, in a sense, as

Kabalah, then that reception must be distinguished

very carefully from the Kabalah with which we are

The tradition of the

and the Book of Splendour

here concerned. J

Formation

"

"

"

Book of

"

is

not of

magic but of philosophy. It has not been incorrectly

described, though by an unknown writer, in the fol

The Kabalah claims to be that spon

lowing terms
taneous philosophy which man, quoad man, naturally
"

now, always has affirmed, and always will

man is man. The worlds confessed

affirms

affirm so long as

by the Kabalah are worlds known

upon which man has set the seal of

man and

worlds related to

of

to
his

man, worlds

own

which man

nature,
is

the

Refer to preface.
t It is to these practices that I suppose Richard Simon alludes,
when he says that "the ancient Jewish doctors brought many super
This author can be hardly
stitious sciences from Chaldea," p. 93.
;
indeed, he seems to
pp. 116, 117) that he had not thought it worth while
time over "the ancient allegorical books of the Jews," such

regarded as an authority on Kabalistic questions

confess (op.
to

cit.,

expend
Zohar and the Bahir.

as the

The

who

"

says

opposite

From

is

held by an American writer, T. K. Hosmer,

Jewry was overrun with demonology,

this source all

The Jews in Ancient,

thaumaturgy, and other strange fancies."
Mediceval and Modern Times, London, 1890, pp. 222, 223.
Speaking
generally, it is most in consonance with the facts to regard the magic
which Europe received
Kabalism.

at

Jewish hands as a debased application of

Jgiterattire of the

Jost-Chriotian

Jttos

25

There is nothing in the Kabalah

not found also in the nature of man." *

authentic form.

which

is

As we have found
Kabalah of the Talmud
also, or at

least

till

it

in

expedient to set aside the

order to clear the issues, so

a later stage of our inquiry,

we

must ignore the Kabalah of magic. We are dealing

with an attempted explanation of the universe, which
is
something entirely distinct from all formulae of

The

theurgic and talismanic use of divine

and the doctrine of efficacious words belongs

evocation.

names

to a distinct category,

everywhere

in

later on, there

and

is

liable to

be encountered

Jewish Theosophy. As will be seen

is no
question as to the antiquity of

these notions.

another error the subject-matter of the secret

tradition is confused with certain exegetical methods

By

by which a scriptural authority is found for it. These

methods obtained very widely, and there is no doubt
that

many

most curious

of their

volume of the

swell the

results contributed to

tradition,

but the method

which deals with material, and may even occasionally

supply it, must be held distinct therefrom.
They
were, however, a

matter of tradition, and as such

are Kabalah, but they are not the doctrinal Kabalah,

and in the attempt to methodise our subject these

must be held as embodying things distinctf

also
*

W.

B.

Greene

"

The Blazing

Star,"

specific teaching of the chief storehouse of

apart from the

human

to finite existences,

It follows from the

p. 57.
Kabalism, the Zohar, that

form, permanence and organisation are impossible

also, it is the form in which God com

whence,

municates Himself.

Hershon divides the Kabalah

into two parts, symbolical and

teaches the secret sense of Scripture and the thirteen
rules by which the observance of the Law is
expounded Kabalistically,

t P.

real.

i.e,

J.

The

first

Gcmatria, Notaricon,

T/wnumh,

&c.

The

real

Kabalah he -ub-

Qht

26

It

ilcrtrine anb |ptetature

follows from the above

% ihe

glabakh

discriminations that

there are, broadly speaking, four separate groups or

species of tradition in Israel which, by virtue of the

meaning of words, are

1.

The

entitled to rank as

Kabalah

*
:

administrative tradition of the Talmud,

the authoritative regulations as to the laws, customs,

ceremonies and civil life of the Jewish nation. The
literature of this tradition

but

it

2.

has

is

of great historical value,

place in philosophy.
magical tradition of the Hebrews, very

little

The

important to the history of occult science, very obscure

in its history, very much exaggerated by those who
possessing little literature prior to the
fourteenth century of the Christian era, by which time

write about

it

had
3.

lost

it,

most

of its antique

Certain

exegetical

elements." t

and

other

traditional

and practical; the one is concerned with the

emanations and worlds of Kabalism, the nature and names of God, the
celestial hierarchy and its influence on the lower world, the mysteries of
divides into theoretical

creation

and so

forth

the other deals with the mystical properties of

names and the wonders performed with these.

"Talmudic Miscellany," London, 1880.
*
Dr. Wynn Westcott, in his work on "Numbers, their Occult
Power and Mystic Virtue," observes (p. 11) that the word Kabalah
"includes the Hebrew Doctrines of Cosmogony and Theology as well
The first he terms the Dogmatic and the
as the Science of Numbers."
second the Literal Kabalah. The Kabalistic Science of numbers is

divine and angelic

included in Gematria.

t The indefectible title of magic to a place in Jewish Kabalah is

enforced by all modern occultists, who have helped very much to
confuse the issues in question. So far back as the end of the seventeenth
and the philo
century the distinction between the magical tradition
sophical or doctrinal was recognised by R. Simon (Histoire Critique

du Vieux Testament. Amsterdam, 1685, 4to), who said: "There is

is more dangerous and forms part of
It is a mere illusion, the
that which is commonly called Magic.
another sort of Kabalah which
prepossession of certain persons
(p. 374).
by means of
it."

who

believe they can perform miracles

of the Jeto0

$00t-Chnstiau gitcrature

27

methods by which a secret sense was extracted from

the letter of

were

Holy

sometimes

solemn follies
by
and ridiculous at the present

which appear so childish

They comprise

day.*

curious results

Very

Scripture.

obtained

these

Gematria, by which the letters of a word were

converted into numbers, and the arithmetical value
a.

was used

to explain its internal sense.

Notaricon, by which each letter of a word was

taken as the initial of another word, or, conversely, the
b.

initial letters

of an entire sentence were

combined

form a word, which word was held to throw

light

to

on

the sentence.

Themurah, that

c.

is,

the transposition of letters

given word or sentence.

in a

It is

confined

obvious that the

field of

these methods

one language or one

to

literature

is

not

their

application to the plays of Shakespeare might produce

results

the

"

which would exceed even the pretensions of

Great

It is

Cryptogram."

little

humiliating to

an important subject and a fascinating literature

connected with such diversions, but we shall see later
find

on that the peculiar views of the Hebrews upon the

divine character of their language invested

a certain speciousness, while, for the

is
fortunately not concerned with

methods are sometimes termed the

*

The

Kabalistic

method of interpreting

the sense of the sacred

books

to

vain and

rest,

them with
our inquiry

them.

artificial

These
or prac-

scripture, "which reduces

ridiculous suUletie-., the

mysteries contained in letters, in numbers, and in the dismemberment

of certain words," was supposed by Simon to have passed from the
school of Platonism to that of the Je\\ s, chiefly in Europe.
There is
no ground for this view.
He adds (op. cit., p. 374) that this "specu
lative

Kabalah

of the

Levant."

"

was, in his

own

day,

still

highly esteemed by the Jews

28

^odnnt

c&kt

anb

JDiteratiire of the

Kabalah.*

tical

Hebrew

Their antiquity, like that of the

vowel-points, is a debated question.
By

some

critics their traces

Holy

Scripture, t

One

be especially noted
is

Jiabalah

is

have been discerned even

point, however,

that recourse to these

met with comparatively seldom

4.

The

in

which should

methods

in the Zohar.

embodied

philosophical tradition,

in the

Sepher Yetzirah and the Zohar cycles. To this

only, in the interests of clearness, should the con

"

"

"

"

ventional term Kabalah be applied, and

it is

this

which

really signified by every well-informed writer who

uses it.
It is divided by the Kabalists themselves into

is

a.
b.

The Doctrine
The Doctrine

of Creation,
of the Chariot

i.e.,

the chariot

of Ezekiel s vision. J

These divisions are concerned respectively with

the natural and the transcendental world, and are
sometimes termed collectively the theoretical Kabalah.
*

For
They assumed sometimes the most extravagant forms.
example, the middle letter of any sacred book was written in an
unusual position or of an unusual size, and was regarded as possessing
a deep spiritual meaning.
See "The Bible Handbook," by Joseph
Angus, D.D.

1860,

499.

p.

"The

modes by which the Kabalah

educes the secret meaning veiled under the words of the Hebrew
scriptures are manifold, extending to every peculiarity of the text.
Even in what we should regard as critical marks or as errors or fancies
of

some

transcriber, as

inverted or in any

way

when a

letter is written too large or too small, is

distinguished, an occult intent was presumed."

American Encyclopedia, iii. 521, 522.

t The Chaldaic paraphrase of Jonathan ben Ouziel has recourse
occasionally to a species of transliteration

when

dealing with certain

obscure scriptural names.

+ Both these divisions are mentioned

in

the

Mishna by name

(Chagiga, xi. 2), and are said to be secret doctrine, but the Afaassc
Bereshith and the Maassc Mercabah there referred to are not a written

Kabalah necessarily represent it.

Mercabah with the Sephiroth or Ten Emana

tradition, nor does that of the written

The Zohar
tions,

identifies the

which

see.

$o0t-(Ehriatiau ^literature of the Jetoe

29

It is this which gave to Israel the intellectual horizon

which was impossible to the Talmudic Jew, and it is
this also which gave the Children of the Exile a
place

in

Western philosophy.

When we

hear that the

Kabalah once fascinated some of the great minds of

Christendom,
be applied.*

to this only that the statement can

it is

It is this, finally,

which

it is

of the present inquiry to elucidate.-)-

the purpose

should be

It

added that outside the cycle of the Zohar there is a

large Jewish theosophical and mystical literature, of
which the Sepher Yetzirah is an instance. It was
which led up to the Zohar, and was embraced
But whether it was Kabalistic in the sense
thereby.
this

of the latter

is

one of the disputes of scholarship.

Drach distinguishes three uses of the term Kabalah for which

It is frequently applied by the Talmud to
(i)
authority can be cited
the books of the Old Testament outside the Pentateuch ; (2) The
:

rabbins apply
especially the

it

to

the legal or talmudic tradition

"mystic,

esoteric,

De f Harmonic

tradition."

entrc

acroamatic

F Eglist

et

(3)

portion
la

It

of

Synagogue.

signifies

the

oral

Par U

Chevalier P. L. B. Drach, 2 vols., Paris, 1844.

f I must not pass over the division of the Kabalah proposed by
Dr. Pa pus in one of his latest publications, though I regard it, critically

The Kabalah is, in his opinion, attributable to

speaking, as fantastic.
Moses, and the written word of Scripture is therefore naturally a part of
the tradition.
have thus
(a) The written word ; () The oral

We

word

An

intermediate portion, being rules insuring the preservation

of the text, i.e. Massorah.
The last is the body of the oral tradition ;
the Mishna and Gemara are its life ; the Sepher Yetzirah and the
;

(f)

Unfortunately Dr. 1 apus has not made his

he does usually, and he seems to assume some of the
most important points at issue. See Traitt Eltmtntaire de Science

Zohar arc

its

spirit.

thesis so clear as

Occulte, 50 edition, Paris, 1898.

BOOK

II

THE DOCTRINAL CONTENT OF

THE KABALAH
ARGUMENT
The fundamental
The Philosophy

(a)

universe by
into Four

way

doctrines of the Kabalah are

of the Absolute

of emanation

(c)

The

() The

shown

evolution

distinction of the

to

be

of the

emanation

The subsidiary
issuing one from another.
doctrines connected with these are: (i) The contrast between
Worlds

in Himself and God as revealed to His people ; (2) The

Sacramental nature of the conventional symbols of the human
Logos (3) Certain ways and methods by which knowledge and

God

wisdom are attainable (4) A complex system of pneumatology.

These subjects are regarded from the occult standpoint, but a
;

warrant

sufficient

is

not found for the view that they represent an

occult doctrine of Absolute Religion.

THE UNMANIFEST GOD

I.

THE

conventional division of Kabalistic doctrines into

transcendental and physical, though valuable for pur

poses of tabulation, must not be held to signify that
there

is

a clear line of demarcation in virtue of which

the literature branches off into divergent paths, much

less that the Kabalah offers a natural history of the
universe.

Its physics, so far as

it

any, are transcendental physics.

between

separation
*

That

is

God,

to say, the mystic

the pantheistic doctrine of identity

Kabalism.

Man

can be said to have

Admitting of no
and Nature,* the

communication
is

is

permanent, but

of
quite foreign to the position

The

pcctrinal Content of the JjUtmlah

them

science which explains

best

manner

of studying

the eternal order.

It

likewise one,

is

it is

to follow its

31

and the

view as to

begins in that Absolute which

the purpose of all fundamental wisdom to make

known or communicate to man it attempts to exhibit
it is

the transition from the Absolute to the related, from

the noumenal to the phenomenal, and to establish a

chain of correspondence between the infinite and the

finite.
It is, however, more than a philosophical

attempt to bridge over the gulf which separates the

timeless from the temporal
it

that

is

the side on which

connects with philosophy, as commonly understood.

intermediaries of the transition are the ladder of

The

ascent
also

by which man returns to the Divine hence

is more than an
explanation of the universe
;

it

speaking correctly, a sum of religion, and as it is

founded, no matter how, on those Scriptures which
Jew and Christian have recognised equally as the

it is,

peculiar revelation of God, the text-book of true re

we shall see readily what depth and mystery

are sought to be infused by the Kabalah into the
ligion,

We

Bible.

who

also agree with those discerning

shall

describe

it as,
strictly speaking, a system
the application of the wisdom of
Israel to the unsearchable mystery of God, and it

critics

of theosophy

begins, as
it

of

it

is

we might have

unsearchable, that

is

that

all

illusions,

most

is

there

is

expected, by confessing that

beyond our best conceptions

beyond so many veridic

unknown and unknowable God.*

divine, as

the

According to the Zohar,

there

is

in

this

principle,

above even wisdom.

See

for

it

it

"The

is impossible to know that \\hidi

never stoops to our ignorance and

i.-,

Letter

II->ly

for example, of the Capttt quod tton est

comprehenditur Sapientia nee intellects.

Secitndus, p. 528.

when

Synod,"
.

caf>ut

treating,

quod n.:

Kabbalce Denudata Tomit*

y&he |B0rtriiu zwb giteratute ot the

32

Even

communication possible between

the divine and man, which is an old doctrine of Jewish
in the mystic

mysticism, long anterior to the Zohar, at least in its

present form, the essence escapes our apprehension.
can, indeed, know God, but not as He is in Him

We

self, our knowledge being made possible through

the manifestation of the Deity, and this takes place
after two manners
by the mediation of the Law of

Nature, that

by

the

God

is

Law

to say, in the physical universe;

which

of Grace,

is

and

the manifestation of

in his relation with the souls of his elect.

It will

be seen that both these methods are sacramental, and

the sacramental system is the form of all mysticism.

For the Kabalistic Jew the Law and the Covenant

were signs or mysteries capable of a plurality of inter
pretations, while the whole outward world was omen
and metaphrasis. It is therefore to be expected that
in the written word we must look for another mean
It was
ing than is conveyed by the outward sense.
also a part of Jewish mental bias to look for an inward
significance

which was opposed

strikes unfailingly the

to the external,

modern observer

and

as strained

and unnatural.
In

the

eternity

manifestations which

which preceded either of the

have mentioned, the Deity was

withdrawn into Himself and subsisted

after a

manner

which entirely transcends the conception of human

The names which are ascribed to the
faculties.*
*
The tract entitled the Faithful Shepherd," which forms part of
the Zohar, says, on the authority of R. Simeon ben Jochai, that before
God created the archetypal idea which underlies the form of the world,
He was alone, without form or similitude, and hence there could be no
"

cognition of him.

Zohar,

pt.

ii.

col.

(Rayah Mehemnah,
73).

in the

Cremona

edition of the

There was, of course, no intelligence

to

The Doctrinal Content

of the Jtobahih

not names which

in this abyssal condition are

Deity

33

present either the condition or the Divine

Nature

they are the conventions of the philosophical hypo

thesis
they are terms which serve to indicate that
;

God, prior to manifestation,

nameless, even as

is

He

beyond reach.* He is the Ancient One, and the

most Ancient of all the Ancients, but this describes
only the eternity of His subsistence; He is the
Hidden of all the Hidden Ones, but this concerns

is

He is A in Soph, a phrase
only His concealment
which Rosenroth renders fine carensft the unlimited
;

or infinite, but

it

also includes,

by the separate

signifi

cance of the word Ain, the abstract competition of

nothingness, and this registers only the inconceivable
nature of His infinite mode.J
According to the
"

Book

which

of Concealment,"

There
in

impiety

His dwelling

not a place, or more

is

is

this

to

the place

literally, locus

gut _non
a touch of atheistical

at first sight

attempt

is

describe

God

comprehend Him, but the idea which underlies the confusion

the supposed period of God
sion of the human mind.
in

eternal rest

We

now beyond

is

the

the

as

is

thai

comprehen

are unable to conceive a state or

period

which the world was not, but God alone.

*

The

state of the

interrogative pronoun Who? is ascribed by the Zohar to this

Supreme. Earlier mysticism speaks of God being alone

with

his Name, /.,:, the Divine

Tetragram, which, according to
Maimonides, preceded the whole creation.
t Apparatus in Lib rum Sohar pars priina, Kabbala Demtdata,

vol.

p. 81.

i.

Zoharic teaching specifically affirms

for

example, that prior to the creation

this

point.

It

is

said,

the world, prior to the

alone, formless and resembling
of

of any image, God was

In tin- state it is forbidden to represent Him
by any image
or under any form whatsoever, even
by His Holy Name, or by any

production

nothing.

letter or

any point.

Zohar;

Liber Occultationis,
\"1.

ii.

p.

348.

seti

ii.,

42

/;.,

Mystcrii,

Mantua.
c.

i.

5.

K abbala

Denudata,

Ihe

34

Jloxtrine anb literature of the

Non-Ens dwelling

in the

Non

Est, but

it

is

really a

philosophical subtlety which seeks, by successively

stripping off every attribute pertaining to manifest
some idea of unmanifest, uncon

existence, to attain

The key is
Pardes Rimmonim, by

ditioned, abstract being.

treatise entitled

given in the
R. Moses of

Cordova,* which says that the Cause of Causes is

called Ain Soph because His excellence is without
bound, and there

nothing which can comprehend

is

Him.
be seen that the Kabalistic conception is
one which is familiar to later forms of transcendental
philosophy under the name of the Absolute, a term
It will

which, in the last analysis,

intellectual

difficulties,

or,

not wanting in similar

rather, it symbolises our
is

recognition of that which exceeds our

In this Absolute resides the essence
intelligence. f
intellectual

or potentiality of

all

J it is

not accurate to say that

it

the subsistent principle which underlies the ob

jective state termed existence, because existence is a
is

condition of the
is

a true

and

Pardes

real

and the created, though there

sense in which God may be said to

finite

Rimmonim,

i.e.,

Paradise of Pomegranates, Tract

iii.

c.

i.

Moses of Cordova belonged to the more modern school of Kabalists,

and his treatise is exegetical and not authoritative in Kabalism.
t See, however, Dr. Noah Porter: "The Human Intellect,"
London, 1868, who argues that in its proper definition the Absolute
becomes knowable. Our idea of the Absolute belongs, nevertheless,
to that region of our consciousness which Herbert Spencer terms

and escaping formulation.

+ Hcene \Yronski, whose mathematical transcendentalism is of high
authority with French occultists, affirms that the reality of the Absolute

indefinite

is

the

first

assertion

principle

made by

of

reason,

and

in

reason would be valueless.

the

absence thereof every

On

this principle, as

an indispensable condition, he establishes absolute philosophy

work

entitled Apodictique.

in

on
his

The Doctrinal

(Content of the

gabalah

35

encompass, overstand and subtend the visible world.*

Ain Soph
whence

the subsistent

is

follows that there

it

of Deity itself,f
from the Kabalistic

state
is

standpoint a manifested state of the Divine Nature,

and this is certainly not the visible world. Where

be indicated

this manifestation occurs will

next

in the

section.

be obvious that

It will

ordinary notions of a
are destroyed or transcended by this
on- Ego of the Kabalists
it is absolutely

God

personal

Non-Ens or

all

any multiplication, above all

number, above Wisdom, which, as we shall see, is,
however, one of its first emanations. It is also with
simple, unity without

out

and

sex,

it

make

inaccurate to

reference thereto.

is

therefore,
strictly
speaking,
use of the masculine pronouns in

According to Moses of Cordova,

the angels are neither simple nor without multiplica

tion

in

comparison

with

Faithful Shepherd

makes God

whatever, even

more

if

be

to

if it

he make

Woe

unto him

says
unto any
:

be one of
like

entitled

who
mode or attribute
His own but woe still
"

"J

like

Him

The book

it.

"

unto the sons of men, whose

elements are earthly, and so are consumed and perish

There can be no conception attained of Him, except
in so far as He manifests Himself when exercising
!

According to the Zohar, (lod

i.-

immanent

in

all

that

In-

created or emanated, and yet is tratiMX-ivU-nt to all.

t Occultists should l)cw;uc of giving further

currency to the
absurd description of thU Mate
negative existence." So far back
as 1867 Herbert Spencer established clearly in
Principles"
that
c and not
Unconditioned must be represented

"

"thi.-

negative."

Quoted
Dissertatio

Tractatus

i.

i.,

in

c.

i.e.

i.

Beth

Elohim, or the
See Kabbala Dtnttdata,

Pneumatica Kabbalistica,

p.

"

House

vol.

187.

ii.

of
;

the

J artis

Gods,"
/

36

Ihe

gortrttte attb literature of the Jiabalah

dominion by and through some attribute. Abstracted

from this there can be no attribute, conception, or
ideal of
filling

He

Him.

some great

in the earth,

comparable only to the

is

wherein

it

concavity, so that thereby we may begin to

the dimensions of the sea itself/

remains for

It

Ain Soph

is

sea,

example, its bed

fashions for itself a certain

reservoir, as, for

me

compute

to state that the doctrine of

not found in the earliest Kabalistic

litera

and appears to have been first developed by the

commentators on the Sepher Yetzirah and in the
ture,

school of Isaac the Blind.

II.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE TEN

EMANATIONS

Having thus postulated the existence of the

Absolute and the Unconditioned, the next concern of
the Kabalah is the mode of the manifestation of that
withdrawn and inconceivable nature. Having attained
its ultimate and fundamental conception of the Deity
by the process of elimination
has been made already, it was

which reference

to

inevitable

attribution of absolute reality to that

stripped of
result

all

realism should have produced as a

something which was outside

prehension.

It is

perhaps open

this fact justified the

Soph was

that the

which had been

invested, as

intellectual

to question

com

whether

transcendency with which Ain

it is also doubtful whether the

and elaborated antithesis of anthropo

morphism thus created was not as much a convention
of the human mind as that which it sought to replace.
methodical

ouimt

gJoctnnnl

The

of the

intellectual difficulty was,

gabalah

37

however, the ground

for the exaltation of the conception at the

expense of

human mind by which it had been devised

Now, the Jew was confronted by
laboriously.*

the

two problems which called

least

He

between

had to account

this

is

only the

for the

man for its mouthpiece, but so far

common problem of all philosophy

which begins and ends

and

connection

this

was

He had

in the unconditioned.

further a problem peculiar to his

election,

Ain

bond of connection
of
the
Godhead
and the visible
abyss

universe, having
this

at

for the exercise of his

further ingenuity as regards the latens Deit.is of

Soph.

so

own

to establish

inheritance

and

another bond of

between the absolute transcendency of

Ain Soph, apart from

all

limitation, outside all

measurement, isolated from

all

relationship,

human

and the

anthropomorphic Lord of Israel, whose stature and

measurements were not beyond the ingenuity of rab

and most of whose members are

and frequency in the

binical calculations,

mentioned with

sufficient fulness

sacred writings for any devout student to possess a

clear notion of the
body of God," and to describe it,
"

did he please, and we shall see later on that he did,

with considerable precision, in a book dedicated to
the question.

For the moment, however, we are con

cerned only with the

culty of conceiving

God

first

why

problem, namely, the diffi

the abyssal state in which

unmanifest had been

sufficient from eternity to

Himself should at any period have had another mode
superadded to it. I say superadded by convention
*

The Zohar

says that

it

is

called

Ayin, not on the ground of

that which is wholly

nonentity, but, it may be inferred, because

outside our knowledge is for us as nothing

^he

38

Jtorttitt* anfo fCiteratuve of the

giabalah

based on the notion of sufficiency it is not a reason

able term to make use of in such a relation, to which
;

no terminology
the non est
of itself

nothing

is

ens dwelling in
decimal system ;*
extension produces

nothing, and its

so also it is not possible to add to
is

it

The

to all numbers.

power
Kabalism does not

gives

"

but

In

it

by

from that which

word, the move

in a

is,

it,

solution offered

differ materially

has been always given. It

ment of the Divine Will.
"

The non

suitable.

like the cipher of the

is

says

this,"

Myers,

Absolute, above all number, mani

through an emanation in which it was

Unknown

the

fested itself

immanent, yet as to which it was transcendental."!

We are dealing here with a system of speculative
philosophy, and, traditional or otherwise, it must not

be supposed to be free from the disabilities of other

philosophies or from the crudities of its particular
The Kabalistic hypothesis supposes an
period.
operation of the
Divine Will, and in the latent subsistence of
Soph

eternity antecedent

to

this

initial

Am

it

would appear an inconsequence to assume that

there

was

either

Both, however,

by

or

willj

consciousness

almost inevitable

A in

Soph, despite the

anachronism, are attributed to

warning of the Zohar already quoted

him who
*

The

t
%

"

shall

circle

is,

compare Him

in fact, a Kabalistic

Philosophy of Ibn

possible.

common and

Gebirol,"

The Zohar, however, says

Cremona
King."

the will of the

"

Woe

unto

any mode or

with

symbol of Ain Soph.

p. 266.

expressly that
edition,

i., fol.

"

in the

beginning was

56.

comprehension it must be regarded as the nonAll that is in man depends from it,
Ego.
it transcends what we conceive by
but it transcends consciousness
and individual."
the terms
"Philosophy of Ibn
Myer
"Exceeding

Ego

rather than

the

personal

Gebirol."

Jpoctrinal Content of the JBabalah

attribute,

even with one of

his

39

The

own."*

later

commentators on the Zohar either do not recognise or

Thus

are content to ignore the difficulty.

entitled

Royal

"The
"

Hirtz, says

Valley,"

a treatise

by Rabbi Naphthali

Blessed be His Holy

Name

Before

anything was, He, by His simple will, proposed to

Himself to fashion the worlds. For the King is not
given without the people, as it is written in Proverbs
xiv. 28
In the multitude of the people is the King s
And it is the nature of the Supreme Good
honour.
:

ness to dispense good.

Now, if the world were not,
The exegetical
on whom could He bestow it ?
Gates of Light," indicate
literature, treatises like the
"t

"

that the exertion of the Divine Will in the production

of the emanations

a path so secret that

is

not even Moses himself, can understand

same
and

time, that will

beneplacitutn

is

beneplacitnm^ or

termine

no

creatur-

At the

it.t

good pleasure,
end or

without

carats,

Hence the motive by which the universe is

is the same motive which communic
mercy of God to them that fear Him, after which

limit.

accounted for
the

it
will be unnecessary to say that optimism
fundamental characteristic of Kabalism, or

according to to the Zohar, this

the best of

all

is,

in

some

the

is

that,

respects,

possible worlds.

Seeing then that the transition of the Divine

Being from the state of the mm ens was accomplished,
like the conversion of

merely

material

man from

the condition of a

creature, by an

operation

Zohar, pt. ii. (Kayah Me/termin), col. 73,

;
t Kal-lala Av/W//-/, tcin. ii., partis
/>;

1,

DC Mundo

Infinite

prim o

t /Cabbala Dcnndata,
f>riffia,

pp. 691, 692.

p.

torn.

Cremona

of

the

edition.

nnJits,

152.
i..

Apparatus in Librum Sohar pars

^hc

40

sub gDtoature of

itortriite

mystery of the

we have next

will,

tit*

Ibbalah

to ascertain

some

thing of the nature of this process, and this leads us

to the word which I have already mentioned in
In specifying what
advertently, namely, emanation.*

followed from the motion of the Divine

I

an elementary

think, in

inquiries into the sense in

must be allowed

will,

we

must,

treatise, set aside too subtle

which terms were used.

any case that the Kabalah

in

It

re

pudiates implicitly the axiom ex nihilo nihil fit, for the

non ens dwelling in the unconditioned state wherein
is

neither time nor placet

is

Ex

the fulness which contains

omnia fiunt. In this

plenitudine
divine plenitude pre-existing eternally was the sub
stance of all the worlds, which therefore came forth

the

all.

from God.
emanation.!
*

ista

Hence the

When

it

Kabalistic system is one of

said that emanation is not

is

In which the idea of pantheism

is almost
always, but not, I
of course, a certain sense in
not escaped even on the hypothesis of creation,

think, of necessity involved.

There

is,

which that notion is

and further there is a higher sense of pantheism from which no spiritual
But as regards Jewish mysticism,
philosophers could wish to escape.
while there is always some doubt in what way it made use of the term
emanation, there seems to me no doubt that its system does not answer
to what is commonly understood by pantheism, though it has often a
God was all for the Kabalist, as he is for the
pantheistic aspect.
Christian, and yet the theosophic Jew no more than the orthodox
theologian would admit that God was one with the material world.
When, therefore, Solomon Munk (Dictionnaire de la Conversation]
says that the Kabalah issued from the amalgamation of oriental
pantheism with the religion of the Hebrews, we can accept this only
by supposing that the pantheism in question had suffered a peculiar
alteration.

The No-Thing is not, however, an absolute negative or void, but

some-Thing unknown to man." Myer
Philosophy of Ibn Gebirol,"
It should be added that Nachmanides was one of the few
p. 378.
f

"

"

Kabalists

who maintained

% In

Book IV.

2,

creation ex nihilo.

we

shall see that this statement is subject to a

document of the Kabalah, and

should be noted in this connection that at least one scholar of

reservation regarding the most ancient

it

Socirinal Content of the gabalah

its

only foundation, for

it

rests also

41

on the identity of

of
thought and existence,* or otherwise the doctrine
Divine Immanence, there is much in the literature
which would tempt us to endorse this view, after due

allowance has been

made

scurity of the originals.f

follow it at any length
;

for the confusion

But
is

it

and ob

not necessary to
enough for the present

purpose to say that the term

it

is

emanation

is

more

in

harmony with the doctrine of the Kabalah than is that

of creation, and the rejection of the axiom already
mentioned is perhaps little more than a play upon
words.

We

are not, however, concerned as yet with the

The first conse

evolution of the physical universe.
the
followed
which
operation of the Divine
quence
will

was the manifestation

or unfolding of the Divine

word, the transition of Deity from the

As in the one He was
latent to the active state.
in a

attributes

above

number, so

all

in the other

He may

be said

to

emana

have produced numbers, and the decade

Soph. We must not be so crude as to
is

tion of

the

Am

suppose that the mere arithmetical numerals are here

it
intended
was powers, forces, vitalities, virtues,
;

which were thus produced,* and

instance the Sephiroth, as they are termed,

attributes, principles,
in

the

first

has rejected the general

as a system of emanation.
7,ohar.

authority

Kabalah
(fit

Isaac

t That

and such

like,

nately by the

view,

and does

not regard

the

See Joel, Philosophic Religieusc

Philosophy of Ibn Gebirol," p. 266.

the terms emanation, creation, formation
signifying distinct ideas, are used somewhat indiscrimi

Myer
is

to

"

say,

Kabalist>.

t Azariel, in his work on the Canticle of Canticles, terms them

"measures and organs," and in the Zohar itself they appear as divine
emanated essences.

^ht

42

Jtortrine anb

gDitmtur* oi the glabalah

belong solely to the world of Deity.

which are assigned to them are

The names

I.

II.

III.

IV.

Supreme Crown.
CHOKMAH, Wisdom.
BlNAH, Intelligence or Understanding.
CHESED. Mercy, otherwise Gedulah, Magni

KETHER,

the

ficence or Benignity.

V.

GEBURAH,

Severity.

VI. TlPHERETH, Beauty.

VII. NETZACH, Splendour.
VIII.

HOD,

Victory.

IX. JESOD, the Foundation.

X. MALKUTH, the Kingdom.

The

conjunction of Chokmah and

Binah pro

duced a quasi-emanation called Daath, knowledge,

but it is not one of the Sephiroth*

To

these ten emanations or numerations various

profound meanings are attached

indeed, the study

of the Kabalistic system of the Sephiroth constitutes

by itself, and one which is full of complexity.

a science

We

are not concerned here with

sentation,

which would

fill

exhaustive pre
volumes, or with more than

We

its

elementary symbolism.

late

Kabalists offer other etymologies,

cr^cupat

its

are concerned, in a

term derived from a word signifying

The

singular

is

Sephira.
the Divine

"to

number,"

though

example, the Greek

The emanations are regarded as
as,

for

Power and attributes as they

no doubt that these vessels were usually
considered spherical.
See especially the treatise Beth Elohim con
The
cerning father, in which the idea of circularity is involved.
author of the "Gates of Light" refers the term to the Hebrew word
signifying sapphire, which stone, on account of its brightness and
Other rabbinical authorities
purity, is a symbol of the Sephiroth.
have supported this view. See Jellinek Beitrdge zur Geschichte der
receptacles of
developed, and there
vessels,

is

Kabbala.

Leipsic, 1851.

Hoctvinalontent

vlhf

word, not with what

it

of thf

gabalah

43

may have been designed

conceal for the benefit of a circle of

the claim of occult science,

initiates,

but with what

intended to explain, and this explanation

some warrant for concluding that outside
only the province of fantasy.
Beyond a certain point

suppose a double meaning

it

in

is

is

was

it

offer

may
it

to

which

there

is

not reasonable to

any

literature

the

many-sided allegories does credit only to

the ingenuity of the critic, and of its general value we
theory of

have had a typical instance

The

initial

in

Talmudic exegesis.*

purpose of the Sephirotic system was

undoubtedly to provide intermediaries between the

It
Deity and the material world.
doctrines of emanation.
But while

jectures for which

no warrant

is

is

we

that

of

all

reject con

produced we must be

careful not to fall into the opposite error.

To

bridge

the gulf between the finite and the infinite, and to

effect a correspondence by stages between the incon
ceivable purity of the Divine Nature and the uncleanness attributed to matter by all the old theosophies,
was not the sole purpose of the Sephirotic system, a

point

which

academical
It is

is

sometimes

missed

by the merely

critic.

affirmed

by

hostile writers, for

example, by

study of modern occult literature, I doubt

the occultist really concerns himself with the discovery
of a concealed sense in the Kabalah.
It is a sufficient exercise of
After an exhaustive

much whether

and harmonise the outward sen^e, \\hich is

and transcendentalised by his methods, but
Take, for example, the conception of
ircdly not removed.
Ain Soph he certainly does not look for any notion more withdrawn
than that of divine latency therein.
The inner meaning of the Kabalah
is its
proper and single sense, which has been confused by the obscurity
of its style and its subject.

his patience

perhaps a

to codify

little

irradiated

^he

44

ilcdrine sub literature

the

.of

Dr. Ginsburg,* that as the earliest Kabalistic litera

ture does not contain the doctrine of
it

wants that of the Sephiroth, but

Am Soph, so also
is

it

above chal

lenge that the germ of the Sephirotic scheme must be

sought in the Sepher Yetzirah. The ten numerations
of that treatise are, in

the Sephiroth, and it seems

quite impossible to maintain the contrary opinion. t
fact,

THE DOCTRINE OF THE FOUR

WORLDS

III.

The

as

Sephirotic system was concerned first of all,

have indicated, with the mystery of Divine Evolu

tion.
From that unsearchable condition which is
above consciousness, by a mysterious operation, the
Uncreated Will moved outward, and subsequently

three manifestations or relations of Deity were estab

lished.
By the first manifestation the Ain Soph

from

passed

became Ego,
which

is

subsisting

still,

activity

the

non-Ego

however, in a condition

humanly inconceivable,

abstract thought.
is

into

latency

in the state of

pure

The

concentration of this thought

depicted in Kether, which is also the Divine Will

in

its

Crown t

primordial
is,

The

manifestation.

Supreme

symbolically speaking, the base or sphere

*
More especially in his article, s.v. Kabbalah, contributed to the
third edition of Kitto s "Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature."

f William Postel, the

first

translator

of the

indubitably regarded the Ten Numerations

Sephiroth of more evolved Kabalism.

as

Sepher Yetzirah,

identical

with

the

Gates of Light," it is said that the

J In the treatise entitled the
of Kether is applied to the first Sephira, because even as the
crown encircles the head so does Kether encircle every Sephira. It is
"

name

The Doctrinal Content

of the

of the Divine Consciousness.

By

gabalah

45

the second mani

the abstract thought entered into or de

the
veloped
relationship of time, so that it could be
now regarded as that which was, which is and is to
festation

come.
that

Lastly,
to say,

is

development produced the universe.

extension of the symbolism Kethcr

a slight

By
is

established a relation with Nature

it

its

regarded as the Throne of the Ancient of

also

Days,* and as the Divine Consciousness

is

the veil of

Ain Soph is further represented

as the central point of Kether, regarded as a sphere,
and the circumference is infinity, which is, as it were,
the subsistent state,

The

the Divine Vestment.

that this

is

wherein

it

beyond

all

later

Kabalists explain

because Ketlier has no vessel or receptacle

Hence also it is
may be contained. t

The

cognition.

that

"

Book

of

Formation,"

the

properties of all the

the infinite of beginning, the
infinite of ending, the infinite of good, the infinite of
affirms

however,

Sephiroth are infinite,

the

world of

"

Direction,"

"

which

encompasses

all

things.

This

statement involves the view that the Sephiroth were emanated as a

series of concentric circles, a point which will be dealt with later on.
*

The term Throne

is
applied to several of the Sephiroth.
the throne of judgment, Tiphcreth that of mercy.
ho\ve\er,
i^ termed the throne of
mercy, because

l\falknlh

is

/>///(///

time>,

a seat

Thus
Someit is a.s

under the supernal dilections.

throne of glory

when

wisdom.

Bk.

because

See
it

is

it

Tiphereth is also called the

receives the influence of the thirty-two paths of
10.

i.

The same name is

The term

the seat of Tip/ureth.

applied to Malkuth^
throne taken simply

and Dinah which is the v- at of Malkuth. Kabbala

Apparatus in Libnim Sohar, B.T. Throntis, vol. i. p. 483.
These points are cited only to show the chameleon character of the
signifies Malkitth,
t

ata,

symbolism.
MoiaK and Dogma of the
t I owe this statement to the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite," compiled by Albert Tike. Grand
Commander of the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A. The authority
"

is

not stated, but

Napthali

Ilirtz.

it

is,

believe,

from

"The

Royal

Valley,"

by R.

46

^he

evil,

the infinite in elevation, the infinite in depth, the

at the East, the infinite at the West, the

gtortrhu anb ICitoature ot the gabalah

infinite

infinite at

the North, the infinite at the South, and the

Lord alone
governs
of

ages."*

which
all

is

;J

it

is

as

faithful

King He

egg in which reposes the germ

borrow the symbolism of another

the

of the universe, to

In

system.

all

contained by nothing,j* Kether contains

itself is

things

above

from the height of His throne in the ages

As the vessel of the Divine Consciousness,

all

the

contains

it

particular

remaining

The
Sephiroth, which are the sum of all things.
Word of God circulates in all, and Kether is, in a
special sense, the Spirit of the Living

The second Sephira

of a middle

God.

Wisdom, but seemingly

is

the truly
celestial Wisdom, can be referred only to Kether.
That of Chokmah is, notwithstanding, so transcendent
quality, for the highest of

that no creature can attain

and the Wisdom

It

it.

all,

was concealed from

which

Solomon was

magnified belongs to an inferior order,

which connects

Moses,
with

the

lowest

of

the

for

The Sephira

Sephirotk.

Sepher Yetzirah, c. i. par. 4.

f This appears paradoxical, but just as Fichte and Carl du Prel
have maintained that the human ego is not wholly embraced in selfconsciousness, so Kether is presumably the vessel of the Divine Con
sciousness in the sense that
will

it

receives an influx therefrom.

Readers

remember the Universal Solvent which

a phial,

a diverting incident

According

to the

yet could be contained in

in one of the "Tales of the Genii."

"

Royal

Valley,"

A in

Soph had

appreciation, prior to their actual existence,

impersonations contained unmanifested within

of

full

all

consciousness and
the grades

and

Itself.

is hence, as Isaac de Acco observes in his treatise on

Enlightenment of the Eyes," a unity of the ten Sephirofh m
It must,
themselves, which unity is concentrated always in Ain Soph.
perhaps, be admitted that this idea is contained implicitly in the
Zoharic statement that Ain Soph is the beginning and end of all degrees

% There

"The

in the creation.

fortrinal Content of the gtabalah

Chokmah

47

described by the
Book of Formation
as the Breath of the Spirit of God.
"

is

"

Dinah, Intelligence or Understanding, is symboli

by the same fundamental authority
as the moisture of the Breath of the
It is the
Spirit.

cally represented

highest Scphira with which

spondence, but it contains

man

can establish corre

the same

time one
which
was
also
concealed
from
Moses.
The
mystery
root of all roots and the foundation of all foundations
at

is by it communicated to man, who could otherwise

have no knowledge of the antecedent states of the
Divine Nature.*

Magnificence or Mercy, Gedulah or Chesed, the

fourth emanation,

is

the

warmth

or

fire

contained

within the moisture breathed forth

God.

expresses the eternal

connecting with life and vitality.
It

beneplacituin

section

tcrmine carens

by the Spirit of
love and compassion,
the base of the

It is

mentioned

in

the last

and supposes

Divine Agent.

implicitly the free will of the

follows from this as a consequence

It

was made or emanated, not because

anything was wanting to the Divine completeness, but
out of the fulness of goodwill, which is, however, in
that the universe

distinct opposition

some

to

especially Isaac de Loria.*

Chesed

of

the

later

Kabalists,

Symbolically speaking,
by which God con

therefore the Scphira

stituted the world.
is

All things, according to the commentary of Isaac de Loria, in a

and most abstruse manner, consist and reside and are contained
Hinah, which projects them and send., them clou awards, species by

certain
in

species, into the several worlds of

Fabrication.
it

is

Dinah

is

Emanation, Creation, Formation and

hence represented as a great reservoir or o

the source of prophetic inspiration, as Chokmah is that of revelation.

t See Liber Drushim, a metaphysical introduction to the Kabalah*

Kabbala Dfnudata,

vol.

i.

pt.

Also Book

vi.

of this work.

48

Ihe

ifljctrine

The

fifth

an* ^iterate* ot tht gabalah

is Geburah, signifying Judg

known also as Pachad,
Power,
ment, Justice, Judicial
the
is
It
or Fear.
supernal tribunal before which

nothing can

Sephira

subsist.

sixth Sephira,
Tiphereth, or Beauty, the

and
sense, the conjunction of Mercy
it
summarises the Divine goodness
;

the pillar of benignity.

But the Divine Benignity

in a

is,

Judgment and
is

the heart of

manifested by the
the seventh Sephira.
victory signified in Netzach,
There are three rays diffused from the splendour of
is

When
Benignity, Beauty and Victory.
the
Sephiroth the
they shine and are diffused over
whole world is filled with joy and perfection, for the
Providence

Divine goodness itself looks forth upon all creatures,

and all the worlds are in fulness and completeness.*

This Sephira

also

is

termed Eternity.

Adorn
eighth Sephira, Hod, signifies Glory,
it is
Netzach
with
ment, Splendour. In combination
termed the armies of Jehovah. All the salutations

The

and praises contained

David belong

in the Psalter of

It is the place of praise, the place

to this emanation.
of wars and victories, and of the treasury of benefits.f

the

Jesod,

Sephira,

and

the storehouse of

is

vitality,
*

Ibid.

Foundation, the
all forces,

and the nourishment of

Apparatus

Superatio, i.e.
t

or

Basis

in

Netzach,

s.v.

p.

589

life

the worlds.}

all

Kabbala

Libnun Sohar.

ninth

the seat of

Denudata,

s.v.

et seq.

Decus, Gloria,

i.e.

Hod,

p.

268

et seq.

According

Zohar Netzach and Hod correspond to extension, multiplication

and force, and thence issue all the forces of the universe, for which
reason these Sephiroth are also termed the Armies of the Eternal.
to the

iii.
296 a, Mantua.
% Kabbala Denudata, Apparatus,

Zohar,

p.

439

et seq.

s.v.

Fundament :t in

\.z.,Jesod,

Doctrinal Content of the Jiabalah

Malkutii

the

is

tenth

Scphira,

49

signifying

Dominion, Royalty, Kingdom. In the

Lesser Holy
Synod it is termed the Mother of all the
"

"

"

Living."

the final manifestation, emanation, or

develop
ment of the Divine Nature taking place in the Divine
World, and is, therefore, that point at which the more
It

is

external orders

To
the

make

this brief

Kabalists,

general description, which rests on

reproduces the words of the

and

authority

will

interpretation,

contact with the supernal.*

now add

which

is,

the heads of an occult

of course, conjectural, but has

a very reasonable aspect

Ain Soph, the Unknowable and Absolute, mani
fests through the efflux of the
spiritual and material
universe,
first

using

emanation

Absolute
wardly.
association

association

the

Sephiroth

symbolises

as

its

Abstract

consciousness

assuming
The second

manifest

Wisdom.

The

third

out
the

represents

of abstract ideas in the

intellect,
is

the

Thought,

to

emanation

The

media.

emanation

is

which

Mind

receiving the impression of the abstract ideas.

These
three constitute the Spirit of the World.
The second
triad of Sephiroth,
and
Mercy,

Judgment

Beauty,

includes the principles of construction and

symbolises
the abstract dimensions of
matter, length, breadth,

depth and their double polarity.

Chesed and
Geburah are the centripetal and
centrifugal energies
between the poles of the dimensions. In their
junc

tion with Tiphereth

they represent all ethical

perfection.

They correspond

the

to

Hence it is said that the tenth Sefihira

the place of the manifestation of
Deity.

is

life

and

Soul of the

the Shtkinah, that

is,

^he

50

50rtriite anfo fUtterahtr* of iht Jiabalah

The third triad is dynamic its Sephiroth

the
signify
Deity as universal potentiality, energy and
productive principle. They answer to the idea of
World.

Nature, the natura naturans, however, and not the

natura naturata.
The tenth Sephira, or Malkuth,
represents the Concrete, and is the energy and execu
tive

power of the Abstract Intellect*

The important point to remember as regards

both tabulations

although their wording is

open occasionally to another significance, they are
neither concerned as yet with any material evolution,
is

that,

but solely with that development of the Divine Prin

ciples which found its ultimation at last on the
material plane, between which and the Divine there
was the intervention, as we shall see, of two mediate
worlds, f

Now,

it

must be confessed that the

distinction

seems absolute between the Sephirotic system and

conception of Deity; it is
arbitrary to the point of fantastic, but it seems outside

any anthropomorphic
all

human

Its point of view is that

correspondences.
the
is
last
visible world
consequence in the

the

development of the attributes of God, or that God in

order to create had to pass outward from his eternal

The

Sephiroth are the symbolism of the

attributes, and the course of their efflux is the history
subsistence.

Summarised from Isaac Myer

"

Philosophy of Ibn

Gebirol,"

xiii.
it is said by the later Kabalists that God called Himself
Chokmah, Intelligent in Binah, in Chesed He took the
character of Great and Benignant, in Geburah of Rigourous, in

t So

Wisdom

also

in

Tiphereth of Beautiful, in Netzach of Overcoming, in Hod of our

Glorious Author, in Jesod of our Support, by Jesod all vessels and
worlds being upheld, while in Malkuth He applied to Himself the
title

of King.

The Doctrinal Content

of the Divine evolution.*

the

writers.

much

of

subject

of the

lubalah

51

This course or sequence

discussion

is

Kabalistic

among

generally held that the Sephiroth were

contained originally one within the other, that is,
It is

Kether enclosed

all

those below

it,

CkokinaJi enclosed

Binah, while Binah contained the seven

by a successive efflux.
Originated

last,

produced

"

by

in

expanded

circular

shape

ten

points, they

under the

circles

mystery of the ten Sepkirotk and between

them ten

spaces."f

The

entire emanation,
unlikely as

it

may

seem,

was collected together under the notion of a

heavenly
man, Adam Kadmon, archetypal and primordial. It
was similarly collected under the notion of a
supreme
world, termed Atziluth, the World of Deity, J of which

Adam Kadmon
From

was the

sole occupant!)
This in a
termed the World of Emanations.
proceeded a second world, having also its

manner

special

this

is

Sephirotic decade, that of Creation, called Briak, but

be understood in the usual accepta

not, as I infer, to

tion of that term, for

emanated.

It

Briah also came forth or was

was, in fact, a consequence of the

superior world, namely, of the effectuating energies of

the Supreme Will, resident in the
Archetypal World.

The

Sephirotic forces were carried forward in Brink

and by
highest

this

*
It

strict

prolonged emanation was the world of

finite intelligence,
technically that

in

is

this

of the arch-

sense that the ten Sephiroth are said to form a

among themselves and also with Ain Soph.

t Introductio in Lit, rum Sohar, i.e., Vallis
Rcgia.
unity

Dontdata,

vol.

The
That
I!

Myer

ii.

p.

152

tt scq.

"

intelligible
is,

the
"

Man

world,"

from the

of the Zohar.
I

Philosophy of Ibn

Gebirol," p.

418.

See

A abba/a

^he

52

Stortrine anb Jtterature vt the

produced. But the Sephirotic prolongation

was continued into a third world, that of Yetzirah, or

angels,

formation, the abode of the angelic choirs.

Though
further removed from Supreme Perfection, there is

not a taint of the material in this abode of incorporeal

It is otherwise with the World of Action, the
beings.
fourth product of the tenfold emanation, Assta/i, the
region of matter and also the dwelling of the demons,
called shells or Cortices

by the

Kabalists.

In

common

many other systems of emanation this material

world is regarded as the gross purgations of the upper
with

It

regions.

Sephiroth

should be observed, however, that the

permeate the four systems, but they

Am

deteriorate as they proceed further from

Soph
and the corruption of the infernal world, the formless

region and

extreme

seven hells of Kabalism

the

limits

of

the

are

the

emanation which begins in

Thus, in order to explain the imperfections

found in the world-craft of a perfect author the

Kether.

deterioration of his infinite energy

a resource.

It is

easy to

criticise

is

not disdained as

such a system, or to

down as beneath criticism, but, again, the dis

ability is common to the dreams of all emanationists.
It remains to say that we have the distinct authority
of the Zohar for regarding the demons as products
of the will of God and designed for a specific
set

it

but this point may be reserved for further

consideration at a later stage.*
Broadly speaking, the Four Worlds of the

purpose

Kabalah may be regarded

physical order
*

We

Formation,"

as corresponding in

the

have already seen that, according to the "Book of

the ten Sephiroth are the infinite of evil as well as of good.

The Doctrinal
(a)

ATZILUTH,

(Content of the

to the

Primum

JUbalah

53

Mobile.

to the sphere of the Zodiac.

() BRIAH,
(c) YETZIRAH, to the planetary chain.
(d) ASSIAH, to the world of the four elements.
Thus, astronomy

is

at the basis of the conception.

The doctrine of the Four Worlds was developed

between the period of the Sepher Yetzirah and that
of the promulgation of the Zohar, and it received

many
latter

the commentators on the

met with in the
Book of
"

It

is

which

first

a product of the school of Isaac

This treatise is ascribed to R. Jacob

Emanation,"

the Blind.
Nazir.

from

increments
work.

is

distribution of the

Its

from the above tabulation

for example,

by

in

Four Worlds

differs

one or two respects,

as,

referring the souls of the just to

It should be added
Briah, the archangelic world.
that the Zohar also recognises a distribution of the

Sephiroth

into

Three Worlds

(i)

Intelligible,

(2)

Moral, (3) Natural.

IV.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE

COUNTENANCES

The Four Worlds

Sephirotic scheme, and
of

are also depicted in a single

this leads us to another order

established for a distinct purpose,

the
vindication
of the relationship between
namely,
man and God. This vindication is founded, it will be

symbolism

superfluous to say, on

Jewish nation, as
of the First

it is

God s providence regarding the

recorded in the sacred literature

Covenant.

There are many

respects,

54

^he

anfo

t&Qtinnt

however, in which

fpterature of the giabalah

not at

is

it

peculiar to that

all

and there are indeed traces of a very liberal

and almost Catholic doctrine in the books which form
The Chosen People is the channel by
the Kabalah.
which all grace and favour are communicated from

nation,

but the

above,

Divine Mercy derive

the

of

gifts

through Israel to the world at large the union of the

divine potency with Zion incorporates all things
;

together, so that they are as one body,

union the whole universe is found to

Again,
the

wrath

is

certain

blesses

no longer

the worlds

all

that a

which

supernal

that
"

said

is

it

rejoice

and by
be

light

this

in

joy.*

falls

from

whole world, so

the

found

in

and are

the

universe

fulfilled

with

all

perfection."

The

relations of

God

with

man

are,

however,

those which are delineated in the dealings between

Jehovah and Jewry, and the conception of the God of

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had

to

be harmonised with

Godhead of Am
Now, Ain Soph, as
being essentially unknowable

the exalted or at least recondite

SopJi

and the Sephirotic system.

such, the latens Deitas,

and outside the region of correspondence and

relation

by manifestation into a quasi-knowable

unsearchable and transcendent state in the

ship, enters

but

still

supernal triad of the Sephiroth. Therefore, this triad

taken to represent the entire Sephirotic system of
have seen that this world is
the Atzilutic world.

is

We

regarded as the abode of Adam Kadmon, who is also

In the alternative symbolism with
sole denizen.

its

which we are now dealing,

*
II., p.

See

"The

Lesser Holy

this notion of the

Synod,"

xxii.,

Body

of

Kabbala Denudata,

The

God

is

55

Countenance,*

Kether and termed the Macroprosopus.

in

this head,

of

antithesis

that of a Vast

by

replaced

resident

By

Doctrinal Content of the gUbalah

devoid of

all

lower conformation, the

Deity

anthropomorphic

forth, and the qualities ascribed to

antithesis of the embodied Jehovah.

the Closed

of the

Eye

Unknown

it

is

shadowed

are also the

As Ain Soph

is

Darkness, so in the

open aud never closes.f

for the subsistence of the universe and all its worlds
depends upon the light which shines therefrom.! In
Vast Countenance the eye

this

is

Vast Countenance there

while

judgment,
in

operate

check

by

wrath

all

neither

is

and

wrath nor

judgment

which

the world and in humanity are held in

the mercy and longanimity of Macro-

prosoptts to such

an extent that they may be regarded

and annulled in the last disposi

as counterbalanced

expatiate here on the

symbolism, to which reference must be made again.
It is sufficient to note that the first Sephirotic emana

no need

tion.

There

tion,

corresponding

is

to

the

to

self-consciousness

and

Supreme Being, is a God

described by the Kabalists in terms which are in
tentionally the reverse of the salient characteristics
abstract thought of the

ascribed to the Old Testament Deity.

prosopus,

through

the

SepJiira

From Macro-

Wisdom, under the

aspect of a masculine potency, and through the third

SepJiira, the feminine ttinah, Understanding^ there is
*

Called Arik

Anf>in

in the

Zohar and

its

dependencies.

of Concealment," c. i. v. 14.
same notion is found in Indian mythology, and readers of

"Book

The

Southey s "Curse of Kehama" will remember what followed the

sudden veiling of the eyes of Seeva.
These are the Supernal Father and the Supernal Mother, who
must be regarded, however, us modes of the manifestation of Macroprosopus.

Ihe

56

Jlortrme

emanated

literature ot the Jiabalah

attb

Lesser

the

Micro-

or

Countenance,*

and
configuration
bodily
possessing
extended through the six emanations from Chesed

prosopus,

to

inclusive.

Jesod

It

embraces, therefore, the two

inferior triads of the Sephtroth, the worlds of Creation

and

Formation.

Atzilutli

is

But as Kether

attributed

specially

world

the

in

of

Vast

the

to

Countenance, so is Tiphereth in Briah to the Lesser

Countenance. As longanimity is the characteristic
that of
swiftness to wrath
of Macroprosopus, so is
"

"

the

inferior

parvam faciem

being,

cito

habens,

These comparative qualities are typified

by length and shortness of face. Microprosopus is
regarded by modern occultism as the shadow or
irasccns^

view

reflection of the superior manifestation, but this

not entirely borne out by Kabalistic literature.

Making due allowance for all inexactitude, it repre
is

sents in a general manner what is designed to be

enforced by the symbolism, and the sole point which
we are concerned in establishing here is that Micro

prosopus
is

not,

is

the mediator between

however,

God and Man.

and judg

that of intercession, for wrath, vengeance

ment

are not in the Vast Countenance, even as they

are not in

The mediation

Ain Soph,

or sacramental.

tive

even to inform. J

is

communica

In the natural order

human conception of
descends and may be
it is

It

in the Christian sense of mediation,

Deity,

to

God con

which

said in a sense to verify

Conversely, as regarded

the

is

it

and

from above,

the construction of the Divine Nature, so that

its

Called Zair Anpin in the Zohar.

t Apparatus in Libruni Sohar, Kabbala Demidata,
s.v.

vol.

i.

p. 312,

Macroprosopus.
% Eliphas Levi, Le Livre des Splendeurs, Paris, 1894,

p. 69.

goctrinal QTontent of the Jtobalah

knowledge and

power may be derived

its

to

57

mankind.

the adjustment of the infinite being to finite

possibilities, so that the limited may receive a certain
It

is

measure of the boundless.

man by

constitution

his

comprehending

much

of

God

as

capable of
Providence leading

estate

Divine

is

it

It is so

and

is

humanity by an administration suited to humanity, by

the way of contest and prize, by the way of kindness

and

God in
reward and punishment.
above all these things, but they are neces
of

severity,

Himself

is

In a word, it is so
sary to His froward children.
much of the Principle of Newton as would be under
stood in a village school, namely, the illustration of
the falling apple.

That

this

Divine

the significance of the symbolism is

by the Sephirotic allotment of certain

is

evinced further

Names which

occur continually in the Bible.

The

affirmation of self-existence

ness

is

made

Name which

in the

and self-conscious
signifies, I

am

that

am, AHIH,* and this is referred to Kefher, while

world of Atziluth generally embraces the

the

name, never uttered and therefore re

mysterious

garded

as

incomprehensible

When

JOD, HE, VAU, HE.t

name

this

in

the Bible, he omits

ADNI,

substitutes

and

unpronounceable,

the Israelite comes to

it

altogether,

or

The word

Adonai, the Lord.

"It
is possible," says
Maimonidcs, "that in the Hebrew
language, of which we have but a slight knowledge now, 7\it\j^rammafon t
in the way it was pronounced, conveyed the meaning of absolute

M.

"The
Guide of the Perplexed of
(March, part i. c. 61) p. 228.
unpronounceable, because its real vowels are unknown.

existence."

Maimonides," vol.

f It is
See Renan

"

Friedlander

i.

History of

Israel,"

note to

c. vi.

More

three letters belong to the supernal Sephiroth

the inferior seven.
The attributions, however, vary.
first

accurately, the

and the fourth

to

58

Stortrine an& literature ot the

<3Ihe

gabalah

which we render Jehovah belongs, therefore, to the

symbolism of the Vast Countenance, to the God who
is

not as

man

Lord

or the

is.

But

AL and

its

derivatives, Jehovah,

of Hosts, those lesser

names

of

which the

contents can be grasped by the human mind and can

therefore be uttered, are the Names of the Lesser

Countenance.

The

and Microprosopus

relation

between Macroprosopus

of
the philosophical
hypothesis
the correspondence between the absolute as it is and
The disparity
the absolute as conceived by man.

between them

is

registers the inadequacy of all

human

conceptions of the Uivinity, fully recognised by every

Kabalist as abounding in that book which he re

garded as more Divine than any.

Like the Sephirotic system, the doctrine of the

Four Worlds and the two Countenances is curiously

and though in its elements it is exceedingly

involved,

highly technical. As
in the single Sephirotic scheme with which we have
been dealing here the first triad of emanations is held
to represent the world of Atziluth, so the second triad
simple, in

its

elaborations

comprehends Briah and

Formation, or Yetzirah.
contained in Malkuth.
there

is

is

the

third

the

would follow that the

world

Assiah^ the fourth world,

Now, with

Kingdom,

in

of
is

Microprosopus

associated the symbol of a Bride,

Malkuth, or the

fact

it

who

is

in

which sense

it

visible creation is the

Spouse

of God, or rather of that lesser Divine Manifestation

which alone communicates with man.

The

locus

sanctorum, the organ of nuptial intercourse, is, how

the place called Zion and Jerusalem,"* and it is,
ever,
"

Laurence Oliphant quoted these and similar passages to prove

and mysticism with which the notion of sexual conjunction,

the sanctity

Doctrinal Content of the gabalah

that the communication

Israel only

in

therefore,

The

59
is

hence the dispensa

and
men.*
world
to
the
divine
the
tion of
received.

The

office of Israel is

doctrine of the Countenances

in

of special development

ment

and

"

Yetzirah or

its

"

it

is

Book

supplements, being

Zohar

the

into

its

the

was unknown

the subject
of

Conceal

tracts introduced

to

the

Sepher

early commentators.

THE INSTRUMENTS OF CREATION

V.

It

must be confessed

that, so far, Kabalistic litera

be called philosophical. The doctrine

may be classed with Platonic con

ture deserves to

of

A in

SopJi

SepHirotic system will not suffer by

with
any other dream of emanation and
comparison
may even challenge all the motive which underlies

ceptions

the

the metaphysics of the two Countenances is singularly

profound and may be regarded as the chief glory of
the Kabalah.

We

fantastic portions.

Briah

that of Creation, but whatever reservations

is

may be

must now, however, approach its

We have seen that the World of

inferred from Kabalistic writers

ex niJdlo nihil fit,\

we have

on the axiom

seen also that their use

and the act itself, was invested, as he said, from the earliest times.
But his opinion of the Kabalah was derived only from Mr. Mathers
scries, and he had probably never
translation of the "occultation
See "Scientific
heard of the controversial history of the Zohar.
"

Religion,"

London, 1888, Appendix I.

is a further development of the Talmudic doctrine

This

that

not only the centre of the earth but the starting point of the
universe.
Consult also the Kuzari, of R. Judas Ha Levi.

Zion

is

t According to Myer, the speculative or metaphysical Kabalah is

an attempt to harmonise Hebrew monotheism with the "fundamental

^he

60

Jtortrine anb SJtterature of the

of the term Creation does not at all correspond to the

sense of Christian cosmology, because that which they
called Nothing evasively was the plenitude in which

the All lay latent

Further, the world of Briak was
not that in which anything material was formed,

emanated, or otherwise brought into actual being

it

was rather the Elohistic world, that of Panurgic force

and intelligence, which became formative in Yetzirah,
but did not produce matter except in the fourth
world.
Now the materials used and shaped, or,
perhaps, more properly speaking, the instruments, the
matrices of the material world, are said by the

Kabalists to have been the letters of the

to the

Hebrew
God

alphabet.
According
imparted to them form and weight by combining and
transforming them in divers manners, Aleph with all

the rest and

and

all

hundreds

the rest with Aleph

all

with Beth
of

Sepher Yetzirah,

and so of the

were

permutations

Beth with

obtained

all

Some

rest.*

in

this

manner, which are the origin not only of all languages

but of all creatures. As these permutations can, by
the hypothesis, be reduced to a single name, that of
Tetragrammation, the JOD, HE, VAU, HE, which I

have had occasion to mention previously, it is said that

the entire universe proceeds from this name.-)- The
principle of ancient
"Philosophy of Ibn

Maimonides

in his

"

philosophy,"
Gebirol,"

p.

Guide of the

namely, the axiom quoted above.

This was also the design of
230.

Perplexed."

Sepher Yetzirah, c. ii. par. 4.

that the present world was created by
world to come with the letter

Cf.

God

the Talmudic teaching

He and the

with the letter

/0<

t And thus the comprehension of

this name gives all knowledge

Compare E liphas Levi. who reduces the

according to the Kabalists.

doctrine to an axiom

name

"All

the intelligence of this

Solomon."

Clefs

Ma- eures,

knowledge

name

is

Paris, 1895.

is

in a

word,

the Science of

all

power

in a

Abraham and

61

\Thc Doctrinal Content of the glabalah

reader will discern at once the nature of the device,

which may be methodised by a simple process

The world came forth from God

But the name of God is niPP

Therefore the world came forth from

The fundamental

letters of the

tion are not, however, those

Name

Book

of

Forma

which compose the Divine

Mem (ft) and Shin (^),

they are Alcpk (^),

distinguished as the Three Mothers and correspond

ing to Air,

Water and

of Fire, the Earth

mediate

is

The heavens

Fire.

are formed

and the Air of the

of Water,

Spirit.

Their

correspondences

are

in

the

year,

the

and temperate seasons

in man, the
and
breast.
head, belly
Besides the Three Mothers there are seven

torrid,

frigid

double

letters

Beth (i=B), Ghimel

= 0), Kaph k = K), Pe

(-7
Tau Q-\ = T, Th). These
Book

of

Formation for

= P),
(B

(:

= G).

Daleth

Resh (^ = R) and

seven signs stand

in

the

* It will be
unnecessary to point out that this is a logical non
scquitur, hut it must be added that for the Kabalistic Jew the true name
of God, as indeed of any existence, was a manifestation of its essence

and, as such, inseparable therefrom.

62

^Ehe gtodrine mtfc IDiteratut* of

Their correspondences

all

JUbalah

in the universe are

East

Depth

West

North

Height

South

and the Holy Palace, fixed

ing

tlie

things.

When

in the centre

and sustain

the seven double letters had

been shaped by the Deity,

He

combined and created

therewith the planets in the heaven the days in the

year i.e., the seven days of creation and the gates
;

in

man

i.e.,

There
the

eyes, ears, nostrils

are, finally,

following

world

and mouth.

twelve simple

letters,

man

in

correspondences

having

and

the

the twelve simples there were

the zodiac, the twelve months
of
created the signs
and the twelve directors of man i.e., the two hands,

By means

of

the feet, the two kidneys, the

liver,

the colon, the bladder and the

I

must leave

my

the

gall,

the spleen,

arteries.

readers to

decide

how

this

vlhc Jlortrinal

bizarre system

is

to

Content of the gabalah

be interpreted.

regarded by one or two

has been

It

who have no

critics

63

occult

leanings as a serious attempt to devise a philosophical

*
but for myself I must confess that I do
cosmology
;

not see in what manner

fable of the elephant

it

is

superior to the familiar

and the

There are

tortoise.

those, of course, who discern in it a secret meaning,

who remember, for example, that the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet stand also for numerals, and do not
fail to cite the scriptural statement that God made

everything by weight, number and measure.

Indeed, the Sepher Yetzirah may be regarded as
a commentary on this declaration.
As a rule, how
think that the Kabalists, like other makers of

ever,

philosophy, meant that which they said, and if they

did not say all that they meant the unexpressed
residuum was along the lines of the sense expressed.

When

they affirmed, therefore, that the world was

made by means
really

meant

of the letters of the alphabet, they

what they stated
but if it be asked
;

whether they understood by those letters the symbols

of arcane powers, it must be answered that they did.

The

letters are,

however, more than mere symbols

they are vessels or manifestations of the concealed

powers. The sense is therefore true ex hypothesi
a literal and arcane manner.

The warrant

of the hypothesis

must be sought

in

in

the Talmudic system, which believed that the body

of the sacred text was divine like the sense which was

Dr.

"History

Alfred

Edersheim seems

to

speak

in

this

of the Jewish Nation after the Destruction of

have used the

White, M.A.

sense in

hi-,

Jerusalem."

third, posthumous edition, revised by the Rev. H. A.

London.
See p. 408.
1896.

^he

64
its

soul,

spirit,

ing.

jjirrtritu anfc

literature of the Jiabalah

which soul had,

like

man

himself, an inner

the highest of all, namely, the concealed mean

Now, the letters of the alphabet were the

materials

the

of

textual

body,

to

the

care

and

preservation of which the traditional science of the

Massorah was devoted.*

For the mystical Jew, who

discerned strange abysses of mystery in the smallest

peculiarities of the Tkorah> there was a weird fascina
tion in the fact that all the

wonders and

sanctities of

Law and the Prophets resulted from the diverse

combinations of twenty-two letters, and he came to
regard this handful of conventional hieroglyphs as so
the

or instruments by which the divine

wisdom was communicated to man. In a word, for
him they ceased to be conventions a divine revela

many sacraments

tion required a divine language to express

it,

and the

alphabet of that language was a derivation from the

noumenal world, vessels of singular election, instru

ments of Deity, from which it was an easy transition
to

suppose that such channels of spiritual grace and

must have fulfilled some exalted office in the

life

shaping of the universe

*

itself.

The Massorah was concerned with

the body of the text, the

and writing the Thorah, and special considerations
on the mystic sense of the sacred characters. It was hence the criticism
of the Hebrew text.
It was also, as already seen, that which was
openly delivered by the rabbins in contradiction to that which was
supposed to have been communicated secretly. Thus it taught the true
rules as to reading

reading of doubtful passages, the true pronunciation of uncertain words,

the correct subdivisions of the books, and so forth.
Buxtorf s work
entitled

"Tiberias"

Compare Molitor

(Basilise,
"

1620,

Philosophy of

4to)

deals with

Tradition."

the

Massorah.

Occultists

pretend

exoteric formulae were designed to conceal every trace of a

secret sense in the Thorah.
See
Mission des Juifs," p. 646, by
Saint-Yves d Alveydre, who follows Fabre d Olivet in La Langue
that

its

"

Hebrdiquc Restitute. The Massorah compiled from MSS., alphabetically

and lexically arranged, has been published by C. D. Ginsburg. 3 vols
London.
1880-85.

a he Doctrinal Content of the gabalah

the

65

This doctrine of the instruments of creation

is

oldest

it

part

of

Kabalistic

literature,

which,

improved very much as it developed. It was

intimately connected with the idea of the pre-existence
follows,

of the Thorah, and to say that the world was created

by the inscription of letters in the air was, in one
sense, only another manner of saying that it was
created by the Thorah, while the latter affirmation is
not incapable of being regarded in a
philosophical
manner by the help of the Kabalistic doctrine of

correspondences, for which the Thorah of Moses would

be only the mundane type of the Eternal and Divine

Law.

THE PATHS OF WISDOM

VI.

In the Latin collection of Pistorius the marrow

of philosophical Kabalism is
presented in the form of
certain terse propositions or
dogmas,* according to
one of which the ways of eternity are
thirty-two
Vice ceternitatis sunt triginta

paths

the

of

Sepher

These are the

dno.-\

Yetzirah,

namely,

Sephiroth and the letters of the

Hebrew

the

ten

alphabet,
a dependency of this
fundamental treatise, but of much more recent date,

The

doctrine concerning

them

is

They are the extremely interesting theses of ims de Mirundola,

which will be found in Book vii.
t They are referred to the Scphirah Chokinah and are teniu-d
occult channels, at once hidden and revealed.
In the
Faithful
Chokinah is called the hi-hi-t of all paths, eml,
Shepherd
racing and
including all that are beneath it, and the influx of all
J

"

"

i.,

therefrom.

The same treatise connects with Chokinah the words in

The bird hath not known the path, neither hath tin7
"

Job, xxviii.
eye of the vulture beheld
602.
:

Kabbala Denndata, Apparatus,

i.

601,

^Ite Jportrine anb literature of the jiabalah

66

and without even an imputed authorship. It tabulates

the special graces and illuminations which may be
communicated
channels,

and

to
is

man from above by means

very interesting because

it

of these

shows that

had a
philosophical part
to
the
human
and
was
not
mind,
practical application
It is outside the
merely a speculative system.
most

the

Kabalism

of

province of this work to offer translations to the

student, but as in the present instance it would be
difficult to summarise the tabulation more briefly, I
shall give

only that

in extenso, premising

it

it

has

been translated more than once into English, and

is

indeed available in a number of European languages.

The

first

path

is

called the

Supreme Crown.

gence, the

It

Admirable

Intelli

the light which

is

imparts understanding of the beginning which is

without beginning, and this also is the First
No created being can attain to its
Splendour.
essence.

The second path is called the Illuminating Intelli

It is the Crown of Creation and the splendour
gence.
of the

Supreme Unity,

to

which

is

it

most near

in

exalted above every head and is

proximity.
as the Second Splendour.
Kabalists
distinguished by
The third path is called the Sanctifying Intelli
It

is

gence and is the foundation of Primordial Wisdom,

termed the Creation of Faith. Its roots are -p^N- It
is

the mother of Faith, which indeed emanates there

from.

The
Receiving

boundary

fourth

path

is

Intelligence,
to

intelligences

receive the

called

the

because

it

Arresting
arises

like

or

emanations of the higher

which are sent down

to

it.

Herefrom

all

The Doctrinal Content

of the gabalah

67

emanate by the way of subtlety, which

emanates from the Supreme Crown.*
The fifth path is called the Radical Intelligence,

spiritual virtues
itself

because

it is

Unity

and

more akin than any other

emanates

from

the

to the

Supreme

depths

the

of

Primordial Wisdom, f

The

sixth

path is called the Intelligence of

because the flux of the emana
Influence,
Mediating
tions

multiplied therein.

is

The seventh path

gence, because

It

men who

affluence to those blessed

communicates

called the

is

this

are united with

Hidden

it.J

Intelli

pours out a brilliant splendour on all

intellectual virtues which are beheld with the
eyes of
the spirit and by the ecstasy of faith.

The

it

Absolute Intelligence.
emanates therefrom.

the

called

is

path

eighth

Perfect

and

The preparation of principles

The roots to which it adheres

are in the depths of the Sphere Magnificence, from the

very substance of which it emanates.

The

ninth path is called the Purified

Intelligence.
purifies the numerations, prevents and stays the
fracture of their images,) for it establishes their
unity
It

this

Dr. Westcott, following the

"

rendering

The

Hebrew text of Rittangelius, makes

fourth path is named Measuring, Cohesive, or
so-called because it contains all the

and is
emanate all the spiritual
they emanate one from the

Receptacular

and from
essences

it

primordial

emanation," i.e.,

t Or,

"the

virtues

holy powers,
with the most exalted

other by the

power of the

K cther.

primordial depths of Chokmah"

Westcott, Sephcr

Vetzirah, p. 28.
"

It

causes that influence to flow into

Blessings with which these themselves arc

According to Westcott

"it

is

the

all

united."

the reservoirs of the

Ibid. p. 29.

means of the primordial

"

Ibid.
II

Ibid.

Or,

"proves

and

corrects the designing of their

representations

"

68

^he

J)xrd;tine

to preserve

anb ^toature of the Jwbalah

them from destruction and

division

by

their union with itself.*

The

tenth path is called the Resplendent Intelli

it is exalted above every head and
because
gence,
it enlightens the fire of all
has its seat in Binah
;

and emanates the power of the principle of

lights

forms.f

The

eleventh path is called the Fiery Intelli

the veil placed before the dispositions

It is

gence.
and order of the superior and inferior causes. Who
soever possesses this path is in the enjoyment of great
dignity

to possess

it

is

to

be face to face with the

Cause of Causes.j

The

twelfth path is called the Intelligence of the

because it is the image of magnificence. It is

Light,

said to be the source of vision in those

who behold

apparitions.

The

thirteenth path

is

called the Inductive Intel

It is the substance of glory, and it

ligence of Unity.
manifests truth to every spirit.]
The fourteenth path is called the Illuminating
|

Intelligence.

It is

the institutor of arcana, the founda

tion of holiness.

The

path is called the Constituting

in the
Intelligence, because it constitutes creation
fifteenth

*
without
Or,
disposes their unity with which they are combined
diminution or division." Ibid.
Causes a supply of influence to emanate from the Prince of
f
"

"

Countenances.

"

Ibid.

% Westcott gives an entirely different version

"

It is

the essence

placed close to the order of the disposition, and

this is a special dignity given to it that it may be able to stand before
Ibid.
the face of the Cause of Causes."

of that curtain which

Or

Ibid.
of Transparency.
is the consummation of the truth of individual spiritual

"It
||

things."

is

Ibid.

Content of the gabalah

vlhe Jloctriual

darkness of the world. *

it

sophers,

Scripture (Job xxxviii.

9),

the philo

to

According

that

itself

is

69

mentioned

darkness
cloud and

by

the envelope

thereof.

The sixteenth path is called the Triumphant and

Eternal Intelligence, the delight of glory, the paradise
of pleasure prepared for the just.

The

seventeenth path is called the Disposing

It disposes the devout to
Intelligence,
perseverance

and thus prepares them

The
House
.

eighteenth path

of Influence, J and

the

to receive the

shadow

concealed

Holy

Spirit.f

called the Intelligence or

thence are drawn the arcana
is

meanings which repose

in

the

thereof.

The

nineteenth path is called the Intelligence of

the Secret or of all spiritual activities.
The fulness

which

receives derives from the highest benediction

it

and the supreme

The
Will.

It

the

for

glory.

twentieth path is called the Intelligence of

prepares all created beings, each individually,

demonstration

the

of

existence

of

the

primordial glory.

The

called the

twenty-first

path

is

Intelligence of those
divine influence, and

who

seek.

all

it

influences

It

by

its

Rewarding
receives

the

benediction

existing things.

The twenty-second path

*

"

It constitutes

is

called the Faithful

the substance of creations in pure

darkness."

Ibid., p. 30.

t Westcott adds
the state of higher

"It

things."

Westcott adds:
influx of

is

called the foundation of excellence in

Ibid.

"

By

the greatness of

good things upon created beings

Westcott gives

"

is

whose abundance the

increased."

Ibid.

the Conciliating Intelligence."/^ */.

^he

70

gtortrine an!b gpiterahtre of the

because spiritual virtues are deposited

Intelligence,

and augment

who

therein, until they pass to those

dwell under the shadow thereof.*

The

twenty-third path is called the Stable Intelli

It is the source of
consistency in all the

gence.
numerations.

The

twenty-fourth path is called the Imaginative

It is the ground of
Intelligence.
similarity in the

who

likeness of beings

are created to

its

agreement

after its aspects.

The

called the Intelligence

is

twenty-fifth path

of Temptation or Trial, because

tion

by which God

The

twenty-sixth path

Intelligence,

for

reneweth

which

all

it is

the

first

tempta

tests the devout.

thereby

called

is

God

the

Renewing
be He!

blessed

capable of renovation in the

is

creation of the world. f

The twenty-seventh path

Intelligence, for thence

is

is

the Active

called

created the

spirit of

every

creature of the supreme orb, and the activity, that

to say, the motion, to which they are subject.}

The twenty-eighth path

Intelligence,
in the

The
*

whereby

orb of the sun

and

all

the Natural

the nature of everything found

is

completed and perfected.

twenty-ninth path

Westcott

increased,

called

is

is

is

called the

Corporeal

literal rendering reads,

by it spiritual virtues are
dwellers on earth are merely under its shadow."
"

Ibid.

t
the

"

All the changing things which are renewed by the creation of

world."

Ibid., p. 31.

The twenty-seventh path

is the Exciting Intelligence, and it is

so called because through it is consummated and perfected the nature
of every existent being under the orb of the sun, in perfection."
Ibid.
"

This path
Westcott

version.

is

omitted both in the text of Rittangelius and in

vLhc Jloctvinal vlToutcut of the ^iabalah

71

informs every body which is incor

porated under all orbs, and it is the growth thereof.
The thirtieth path is called the Collective Intelli
Intelligence

it

gence, for thence astrologers, by the judgment of the

stars and the heavenly signs, derive their speculations

and the perfection of

motions of the

The

movement

is

it

so called

of the sun

constitution

called the Perpetual Intel

is

path

thirty-first

Why

ligence.

their science according to the

stars.

Because

it

rules the

and the moon according

and causes

each

to

to their
in

gravitate

its

respective orb.*

The

thirty-second path

Intelligence, because

it

is

called the

Assisting

directs all the operations of

the seven planets, with their divisions, and concurs

therein.

The modern
at

to

accent of this tabulation will occur

once to the reader, but

quotation was necessary

profit believed to follow

its

exhibit the intellectual

from the study of Kabalism, and

still

more that

it

the last resource the understanding of

methodised,! and embracing, as such, the entire
in

attributed to
*

According
great

was

man
circle

human knowledge. |
to Kliphas Levi, this verse contains the secret of the
The rca-on assigned is that path thirty-one

work of alchemy.

corresponds to the

Hebrew

letter

Shin

(Sh),

which

represents the

is the
magic lamp, or the light between the horns of Baphomet.
Kabalktir -L;n of (iod or the Astral Light, with its two poles and equili
brated centre." The sun mentioned in the paragraph represents gold,
La
the moon silver, and the planets correspond to the other metals.
"It

It is needless to say that the Sepher

Clef des Grand My stercs, p. 234.
Yetzirah and its developments have nothing to do with alchemy.
Man is the Kabalistic balance," according to Mr. \Y.
t
"

1>.

Greene.

"The

Ula/ing

Star,"

p.

51.

However, it fi-11, a. may be expected, into superstitious uses

and became a kind of theo^ophic divination, ba-.ed on the first chapter
mentioned thirty-two time*.
of Genesis, wherein the name hlohim
i-,

^he

72

anfc fCiterature

Doctrine

For the sake

ot the

of completeness,

occult importance has

been attributed

and because an
to

it,

though

in

the absence of any real warrant, a word may be added

a
somewhat conventional piece of
concerning
Kabalistic classification, entitled the
It

Understanding.

and

Sephira,

universal

is

Fifty Gates of

referable to Binah, the third

an attempt to sketch the outlines of

to embrace, as
Eliphas Levi

is

science,

possible departments of
to represent the whole encyclopaedia.

observes,

all

day such

classifications

aspect.

There

human

science

Raymond

is,

knowledge and

At

the present

have something of a ghostly

however, no intention to methodise

after

Lully and

his

the

impossible

Ars Magna

also that, in spite of the exalted

included in the scheme,

manner

Sciendi.

of

infer

themes which are

concerns only intellectual

it

knowledge, acquired by the external way, and thus

constitutes a kind of scholastic introduction to the
paths of Chokmah or of Wisdom,* by which the holy
men of God may, as Kircher observes, after long toil,
long experience of divine things and long meditation
thereon, penetrate to the concealed centres. t
principle of the enumeration
in the

symbolism
and
All,

of the

signifies

equivalent to the
The

the

number

The

must perhaps be sought

Koll, which

Hebrew word
consonants

of

which

are

fifty.

consultation of this chapter was accompanied by prayers extracted

from the divine name

in

and,

question,

according to

Kircher, by

suitable ceremonies.

According
Sepher Yetzirah

to Papus, the thirty-two paths are deductive like the

which starts from the notion of God and

itself,

proceeds thence to natural phenomena, while the fifty gates are

established on the inductive principle, ascending from Nature to Deity.

La Kabbah^

p.

132.

f Kircher, QLdipus sEgyptiacus Rome, 1623,

,

fol.

vThc

godvinal Content of

The Gates

the Jlabalah

73

of Understanding, considered as an

introduction to the Paths of

Wisdom, which diverge,

from
seen,
Chokmah, are essential to the
higher knowledge approached by these.* It would
serve no purpose to enumerate them all categorically
as

we have

they begin with the first matter, the Hyle or Chaos,

proceed through the various elements of ancient
science to the theory of composite substances, thence
to organic life and the
physical, intellectual and
nature
of
man, afterwards to the heaven of
psychic

the planets, that of the fixed stars and the

primum

mobile, then to the nine orders of the angelical world,

and,

finally,

world,

that

to

the

of

A in

transcending human

supermundane and archetypal

Soph, unseen by motal eye,
It

intelligence.

is

said

that

Moses did not attain to this, the fiftieth, gate, and

some stress seems to be laid on this point, one would
think a little superfluously, as it is obvious that what
is beyond all finite
capacity must have ueen beyond
the law-giver of Israel.
The scheme of the Gates of Understanding is
late in Kabalism
it is found in the treatise entitled
;

Gates of

f which is full of references

to the mystery of the word Koll (KL).
All created
it
have
come
out
of
these
things,
explains,
gates, so
"The

Light,"

that in a sense their

knowledge connects with the

mystery of universal generation, in reference to which
it
may be observed that the addition of the feminine
letter

Bride

H=5
of

They

to the

word

Microprosopns,

KL=5O
the

are called gates, because

unless he enters by these.

gives

Lesser

no one can

Ibid.

t By R. Joseph Gikatilla ben Abraham.

KLH = the

Countenance,

attain

to the paths

74

Itortrirte

"Ihc

anb JCitoture of the

whence follows the whole mystery of spiritual genera

tion in man, for KLH connects with KNSTL, i.e., the
Church, Ecclesia Israel, and brings us back to that
place called mystically Zion and Jerusalem, in which
the divine is communicated to man, as stated in the
fourth section of this book.

It is

by

little

gleams of

suggestion of this kind that the barren science of

Gematria

is

illuminated occasionally.

VII.

We

THE DOCTRINE OF
PNEUMATOLOGY

have now ascertained the heads of Kabalistic

instruction
transition

as to the essential nature of God, the

from the divine unmanifest into the mani

festation of divinity, the extension of the

attributes

thus

developed

powers and

the

through

archetypal,

and material worlds, the Kabalistic

creation and the doctrine of tran

creative, formative

hypothesis of
scendental and natural science.
the

It

remains for us to

doctrine

of spiritual
present
to
This is,
essences according
Jewish theosophy.
perhaps, the favourite and certainly the most recurring
subject of the Zohar, and it is this also which was
in

brief

outline

destined to receive fuller development than any other

The history of its
in the later literature of Kabalism.
Pre-existence and the
is also worth noting.
subdivision of the spiritual nature are found in the

growth

Talmud, but the Sepher Yetzirah has nothing to tell

us on the subject, and there is very little in the first
commentators on that

treatise.

It

may be

considerable truth, that the book and

its

said,

with

connections

Jlortrinal Content of the gabalafi

75

were concerned rather with the physical forces which

produced the universe, but the commentaries at least
are sufficiently discursive to have included it in their
scheme if they had anything to say upon the subject.

remains, therefore, that the fascinating hypothesis

we are here dealing is in the main a late

It

with which

The

growth.
"

Book

between a holy intelligence

distinction

and an animal

man

soul in

judged from
speaking,

its

found, however, in the

which, so far as can be

the most ancient portion of

is

form,

The

the Zohar.

is

of Concealment,"

latter cycle

may be

the chief source

as

of

regarded, broadly
in

pneumatology

Kabalism proper. The indications contained therein

became a vast and ponderous system in the schools of
This system
Isaac de Loria and Moses of Cordova.
on
influence
has at all times exercised the greatest
occultists, and, chiefly,

made

available in Latin

that of the

Zohar

perhaps, because it has been

by Rosenroth, has superseded

Franck

itself.

Kabalism and hints that

true

rabbinical reveries, but

there

is

any

real

it

it

is

full

it is

not

of distorted

be doubted whether

may

canon of

states that

criticism.

The

later

speculations are in any case founded on the Zohar,

and the following slight sketch contains the general

elements of the subject.

We have seen that the world of Briah
Creation so-called, that

These

forces.

When

is,

is

that of

of the emanation of creative

forces are the

Elohim, and Uriah

is

man descends (namely, into this world)

him) two spirits, according to the supernal form.
Man (therefore) is constituted from the two side.-, the liidu and the left.
As from the right side he has a holy mind, as from the left an animal
"

there are found

soul."

The

"Book

the

inferior

(in

extension of the

of Concealment,"

left

c. iv.

side

was the consequence of the

par. 7-9.

Fall.

^Ihe Jtortrine anb literature ot iht gabalah

76

therefore the Elohistic world

in other words,

is

it

that of the lesser or secondary gods.

It is also called
the world of archangels.
It would not be exact to

say that the archangels are Elohim,

much

that

less

Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Metatron and so forth, are

deities according to the Kabalah.*
The system is

much

too involved to admit of such clear identifica

In a general

tions.

way

it

may perhaps be

affirmed

that the intelligent forces of the Briatic world,

when

assumed, so to speak, by the divine world, may be

as
the Elohim.
Thus, according to

regarded

men who appeared to Abraham

Mamre to announce the destruction

Kabalism, the three

in the

vale of

impending over the

cities

of the plain were

three

archangels, but they were also Adni, the Lord, for

they were the forms assumed by the Divinity.

Of

the

hierarchy

of

humanity we meet with

spiritual

various

beings

different Kabalistic writers, the sources of

be referred to Talmudic times

descending scale

more

outside

classifications

but,

by

which must

as regards the

especially, later authorities

do

not even hesitate to contradict Zoharic statements.

The archangels
of

sion

the

of Briah, corresponding to the exten

Sephiroth in that world, are usually

enumerated as follows
I.

METATRON, Angel

of the

Presence, World-

Prince, corresponding to Ketker.-\

*

Isidore Loeb, however, describes Metatron as a species of

Demiourgos, following presumably the heterodox opinions of the
Talmudic R. Acher. Franck also regards him as a divine hypostasis.
f When written with a Jod (MITTRVN), the name Metatron
signifies the

is

Shekinah

without that letter

it

signifies the

NGHR =

angel

who

is

legate ofShekinah" also called

Boy, and hence Metatron
said to be a boy-angel.
Kabbala Denudata, Apparatus, i. 528.

the

"

Doctrinal Content of the gabalah

77

RATZIEL, the Herald of Deity, corresponding

II.

to ChokmaJi.
III.

TSAPHKIEL,
sponding

IV.

of

Contemplation

God,

corre

to BriaJi.

TSADKIEL, Justice

of God,

corresponding to

Chcscd.

V.

SAMAEL, Severity

of God,
corresponding to

GeburaJi.

VI.

MICHAEL, Like unto God, corresponding

to

Tiphereth.

VII.

HANIEL, Grace

of

God,

corresponding

to

Netzach.
VIII.

RAPHAEL, Divine

Physician, corresponding tc

Hod.
IX. GABRIEL, Man-God,
corresponding to Jesod.
X. SANDALPHON, Messias, the second
of

phase
Metatron, corresponding to Malkuth.

As

the Sephirotic forces of the Atziluthic world are

represented as resumed under the likeness of a man,

Adam Kadmon, so those of Briah are resumed under
the form of a second

Adam, who

sole inhabitant of that world, as

is

regarded as the

Adam Kadmon

is

of

Atziluth.

The world

of Yetzirah or Formation

that of the angels,

is

said to be

who

are divided into nine choirs,

which are very nearly identical with the
hierarchy of

pseudo-Dionysius, whose scheme has become part of

Christianity.*

Those who

attribute a high antiquity

to the Kabalistic tradition

say that Dionysius
*

It

drew

should he noted, however, that unlike Christian

angelology,

that of the /.ohar represents the divine

inferior
to man and most
certainly to the souls of the just, which ascend higher
and attain a superior rank. See the Mantua edition, iii. 68 /
:

<>^ether

78

^he

Jtortriiu anb HDiterature of the giabalah

from the oral doctrine of

Dionysius

and

Israel

Kabalah

the

others pretend that

derive
from

both

Neoplatonism, but Greek and Hebrew thought had

joined hands before the date of the Areopagite.
Dionysius, perhaps, may be taken to represent the
point of contact between Hellenism and Jewry after
The Kabalah may
modification by Christianity.

much longer distance, in the form

extant literature, the point of contact between
Hellenism and Israel unmodified by Christianity.

represent, but at a
of

its

According to the most usual attribution the choirs

of Yetzirah are as follows
I.

CHAIOTH

HA

creatures,

KADOSH,

the

holy

or animals of Ezekiel

living

and the

Apocalypse, corresponding to Kether and

to the Christian Seraphim.
II.

or

OPHANIM,
Ezekiel,

Wheels,

corresponding

also

to

mentioned

in

Chokmah and

the Cherubim.
III.

IV.

or Mighty Ones, corresponding to

Briah and the Thrones.

ARALIM,

HASHMALIM,
to Chesed

or Brilliant Ones, corresponding

and the Dominations.

V. SERAPHIM, or Flaming Serpents, correspond

ing to Geburah and the Powers.
VI.

MELACHIM,

or

Kings,

corresponding

to

Tiphereth and the Virtues.

VII. ELOHIM, or Gods, corresponding to Netzach

and the

Principalities.

BENI-ELOHIM, or Sons of God, corresponding

to Hod and the Archangels.
IX. CHERUBIM, the Seat of the Sons, correspond
ing to Jesod, the Foundation, and the

VIII.

Angels.

goctrinal Content of the gUbalaK

The

tenth

Sephirotic

order

attribution

to

required

found

is

in

79

the

complete
the

ISHIM,

or

beatified souls of just

men, corresponding to Malkuth

and the great multitude of the redeemed seen by St.

John in the Apocalypse.

These orders are also summarised

in the notion

of a third

Adam, Yetzirah represented by the Malkuth

of the Yetziratic world, man in the iiKeness of die
in a

angels

word, the unfallen

The world

Adam

which

Adam

of Genesis.

of Assiah, or of matter,

descended at the

Fall, the

is

that into

abode of the

the Shells, Envelopes and Cortices of the

Kabalah.* It contains the orders of retrograde spirits
corresponding by inversion to the angels of Yetzirah
evil spirits,

and the arch-fiends corresponding

manner

after

are usually enumerated as follows

same

the

to the archangels of the Briatic world.!

They

I. THAUMIEL,
the doubles of God, said to be
two-headed and so named, because they pretend to
be equal to the Supreme Crown. This is properly the

of the averse Scphira corresponding to Kethcr.

cortex is CATHARIEL, according to the supple
ments of the Zohar. Satan and Moloch are said to

title

The

be the arch-demons, but the attributions are hope

lessly confused throughout, partly owing to the
obscure classifications of the Zohar and the contra
dictions of later Kabalists.
II.

CHAIGIDIEL,

term

connecting

with

the

significance of placenta, or, according to other authori*

For

Kabbala.

some
Ihrc

information on Kabalistic demonology, see Die

Hauptlehren und ihr vcrhaltniss zu Christcnthutn.

Innshruch, 1885.
t But there are also
of shells and demons.

many

material correspondences which are not

8o

3lht Scdrtne an& literature of the gabalah

ties, with that of obstruction, in the sense of an

This averse
impediment to the heavenly influx.
to
Its
Chokmak.
cortices are
Sephira corresponds

the

OGHIEL

or

GHOGIEL, which cleave

to illusory or

material appearances in opposition to those of reality

and wisdom.
This explanation is, of course, very

The arch-demon

late.

and so again

is

of

concealment

of

this averse Sephirah, unlike

meaning that

BELIAL,

Esau

are

number.

the

SATHARIEL,

ADAM

The Dukes

Beelzebuth.

also connected with this

III.

said to be

is

God,

Binah, or

Intelligence, hides the face of mercy.

ments of the Zohar

hirsute

body

referred

to

of

this

is

is

In the Supple
termed SHEIRIEL, from the

The Dukes

Esau.

of

Esau are

number, instead of to the averse

Chokmah, by the same

said to be the arch-demon, but
of

correspondence

LUCIFUGE

it

work.
this is

obviously not a Kabalistic term it is known, however,

to the grimoires and to some late demonologists of the
Latin church.
;

IV.

of

GAMCHICOTH,

or

GOG SHEKLAH,

disturber

things, the averse correspondence of Chesed.

According to the Zoharic Supplements the cortex
all

seems to be AzARIEL.
in late

The arch-demon

is

ASTAROTH

Kabalism.

V.

GOLAB,

diarism.

This

or burning,
is

the

averse

the sense of incen

correspondence

of

Geburali and the antithesis of the Seraphim or Fiery

Serpents.
late

The

Kabalism

is

cortex

is

UsiEL.

The arch-demon

of

ASMODEUS.

VI. TOGARINI, wranglers, because, according to

de Loria, this averse correspondence of

Isaac

TipheretJi strives with

the

supernal

Geburah.

The

Mhc

gortrinal Content of the gabalah

cortices are called

ZOMIEL and

81

the arch-demon

is

BELPHEGOR.

HARAB SERAP,

VII.

dispersing raven, referring

its
young, the

to the idea that this bird drives

out

averse correspondence of Netzach.

The cortices are
the THEUMIEL
and the arch-demon is BAAL

CHANAN.
VIII.

SAMAEL,

the

supernal

Hod,

or embroilment,
corresponding to
The
cortices
Victory.
are

THEUNIEL

according to the Supplements of the

and
ZOHAR,
ADRAMELEK is the name assigned to the
arch-demon by late writers.
IX.

GAMALIEL, the obscene,

spondence with Jesod, which

of the higher order.
tions

attribute

Clused, seems

to

in

averse

OGIEL, which other

the

averse

classifica

correspondence

be the cortex mentioned

to

corre

signifies the generation

in

of

the

Zoharic Supplements, and the arch-fiend is

LlLlTH,
according to late Kabalism.
X. LlLlTH * is, however,
according to another
tabulation, the averse correspondence of
MALKUTH,
with whom later Kabalism connects

NAHEMA,t

demon

the

of impurity.

In Zoharistic doctrine,
however, the chief per
sonalities ofAssta/i are
SAMAEL, who is to some extent
the averse

Adam Kadmon,

we may presume

humanity as a whole, and

in a better sense

though

that this title

is

his

applicable to natural

bride LlLlTH.

Sephirotic attributions are obscure

According
t

nection

to the

succubus

who

Zohar she
brings

is

with men, says the

Zohar,

develops this idea.

a strygc

forth spirits

which

who

slays infants.

and demons
in

The

and incomplete,

various

after

con

places further

82

^hc

but

in

|30rtrine mtfo Ipterature of the

a general
so

Kingdom

is it

way

it

said that as in the

is

in that of iniquity,* as in the

cision so also in the uncircumcision.

to be the uncircumcised
it

which,

adds

and

significantly,

have given space to

SAMAEL

his bride

is

is

Holy

circum
said

is

the prepuce,

the serpent.f

this portion of the

pneu

matic hypothesis of Kabalism, part of which is postZoharic, not because it is of any inherent importance,

be regarded otherwise than as a disfigurement

but because we shall

or can

of the philosophical doctrine,

have later on to give account of the connection

between the Kabalah and ceremonial magic, and the
doctrine of angels and demons is necessary to the
It should be
understanding of this connection. J

added

that the doctrine of the celestial

hierarchy
the Zohar.

of

and

infernal

not found in the most ancient portions of

is

The psychological doctrine concerning the nature

man is of greater interest. It is now a matter of

knowledge that the belief in the soul s

immortality, which is not found in the Pentateuch or
the prophets, was held by the Jews in later times in
general

connection with that of the resurrection of the body

Hence

8.

the true
"

reversed.

Pike,

name

Morals and

of Satan

is

Dogma," p.

said to be that of

t R. Simeon ben Jochai in Tikkunim, or

See Beth Elohim, by R. Abraham Cohen

Denudata,

ii.,

Part

3,

Tract

I,

i.e.,

YHVH

102.
"

No.
Kabbala

Supplements,"

Irira,

c.

ii.,

Pneumatica Kabbalistica,

p.

188

et seq.

The Talmuds abound with legendary

they are as much a storehouse

this subject, for

history and teaching on

of folk-lore as of juris

It has been even proposed that the mediaeval notion of

vampirism is to be traced to Talmudic fables concerning stryges. See
Des Hallucinations,"
A. Brierre de Boismont,
c.
Second ed.

prudence.

"

p. 395.

Paris.

1852.

Doctrinal Content of the Jiabulah

and appears freely in the Talmuds.*

remember that Moses was learned in
of the Egyptians, conceive

it

known nothing

should have

83

Occultists,
all

the

who

wisdom

be impossible that he
of doctrines which were
to

known to all Egypt, and they hold accordingly that

he communicated them secretly to a circle of
initiation,
by which they were perpetuated

in the oral
way.
Others incline to the notion that
were
they
acquired
In the Graeco- Egyptian
by the Jews in Babylon.

period it was, of course, impossible that the learned

rabbins of Alexandria
should
not
have been

acquainted with the great speculation of a future

In one way or another it was inevitable that the

life.

Jews

should have acquired it, which they did

accordingly,
and the particular date or circumstances are a minor
question, about which there can be no
The
certainty.

doctrine, as

taught by the Talmud, thougli recog

nising five divisions of the soul having names familiar

to Kabalism, is
it
comparatively of a simple kind
;

does

not

aspect which
discern

that

for

example,

find in

Philo,

possess,

we

Greek influence

that

philosophical

and even those who

Kabalism
must admit
early

in

its

pneumatology, after allowing for pre-existence,

shows very little trace of Platonism.t
Broadly

speaking,

the

Kabalistic

hypothesis

immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body

Talmud as tenets of the Synagogue.
They form the
thirteenth and last article in the
profession of faith of Maimonides."
"The

figure in

the

"

Leroy-Beaulieu,

Israel

accurate, as

article

that

believe that there will

it

shall

"Text

the nations," p. 17.

This i, not quite
concerns the resurrection only.
firmly
U- a resurrection of the dead, at the time when

among

"I

I.KMM- the Creator, l.le-e.l

of the Jewish Kdigi,, n

Book

."

!>e

M. Kreidlandei,
London.
1896.

Hi-, name!"

4 th ed.

t For a good summary of Kabalistic

pneumatology the German
may consult, inter alia, Leiningen s Lcclenlehre der Qabalah.

student

Leipsic.

1887.

84

^he

gtortriiu anb $ittr*h*

man

divides

into body, soul

triad reigns in things

These

above.

of the

and

in

those which are

animal

the

are

and thus the

spirit,*

below as

divisions

Jabalah

nature,

f the rational nature, Ruach and the seat

of individuality, Neskama/i. The system is, however,
In the first place,
in reality far more complicated.

NepJiesh

the animal soul rather than the physical

exactly, it contains also the triad.

is

Nephesh
body,

more

or,

Neshamah

of Nephesh, which is the

principle of the whole, there is a Ruach of Nephesh,
and a Nephesh of Nephesh, which is the physical

There

thus a

is

The whole together is, according to the Zohar,

It may be gathered
the living man in this world.
also from the same work that the natural man is
part.J

complete in

this

one

division,

and that

it

depends upon

himself to attain or receive the others.

The

||

true

*
The most universal and natural of all extant classifications.
The Kabalah also holds that the higher rules the lower. Compare Mrs.
Seeress of Prevost," pp. 125, 126,
Crowe s translation of Kerner s
"

where the

"

revelation

"

given in the

simplified Kabalism.
f Papus states that Nephesh,

magnetic condition reads like a

"the

inferior

principle,"

is

not the

I find this
material body, because matter has no existance essentially.
doctrine nowhere in Kabalism, for which matter was a vile reality.

The

text will explain further in what sense Nephesh is and is not the
But Papus also admits that Nephesh, Ruach and
physical body.
Neshamah are practically identical with the body, life, and will of
"modern science."

La

Kabbale, pp. 91, 92.

The German Kabalist, Carl de Leiningen, in a communication

addressed to the Munich Psychological Society, includes the material
There can be no question that this
division.
view has the countenance of the Sepher Yetzirah by which the term is

body under the Nephesh

applied to the

human body

Rosenroth,

as long as

however,

it is

identifies

alive.

vegetative soul and the plastic part of the soul.

the Anima vivens of the Zoharic Supplements.

Demidata,
||

e dictis

i.

with

Nephesh

He

Psyche,

regards

it

the

also as

Apparatus, Kabbala

589.

R. Isachar ben Napthali

in Geneseos, No. 22.

Synopsis Libri Sohar,

Cum homo

nascitur,

Titulus

xiii.

non nisi Psychem

Content of the JUbalah

vlhc Soctrinal

85

Ruach, or rational principle, and the true Neshamah,

or spiritual individuality, are for those
who deserve
to do the work of the Master."
NesJiamah corre"

ponds to Briah, Ruach

The

Assiah.

Yetzirah and Nephesh to

to

junction of RuacJi with the natural

constitutes a state to which the term CJiiah

by the
both

The

Kabalists.

adds

another

junction of

given

Neshamah with

termed

principle

is

man

JecJiidaJi.

Neshamah are also said to be the

The doctrine of the four worlds

Jcchidah, Ckiah and

triad.

highest

suggests, however, that there

is

still

more exalted

part of man, coresponding to Atziluth, and of which

the Neshamah is only a shadow reflected.
This is

quits

its

which

Prototype, and it never

exalted abode in the archetypal world.
It is

called Tsure,

signifies

connected with the NesJiamah by an invisible thread,

and the aspiration of the lower to the higher opens
the path of ecstasy.*
The doctrine of the Mystic
Marriage in Christian transcendentalism has analogies

with some developments of this speculation. But its

immediate connections in Israel are with the Ten

Degrees of contemplation described in the Babylonian

Talmud, and with the later ritual of the Pardes.
In the hands of the later Kabalists Zoharic pneumatology became

still

The

more involved.

attribution of the triple triad

Sephirotic

and the supernal part

is,

et prccterea nee spirit it

nicntcni
cmn an fern dcinde
inctdit in ria rirtiitutn, eidcni super additur Spiritns ct Mcns.

so/am cucipit,

Compare Tauler

"

n<\-

divine knot which

l>in<K

happily the soul

Institutiones
eternity of His kingdom."
Divina, c. xxxix. in the collection of Surius, Cologne, 1548. It is a
part of Kaljalistic teaching that the path of ecstasy is nt entirely

with

the

closed to

Saviour in

man even

in

the

which may to some extent be held to

life draws at once from
Zohar i, 60 et
Mantua.

this

life,

follow from another doctrine,

above and from below.

namely, that
se</.,

Ihe

86

Jtortrine aab literature ot the

of course, obvious, though

not methodised in the

it is

was, however, taken up by the school of

Isaac de Loria, and the operation of the ten Sephiroth
is elaborated in each of the ten divisions.
It is not

Zohar.

It

necessary to enter into these refinements.

It should be added that the Zohar teaches the
pre-existence and foreknowledge of the soul* but the
revolutions of Kabalism are not precisely what modern

occultism understands

by

reincarnation.f

The works

of Isaac de Loria treat very largely of this subject, but

have been regarded as full of innovations. J
It will be seen that the doctrines of the Kabalah,

taken

per

se,

but

are

nearly

all

of

consequence

to

add that the aspects

under which they are presented do not increase that
occultists,

it

is

necessary to

consequence, while the presumption that they are part

their surface.
There is nothing in the doctrine of
of a tradition delivered from generation to generation,

on

deriving from a remote past,

Ain Soph which

higher level than

by no means appears

warrant us

in placing it on a
other
any
theory of the Absolute

will

All souls, moreover, were created together.

Later writers
introduced the idea of transmigration.
Thus the treatise entitled The
"

says that the soul of a slanderer is transmigrated into a

silent stone, and that of the murderer into water.

Royal

Valley,"

t They are

still

less

what Christian mysticism understands by

regeneration, a misapprehension peculiar, I believe, to the late Lady

Caithness.
See
Old Truths in a New Light," p. 370. "We now
know that the doctrine of regeneration was secretly taught among the
"

in the
Mysteries, or Sacred Kabalah," the regeneration in
question being the transformations and mysterious trials, the goings and
Discourse of
returnings of souls and spirits, described in the Zoharic

Jews

"

the Ancient

Man."

J In a general sense Mr. W. T. Flagg is correct when he states

Gnostics and Kabalists held that perfection was arrived at
by means of successive reincarnations." See "Yoga or Transforma
that

"the

tion."

New York

and London.

1898.

87

Doctrinal Content of the gabalah

much in its modern presentation by some

defend its antiquity,
occultists, who most strenuously
there

is

and even
outside

its

divine derivation, which helps to place

mental nature

human

consideration

philosophical

the

is

it

speculation

in

its

funda

inheritance of

all

needs neither revelation nor

it

common

it

oral tradition to perpetuate

Sephiroth, on the other

it.

The

doctrine of the

at

most a degree

is

hand,

better than any other system of emanation, and no

such theory can be accepted as a satisfactory attempt
At the epochs when these
to explain the universe.
theories were possible they were serious and excellent
in their intention, and up to that point their interest

permanent for the history of

revive them at the present day

is

human
is

thought. To
all reason.

beside

final causation, with

Just as the necessity of

difficulties

which

it

involves,

is

the

all

not dispensed with by

recourse to evolution, so the transition from infinite to

from absolute per
finite, from eternal to temporal,
the imperfect order of the physical and
moral world, from God, in a word, to the material, is

fection

to

not assisted

This

by supposing stages between them.

belongs to a period of

kind of compromise
thought which has utterly passed away.

It

human
is

same with the doctrine of the two Countenances

was admirable
the

God

for

the
;

it

time as an eirenicon between

its

of the philosophers

and the God of old Israel,

is not much need to

but at the present day there

who have
bridge that gulf, and occultists in particular
abandoned the orthodox in faith, who are also very
proud

of

this

fact,

and

importance, are less in

accommodation.

very resolute as to its

need than others of such an

Speaking generally, UK- Kabalah

is

p odtinz

anb literature of the $abalah

an attempt to give depth and

significance to a form of
religious faith which occultism has, at least in its literal
aspects, agreed to set aside.
to

important
seriously,

those

who

take

Its

pneumatology

ceremonial

and the doctrine of the

virtue

in

is

magic
words,

contained by implication in that of the Instruments of

Creation,

is

much

in

favour with a certain school of

but, taken altogether, the content of the

Kabalah does not possess the momentous character

occultism;

which has been ascribed to it by those whose beliefs

have invested it with something of
interest
living

The next

stage of our inquiry is to determine as far as

possible its claims to antiquity.*

little

It may be mentioned in conclusion that the reader

who has a
knowledge of Hebrew will do well to consult the curious diagrams

as well as the Latin text of the rare fourth

part of

in

Librum Sohar.

Rosenroth

Apparatus

BOOK

III

SOURCE AND AUTHORITY OF THE

KABALAH
ARGUMENJ
The two
criticism,

There

chief cycles of Kabalistic literature, in spite of destructive

are referable, by their materials, to Talmudic times.

no reason why the

Book of Formation should not be
work of R. Akiba, as tradition affirms. There is no solid
evidence to support the theory that R. Moses de Leon wrote the
Zohar at the end of the thirteenth century. At the same time,
the belief of occult students that these works
represent a tradition
dating from an early period of history has also little to support it.
"

is

"

the

The

attempts to refer the Kabalah in a direct manner to some prior

philosophical system must be largely set aside ; it has its antecedents

everywhere, but its analogies with other systems are referable to a
natural similarity between independent conclusions on fundamental
problems of being. Antecedent Jewish influence through the
school of Aristobulus and Philo must not be
but also

must not be exaggerated.

it

The Kabalah

is

overlooked,
sui generis.

It

has

scholastic connections, and it has its Mohammedan corre

If there be any preponderance in a
spondences.
direction,
its

its

I.

given
sphere of influence has been Christian rather than Jewish.

DATE AND DOCTRINE OF THE

OF

WE

"BOOK

FORMATION"

now in possession of the most important

elements of Kabalistic doctrine and the chief heads of
its

are

philosophical instruction.

much, more

in its literature,

There

some

is

of which

much, very
must be set

90

^Ihe Jlrrrtritu anii SJiteratttr* at iht gtabalah

work which

aside altogether from consideration in a

would exceed

its

purpose

if

it

entered into abstruse

and technical matters, while some has been postponed

a later stage of our study, because, although it is
highly important to the right understanding of the

till

does not involve the points with which we

First among these
are concerned at the inception.
subject,

it

is

points

whether and how

far

evidence that can be produced

we

are warranted,

in the

open day,

by
in

regarding the literature which contains the doctrines

summarised by the preceding sections as possessing

an authentic character, or the doctrines themselves as
part of a tradition perpetuated in Israel from very
early times.

For

this

it

purpose

be convenient to accept

will

the literature as divisible into four classes

Book of Formation
work which preceded
Zohar (3) The Zohar
"

"

(2)

(i)

The commentaries on

The
that

the public appearance of the

itself
(4) The writings subse
;

quent thereto.*

The

report of an esoteric tradition in Israel did

not begin to circulate through Christendom till the

fourteenth century, and this, as we shall see later on,

is explained by the fact that the chief collection of its
archives
itself

till

was unknown,

at least generally,

about 1290, A.D.

This collection

Solomon Munk, one of the highest French

Kabalism, tabulates the following

Conversation, s.v. Kabbah.
calculations,

i.e.,

Themurah

in

classification in the

Jewry
is

that

authorities

on

Dictionnaire de la

A symbolical portion, namely, mystical

Gematria, Notaricon, on which refer to

(1)
y

Book I.
(2) A dogmatic or positive part, which is, in fact,
4
concerned with the hypothesis of spiritual essences, i.e., angels, demons,
;

human

souls and their transmigration ;

(3)
speculative and
It is not
metaphysical part, namely, Sephirotic doctrine and so forth.
a satisfactory classification, but there is no need to criticise it here.

anb JUthoritp of the gabalah

<Sourre

which

is

termed by Kabalists the work of the Chariot,

The work

in other words, the Zohar.

that

91

of Creation

was known, as we have

least one Christian student

the Sepher Yetzirah

is,

for believing, to at
so far back as the middle of the ninth
century, but
there was no consequence attached to it for Christen

ground

The Sepher Yetzirah is supposed to embody a

tradition handed down from the time of Abraham, and

dom.

there

is

no doubt that the

uncritical spirit of several

centuries represented the patriarch as

its author.
This
does not seem, however, as some modern criticism has
loosely supposed,* to have been the view universally

adopted by the Jewish learning which accepted the

document. That he received and he transmitted it

was undoubtedly held, but the work itself does not

pretend to have been reduced to writing till after the
destruction of Jerusalem, and tradition has ascribed its
formal authorship to Rabbi Akiba ben
Joseph, the
of
R.
pupil
Joshua ben Chananja, who was himself the

he was also once

as

successor,

Rabban

There

Gamaliel.

the

of

opponent,

is

nothing flagrantly impro

bable in this attribution, though it reaches us late in
Akiba was a mystic with whose notions the
history.

scheme of the Sepher Yetzirah was in complete

accordance, and he is the reputed author of another
work dealing with the mysteries of the Hebrew alpha*
it

is

Dr. Edersheim,

properly

"a

contemplation of

"

History of the Jewish Nation," observes that

part of Abraham, in which, by tinthat is around him, he ultimately arrives at the

monologue on the

all

conviction of the unity of

says that

it

God."

professes to be a

nothing of the sort;

but the

3rd. ed. p. 407.

monologue of the
fifth

So

also (iin-Onir^

patriarch.

It

does

chapter mentions "Abraham our

of patriarchal derivation became

Of course, the legend

In the twelfth century, K. Judah Ha Levi
stereotyped quickly.
of "the Book of the Creation which
belongs to our father Abraham.

father."

^he

92

bet*

anb HJtteratur* ot the Jubalah

grrrtrine

In his interpretation of Scripture he followed

principles of Hillel the Great and

and exaggerated the

Nahum

He

of Giso.

promulgated,

the weight of his authority

or,

at least,

the doctrine that

gave

"

every
sentence, word and particle in the Bible had its use
His literary labours were also very
and meaning." f

him

great, for to

to,

and

attributed the arrangement

is

redaction of the Halakha.

Subsequent generations
were so impressed by his marvellous knowledge of
divine things that he was asserted to have discovered

much

of which even

Moses was

the sense not intended,

ignorant, which, in
If

indubitably true.

is

admit the existence of a secret tradition in Israel,

shall not

need

therein

if

to question that

we admit

Akiba was

we
we

initiated

the existence of the

Sepher

Yetzirah in the second century, we can imagine no

more probable author for that work.J Nor is the date

moderate criticism

essentially disagreeable to a
is

it
;

merely unestablished for want of exact evidence,

*

It

the

called

is

alphabet

of

R.

Buxtorf says that

allegorically explained.
in 1597, with a Commentarius Prolixus.
Rabbinica.

4 vols.
Venice in 1546.

Basilia, 1618-19,

Alphabet appeared
f Edersheim,

at

fol.

Akiba,
it

being the

||

letters

was printed at Cracovia

See Bibliotheca Hebraa

An

earlier edition

See Bartolocci,

iv.

of the

274.

History of the Jewish Nation."

J Curiously enough, M. Nicolas admits the date necessary but not
the authorship it suggests, on the ground that Akiba was a rigid and
"

head-strong doctor of the Law and not likely to indulge in speculative

This estimate, with which it is difficult to agree, has also
lucubrations.
the authority of Franck, on the ground that the Talmud reproaches
Akiba for his incommensurate notions of God, but Franck is possibly
more influenced by his belief in the earlier origin of the work. La

Kabbah,

p. 87 et seq.
Quite independently of occult prepossessions it has been argued
that the language of the Sepher Yetzirah is a Hebrew wholly analogous

to that of the
||

Dr.

Mishnah.

Schiller-Szinessy expressly says that the

belongs to Akiba,

"both

in substance

and

form."

book no doubt

Encyclopedia Bri-

anb JUthoritg of the Jiabalah

93

which begins only with the ninth century, when there

tolerable reason to infer that

is

Agobard.*
to fix

mony

any book may be

for obviously

of

was known by

it

St.

not possible from any internal testi

the work as belonging to the later period,
It is

far older

than the date

quotation, while the fact, if established, that

it was known in France in or about the
year 85of
would create a presumption that it was in existence
its first

much

We

days.
zirah

for literature travelled slowly in those

earlier,

must remember also that a Sepher Yetin both Talmuds in connection with

mentioned

is

the doctrine that heaven and earth were created

by a

mysterious combination of letters, and that Franck

characterises the attempt of modern scholarship to
tannica, 9th ed., s.v. Midrashim, a term derived from a root signifying
to seek out or to question.
Munk also takes this view in the article
s.v. Kabbah, contributed to the ninth volume of the Dictionnaire de la

Conversation
*

et de la

The English

Lecture, Paris, 1833.

reader may consult Taylor s translation of Basnage

590 et seq. London. 1708. Agobard was

Archbishop of Lyons, and wrote against trials by ordeal and other
See the Abbe Migne s Dictionnaire dcs
superstitions of his period.
"

History of the

Jews,"

p.

Sciences Occultes, vol.

i. col.
32.
Despite
he figures among the persecutors of Jewry.

v.

t.

fuifs,

this

apparent enlightenment

See Basnage, Histoire des

pp. 1493, 1494.

The evidence

two short

falls

short of demonstration, and

the

is

confined to

de fudaicis
Agobatdi
In the first, the Jews are branded for their gross
Suftrstitionibus.
notions of the Deity, on the ground lhat they believe Him to be possessed
of a bodily form, having distinct members and lineaments, including
organs of seeing, hearing, speaking and so forth also that they note
only one difference between the body of God and that of man who is
in His imnge, namely, that the
fingers are inflexible, because God
pavs.i^e*

in

Epistola S.

nothing with his hands. It seems certain that St. Agobaid chaws
from the
In the second
Description of the Body of God."

effects

here

passage
to
to

"

it

is

said

"

Further, they believe the letters of their alphabet

have existed from everlasting, and before the beginning of the worl-1
have received diverse offices, in virtue of which they should preside

over created

things."

Patrologia

Cursus Completes

1851, p.

78^

seq.

S.Agobardi,Li4gduncnsisEpiscopi,
.

aaurante

J.

P.

<?

(.>/<;

Migne.

Omnia.
Paris,

^he

94

IPottrine anb $titrftittxt ot the Jiabalah

two works under an

distinguish

identical

as

title

do
If, however, we
gross ignorance.*
not place the work in Talmudic times, we may
concede that it came into existence within a
founded

in

measurable distance of the stormy period in which

the great Talmudic canons were forcibly closed.

We

have next to distinguish between the date

which may be surmised for the treatise and that which

must perhaps be attributed to the teaching embodied
therein.

Have we any ground

for believing that the

doctrine of the Sepher Yetzirah

Egyptian

captivity,

as

its

is

legend

older than the

affirms

This

question must be answered by an emphatic negative.

The doctrine under notice gives prominence to the
sacred and divine character of the Hebrew alphabet,

and we have no warrant

for supposing that the art of

writing was possessed by Abraham every probability

is against it
and every authority is agreed on this
But the Sepher Yetzirah contains, by implica
point.
tion at least, the doctrine of an occult power and
;

sanctity

know
is

inherent in certain divine

that this belief is

found at an early period

so forth.

It

is

names, and

we

very old in humanity, that

in Chaldea,

afflicting to

and

modern

it

Akkadia and

intelligence, but

belongs to those
countries with which Israel was in contact, we have
it

of great antiquity,

is

reason to think that

baggage

of

the

it

as

it

became part

of the religious

Hebrew people long

Sepher Yetzirah, the Alphabet

Mishna itself were dreamed of.

of

before

the

or

the

Akiba,

Occultism

has

On this fact Franck insists very strongly, maintaining that

these references demonstrate the existence of a work reserved to a
few and that this work is identical with the Sepher Yetzirah as we
have it. La Kabbale, Paris, 1843, P- 75 et Se1-

now

ourcc ant) JUthoritg of the glabalah

attached

itself to

this doctrine,*

therefore, to occultists that the

95

and we must

allow,

most ancient document

of Kabalismf does embody something of tradition

from the past, perhaps even from the period of the
Babylonian captivity, as the Talmud itself indicates.

On

the other hand,

we have no evidence

to

show

the doctrine of the Instruments of Creation

is

that

much

which develops it it
therefore be placed
can
has no history previously, and
only in Talmudic i.e., in post- Christian times. It
prior to the date of the treatise

should be added that the Sepher Yetzirah is part of a

considerable literature of an occult or mystical com
plexion covering the period between the closing of the
Talmudic Canon and the first report of the Zohar.

MODERN

II.

CRITICISM OF

THE BOOK OF

SPLENDOUR
The commentaries on

the Sepher Yetzirah which

preceded the publication of the Zohar

*

And

so also,

it

would seem, has the

less

make no

claim

pronounced form of

modern

Christian mysticism.
See, for example, the interesting col
Letters from a Mystic of the Present Day," by an
lection entitled
"

anonymous writer. Second edition, London, 1889, pp. 205-207.

"We seem to have to learn the various names of God before we can
The Name grasps us, while the others are various
grasp the Name.
outer courts through which we come into the Sanctuary or Name of

God

in that name we find pasture wherever our outer life may take
Compare Saint-Martin, L? Esprit des (hoses, torn. ii. 65 et seq.
f I ought not, perhaps, to omit that Mayer Lambert, one of the

us."

latest

editors of the Sepher Yetzirah, attirms that it has nothing in

with the Kabalah, by which he understand:, a mysterious

common

explanation of the Bible drawn from the letters of the text and a meta
physical theory which connects God with the world through a series
As regards its date, he agrees that it is one
of emanations of divinity.
of the numerous

Midrashim produced by

the

Talmudic period.

^[Ehe jjpfljctrme zmfo

96

on

literature ot the giabalah

and may therefore be reserved

antiquity,

for

con

The alleged
of known dates also
manner be left till we

sideration in their proper place later on.

Kabalism

traces of

prior to that event

in writers
in like

may

We

deal with the documents consecutively.

may,
therefore, proceed at once to the absorbing problems

connected with the Book of Splendour.

these are the vital questions:
criticism

is

in

right

thirteenth century as

Tob de Leon

as

its

its

period,

author.

evidence that some at least

existence at a

much

(i)

ascribing

Chief among
Whether modern

Zohar

the

to

the

to R. Moses Shem
Whether
we have
(2)
of its doctrine was in

and

earlier period, or, as its

legend

Roman Emperor Antoninus.

points we shall do well to glance

states, at the time of the

To

determine these

of all at the history of the criticism

first

which has

befallen this vast document.

We

shall get

contemporary

was

Yetzirah

very

little

help from the insight of

The Sepher

Israel as to either point.

known and accepted

docu

before

mentary criticism can be well said to have been born,

and so also when the Zohar was promulgated it was

among
it

a mixed audience

who

either took or rejected

on a priori grounds. Those who loathed the yoke

which Abraham ben David Ha Levi,

of Aristotle,

Aben Ezra

and

Moses Maimonides

would

placed on the neck of Jewry, accorded

welcome
*

The

* all
that great section of

more
most

Jewry which was

two systems is best shown by this fact.

opponents were almost universally Jewish Aristotelians

contrariety of the
"

Myer says
who opposed
:

have

a glad

it

Its

the ancient secret learning of the Israelites because

it was
and Pythagoras, and indeed
emanated from the same sources, the Aryan and Chaldean

in accord with the philosophy of Plato

likely
esoteric doctrine."

Philosophy of Ibn Gebirol,

p.

12.

It

is

the fact

anb JUthoritu of th* glabalah

97

addicted to astrology and

magic took it into their
heart of hearts: it was neither
astrology nor magic,
but it harmonized with their transcendental
aspirations.
On the other hand, it was hated
the Aristotelians

by

because
not

till

did not consort with their methods.*

recent times that we have

it

any

It is

intelligent

defence on the part of Jewish thinkers Konitz in

1815, Franck in 1843, David Luria in 1857, Munk in

1859;

on the other hand, a

strong and informed
as that of
in
Graetzf
Germany, to quote only

or,

hostility,

one instance.
In the influence exercised
by the Kabalah upon
certain minds of Christendom, the
Sepher Yetzirah

must be distinguished from the Zohar. The former

has had no influence it was indeed introduced to our
;

knowledge by a monk of exalted erudition and of

eccentricity equally great, but it was not till the
sixteenth century and it found no
sphere of operation.

Some

of

its

Sephirotic

only which is of value

light of Book iii.,
5.
*

developments,

Mr. Myer

explanation

the

may be

corn-

read in the

When the Saracens became the patrons of

philosophy
the attention paid both
by Arabians and Christians to the writings of
Aristotle excited the emulation of the
Jews, who, notwithstanding the
ancient cur.e pronounced on all
Jews who should instruct their sons in
the Grecian learning
continued in their philosophical course
reading Aristotle in I It-brew translations made ln>m the inaccurate
"

Arabic,
"

Creek was

for

History of

at

Krt-una>oniy,"

this

period

London, 1885,

little
ii.

understood."

66, 67

iould,

see also 69, 70.

is more
I see no
stiong than it is well informed.
any real acquaintance with the Kabalah, about which
he writes savagely and with the indiscrimination which
we connect with
a savage. Thus, he turns the Zohar
a notorious
whereas the
ii

ip>

etz of

"

forgery,"

chief notoriety
concerning it
scarcely two authorities can

is

that after eight centuries of criticism

be found to agree in their estimate.

part of his history we find continually things uncertain
in the language of
certitude, and things for which there is
Described
little evidence as if there were

Throughout

this

overwhelming testimony.

l^he gcrtrme attb HJiterattir* of the JUbalah

98

Abraham and Rabbi Azariel, met

among a few men of learning,
but they can bear no comparison with the appeal made
mentaries of Rabbi

with a certain audience

by the larger cycle. For all Christian students the

Kabalah was substantially the Zohar, and, as we shall
see subsequently, the office attributed to it was almost
that is to say, the discovery
exclusively evangelical
that there had existed in Israel, from time immemorial,
;

as

was

it

contain

alleged, a secret doctrine

analogies and even

which appeared to
with funda

identities

mental dogmas of Christianity, put the Jews so clearly

in the wrong, by their own showing, that their conver
sion

the

was deemed inevitable.* Thus, the antiquity of

was not at that time challenged in

tradition

Christendom, and again

documentary

The

criticism

it

was not a period when

was pursued with any keenness.

century made the grave, but yet

mistake of supposing that most people

fourteenth

excusable,

wrote the books attributed to them.

the claim of the Zohar for

much

They accepted

the same reason that

they were persuaded of the antiquity of Homer.

In

the existing state of scholarship to have challenged

one might have openea an abyss beneath the other,

and could well have included

common
*

"

uncertainty.

Some

Of

all

ancient literature in a

course, as time

Christians have also esteemed

them

went

(i.e.,

on,

and

the Kabalistic

found them more favourable

to the Christian religion than the recent commentaries of the Rabbins.
But they failed to consider that these same allegorical books are filled
with an infinitude of ridiculous fables, and that Jewish superstition is
much more clearly proved from them than are the mysteries of our

books and

religion.

matter,
Zohar."

their connections) because they

William Postel has imposed on several theologians in this

having pretended to find Christianity in the books of the
Richard Simon, Histoire Critiqi4t du Vieux Testament, p. 371.

anb JUthorihi of the Jab.ilah

99

the evangelical instrument proved to be of no effect,

validity began to be challenged, but even then it
was scarcely on critical grounds. So also, even at the
inception of the enthusiasm, some sceptical voices
were raised, but again from uncritical and predeter
its

The

mined motives.*
Zohar were

Christians

who

Jews who rejected

like the

rejected the
the latter

it

because they were Aristotelians, the former because

they were Christians,

and only the

who saw no good

impenitence of the
erudition of Toledo.f
final

in the Ghetto,

lost thief in the

The

credulity, or at least the disability, of early

students has been amply atoned for in the
spirit which
has governed the later critics of the Kabalah.
I must

some cases they seem, after their own

manner, to have prejudged the question much as that
confess that in

laborious
it

in the

bibliographer Julius Bartolocci prejudged

seventeenth century. It was offensive to the

dignity of the Latin Church to suppose that there was

a rival tradition, full of illumination and

wisdom,

preserved unknown to the church in

house of Israel. By a similar sentiment
intolerable to

modern

taste that

the
it

any occult

should possess a real claim on attention.

*

Among

writers

who

rejected

has seemed
literature

It is there-

did not permit themselves to be deceived

by the alleged instrument of conversion, a high place must be accorded

to Petrus Galatinus and his DC Arcanis Cat/ioliue Veritatis contra
Jmlo-ornin pcrfidiain, first published in 1518.
t The connection between Christianity and the Xohar

still

finds

an occasional expositor in occult circles.

Consult Stanislas de Guaita,
Essias des Sciences Mauditcs.
I.
Au Seuil du Mystere. Nouvcllc
The /ohur has wedded the Gospel
edition, i-orri^t
1890.
"

P.iri>.

the spirit has fructified the soul ; and immortal works have been the
fruits of this union.
The Kabalah became Catholic in the school of
St.

John,"

&c.

A romantic criticism

inspired by Eliphas

Le"vi.

^he

TOO

Jtortriru anb Jpterature

by

We

the jiabalah

hand that the Kabalah, represented

fore said out of

the Zohar,

xrf

a forgery of the thirteenth century.

is

must endeavour

comprehend precisely what

to

is

involved in this standpoint.

There are some

literary fabrications

which do not

need a high degree of scholarship to expose them, for

they may be said to betray themselves, often at every
department of belles lettres it is
mention the so-called Rowley poems.

In the

point.

to

sufficient

everybody is well aware, were forgeries pure

and simple, and their disguise is so entirely spurious

These, as

that

it

not

can be peeled

necessary

believers,

to

off

add

without any
that

they

difficulty.

It is

possessed

their

and not further back than the days

of the

had

Bell edition of Chatterton, the race of Rowleyites

we

find the editor describing

their characteristics in terms

which have a wider appli

at the moment.

still

a few survivals, for

cation than he

was concerned with

true Rowleyite, he says,

not open to conviction,

and the statement obtains in the case of all pertina
is

cious defenders of spurious literary productions.

The

position of the Rowley MSS. is fairly paralleled oy

that of many occult documents, among which, as
typical instances,

we may

the handbooks

select

of

Ceremonial Magic. There are no works which betray

themselves more transparently and abundantly than
the

"

Key

of

Solomon

Abramelin the

day

Mage,"

"

and the

"

Sacred Magic of
and yet they possess at this

their believers, enthusiasts for the

their claims to a high antiquity or a

the case

may

good

Hebrew

faith of

origin, as

be.

There are again some

a certain basis in

fact,

fabrications which possess

over which a mass of forgery

<ourre

anb JVxithoritu of the $abalah

101

has been arranged. One ready instance in point is

found in the poems of Ossian, for which there was
a

indubitably

nucleus

of

floating

Gaelic

tradition

which was wrought into his imposition by McPherson.

The result may deceive for a moment even sound
scholarship, but

its full

the possibility of

to

alchemical

writings

"

form

of

only a matter of

Wallace

"

was

Latin

Perhaps the

Fingal.

attributed

to

Geber

fatal

may be

instances in occult literature of

regarded as typical
this

is

exposure

In this case the epic of

time.

fraud.

have

They

scarcely

any

resemblance to the Arabic originals, but such originals

exist.

Finally,

there are certain works which

may

or

not be fabrications, but they either incorporate

may
so much genuine
ment

material belonging to the depart

of literature which they pretend to represent, or

else are so skilfully constructed that the balance of

is poised pretty equally concerning them,
almost impossible to arrive, by impartial
methods, at the determination of their claims. I do

probability

and
not

it

is

know whether

lettres

there

of this kind

is

any good instance

of alleged

fabrication.

"

"

in belles

Hogg s

perhaps the nearest

Jacobite Relics of Scotland

approach to a parallel. That collection undoubtedly
contains a large proportion of genuine material, but it
is

is

suspected that the Ettrick

proportion of the collection

craft,

very

and

criticism,

seriously,

question.

is

though

by
it

perhaps

In occult literature

Shepherd supplied a
his

own

skill in verse-

has not concerned

fairly

divided

we have

on

itself

the

several signal

examples of this suspected writing which has not been

found out to the satisfaction of the impartial mind.

102

^he

Iptfrtrtrte atvb

literature

xrf

the giabalah

For example, a few of the Hermetic books, which are

classed

usually

scholars

by

productions of the

as

Alexandrian period, and therefore post-Christian, are

held by others to represent occult traditions of con
siderable antiquity,

and

has been decided for

time as regards some of these

all the instances is

But the most renowned of

works.

that with which

itself.

all

do not think that the case

we

are here concerned

the Kabalah

Destructive criticism has maintained that

its

foremost work was forged by a single writer, of indif

ferent claims to our intellectual consideration, at the

end of the thirteenth century. There is, as we shall

see, no positive evidence on this point which is worth
naming, and the presumptive evidence

There

strong.

is

is

not at

all

proof of late writing, but

very good

the theory of the fabrication of the Zohar

by Moses

de Leon puts an almost impossible burden on the

of that questionable personage, and is

shoulders

generally the

work

of

writers

the traditional doctrine which

Zohar

who have

regard to the possible existence of

sufficient

at a period

preceding

its

is

not paid

much

summarised

of

in the

appearance by some

centuries.

We

admit,

therefore,

belongs to a suspected
its

impeachment

this inquiry

my own

is

class,

that

but

Kabalistic

how we

a different question.

literature

are to regard

The

fact that

has been undertaken will indicate that, in

must change the

regards its material, and

opinion, the hostile critic

nature of his indictment.

As

as

regards its motive, spurious literature

belongs to the most accountable class. It falls into
line readily.
Where there are complex workings of
usually

the

human mind,

as in the Zohar, there sincerity

is

atvb

gource

The Kabalah

usually present.

mechanism

its

So

as

far

to

there

it

is

103

gabalah

much

too singular in

be referable to a solitary author.

evidence on the subject, that

is

grew, and that in its

was neither wholly old nor entirely new,

evidence tends to show that

final state

of the

JUthorihj

it

but doctrine more or less familiar or following from

These

familiar doctrine.*

recognition outside

now

facts are

occult

in

circles,

Of

which rule general opinion.

places

Schiller-Szinessy
"

observes that

offers

almost

in course of

the

the best evidence

all

academic
this

Dr.

when he

that the latest critics have

age of the various Targumim and

will have to be
including the Zohar,

said concerning the

"

Midrashim,"
unsaid."

III.

THE DATE AND AUTHORSHIP OF

THE BOOK OF SPLENDOUR

The theory which

accounts for the Zohar on the

ground that it was written by Moses de Leon in the

latter half of the thirteenth century does not depend
merely on internal evidence
inference
late

made by modern

it

is

not exclusively an

criticism

events found here and there

from allusions to

work

in the

it

is

*
This is very nearly the position of Solomon Munk, who
maintains that the Zohar and its connections, that is, the various tracts
and fragments which enter into the compilation, are not the inventions

of an impostor, but that ancient documents were

including Midrashim which are not now extant.
sophic, /uive et

Aral

,-.

Paris.

1859, p. 275 et

by the editor,
Melanges de Philo

u>ed

sf,/.

In spite of this,

Munk

did not consider the Zohar, at least in its present form, as

anterior to the seventh century, but rather that the Kabnlistic develop
ments which it represents took place in the thirteenth century, and

were either influenced by Gebirol or by sources

Ibid. pp. 276, 277.

common

to both.

^he

104

ipoxtritu an ^

$*iM5*tee

r>f

the

not a presumption arising only from the fact that the

Spanish Jew who is suspected of the splendid

imposture lived by transcribing copies of it,* that it

had never been heard of previously, or that the

MS. from which R. Moses claimed to have

drawn has never come to light. It is based upon

original

evidence which claims to be contemporary, or there

It
abouts, with the appearance of the Zohar itself.
highly probable that in the absence of any
testimony the same point would have been

may be
such

reached independently, but the fact remains that

not the discovery of modern criticism at all

it

is
it

transpired without being sought for, and hence the

case against the work is based both on external and
internal grounds.

weak

It

is

not therefore at

have sketched

it

fully

first

sight a

and frankly

not be accused of any bias in the matter.

the same time it is my purpose to show that the

that

At

case,

and

may

indictment breaks

down

Let us dispose
In

evidence.

Hebrew

at

Yuhasin, or

the

first

all

year

Constantinople
"

Book of

Abraham ben Samuel

*

altogether.
of

of the alleged external

1566

there

a work

appeared

entitled

Sepher

by R. Moses

Genealogies,"

Zakut,

in

who belongs

to

the

I have called this a fact, because it is accepted by all

accept the account of the Zohar given in the Sephir
The
has an air of fable.
Yuhasin> it seems to me that the statement
Zohar is a very large work, and Moses de Leon must have employed a
There
very large staff of copyists in order to transcribe it frequently.

critics

Although

who

no evidence, however, that he employed any one but if he worked

made large sums," as alleged, by so
single-handed, he could not have
slow a process.
It has been suggested alternatively that he profited
much by the patronage of the wealthy Jews, to whom he dedicated his
It is merely an
works, but as to this there is no conclusive evidence.

is

<c

inference from the fact that he dedicated several other works to co

religionists

who were

his patrons.

cSource anb JUthorittj of the

gabalah

second half of the fifteenth century.*

Its

105

point of

view with regard to the Zohar is that the splendour

of that work is truly an illumination of the world
;

contains the deep secrets of the

the concealed tradition in Israel
that it
that

Law and

it

to the truth as regards the written

and

of

conformed

is

oral

law

that

embodies the sayings of R. Simeon ben Jochai, of

the period of the Emperor Antoninus, under whose

it

name

it

disciples

appears,
;

after

till

and

but

is

that, finally,

the death

of

work
did not become

really
it

the

second half of the thirteenth century.

who opposed

the Zohar, as

his

public
namely, the

Nachmanides,

obvious that Zakut must not be classed

of

It is

therefore

those

among

some modern

have

critics

attempted.
It will

seem almost incredible

that in this work,

which so elaborately defends the Zohar, a narrative

should appear which represents it as an imposture
devised from mercenary motives by Moses de Leon,
yet such at first sight is the case, and as such it has

been accepted by those who impeach the Kabalah.

The explanation

in reality simple
the narrative in
question is a fragment, and the proof that its missing
conclusion is really to the credit of the Zohar, and
exculpatory as to the transcriber of that work, is found
in the fact that the person whose adventures it relates
is

became subsequently assured that the Zohar was not

a sordid forgery, as he embodied some of its principles
in

one of
*

his

own

treatises.

The most

biassed of

That is to say, to the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella.

of Salamanca, but he taught at Saragossn.
When the edict of
1

Jew

expulsion was published he retired into Portugal and was appointed

His work embraces the
Royal Historiographer by King Kmanuel.
entire period between the creation of the world and the
year 1500 A.D.

106

modern

critics,

Ipteratuu of the

attb

Jtortnne

<&ht

gabala<t

Dr. Graetz, admits the force of this

fact.

The

narrative

is

concerned with the adventures

of Isaac de Acco,* a disciple of

laid claim to the

position of the

Nachmanides, who

performance of miracles

Hebrew

letters

by a trans

according to a

system
which he pretended that he had learned from the
angels.
Independently, therefore, of the Zohar, he

was a Kabalist

after his

a visionary.

suspect,

Novara, in

Italy,

own
In

fashion, and,

either

case,

we may

he was at

about 1293, when he heard that a

Spanish Rabbin was in possession of the original

Zohar MSS., and, being very anxious to see them, he

made a journey

into

Spain.

He

there learned

by

report that the erudite Moses Nachmanides was said

to have transmitted the book to his son in Catalonia

from Palestine, f but that the ship which bore it was

driven by the wind to AragoniaJ or to Catalonia, and
the precious volume came into the hands of Moses de
Leon.
At Valladolid Isaac de Acco made the

acquaintance of the latter, who declared upon oath

that he was in possession of the MS. and that it was

home

at his

in Avila,

where he would exhibit

it

They undertook a journey together with

Moses de Leon died at Arevolo on

Isaac.

object, but

to

this

the

His companion proceeded to Avila, and there

way.

*
Isaac was
I.e., Acre, besieged by the Sultan of Egypt in 1291.
one of the Jewish refugees from that city, and seems to have suffered

imprisonment

was

for a time.

curious that the disciple should first learn that his master
in possession of such a treasure by a floating rumour from a great

It is

distance.

% The reference

is

probably to Tarragona, as Aragon has no

seaboard.

So

far

the account represents

perfect sincerity in the matter.

Moses de Leon

as acting with

anb JUthoritn of the JUbalah

107

prosecuted his inquiries among the relatives of the

deceased.
By one of these, namely, by David Rafon,
of Corfu, he was informed that Moses de Leon had

been a spendthrift who derived great profit from his

writings, but neglected his wife and daughter, while
as for the Zohar he had made it
up out of his own

How far Isaac was impressed by this state

ment does not appear explicitly, but he next had
recourse to a wealthy Rabbin of Avila, named
Joseph,
who communicated with the widow and daughter of
head.

Moses, offering for the maiden the hand of his son

and a substantial dowry if they would produce the
The women had been left
original MS. of the Zohar.
in poor circumstances, and there was
every reason to
they would comply gladly.
They,
concurred
in affirming that there was no
however,
such MS., that the dead man had composed the work

suppose

that

out of his

own head and

His quest having thus

written

it

with his

own

hand.*

Acco left Avila

and proceeded to Talavera, where he met with R.
Joseph Hallevy, the son of a Kabalist named Todros,
who,

in

to

reply

failed, Isaac de

his

inquiries,

affirmed

that

the

genuine Zohar was in the hands of Moses de Leon,

as he had himself proved conclusively.
The nature
of the proof does not appear, and the account of Isaac
breaks

off

abruptly

in

the

middle of a sentence

describing some testimony which

he received at
Toledo as to an ancient Rabbin, named Jacob, who
had
testified by heaven and earth that the book
"

Hence

lie

did

may have obtained

not

employ

transcriber*,

and whatever price he

work he could not have multiplied

assiduous, he could have had no time for squandering
if

many. If
idle, no money

for copies of the

to spend.

io8

^HThe

Joctrine

Zohar, of
author * *
I

which

attb JJiteratxtre of the

Simeon

R.

ben

is

Jochai

the

*."

have passed over purposely

in this brief

as to the honesty of the narrative, for

The

to confuse the issues.

two solemn testimonies

to

account

awakened suspicion

several minor details which have

it is

that

is

unnecessary
closes with

it

point
the authenticity of

the

Zohar, and by the course which he subsequently took

Isaac de Acco must have concluded to abide by these.

Assuming
which was

who has

that the narrative

is

truthful, the

set aside as insufficient

recorded

it

criticism unenforced

by

evidence

the one person

cannot be accepted by impartial

by other

considerations.

So

far

account in the Sepher Yuhasin is

not proved that Moses de Leon wrote

therefore as the

concerned,
the Zohar

it is
"

out of his

own

Zakut himself

head."*

mentions an opinion that he did write

it

under the

guidance of the Writing Name, i.e., by angelic revela

tion, but I do not conceive that it is necessary to
discuss this possibility.

The

state of the case as

it

stands

most persons who have taken part

have been led into more or

is

confused, and

in the

controversy

less contradiction.

who have regarded Moses de Leon

Those
more

as nothing

than a transcriber have had to reckon as they could

with certain damaging references to late events which
this document there is, moreover, no proof, so far as
aware, that he was even connected with it as transcriber. Further,
speaking still under correction, the Yuhasin is the one authority by
which we can fix so important a date as the death of Moses de Leon.

t Outside

am

this name and place, for whom Samuel, son of

copy of the Moreh, anno 1452, which copy is still
preserved in the Giinglung Library, Paris? It is numbered 771,
according to Friedlander s preface to the third volume of his version of

Who

was the Rabbi of

Isaac, transcribed a

Maimonides,

p. xiv.

(Source jwft JVuthoritj) of the

$ab;Uah

109

are found in the Zohar, and their explanations are

those who regard the tran
often quite worthless
scriber as the concealed author have had to meet as
;

they might the extreme difficulty of supposing that

such a collection was the production of one individual,
and that individual Moses de Leon. Their explana
tions also are of

little

value and are for the most part

merely ingenious assumptions.

The internal evidence against the Zohar

may be

reduced under the following heads

(i) It refers to the vowel points which are
alleged to have been invented in post-Talmudic
:

quotes or borrows from a book entitled

Duties of the Heart," written by a Jew of

times.*
"

the

(2) It

Saragossa,t about the middle of the eleventh century.

(3) It mentions two kinds of phylacteries, or Tephilim,
which fact is supposed to prove the late origin of the
entire work.J
its

alleged

(4) It

quotes authorities posterior to

(5) It

period.

is

whereas at the period to which

written
it

is

in

Aramaic,

ascribed Aramaic

was the vernacular, while Hebrew was made use of

in

religious writings.
*

of the

Elias Levita, a German Jew of the sixteenth century, was one

to affirm the late institution of the points, which he ascribed

first

Jews of Tiberias about the beginning of the sixth century. In

it
has been advanced that at the period the schools of
Jucbea had been closed, and that Jewish learning was then centred at
I, London,
Babylon (see David Levi Lingua Safra, part i. c. iii.
to the

reply to this

1785).
Ginsburg, however, adopts the theory of Levita, subject to
the modification that they were introduced by the Karaite, R. Mocha,
at

the end of the sixth century.

David Lcvi, on the other hand,
their reception by the Karaite Jews a proof of their antiquity,

makes

professed enemies to tradition and innovation."

Unfortunately, there are no pointed Hebrew MSS. prior to the tenth

because they were

"

century.
L
t R. Behai ben
-ph Ibn Hakuda.
t For a general description of the 7
Jo>

dts /ut/s, torn.

iii.

p.

752

et
ss</

<

/>////////,

see Basnage, Histoire

no 1lu

Jtortriiu anb literature

These
Zohar

are

difficulties

in the following

x>f

the

$abalah

met by defenders of the

way

The vowel

points are not the invention of

times posterior to the Talmud the proof is that
they
are mentioned in the Talmud, and there is no
question
(1)

that

work

this

long anterior to

is

Talmud they are

Moses on Mount

In the

century.

rule given to

existence

Christian

the

of

the

thirteenth

said to have
Sinai.*

been a

The

pre-

system with the

exception of a very few cases occurring in the Penta
teuch, which, moreover, are not vowel-points, this is
point

one thing, and must be left to those who affirm it

its existence in Talmudic times,t that is,
prior to the
;

close of the sixth century

is

another,

and

that

all

is

in the present case to

destroy the validity

to the genuine character of the

required
of this objection

Zohar.J
(2)
is

The

treatise

certainly a

work

advanced that

Zohar

in

its

on the

"

Duties of the Heart

of the eleventh century, but

it

"

is

author himself borrowed from the

an early form, the existence of which

is

traceable, from Talmudic references, under the name

Treatise Nedareem, also Bab. Megillah, Bab. Berocoth, and

This is also the testimony of the Zohar, obviously re
producing current legend, or borrowing from the traditional storehouse

Bab. Eruvin.
of the

Talmud.

f See David Levi, op.

Babylonian Talmud mention

who
made

?.,
is

says that in several places of the

of
the distinction of the accents,
"

and, in particular, of the accents of the law, which might be shown and
pointed at by the hand, consequently they must be visible marks or
both of the vowel points and accents.
figures, and are to be understood

Though belonging
is still

to

an early period of the controversy, Levi

worth reading.

Basnage,

torn.

ii.

p.

defence

763, refers the invention

to the eleventh century.

The commentary
that the vowel signs

of St.

were not

Jerome on Jeremiah

in existence in his day.

is

positive proof

<ourcc

anb JUthovitn of the JUbalah

of the Midrash of Rabbi

Simeon Ben Jochai.* It is

was a contemporary of Rabbi
Abraham, who wrote a commentary of repute upon

also said that the author

Book of Formation, but this mysterious personage,

the pretended instructor of Nicholas Flamel in the
secrets of alchemy, died at the close of the twelfth

the

As

century.

it

is

obvious that the objection with

which we are here concerned

equivalent to begging
fairly met by the opposite
unserious and may be dismissed.

the question at issue, so

It is

assumption.

is

it is

The

existence of two kinds of phylacteries

arose through a difference of rabbinical opinion as to
the Scriptural passages to be used on them.
The
(3)

question is whether this difference of opinion occurred

in the eleventh
century and later, or whether it
originated in earlier Talmudic times.

Certain state

ments and inferences therefrom

set

defenders of the Zohar

in

are

support of

tiie

forth

by

second view,

but the use of two kinds of phylacteries before the

tenth century has not been clearly demonstrated.
(4) The citation by the Zohar of late authorities

ing

it

in

centuries,

Amoraim

school is met by represent

form
as the growth of several
present
which is provably true of most early Hebrew

belonging to the
its

literature, canonical or not.

this

view

is

considerable, but

The

indirect strength of

is

much weakened by

it

supporters when they attempt to argue that had

the Zohar been forged by Moses de Leon he would

its

According to Jellinek the great classic of the Kabalah has passed

under three names (a) Midrash of the Kabbi Simeon Ben Jochai
(b]
Midrash: Let there be Light! (c) Zohar, i.e., Splendour Of Light,
after Daniel xii. 3.
Die Kabbala, oder die Religions philosophic der
Hebraei von Franc k.
The Midrash is a symbolical
1844.
Leipsic,
:

narrative or account.

ii2

<3Ehc

gtodrin* anb $it*ratu

of the jiabalah

have carefully avoided the citation of

The

later authorities.

history of literary impostures points wholly in

the opposite direction, and the objection demonstrates

quite clearly that the work as we have it is later than
its latest

How

sible.
is

authority.

For

it

be otherwise

to

came

the late authorities

is impos
be included

to

a distinct matter.
(5)

When

the original
"

said

If it

genuine, but

Isaac de

MS.
in

set out

of the Zohar, he

be written
if

Acco

it is

his quest for

recorded to have

Jerusalem idiom

in the

Hebrew

is

on

not."

The

it

is

value of an

objection to the Zohar founded on its use of Aramaic

is here exhibited by the express statement of a Jewish
litterateur in the thirteenth century.*
It is argued
furthermore,

by

its

defenders

(a)

That Aramaic

is

the language of the Targums, which are mystical.

That the common language is used to increase the
symbolism, but this may be regarded as a subtlety.
(7>)

That supposing the antiquity of the Zohar, the

Simeon Ben Jochai was undoubtedly the
Rabbi Abbah that it mentions, and he as a Babylonian

(c)

scribe of

must have been thoroughly conversant with Aramaic, t

(^) That supposing the Zohar to be a forgery pro
duced by Moses de Leon, he was more
*

Compare

"Encyclopaedia

Talmudic

at

the article s.v.

Britannica,"

Cambridge.

Midrashim
by

"The

Dr.

Zohar

likely to

have

in the ninth edition of the

Schiller-Szinessy, Reader in
was begun in Palestine late in

the second or early in the third century, A.D., and finished at the latest
It is impossible that it should have
in the sixth or the seventh century.

been composed after that time and before the Renaissance, as both
language and contents clearly show."
t There is no evidence for the editorship of R. Abbah, but if
anything Zoharic was committed to writing in the second century there
would be good ground for accepting the express statement of the
"

Lesser Holy

Synod"

that the recorder

was the son of R. Simeon.

<ourrc

written

it

anli

JUthoritw of the JUtwlah

Hebrew, which

in

is

113

the language of his

other books.*

From

these objections and these answers the

conclusion
must be that the internal evidence
general
for the late origin of the bulk of the Zohar as it stands
is not of
any real force. The two tabulations have by
no means exhausted the difficulties or the counter-

evidence, as to which, even at the present day, Franck

is in
many cases the best and certainly the most lucid
expositor.

The absence

of Christian influence,

not

if

absolutely of all reference to Christianity, the absence

also of Aristotelian influence, and some points of the

argument from the dialect in which the work is

written, seem to possess as much force as they did
originally in

But the strength of the case

1843.

favour of the Zohar

is

in

also the strength of the chief

It does quote later authorities,

objection against it.
but this may exhibit that it grew like the Talmudic

writings and several of the canonical

It

has been well urged that

Talmud, the
is

latter

replied that
*

On

it

ought

to

if

Hebrew

books.

contemporary with the

have mentioned

it,

and

it

does, not, however, under the catch-

the entire question compare

Munk, Melanges

de Philosophic,

"The Aramean dialect of the Zohar is

Arabe, pp. 280, 281.
not that of Daniel and Ezra, of the Chaldaic paraphrase of Onkelos
and Jonathan, of the Targums, the Talmuds, the Afidrashim or the

Juive

et

Gneonurn but an incorrect and most corrupt mixture of all.

M. Munk
Zohar of unfamiliarity with the language used. \\y
this a double and altogether intolerable burden seems placed on the
t

also sees traces in the

its
On this subject tin- question raised by
reputed forger.
Franck in 1843 remains still pertinent and still unanswered
lu
could Moses de Leon at the beginning of the fourteenth century treat
matters of the most elevated order in an idiom which the most
distinguished scholars had been for so long content merely to under
stand and which, on this hypothesis, had not produced a single work
capable of serving him as a model ? La Kabbale> p. 104.

shoulders of

^he

ii4

word

of

gtortrine mib literature ot the

its

late

name, but by the title of the Secret

titles which have been men

Learning, and by other

tioned in this section.

It

would exceed the province

of an elementary work to pursue the subject further.

The minute considerations are of course highly tech
nical,

and there are some on both sides which

wise to abstain from pressing.

One

of these

it

is

is

the

Moses de Leon was an unlikely person

argument
to have written such a work as the Zohar, because he
was intellectually and morally unfit.* I have noted
that he was unlikelv, but possibilities of this kind can
that

only be determined by the event.

Many

great books

by persons who were

antecedently improbable, and after all, at the best, we
know Moses de Leon only through the testimony of a
hostile relative.
There is no doubt that the Zohar
was to some extent sprung upon the Jewish people at
the period of its publication.
The manner of its
was
not
unmixed
it
was the kind of
reception
reception which would be given to a work which was
have

been

accomplished

old as regards

more

its

in its form,

materials,

and

but unfamiliar

this is sufficient to

less

or

account for

previous authorities, while in the

shaping of those materials and the impressing of that
form the individual who multiplied the copies may
silence

any

of

have had a hand.t

*

Dr. Schiller-Szinessy shows that he was proud of the authorship

of his books, and hence unlikely to conceal his hand in the composition
The same
of any, but this argument also must not be pressed too far.
writer terms him an inferior Kabalist, and it seems admitted on all sides
From these works Jellinek
that his original books are poor in quality.
has extracted passages which are parallel to others in the Zohar and

some

critics

have thence concluded an identity of the authors.

In any

other branch of research such parallels would be held to prove nothing.

t And by those who accept this view it is considered that he
interfered only to disfigure

it.

anb JUthorittj of the Jlabal. .h

115

THE AGE OF ZOHARIC TRADITION

IV.

It

must not be supposed that the

field of criticism

by a hypothesis of unmixed fraud,

or that this hypothesis has
always fastened upon the
is

entirely occupied

same person.* The most favoured delinquent is, of

course, Moses de Leon, because he is reported to have
circulated the Zohar, but occasionally he
appears as
the tool of other conspirators.
Thus, Samuel Cohen

maintains that the Zoharic writings were

composed by
a convocation of converted Rabbins, convened for the
purpose in a Spanish monastery, employing Moses as
their publisher,

figure

as

and thus the Church

itself

an

seems to
M.

like

Others,
accomplice.f
Landauer, argue that the true author was

H.

Abraham

ben Samuel Abulafia, while the voice of Dr. Graetz is

raised in favour of the school of Abraham ben David
of Beaucaire. Abraham ben David of
Posquiere and
Isaac the Blind are also favoured names, to
is

indubitable, in

case, that

any

thing of development and of impulse.

this

extreme opinion
*

Basnage

is

whom

it

Kabalism owed some

in all its varieties

Meanwhile
balanced by

is

inclined to refer the original Zohar to the

tenth

century, and, following Bartolocci (Bibliotheca Rabbinica, t. iv. p. 82),

represents Moses de Leon as in possession of several exemplars which

he amplified.
Histoire dcs
t. ii. 781
t. v.
1775, 1776.
t At the opposite extreme was Christianus Schojttgenius in lii.s
considerable work, Hnnr Hcbmif.r ft TalmuJn;,- in
Theologian
;

/////>,

fudtcomm Dqgmatuam
2 v,k, Dresden and
Leip.ic,

<utti</nam

ct

1733,

orthnioxam dtSec vol.

1742.

Jfi ssia
ii.

impensir^

Rahlnnicorunt

Leetionum I.ibtr Sfcundns, c.\\.^docens R. Simfonem

filium Jochai,
auftornn /.//// .W/,/r, R.-ligionrm fuissc Christ ianam.
There are
eight heads to the argument, the most important being that the Zohar
contains the precise, orthodox doctrine
concerning the Messiah and
His divine and human nature, and this not in one
place or mys
teriously, but in many and openly.

n6 Ihe

Jtoctritu anfc Kpttenttttre ot the Jiatmiah

counterviews which also denaturalise the literature.

It may be suspected, therefore, with reason that on

both sides there

an error of enthusiasm

is

the children of intelligence who

doctrine of Judea a mere transcript from

there are

look to find the secret

that

of

Egypt, or whatever land is for them the well-spring

These
of all truth and all truly sacred knowledge.
remember, for example, that Abraham was in Egypt,
and, accepting at once the fairy-tale attribution of the
Book of Formation to the patriarch, conclude that
"

"

this

document

is

It is useless to

not shaken

older than the Ritual of the Dead.

reason with those whose confidence

nation can bridge

suppositions.
criticism

of the
it

On

all

pen

gulfs in evidence

the other hand, there

which rules

off

or hallucination.

It

by
is

fantastic

the crass

a literature by a single stroke

into the region of forgery

rules off all occult

is

whose imagi

in the face of impossibilities,

and imposture, as

psychology into that of imposture

does not matter that this criticism

proved Troy town to be solar

mythos till Troy town was excavated it undermined,
as it believed, the book of Daniel till fresh archaeo

is

always

in disgrace.

It

logical discoveries cast

It is truly

it

into the pit

not less stupid, and

it

is

which

it

had dug.

far less engaging,

than the opposed excess.*

The importance of
much upon the date
possible claims of

its

the Zohar does not depend so

of its documents as on the

tradition.

claim to antiquity, in that respect,

The
and

collapse of

its

this only, will

Its typical representative is Graetz, and one can scarcely

conjecture by what principle he was guided in his estimate of Moses de
It is the height of exaggeration, the account in the Yuhasin
Leon.

transcendentalised

till it

almost exceeds recognition.

anb Jlnthorihj of the JUbalah

reduce

it

to the full rank of imposture.

It is clear

117

that

the speculations, for example, of mediaeval or later

if we waive the dishonesty of a false preten

Rabbins,

will

sion,

have at most some

literary,

historical,

or

will differ in kind rather than

exegetical interest, but it

degree from that which must attach to a

which interlinks with the

far past.

We

tradition

are therefore

more concerned in ascertaining the state in which

modern criticism has left the content of the Zohar than

The early
is presented to us.
who accepted and defended its
antiquity, did not make this saving distinction, and in
many instances modern hostility does not make it
the form in which

it

students of the work,

the surface of the history of Kabalistic

criticism the first presumption is, of course, unfavour
either.

Upon

able to any hypothesis of antiquity, because this would

days when scholarship

was insufficiently equipped for the determination of
such a question. In the light of fuller knowledge it

seem

to

have been admitted

in

be thought that the claim has lapsed, or remains

only as a pious belief prevailing among an uncritical
will

minority, a few persons being always

mental

bias

found whose

predisposes them to the defence of

In such a case, however, an indis

exploded views.

criminate rejection

is

not

much

less superficial

than an

unenquiring acquiescence in a non-proven claim. The

history of debated questions of this kind teaches
another lesson, and the closest approximation to truth
is found
Now,
usually in the mean of extreme views.
in

the history of Zoharic criticism

we

find that the old

students not only accepted the claim of the tradition

and were disposed to understand the

genealogy more or less literally, but that further they
to

antiquity,

n8 ^he

Jtortrine mib $ititatttrt of the

JUbalah

regarded the books which contain both as belonging

to certain dates and produced by certain writers with

much

out

on the simple authority of the

Later scholars, on the other hand, having

suspicion,

literature.*

found something to countenance the modern origin of

documents, have frequently overlooked the

the

The

possible antiquity of their tradition.

reference to

something which deserves to be

antiquity
the date of publication will
from
regarded apart
explain what I mean by the moderate and middle view
as

this

in

which the truth must be sought.

we may regard

here

Now,

that a

believe

comparison of

all

we

If

fail

entirely

the case as closed.

and unbiassed

careful

the evidence will lead us to conclude

that there are elements of old doctrine in the Zohar

their exact antiquity
it

is,

in part, highly speculative,

quite sufficient to invest

is

them with considerable

Like the Sepher Yetzirah, some of

interest.

but

it

even be referable to the period of Esdras.

may
refer

here to the Yetziratic notions concerning the virtue of

Divine Names, for this is also found in the Zohar, as
it

its

Talmud a residuum of
teaching concerning angels and demons may be

also
is

abundantly found

is

in the

an inheritance from Babylon.

All

the worthless part of the Zohar, as

if

less,

curious, part of

Some modern

incline to this view.

Talmudic

ecclesiastical

Thus,

we have

however,

the worth

With

literature.

historians,
in

this,

it is

no

for

Dean Hook

solid

reason,
"

compilation,
Church Dictionary" (fourteenth edition, London, 1887), the statement
that the chief Kabalistic author was Simeon ben Jochai, and also that

most of the heretics

in the primitive Christian Church fell into the vain

conceits of the Kabalah, particularly the Gnostics, Valentinians and
Basilidians.
There is more warrant for the second than the first view,

as readers of Matter
will not

need

to

be

Histoire du Gnosticisnie and of

told.

"

King

Gnostics"

(Source anb JUithoritn of the Jiabalah

119

regard to the Scriptural exegesis which constitutes so

large a portion of it, we shall not offend possibility by
supposing that some of it may be a transmission from

Talmudic times.*

we

If

take the obscure but ample

in the Talmuds to the

and references found

hints

existence

of

tradition,

mystic

and

follow

them

through the large mystical literature which intervened

between those works and the Zohar as we now have
it,

we

be led not to the conclusion of the

shall

was a great body of

that there

became revealed

occultist,

secret doctrine

was planted

of tradition which

in the secret heart of

which many watered and fostered,

Israel,

which

gradually, but that there was a kernel

the

till

growth
put forth, not without something
of transformation and of suddenness, the strange
at length

As regards form its most

the
Book of Concealment, but
probably
it is
entirely improbable that any conspicuous portion
could have existed in writing till after the sixth
flower

of

the

ancient part

Zohar.

is

century, while the growth of most of

much

and subsequent

later

can be ascribed to

In other

word>,

we may

in

the nucleus of the

work is
same sense

its

author

the

in

Talmud, namely,
t

mention

is

perhaps
which

to the latest date

the Sepher

on the Midrashim

it

Yetzirah.t

It

is

follow the learned author of the article

Kncyclop;edia Britannica," who says that

of Mishnic times and that K. Simeon was

the

"

that

that he gave the

this possibility

R. Johanan was of the Palestine

impulse to its composition."

because Dr. Sdiiller-S/.inessy has not
first

stated his reasons

why it is impossible that it should have been later

than the seventh century, and subject to the conclusive-lie^ of those
\Ve may -peculate what Dr. S/im-v-y would think of Mr.
OS,
Zangwill did he read
in

which

it

Spanish Jew

Zohar

the epilogue to the

"Children

of the

Ghetto,"

casually remarked that the Zohar was "forged by a

in the thirteenth century."
By the way, are copies of the

is

likely to

be found

in a

Jerusalem and so poor that

it

small room, used as a synagogue, outside

bare even of seats ?

is

^Ihc jpactrine ani literature ot the Jiabalah

i2o

advanced, as we. have seen, by its defenders that it is

the subject of reference in several texts both of the

Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud under the name of

Simeon ben Jochai, and the parallels
between Talmudic sayings attributed to this Rabbi

the Midrash of

have been exhaustively compared with the Zohar, with

a view to exhibit their identity.
The existence of a

work

Mysteries of Simeon ben Jochai

before the middle of the eleventh century and possibly

much

entitled the

earlier, is

"

"

acknowledged by Dr. Graetz.

It is

therefore reasonable to conclude that early written

and oral materials entered into the composition of the

work

as

we now

possess

it.*

This

is

the most that

can be urged, and this is sufficient to prove that no

one person wrote it out of his own
head.")"

must be confessed, on the other hand, that the

legend which attributes its origin to R. Simeon ben
Jochai seems to have made an unfortunate choice, for
It

this great authority of the Talmud represents a

reaction against the mystical tendencies of R. Akiba,
and there is some evidence for believing that he did

not investigate the hidden meaning of Scripture, but

He is described by a
rather its rational principles.
*

An

interesting

article

by

M. Nicholas in Lichtenberger s
t.xi. s.v.
Cabak (Paris, 1877),

Encyclopedic des Sciences Religieuses,

regards it as certain that the philosophical speculations which compose

the Kabalah generally began to form during the century which preceded
the Christian era, but they were oral, imparted to a few only, and

under the

seal of secresy.

representing, as
Sepher Yetzirah.

it

does,

Unfortunately, the article is not trustworthy,

the Ain Soph doctrine to be part of the

s
of Doctrinal and Historical
"Dictionary
which argues that the variety of style and the disjointed
character of its contents show that the Zohar is the growth of ages.
Unfortunately, Blunt s work indicates no real acquaintance with the
Kabalah and its criticism.

t Compare Blunt

Theology,"

<S0urce

unb Jtnthoriti] of the liabalah

121

modern writer as col d, exclusive and stoical. At the

same time, if we accept the existence of a genuine
tradition which became incorporated in the Zohar, it
is difficult

If

of

to reject its leading

we

turn

now

for a

modern occultism we

no warrant

and central

moment

figure.*

to the standpoint

shall see that so far

we have

for connecting the chief cycle of Kabalistic

literature with the high antiquity to

which occultists
While we leave them once more in full

incline.!

possession of the alleged virtue inherent in divine

names, and perhaps with some elements of legend
concerning angels and demons, we are forced to take
that

all

remains

considerable

distance

But the Zohar, although

Christian era.

into

the entire content of Kabalistic doctrine,

is

not the

sole nor the earliest storehouse of that doctrine,

we have next

the

embodies

it

and

whether the antiquity of the

tradition
philosophical
given in the second book is to
be inferred from its points of contact and corre
to consider

spondence with other theosophical systems which have

prevailed in the past.
*

The author

of

the

article

"Cabala"

in

Herzog

Real

Encycklopddie takes a middle view, namely, that the Zohar is not the
work of Moses de Leon, nor is it of R. Simeon s period, though its
doctrines are referable to him.
It was completed in the eighth century.

The

evidence adduced for

article is

view seems inconclusive, so

this

far

as this

concerned.

f Take, for example, the following typical instance of the

"The origin
exaggerations which have found currency on this subject.
of the Kabalah is lost in the night of time.
Is it of India or of Egypt ?

We

do not know
but it is certain that to Egyptians and Indians it
was alike known. Pythagoras returned with it into (Greece after his
;

travels in the

whether

its

lir>t

East,

then the region of the

revelation

\\a>

light.

One

divine or the product of

asks vainly

inspiration."

M.
Desbarrolles, Les Mysttrcs de la A/aiti, \$me Edition, Paris, n.d.
Desbarrolles knew nothing of the Kabalah, but he reflected his friend
Levi,

who claimed knowledge

strain.

but wrote frequently in the same distracted

^Ihe Jtortrme anb fpteratnre ot the gabalah

122

ALLEGED SOURCES OF KABALISTIC

V.

DOCTRINE

We

are

now

able to reach a specific conclusion

many of

with regard to our subject and to affirm that

the materials collected in the Zohar are earlier than

We

the period of their promulgation.

cannot say
whether the Sepher Yetzirah is much anterior to the
ninth century.*

But both works are

in

connection

with Talmudic times and, within the limits of the

Christian

centuries,

there

been an esoteric tradition

seems therefore to have

in Israel. t

Whether

it

existed prior to Christianity itself is the next concern

of our inquiry.
At this point the difficulties begin to
the range of research is exceedingly
because
multiply,
large,

and

it

has been covered in every direction by

We
generations of hardy speculators.
must proceed step by step and shall do well to begin
successive

by a general survey of the subject.

The doctrine of the Kabalah has been referred
for its origin to almost every philosophic and religious
system of antiquity, and its points of correspondence
of all

first

with each have been carefully tabulated. It has been

shown to be derived from Akkadia, from India, from
China, from ancient Egypt, | from Platonism and Neo*

Jewish

But we can say that one of the most pronounced opponents of

See Graetz,
theosophy assigns it to early Gnostic times.

Geschichte derjuden.
t One of the exponents of the English school of Kabalism states
that, according to Hebrew tradition, the doctrines of the oldest portions

Zohar are antecedent to the second Temple. W. Wynn Westcott,

Second edition.
Translated from the Hebrew.
Sepher Yetzirah.
London, 1893.
This is the view which obtains most widely among occultists.
It is in Egyptian science," says Stanislas de Guaita, "carried from

of the

"

aub JUthoritn of the $ubaluh

123

Platonism, from the categories of Aristotle, from early

Gnosticism.*
The most philosophical
conclusion which can, I think, be drawn from all this
Christian

evidence

rival

them

is

that

specifically

not derived from any one of

exclusively, but rather that the

it is

and

human mind, when engaged on

certain fundamental

and perhaps insoluble problems of the universe, tends

independently to reach conclusions that are similar
and may even wear sometimes an aspect of literal
identity

that the

Kabalah

such unaided research

that

outcome of

is

largely an

its

results are in the

main

sui generis, but that they offer points of contact with

ages and nations.

We must, of course, distinguish the fundamental part
of the Kabalah from its developments.
Included in
other attempts of the kind in

the

first

all

class are the doctrine of the

Ten Emanations,

Ain Soph, of the Macrvprosopus and the

MicroprosopuS) some of which may go far back in

that

of

the

history

of

Jewish

post-Christian

indeed almost to Talmudic times.

developments possess

many

literature,

The subsequent

complexion derived from

sources, not excluding the scholastic philosophy

of Christian Europe during the Middle Ages.f Ain

Soph is that final concept of the Deity which is
Mit/raim by Moses at the exodus of the Sons of
di-,cx-rn

Israel, that

we must

the source of that sacred tradition transmitted

among the Jews

way, down to the disciples

from generation to generation, by the oral

of Simeon ben Jochai, who wrote, at the dictation of

this master,

about

Book of the Light

The last statement is,

the second century of the Christian era, the Great

An Settil du
nth;-, pp. 183, 184.
of course, merely an assumption of the vital point at
*
Even the so-called "Symbols of Pythagoras"

My

(Zohar)."

i>Mie.

approximated

by W. \Vynn Westcott,
London, 1894.

edited

ilectanea

to Kabalistic teaching.

refer

here to the

Moses of Cordova.

vol.

v.

have

been

Hermetica,

(Somnium Sapionis,

&c.),

Kabalistic schools of Isaac de Loria and

124

Ihe

ilodrine anb literature of the JUbalah

reached by

all

metaphysics

that

suppose

was

it

not necessary to

is

it

from

derived

the

Babylonian

of

during
seventy years, or
from Greek speculation at Alexandria
it
may be

initiations

exile

more

reasonably as a
unfinished exile of the Christian

regarded

in either case

of

product

the

But

centuries.

the ultimate point of theosophic

speculation possible to the human mind, at which
the mind
The doctrine of the
always arrives.
is

it

Sephiroth is, in its turn, a very intelligible form of

another widespread device of the world s thought
when it seeks to bridge the gulf between finite
and infinite, betweed absolute purity and that
material world which, in
to

always

early

the

human

to distinguish

one or other way, seems

unclean.
The Macro-

as

Microprosopus, whether

late

literature, are late at least

Jewish

history of

in

regarded

and

prosopns
in

be

speculation.

between God as

His relation with

in

or

the

They

are an attempt

He

in

is

His children.

Himself and

As might be

expected, they are the most characteristic of Jewry

and, as such, offer the least connection with any

Yet they have some points of

As regards each and all, the first point

external system.
contact.

to be fixed firmly in the

natural

of

results

mind

legitimate

is

that they are the

intellectual

inquiry.

and the circumstances, they are

the kind of speculative doctrine which one might
Given the

times

have expected a

priori.

When we remember

the persistence of tradition

which has always characterised the most persistent

of

the

all

races,

Christian

when we remember
dispensation

may

that

the

be said

Jew of

to

have

<Scmrtt

lived in the

we can

well

aub JUthorittj of the jftabalah

125

remembrance of

his glory passed away,

he was encompassed by
legend on which his fervid

believe that

an

atmosphere of
mind was at work continually, out of which he
never stepped, and it would be unreasonable to
suppose that

his literature, like

all

all

his thought,

was not profoundly tinctured by this his intellectual

environment. But it is a wide and an unwarrantable
step from the belief in such a natural and inevitable

operation to a belief that Jewish tradition must or

may be referred to any distinctive source in the
it
was perpetuated by some
past, from which
conventional initiation, as occult writers suppose, and
some others also who have no such bias towards the

mysterious to intervene in apology for their opinion.

We have no ground for affirming with Basnage*
that old Egypt is the true nursery of the Kabalah,

though it is quite possible that Israel brought some

thing from the Nile valley which does not appear in
Pentateuch.
Nor are we justified in agreeing
with the illustrious Grand Master of the Ancient and
the

Accepted Rite of Freemasonry, United States

Southern Jurisdiction, when he suggests a direct
communication of doctrine from the religion of
Zoroasterf to Kabalism which must be referred to
the period of the cxile.J
That the Jews derived
*

L.

iii.

c.

\iv.

t For some tables indicating

the harmony and identity of the
Chaldean philosophy with the Hebrew Kabalah," see the "Chaldean
"

Oraclesof/

The

:id<m,
1895, pp. 8-n.
sho\\n by such frenzied developments
Synn^o^ue dc Satan, \\hich will be noticed in

edited by

true value of such parallels

libUhop Meurin

Hook

vii.

is

19.

Morals and Dogma, Charleston, A.M. 5641, pp. 266, 267,

J
and elsewhere throughout the compilation. Compare Matter, Histoire
"

i26 ^Itt Jlortrine arrb literature of the

something from Babylon I have already noted, and

amidst their chequered experience under Persian
domination, after their
great body of Haggada

and

may have

More

colouring.

imagined that not only

but that

it

scattering, possibly the

final

received increment

is

have

theorists

fantastic

there a Chinese Kabalah,

the source of that which was in Israel.

is

That the great unknown empire,

in

which

all

things

from alchemy to the art of printing seem to have

germinated, possessed, and still possesses, a vast

body of traditional lore, of so-called secret teaching,*

is mere commonplace on which there is no call to
insist, and if occultists will be so unphilosophical as
to term this Kabalah, there

is

as

little

need to dispute

with them about the improper and confusing use of

That the book called Yi-King,"f or
a mere word.
"

an

Mutation, contains

which
listic

has, as

it

doctrine,

is

anything except

human mind

is

esoteric

said,

religious

tradition

some analogies with Kaba-

neither surprising nor significant of

the

tendency of

irresistible

to reflect after

much

the

the

same manner,

lands and times, upon mysteries that are every

where the same, ever urgent, ever recurring. Such
in all

Critique du

Gnosticisime,

who

refers

the

Gnostic

systems to

the

Zendavesta and the Kabalah.

*

In conformity with which Bryant s "Analysis of Ancient

History of Initiation (p. 79
Mythology (vol. i. p. 94) and Oliver s
et seq.} would have us believe that there were mysteries in China
"similar to those of India," which again were more or less the same
as those which subsequently flourished in Greece.
f For some information concerning this work and its Kabalistic
analogies, see L? Initiation, revue philosophique des Hautes Etudes,
Paris.
S.v, Y-King, Tao-see, Tao-lctorn, xxxvii. No. 3, Dec., 1897.
"

Jfin

et la

"

Numeration,

des Destines.

p.

266

Paris, 1892.

et seq.

Also Eugene Nus,

"

A La Recherche

Source anb ^nthoritg

of the

gabalah

127

analogies do not prove, as occultists would have us

believe, the existence of a Wisdom-Religion, which,
if

to

will suffer the interpretation,

they

mean

In the natural

tion.

is

religion

be presumed

the secret science of the reintegration of the

God accumulated through

soul in

may

the

the ages of initia

order, the truly

common ground

of

all,

need of no formal perpetuation, as

the heart and mind of humanity.*

undoubted

existence

of

the

fundamental

which stands
is

it

inborn

And

Mongolian

in

in

the

yet
race

in

Mesopotamia almost at the dawn of history may

suggest that the Semite drew something from
Mongolian Chaldea even in the days of Abraham,!
as afterwards the

with

contact

certain

Jew of Babylon may have had a

Confucianism

in

its

earliest

We may

admit, readily and reasonably, that

the Jew received everywhere and always retained the
form.

we

him everywhere his

in mind that the
process was everywhere natural and informal, not
arbitrary and conventional.
reception, provided that

own

intellectual initiative,

leave

and bear

Passing over the regions of wild surmise in which

Odin the Norse God becomes identified with the
Kabalistic Abba, Frea with

Anpin, the
*

Aima, Thor with

Lesser Countenance, and

refer here to sacramental

and not

the

Supreme

to natural religion so-called.

power of the Mongol rulers of Chaldea, alxnit the time

of Abraham, was far more extensive than that of thecontemporary
rulers of Thebes and of the Delta, and the victories of the great
f

"The

eighteenth dynasty in Egypt, extending over sonic three centuries at

most, form only a passing episode in the story of Asiatic civilisation,
which dates back probably earlier than the time of the Pyramids, which

was native and

days of

its

original,

and from which Kgypt borrowed much

in the

"

greatest

Review, April, 1898.

rulers."

li.il>yl>nian

Discoveries,"

Edinburgh

^he

128

anb literature oi the JUbalah

Jlortrine

Being discerned behind the northern mythology with

Ain Soph\ passing over

spondences into

we may

which

much

take

it

also certain Druidic corre

might be unwise to enter,*

same view

the

as before regarding

We

the alleged Gnostic connections of the Kabalah.

may concur cordially with King when he argues that
whatever the date of the Zohar in its present form,
its

and

principles

traditions

are

similar

those

to

Babylon and Tiberias.f They

taught
are the same and they are also different, and the
in the schools of

difference represents the

thought of Israel,
under the various

its

growth of the

proper

native

intellectual

development

impulsions which it received

between the period of Gnosticism and the period of
the promulgation of the Zohar.
may acknow

We

born Jew," devised

ledge also that Marcus, as
national
of
the
heritage to the system
something
is not Kabalism,
Yet
Gnosticism
which he produced.
"a

though there are striking analogies between them,

and something of common source is attributable to

M. Amelineau

both.

speaks of a
systems. J

is

nearer the truth

coincident

There

are

development
analogies

in

when he
the

two

nature

and

of

*
Pike, following no doubt some unnamed authority, affirms that
the Druids were true children of the Magi, whose initiation came from

Egypt and Chaldea,

"that
"

primitive

Kabalah."

"The

is

to say,

Morals and

Gnostics and their

from the true sources of the

Dogma," p.

Remains."

103.

Second

edition.

London,

1897.

J Essai sur

le

origine Egyptienne.

Gnosticisme Egyptien, scs developpements et son

Par M. E. AmtHineau, published

in

Annales du

Guiniet, torn. xiv. Paris, 1887, but written so far back as 1882,
the date affixed to the preface.
Compare Edersheim, who believed

MusJe

that "Gnosticism, like later Jewish mysticism, sprang from the contact
of Judaism with the religious speculations of the farther East."

anb Jtuthorihj of the Jiabalah

<Source

129

appearance between glass and rock-crystal, but glass

is

glass

and a pebble

is

a pebble.*

unphilosophical because unneedful to go far

far off when the explanation of given facts
near in time and place.
That is best which lies
It is

back and
lies

the

"

nearest,"

says the poet, and, artists or occultists,

or Kabalistic commentators, we

makers of verse

should shape our work of art or interpretation with

out drawing needlessly from things remote.
The

prototype of Yetziratic and Zoharic theosophy is

close to our hand in Jewry.
The fusion of all
which
is
a
of
characteristic
the present day,
systems
has

its

parallel

witnessed the

in

rise

epoch of the past which

of Christianity.
At the time
that

"

when John the Baptist made

desert, near the shores of the

philosophical

and

religious

mating toward each

inclined the minds of

appearance

Dead

Sea,

all

in the

the old

systems were approxi

general lassitude
toward the quietude of that

other.
all

his

amalgamation of doctrines for which the expeditions

of Alexander and the more peaceful occurrences that
followed, with the establishment in Asia

and Africa

colonies, had prepared the way.

many
After the intermingling of different nations, which
resulted from the wars of Alexander in three-quarters

of

Grecian

of the globe, the doctrines of Greece, of Egypt, of

Persia, and of India met and intermingled every
where.
All the barriers that had formerly kept the
*

The

exaggerate
identical,

Sophia is the most valuable document for the

Gnosticism and the Kabalah, but it is easy to
evidence.
Mr. C. W. King says that the doctrines arc-

Pistis

between

analogic

its

and

that

it

exhibits the leading principles of the Kabalah, but

first-hand knowledge of

he does not seem to speak with a

phy.

^he

130

Jtor trine anb |iteraittte oi the

JUhalah

and while the

apart were thrown down
of
their faith with
the
West
connected
people
readily
those of the East, the latter hastened to learn the

nations

traditions of

and

Rome and Athens

Egyptians,

then

The Jews

most

the

peoples, yielded to that eclecticism

their

among

masters,

Greeks

the

of

exclusive

all

which prevailed

and

Romans."*

National ambition, however, rather than eclecticism

influenced the Jews, and though

it

was impossible,

having regard to their environment, that they should

not be largely tinctured, it was their object to tinge
other systems and not to modify their own, to show

owed everything

that the ethnic philosophers

doctrine of

divine

to the

Greek of

Philo the

Palestine.

Alexandria to some extent Hellenised the Hebrew

he

that

religion

might

philosophy of Hellas.
the nearest approach,

the

From
if

better

Judaise

the

this fusion there arose

not in time and place at

form and subject, to Kabalistic theosophy

There is no need
as regards its source in Jewry.
least

in

elementary study to refer to Aristobulus,

a century before had received a similar vocation.
Philo, and the movement and mode of thought which
in

this

who

he represents, cannot reasonably have been without

an effect upon the literature of later ages in Jewry ,f
*

"

Morals and

Dogma," p.

247.

should observe here that Mr. Arthur

Lillie,

who

has

much

argued a process in the Buddhistic origin of Christianity, has discovered

in the Zohar not only the Trinity of Philo, but the Trinity of Buddhism,
and he holds that the Kabalah "was one ot the secret books of the

Modern Mystics and Modern Magic,

Essenes."

that

it

was

"

showing that he
side the Zohar.
"

Magic."

down from

written
is

tradition

p.

He

14.

by one Moses de

also says

Leon,"

thus

not aware of the existence of Kabalistic books out

Ibid., p. 13.

Madame

Finally, he says that

Blavatsky and her

it

is

"a

Theosophy," p. 194.

book of

After this

<Soun:f

.tub

JUthoritn of the gabalah

131

though the history of that influence and the mode

of its transmission cannot be traced
conclusively.
We must not, however, fall into the error of supposing
that the Kabalah is Platonism derived
through Philo
and the Jewish school of Alexandria, or that it is
Jewish tradition modified by Philoism.
When we
find in the Sepher Yetzirah the
alphabetical symbols
of the Logos

made

of the universe,

Greek

influence,

teristically

in the

formation

is

Book of Formation

"

God

use of by

very easy to set it down to

but the fact remains that the

it

"

is

Hebrew, and

essentially

this

fact

lifts

and

charac

it

altogether
the category of Platonic succession.
Yet
we know where to look for the explanation of its
As regards the doctrine
points of contact.

out of

developed

by the commentators on the Sepher Yetzirah prior

to the appearance of the
Zohar, as regards the
literature which makes contact with
these, and as
the
Zohar
regards
itself, saying nothing of the later
literature,

to

we
So

which had recourse consciously and

openly

Greek sources, the case

shall not

also

is

be surprised to find that

was Jacob Bohme, whose three

of

much

St.

Philo

stronger.*

Paul was a Kabalist.

principles, one of which

to do with the three

Ibid.

was the

Hell," have
something
supernal
For similar speculations, see
Buddhism in Christendom."
*
For example, the Porta Ccvhnim of R. Abraham Cohen
Irira,
which forms the third part of Rosenroth s
Apparatus in Libntm Sohar,
was written expressly to exhibit the correspondences between Kabalistic
Later on the same theme was
dogmas and the Platonic philosophy.

"Kingdom

Scphiroth.

"

taken up by Christian writers, some of

whom connect the Kabalah with

and so we have works like Burgondo s Podromus Scientiarum
Artinmve liberalinm ad ipsos Peripat cticce Scholce et Kabbah

Aristotle,

doctrinat pnrissimos
fontes revoeatus, Venice, 1651.
earlier period Thomas
Campanella in his De Scnsu

So

also

Kerum

et

at

an

Magia,

Frankfort, 1620, joined Neoplatonism and Kabalism in his

attempt to
explain the universe.

^he

132

on

insists

literature of the Jiabalah

Jlxrrtrirte anfo

the

antithesis

material world, the

infinite

God and

between

and the

us say, does the Zohar, which

stand for the whole literature.

finite

may

the

so,

let

be taken to

Philo affirms

the

absolute transcendency of God

so does Zoharic
nature as in
Philo
the
divine
doctrine.
regards
;

itself

escaping definition and in

itself

without quality

Kabalism denounces those who would attempt to

describe God as He is in Himself even by the

He

which

attributes

manifests.

Philo

s descriptions
latens Deltas
the
compare
negative
of the Kabalah.
Philo says that no name can be

of

God

given

are

Him

all

all

Kabalism

agrees.

Philo regards the

scriptural Deity as anthropomorphic,

and

allegorises

the descriptions, attributions and manifesta

tions of Deity therein
compare the doctrine of the

upon

all

Two

Countenances, designed to explain the same

Philo

anthropomorphisms.
as

Scripture

veil

so

regards
does the

the

letter

of

Philo

Zohar.

or

mystically according to
Philo
Kabalistic
purpose
exegesis.
of
world
the
as
the
the
visible world
regards
gate
it

interprets
his

literally

so

does

unseen, he believes in the possibility of an immediate

contemplation of God, in the existence of an

archetypal world, that things seen are a counterpart

of things unseen,* in all of which we are enumerating

express
*

points

There

and

is

of

Kabalistic

These

doctrine.

a twofold correspondence in Kabalism between superior

inferior things
one transcendental, being that of phenomena with
their archetypes in the noumenal world, and one natural in the narrower
:

sense of the term, being that which is summed up in the axiom

There
is no herb on earth to which a certain star does not
correspond in the
"

See Kircher, Mundus Subterraneus, ii. 401^.

theory of natural magic is contained in this maxim.
heaven."

The whole

anb JUthoriiji ot the $abalnh

analogies are too numerous, too close, too consecu
tive, to leave any room for doubt that the heads

of

Jewry, and
of
Philo as
explicit testimony
to the existence of a mystic doctrine in Jewry.
Kabalistic

we have

in

teaching pre-existed

further the

Spontaneity, initiation, subsequent influences, allj

remain unimpeded and are all necessary to explain
the existence of the Zohar and its connections, but
its

source

is

not indeed Philo of necessity, much less

but that which produced Philo._

Philo exclusively,

But more than

wearing

tion,

conceal

its

all, it

is

hardy, independent specula

a veil which does not

tradition like

essential individuality,

ourselves at times in

suspect from

its

its

form.

and much nearer to

than

spirit

we should

Yet we may suspect

ever
it

on

philosophical grounds, for however concealed behind

the veil of symbolism, however much distorted in

strange

and

many

the

vision,

sentiments

humanity have ever a

the

through

under

of

glasses

aspirations of

vehicle

and

common

ground,
of Kabalistic apparatus,

covers and tinctured by many fantastic

artifice, we see that our own

colourings of art and

yearnings and

own manner,

longings find expression, after their

book of the words of the exile.]

in this

We acknowledge with the poet how truly

and the legend is
"

all

the lore

part

Of the hunger and thirst of the heart,

The frenzy and fire of the brain,
Which yearns for the fruitage forbidden,
The golden pomegranates of Eden,

To

When

the

"

quiet

its

Faithful

fever

and

pain."

"

Shepherd

of the Zohar puts

^he

i34

anb Jpterature of the ghbalah

Jtortrine

these words into the

Israel:

"In

mouth of

and read Adonai, but

be read as

will

from

all

in the

written

is

is

we

see

YHVH

world to come the same

written, so that

it

sides,"

the Father of universal

my Name

world

this

that at

Mercy

shall

be

the beginning of

century we might have expressed

the
differently
longing, the hope, the faith, for which
the

twentieth

this

symbol stands, but

it

is

still

that which

desire to express, and, furthermore,

we

all

do not know

our modern terms could have represented it

better.
Herein is the justification of the ways of
that

God

to

man and

herein the pious conviction of the

heart
that
in the great day of the Lord
believing
there shall be no scandal to His children
that in
;

spite of the darkness of our ways we have held rightly

that He is light, that though we write Mercy in our

hearts but read

around
every

Law

us,

side,

is

we

Law and

its

inflexible order in all

one day know that

Mercy on
the highest expression of the Law, or that
shall

it

is

that order under which the Divine Charity

manifested.

It

is

in

messages

like

this

that

is

the

abiding beauty and significance of the Kabalah are

contained, not in the beard of Microprosopus or in the
number of worlds suspended from the hair on the

cranium of Arikh Anpin.

may be pastimes fit only

Gematria and Metathesis

for children,

but the voice

of the Rabbis of the Zohar expressing the language

of the heart of Israel needs no Temurah to expound
its

meaning, and

it

by the ring of such utterances

is

that the true believer

electrically that the

men who

of to-day

is

made

are our brethren.

*

conscious

Holy Synods were composed of

Cremona

edition, part

ii.

fol.

io6a.

o\\ut anb JUthoriiji of the ghtbalah

As

this

135

view disposes implicitly of the claim to a

divine authorship, and places the theory of aboriginal

tradition among fables, so also it forbids us to

suppose that Kabalistic doctrines are the work of

any single mind.

One

feels instinctively,

without any necessity of

evidence, that these things are not and cannot be the

unaided work of Moses de Leon.*
They are a

As,
growth and a result.
a
at
assumed its present shape
it

may

credibly have taken part of

That

of this

Spanish Jew.
no argument.
is
worthless romances before
inferior

all

however,

The

chivalry.

"

Zohar

the

late period admittedly,

his

it

at the

Cervantes wrote

and

Galatea

after
"

hands

other works are

did

many

sum of
not make

the

Don Quixote impossible. So also Beroalde de

Verville wrote books on alchemy which are despised
even by alchemists, but he wrote also the Moyen
"

"

de Parvenir.

Every magnum opus is antecedently

and
the intellectual distance between
improbable,
and the second part of
the
Sorrows of Werther
A in Soph and
is like the void between
"Faust"
"

"

Malkuth, which
to

it

was the purpose of the Sephiroth

fill.

But
able,

it

is

masterpieces are antecedently improb

true also that they are impossible without

if all

antecedents.

known

There are certain

to literati

of Shakespeare.

dull

old

histories

which were necessary to the plays

So the formulation of the Zohar

According to the Zohar itself, or more precisely, to a tract

Faithful Shepherd," nine
includes under the title of the
authors combined for the production of the work, but it is not necessary
o attach any serious import to this statement.

which

"

it

136

Ihe

Doctrine

anfc

literature ot the Jiabalah

must have been preceded by much raw material,

both oral and written, parts of which were no doubt
incorporated without any change in their formulation.
For example, the
Book of Occultation bears all
the marks of antiquity, no less considerable than
"

"

that of the

There

"

Book

of

Formation."

of course, a point beyond which the

not pass.
So far as it goes we
on
with
the
are
safe ground
meagre testimony of

reasonable

St.

is,

critic will

Agobard

with R. Simeon Ben Jochai we are on

ground, and it is not to be

traditional

purely

supposed for a moment that more authenticity resides

in the dramatis persona; of the Holy Synod than in
I do not mean
those of the Turba Philosophorum.
that such names are entirely pretexts, for they may
possess an honest basis in legend, but they are not

literal or historical.

They occupy

a middle position

the script of a shorthand reporter and

imaginary conversations like those of W. S. Landor.

between

VI.

ISLAMIC CONNECTIONS OF THE

KABALAH
When
in

the

Jew

of the Exile sought a consolation

philosophy, and thus produced the higher part of

Kabalism, compounded of his traditions, his specula

tions,

his

external

memories of

receptions,

mind that

his election

and

its

his

glory,

longings,

the

we must bear

exotics adjust themselves to their

environment, not without certain changes even in the
most persistent types. Now, the Jew is an anthro-

in

all

.Source anb JUthoritij of the gabalah

137

countries of the world and just

persistence is so enormous that it is

pological exotic in

because his

all

explained by a special law of Providence, we find

that in all countries he has been modified sufficiently
to

as

As
guarantee his survival.
in matters of daily life, so

in

things physical,
the intellectual

nothing but he assumed much.

Jew of Salerno differed from that of France,

order,

The

he

in

lost

and the Jew of Spain offered contrasts to both.

Without attempting to add another hypothesis to
the
I

propose

naturally,
its

extant as

scores

to

to

the

indicate

of

origin

that

this

Kabalism,

literature

is

elucidated by the features of

if partially,

partial birthplace.

Having

made

reasonable

allowance

for

spontaneity in Jewish thought, and having noted its

observed connections and correspondences in distant
times and places,

now

to that

it

seems

which

fitting that

we should look

lay the nearest.

Without

puting or defending the opinion that Israel

possessed a tradition handed

down by

may

the oral

dis

have

way

from early times, of which we have enough evidence

to warrant the presumption that it existed but not
enough to determine what it actually was, let us
begin by considering where the Kabalistic books

first

That was in Spain. Now, what

began
was the environment of the Jews in the Peninsula at
to circulate.

the period in question

century and onward

let
It

us say, from the ninth

differed considerably

from

that which surrounded

them in other countries of

Spain was for Israel not indeed a

Western Europe.
Garden of Paradise, but a species of oasis

in the great
wilderness of the Exile, for the simple reason that

Ihe

138

much

of

gjortrint atrb
it

pteratuw

ot the gabalah

was not then under Christian

The

rule.*

of Spain enjoyed comparative immunity

Jew

possessed even political influence

ally to high political

It

power.

he

he rose occasion
not surprising,
centre of Jewish
is

Spain became
and philosophy. Thence Jewish treatises
passed into France and Italy under the Arabian
authors names, and
were
equivalents of their
therefore,

that

literature

accepted as the speculations or teachings of the

learned among the Moslems.
Avicebron is a case in

There can be no doubt whatever that the

point.

erudition of

Mohammedanism

exercised an influence

on the Rabbins, j- who reacted

Moslem

doctors.}

The

on the

in their turn

questions

of

priority

and

be passed over, because they are

preponderance may
here of no importance.

We

have concluded already that the Zohar

the
mystic thought of preceding centuries
presents
in Israel under a certain aspect of transformation.

The

traditional knowledge, of

as to

its

which we have evidence

existence in Talmudic times, had received

many developments from many sources and under

many minds. There is ground for

the influence of

supposing that the nucleus in Christian times is

first heard of in
Palestine, which indeed follows

from

its

connection, once admitted, with R.

Simeon

So also the necessities of the Christian princes in Spain till the

thirteenth century led them usually to protect the Jews.
t The translation of the Talmud into Arabic by R. Joseph, disciple
of Moses the sack-clothed, during the reign of Haschem II., King of
Cordova,

is

the best evidence which can be cited on this point.

Islamic mysticism is almost coincident with the mission of the

For example, the Ghoolat sect, famous for the
great Islamic prophet.
See
extravagance of its doctrines, is referred to the time of Ali.
"

"Secret

"

Societies of the

Middle

Ages,"

London, 1846, pp. 29,

31.

ource anb JUthorih) of the

Jmbalah

139

But despite the legend which represents

the Zohar as sent from Palestine by Nachmanides,
everything points to Spain and the South of France

Ben

Jochai.

the chief

as

scenes of

the Kabalah, and

is

it

developments of
not unreasonable to suppose
the final

has been affected by the prevailing tone of

mystic thought in one or both of these places.
There is evidence to show that such influence was
that

work outside the Zohar and

at

existence

its

It

it

form

the

in

that

prior

perhaps to

now

it

possesses.

was then most probably a part of the very large

influence of Avicebron.

In post-Zoharic mysticism,
and in the commentaries on the Zohar which are
the work of Spanish Jews, it may be traced more fully
In no case does it justify the now
plainly.
exploded criticism which would make the Zohar

and

merely a reproduction or echo of Arabian theosophy,

Kabalism as referable

or would regard

all

mysticism for

sole source, plus the

work

its

to Islamic

Greek influence

This was the

hypothesis of
Tholuck. We are concerned only with a question of
complexion and of tincture, and have other criteria by
at

in

Islam.

which to judge the true significance of the points of

doctrinal resemblance between Sufi and Kabalist
concerning the latent state of Deity, the operation
of the Divine Will at the beginning of creation, the

emanation of the

world,

&c.

The

analogies

are

interesting enough and the Orientalist who first

specified them had everything to justify him at his

period.*

As

it

may

not be uninteresting to cite a few

*
See F. A. D. Tholuck
Sufismus Sive Theosophia Persarum
Also De Ortu Cabbala,
Pant heist ica, Berlin, 1831, c.v. passim.
:

Hamburg,

1837.

^he

140

Jtortrin* anb

ttet*ittre of the

Jubalah

cases in point derived from other sources, let us take

a fact, one of many concerning which we possess
impregnable testimony. About the middle of the
fifteenth century, or, more exactly, from 1414 to 1492,
there flourished a Sufi poet named Nuruddin Abdur-

rahmann, known as Jami of Herat, among whose

works the Seven Thrones is most famous. One of
"

"

the

poems

in this collection is entitled

"

Salomon and

a mystic story of earthly and heavenly love.

In the epilogue to this poem, where the author
unfolds his meaning, the following lines occur
Absal,"

The Incomprehensible

Creator,

He

first

did create, created

of

when

this

world

all

The First Intelligence, First of a chain

Of Ten Intelligences, of which the last
Sole agent is in this our Universe,
Active Intelligence so called.
It

may

the

at once be admitted that

if

we

are to accept

method and admit the quality of evidence which

has satisfied heretofore the several authorities

have referrred Kabalism to definite sources

sophy and

religion,

we

who

in philo

are at liberty to infer from

passage that somewhere about the year 1450 a

away from Spain as Herat, was
with
adapting,
slight variations of a verbal kind, the
this

Sufic poet, so far

Sephirotic doctrine of the Kabalah a century before

the Book of Formation and the Zohar came into
I
have
through the medium of print.
chosen this instance because it proves nothing of

circulation

on account of its lateness, but it gives a point

of departure backwards for tracing a possible con
nection between the mystical sects of Moham
itself

medanism and the mystical

sects of Israel.

Authority ot iht ^abalah

a nil

141

us compare for a moment the

doctrine developed in the Celestial Desatir," which
has been described as a very early attempt on the

With

this

let

"

"

part of the ancient Persians to form a cosmological

The

theory."*

Desatir,

it

should be observed,

is

Abad, who
is identified with Abraham.
The nature of God
cannot be known. Who can dare to know it but
He (Himself)? The entity and the oneness and the
revelation addressed to the great prophet
"

personality are

"him

and

Intellect

First

the second

Asham,

the

His very nature and nothing beside

From this Being proceeded by free creation

whose name is Baluiaui, and called Prime

Him.

"

"

intellect

"

of

the

and

Reason,"

who

intellect,"

next

him

through

created in turn

heaven

lower

named

From

these proceeded the "Intellect

of the heaven of Kanian" or Saturn of Harnnizd, or
Fames/tarn."

Bahram, or Mars of Khurshad, or the

Sun of Nahid, or Venus of Zir, or Mercury and
of Mah, or the Moon.

Jupiter
,

of

Here,

again,

we have

the

production

primary intelligences, recalling the Sephirotic

tions,

of ten

emana

which themselves have planetary attributions.

Let us now take another

step.

At

the beginning

of the twelfth century, or actually in the year iioo

a noted Arabian
A.D., Abu Bakr Ibn Al-Tufail,
physician, poet, mathematician

was born
in

1 1

86.

Guadix

and

Sufi philosopher,

Spain, and he died at Morocco

His chief work is a species of philosophical

at

romance called

"

in

The

Life of

Hai Ebn Yokdan, the

My knowledge is confined to the translation by Mirza Mohamed

Hadi which appeared in successive issues
the
Platonist," vols. iii.
and iv.
"

<>f

^he

142

~j&Qttnnt nnb literature ot the

^.elf-taught

curious narrative

In this

Philosopher."

Ibn Al-Tufail using a form of comparison

\vhich occurs almost verbatim in the Kabalistic books.
find

\vc

"

The Divine Essence

material

like the rays of the

is

sun, which expand over opaque bodies and appear to

proceed from the eye, though they are only reflected

from

its

We

surface."

find

also

substantially

The Ain Soph of the

that One True One.

Kabalists under the

Being

the

dwelling

beyond
from

which

matter,

(b)

"in

there

that

sphere in

and

reflection

highest

body,
not the

was

One True One,

nor

anything different

from them both

the

sphere
;

of

of

no

is

which

The

(a)

name

Being

free

Being of that
nor yet
but was like the
itself,

image of the sun as it appears in a well-polished

mirror, which is neither one nor the other, and yet
not distinct from

The immaterial essence

stars,
(d) The Sphere of

them."

(c)

of the sphere of the fixed

Saturn and so with the rest in

harmony with the

scheme of the Desatir^ ending at this world, which is

subject to generation and corruption, and compre
hending

all

contained within the sphere of the

of the material essences were identical

that

is

Moon. None
and yet none were

different, either as regards the rest

the One True One.*
with
or in comparison
The doctrine of the Divine Absorption is the

very essence of Sufism and Sufism

It
with Mohammedanism itself.
Pantheistic, as

Life of

may

is
is

be gathered from

contemporary
also
its

mainly

proposed

Improvement of Human Reason exhibited in the

Hai Ebn Yokdhan. Written in Arabick above 500 years ago,

See the

"

by Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail."

Arabick by Simon Ockley, A.M.
.

Newly

translated from the original

London, 1711.

nub JVuthoritn of the $abulah

Some

object.

refer

it

to India, others to a Gnostic

origin, but the question

significant fact

is

143

does not concern

us, for

the

that this form of Islamic mysticism

was one of the environments of the Kabalistic Jews

to

whom we are

The

indebted for part at least of the Zohar.

was felt outside the

influence of this environment

Kabalists,

and was

inflexible of the sects in

or Literalists,

who

even

confessed

most

that of the Kairites,

Jewry

rejected

by the

innovations in the

all

who set no store by

much opposed to the
Zoharic writings. The proof is

primeval doctrine of Israel,

tradition, and were thus as

Talmud

as to the

indeed one might say their fusion,

with the Motozales, a sect of scholastic Arabs.* A
their analogies,

Kairite

Jew of the period allows

that his brethren

followed the doctrines of this sect, and they even

assumed

its

name.

The purpose of this section should not be mis

construed.
Once more, it is by no means designed
to indicate that the mystic sects of Mohammedanism
are responsible for the peculiar scheme of the Kabalah,
or that the Sufi drew from the rabbin.
Such devices

belong to a scheme of criticism which has fittingly

If
passed away.
connections
early

we know anything concerning the

of

Sufism

it

that

is

they are

Neoplatonic, and that the Gnostics of the early

Shiite sects were attracted to it because of these
connections.f
*

But to name Neoplatonism and Gnos-

Munk La Philosophic chez Us Jnifs, p. 10.

On this point the reader may consult with
:

admirable account
Persians,"

of Islamic mysticism

by E. G. Browne.

in

London, 1893.

"

It

advantage an
Year Amon^ the
makes no references

Kabalism, with which the author seems unacquainted, but it may be

gathered from what it tells us of Sufic commentaries on the Koran that

to

144

^he

ticism

is

ot the Jiabnlah

Jlortrine anfc |pt*ratur

To
woman who

to cite analogies of Kabalism.

Sufism has been referred to a

say that
died at

Jerusalem in the first century of the Hegira is to say

that Sufism began to live and move in an atmosphere

To

say that Spain was the

forcing-house of the Kabalists is to say that the
mystic doctors of Jewry brushed arms with those of

of Jewish

tradition.

deny that there was any consequence

of such contact is to deny nature.
Sufism was Pan
Islam, and to

and emanationist

theistic

Kabalistic emanationism

was saved from Pantheism by the doctrine of divine

immanence, and their literatures have no real like
ness

but between the metaphysics of the Divine

Love and the mystical absorption

of

Islam,

and

between the Kabalistic return of the soul to God or

union with the transcendent principle, which never
departs from Atziluth, and the theory of ecstasy in
its

Israel,

it

seems reasonable to suppose that there was

not only the connecting link of the analogy between

all mystics but a bond even in history.

VII.

INFLUENCE OF THE KABALAH

ON JEWRY
There

is

certainly no

perhaps no one at the present day,

Christian

or

occult

student

of

the

although Pantheistic, have many points of contact with later

Kabalism. We find not only the unmanifest state of Deity, but the
attempt to explain why the contingent world (compare the Liber
these,

Drushim} was evolved from

the use of which term

"

the silent depths of the

non-existent,"

so typical of the Ain Soph doctrine.

See
opinion that the early schools of Mohammedan
is

p. 129 for Mr. Browne s

philosophy in Persia were adaptations either of Aristotle or Plato, and

were also the scholasticism of Islam.

Source anb

Jtuthoritji of the

JUbahih

145

who is in a position to say exactly what

kind of profit accrued to the mind of
Jewry from the
promulgation, let us say, of the Zohar.
From one
point of view such an inquiry may be held to strike
subject,

at the root of all occult science

and philosophy, and

one of those subjects which do not
I remember a con
readily occur to the occultist.
versation which I once had with a
priest of the
for the rest

it

is

Anglican Church, who had passed

school of initiation with which

through others which are outside

me

assured
occultism

that

among

the

most

students

all

through every
acquainted and

am

my

He

knowledge.

student of

profound
he had met

whom

in

was a Jew I think of Poland.

Let us make the most of this
statement, since we
know that there are initiations, and that the
Jew is
in most of them, concerned as he is in all
in
his long experience

interests,

evidence as he

in

is

all

lands, and, with

due con

sideration to the late Sir Richard

Burton and his

posthumous treatise,* much better described by the
famous passage in Coningsby than
by a somewhat
vexatious criticism pivoted on a monstrous
charge.
But it is quite certain that the
of the
"

secret societies,

"

adyta
though they are not closed to the

Jew, are not in any sense possessed by the Jew,

while as regards all such external
signs of activity
1

charge

Sec
is

"The

human

Jew, the Gypsy and Kl

sacrifice;

its

/.

I>lam."

/,/,/,-,

London, 1898.
l,

a , l.ccn

The

omitted hy

the editor on grounds that

Cf. Desporti
may be conjectured.
sang chez Us Juifs de tons les temps, Paris, 1890,
of Burton s death.
Readers of Josephus will remember the curious

Mysore

</u

th<

adduced by Apion concerning the Greek

captive found in tinat Jersualem hy Antiochus.
Contra Apioncni, ii. 7.
Cf. Dr.
H. Hay Trumbull, "The Blood
Covenant," London, 1887, Apoendiv.

story

Temple
p. 321.

^he

146

Ilortrine anb literature of the Jlabalah

as are manifested

by current literature of occultism,

any bibliography will show us how little he has
done in this respect. What is much more important,
however,

that, so far as

is

is

it

possible to ascertain,

Kabalah has exercised only a very subsidiary

the

influence

We

can

Children

the

upon

enthusiasms

certain

to

point

the

of

for

Exile.

which

partially responsible, and they are those pre

cisely which did their best to wreck Jewry and of
is

it

which

The history of
and the founder
Zevi
of
Sabattai
Abulafia,

now ashamed.

is

Jewry

Abraham

of the Chassidim,* are typical cases in point, which

warrant us in saying that the Kabalah gave spurious

Messiahs to
of

its

Israel.-f-

activity

before

powerful influence,
"

Book of

was perhaps the

it

ceased

and with

care to believe that

the

It

to

this also

last instance

exercise
it

began,

any
if

we

Rabbi Akiba was the author of

Formation,"

in

which case one of the

supreme sources of Kabalism is connected with the

bogus or at least the frenzied mission of Bar Cochba.

When

that false Messiah had been finally silenced

by

the sword, his disciple, or perhaps his instigator, and

the inspirer also of R. Simeon ben Jochai, the head

and crown of Kabalism, was barbarously martyred

*
I.e.,

the

new

order of the mysterious Baal Shem, which

is

still

representatives in a number of Jewish communities and

Israel among the Nations," pp.
still holds the Zohar in high esteem.
The sect has its chief hold among Russian and Galician
61, 40, 345.
In the time of Judas
Jews; the name signifies "pious ones."
said to have

its

"

Maccabseus,
"

it

was the

History of the Jewish

Knights of the Temple.

full

this

among

the

Edersheim,
Order of the
The accounts of the original Chassidim are

strict

party

Nation."

Jews.

These are Scaliger

of mythical elements.

t Mr. Zangwill in his "Dreamers of the Ghetto" has brought

notion recently to the knowledge of the external world.

aiib

<Soura

Jtnthoritu of Iht gabalah

147

for his share in the

unhappy rebellion. If a literature

be
may
judged by its influence, that of the Kabalah
has been small it has
encouraged false enthusiasm,
and has been the warrant for direct
imposture.*
;

So

far as

its

operation was intellectual, there

very good ground for thinking that its

Christian rather than the Jewish
mind.f

field

is

was the

And

having

established one useful point there is an

opportunity
here of making another.
Kabalistic influence on

Christendom has been of two kinds, but it has been

much more of one kind than another. It has been
an influence exercised by an occult claim
upon the
students and the acceptors of occult claims.
But it
has been much more the influence of
possible

missionary material on the missionary enterprise of

the Christian Church.
To begin at a late date
What gave the Kabalah of the Zohar to the Latin
reading scholars of Europe ? The magnum opus of
Rosenroth. What impelled Rosenroth? The
"splendid

spectrum"

And

of

now,

the

if

we

conversion

of

Jewry en masse.
sweep backward to the very

It has given also a few obscure sects to

Jewry.
knowledge of
Kabalistic mysteries was
alleged to have imparted superhuman power to
chief
Rabbi of Prague to Jacob Franck, the Polish
Lobele,
distiller, of
whose followers the so-called Christian
Jews of Poland are still a small
survival ; and to his
contemporary, Israel of Podolia, who established
the New Saints and had a
recipe for miracles by means of the IIP me

Tetragrammaton.
t Mr. /angwill is not of this opinion.
which antedated immediately the mission of
The Zohar the Book of Illumination,

Referring to the period

cmnp.>M-d

century

printed

now

for

the

first

time, shed

he says
the thirteenth

Sftbbttftl Zevi,

"

its

in

dazzling rays further

and further over every ghetto." But

perhaps he follows here the
principle he has borrowed from Spiim/a, "to see things
specie
fttrnitatis."
I wish the same
principle had inspired him to lay less
stress on the exact date of the Zohar.
sul>

148

^he

itortrin* aitb ICttsrature of the

gabalah

beginning of the Christian interest in Kabalism,

almost coincident, in fact, with the appearance of the
Zohar, and suppose that Raymond Lully was really,
as it has been said that he was, the first Christian
student of the Kabalah, what was the life-long labour
of that amazing seneschal of Majorca, and for what
did he renounce the world

To

wrest, as

it

has been

said, from reluctant Nature the elusive mastery of

The
Nature, the Great Palingenesis of alchemy?

Hermetic
Yes, but

treatises falsely ascribed to

that they are the products of the

forgery which
produced the spurious

of

school

him may say

we know

Geber,* and that this was by no means the ambition

Raymond Lully. But was it the attainment of

of

the

religion

sort; that

is

behind

all

modern

religions?

fantasy.

Nothing of the

The work

of

Raymond

Lully was apostolical and missionary, and it closed

with martyrdom at Bugia, in a feverish attempt to
Mahound."
What prompted
evangelise
of
Picus
de
Mirandola, that he
energy
"

the fiery
the

filled

Papal Court with the rumour and the wonder of the

Jewish tradition ? The fact that he also regarded it

way by which

the princes of the

Exile might be brought to the gates of the Eternal
City and the Ghetto might be transformed into a

as a certain mystic

baptistry.

Suppose,

really initiated

lastly, that

by the

"

Nicholas Flamel was

Book of Abraham

the

Jew,"

so that Kabalism connects integrally with alchemy,

what prompted the unostentatious scrivener of old

Paris to make precious metals by occult arts when
his wants were few and his trade sufficient for a
*

sur

M.

Berthelot,

La Chimie au

AZoyen Age, tome premier.

la transmission de la science antique

an Moyen Age, passim*

Essai

Source zmb ^uthoritn

modest man?

of the glabalah

149

he

also had the

Why,
missionary
witness
his
spirit
bequests, real or fabulous, for the
conversion of the heathen.

The
out

of

inference

Kabalah was imported

that Jewry might be

that the

is

to

Jewry

prove
were handled wisely according to
the lights given in the
Holy Synods.*
Now, I do not need to say that there are very
few occultists who would take
interest in the
Christianised

if it

any

Kabalah regarded from

this

point

of view.

They

are not, as a class,

inspired
any form of official religion,
it

stands, does

by missionary zeal for

and their literature, as
manifest more than sufficient

not

for the

great orthodoxies of Christendom.

the other hand, it is
only in virtue of some

respect

On

immense misapprehension
of the Jews can

that the esoteric tradition

be supposed

religion behind all religions.

to

What

offer
it

them

the

does offer them

almost infinitely short. At its highest a bizarre

but truly strenuous
attempt to unriddle the universe,
falls

most unaided of

the

all

metaphysics, the systcma

mundi excogitated in a darkened

synagogue with the
praying-shawl drawn over the eyes. What darkness
to be felt in the void

What

strange lights flashing

In such a state
Spanish Jew or
Spanish Mystic of the Latin Church, Moses de Leon,
in

One
that

the darkness!

writer in

"Christian

wholly, with all

brother of the

modern times has even gone so

far as to

maintain

doctrine, except the Trinity, which is IMat.mic, i-ucs

its details, from the Talmud.
Christianity is son and

Talmud."
Alexander Weill, Moist, le Talmud et
The statement sounds perilous, but M. \Vcill is
rEvangile, ii. 92.
not to be taken seriously.
Compare ibid. ii. 91, "The Talmud is
itself the most violent
adversary of Moses," i.e., the Moses of M.

Weill.

One paradox

enables us to judge another.

^h*

150
if

you

or

Jlodrine anb Ipteratttre ot the Jiabalah

will,

recluse

or St. John of the Cross, exile of Babylon

of the Thebaid, must enjoy a certain

communication of the

And

this is frenzy.

upon which

that side

infinite.

at
it

its

But

to say

lowest, that

by

of

to say, on

makes contact no longer with

the infinite, but with the occult as

occultism, finite

more than

is

all

things

is

it

understood

what sombre

finite,

unredeemed by the saving sense of triviality,

the physiognomy of the section Yithroh, the astrology

trifling

of the processes of Gaffarel, the star messages of the

Hebrew

the

planisphere,

paper tubes

of

Eliphas

Levi

metathesis, gematria^
;* or, again, notaricon,
the arcana of the extended name, the virtues of

Agla and Ararita

It

for conjuring heaven and earth.

here that occultism illustrates how it receives

is

only what it can give and how

that the interest of the occultist
less

inspired

by

comes

it

in the

to

pass

Kabalah

is

the occult theorems of the Zohar

than by the magic garters of the

Key of Solomon."
Hence even writers, like Papus in France, who have
exceptional claims on our consideration, find it
"

necessary to include in their scheme of Kabalism

the sorry literature of the Grimoires.J And they
and he have nothing to tell us of the Zohar. But

we do not
or in
*

find the Grimoires in Picus

Raymond
And

Lully

we do not

de Mirandola,

find

much

trace

the kind of Kabalah which A. Lelievre undertook to defend

in \i\sjTistification des Sciences Divinatoires (Paris, 1847).

t Observe also the developments which these subjects received in

like the Caballa Anagrammatica of Ranutius Longelus, Placentice*
1654 ars mirabilis indeed, as the author terms it.

works

La

Kabbale, pp.

reference to Molitor

apparently responsible
"magical MSS."

10,

16,

26,

the

makes the author of the

for

the

last
"

identification

especially,

where the

Philosophy of Tradition
of

as a serious branch of Kabalism.

the

clavicufa

"

and

.Source ani) ^Uthoritii of the

gabalah

151

The Lexicon
of magic in the Kabbala Dcnndata.
of Rosenroth does not include the occult wonders
what manner the

of Agla, nor does

it

extended name

compounded, by a

is

us after

tell

childcraft

of

We

do find
acrostics, out of three verses in Exodus.
all these in Agrippa, who wrote as a young man
of things that he had heard and read, making a very
dignified retractation of

it

all

in

his

book of great

excellence upon vanity.

There remains, of

course, the mystic side of

the soul to God, and that
of
Kabalism, the return

path of ecstasy already mentioned, by which it was

conceived that the soul might effect such reunion

even

in this

of which

we

life,

see

but

no

it

is

precisely this mystic side

effect in

Jewry, and

it

is

also

neglected by modern occultism.

For example, the present work is the first published
in England which has any reference to the highest
principle of the human soul in Kabalism and the

this

side which

is

instrument of unification with the Divine.

BOOK

IV

THE WRITTEN WORD OF

KABALISM:
FIRST

PERIOD

ARGUMENT
The

traces of Kabalistic literature outside the

and prior

Sepher Yetzirah,

Zohar, are enumerated briefly

to indicate that there was a gradual growth of the tradition and
to the publication of the

to correct exaggerated notions concerning it.

There are several
treatises which connect with Kabalism, but are not

ancient

regarded by modern scholarship as Kabalistic in the technical sense.

This is the case with the Sepher Yetzirah itself ; but there is no

doubt that
or that

received

it

all

these works pretend to embody an occult tradition,

oral tradition which subsequently

was the elements of

development from the

commentators

on

the

Sepher

Yetzirah, as well as from the Zohar, and, later still, from the
The attention of early Kabalists
expositors of Zoharic mysteries.
was concentrated on the "Book of Formation," and numerous
elucidations of that

work

appeared

between the eleventh and

thirteenth centuries.

I.

EARLY KABALISTIC LITERATURE

beyond controversy that there was a great body

of mystic speculation and doctrine grown up in
IT

is

Jewry, of which the roots are to be found in the

Talmud, while it is connected occasionally with

and even with some great names. It is this

transcendentalism which led ultimately to the Zohar,

brilliant

clritttn

<&lorb

of iuttmliem

153

and should scholarship forbid us to confer on

distinctive denomination of Kabalism,* we

it

the

must

defer to scholarship, though with the mental reserva

tion that if the question be more than of words it is
at most one of stages of growth, for that which was
of mysticism in Israel between the period of the
Talmud and the period of the promulgation of the

Zohar is that which in the course of

became the Kabalah and the Zohar.

The

of this

title

section

speculative, but the

tentative or

to

is

its

evolution

some extent

modest conclusions

of the previous book are a sufficient warrant for

supposing that there are traces of Kabalism, outside
the Sepher Yetzirah, prior to the promulgation of the
It is
Zohar, and possessing some literary remains.
indeed essential to the natural history of the later

work that

should

it

have had

its

antecedents in

most acceptable view

According
these were certain Midrashim which, for the most
to the

literature.

not

part, are

exercised

So

some

extant, and

such

assuming

that,

it

memorials,

is

fair

they

to

suppose
must have

influence.

also the

ascribed to
in

now

which

it,

it

was held was of the kind which creates

must beware, however, of supposing

We

literature.

that there

Sepher Yetzirah, whatever the date

was of high authority, and the veneration

was an unbroken

line of Kabalists

from the

second to the twelfth century, as some occult writers

have pretended. Supposing the Sephir Yetzirah in
its present form to be later than the second
century,
*

There can

"reception"

the

be, I think, little doubt that the Kabalah was the

of the Bereshith and Mercabah mysteries mentioned in

Talmud, or

that this

was the view always taken by Kabalistic

^he

154

Jtortritte

we must regard

anb literature ot the Jrabalah

prototype a work already

mentioned under the title of the Alphabet of Akiba,
as

its

while the antithesis of

"

The Book

of

Occupation,"

one of the most important sections of the Zohar,

must be sought in the anthropomorphic Schiur

Komah

"

i.e.,

The Measure

of the

Height,"

in other

Description of the Body of God," or

development of the various Scriptural places in which
The dates of
the divine members are mentioned.
words, the

"

these fragmentary works are conjectural, but there

can be no doubt, as indeed there is no question, of

comparative antiquity. Connected with these

are the Greater and the Lesser Palace, known also as
their

the
in

"

Delineation of the Heavenly

with the others, is

common

modern
all

critics

Temples,"*

which,

not regarded by
as Kabalistic, but it is allowed that

were instrumental

in

Kabalah

the

calling

into

existence.f
In accordance with the exigencies of his stand
point, Dr. Graetz,

that

is

who may be taken

to represent all

most acrid and uncompromising

in hostility to

Jewish mysticism, fixes the origin of Kabalism, as to

its

date, in the tenth century,

and thus by implication

denies the claim of the Sepher Yetzirah to be included

in its literature.

He

is

followed, as

we have

seen,

by

* Not to be confused with a work mentioned

by Bartolocci
under the name of R. Eliezer and dealing with the measurements of
the earthly temple.
t
By the difficulty," says Ginsburg, in which they placed the
Jews in the South of France and in Catalonia, who believed in them
"

"

almost as

much

as in the Bible,

and who were driven

to contrive this

system whereby they could explain the gross descriptions of the Deity
and of the plains of heaven, given in these Haggadic productions." It
may indeed be affirmed that one spirit informed the chief works of
mystical complexion which preceded the Zohar.

(bdrittcu

Ginsburg,* but
is

it is

to

indispensable

SBorb

of Xlabalism

155

not open to question that the work

the Kabalah, or that it is an

and fundamental part thereof. The tenth

century is, however, an important period in Jewish
history and Jewish letters, for at this epoch the
integral

quickening of the Arabian mind was followed by that

of

academies

was

and

Israelf

There was

for a
in

sometimes

moment

lull

thereby.

eclipsed

in persecution

the

West the
Moslems in

the East flourished, and in the

internecine struggle of Christians and

Spain ensured a breathing space to the Children of the

Prior to that period, from the sixth century
Exile.

and onward, there was a hiatus in the literature of

The canons of the Talmud were closed, by
Israel.
the terror and peril of the time rather than inherent
necessity,

and the history of

bitter struggle

existence.

for

Israel

became one of

certain

hazardous

dominion, and
of
Israel
shone forth
intellectual
the
lamp
ultimately
clearly and steadily during the Moslem domination of
Spain, which country from that period till the
shelter

was

found

under

Persian

beginning of the thirteenth century was like a second

Palestine to the Jew, and this land of refuge, under
the tolerant and enlightened sway of the Spanish
Khalifs, became almost as dear to his heart as the

Land

of Promise.

Montpellicr

Italy were famous

in

France and Salerno

Jewish schools, but

that of Seville was, perhaps, more illustrous than
either.
Spain also was a nursing-land of Kabalistic
in

literature,

Kitto

for their

and the traces of the esoteric tradition

"

Cyclopaedia,"

third edition, 1864, s.v.

t Basnage, Histoire dcsjtrifs, livre

rii. c.

Kabbalah

4, torn. v. p.

1503

et
se</.

^he

156

JBottrine artb literature at the liabalah;

between the epoch which produced the

Book of
Formation and that of the
Book of Splendour
must be sought chiefly therein, though in the twelfth
"

"

"

"

century something

and

France

be gleaned from Southern

still
from Hay Gaon who

may

earlier

flourished in the eleventh century, a Babylonian, on

the borders of the Caspian Sea.*

There is neither space nor occasion

and

here

indeed

to

the

list,
produce
bibliographical
materials at our command can scarely be regarded as
extensive, serving mainly to correct false and highly

coloured impressions regarding the claims of Kabalistic tradition.

The chief names of the period with

which we are now concerned are

Rabbi

whose

mystic system, as
presented in the Pirke, connects on the one hand
with the Sepher Yetzirah, and on the other with
I.

Eliezer,

Zoharic teaching.

We

have, in the

first

place,

God

subsisting prior to the creation of the world alone

with his Ineffable

Name

next, the creation, prior

Thorah or Law, together

with the Throne of Glory, the Name of the Messiah,
Paradise, Hell and the Temple of Jerusalem, i.e., the
to the visible world, of the

archetype of the earthly temple

subsequently,
the creation of the world by means of ten words.
With this work may be connected the ancient
;

Midrash Conen, which represents the Thorah as the

foundation of the universe.

It

is

a matter of con-

Outside the dates and authorship ascribed by the old Kabalists

Sepher Yetzirah and the Zohar there are other treatises attributed
to the early days of the Exile.
Thus tradition regards Eliezer Hagabite,
son of Jose, a contemporary of Simeon ben Jochai, as a Kabalistic
doctor and the author of a treatise on the thirty-two qualities of the
to the

Law.

The

antiquity of this

work

is

doubtful.

CLUiitcn (iBorb of gUbalism

whether

jecturc
earlier

these

157

works are slightly

later

or

than the Sepher Yetzirah.

II.

The Gaon

R. Saadiah, head of the Persian

of Sora, was the author of a

Academy

commentary

on the Sepher Yetzirah preserved in the Bodleian

Library and only printed recently in France, as \\

L>

shall see in the third section of this book.

The Gaon

III.

of

R. Shereerah, head of the

Schibbur*

Pherruts

in

the

academy

of
Babylon, was perhaps more distinguished for the
violence with which he wrote against the Christians
than for his Kabalistic knowledge. But

neighbourhood

Nachmanidesf

has preserved his observations on the

the Heavenly

Temples,"J

fragments which
"Proportion

of

it

more

or

"

Delineation of

correctly on the

embodies under the

the

Height,"

title

of the

otherwise called

the

"

Description of the Body of God," which shows the

Kabalistic leanings of Shereerah and creates the

to the anthropomorphism of these

early
works which has been mentioned already as a
key

antithesis

note

of

Kabalism.

"God
he exclaims,
forbid,"
should speak of the Creator as if he had
This Rabbi was
bodily members and dimensions
despoiled of his wealth and hanged by order of
"

that

man

"

Cader, Khalif of the race of the Abassides.

IV.

The Gaon

R. Hay, son

and successor of

Shereerah as the head of the Babylonian School of

Schibbur, is also credited with a commentary on the

Sepher Yetzirah, which

*

Or

of

be dealt with

will

Pumbaditha according

to

some

authorities,

in

its

including

Graetz.

t In his commentary on the Thorah.

$ Attributed to K. Islnnael, apparently the doctor of that name
sentences are sometimes quoted in the Talmud.

3&ht

158

|B0.cttitt.e

anb

Dit*rature of the

proper place. The interpretation of dreams was one

of the daily occupations of the Jewish academies,
and their skill exhibited therein, or the credulity of
the times, often purchased toleration and respect for
To Rab
the Rabbis at the hands of the Khalifs.

Hay

attributed a treatise on this art, which

is

was

Outside his alleged commentary

Book of Formation his voluminous works

printed at Venice.*

on the
have

"

"

many Kabalistic references,

The Voice of God in its

entitled

especially

"

Power."

that

It will

mention among these the doctrine of

correspondences, of man as a microcosm and a

be

sufficient to

theory

peculiar

of

mystic

contemplation.

He

possessed enormous influence and became subse

quently the head of the academy of Pumbaditha in

He died in 1038.
the neighbourhood of Bagdad.
V. R. Chasdaif was a Prince of the Exile and
He was
temporal head of the Jews in Cordova.
He is
also a political minister under two Khalifs.
said to connect the school of

Hay Gaon

with that of

Gebirol.J

VI. Solomon

ben

Yehudah

Avicebron and

scholastic

in

all

Ibn

Gebirol,

the

respects, Kabalistic

and otherwise, a focus of intellectual and literary

interest, was a contemporary of the famous Nagrila.
VII. R. Abraham ben David or Ben Dior Ha
Levi, the great orthodox apologist of the twelfth
century, has been included in the chain of Kabalism.

VIII. Moses Ibn Jacob ben Ezra,

*

Bartolocci, Bibliotheca Rabbinica,

/.<?.,

He
See

ii.

one of the

387.

Abu-Yussuf Chasdai ben Isaac Ibn Shaprut.

died about the year 970.

Essays on the Writings of Ibn
"

of the Society of

Hebrew

Literature.

Ezra,"

in the Transactions

SBrittm SBorb of Jhibalism

Jews of

greatest

flourished

His work

his

was of Granada, and

time,

the earlier part of the twelfth century.

entitled the
Garden of Aromatics" shows
in

"

traces of the doctrine of Gebirol, but

"

his

159

Commentary on Isaiah

agreement with

this

doctor.

it

appears by

was

that he

"

dis

in

Basnage says that he

Kabalah, though he knew its

weakness, because he did not wish to be embroiled
with contemporary writers.*
He wrote upon the
did not reject

the

Name and

Divine

the mystic attributes of numbers

in connection therewith.

IX.

The names

of Juda Hallevi,

who has some

references to the Sepher Yetzirah in his

work

entitled

Kusari, of Jacob Nazir, of Solomon Jarki, of R.

Abraham ben David, the younger, bring us to the
thirteenth century and to the period of (a) Maimonides,

who

is

reported,

chiefly

on

the

authority of

R.

Chaiim, to have turned Kabalist at

but in

an advanced age
any case connects with mysticism, and was

acquainted at least with the existence of the twofold

mystic tradition distinguished as that of the Creation

and that of the Chariot (&) R. Azariel, of Valladolid,

famous commentator on the Sepher Yetzirah (c)
Shem Tob Ibn Falaquera, a disciple of Maimonides,
;

who

connects

Abulafia.f

with

Gebirol

who wrote on

(d)

R.

Abraham

the Tetragrammaton and

Basnage quotes Skinner s letters and Usher in support of this

view, hut he and they are in some contusion as to important date* in
Kabalistic history and literature.
Graetz has a good account of
Il>n

Ezra, but it
unnecessary to say that his analogies with Kabalism are
not mentioned.
i>

t See
dfs

Frankcl,

Monat shrift

/..

IVeisscmchaft

(ii.vct/ has also a long

27, Leipsic, 1856.
account of Abulafia, designed to ridicule the mental condition to which
he refers the Knbalah.

Judenthumsi

vol.

\.

p.

160

gmrtrittt anb literature of the jtabalah

<<2Ehe

the Mysteries of the Law, but his works have not

He

been published.*

and

theoretical

and

adventurer

endeavoured to combine the

was a quixotic
enthusiast, to whose

practical schools, but he

Messianic

it is unnecessary to give weight.

however, that he exhibits some

noted,

may

It

opinions

be

Christian

tendencies.

Those who defend the authenticity of Kabalistic

something to their purpose in all these
personalities, but they often proceed on a

tradition find

writers

and

What,

misconception.

for

example,

more

is

likely

to lead an unpractised student astray than the treatise

Abraham ben David Ha

of

As

of the Tradition, j-

Levi,

Seder

It is called

its title ?

Ha

by the mere

fact of

Kabalah, the Order

the least mystical

fact, it is

productions, and though I have termed its

author a great orthodox apologist, he had a strong

of

all

The

Aristotelian leaven.

occasion of his book was a

Sadducean heresy prevalent in

and represented by the work
which maintained
be

to

Ha

found

and

among

all

there
his

is

of

They

the

the

It

to

was

The Seder

heads

of
of

the
suc

community of doctrine
It

embraces

the

Church and the per

doctrine, which is the

the Jewish

Mosaic

include also the

twenty

Leon,

Alphrag,

synagogue

authority

two

synagogues

"The

Fount of Living

a Latin version in the Vatican.

works
t

the

the

universality, or

entire history of

petuation

under

true

and

Abu

of

Sadducees.

vindicates

claim

cession

the

the

among

Kabalah

orthodox

that

Castile

Bartolocci

was the prototype

Waters,"

of which

Graetz extends the number of

knew only

of three.

of several later works, such as

Ghedalia on

the Chain of the Kabalah, the Yuhasin of Zakut, famous in connection

with the Zohar, and the Tsemach David, already quoted.

Slrittcu

named

tradition

ben David
occasion

divided

Ha

<DQor&

which

is

161

gahaiiem

The work

in the title.*

Levi

of

Abraham

of

perhaps greater than was the

The Jews were

among themselves upon many questions, of
called

forth.

it

which Sadducean pretensions were

certainly not the
most important. The great distinction of the time
for the purpose of our own
inquiry was between the
Jews who had adopted Aristotelian principles and the

Jews who opposed the innovation. The enlighten

ment and culture were incontrovertibly on the side of
the former; the fascination of
mystic thought, in a
all
that
we
connect with the ideal of rabbinical
word,
Israel, went, however, into the opposite scale.
There
were great names on both sides. Rabbi Abraham
and his Sepher exercised a large influence his con
;

temporary, Maimonides, who survived him by almost

a quarter of a
century, was described by the
enthusiasts of his period as

"

the elect of the

human

and by a play upon his name it was said of

him that "from Moses to Moses there was no one
race,"

like

unto

The

Moses."

rival school

was

to

some extent represented

by Avicebron, and some of those who assert that the

Zuhar incorporated traditions belonging to

preceding

centuries arc content to rest their case on the

writings
of this poet and philosopher.
The evidence, howis in a
On the one hand,
very confused state.

the

system of Avicebron
traces
on the other hand,
;

has
it

many

Aristotelian

has been asserted that

Maimonides has much to connect him with Avicebron,

though he was not acquainted with his works, while,

i,

Magua

Bibliothcca

Ral>binica t

i.

p.

18 et scq.

162

^he

Jtortrine nnb literature of the Jlabalah

further, the great masterpiece of the

Cordova, entitled
offers

Guide of the

"The

indications of his

many

Talmud ic Jew

of

Perplexed,"

sympathy with the

In a general sense, however,

speculative Kabalah.*
those who wished to introduce Aristotelian principles
into Jewish philosophy belonged to that school

which

subsequently opposed the Zohar,-f- as, for example,

Abraham Ibn Wakkar of Toledo, at the beginning of
the fourteenth century^ while those who accepted the
Zohar belonged to that school which connects with

among whom was Rabbi Abraham ben

Avicebron,

David of Posquiere,

whom

to

one section of modern

criticism attributes the invention of the Kabalah,

and

Isaac the Blind, with his disciples Azariel and Ezra,

The
favoured by Ginsburg.
Kabalistic interests of this school are outside all

whose superior claim

debate
*

is

prized the Sepher Yetzirah, and one of

it

There

does

not

seem, however,

the

ground

slightest

for

supposing, with Isaac Myer, that Maimonides was acquainted with the
Zohar.
On the contrary, there is more perhaps to be said for the
conjecture of S.

Maimonides.

Munk

Zohar quotes, or rather borrows, from

that the

See Melanges, &c.

spondences of Maimonides are

(i)

p. 278.

Among

the Kabalistic corre

His recognition of a secret sense

in

Scripture ; (2) Of the inaccessible nature of God ; (3) Of the universe

as an organic whole.
The student should also consult an interesting

Notice sur la Cabale des Httreux, prefixed by the Chevalier Drach to

the second volume of his work already cited on the
Harmony between
"

the Church and

the

Synagogue."

He

establishes (a)

That

where

Buxtorf supposes the Talmud (Tract Rosh Hashanah] to allow the

same authority to the Kabalah as to the text of Moses, the reference is

power of the Synagogue and (b) that the alleged

mention of the mystic Kabalah by Maimonides is a misconception
It
is
(
Harmonic, ii. xvi. xvii. xviii.).
certain, however, that
Maimonides mentions a lost tradition.

really to the spiritual

t In

which,

however,

Munk

traces

Aristotelian

Melanges, pp. 278, 279.

See the English translation of Steinschneider,
Who follows Graetz literally.

p.

114.

influences.

vl

he aariitcn

SI orb

of

gabalism

163

most important commentaries on that

the

was produced within

When we

treatise

it.

made with regard

not be discouraged at finding
that writers like Isaac Myer have much enhanced the
to Avicebron,

investigate the claim

we must

real strength of his Kabalistic connections.

it

of

is

true,

the

the doctrines

of the

We

Inaccessible

find,

God,

between
God and the
emanation of the world, and even

intermediaries

universe, of the

of the universal
existent soul of

what we should
eleventh century
doctrine, let

knowledge attributed

man by

all

meet with

like to

to

the

Jewish mysticism.
in a

pre-

But

mystic of the

a distinct trace of typical Zoharic

us say that of the Countenances, and not
is

Yetziratic references, Sephirotic correspondences and

The latter are to be expected at the middle

so forth.

of the eleventh century, and in this case the former

There remains, however,

are wanting.

sufficient to

perhaps even to warrant the inclusion

of Gebirol among the precursors of Zoharic Kabalism,
interest

us,

and a short account of

this

author

may be appended

as a conclusion to this section.

At

that period

when the

imagination was infused

of Western
Europe,

theology were

influence of Arabian

into the romantic literature

scholastic

the

philosophy and
of Arabian

tincture

receiving
thought, but as, on the one hand, this tincture was
received sometimes without much consciousness of
its origin, so,

referred to

referable

on the other, influences were occasionally

Arabian sources which were in reality

only to

the

Spanish

Jews

living

under

the protection of the Khalifate during the Moslem

domination of the peninsula.
case in point was

Ihe

164

Jtoctrtne ant)

^iUratnre

erf

the

gabalah

the once renowned Avicebron, whose identity with

Solomon ben Yehudah Ibn Gebirol, a Jew of

Cordova, was
of

part

early

demonstrated by

first

the

treatise, entitled the

ascribed

version

present
"

middle

the
chief

in

a Latin

the

twelfth

Life,"

of

in

His

century.*

Fountain of
the

to

Munk

Albertus Magnus,
century, became widely diffused
St. Thomas of Aquin and Duns Scotus, all cited
and it is said to sum the philosophy of the
it
;

thirteenth century.

According to Renan, Avicebron

preceded the school of Arabian philosophy which

arose in Spain.
He wrote philosophy in Arabic

and poetry

in

Hebrew

the Jews valued his poetry,

but his metaphysics were not

the

Christian

and

ideas,

By both

repute

among them

scholastics

adopted his philosophical

knew nothing whatever of his verses.

was respectively
philosopher and the

classes of his admirers he

celebrated

as

the

poet of

greatest

in

denounced him

greatest
his

But

time.

realists

the

nominalists

Duns Scotus

like

on him their own condemnation

while he

entailed
is

said

have exercised an influence upon the mystics of

the Middle Ages, he was proscribed by the University

to

of

Paris

the

at

period of the publication

of the

Zohar on the ground that he favoured Aristotle.

When the school of Averrocs arose he was unknown

among

it

at

a later period

he was unknown to

he was unknown also to the encyclo

and on the
paedic learning of Picus de Mirandola

Maimonides

Melanges de Philosophic Juive

et

Arabe.

Zoharic criticism has not done sufficient credit to

The

hostile school of

Munk for his interesting

discovery, but he is not a persona grata on account of his theory that

the Zohar was founded on genuine ancient Midrashim.

SHorb

(Ltlritten

of

threshold of the Reformation

gabnlim

his

165

memory may be

said to have perished at the pyre of Giordano Bruno.

Avicebron was born about the year 1021 at
he was educated in the University of
Malaga
;

Saragossa, and he died

at

Valencia

in

1070.

He

was patronised by Nagdilah i.e., Samuel-ha-Levi

ben Josef Ibn Nagrela a Prince of the Exile, who
was also Prime Minister of Spain under the Kalifate
of Habus.
Nagdilah was the centre and mainspring
of Jewish learning in that country, and it is thought
that through him the sacred tradition of the Hebrews

Avicebron at a period when

was communicated

to

the Zohar and

connections were

its

course

in

still

seems

certain, in any case, that

and the system incorporated
in these books may be found in his writings, more
and the
Fountain of Life
especially in the

of formation.

some

It

of the conceptions

"

"

"Crown

of the

known

to be the earliest

of the speculative

only one and

His

life,

true

first

exhibition of

The

Kabalah."*

towards the end of his

the

The

Kingdom."

is

is
"

affirmed

the secrets

second, composed

hymn

"

celebrating

God, and the marvels of

creation."

The

existence of

the

some

Zoharic tradition

centuries previous to the time of Moses de Leon,

the reputed forger of the Zohar, has been rested,

among

other

supports,

on

the

writings

of

this

Spanish Jew, and he seems to have been acquainted

In the
indubitably with the Book of Formation.
second
*

book

There

is

and

twenty-second

some confusion

section

here, as the Sepher Yetzirah

of
is

the

certainly

speculative as contrasted with the so-called practical Kabalah, which

was mainly the working of miracles by the use of the Divine Names.

i66
"

^lu

Jiodrtn* anb literature of the jiabaiah

Fountain of Life

it

been

hath

was

world

in

the

the

that

said

The

question.
arises

notion
table

the

air,"

of

his

of

of

is

obviously
Kabalistic work

the

of the Thirty-Two

Paths,

Formation, was

Whether the

poems.

the

inscription

which

out of the Book of

theme of one of

Hence

"

construction

by

the

in

letters

fundamental

which

passage occurs

this

accomplished

numbers and
the

"

Kabalists derived from Avicebron or both

later

from a

common

source cannot be conclusively determined,

but having regard to the Jewish indifference for his
philosophical writings, and to the probable existence
of a vast mass of floating esoteric tradition, there can

be no doubt as to the direction

in

which probability

points.*

The connection between Avicebron and

Kabalah
of the

is
"

not sufficiently explicit upon the

Fountain of

Life

"

attention of critics like Ernest

the

surface

have attracted the

to

Renan

while Kabalistic

the system which it develops to the

ten Sephiroth^ others suppose it to be based on the
refer

critics

ten categories of Aristotle, a pantheism analogous to

that of the early realists.
On the one hand," says
"

application of Peripatetic principles to

doctrine alarmed the theologians on the
other hand, his concessions to orthodoxy concerning
"

Renan,
Mosaic

his

the creation and the free will of the Creator did not

extreme Peripatetic Jews." Of his alleged

Kabalistic connections Renan was either unaware, as

satisfy the

already suggested, or they were ignored by him.

*

Graetz takes the

opposite

view,

saying

borrowed many principles from Ibn Gebirol.

reasoning on the subject.

that

the

He, of course,

Kabalah
no

offers

Hhe

(Slrttteu oBorfo of

An
Life

"

than

167

gabaliem

Fountain of
impartial examination of the
makes the pantheism of Avicebron less apparent
"

his

Kabalistic correspondences.

identifying the universe with

God,

it

So

far

from

establishes

no

In order to bridge
conceivable that one derived

uncertain contrast between them.

the abyss, and to make it

being from the other, he supposes nine intermediaries,

through which the Absolutely

attached to its
above number," is

plus the Divine Will,

Existing,

corporeal

who

"

"

is

universe."

The

analogies which this con

self-evident
ception offers to Yetziratic doctrine are

and do not need enforcing, and yet our impartial

judgment must pronounce the philosophy of Avicebron
to be of
at least
after

Greek rather than Jewish complexion. It is

clear that the Fons Vita, which is a dialogue

the

manner

tinctured

deeply by

scholarship has recognised

three chief

of Plato,

is

Hellenic thought.

Modern

schools which led up

to Zoharic

Kabalism

(a)

that

of Isaac the Blind, to which belongs Azariel with his

celebrated commentary on the Sepher Yetzirah
;

which is largely of
(b) that of Eliezar of Worms,
the theurgic order; and (c) that of Abulafia, which
to some extent united the preceding and made use
of the theurgic formulae combined with contemplation
to achieve union with God.

II.

THE BOOK OF FORMATION

In developing the Kabalistic doctrine of the

Instruments of Creation, in describing the Paths of

Wisdom and

in

attempting to determine the date

68 ^Ihe gortritu anb literature of the Jiabalah

Book of Formation

of the

connection with our

in

the

authority of the Kabalah,

we have nearly exhausted the subject of the tiny
treatise which is regarded by most scholars and by
investigation

as

to

It
every occultist as the nucleus of all Kabalism.
is difficult, however, to omit it in giving an account
of the documents, and it will perhaps be best to begin

brief bibliographical

this

points which

the

concerning

notice

by a summary of

have been determined previously

it.

The legend which

attributes

Abraham, who transmitted

whom it was perpetuated
of Jerusalem," committed

in
it

it

to the patriarch

orally to his sons,

it

turn

finally

till

to

the

by

"

sages
writing, so

the tradition might not perish even when the

chosen people seemed themselves on the eve of
that

perishing

this,

interesting

period
a tract

and

when we
it

we have

is

seen,
in

It

legend.

is

At the

its

respectable
way.
first hear of the existence of such

was possibly already

old,

and most old

books have myths designed to explain them.

Those

who

honest

take the

myths

historically

convert

legend into something approaching farce.

We

must

be content therefore to say that the Sepher Yetzirah

is first mentioned probably in
the ninth century

there
in

the

some reason

is

Talmud, but

to
it

suppose that
is

it

is

quoted

not wholly certain;*

it

* The treatise Sanhedrim contains the

following passage: "By
means of combining the letters of the ineffable names as recorded in
SPR ITsIRH (/ .*, the sealing names enumerated in the first chapter,
being permutations of IHV), Rava once created a man and sent him to
Rav Zeira. The man being unable to reply when spoken to, the Rabbi
said to him,

Thou

art

a creature of the

mysteries of necromancy)

return to thy

company

dust."

(initiated

in

the

The

antedated

may have

SRorb of JUbalism

(Saritten

citation

first

its

169
literature

in

by a generation, a century, or an age. Let us realise

that we do not know, and that those who judge the
question dogmatically on either side deserve to be
classed as intemperate.

Let us now look a

more

closely at the

work

divided into five chapters, the first being

office of the Sephiroth in creation

It is

itself.

little

concerned with the

and the remaining four with what have been termed

the Instruments
alphabet.

mysteries to

the

after

Abraham

God and

tion of

letters of the

namely, the

was

It

revelation

Hebrew

of

these

that he received the manifesta

was

that the covenant

instituted.

According
original, God
bound the twenty-two letters on the tongue of the
patriarch and discovered to him all their secrets.*
to

the expression of the

"

"

The symbolism

of

Book

the

Formation

of

having been sufficiently considered in the second part

of our inquiry, there are only two points which
One is the absolute dis
require to be noted here.

between

tinctness

whether

creation,f
*

pantheism

is

is in error when he implies that

the Sephirotic system, and thence proceeds to
takes no account of the element of illusion which is

involved

"

It

argue that,

necessarily implied

cendental
et

My stores de
1896.

issued

forty

The

in

in

Universe,"

Paris,

the

all

theophanic

doctrine."

London, 1894, pp. 86,

la Crsation confermts

writer refers to a

</

87.

See "The Trans

Alexander \\Yill,

Cf.

la Science la plus Absolue.

a similar title which he

work under

years previously, purporting to be the translation of a

a master of Kabalah.
"This writing
distinguished
rabbinical and philosophical treatises by proclaiming the identity

Hebrew MS. by
from

and the instruments of

numbers or letters, which is

Sepher Yetdrah, chap. vi.

Hence Mr. C. G. Harrison

Lois

God

i>

of the Creator with His creatures, based on the text of Genesis

who

itself."

pretends to separate the frauds and contra

dictions which Esdras and his assistants introduced into the Pentateuch
Weill

is

a fantasiast

^hc

70

Jlortrtue aufc JJiterature ot the

by this early Kabalistic work. Separated

number and transcending all expression, He

established

from
is

all

as

represented

faithful

sojourning in

king

eternity and ruling the Sephiroth

for ever

from His

holy seat. The second point concerns the emanation

of the Sephiroth, to which, in preference to their

Kabalism

creation, all later

There

inclines.

on the face of the Book of Formation

this

view

appear

they

servants of the

word they go

adoration before the

that their end

flame

"

to

countenance

and

instruments

Ages, informed by whose

of

King

forth

the

as

little

is

and

returning,

Throne."*

It

fall
is

prostrate in

said,

however,

joined to their beginning, as the

to the firebrand, and perhaps the

is

is

joined
principle of emanation is contained implicitly in this
have no reason for rejecting a con
statement.

We

struction which has been adopted invariably, but

just to

draw attention

to the fact that the

first

it

is

work

which mentions the Sephiroth leaves

this point in
it certainly depicts God as the active
while
obscurity,
architect of the universe, who graved, sculptured and

builded.

The

Sephira is described as the Spirit of the

blessed and again blessed name of
the
Living God,
God living eternally. Voice, Spirit and Word these
are the

first

Holy

Spirit.

Two

is

the Breathing of the

the twenty-two tetters depend herefrom and

each one of them is Spirit THREE is the moisture
Spirit

from the
et

real

last

work

of Moses.

Cf. the

same author

Motse,

Paris,

1875, torn.

i.

Talmud

p. 99.

substitution of absolute unity for every species of dualism.

P-

le

According to Franck, the

word of the system developed by the Sepher Yetzirah is the

fEvangile.

159*

Sepher Yetzirah, chap.

i.

La

Kabbale,

QBrittcu SLlorb of Jlabaliem

171

herewith God
comes from the Breath
the
first
and void
lifeless
and
engraved
sculptured
He built TOHU, the line which circles snakematter.
like about the world, and BoHU, the concealed rocks

which

imbedded

the

abyss

This triad of the

Spirit,

in

whence the waters issue.

the Breath and the Water

corresponds to the conception subsequently

the Atzilutic or archetypal world.

FOUR

which comes forth from the Water

formed of

is

the Fire

God

with this

Throne of Honour, the Ophanim or

the four
Wheels, the Holy Animals

sculptured the
Celestial

/>.,

W ithin

living creatures and the other serving Spirits.

their dominion He established His habitation.

numeration seems to contain

of Briah and

in itself the

Yetzirah, the archangelic

This

conceptions

and angelic

should be remembered, however, that the

Book of Formation is concerned only with the sphere

worlds.

It

operation tabulated subsequently as the third

world of Kabalism. As each Sephira was supposed
to contain all the Sephiroth, so there was a superin-

of

cession of the four worlds which were

each.

The arrangement

all

contained

in

of the Sepher Yetzirah does

not exhibit this clearly, but the numerations from five

to ten inclusive must be held to represent As^iah.

FIVE is the seal with which God sealed the Height

when He contemplated it above Him. He sealed it
with the name IEV. Six is the seal with which He
sealed the depth when He contemplated it beneath
Him. He sealed it with the name IVE. SEVEN is
the seal with which He sealed the East when He con
templated it before Him. He sealed it with the name
EIV. EIGHT is the seal with which He sealed the
West when He contemplated it behind Him. He

^he

172

gocttine aub literature ot the giabalah

name VEI. NINE is the seal with

which He sealed the South when He contemplated it
on His right. He sealed it with the name VIE.
sealed

TEN

it

with the

the seal with which

is

He

sealed the North

when He contemplated it on His left. He sealed it

with the name EVI. The ten numerations are finally
classed together under

the one

title

of

"

Ineffable

Spirits of God." The sealing names are combinations

of three letters, successively transposed, which enter
into the name Tetragrammaton.

The Sepher Yetzirah was published

1592, but the

in

preceded

Latin translation

by ten years.*

it

accompanied by

of

The Mantua

five commentaries.-]-

Mantua

at

Postel

had

edition

was

Another Latin

version will be found in the collection of Pistorius

is

ascribed to Reuchlinus and Riccius.

edition

further

was

published

Hebrew and Latin by

by Meyer at Leipsic in
tion

and

notes,

translation

The

and

In

1642 a

Amsterdam

at

Rittangelius.
1830, with a

It

it

in

was issued

German

transla

German

at Frankfort, 1849, with a

and commentary, J by L. Goldschmidt

full

title

of this

curious

PATRIARCHS LIBER JEZIRAH,

little

volume

is

ABRAHAMI

Formationis Mundi, Patribus

quidem Abrahami tempora pr&cedentibus revelattis, sed ab ipso etiam
Abrahamo expositus Isaaco, et per Profetarum manus posteritati
conservatuS) ipsis autum 72 Mosis auditoribus in secundo divince veritatis
loco,

sive

hoc est in ratione, quo* est posterior authoritate, habitus.

ex Hebrtfis

et

commentariis illustrabat I55 1

corrupti mundifinem,

Vertebat

&d Babylonis ruinam

GULIELMUS POSTELLUS,

Restitutus.

et

Parisiis,

1552.

t It also contained two recensions of the text, the differences

between which are regarded by some authorities as considerable and by
others as unimportant variants.
t The "American Encyclopedia," iii. 521, 522, mentions the

Amsterdam
connect

it

edition of 1642, with a Latin translation, but does not

with Rittangelius.

The
In 1887

which

(iMdtten eilorb of ^abalism

Papus made a French translation to

he added the Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom
Dr.

and the Fifty Gates of

teristic

173

With charac

Intelligence.

sincerity he admits that

this

was superseded

by Mayer Lambert in 1891.

The one question which now remains

how we

is

attributed

by occultism

Do

Yetzirah.

its

for

con

are to account for the importance

sideration

work as the Sepher

to such a

com

defenders believe that the

bination of Aleph with

all

the other letters and

all

the others and

all

the rest with Aleph, Beth with

all

the rest with Beth, &c., &c., actually produced the

universe ? That seems an insupportable assumption.

Do

they regard the

hold

letters as

symbols of forces and

Sepher Yetzirah teaches that the

universe originates in the orderly combination of
that

the

certain forces

That

is

reasonable enough, but

it

is

a commonplace which seems scarcely worth stating

and certainly does not require a secret tradition to
secure

But do they consider that the

it.

represent

occult

character,

and that

of Kabalistic

forces,

of

initiation

tradition

will

fixed,

determinable

into the real

discover

letters

meaning

their

nature,

explaining thus the secret behind the arbitrary

doctrine of a virtue inherent in words and letters ?

This might indeed be valuable, but I have never

met with an occultist who took such a view, or

had

anything

to

substantiate

it

if

he

did.

In

the absence of any light on this point we can only

conclude that it is the arbitrary doctrine in question
which accounts for the interest taken in the Sepher

Yetzirah

but the truly occult student, as

have

defined him at the outset of this inquiry, can only

174

^he

Jlactrine anb literature of the

gabalah

be scandalised at the childish nature of Yetziratic

tabulations.

III.

CONNECTIONS AND DEPENDENCIES

OF THE BOOK OF FORMATION
Were

that

there evidence to warrant us in believing

actually, as his hostile

Moses de Leon did

reported to have affirmed, write the Zohar

bodily "out of his own head," there would still be
substantial evidence that the Kabalistic system which
relative

it

is

contains was

not his invention.

The

existence

Sepher Yetzirah is part of this evidence,

which appears, however, more fully and more strongly
in the commentaries and developments of that work.
of the

We

already that when it came to be

Mantua, the Book of Formation was

have seen

printed

at

by five such connections, which at

same time do not exhaust the list that might
be given in a full bibliography. The best known
accompanied

the

Com
unquestionably the Sepher Sephiroth, or
mentary on the Ten Sephiroth by way of Questions
"

is

and

Answers,"

the work of R. Azariel ben

Menahem

Abraham

that of Rabbi

most important

from

has been regarded as the

an occult standpoint, while

the earliest in point of time

Gaon in the tenth century.

is

the work of Saadya

Another, which

has

been attributed to Hay Gaon in the early part of

the eleventh century, would rank next in antiquity,
but

it

has

Commentaries

been
are

as
usually rejected
spurious.
also attributed to R, Moses

(LOritten i&lorb of iinb.iliom

175

Moses ben Nahmann, R. Abraham ben

Botrel,* R.

Ha

Levi the younger and R. Eliezer. With

the exception of the one last mentioned they are

David

all

prior

the

to
to

when Moses de Leon

period

have been

is

work on the Zohar, and

show that the novelty of

at

supposed
they have been used to
is of form rather than
that work
"

material."

Saadya Gaon was

commentary
published in Hebrew at Mantua together with the
Sepher Yetzirah,+ but it was written originally in

The

of

and a copy

Arabic,

is

R.

preserved

After remaining in

Library.

hundred years

the

in

MS.

for

Bodleian

over eight

Arabic original was at length

together with a French translation,

this

printed at Paris,
in 1892.
In the introduction prefixed to his version,
M. Lambert observes that Saadya Gaon appears as

a theosophist in his commentary, which is equivalent

to saying that the first expository treatise on the

Sepher Yetzirah possesses a Kabalistic complexion,

though the author

rationalistic writer.

Saadya

offers little

is

It

frequently regarded as a purely

must be confessed, however, that

connection with Zoharic doctrine.

We

have noted that the Sephiroth of the Sepher

Yetzirah show scarcely any trace of an emanational

For Saadya Gaon there

between God and the world, but
system.
air

is

one intermediary

this

is

the physical
In this

and not the transcendental numerations.

God

everywhere present, and it penetrates

all bodies, even the most compact.
Of the doctrine
It is,
of Ain Soph there is also no real trace.
air

He

is

describes the Kakilah as a most pure and holy philosophy,

but exhibits no acquaintance with the Zohar.

+ Bartolocci, iv. 267.

176

IJiteratttr* ot the

^Elte gJortrine aitb

Jiabalah

however, recognised, on the one hand, that we

cannot have an adequate notion of the Divinity
or His correspondences with the world, but,
other, that

some approximate

on the

be obtained

idea

may
may be shown forth
by means of figures and comparisons. One of these
illustrations tells us that God is the life of the world
as the soul is the life of the body, and as in man
as to the latter and that they

the soul

is

all-powerful,

He

the world.

is

also

God

so

omnipotent in
Supreme Reason, and as

its

man

the guide of life, so

by the Divine Reason.

the rational faculty

the Divine Power is directed
in

Above

is

is

elementary and commonplace form of

natural theology the commentary never soars, and
this

we may be indeed warranted

as a whole, has

in

no inherent

saying that the work,

interest,

though

it

is

valuable as a historical document.

Unlike the Sepher Yetzirah, which makes no

reference

to

pneumatology, Saadya

Gaon devotes

a certain space to the consideration of the soul in

man and here, in a sense, he connects with Zoharic
;

Kabalism, though he rejects metempsychosis, for

he recognises its five aspects and calls them by their
conventional names, which
as
his

we have

seen, in

classification

is

the

names, however, occur,

Talmud.*

Unfortunately,
clumsy, and he

exceedingly
begins by following Plato in the recognition of three

On
faculties
reason, concupiscence and anger.
account of reason the soul is called Neshamah, on
*
Despite his hostility to reincarnation as understood by the
Kabalah he accepts the pre-existence of souls and teaches that the
resurrection of the body will take place when all souls destined for
earthly life have passed through it.

vlhc

<I<Llrittcn

account of concupiscence

on account of anger
other names, Chaiah

of

<l<Uorb

it

is

^abalism

177

Nephesh, and
called Ruach.
The two

it

(living)

called

is

and Jechidali (unique),

and to the fact that

refer to the vitality of the soul

no other creature resembles

The
names

doctrine

is

it.

concerning

also the subject of

divine

some

and

angelic

references which

are important to our inquiry because

they establish
the fact that Saadya Gaon did not ascribe to them

any occult

The names

of the angels vary

according to the events which they are commissioned
to accomplish, and, in like manner, those referred to
virtue.

the Deity are descriptive of His

In the
operations.
work of the creation He terms Himself Elohim ;

when ordaining the covenant of circumcision He is

called El Shaddai ; He is the I AM in connection
the wonders of the ten plagues and He is
Jah
when producing the great miracle of the Red Sea.*
As it is with the names of God and the angels, so is

with

it

with those of the

their

qualities

brilliance, their

stars,

which vary according to

namely, their greater

hot or cold natures, &c.

or

lesser

When explaining the object of the Sepher

Yetzirah as representing the manner in which created
things come into being, there is a reference to the
ten categories

The Zohar

namely, substance, quantity, quality,

tin- name AIIIH, which

signifies I AM.
and concealment of all things in such a manner
that no distinction can be established between them.
The n;mir ASLR
All IK, I
AM, represents God on the point of manifesting all

teaches that

indicates the unification

WHO

including

Jehovah or A
or

Deity,

is

II

that

lli.->

Supreme Name.

AShK AHI1I,

On

the other hand the

AM UK WHO

name assumed by Him, on

manifestation of the Cosmos.

Zohar

iii.

IS,

refer,

the occasion

65^, Mantua.

name
to

th-

78

^he

Doctrine nub Jitcrarure at the

ga

time,
powers, position, activity,
these
are
to be regarded as referring
passivity,
to the numerations of the Sepher Yetzirah, it is
relation,

place,

and

clear that

if

Saadya Gaon understood the latter as an

With these categories, the

Aristotelian philosopher.

ten

commandments

are also forced to correspond in

an arbitrary manner. For example, that against

adultery answers to the category of position, for the
act itself is a position and a contact.
Lastly, in his analysis of the Hebrew alphabet,
the commentator seeks to account for its sequence.
it is vocalised
Aleph is the first sound pronounced
z>.,

back of the tongue.

middle of the mouth and

Shin

at the

is

vocalised in the

Mem on the lips. Un

analogy, Mem precedes Shin in

fortunately for the

the alphabet, and indeed the design of the speculation

seems past conjecture.

About the commentary

there

is

increases

of

ascribed to

considerable confusion, which

by representing that

Concealment,"

it

Hay Gaon
Isaac

Myer

deals with the

"Book

instead of that of Formation. There

are no historic notices and no traces whatsoever of

the former tract before the appearance of the Zohar,
The work of Hay
in which it was first made known.

Gaon needs only

account of

its

to be

mentioned

disputed authenticity.

attributed to

him are not above

be admitted

in

general

way

in

passing on

Other works

suspicion, but

that

distinct Kabalistic connections than Saadya.

demned commentary

it

may

he had more

The con

deals largely with the mysteries

Tetragrammaton and gives perhaps for the

first time the curious quadrilateral method of writing
it by means of letters and circles, to which so much

of the

ofcirittcn

"(The

was

importance

<!&orb

afterwards

The commentary

writers.*

of Jtobalism

attributed

179

occult

by

Abraham ben David

of

Ha

Levi,f the younger of that name and a con

temporary of Maimonides, whom he attacked

bitterly,

is

Mantua

also included in the

edition

of the

Book

of Formation, and was used largely

by Rittangelius
in that of Amsterdam,
1642+ Theintensest confusion
prevails with regard to the personality of the author,
who, on the one hand, is
identified with

frequently

the writer of the Seder

other, the subject of

Ha

many

vailing in occult circles.

Kabalah, and

is,

on the

contradictory myths pre

who cites a

Eliphas Levi,

passage from his treatise as a proof of the authenticity

and

reality of his

own

"

"

of the Magnum
discovery
makes
a
deal
of
Opns,\
great
mystery concerning it
and its rarity, but he has used evidently the edition
*

By El iphas Levi above all,

additions which I regard as fanciful

who

reproduces

(Dogme de

la

its

diagram with

Haute Magic,

section

Kabalah), and elsewhere (La Science des Esprit s)

illustrates these additions by a Kabalistic document which I think also
is one of his
specimens of invention.
dealing with

the

t Bartolocci,

i.

15.

(Hebrew and Latin)

cu/n commentario Rabbi

+ I.iber Jesirah
adscritntitr,

una

Dior) super 32

Sctnitis Sapientiic

ijiii Abrahamo patriarchs

Abraham F. D. (i.e., Ben

Translatus

et

Notis illustratus a

The thirty-two
Rittangelio...Ainstelodatni, 1642.
Paths referred to at the beginning of the Sepher Yetzirah are
given in

Joanne Stephana

Latin and Hebrew, each followed immediately by the

commentary of
R. Abraham, likewise in Latin and Hebrew.
Then comes the
explanation of Rittangelius, which sometimes extends to many pages,

many authorities, including the Zohar and its Supplements.

After the Paths, we have the Sepher Vctzirah itself, in Latin and
Hebrew, with the editor s commentary, also in both language.^
I;

quoting

should be added that the entire commentary of R. Abraham is not

given by Rittangelius, who is content with presenting that part only
which is devoted to the Paths of Wisdom.
Ritufl de la Haute Magie,
cited

PP- 2

is
33>

completely unintelligible.
23.1.

c.

12,

Cf.

where the Hebrew passage

Clef des Grands Afystercs,

La

i8o

ihe

Ipoctritu

|itcntture of the gabalah

<wb

of Rittangelius, which
attainable in almost

We

have

is

any national

admitted that

Saadya Gaon can

we have agreed to

known and

perfectly well
library.

the

commentary of

scarcely be termed Kabalistic

set aside another which abounds

because

in Kabalistic material

have been challenged

in

the

date and attribution

work of R. Abraham,

its

however, there are Zoharic elements which admit of

no question, and it is indeed to the school which he
represents that Graetz and others have referred the
authorship of the Book of Splendour. There is the
peculiar distinction between upper and lower Sephiroth
which is not only characteristic of the Zoharic period,

but offers a connecting link between R

late Kabalism of Isaac de Loria.*

and the
than

this,

there

is

Unknowable

the doctrine of the

the Cause of Causes which

Abraham
But more

not appre
of all
void
one
outside
hended by any
Itself," being
It has not
distinction and all mode of existence.

God, of

"

is

assumed the final shape in which it is presented by

the Zohar, and it appears to be something more
concealed and latent than the

Non Ens

conception of

Am

Sut/tma, which again

from Kether, the
Abraham
is
distinguished by R.
Crown of Creation, on the ground that the accident

Soph, the

or Corona

"

made from the essence nor the Res from the

Non Res or Non Ens" thus occasioning an insoluble

is

not

difficulty as to the

For the

rest,

described in

emanation of the manifest universe.

A in

Soph of our commentator is

terms which are almost identical with
the

*
There is no doubt that the ten Sephiroth were an evolved
system in the time of the Yetziratic commentator.

The
Zoharic

can

<33ritteu

"

teaching.

be attributed to

ascribed

to

that

<&torb

Neither

Jubalism

181

nor

plurality

unity

because unity cannot be

It,

which

of

is

in

incomprehensible

its

the reason being that number is an acci

dent belonging to the world of extension, place and
essence,"

time.

Among

minor Zoharic correspondences,

it

may

be noted that a peculiar importance is attributed to

the letter AlcpJi ; it is the form of all the letters, and
the paths of wisdom are contained therein, but
after the universal mode.
There are also traces of
all

the peculiar angelical system which was destined to

receive so much elaborate extension from the com

mentators on the Book of Splendour.

Before dismissing this commentary we may note
connection of its author with that
alleged

the

Abraham

Jew* who belongs to the literature of

The testament of this mysterious personage

the

alchemy.
transformed Nicholas Flamel from a simple scrivener
into a seeker after the Great Work
a search, moreover,

which legend represents as a success. The memorial

in question was addressed to the nation of Israel
dispersed by the wrath of God in France, by one who
styled himself
priest, prince, Levite, astrologer and
The description which constitutes our
philosopher."
"

it is
given in another
of Nicholas Flamel, and it is very
difficult to decide how far this can be regarded as

sole

knowledge concerning

testament, that

Belonging as they do to alchemy, there

no ground here to discuss their respective claims,

authentic.
is

This title is used by Bartolocci in his bibliography

numerous writers who cannot be more closely identified.

to

describe

82

but

^he

Jlodrine anb Jiterature of the glabalah

well to say that the attempt

it is

Abraham

LeVi to identify the

made by Eliphas

of Flamel with the

commentator on the Sepher Yetzirah not only insti

tutes a connection between alchemy and Kabalism
which is unwarrantable in itself but has no colourable
evidence to cite in

its

own

support, as there

whatever of any alchemical meaning

trace

Hebrew commentator. Abraham

to

the

years

twelfth century.

later,

is

in

no
the

the Kabalist belongs

Flamel was two hundred

and the book which he mentions could

scarcely have existed in Jewry, on the Levi hypothesis,

for such a space of time without something transpiring

concerning

it.

As

a literary and philosophical work the first

place among the dependencies of the Sepher Yetzirah

seems

assigned to the commentary of

author was born at Valladolid in or

correctly

Azariel.

Its

about the year 1160. According to some authorities

he was a pupil of Isaac the Blind,* but others say
He
that his teacher was R. Jehuda, son of Rabad.

became

in

R. Moses Nach-

turn the instructor of

manides, who

also belongs to the chain of Yetziratic

tradition.f

He

is

said to have travelled

much

in

search of

was an age when men of

wisdom,
learning were frequently wanderers, and it was

secret

but

it

perhaps less recondite motives which actuated himHe connects with the Kabalistic system which was

expounded by the school of Gerona, and there are no

*

chosis

A.D. 1190 to circa 1210.

and a few fragments of

He

taught the doctrine of

his writings are

t And brought, as Graetz admits,

reputation to bear upon its fortunes.

still

the

metempsy

extant.

influence

of his

great

The &Uitteu &lorb

of Jtobalism

183

supposing that he acquired know

ledge elsewhere, but he added the result of his own
reflections.
Many works have been attributed to
real

for

grounds

some

some have remained

in MS.
"The
Explanation of the Ten Sephiroth by
of
way
Questions and Answers must have helped to
the
shape
metaphysical speculations of the Kabalah
and may well enough have originated more than it
him, of which

are lost and

"

derived.

The teachings

of Azariel aroused the opposition

of the Aristotelian Jews, and it is thought by Isaac
Myer that the logical form of his commentary was
a concession to this school of thought.
Whatever its
motive, the fact, broadly taken, is of importance to

shows that the Sephirotic notion in its

development could not really have been that

our inquiry
earliest

it

of the categories, since

principles

had to be conformed to the

by the

espoused

The Jewish

it

disciples

of

Aristotle.

literati followed various schools,

and the

influence attributed to the Stagirite has perhaps been

exaggerated.

The

votaries

wisdom were a small

of the so-called

secret

Platonism, as

it is
minority.
needless to say, was very little known in the West at
the period in question, though it appears in the later

Kabalism.
regards both matter and form, Azariel s com
mentary has been the subject of high praise. It
contains the doctrine of Ain Soph, which is not in

As

the Scpher Yetzirah, and

it

has express views on the

emanation of the Sephiroth, which are said to be

contained in Ain Soph and of no effect when
separated.

Their emanation was possible because

must be within the omnipotence of the Deity

it

to

^he

84

assume a
of

Being

empty

The

limit.

finite

all

anb gDihrature ot the Jiabalah

Jloxtritte

is

things

essence and the real principle

Thought of the Supreme

the

that were withdrawn, they would be left as

shells, and this is true not only of the visible
if

world but of the intermediaries between

With

God and

the

speculations the
Kabalist mingles something from the fantastic region,

creation.

his

philosophical

attributing, for example, certain symbolic colours to

the

Sephiroth.

Light,"

or

the

Kether
light

"

which

veiled

is

Concealed

the

like

is

in

darkness,

the comparison intended being probably that of a

luminous mist. Binah is sky-blue, because Binah
the great sea of Kabalism.
Chesed white and Geburah red

Chokmah

is

Netsach

red, or pink,

white. Jesod
triad,

the

is

while Malkuth

is

yellow,

Tiphereth is white,
whitish-red and Hod reddish;

combination
is

is

of

like the light

the previous

which

reflects

Azariel also countenances the Sephirotic

of
the
human body which is found in later
division

all

colours.

Kabalism.

Moses ben Nahman,

in 1194 at Gironne.
with the Kabalah he

but

against it,
student both of

and both by

much

to

or Nachmanides,

Before he
is

made acquaintance

said to have

had a prejudice

he was afterwards an
its

was born

enthusiastic

speculative and practical parts,

and influence contributed

his writings

His Kabalistic

"

Explana
was completed in 1268, and among
Garden of
his many other works that called the
the
of
the
and
another
on
Secrets
Thorah?
Delight,"
its

tion of the

development.

Law"

"

"

According

to the

Zohar the colour attributions are as follows

Kether, black, white, or colourless

sapphire.

Tiphereth, purple

Malkuth, clear

SHritten Sllorb of Jpabalism

o he

are

of

full

native

his

time

He

theosophical speculations.*
land to settle in Palestine,

died, apparently at a great age, but at

185
left

where he

what precise

not known.

is

The commentary on the Sepher Yetzirah which

passes under the name of R. Eliezer seems to have
been the work of a German Jew of Germesheim,f
author of the

"

Vestment of the

Lord,"

one of the

That he was the

greatest Kabalists of his period.
instructor of Moses Nachmanides, as some authorities
have stated,

is,

however, a mistake, as Basnage has

His works,

indicated, for he belongs to a later date.

which are wholly Kabalistic, are

of

the
"

(2)

Lord,"

The

but

this

Guide of

(i)

Vestment

has never been

printed-

them

exhorting

Sinners,"

repentance and amendment

(3)

"The

of

life

his thesis against the astrologers.

(Venice,

1543).

by Mirandola

Treatise on the Soul, cited

(4)

An

to

in

explanation

commentary on the Sepher

Yetzirah, appended to the Mantua edition of that
work. The author flourished before and after the
middle of the fourteenth century.
Commentaries
on the Sepher Yetzirah are ascribed to R. Aaron
of Psalm cxlv.

(5)

His other works include an epistle on the use of matrimony in

a work on the nature of man from the text

exercising the fear of God

of II. Samuel, vii. 19; a

\Var^

book of Faith and Confidence another on

and yet another on the Pomegranate. These are not professedly

Kabalistic, like the

Treasure of

Life,"

the

"

Treasure of the

Lord,"

Garden of Pleasure" (mentioned in the text above), or the mystical

As regards the practical part of the
epistle on the thing desired.
the

"

Kalulah, he treated it with grave consideration, including its arts of

necromancy, the evocation of evil spirits and the methods of their
control.

t Basnage, Histoire dcs fuifs,

Bartolocci.

c.

vii.

t.

v.

p.

1859.

See also

186

Uhe Jlodmie anb

the Great,* under the

R.

Judas

Levi ;f

JDitn-ature of the
title

of

Sabbatai

"

Jabalah

Book of the Points

Donolo ;J Juda ben

and Isaac the Blind.

Barzillai;

Bartolocci,

i.

15.

t Ibid.
+ Edited
by M. Castelli. Florence, 1880.
Edited by M. Halbertstamm.
Berlin, 1885.

"

BOOK V
THE WRITTEN WORD OF
KABALISM

SECOND PERIOD
ARGUMENT
The

divisions of the

Zohar are

set forth in successive sections so

as to furnish a clear and comprehensive notion of the materials in

Its doctrinal content is
corporated by this composite work.

established by means of copious quotations, selected with special

reference to its importance from an occult standpoint.

I.

THE

THE BOOK OF SPLENDOUR

CONTENT AND DIVISIONS

ITS

Sepher Yetzirah lies within a

most important
its
compass, and

cycle of

manageable

the

dependencies are all available to the student by

means of Latin translations. The Sepher Ha Zohar,

on the other hand,

is

large in

itself, it

has consider

supplementary matter belonging to a later

it
period and an extensive connected literature

able

has not been

translated

European language.*

into

Latin

nor into

The consequence,

any

especially

*
The Italian reader may, however, be referred to an analysis of
the Zohar by the Abbe* de Rossi, which appeared in his Dizionario
The writer follows Morin as to the late
storico dcgli Autori Ebrti.

date of the work.

^he gortrhw anb

i88

esoteric

to

Great

has

content

of

rrf

been

has

students,

confusion

the

to

literature

work

gabalah

very unfortunate.*

obtained
the

the

in

regard,

and,

firstly,

to

secondly,

the comparative importance of its various divisions.

Part of this must be undoubtedly attributed to the

ambitious design of Rosenroth

great collection.

The

Kabbala Denudata, by attempting to cover much too

wide a field, gives no adequate idea of the work
which

meant

is

it

to

elucidate.

an

attributes

It

exaggerated, though not inexcusable, importance to

three tracts introduced into the body of the Zohar

and

to late

commentary on these

the form of a lexicon which

fills

the apparatus in

most of the

first

has a -methodical appearance,

volume, though
little more than a chaos, in which
it

expositors are bundled

late

is

and early

together after the uncritical

manner of the period

in a later
is given to some personal

section

prominence

undue

discussions and

correspondence between the Editor and Henry More,

the English platonist
finally, the second volume
;

includes an enormous treatise on the doctrine of the

Revolutions of Souls by a Kabalist of the seventeenth

With

century.

all

its

defects the

remains of real value, but

all

price

ment.
*

it

Kabbala Denudata

would have been beyond

had a clearer genius governed

As

it

is,

the class of persons

Outside esoteric students the case of Basnage

its

who

arrange
are most

may be mentioned

as that of a well-informed writer, whose history of the Jewish people

from the time of Jesus Christ to his own date the beginning of the

eighteenth century is memorable in several respects, yet whose know

ledge of the Zohar does not even extend so far as it might have been
taken by Rosenroth.
He terms (Livre iii. p. 775) the Book of Con
first part of the work, and seems to regard it as comprised
In a word, he had not read the
simply in that and the two Synods.

cealment the

preface to the Kabbala Denudata, vol.

ii.

irittm

of Jpatulism

ofclorli

189

concerned with

the subject have been content to

follow the lead of Rosenroth, and to
accept a little

known

tract

fundamental

as the
part

"Book

of

developments of that
highest consideration.

the

of Concealment" as the

whole

There

and

Zohar,

tract as entitled

of course,

are,

the

to the next

many

sources of information, for the most part not of an

occult kind, by which this false impression

have been corrected

the

work of Franck

might
France

in

and that of Ginsburg in England, to name two

only
but it has endured notwithstanding, and the latest
instance

is

found

in the latest

work published by Dr.

There the bibliographical appendix states

the only complete translation
of the Zohar is
that of M. H. Chateau,* whereas the
enterprise in
Papus.

that

"

"

question is confined only to the tracts rendered into

Latin by Rosenroth, and these have been available
for years

the English version of Mathers.

in

Book of Occultation and

its

The

Zoharistic commentaries

are only accidents of the Zohar, and

they furnish no
real notion of the scope of that work.
I should add
that from the occult standpoint
only an accident of the Kabalah

of the alleged tradition, much

point of Latin Christianity, the
life

the Zohar itself

an accident
as,

is

in the

from the stand

New Testament

is

not the exclusive foundation of the Church but an

event in her development.

The Zohar
*

proper,

as

have stated

in

my

Le Zohar Traduction fran^aise et Conuncntaire

M. II.
The bibliographical annotation accredit^ the translator with
,

d<-

Chateau.

w///////r-i/jf

Hebrew

Erudition

texts, the

produced,

it

commentary

l>ears

i.-,

and

adds thnt

he

has

carefully

Latin and the other versions.

The

no trace of the scli-laiship imputed

of slight value.

collated

\\..rk

to

it

is

the

poorly
and the

190

ztub JJiterriture of the

Bortrtne

"(Ehe

commentary on the Penta

preface, purports to be a

teuch,

and

to indicate

its

Jiabalah

shall deserve

general scope

my
depart from my general rule
of confining quotations from modern authors to foot
notes and summarise the admirable observations of
readers

well of

"

Ginsburg

if

The Zohar does

not

(apparently)

pound a regular Kabalistic system, but

dilates

pro

upon

the diverse doctrines of this theosophy, as indicated

in the forms and ornaments of the Hebrew alphabet,
in the vowel points and accents, in the Divine Names

and the

of which they are composed, in the

letters

narratives of the Bible

and

The long

national stories.

in

the traditional and

conversations between

its

Simeon ben Jochai, and Moses, which it

the short and pathetic prayers inserted

author, R.

records
therein

the

religious

anecdotes

the

attractive

spiritual explanation of Scripture passages, appealing

the descriptions of
to the hearts and wants of men
the Deity and the Sephirtth under the tender forms
;

of

human

relationship, comprehensible to the finite

mind, such as father, mother, primeval man, matron,

white head, the great and small face, the

bride,

luminous mirror, the higher heaven, the higher earth,

&c., which it gives on every page, made the Zohar a

welcome text-book

for the students of the

Kabalah,

vivid descriptions of Divine Love,* could

who, by
lose themselves
its

in

rapturous

embraces with

the

Deity."

We

are placed

understand,

It

is

in

Arabian Sufism.

firstly,

this

by

this

after

respect

that

quotation

in

what manner

the

a position to
the literature

Zohar suggests analogies with

The

>l\lrittcn

&iorb of Jtabalism

191

of Kabalism affected the fervid

imagination of the
Jew and the kind of influence which it had on him,
well illustrated in the
fascinating

of

Messianic enthusiasm

We

noted.

there

is

can

and

understand,

and

secondly,

to correct in the occult

theory

upon the Zohar as embodying the

ledge of a religion behind
less readily to

responds

conception

all

is

no person could be

were he

full

already

how much

which has fixed

No

know
system

involved in such a
less

disposed than

Kabalistic notion of

really acquainted

philosophical doctrines which

as

traditional

religions.

what

the occultist to accept the

religion,

terrible histories

illusion,

The

therewith.

have sketched

in

the

of the

early sections

previous book do certainly

connect superficially with occult
philosophy, which
itself

that

seems to connect magnetically with

everything
unsound in faith and unreasonable in doctrine.

is

The connection
that neither

That God

is
is

in the present instance can

only show
of serious account in the last
analysis.

immanent

in

the material world

is

much

simpler and more rational hypothesis than to

establish intermediaries between finite and
infinite,

which create innumerable

difficulties

without resolving

Far more truly philosophical is the doctrine of

the Countenances, which I have described
already as
any.

the chief glory of Kabalism, but, so far as all effect is

concerned, it has passed away, like the Shekinah from
the Holy Place.
At the present
we have other

day
and better means of excusing the
anthropomorphisms
of the Bible, and, for the rest, no
attempt to excuse
them has any connection, approximate or

remote,
with the ground which occult
philosophy assumes to
cover.

192

^he

divided by Rosenroth, after a some

manner, into internal and external

The Zohar
what

anb ^ittmimt of the

jpo-ctriue
is

artificial

parts.*
I.

The

internal parts are those

bined together in one scheme.

(a)

The

which are com

They

are

text of the Zohar, properly so called.

all its
additions this is not of

Apart from

unmanageable dimensions.
(b)

The Sepher

Dzenioutha, or

Book of Con

cealment.

(d)

The Idrah Kabbah, or Greater Synod.

The IdraJi Zuta, or Lesser Synod.

(e)

Sabah

(c)

D MisJipatim, the Discourse

of the Ancient

One

in section

or Story

Mishpatim.

(/) Midrash Ruth, or Commentary on

There
Scriptural book of that name.

the
are

fragments only.
(g)

Ha

Renowned
Book, sometimes called Book

Sepher

Illustrious

Bahir,

the

or

of

Brightness.
(Jt]
(z )

Tosephthoth, Addenda, or Additions.

Rayah Mehenmah, or the

Faithful Shepherd.

Palaces, Mansions, or Abodes.

(/)

Haikluth,

(k)

Sithrai Thorah, or Mysteries of the Thorah,

i.e.,

i.e.,

the Law.

(/)

Midrash Hannelam, or the Secret

Com

mentary.

(;) Raze Derazin, or Secret of Secrets.

From
tracts

this

account are

omitted

the following

and fragments, on the ground that they do not

*

Kabbala Demidata,

vol.

ii.

p. 8.

TThc oEritteu SHorb of Subaltern

in the

appear

Mantua

the Little Zohar

edition of circa 1558,

193

known

as

*
:

Midrash Hazeeth, or Commentary on the

Song of Solomon.
(a)

(V)

Pekoodah, or Explanation of the Thorah.

Yenookah, or the Discourse of the Youth.

(d)

Maamar

(b)

beginning,

To

Hasee,

Come and

or

the

discourse

See.

Hibboorah Kadmad, or Primary

Assembly

(e)

(f) Mathanithan, or Traditional Receptions.

The ground on which

appears
the

these portions are set aside

insufficient, as the sections e,f, g,j\

and

tabulation are also wanting in the

The Great Zohar, the Cremona

first

edition.

(1558-60), contains

both the above

;//

in

Mantua
edition

the treatises enumerated in

all

lists.

am

not aware that any

Mantua Zohar.f
As understood by Rosenroth, the external

superior authority resides in the

II.

are those superadded

These are

parts

to the earlier editions.

(a)

Tikkunim

H Zohar, or Supplements of the

y

Book of Splendour,

called also the Ancient

Supplements, to distinguish them from further

and

later additions.

(b)

Zohar Chadash

matters omitted

in

the New Zohar,

containing
the printed editions.
This

has four parts.

*

The Greater Zohar being that of Cremona. Blunt s

Dictionary
of Doctrinal and Historical
Theology makes a ludicrous confusion over
this point,
the
representing the Greater /..har
on

Genc.Ms and the Lesser as the Book of Concealment.

Hebrew

translation in

MS. by

served in the Libr.iry of Oppcnhcimcr.

ISarachiel

commentary

ben Korba

is

pre

194

^ht

Jtoctrine

The

(1)

an ^ $itcratnre of the
text of the Zohar

through which

scattered

itself,

the supplement of the tract

of which appears

is

Midrask Hannelam, part

in the original

work.

New

Tikkunim Chadashim^ or

(2)

Supple

ments.
(3)

Zohar Shir Hashirim,

or Exposition of

the Canticle of Canticles appertaining to the

Zohar.
(4)
tions,

Zohar

Aike, or Exposition of

Lamenta

appertaining to the Zohar.

In the above

tabulations are contained every

thing of the Zohar that has

come down

be unnecessary to say that

not increase with its bulk.

will

its

to us.*

It

authenticity did

For the better comprehension

Rosenroth recommends

of

the

cycle

(a) Sepher Deruk Ameth, that

Truth,

being

various

readings

is,

in

the

the

Way

of

Zohar

Mantuan edition.
Words of Understanding,

arranged according to the

(b) Binah Amri, or

being an elucidation of difficulties in the Zoharistic

vocabulary.

(c)

Zohar Chamah,

or Splendours of the Sun,

follows the

being a short commentary which

Mantua

edition.

(d) Pardes

Rimmonim,

or

Garden of Pome

granates, by R. Moses of Cordova, an explana

of numerous texts in the Zohar and
tion

Tikkunim.
(e)

Mequr Chokmah,
*

Fount of Wisdom,

or

Kabbala Denudata,

ii.

p. 9.

vThc e&rittcu fiHorb ot

gabaliem

195

forming a continuation or new part of the

Way

of Truth.

Marah

(f)

Kohen, or the Vision of the Priest,

greater part of which

synoptic work, the

appears

in the

Kabbala Denmiata,

Zar Zahab,

(g)

or

vol.

ii.

part

i.

Crown of Gold, used

largely in the apparatus of Rosenroth.

(h) Pathach Ainitn, or Gate of the Eyes, for

the Biblical quotations in the Zohar and Tikkunim.

Rosenroth also highly recommends and

largely
reproduces the vast manuscript treatises of Isaac de
compiled by R. Chaiim Vital, and further
acknowledges his indebtedness to two other un printed
Loria,

works, a Kabalistic commentary on the whole

and a

treatise entitled

The Zohar

Law

Chesed Abraham.

proper, the conversations of

Simeon

ben Jochai with the prophets

by whom he was visited,
with the disciples by whom he was surrounded and
of these, as

we have

seen, with each other, is not a

be judged by the same standard as
the purely allegorical portions which have been incor

work that

is

to

porated therewith, and to which Christian students of

Kabalism have given so much prominence. It is, in the
first

place, far

distorted

more natural and comprehensible,

less

by monstrous symbolism, having occasionally

a touch of nature to indicate

and condescending even

episode.*

Finally,

it

its

kinship with humanity,

Rabelaisian

at times to a

does not betray

much

trace

hun.hxd rabbinical histories, fables and

apologues are
sometimes elucidating a knotty
point of Scripture, as, for
example, whether the destruction of animal life at the Deluge
may
narrated in

it,

indicate that the Least*

a just

man, sometimes

al.v,

sinned,

de.-cribing

MUetinMi recounting

viM.,n>

and narrating

the death of

tales of

wonder.

^Iu

196

Itortrine anb ffiteatnre of the $abalalt

of that inner
of

its

meaning which

entire content,

who would and do

scendentalism

in

for

is

loosely supposed
the most part, by those

likewise discern a latent trans-

To determine

Pantagruelism.*

whether the work, as a whole,

is

important from

occultism, I shall now

standpoint
give a short synopsis of its doctrine on several
vital
questions of religion and philosophy.

of

the

modern

We

have

seen

occasional

that

in

certain

and informal

it

is

manner
a

somewhat

commentary

on

Pentateuch, and it is understood and passed

over that it is a forced, arbitrary commentary, which
the

has nothing in harmony with the simple sense of

would serve no purpose

which applies to all
fact,
It

Scripture.

upon

this

exegesis.

The governing

pretation or treatment

senses

in

the

written

is

to

enlarge

Kabalistic

principle of its inter

the existence of several

word.

These are

differently

enumerated, and there seems no reason why they

should not be extended indefinitely, but they are
reducible broadly under three heads, which are

compared by the Zohar to the garment, the body

which is within it and the soul which is within
the body.

how

"

There are those

man

"

unwise," it

says,

who

vested in a comely garment,

but see no farther, and take the garment for the

behold

is

something more precious

the
soul.
The Law has also
[than either], namely,
its body.
Some of the commandments may be
body, whereas

called

the

there

is

body of the

Law,

and

the

Following the lead of Eliphas Levi, especially

Meudon.

in

ordinary

Lc Sorcier de

cjthitteu (udorb of

mingled therein

recitals

JUbalism

the

are

197

garments

which

clothe this

body. Simple folk observe only these

garments, i.e., the narrations of the Law, perceiving
not that which they hide. Others more instructed

do not give heed

which it covers.

to the vestment but to the

And

there

are

the

body

Wise, the

servants of the Great King, who dwell on the heights

of Sinai and concern themselves only with the soul,
which is the foundation of all and the true Law.

These

be ready

shall

in

the coming time to con

which breathes in

template the soul of that soul

the Law."*

I
mean by the
which
the Kabalah
significance
reads into the Bible,f and it is, I think, also an

This passage

illustrates

what

added depth and

instance of

the

rabbins of the

intellectual

who

Kxile

humility of the great

confessed to a sense in

Scripture which exceeded their loving penetration,}:

so that after all subtleties of exegesis, all the

symposiums of synods, the Word of God issued

in a mystery, and the key of this mystery was the
reward of

the just

and wise man

in

the

world

to come.

The

necessity of the

manifold sense followed

from the insufficiency of the letter. Simple recitals

and common words suggested only the human
lawgiver if those only were the sum of the Thorah,
it would be
possible to equal, perhaps even to excel
;

Zohar, part
I

iii.

fol.

152^,

Mantua

mean, of course, ex hypothesi.

edition.

The

extracted sense was too

often a ridiculous illusion.

t Mr. Isaac Myer supposes that the higher soul of the Thorah
God Himself, but no doubt it is the divine sense of the Word
which gives knowledge of the Word Itself.
signifies

^he

198

gtortrme anb |iteratuu of the

Moreover, the sayings of Esau, Hagar, Laban,

the
Balaam and Balaam s ass, could not be

it.

of

"

Law

of Truth, the Perfect Law, the faithful witness

And

hence the transcendental meaning,

of

God."*

in

which was the true Law, was supposed, to save

from scepticism, and it postponed rationalistic

Israel

criticism

for

extravagance

some
;

centuries.

led of course into

It

the second sense

became

in its turn

inadequate and one more concealed was inferred.

So also, besides a general latent meaning, there was
that

more

particular triple significance attributed to

As

each several word.

by such a method are

these

senses

say

that

that

the Zohar does

the possibilities

infinite,

it

suggested
unnecessary to

is

were never methodised, or

not

unfold

in

consecutive

form either the allegorical or mystical meaning. It

gives glimpses only, and it may be in this sense
that

the original

camel

load.

Zohar

That

is

original

said

to

have

been a

was a latency in the

it was never written

minds of Kabalistic rabbins, but

with pen.

As

Zohar establishes the necessity of the

meaning on the insufficiency of the

the

concealed

outward, arid as the sense of such insufficiency is

indubitably a late event in the history of sacred

documents, we have

evidence for deciding the

value of the claim which it elsewhere makes to a
full

high antiquity for its interpretation. Had the Jew

never come in contact with culture outside Judea
he would never have conceived the tradition," and
"

the kind of culture which helped

*

Mantua

edition, fol.

him

149^.

to the sense

vlhe

<&lrittcu

a21orb of Jfiabaliem

199

of insufficiency is not to be looked for in Egypt

or in Babylon, but in the Hellenised thought of

Rome.*
Having

established

the

general

principle

of

us see next the kind of light

Zoharic exegesis,
which it cast upon the letter of Scripture and, in
We
the first place, upon the creation of man.
let

know that, according to Genesis, he was made of

the dust of the earth, that the breath of life passed

The
over him and that he became a living soul.
Zohar is able to tell us what transpired before this
event

One

When

entered into the will of the Holy

to create man, He called before Him many"

hosts of
is

my

Man

will

It

Then

the

it

superior

will to create

angels and said unto them,

man.

They answered Him,

not continue one night

his

in

dignity. !

Holy One extended His finger and burned

Thereafter He summoned other hosts into

the

them.

His presence, saying unto them, It is my will to

man.
They answered, What is man that
Thou rememberest him ? J He said unto them, But

create

shall be in our image, so that his wisdom

When Rlohim
be greater than your wisdom.

man

this

shall

had created man, when man had fallen into sin,

going forth as one guilty, there came Uzza and
Azael,

saying

the

to

Holy

One,

We

have

an

*
latonism.
It was the
It does not follow that the Kabalah is
consequence of a contact, hut the growth and the increase was in the
mind of Jewry.
N. xlix. 12, and the pleasing anachronism,
t The reference
by which the angels are made to quote David before the creation
of man, is paralleled, if Poe may be trusted, by the Aristotelian
I

i->

t<>

phrases which Milton puts into the mouth of Lucifer.

% Quoting \\.

viii. 4.

^hc

200

JJ-oxtrine anfc

Ipterature oi ihz

accusation against Thee.

hast made,

whom Thou
He
Thee.

Behold

man

son of

this

how he hath

sinned before

If ye had been in
them,
like case, ye would have done worse than he has.
What then did the Holy One ? He cast them

down from

answered

must be confessed that

It

neither

We
the

an

know
fall

from heaven.*

their sacred station, even

inward

sense

this ridiculous fable

outward

an

nor

has

light.

that Latin Christianity has a legend of

of the angels which connects that event in

of redemption

some misty manner with the scheme

speaks with the

this history,
with
of
in
seraphs
comparison
tongue
but

it

it

is

in

which the superior good sense of the hierarchy

punished by burning and expulsion. There are,

is

childish,

sufficiently

other passages in the Zohar which

The
are explanatory of the creation of man.
breath of life is said to be the holy soul which has

of course,

its

on

many

origin from the Life Divine,

his

life

mundane

(Nephes/i)

Chaiah.

And

with a sanctified

course

communicated
in this

and thus man started

from

the

connection there

is

natural

heavenly

a suggestive

and beautiful thought.

So long as that holy soul
communicates with the son of man, he is the well"

beloved of his Master.

How many

keepers watch
He is the symbol

and encompass him on all sides

of goodness both above and below, and the Holy
Shekinah rests upon him. But when he turns aside
!

from

this

soul has

path the Shekinah abandons him, the holy

no longer any intercourse with him, and

from the side of the mighty

*

evil

Zohar, edition of Zolkiew,

iii.

spirit

2o8a.

[Samael]

201

SBrittcu (ftlorb ot gabalism

down

put in action a spirit which goes up and

in the world, resting only in those places

from

which

there

is

man was

We

corrupted."*

of

on

sit

had

Glory

this

and

withdrawn,
six

created on the sixth day

to

worthy

is

Throne

the

that

has

sanctity

man

of

the child

"

thus

learn also

steps,-)-

and

because he

is

There are again

throne."J

obscure references to the original physical condition

of humanity.
Adam and Eve were created side by
seemingly, there was
It
desire of the female towards the male."

not face to face

side,

not a

"

that

is,

does not, however, appear that the awakening of this

desire was the real cause of the lapse from perfection,
a notion quite discordant with rabbinical views upon
the sanctity and symbolism of sexual intercourse.

The Kabalah and

offer a

the mysticism which led up to

it

It is
of the nuptial state.
true that in the fragments of the Bahir the sin of

very high ideal

Eve

is presented as sexual, but if this is to be under

stood literally it was one of monstrous intercourse.

According

to

Maimonides,

however,

the

serpent

represented the imaginative faculty.

Enough has been quoted

to

show that there

is

curious theosophic lore in the Zohar concerning the

creation of man, but there is nothing of any real
occult significance

mythos, and
sphere, which
Cremona
t

Ex

cribed in

I.

is

most interesting within its own

that of mythology and not certainly
is

it

is

ed., part

ii.

fol.

2ia.

The prototype of Solomon s throne, as des

The Throne of Glory is in the Briatic world.
19.

Hypothcsi.

Kings

Cremona
Ibid.

suggestive occasionally with

never wanting in fable and

is

it

the suggestion that

fol.

x.

ed., part

26a.

ii.

fol.

25<j.

202

Doctrine sub fEifcratur* of the gabalah

xjlhe

We may

of mystic religion.

Adam

cerning the state of

that

told

take the inquiry a step

and ascertain what the Zohar teaches con

further

prior to his

he was clothed

"

We

fall.

are

the garment of the

in

Upper Splendour,"* for which Jehovah Elohim after

wards substituted the garment of skin, thus indicating
that the fall was followed by a change of physical
condition.

There

is

no need to mention that

Eastern mythologies

prevailed in

this

is
legend
many
on
the
one
of
the
the
inheritance
not,
hand,
special
Kabalah, nor can the latter show that it really came
;

it

through an oral succession from early times.

by

it

As

often

in the

happens

Zohar, there

inference from the fable which

"

itself.

is

is

a poetical

better than the fable

The good deeds which

the son

of

man

in this world draw from the Light of

Glory above, and he prepares for himself a garment
against the day when he shall enter that world and

accomplishes

appear before the Holy Blessed

The

man

Fall of

upon the fact that

nections, insists

Samae who brought death

serpent

to

some extent

was a lapse of the

below

it.

said that

it

allegorical,

but this

soul

serpent takes

"the

all

flesh."

away the higher souls

The tree of the trespass
which sounds

but

and

Fol.

by the desire of the things

The death seems to be spiritual, for it is

\Ncshamoth\ of

con

and the lapse

was banished from Paradise,

the

its

was the serpent

into the world

is

One."f

the Zohar, as in

in

tree
I03<.

is

Cf.

allegorical

Mantua

Edition,

ii.

fantastic

moves with man

229^.

t Ibid. Cf. the parallel mythos of Talmudic times, which represents

good deeds as creating good angels.
J Cremona ed., part i. fol. 280.
Ibid. fol. 126*.

IThc (idrittcu c&orb at |iabalism

through his pilgrimage.

eternal banishment

Adam
of

the

203

was the cause of

also

In

descendants.

his

dealing with other sections of the Zohar we shall have

occasion to refer again to the mythos of the
Fall

and

shall observe that

the introduction
If

we

we

shall

turn

now

find

that

mystery of original

to the

intensified

is

it

In Psalm xci.

explained.

further involved

is

it

by

of monstrous elements.

it

11,

rather

said:

is

"

He

sin,

than
shall

give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all

thy ways," which passage the New Testament applies
in a special

as follows

manner
"

The Zohar

to Christ.

When man comes

moment

appears in him at that

explains

it

into the world there

the evil spirit which

This evil spirit never

always arraigns him.
forsakes man from the day that he is born into the
world.
But the good spirit comes to the man from
.

When does a man

the day that he is made clean.
become clean ? At the age of thirteen years. Then
he joins himself with both spirits, one on the right
hand and one on the
and the

evil

to the

even the good to the right

and these are the two spirits

left,

left,

which are appointed ever to remain by man.

strive after perfection the evil spirit

that the right rules the

secure him in

all

his

an especial manner, as

If

he

restrained, so

and then both unite to

It

ways."*

statement that the child

in

left,

is

follows from this

is

delivered over to iniquity

it

does not receive the good

reaches the age of puberty.

connected
with the doctrines of the Fall
Closely
of man and original sin is that of the Messiah, who,

angel until

it

Ibid. fol.

^.

204
for

Ihe

gtortrine nub $ti*tfttare of the

Jew and

Christian

is

alike,

Jabalah

a deliverer and an

atonement, and

much

recalls a host of

Talmudic speculations on the same

common

In

subject.

Messiah

is

we

that

with

all

souls,

was the

It

pre-existent.

find

the

in

Zohar
of

that
spirit

the

of the

King Messiah which brooded over the waters at the

creation.*
He governs both above and below,
gladdening the heart of

Israel,

When

idolatrous nations.

but a judgment on

the souls in the Garden of

Eden behold

the just suffering for their Master they

return and inform the Messiah.
When they inform
Him of the afflictions of Israel in exile, and of
"

sinners in Israel

who

written,
[Is.

liii.

not that they

reflect

He lifts up His
He was wounded

their Lord,

may know

voice and weeps, as

it

is

our transgressions
We read, again, of a Palace of Wicked
the Garden of Eden, to which the

5].f

Children in

for

and there invokes upon Himself all

the tribulations of Israel.
If He had not thus
Messiah

repairs,

"

taken upon Himself the punishments for the trans

gressions of the law, no man would be able to endure
them."J:

More

curious and

more

significant

is

the

"Whilst
the
passage which follows immediately.
children of Israel abode in the Holy Land, they
averted from the world all pain and suffering [? in

the

sense

of

punishment for trespass] by their

prayers, worship and sacrifice, but now this is per
formed by the Messiah," yet so long only as man
remains

in the world, for

tion afterwards.

As

it

he must receive his retribu

does not appear that Jews or

Gentiles really escape the consequences of their mis*

Cremona

ed., part

i.

fol.

127^.
Ibid.

f Ibid, part

ii.

fol.

95^.

The

cBritten eBorb of giabalism

deeds, this notion of vicarious atonement

205

quite of
Elsewhere, however, it is said

the fantastic order.

is

that the righteous are the sacrifice

and the atonement

We

that the Zohar

of the world.

must remember

is

a medley, and that medleys are not in correspondence

I must be content to refer briefly to a
at all points.
very long passage which has been the subject of
much controversy as to the date of the Zohar and is

concerned with the appearance of the Messiah. It

will be a time of woe and salvation, and of special
affliction

but

for Israel,

"

he who

tribulation

further

distress

persistent in the

is

faith shall attain the joy of the

After this

King."

follow

shall

from

the

combination of nations and kings, and then a pillar

of fire extending from heaven to earth shall become
visible to all

come

which

Galilee,

was

destruction in the
in

at

men,

forth from the

which time the Messiah shall

Garden of Eden and appear in
the

first

Holy Land and

province to suffer
the first, therefore,

is

Thence He shall
up war against the whole world. There will be

which

stir

He must

reveal himself.

signs in the heavens, stars warring against the

star of the East, after which the Messiah will be

many

invisible for twelve

months and

that period will be taken

Crown of

the

the

up

at the expiration of

heaven to receive

into

Kingdom.

He

will

again reveal

Himself and wage war against the whole world, &c.*

It

is

doctrine,f

feld

to

or,

speaking

ii.

fol.

t For very

full

Zohar,

7,

such

generally,

Amsterdam

the

Messianic

scheme

of

edition.

information on the whole subject, see A. Hilj,vn-

MessiasJutLrorunti

"Jewish

suppose that

idle

and Christian

Leipsic,

Miiah,"

1869,

and Vincent

Edinburgh, 1885.

II.

Stant>n

206

Bodrine

^oEhe

Kabalistic

literature of the Ipabalah

anii

scriptural

can

interpretation,

slightest occult importance

is

it

have the

essentially a Jewish

scheme, supposing the exclusive claim of Jewry to

the divine election, and the last source to which

we

can look for confirmation of the romantic notion that

a transcendental

doctrine

of

been perpetuated from the

it

actually

is,

absolute

thesaurus

has

religion

Understood as

far past.

of Jewish

theosophy,

yearning and
because
is
aspirations, which,
Jewry
part of humanity,
is in contact at a thousand points with the aspiration
Jewish

doctrines,

visionary

Jewish

and yearning of the whole heart of the world,

priceless memorial, but

it

the attempt to misplace

it.

it

is

loses all its significance in

Because

it is

of

it

theosophical
points of

its

has,
course,
although Jewish,
connection with other occult systems, and not infre
quently with matters which are beyond the range of

that which

is

understood by occultism, in a word,

with the things of mysticism, as, for example, in its

transcendental speculations on the identity of subject
and object in God and perhaps even in the mystic

experience
into

that

of

the

strange

soul.

enters

It

doctrine

of

good

deal

correspondences

which we meet everywhere in the domain which

is
embraced in the higher understanding of the
It might
be described indeed as
term Magic.
extended mystery of correspondence.
soever is found on earth," says the Zohar,
the

spiritual
it.

is

counterpart on high and

the inferior part is

set over it in the upper world
all

What
has

its

dependent on
influenced, that which

When

because

"

"

are

united."

of talismanic magic

is

From
the

first

is

is

also affected,

this doctrine the art

logical consequence.

vTlu

Elsewhere

said

is

it

ubali-?m

lorb of

SHritteu
"

That which

the likeness of that which

is

207

above

is

in

is

below, and the likeness

is below is in the sea [regarded as

the mirror of the inferior heaven], but all is one."*
This is, of course, identical with the pseudo-Hermetic

of that which

maxim, Quod supaius

cst sic u t

inferius est sicut

supcrius, &c.,

quod
have been formulated along the

quod infer ins et quod

which may even

linos of the Zohar.

The peculiar philosophical system of the Kabalah

of course receives a very full development in its chief
literary memorial, but we are sufficiently acquainted
with the heads of this system to

make

extensive

The

quotation superfluous.
primordial manifestation
of the unknown God was the production of a luminous
point,

which

Kether, and

is

it

seems certain that

hereby the Zohar understands the Ego, for it says

expressly that this was the light which Elohim
created

before

everything.

The

nucleus

of

the

luminous point is Thought, which is the beginning

of all things.
In its union with the Spirit f it is
Binah, and the diffusion of this Spirit brings
forth a Voice, which in turn produces the Word, for

called

the Zohar

the Word.*

a philosophy of

is

Thought
light of

the Divine Consciousness

matter of

first

FJ him willed

all

manifested

the

make

to

In

is

therefore the
"

universe.

the world,

this

The

things were evolved.

the forms of

He

When

produced a

concealed light from which all the manifested lights

were afterwards radiated, thus forming the superior
*
7.<har,

is in nil

Cremona, part

tiling below, so

t Kether

is itself

Mion.i

c<l.,

"

ii.

fol. f)a.

Cf. parl

i.

fol.

gi<i.

A-

it is above."

the Spirit, according to the Sepher Yctzirah.

part

i.

fol.

131^.

it

208

^he

IBoxtnn* anb literature of the giabalah

or

world,"

from which

Atziluth^

were subsequently emanated.*

we have elsewhere seen, that

It

as

said also,

is

beginning was
which
existence
any

the will of the King, prior to

emanation from

into being through

worlds

other

in the

"

came
With

the

this

will."f

connected the notion of thought

the
of
all things, but unrealised in the
as
principle
primordial condition, and contained within itself.
this

will

is

The expansion

of

next assumes the

thought

produces

which

spirit,

of intelligence, in which state

title

the thought is no longer self-centred. The spirit

in the course of its development produces a voice
or

word, but the thought, the understanding and

word are one alone, while the thought itself
bound up with Ain Soph and is never separated

the
is

This

therefrom.

is

the significance of the Scriptural

statement that Jehovah

is

one and

his

Name

is

one.J
suggestive and also the most
recurrent teachings is the importance and universality
of man in the scheme of things.
For the Zohar,

the

Among

most

as for the poet, the world

is

and

man

"

all

form of

that interests a

man

celestial

"a

that

the

sacred
prises

to

its

Mercabah

man."

humanity,"

It

was the

God assumed

beginning of his manifestation.

this

disguised
is

or chariot,

This

is

and

this

the

at

the Shekinah,
also

the

is

of Jehovah.
The form of man com
that is in heaven or on earth, and prior

name
all

manifestation

no form could

subsist.

It

is

the perfection of faith in all things and the absolute

form of all. It is the summary and the most exalted

term of creation.
*

As

soon as

t Cremona

Ibid., fol. 30, 24^, 98^.

Zohar,

man appeared

i.

ed., part

246^, Mantua.

i.

fol.

all

56.

was

vLhe

u&ntten SQorb

of Siabalism

209

completed, both of the world above and the world

Even those physical parts which he
puts
aside ultimately are conformed to the secrets of the
below.

Supreme Wisdom.

So also in his threefold nature

a faithful image of that which
passes on high,
and the souls of the just are above all the
powers
he

is

and all the servitors that are on

There is
high.*
even a certain withdrawn and inconceivable sense
in which man
through Sephirotic mediation
brings

the latens Deitas into manifestation, and as

all

things
exist and subsist for man, so the
problem of evil
in the universe is solved in his
interest, as it is the

condition of his development while with a Catholic

comprehensiveness which has no parallel in
;

any
scheme of human existence
regarded by the Zohar with an optimism strange

sacred
is

in

its

literature

the

profundity, from

man s

in

pre-existence

the

archetypal world to the beatific vision, the absorp

tion and the eternal
nuptials which await him.

The pneumatology of
developed

in

the Zohar

the connections of that

the

commentary proper.
highest degree of creation

The
;

in

and he comprises everything.

more fully
work than in
is

spiritual

man

is

the

him

it

The

soul originates in

was completed

the

Supreme Intelligence. "At the time when the

Holy Blessed One desired to create the world
,

He

formed

the souls which should be

given after
wards to the children of men."f It is also stated
all

expressly that the soul enters the body

has come with protestations,
grief and
*

Zohar, Mantua edition,

ii.
I42a; i. 91^.

1910;

t Ibid., part

ii.

fol.

43^.

ii.

fol.

42

iii.

n^

when her

time-

unwillingness.
;

iii.

144,,

ijj.

4ya

^he

210

Sortrine nub

ffijiterahtre

of the

equally clear that it acquires nothing by the

experience, unless it be the dignity of an ordeal
all that
which has been withstood successfully, for
It is

"

souls learn in this world they

they came

knew already

before

which follows from the

into the world,

Talmudic doctrine that they were acquainted with

Their proper end is the return

the whole Thorah*

into Deity, but there are various abiding places

destinies for the higher spiritual principles,

and

and even

they may depart from an unclean person.f

be added that souls are created in pairs, but

in this life
It

may

these pairs do not invariably

come

at the

same time

into the world.

In the excerpts which have been now given the

Zohar appears at its best, but I may observe in
conclusion that, again after the manner of a medley, it
combines with things precious others that are of little
value and not a few that are indescribably foolish.

There

are,

for

example, gross

absurdities

in

the

pneumatological portions. When the soul enters the

body of the infant it cannot find room and has to
await the growth of its envelope in considerable dis
Points of this kind might be multiplied
comfort.
indefinitely.

They extend

to all departments of the

doctrine and obtain especially concerning the resur

rection of the dead, which, according to the Zohar, as
there

is

no need to

say,

is

the

restitution

of the

As this
its proper soul.
can take place only in Palestine the
bones of Israel in exile will be transported thither.
physical

body together with

resurrection

p.

Ibid., part iii. fol. 280.

Compare, however, Franck, La Kabbah,
236, where the very opposite teaching is ascribed to the Zohar.

t Ibid,, part

i.

fol.

376.

TTht SBritteu
It

may

of

<$Iorb

211

gUbaliem

be added that the Zohar took the

Sepher
its heart of
hearts, dwelt upon it,

Yetzirah into

extended, magnified,
earlier

almost

The Hebrew

bolism.

tract

transformed

letters

its

which figure

sym
the

in

as the instruments of creation are for

the ciphers or vestures of the written

law, the
expression of the Thorah, and the Thorali is the
Whether or not we
archetype of all the worlds.
it

are able

to

Yetzirah

ends

agree with Franck that the Sepher

where the Zohar commences, and

that they are the exact

it

complements of each other,

certain that the instinct of the
early students

is

who

singled

rest

of

fault

the

the

"

Book

of

pre-Zoharic

in

regarding
Kabalism.

it

as

Formation

Midrashim
the

head

"

from the

was

not

at

and source of

But, in conclusion, as there was an occultism

and mysticism in Israel prior to the
Sepher Raziel
and to the Zohar, so both were
in

incorporated
the latter; both in the process underwent a
species
of transmutation, and as I venture to think the
process, like that

something

at least, flights
in

this

"sea-change"

more

strange
of

of the poet, produced

and

rich..

mystic thought

book

and

There

are,

aspiration

of

theosophy which are

unknown to Gebirol and Ibn Ezra, and are more
direct and strong in their
appeal to the inner con
great

sciousness of

man

in

this

dawn

of the twentieth

century than in the famous commentary of Azariel or

in the School of Isaac the Blind.
And to confess
this

is

to confess out of

hand that the Zohar has

still

a message for the

mystic.
Perhaps all that is of
value therein would be contained within a few leaves

^ht

212

anb literature of the gabalah

JJxrctnitt

poems of

but, as said of the choicest

Coleridge,

it

should be bound in pure gold.

II.

THE BOOK OF CONCEALMENT

The Sepher Dzenioutha,

ment

or of Occultation, to

the

Book

of Conceal

which so much prominence

has been given by occult writers,

not, therefore, as

is

they occasionally seem to suppose, the beginning of

In the Sulzbach
the great cycle entitled the Zohar.
edition, edited

begins at fol. i?6b

and ends at fol. ij$b of the second volume. Most
editions are either paged in correspondence with one

by Rosenroth,

it

another or refer readers to the pagination of

previous codices.
Lublinensis follows

Among
the

early

codices

Cremona

though used by Rosenroth

for

his

the
of

that

edition,

which,

references,

was

regarded by him as inferior to the simultaneous or

slightly prior edition of Mantua. The latter he terms
invariably

Codex

correctus.

From

the

of

silence

on the subject of the Zohar proper it might

be judged that they do not regard it as of great

occultists

occult importance

which, as seen,
Concealment,"

dimensions,
is

is

but there is a simpler explanation,

not far to seek. The
Book of
"

is

on the contrary, though small

in

its

of the highest occult importance

it
and foundation of the Zohar,*
;

regarded as the root

generally understood, and also as the most

ancient portion of that collection, which is almost
as

it

is

"

Mathers,

Kabbalah

Unveiled,"

p.

14.

TTIu (Uttritten (SQorb of gUbitliem

provably correct.*

It

213

has been said further that

it is

few pages, but with

theogony comprised
developments more numerous than the Talmud.f In
in

a word, for occultists, the Book of Concealment and

the Book of Formation are the fountain heads of all

The Hebrew term which

Kabalism.

is

rendered

Mystery, Concealment, or Modesty by Isaac Myers, is

given as Concealed Mystery by Mathers, without
pretending that the version is actually literal. For
Sepher Deznioutha Rosen roth gives Liber Occulta-

The work

is concerned with the manifestation

of the Divine Being as the term of His concealment
in the eternity which
preceded manifestation. The

tionis.\

chapter deals with the development of the Vast

Countenance, the image of the Father of all things,
the
been
Macroprosopus, when equilibrium had
first

established in the universe of unbalanced forces. This

Countenance, which

Crown,

referred

is

to

Kether, or the

compared by the Zoharistic commentators

is

to the

tongue of a balance, lingula exauiinis.

equilibrium obtained, the Countenance was

When
mani

Ancient of Days appeared, God issued

His concealment.
This symbolism of the

fested, the

from

balance depicting the harmony of the universal order

*

"

Myers,
t Eliphas

Qabbalah,"
Le"vi,

p.

118.

Livre

/>

des

Sfilendcurs,

preface,

p.

ii.

"

Mysteries of Magic," 2nd ed., p. 97.

t Rabbi Loria says that it refers to things which are secret and
should be kept secretly, and compares Prov. xxv. 2, The
Glory of God
is to conceal the word.
But he also supposes nn allusion to the cirmni
stances under which the

work

is

reported to have been composed

for twelve years in a

namely, during the concealment of R. Simeon

cave.

See

Cotnmentarius

Emek HammeUih
second

part.

in

Gtntralis
Methodicns
Kabbala Denudata, vol. ii. p. 47
.

et seq.

Libro
of the

^he

214

Jl-oxtritte

anb Ipterattire of iht Jabalah

the key-note of the treatise, which, in its own

the libration of the
words, is the book describing
balance."
The balance is suspended in the place
is

"

which

no

is

Deity, and

place, that

it is

is

to say, in the abyss of

said to be the

body of Macroprosopus,

and Understanding,*
which are the sides of the balance. The Countenance,
which no man knoweth, is secret in secret, and the

referring to the SephirothVJ\$&Qm

hair of the head

is

like fine

wool hanging

in

the

The eyes are ever open, and the nostrils

equilibrium.
of the Ancient One are as two doors whence the
But the dignity of
the beard of the Countenance, which

Spirit goes forth over all things.

all

is

dignities

also

is

the ornament of

Macroprosopus
Sephiroth

as

the

MicroprosopuS) and

down

covers

It

vestment, but

not only
also the

kisses

descend as
influence

it is

is

he, says the text,

From

many

of

Understanding, called here the

Mother,f descending even unto

divided into thirteen portions,

as far as the heart, but leaving the

Blessed

lips free.

their

all.

Wisdom and

Father and

flowing

with

all

the

thirteen

who

receiveth

portions

there

drops of purest balm, and in the

do

all

things

exist

and

all

are

concealed.

For Wisdom is on the right upon the side of Benignity ; Under

is on the left upon the side of severity ; and the Crown is the
tongue in the centre which abideth above them." Ibid., p. 48. The
meaning of the symbolism is that the equilibrium between Justice and
Mercy must be assumed before the universe, having man for its object,
could become possible, and the source of this notion must be sought in
the Bcreshith Rabbah.
Compare also the teaching of the pre-Zoharic
Midrash Conen, according to which the Grace of God prevents the
opposing forces out of which the world was created from mutual
"

standing

destruction.

Ie.,

Abba and Aima.

Written SUorb of JUbaliam

The
have

Book of

"

in

said,

which destroy
difficult to

Concealment,"

its

compass,

though small, as

extract

digressions

make

continuity and

its

of

full

is

215

the

sense

In addition to the manifestation

of MacroprosopuS)

it

shows how the Most Ancient

One expanded into Microprosopus, to whom is

name Tetragrammaton, whereas I am
is that of the first Ancient*
The letter I, which
referred the

is

the

the

of the

first

Tetragrammaton^ corresponds to

Sephira Wisdom, the supernal

of

standing,

"

"

which

the

is

Microprosoptis

corresponding to the six

Under

to

issue,

from Mercy to

Sephiroth

the Foundation inclusive, and referred to the letter

V.

be

will

It

manifestation

seen,

that

therefore,

which

of

the primal
connected with

is

Deity,
the conception of the Crown, has no other name
than that which proclaims His self-existence, and

Hebrew Jehovah

that the

God.

Crown,

in a

sense a reflected

Macroprosopiis, although manifesting in the

regarded as ever hidden and concealed,

is still

by way of
is

is

antithesis in respect of Microprosopus,

When

both manifest and unmanifest

the

who
life-

giving influx rushes forth from the Ancient One,

amid the intolerable refulgence of that great light
the likeness of a head appears.
The distinction

between the two Countenances

is

the profile and the

whereas the God of

reflection
is

is

full

manifested

face, for
fully,

the Great Countenance

only declared partially, whence

*

Kether,

Compare Bk.
i.e.,

grammaton
ymbottsm,

ii.

4,

where

it is

to Atziluth generally.

perhaps inexact

it is

stated that

as representing the world of

l>ut

the distinction of

,-////

AHIH

Soph

is

referred to

and the Tetra-

There are various aspects of the

they arc not really in contradiction.

^he

216
to
is

IBrurttine anfc

$iterature of the

speak of Microprosopus as a reflection,* as

rather a second manifestation, taking place

the archetypal world.

From the sides

of

in

Countenance

Lesser

the

He

depend black locks, flowing down to the ears the

eyes have a three-fold hue, resplendent with shining
;

and a three-fold flame

light

The

beard, considered

in

issues

itself,

from the
nine

has

nostrils.

portions,

but when that of Macroprosopus sheds down its light

and influence they are found to be thirteen. Though
the Ineffable
it

tenance,

Name

is

also

said

is

referred to the

the

that

Vast Coun

manifestation

of

Microprosopus is represented by the ordinary

of the Tetragam, his occultation by the transposition

letters

of the

letters.

The Book

of Concealment

is

described

in

its

closing words as the withdrawn and involved mystery

blessed is he
of the King, and as it is added that
"

who cometh and goeth

and
of

ways,"

its

was

there

is

urgent need
This, as

significance.

unfolded

many

in

therein,

knowing its paths

some explanation

for

we

shall

rabbinical

see later on,

commentaries,

confessedly posterior to the period of

There are,
the public promulgation of the Zohar.
same
the
works
two
however,
authority
possessing

which are

as

all

Book

the

of

same authorship
sions of

that

subject of
*

It is

Concealment,
is

which also the

claimed, and constituting exten

The first of these will be the

work.

some consideration

the device of Eliphas

of interpretation.

for

Le"vi

in the

next section.

and connects with

his

method

The

The Book
utmost

now added

217

^abalism

of Concealment has been simplified

in the

that

it

a clue to

its

date

may

characteristics

much

preceding account.

anonymous

is

it

It

may

quotes

be

no

and has no references by which

rabbinical writers

two

of

THE GREATER HOLY SYNOD

III.

to the

SBorb

aiBritteu

be obtained.

which give

It

has, however,

the appearance of
those which follow

it

document than
immediately, and are designed, as already said,
These are its rudeness
to develop and expound it.
and the mutilations which it would appear to have
a

older

it

undergone.

The

the gaps and

first

translator, Rosenroth, supplies

omissions thus occasioned

by con

words and passages placed within brackets,

but even with these it is in an exceedingly faulty
The treatise now under consideration is in
state.

jectural

most respects

It

possesses almost

in narrative

form, methodises

entirely different.

a literary aspect, begins

the ensuing dialogues in a manner which is perfectly

It
explicit and stands in need of few emendations.
deals, of course, with the

preceding book and so

modern

barbarous symbolism of the

far is

admittedly repellent to

taste, a fact which has been noted by at least

one sympathetic critic who was himself an elegant

and highly suggestive writer.* The first point which
otherwise calls for notice

is

that the Greater Sacred

Synod claims Rabbi Simeon Ben Jochai as the author

Book of Concealment," and itself contains
of the
"

the discourses of this Master in Israel, delivered in a

*

Eliphas Levi, I.a Clef des Grands Mysterts.

^he

218

anb fit*ratnre of the Jiabalah

Jlxrrtiitu

beneath trees

field

in

the presence of his disciples,

namely, Rabbi Eleazar, his son, Rabbi Abba, Rabbi

Jehuda, Rabbi Josi, the son of Jacob, Rabbi Isaac,

Rabbi Chiskiah, the son of Rav, Rabbi Chia, Rabbi

These are historical names
Josi and Rabbi Jisa.
to

belonging

the

which

period

destruction of Jerusalem.
For an account of Rabbi

must have recourse

to tract

succeeded

the

Simeon himself we

Sabbath of the Talmud,

Babylonian recension, which contains the narrative

which I will here give in its substance
:

"

On

a certain occasion R. Jehudah, R. Josi and

R. Shimeon were sitting together, and with them also

R. Jehudah
was Jehudah, the son of proselytes.

opened the conversation, saying, How beautiful are

the works of this nation (the Romans). They have
established markets
they have built bridges they
;

R.

have opened bathing-houses.

Whereupon
Josi
was silent. But R. Shimeon ben Jochai answered,
saying
their
for

own

All these things have they instituted for

sake.
Their markets are gathering-places

harlots

they have built

enjoyment, and bridges

who

Caesar,

who proclaimed

be extolled

tolls

own

from those

Jehudah, the son of proselytes,

cross them.

and

repeated this conversation,

shall

baths for their

to collect

Josi,

exiled to Saphoris

(i.e.,

came

it

to the ears of

Jehudah, who extols us,

who said nothing, shall be
Cyprus) Shimeon, who has
*

be put to death.
R. Shimeon
disparaged
and his son then went out and hid themselves in the
us, shall

lecture-hall, but afterwards in a cave,

where a miracle

took place, a date-tree and a spring of water being

raised up for them.
They laid aside their garments

aSritten SSorb of gtobalism

219

sand up to their necks, studying

and
the whole time,
assuming their vestures only at
the same might wear out.
prayer-time, for fear that

and

sat covered with

In this wise they spent twelve years in the cave, when

Who will
Elijah came to the opening, and said
:

inform the son of Jochai that Caesar is dead and his

decree is annulled?
Hereupon they left the cave."*

The

wisdom embodied

secret

in the

Zohar

is

supposed

to have been the fruit of the long seclusion enforced

upon R. Simeon by the

Roman

decree.

The Talmud mentions expressly the learning

obtained during this period, but without specifying its
kind,
According to the tradition of the Kabalists
the

"

Book of Concealment

which

was reduced

it

"

was the

to writing.

The

first

form

in

discourses of

Greater Sacred Synod were recorded by Rabbi

Abba and so also in the case of the Lesser Synod."
"

the

"

"

When
heard

the conversation was about to begin a voice

the air showed that the Supernal

in

assembled

heaven

in

mentators add

round

the

to

hearken,

and

Synod had

that

coming from their

Holy Shekinah of the

speakers,

Paradise, and

the

com

the

the souls of the just gathered

rest

in

Divine

Presence.

The explanations and developments concern

world
the

in

its

Supreme Countenance, the conformations

Countenance,
prosopus,

the

the

void state before the manifestation of

or

Macroprosopus, as

also

Lesser Countenance, and

of that

of Microafter

what

manner the inferior depends from the superior. It

must be said that the expounding and the extension
*

Rodkinson, Babylonian Talmud,

vol.

i.

pp.

57-59.

220 ^Ihe Jtodrint anb Ipteratxtre of tht Jtabalalt

neither are nor assume to be explanatory in the sense
that they unfold the real significance of the symbolism.
As a fact, the treatise ends, like all treatises concerned

with the mysteries of initiation, by saying that he

is blessed who has known and beheld the concealed

words and does not

err therein.

the present, which

does

not

In an account like

even pretend to be

synoptic, it is impossible to attempt a tabulation

of the singular typology with which the Greater

Synod

is

concerned, and

it

should be noted in this

connection that the few modern writers on Kabalism

who

claim to speak magisterially and from within

an occult circle of knowledge, may have shown us

glimpses in one or two rare instances of the system

on which the typology is constructed, but have done

nothing to elucidate and therefore to recommend

it to our understanding.
It is a question which it

hard to approach from the side of the literal sense,

and to the occult student, in the absence of initiation,
is

aspects of the literature are chiefly a

of
curious
subject
speculation.
Fortunately it has

the esoteric

other aspects which make it deserving of considera

tion, or there would be no purpose in the present
inquiry.

The unbalanced

forces of the universe, the world

void state, are considered under the symbolism

of the kings who reigned in Edom before a king
in its

was

raised

that

is

up

to rule

to say, before the

over the children of

Israel,

emanation of Microprosopus*

The Kabalah represents the present universe as preceded by

others which passed away quickly.
According to Basnage, this notion
also occurs in the Talmud, where it is said, with characteristic crassness, that

when God was

alone, in order to kill time,

He

diverted

221

GErittcu fi&orb of gabalism

At

was neither beginning nor end,

that time there

and the Edomite kings were without subsistence.

According to Rosenroth this signifies the fall of
creatures partly into a state of rest, such as that
of matter, and partly into one of inordinate activity,
such as that of the evil spirits, in which case we
are dealing

not so

much
So

the legends of souls.

"

with cosmology as with

also when the
Greater
"

represents the Ancient of Ancients creating

Synod

and producing the essence of

preter,

light,

same

the

inter

who speaks

with the authority of immense

regards at least the literature of

knowledge, as

Kabalism, observes that the reference

is

to the

Law,*

words, to the letters of the alphabet, by the

transpositions of which the Law was recorded subse
in other

quently.

For the

not simplified by
of Rabbi Simeon

Concealment

"

symbolism of this order is

multiplication, and the record

rest,
its

discourses

is

only the

"

Book of

dilated in a glass of vision.

Compare,
example, the description of Macroprosopus with
the indications on the same subject contained in the
for

previous section.

and His aspect

is

"White

are His garments as snow,

as a face manifested.

He

upon a throne of glittering brightness, that

subdue them. The whiteness of his bald

is

seated

He may
head

is

extended into forty thousand worlds, and from the

Himself by the formation of divers worlds which

He

destroyed forth

The

uccessive attempts at creation, by which Deity

became experienced and at last produced the existing physical order.
Histoire des Juifs, t. ii. p. 712.
Compare also the rirki of
with.

R. Eliezer, according to which the basis of the existing universe is the

This work is referred to
repentance of God over His previous failures.
an early period of the ninth century.
For other Zoharic references

Zohar ii. 2Oa, Mantua.

Understood as the essence of the

to this subject see

*

light.

222

^oEhe Jtortrine arib

literature of the gabaiah

light of the whiteness thereof shall the just receive

four hundred

worlds in the world to

Vast Countenance

The

hundred and seventy myriads of worlds.

concealed within the skull

and the influence of

is

the Hidden

Wisdom

this

The

come."

extend into three

itself is said to

brain

Wisdom,

passes through a

channel below and issues by two and thirty paths.

The

hair of Macroprosopus radiates into four

and

ten worlds, which are

The

One.

known only

parting of the hair

is

hundred

to the Ancient

described as a path

two hundred and seventy worlds, and

another path diffuses its light, and in

shining into

therefrom
this

shall

When

the

just

the world

shine in

to

the forehead of Macroprosopus, which

benevolence

of

benevolences,

is

come.
is

uncovered,

the

the

prayers of the Israelites are received, and the time

of its uncovering is at the offering of evening prayer

on the Sabbath.

The

forehead extends into two

hundred and seventy thousand lights of the lights

For there is an Eden which
of the supernal Eden.
shines

and

is

Eden
unknown

in

it

is

withdrawn

in

concealment,

to all but the Ancient One.

The

eyes of the Vast Countenance differ from other eyes,

having neither lids nor brows, because the guardian
The two eyes
of the supernal Israel knows no sleep.
shine as a single eye, and were that eye to close even
for one moment the things which are could subsist no
longer.

Hence

ever glad.
nostrils

open eye, ever smiling,

In the nose of Macroprosopus one of the

is life,

it is

called the

and the other

is

the

life

of

life.

With

regard to the Beard of the Vast

otherwise the decoration of all decorations, neither

Countenance, called

superiors nor inferiors, neither

men

nor prophets nor

SEorb of $abnli$m

TThe ftUritteu
saints,
Its

have beheld

thirteen

for

it,

forms

the truth of

all

truths.

represented
powerful to
the stern decrees of the judg

are

subdue and to soften

is

it

223

as

all

"

Greater Synod
Thirteen chapters of the
are devoted to the consideration of this subject,
"

ments.

including the number of the locks in each portion,

the number of hairs in each lock and the number
of

worlds

attributed

This

them.

to

ends

the

discourse concerning Macroprosopus, and the treatise

of
the
the consideration
to
proceeds thence

The conformations

Lesser Countenance.

of Micro-

prosopus are disposed from the forms of the Vast

Countenance, and His components

on either side under a human

are

expanded

form.

When

the Lesser Countenance gazes on the Greater,

inferiors are restored in order, and the Lesser

There

vaster for the time being.

is

all
is

an emanation

from the Greater towards the skull of the Lesser, and

thence to numberless lower skulls, and all together
reflect the brilliance of the

whiteness of this emanation

towards the Ancient of Days. From the brain of

Macroprosopus an influence descends, from the hair

emanation of splendour, from the forehead a

benevolence, from the eyes a radiance, from the

an

nostrils

spirit

and

cheeks gladness, and

From
Countenance.
there

are

the spirit of life, from the

these fall upon the Lesser

all

brain

the

of

Microprosepus

wisdom, emanations
emanations of knowledge

emanations

understanding, and

of

of
in

each lock of the hair of Microprosopus there are a

thousand utterances his forehead is the inspection of
;

inspection, and when

visited

with

it

judgment.

is

uncovered

For

the

sinners

are

of

the

lesson

^The grrrtrine ani JJiterature ot the gabalalt

224

is that wrath
Greater Synod
may dwell with
So
Microprosopus, but not in the Ancient of Days.
"

"

also the eyes of the Lesser

when

the

Israelites

are

lids

closed

Countenance possess
judgments subdue

lids

the

and the Gentiles have dominion over them.

But the eyes, when they are open, are beautiful as

those of the dove, for they are then illuminated by
With one of those pathetic touches
the good eye.

which soften occasionally

for a

moment

of Kabalistic symbolism,

lines

is

it

the unyielding
said that two

tears dwell in the eyes of the Lesser Countenance,

and

Holy of

the

mercy on the
grow sweet

to

Israelites,
in

issue therefrom

The

when He wills to have

sends down these two tears

Holies,

the great sea of wisdom, and they

mercy upon the chosen people.

in

special seat of severity in Microprosopus

nose, and judgment goes

when

forehead

the

uncovered,

As

of

when mercy

is

the

forth

therefrom,

Vast

found

is

the

except

Countenance

is

in all things.

Ancient of Ancients, the

discourse appertaining to the beard of Microprosopus
fills many chapters, full of strange scholia on various
in the case of the

passages of Scripture, and details minutely the con

formations of its nine divisions, what it conceals of the

Lesser Countenance, what it permits to be manifested

with observations on the descent of a holy and

from the beard of Macroprosopus and

description of the correspondences and

magnificent
a general

oil

differences of the
It

two adornments.

should be observed that the body of Micro

androgyne, and as at this point the

symbolism is concerned very largely with the sexual
organs, it will be obvious that it becomes still more

prosopus

is

SEritten (SBorb of Jlabaliem

225

discordant with modern feeling, and exceeds occasion

ally what it is considered permissible to express in
A modern symbologist has said that nature
English.
is not ashamed of her
emblems,* and there is no

doubt that

for the

in

nothing repellent

But

typology.

it

Kabalist the body of man was

for him there would be

whence

sacred,

peculiarly

dealing exhaustively with its

be unnecessary in a
descriptive

will

summary to do more than allude to it. The student

who desires to pursue the subject must be referred to
the Latin version.

The sum

of the whole treatise

the words of the original.

is

in

He

know no
hath known no
is

if

things are one

all

is all

shall

change.

symbolism

Thus God

"f

depict

God

in

Him

in

in

manifestation

concealment, and
the

likeness

by way of similitude and analogy.

the conclusion of the
Greater Synod,"

humanity,

At

not really separable from

the

be given in
The Ancient of Ancients

may

He was all
He
will
be
all
He
things
things
change He knoweth no change He

Microprosopus

things

"

of

it is

we

"

are told that three of the

company died during the

deliberations, and their souls were beheld by the
remainder

carried

by

angels

behind

the

"

veil

expanded above." J
Amidst all its obscurity and uncouthness there
are sublime touches in this treatise.
The Kabalah is
perhaps the

first

of

all

books which appeared

Gerald Massey on phallic symbols,

in the

in a letter contributed to the

Spiritualist.

t Idra Rabba, sen Synodus Magna,

Kabbala Denudata, t. ii.
J Ibid., $ xlv. par. 1138.

sectio

xxxix.

par.

920,

in

226

^he

Jtortritt-e anfc

Jfiterature

.of

the

western world reciting with no uncertain voice that

God is altogether without mutation and vicissitude
that wrath and

thus a

new

judgment are of man

construction

on

the

alone, placing

divine

warning,
be
and
ye
judged";
showing also
the higher significance of the not less divine promise,
I will
Never for the true Kabalist could
repay."
"Judge not, lest

"

this

mean

spirit,

that

God would repay the

sinner in his

own

outrage for outrage, hate for hate. The repay

is the compensation of the everlasting

ment of God

justice or the gratuity of the everlasting bounty.

In

a sense the writers of the Zohar anticipated the most

liberal conclusions of modern eschatology.*
Amidst
the firebrands of the Papal Church, it promulgated
for the first time the real meaning of the forgiveness
of sins.

THE LESSER HOLY SYNOD

IV.

Similar in most of

its

characteristics to the

more

extended discourse which preceded it, the Lesser

Holy Synod," or Idra Zuta, is termed by Rosenroth
"

the

Swan s song

Simeon ben

of

Jochai, a supple
not
subjects
exhaustively treated in
the Greater Assembly.
As the master s death is

ment

to

the

recorded at the end of the treatise, the translator s

words must be understood of the instruction it
contains and not of
*

Franck

summarises

absolutely evil, nothing

evil, for a time will come
restored to him.

its setting.

the

position

The Synod
as

follows

consists

Nothing

is

accursed for ever, not even the archangel of

when his name and angelic nature will be

is

La Kabbah,

p. 217.

The

Sfclrittcn GEorfc of

gabaliem

227

of the survivors from the former conclave, with the

Simeon begins by affirming

addition of Rabbi Isaac.

that

a time of grace

is

it

he

is

conscious of his

he desires to enter without con

approaching end
fusion into the world to come
and he designs to
;

sacred things in the presence of the

which hitherto have been kept secret.

reveal those

Shekinah

Rabbi Abba
sole

is

speaker.

appointed as scribe, and Simeon is the

The discourse still concerns Macro-

prosopus and Microprosopus, with the correspondences

between them, but it sketches only the subject of the

concealed Deity and deals at great length with the

manifestation of the Lower Countenance.
In both

would

as

cases,

be

indeed

it

expected,

repeats,

substantially and verbally, much of the preceding

Synod

but

it

gives

some

additional symbolism, as,

example, concerning the three heads of Macroprosopus, one within the other and the other above
for

"

at a later stage a very considerable

other," and
extension of symbolism regarding the first manifesta
tion of the Ancient One under the form of male

the

and female, which

is,

in

fact,

the

emanation or

"

"

forming
or

of the supernal Sephiroth

and Binah, or Understanding.

forth

Wisdom,

instruction

not
deals

concerning

close

with

reflection

Chokmah,
So also the
when it is

Microprosopus^
of the
Greater
"

His androgyne nature and

Synod,"

His union

with the Bride, who cleaveth to the side of the male

until she is separated, et accedat ut copuletitr cum eo,
face to face.

Out of

doctrine of the

this

sexes, so

comes the great Kabalistic

much in advance of its

time, in whatever Christian century

we may

elect to

place the literature, namely, that male and female

^he

228

Jportrine anb literature ot the

but

are

separated

mutilated

Jabalah

humanity,

as

or,

it

expresses the idea, are but half the body, that no

blessing can rest on what is mutilated and defective,

no divided being can

that

an eternal blessing,

"

subsist for ever, nor receive

beauty of the female is

The con

for the

completed by the beauty of the male."*

junction of the supernal male and female

is

said to

be in the place called Zion and Jerusalem, which

further on are explained to signify Mercy and Justice.
"

When

the

Bride

united

is

the

to

excellence of the Sabbath, then are

King

all

in

things

the

made

one body. And then the most Holy God sitteth on

His throne, then are all things called the complete

When

name, the Holy Name.

Mother

this

united

is

the worlds receive blessing and are

to the King,
found in the joy of the universe."!
About this point the discourse of Simeon ceases
all

and Rabbi Abba, the scribe, still in the act of writing

and expecting that more should follow, heard nothing.
But afterwards a voice cried, Length of Days and
"

Years of
from

and yet another, He seeketh Life

fire abode in the house the whole
"

Life,"

Thee."

was taken away Rabbi Abba saw that

day
the holy light, the holy of the holy ones, had been
wrapped away from the world he lay upon his
right side and a smile shone upon his face. Rabbi

when

it

up and taking his

licked
says Abba,
is added that during

Eleazar, the son of Simeon, rose

hands, kissed them.

the

dust under his

of this

"

But

"

I,"

It

feet"

Idra Zuta, seu Synodus Minor,

mysticism

Talmudic

concerning

the

literature.

t Ibid.

xxii. par.

746

et seq.

viii.

nuptial

passim.
state

The foundation

must be sought

in

Written Qaorb. of ^abaliom

obsequies the bier
the air, and

his

of the deceased saint

raised in

voice cried,

shone about

fire

it,

was

while a

unto the nuptial joys of R.

in

"Enter

229

Simeon."

It

be seen that

will

in

spite

of a

somewhat

monstrous symbolism the Kabalistic narratives have

at times the touch of nature which
gives them kinship
with this world of ours.

THE DISCOURSE OF THE AGED MAN

V.

The prominence given by Rosen roth to the

Book of Concealment and its sequels was not without
its
I

warrant, as they are certainly the most arresting,

might almost say sensational, of all the tracts

imbedded

in

examined

will

now be taken

they are placed

short

tabulation.

Sabah
sectione

ancient

in

the order in which

more

sober, interest will appear

analyses which will

The

to be

the Kabbala Denudata, and their

in

inferior, or at least

by the

Those which remain

the Zohar.

first

to be

D Mishputim
Mishpatini).

accompany

enumerated

is

their

that entitled

(Historia de sene

The

man and Mishpat

term

quodam in
Sabah signifies

is

judgment, referring to
from
the
of
c. xxi.
Exodus,
Now these
beginning
"

are the

The
fol.

judgments

"to

the conclusion of

discourse occurs in the

43, col.

Sulzbach,

169;
vol.

in the

ii.

94^.

Cremona

Mantua,
It

vol.

narrates

ii.

c.

xxiv.

edition, pt.
fol.

94

in

ii.

the

conversation

between the prophet Elias and Rabbi Simeon ben

Jochai on the subject of the ordeals and

metempsy

chosis of the soul, to which

there are allusions at

^he

230

Jlarttine attb |pterature ot iht

some length

the Bereshith section of the Zohar

in

proper. Isaac de Loria

the

Revolutions

"

of

elaborate doctrine concerning

Souls

"

is

drawn

from

this

discourse of Elias with the mystic light of Kabalism.

shall have again to consider this doctrine in

We

connection with later Kabalism, in order to disabuse

any reasonable view of

occultists of the idea that

reincarnation

contained

is

in the Kabalistic writings.

specimen of the original text may, however, be

given in this place, separated from many technicalities

which would be burdensome to the beginner.
All souls go up with the revolutions or windings
[that is, are subjected to the law of transmigration],
but the children of man do not know the ways of
"

the

Holy One

the

children

how He judges
man every day in all time, how
they

of

know

not

(Neskamotk, the higher soul, anima

of
animce
Christian theology) ascend to be judged
into this world, or again
before
they descend
how they go up to judgment after that they

the

spirits

have

from

departed

and

revolutions
essential

Blessed

are

to

how many

ordeals

they (or their

subjected

by the Holy
and how many

mysterious

substances)

One

world

this

how many naked

souls

naked

spirits enter the other world, yet not through

how many worlds revolve with
the King s curtain
;

them and how the world

concealed wonders.

And

turns about in

many
men do
comprehend, how souls

itself

the children of

not know, neither do they

revolve like a stone which is cast from a sling, even
And the souls of thine enemies
as it is written
:

them
sling.

shall

He

sling out, as out of the

But while

it is

middle of a

permitted to reveal,

now

is

the

SEritten c^orb of Jtabalism

231

these mysteries, and how

all the spirits go out from that great tree and from
that
mighty river which flows from Eden, but

time to

make known

all

(Ruachin, Ruach, the anima or

pysche) issue from the small tree. The higher spirit
the

lesser

spirits

comes from above, the lesser from below, and they

are united as male and female."*

The

Kabalistic

of

division

the

soul

into

five

parts has been given in Book II. of the present work

with the necessary elucidations. The basis of the

doctrine

is

set forth as follows in the

One

the Ancient
"

there

When
is

"

Discourse of

"

the child of

man

is

born into this world

him animated

appointed to

life

from the side of the animals, the clean

the side of

Holy. Wheels

the

(Nepkesh)
side,

from

Auphanim, a
by some attribu
Should he deserve more there
(the

Kabalistic order of angels, assigned

tions to Chokmah}.

appointed to him a rational spirit (Ritac/i) from

the side of the Holy Living Creatures (Chaioth Ha
is

Kadosh, another order of angels, commonly attributed

which seems, however, inconsistent with

to Kcther,

this tabulation).
is

appointed to

side of the

Should he still deserve more there

him a higher spirit, even from the

Thrones

(i.e.,

Aralim, the order of angels

ascribed to Binah, whence

according
proper).

to

the

These

Bereshith
three

are

come

the higher souls,

of the Zohar

section

the

mother, the

male

servant and the

handmaid, even the Daughter of

Should he deserve yet more there is

the King.

appointed to him an animal soul (Nrfhesh)

*

Zohar,

Cremona

ed. part

ii.

fol.

450.

in the

^he

232

Doctrine anb Jpiterature of the Jiabalah

of Atzilnth (that

way

is,

the lowest essence of the

soul), from the side of

supernal portions
the Daughter, /echida, the only one (Jechida is the
quintessence, the highest nature of the soul), and

the

of

the

same

still

deserve more, there

rational

Daughter of the King.

called

is

spirit

of

(Ruacti)

If

he

him the

to

is

appointed
from the side

Atziluth,

Benignity, the middle

pillar of the Sephirotic Tree), and he is called the
Son of the Holy Blessed One, whence it is written

of the Central Pillar (that

is,

Ye

Lord your God (Deut.

deserve even more there is

are the children of the

xiv.

And

i).

he

if

him a higher spirit (Neskamah) from

the side of Abbah (the supernal Father, attributed
to Chokmah in the Atzilutic world) and of the
Supernal Mother (Aimah. attributed to Binah in
And
the same world), whence it is also written:

appointed to

He

breathed into his nostrils the breath of

of

(literally, souls

Gen.

life,

ii.

7).

What

is

life

life?

Jah (the Divine Name attributed to Chokmati],

Let everything that hath
whence we have heard
breath (i.e., life, i.e., all souls) praise the Lord (i.e.,
It is

And

in

is

Tetragrammaton
JHVH) perfected. But if he
J.D.V.D,
deserve still more there is appointed to him JDVD,

Jah\

(Ps.

cl.

6).

(i.e.,

in

its

full

completeness,

He

to

in

be

in

whence
the

the

letters

which are

of

Heh, Vau, Heh, Jod, which is

the path of Atziluth, and he is then said

Jod, He, Vau,

man

it

*.*.,

fish

the

also

likeness

it

is

said

of the sea

rule over all the

(simulacrum ) of his Lord,

And have dominion over

(Gen.

i.

28);, that

heavens and over

and Seraphim^ over

all

all

is,

the

he shall

Auphanim

the Hosts and Powers, above

SBritten SBort)

and

When,

below.

gabalism

the

therefore,

child

233

of

man

deserves the Nephesh from the side of the daughter

She shall not go out as
Jcchida, this is to say
*

the men-servants

God

serve

shall

xxi.

do"

in

(meaning probably that he

His house for ever, Exod.

7).*

This passage
of

illustration

worth quoting not only as an

in which it occurs,

is

discourse

the

gives a clue to the probable meaning

of occultists when they speak of a concealed sense

but because

it

not to be supposed that when

Kabalism divides and subdivides the soul it means

in

the Zohar.

else

anything

and

It

is

than

to

therein

qualities

distinguish
in

a word,

certain
it

modern theosophy
affirms seven
it
when
present day

it

says,

The

man.

the

at

principles

in

concealed sense of the Zohar, as before

simply the extraction of some method

and confused mass, whichat first

indicated,

is

from

vast

its

does

as

just

essences

means what

appears altogether delirious. In the present

it
will be seen that the animistic nature

sight

instance

of

man

has

sevenfold

aspect,

Kabalistic dicta really extend

it

whereas

to ten.

When

other
these

discrepancies are harmonised we have the concealed

sense of the Zohar as to the inner nature of man.

Perhaps we might reach

it

by supposing that the

discourse of Elias really describes the development

of mystic experiences in seven stages, ending, as it
states literally, in the

communication of the divine to

man.
*

Zohar,

ii.

94^,

Brody

ed.

234

^he

anfc

5oxtrtne

iEiterature of the giabalah

THE ILLUSTRIOUS BOOK

VI.

Excerpts of considerable length, purporting to

come from a work entitled Sepher Ha Bahir, or

Cremona

Liber- Illustris, are given in the

edition of

the Zohar at the places which here follow.

col.

76,

Part

138, 185,241, 462.

130, 137,

259.

86,88, 104, no, 112,

79, 82,

Part

col.

III.,

151,

are omitted in the so-called

but reappear

Rosenroth

in

"Little

II.,

301,

176,

122,
col.

and

Part

127,

145 and

333.

Zohar"

I.
}

125,

They

of Mantua,

Sulzbach edition and

those of later date which are based thereon.

in

In 1651

these excerpts were brought together into a volume

and published

at

Amsterdam, which was

period a great stronghold of Jewry.

this volume appeared at Berlin in

at

that

reprint

1706.

of

Some

interesting but

complex questions are involved in the

consideration of this work, which is thus known to
us only by quotations.
It is alleged on the one hand
to be of higher antiquity than any Kabalistic book

and

hence

Yetzirah

of

itself;

superior importance to the Sepher

on the other it is affirmed to be a

manifest forgery, included in the condemnation of

the Zohar, and by implication also the fruit of the
inventive faculty of Moses de Leon.

extreme views there

is

Between these

placed that which considers

the extant extracts unauthentic but believes in the

existence of an

same

title,

which

Kabalistic

now

lost.

An

treatise,

under the

examination of the

compel our
any one of these opinions, and a more

ascertainable
respect for

old
is

facts

does not,

think,

modest, indeterminate conclusion will perhaps be the

The

c&rittfu (33 orb of gabalism

In other words, there

safest to form.

Ha

the Sepher

Bahir was

is

evidence that

in existence

promulgation of the Zohar,* but there

235

prior to the

is

no evidence

period, and there

means of knowing whether or not the extracts
which occur in the Zohar represent in some sense the

that

it

preceded

it

by a considerable

are no

original work.

be regretted that occult students have

passed over the fragments of the Sepher Ha Bahir as
they have passed over the Zohar proper, and for the
It

same

is

to

reason, namely, because

it is not available
by
would have been interesting to know
whether they would have accepted the Kabalistic
Of
legend which has gone abroad concerning it.

translation.

It

that legend one aspect appears in the bibliography

of Papus, which, however, indicates no first-hand
research, and simply reproduces information of which

Molitor

is

Summary

the
of

avowed
the

Kabalah"

Martinism ascribes the Sepher

renders

"

Light

in

In the

source.

the

the

"

Methodised

president

H<i

Darkness,"

of

all

Bahir, which he
to R.

Nechoniah

ben Hakannah, the master of R. Ismaelis ben Eliezer,

the high-priest, who flourished during the half-century
preceding the birth of Christ. Such is the Kabalistic

legend concerning the authorship of the work. Some

notable sayings of Nechoniah are preserved in the
Talmudic collections, and other works are also
ascribed to him, namely
() Letter on Mysteries or
:

* Because

Secrets concerning

was denounced

it
as a forgery by Rabbi Meir ben Simon
in the first half of the thirteenth century, thus antedating the period
at which hostile criticism places the public appearances of the Zohar.

Graetz ascribes the forgery to Azariel himself, on what grounds

gathered from the general warrant of his Kabalistic criticism.

may be

236

^he

IBortrine ani) JJtteratttre

xrf

the jtabalah

the advent of Messiah, His divinity, incarnation and

This epistle was addressed to his son,

who is said to have embraced Christianity. It betrays
the hand of a Christian, and there can at least be no
resurrection.

question that

Heredia

it

is

late

translated

to

of

dedicated

Paulus de

imposture.

Hispanus

it

into

Latin

and

legate of the

Mendoza,
Henry
King of Spain.
() Sepher Kanah, the Book of the Fragments
it

of the Temple, but this

is

also attributed to Ismael

(Samuel) ben Eliezer. It is in any case another

forgery, which deals with the generation of Christ,
embodying apocryphal narratives taken from the

Talmud.

Kabalistic Prayer, to be recited

by pupils
on entering or leaving the gymnasium. It is included
among the Mishnayotk, a fact which shows that it is
(c)

not Kabalistic in the proper sense of the term.

(V) Sepher Happeliah.
(e)

of the

Haminchad, concerning the mystery

SepJier

name

of God, a work akin to the Bahir.

The
the

"

other aspect of Kabalistic legend concerning

Illustrious Book
may be used to colour the
"

quotations do not
It is said to be of such pro
represent the original.
found occult significance that it has been preserved

pretension

among

the

that

hidden

Cabbalistorum

Shem
*

the

Too.

Zoharistic

treasures

Gennanorum,

of

says

Israel,

in

Wolf,*

Bibliotheca Hebrcea,

Introductio

quoting

Buxtorf,f BartolocciJ and Budd0eus,

t Bibliotheca Hebrcea Rabbinica.

% Bibliotheca

Manus

Magna

Rabbinica.

ad Historiam Philosophic Htbroeorum,

oBritieu dftorb of Jiabahem

"Che

relate

same

the

none of them challenge

Zohar, receiving them

story, but

found

the excerpts

in

2 37

the

explicitly as genuine, while all likewise agree that the

Bahir was regarded by Kabalists as their oldest

The

document.
recent times

question

was

authenticity

in

by Simon, who, speaking of

raised

first

of

It does not
the book printed in Holland, observes
of
the Jews,
Bahir
appear that this is the ancient
"

which

is

much more extended and has

It

printed."*

obvious that

is

this

is

not yet been

neither the

we
language of criticism nor of knowledge
infer that Simon was unacquainted with the
;

that the

Amsterdam

Zoharic

extracts,

the

impeached

may
fact

collected the

publication only
that
he might

and

extracts

had

he

been

not

have

aware

of

Bartolocci mentions a general

that circumstance.
opinion that manuscript copies of the Bahir were to

be found
ticularises

in

many

Continental

one such MS.

The impeachment

in the

of

libraries

and

par

Vatican collection.
the

Zoharic

excerpts

naturally became part of the general charge against

the Zohar itself; the theory which ascribed that work

Moses de Leon was exceedingly comprehensive

and made a clean sweep of everything included
to

therein.

It finds

an almost exact

parallel in the

sistent application of those principles

to prove the

plays

and

all

Baconian authorship of the Shakespeare

serving equally well for Marlowe, Massinger

Elizabethan literature, that literature directly

or indirectly
as

con

which arc held

we have

is

attributed to Bacon.

Legend says

seen, that the complete Zohar was origin*

Histoire Critique du Vieux Testament.

^he

238

ally a

camel

load

ot the Jlabalah

anfo fit*rattt

Jtodrin*

were the whole of

no doubt the Jew of Leon would

exclusive author.
written

may

five

be seen

Raymond

hundred

Lully

separate

in the first

still
is

it

now

extant

have been

treatises

its

have

said to

the

list

volume of an unfinished and

impossible attempt to collect them into a folio edition,

the editor supplying not only the precise years but
the months in which they were composed. What

they say, could not have been im

possible to Moses. But, as a fact, the doctor illuminatus
wrote only a low percentage out of all that gorgeous
did, as

Raymond

list,

and reasonable

Israelite

as

criticism regards the spendthrift

possible

compiler and polisher

who

may have played a little at writing out of his own

head," and that is all, not, however, because it regards
"

the Zohar as the

of

work of Simeon ben

Abba, but because

it

Jochai, or even

regards

R.

Moses as

human.
Graetz, the
distinctive

German

criticism

much

historian of Jewry,

of

Kabalistic

whose

literature

has

down

a principle of critic
ism which ought to be written in capitals at the head
of most impeachments of the Zohar, namely that it is

obtained

vogue, lays

not compulsory for a hostile critic to be more careful

in his arguments than those who plead in defence.

Without seeking
criticism,

it

may

to determine what is compulsory in

be observed that there is also no

binding law to enforce serious consideration for a

What Graetz did
scholar who adopts that principle.

openly has been done tacitly or unconsciously by

others.
Taking the case now under notice, I do not

know

of one instance in

which the challenge of

has
been
authenticity
accompanied by an assigned

SHritteu (iilorb of Jiabalism

239

it is simply part of the programme to get rid

of
anything which goes to show that the whole
anyhow
Zohar was not written at the end of the thirteenth

reason

The

reason

not far to seek

the excerpts
involve
the
not
existence
genuine,
merely of purely Kabalistic but of typically Zoharic
teaching prior to that date as this proves too much

century.

from the Bahir,

is

if

down as part of
the imposture.
One critic who espouses the antiquity
He
of the Zohar has, however, rejected the Bahir.
imposture theory, they are set

for the

The Sepher Ha Bahir, attributed to Nechonia

ben Hakana, contemporary of Hillel the Elder and
Herod the Great, is often cited. Various fragments,
"

says

pass for extracts from

but why, if so ?
It is for
some determinate and material reason that one looks

Perhaps so

book."*

and waits

still

unauthentic,

manifestly
this

in vain,

failing

which the identity of the

original must be accepted

Zohar quotations with the

as a tolerable hypothesis, because

given to the contrary.

It

affirm that they are the

is

no reason has been

quite another thing to

work of Nechoniah, or that

Placing
they are older than the Sepher Yetzirah.
this cosmogony somewhere about the ninth century,
because it was then almost indubitably quoted and
it

not worth while to dispute as to

is

antedates the

Zohar

itself as,

seems
*

no

reference

made

the date of

objection

to

it is

Paris.

1843.

how long

it

regarding the

growth between

publication, there

the

Bahir a

la Philosophic Rcligieusc des

If the unauthentic nature follows

falsely attributed,

same category.

its

it

considering

Adolphc Franck, IM Kabbale, ou

Htbreux.

to

at least, a gradual

period and

that

that

first

from the

fact

then the Sepher Yetzirah belongs to the

240

^he

|p.oxtr:tne

anb Ipt^raturs ot the Jabalah

production of the formative age of the work which is

made to quote it. When the extracts were inserted
therein

we do not know

absent from the Mantua

which was simultaneous with that of the

edition,

Cremona codex which contains them, it is possible

that they were first added when the Zohar was
prepared for press under the supervision of R. Isaac
Delates, that unknown but
highly learned Jew un
in
all
branches
of
the
knowledge required,"
surpassable
"

whom

In this case, they

the publisher describes.

have no connection with Moses de Leon.

There

unanimity in hostile or
indeed any Kabalistic criticism. As, on the one hand,
a defender of the Zohar challenges the Bahir excerpts,
of course,

is,

little

so the latter have been exalted as the prototype and

This view, though

actual inspirer of the former work.

any case of little moment, involves the existence of

the Bahir prior to the alleged date about which the
in

Zohar was produced out of the head of Moses de

Leon, like Minerva out of the head of Jupiter, ready

made and

at

one

leap.

Morinus,

who has

left

perhaps

the most sensible review of the subject, founds his

that

opinion

the

Bahir was

product

of

thirteenth century, on the silence of writers prior

the
to

and especially of Moses Nachmanides, a

Kabalistic Jew of Jerusalem, whose literary labours

that date,

belong to the period before and after 1250,

to

Wolf

the

first

reference to the Bahir

Shem Tob, who was a contemporary

of

is

According

made by

R.

Moses de Leon,

but belonging to a younger generation. This, however,

is a mistake, because R. Azariel, the author of the great
treatise

on the Sephirotic system, and born, as we have

1 160, in his
commentary on the Canticle of

seen, about

oEorb of gUbalidin

vLhc SBritten

241

sometimes ascribed to Nachmanides, quotes

its own name but under that of

Canticles,

the Bahir, not under

The proof

Yerushalmi.

is

that the

Italian

Jew

Recanati, contemporary of Moses de Leon, used these

quotations, and, misled by the name, inferred that
they were from the Jerusalem Talmud, but afterwards

discovered them
origin

in the

ascribed.

is

BaJiir, to

which a Palestinian

By how much

the lost treatise

antedated Azariel we have no ground for

conjecturing,
but the position of Wolf and Morinus is
destroyed by
the fact here recorded, which leaves the Bahir where

we should be disposed to
when the Sepher Yetzirah

place
is

first

it,

between the date

mentioned and the

publication of the Zohar.

The name Bahir

"

is

referred to

Job xxxvii.

21

And now men

see not the bright light which is in

the clouds," according to the Authorised
Version, or
according to Dr. Durell s amended rendering, And
now men see not the light which is above
(or
Hence light in darkness,"
within) the clouds, &c."
"

"

good equivalent of the Hebrew word. The

subject-matter of the book, which is in the form of a
is

dialogue between certain illuminated doctors, is the

mystery inherent in the divine names, and it contains
a very

full

phoras, the

exposition of the celebrated Shcmaliam-

expounded name of

deity.

It

belongs

therefore to the least philosophical

part of Kabalism,

and we

can

understand and sympathise with the

Franck to accept the excerpts
by which it is known to us. Facts, however, must
have precedence of predilections, and though the
instinctive dislike of

later history of the doctrine of divine

make an admirer
K

names may well

ashamed of

of the higher Kabalism

242

^he

the

connection,

attb fCttenthtre of the

portrine

than

far older

is

it

the two

or

of

that

Some

Countenances.

the

other

Sephiroth
matters are also discussed, including a single reference
to Ain Soph, and the two quotations which here
follow exhibit a close connection between the Bahir

and the

Discourse of the Ancient

"

concerns Jechidah, the

The first
human

Man."

principle of the

fifth

soul.
"

is

It is

written

mean

It

one of

like

is

silver

The

mine, saith the

What

unto a king having two treasures,

The first he put to
gold.
his

left,

saying

(Ex. xv.

Lord,
If a man

6).

become

is

may

is

glorious

This

He

prepared so that it is easy to spend it.

Hence it
everything in an easy way.
right hand,

does this

and one of

and the second to

his right

mine and the gold

silver is

Lord of Hosts.

is

has done
said
in

Thy

power.

rejoice in his inheritance,

good, but if not, it is said Thy right hand,

O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. (Ibid)
What does this signify? Surely this is the gold. It

it

is

is

written

Why do

The

they

call

it

are included in

it.

of three letters,

is

number

7]

mine.

Because three measures

is

to say, the

word

B, Dzain, He, Beth].

[i.e.,

is

this

letter

consists

The Dzain

represents the

A Ch D V

Th,

according to Kabalistic addition,

and

the

Unity = 4.19= 5

gold

[That

measures

seven

mine and the gold

silver is

He

is

Unity

[>>.,

the Beth [representing the

5 is the number of He]
number 2] signifies Chokmah and Binah, and they are
called Neshamah because of the last five Sephiroth.
The Neshamah has five names Nephesh, Ruach,
;

*
Neshamah, Chaiah and Jechidah!
*

Zohar,

Cremona

ed., part

i.

fol.

n6b and nja.

TThc (Slrittfu SBorb of

purpose of
"

written

It is

That

said

Judah

Now

the serpent was

field

[the serpent]
:

It is

is

more

them

on

the

subtle

When

they came to

Surely it is all one;

Samael, and he has been seen upon a serpent,
:

but his shadow and the serpent are

Satan, yet
one.

Man,

for

R. Isaac
(Gen. iii. i.).
the evil inclination.
R.

a real serpent.

R. Simeon, he said unto

is

of

this study.

than any beast of the

This

243

The second excerpt concerns the Fall

its
quotation is of some importance

and

said

gUbalism

When Samael

this serpent,

and

all

are

descended from heaven, riding

his

shadow was

seen, all creatures

from him, but coming to the woman with soft

words he brought death to the whole world.
Surely
with wiles he invoked curses on the world and
fled

despoiled the first tree which the Holy Blessed One

created in the world. [The reference here is
apparently
to the Sephirotic tree and,
by implication, to the pri

mordial

Adam. Compare the

de Mirandola

Peccatum

Kabalistic thesis of Picus

Ada fuit

truncatio MalkutJi
ab arbore
The Neshamah of the male
Sephirotico}
comes from male, and of the female from female
from the male and female sides of the
Sephirotic
This is why the serpent had recourse to
tree].
Chavah. He said unto himself: Because her soul
[?>.,

from the North

can persuade her quickly.

[The
North, says Myer, is the left side, facing eastward in

is

worship it is therefore the side of wrath and severity,

connected by the Kabalists with the idea of the
female.
But the Tikhtne Ha ZoJnr terms Netzach
;

and

Hod

sistency in

the latera Aquilonis.

these attributions.]

has been because

he

came on

There

And
her.

is

no con

the persuasion

The

disciples

244

i&ht

asked

Bodritu anb literature of

How

He, Samae

he that

did

He

the jfobalah

unto them

said

the wicked

l,
one, intrigued with all the
hosts above against his Master, because the Holy
Blessed One had said unto Adam Thou shalt have
:

dominion over the

fish

of the sea and over the fowl

of the air [understood of the evil spirits and the

Samae l asked How therefore can I make
angels].
:

Adam

sin

before

away from His

so that he shall be driven

Him,

So he descended with

sight?

all

and he sought upon the earth a companion

unto himself, but it had an appearance even

his hosts,
like

as a camel.
[This curious comparison is based on
L means camel when
the fact that the Hebrew G

added to these consonants,

certain vowel points are

The

and reward or recompense with

others.

ficance of

the Pekude section

this

is

developed

in

signi

of the Zohar, commenting on Gen. xxiv. 64

And
Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac,
:

The camel is here said

she lighted off her camel.
to signify the mystery of death, referred to in
Prov. xix.

17

will

He

firstly,

that

That which he hath given

The connecting

pay him again.

idea

reward, in the sense of retribution,

is,

came

into the

world by the serpent, and, secondly, that the peculiar

nature of the Fall is indicated by the alleged hidden
sense of the term camel which represents
Compare Cazotte s Diable Amoiircux,

impure demon

is

that animal.]

the

woman and

garden

pudenda.

where

the

revealed at last with the head of

So he rode upon
said

unto her

forbid thee to partake of

?

\.\\Q

She answered

came to
it and
Did not Elohim

any of the trees in the

have been forbidden

We

only the tree of knowledge which

is

in the

garden

ftlrittnx

(L\\c

fcttorb

of

gabalism

245

of that only did Elohim say, Ye shall not partake

thereof, neither touch it, lest ye die.
What, then, did

He

Samael the wicked one ?

Then

the tree cried out.

touched the
touch
the

and thou also

it,

woman

Samael

said

have

Do

thou

Lo,

shalt not die.

and

tree,

have not died.

yet

tree,

touched the

Whereupon

and beholding the

laid hold of the tree,

angel of death approach her, she said

Surely I shall
now die, and the Holy Blessed one will form another
:

woman and
I

will

we

will give her to

Adam. But

will

cause him to eat with me, so that

and

die together,

shall

together.

unto her

Is

Then

if

the

we

live

if

we

we

die

shall live

Blessed

Holy

do thus

One

said

not enough that thou hast sinned

it

but thou must also bring sin unto Adam ? Then

answered she Lord of the world, the serpent induced
me that I should sin before Thee. So the Holy
:

Blessed

One caused

and condemned

He

death.

all

three to

come

Him

before

them with nine curses and with

Samael and his followers down

also cast

from the place of their holiness in heaven He cut

the feet off the serpent and cursed him, yea, more
;

than

all

beasts,

and commanded that he should

his skin after seven

I

years."*

have said that

this

to our subject, because

which Kabalistic

it

passage is of importance
shows the kind of light

literature casts

upon the

greatest event in the spiritual history of

first

man

and
as

it

Literal or mystical, the

is

presented by Scripture.
story of the Fall is not elucidated
of

lose

by the addition

monstrous elements, and the occult student

*

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

i.

fol.

28a,

b.

in

^he

246

Jlortrine

ftrci

^ittnthurt of the JUlmlah

particular will feel that the Sepher

Ha

Bahir exhibits

Like the
place neither depth nor dignity.
Zohar itself, and most other tracts which it embodies,

in

this

it

has

occasionally

suggestive passage.
the world to come

For

a
example,
world that has come to pass already, because six out
of the seven portions of the primordial light which
it

was

affirms

produced

by

that

God

for

the

creation

of

is

the

universe are reserved as the portion of the just in

the life which is beyond.
It

to
I

remains to say that William Postel

is

reported

have rendered the Bahir into Latin, but, if so,

can find no record that the translation was ever

printed.

VII.

THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD

The Zoharistic treatise bearing this title records

conversations between Simeon ben Jochai and Moses,
who appeared to the great light of Kabalism and gave
him many

instructions

and

Elias took

revelations.

part in the conference, and the witnesses included not

Isaac, Jacob, Aaron, David and
but
This indicates that in
God
Himself.
Solomon,
spite of the transcendental doctrine of A in Soph and

Abraham,

only

the

Two

to the

Countenances, the Zohar recurs occasionally

same anthropomorphic conceptions

that

are

the Talmud.
The chief
Ginsburg says
of
and
this
is
twofold
to
show
the
object
portion
allegorical import of the Mosaic commandments and

found

in

prohibitions, as well as of the

and

"

Rabinical injunctions
in the course

religious practices which obtained

Written SHorb of gabattem

of

The extant

time."

excerpts from these discourses

the Cremona edition in the

are dispersed through

following order: Part

I.,

247,322, 343,346, 37 8
203, 281, 328

Part

>

126,207, 21

col. 104,

Part

483;

III., col.

79, 122, 144, 147, 171,

247

col.

II.,

1,

214,

72,

165,

5^ 57,

26, 32, 42,45, 47,

I,

187,209,214,233,235,277,289,

329, 332, 339, 343, 394.400,404, 408, 41*3, 422, 429,

430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 447, 451, 45^, 457,

45,

459,

As

regards their
classes
these
Franck
excerpts along with
authenticity,
those of the Bahir, but, as in that instance so in this,

460, 461, 466, 468, 472, 519, 534.

he gives no account of his suspicions, which may be

taken, however, to follow from his conviction that

much
of

of the Zohar is really attributable to the period

Simeon ben Jochai and the disciples that came

after him.

In

"

Faithful

Shepherd

to our purpose.

case, the

either

contains

Its

and on the Messiah

to

"

much

Discourse of the
that

is

important

atonement

views on

vicarious

come

enable us to appreci

will

ate further the value of the occult standpoint

of

moral

its

position

on

its

teachings

will

illustrate

its

some

ethical

references to the Shekinah will cast light

this curious feature of

tions on angels

and its specula

show the Zoharistic

Kabalism

and demons

will

the later system of pneumatology

which was developed by Isaac de Loria.
The discourse introduces two phases of vicarious

foundation

for

atonement,
ings of just

the

one

men and

effected

through

the other by

the

suffer

means of the

Messiah.
"

other
world,

When

the righteous are afflicted by disease or

sufferings in atonement for the sins of the
it

is

so ordered that

all

the sinners of their

^he

248

Jtortdne anb literature of the giabalah

obtain

may

generation

By every member

demonstrated?

When

body.

these

all

evil

instrument of the leech]

Which member?

recover.

of the physical

afflicted

is

so

[i.e.,

the

that

The

this

is

are suffering through

them

disease, one of

How

redemption.

arm.

some

by the

others

may

chastised

It is

by the blood being drawn from it, which ensures

It is
healing in all the other members of the body.

manner with the children of the world the

members are in relation with each other even as those
like

in

When the Holy Blessed

of the body.
the
health
of
the
world, He afflicts a just

One
man

willeth

therein

with pain and sickness and heals the rest through

How is this shown ? It is written But He
him.
:

was wounded
for

our

for

iniquities

our transgressions, He was bruised

the chastisement of our peace
:

was upon Him, and with His

liii.

(Isa.

By

made

in bleeding the
is

recovery

is,

as

5).

[incisions]

that

his

we

stripes

stripes,

by the

bruises

we
members

healed,

arm, are

insured to us as

are healed

of one

body."*

Here,
great

it

and

will

be

fruitful

That

humanity.

is

Kabalah recognises the

said, the

doctrine

of

quite true, and

the
it

is

solidarity

of

one of those

instances wherein Jewish theosophy has forestalled

modern

ideas.

it

we

gives,

But

if

we take

shall see that

it

is

the illustration which

fantastic in character

the affliction of a diseased rabbi does not as a fact

benefit

neighbour physically, and only on the

his

most arbitrary hypothesis can we suppose that the

patience with which he may suffer will reflect credit
*

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

iii.

fol.

ioia.

dMrittcu 8$lorb of gUbaliem

249

on any one but himself.

It would be barely reason
able to dispute about such a position were it not
necessary to show occultists the real messages of the
Kabalah on points with which they are concerned.

Now

the

where

modern students of

reject with

occult philosophy every

disdain the doctrine of vicarious

Let us pass thence to the question of

Messianic atonement, concerning which it is said in

atonement.

the Vision of the Faithful Shepherd

This is also exemplified in the history of Job.
For the Holy Blessed One, seeing that the entire
:

"

foundation was

sinful,

and how Satan appeared

to

accuse them, said unto Him, Hast thou considered

my servant Job, that there is none like him in the
earth* (Job

save his generation through

be
illustrated by the parable of a
may
shepherd who beheld a wolf approaching to rend his
sheep and destroy them. What did this shepherd ?
i.

to

8),

This

him?"

Being wise, he gave unto the wolf the strongest and

stoutest bell-wether, even that which the flock was

accustomed to
it

follow,

and while the wolf was bearing

away, the shepherd hurried with his sheep to a

place of safety, and then returning rescued the bell

wether from the wolf.
So does the Holy Blessed

One

deal

with

man

generation

He

surrenders

power of the accuser for the

salvation of the generation through him.
But when
righteous

into the

is strong like Jacob, it is said, A man

wrestled with him (Gen. xxxii. 24).
But he (Satan)
will be unable to prevail, and in the end he will

such an one

supplicate the righteous man to release

for the righteous man, chosen by the

One,

is

him

Ibitf.

26),

Holy Blessed
for
too strong
the evil one and bears the most

250

&he

Iportriue anb Jpterature oi the Jiabalah

cruel afflictions willingly for the redemption of his

generation whence also he is held as their saviour,

and the Holy Blessed One constitutes him shepherd
;

over

all

rule over

them

the flock, to feed

them

in the

world to

in this

world and to

come."*

The clumsy and inadequate

parable which thus

represents the Almighty flying from Satan as the
shepherd flies from a wolf, and in accordance with

which the just man is at first compared to a bell

wether and afterwards to the shepherd of the flock, is
something more than a literary failure. Theologians
have, I believe, found some trouble in locating the
accuser of Job, and
with the poet that
the Zoharic

perhaps most accurate to say

He, too, is God s minister," but

it is
"

commentary on Job makes him

in

most

respects a match for the Almighty, who must have

recourse to a stratagem in order to save his people-

The Kabalah on

the problem of evil

this place, neither illuminating

fact, crass

and

"

childish.

The

same

therefore, in
it is,

in

ancient pillars of the

world [the intellectual luminaries of

says the

is

nor reassuring;

Israel]

differ,"

disquisition, as to the nationality of

One affirms that he was a righteous Gentile

who was chastised for the atonement of the world.
At a certain time R. Hammarumnah met the prophet

Job.

Elijah and said to

him

that the righteous

man

How

is

it

to

be understood

suffers while the

wicked one

has joy of his life? He answered, saying, The just

man of few sins receives his punishment for these in
this world,

the

man

and hence

it

is

that he suffers here

but

whose sins are many, while his good deeds

*

Zohar,

Cremona

ed., part

ii.

fol.

iool>.

{jBrittm flHorb of gabaliem

are few, receives recompense

for

world and hence has the joy of

life."*

the

251

latter

in

this

In this instance the Kabalah offers an explanation

which, shallow though

it

with that

identical

is

be,

accepted by some sections of Christian theology, by

more mischievously.
Thus, not only the sporadic good actions of those
which, however,

who

it

is

applied

are wicked habitually but

can find

reward

their

Kabalah

is

only

natural goodness

all

in

The

world.

this

not disfigured by methodised enormities

There are times also in which it loses

of this kind.
its

.grotesqueness for a

moment, and by some not

reference to Scripture illustrates an elemen

unhappy

tary spiritual truth, as, for

example, concerning the

change necessary to sinners.

Those who are oppressed with sin need a change
of place, a change of name and a change in their
"

actions,

even as

it

was said unto Abraham

Get thee

out of thy country (Gen. xii. i).

Here is a change
of place.
And Neither shall thy name any more
:

be called Abram, but thy name

Here

xvii. 5).

(Gen.
of deeds

is

shall

he changed from his former

Abraham

be

a change of name.
evil

change

actions to

The Christian mystic might develop

actions."f
the significance of this quotation in connection with
the new name of the Apocalypse, the new name

good

received in confirmation, ordination and the monastic

and conventual

Such

life.

are of slender value

Zohar,
edition,
sacrifice

I,

6,

and

Cremona
8,

where

eel.,
it

is

analogies, though suggestive,

the change mentioned in the

part ii. fol. io6b.

said that the pure

Compare

man

is in

that the just are the expiation of the universe.

t Zohar,

Cremona

ed., part

ii.

fol.

98^.

the

Mantua

himself a true

^he

252

^Doctrine mtb JSMteratwre of the

Zohar has indeed no

special mystical importance

it

concerns only the initial fact of spiritual life.

We have seen in the fragments of the Bahir that
the scriptural history of the Fall of man is disfigured
The
rather than elucidated by Zoharic commentary.
in
the
sin
are
thus
described
of
the
first
consequences
Faithful Shepherd.
"

Come, see

have known

Had Adam

not sinned

man would

not the taste of death before he ascended

to the superior world, but having sinned he

became

acquainted with the taste of death before ascending

to the world above.
Through the sin of Adam the
rational spirit (RuacJi)

which remains

in the river of fire

which

after
is

is

separated from the body

It has to cleanse itself

in this world.

(Dan.

vii. 10),

to the

it

to receive punishment,

Garden of Eden, which

goes up
above the earth, and there are prepared

garments of

light, in

for

it

other

conformity with the appearance

of the body in the present world

and therein is its habitation for

it is

clothed therein

ever."*

important because it shows that

has
Jewish theosophy
nothing better to offer us
than the old Biblical instruction that sin
brought

This passage

is

"

death

into

the

world

and

all

our

woes."

It

is

not our purpose here to question that doctrine, but

simply to demonstrate that the Zohar, where it is
intelligible,

does not improve on accepted religious

instruction.

Let us now select an instance from one of those

more peculiarly Kabalistic

in their

fol.
79^.
According to the Idra
the principle of life and understanding.

Zuta the

portions which are

*
Ibid.,

Upper

or true

part

Eden

iii.

is

SB orb

oHritttn

The

subject.

of jftabulism

253

Zoharistic speculations on the Shekinah

have an

air

perhaps

naturally

symbolism which would be

of mystic

in

wanting

commentary

upon

the
ordinary
to
the
other
of
of
the Shekinah
relation
creation
lights
is like that of the soul to the body, but she
for the
matters.

doctrinal

aspect
stands to the

profound

that

said

is

presented under a feminine

stands to the Holy Blessed One as the body

divine manifestation
"

It

In

soul."

this,

Shekinah

the

is

of course, there
is

is

nothing

the vestment

of the

Almighty. But the discourse of the Faithful Shepherd

adds that all are one, that is, God is one with His
This

manifestation.

more

mode

and

interesting

Eucharist

may

the bread

much

be illustrated by the
doctrine

spiritual

of

the

the vestment of Christ, the

is

of His manifestation in His Church, but Christ,

by the hypothesis of the

which
Zohar.
reason.

He
"

assumes.

His body

The one

doctrine,

one with the

is

veil

otherwise in man, says the

earth, but the soul is called

It is

is

is

death, the other

is

This

life."

is

modern occultism has agreed

But the Holy Blessed One is life, and the
to reject.
Shekinah also is life. Whence it is written She

the ascetic notion which

"

[meaning the Shekinah, but the Scriptual reference

is to Wisdom] is a tree of life to them that can lay
hold

upon
Kabalism is

her"

(Prov.

not, however,

iii.

18).

The Shekinah of

merely the

visible

splendour

The Faithful
the Holy of Holies.
affirms
that
the
One is con
Blessed
Holy
Shepherd
cealed in the mysteries of the ThotMh and is known
which shone

or manifested

in

by the commandments,

His Shekinah and

beautiful, spiritual

this

is

His image.

for

This

these anis

and poetic conception, and

a very
it

does

TOe

254

Jtoirtrine

not need the

anb literature of the gabalah

of the mystic to understand and
one of those instances in which

gift
It

it.

is

appreciate
we feel that a depth is added to the sacred tales of
may not at this day feel disposed to
Jewry.

We

accept literally and, so to speak, physically the alleged

manifestation in the Temple here the Zohar helps
;

us to something truer and profounder than the letter

of the legend, and we acknowledge gladly that the

little
people of Palestine, encompassed by the
idolatrous nations, had truly something of the divine
in

humility
as

He

"

as

As He

He

is

benevolent, so
is

nations of the world

the

truth

as

humble, so

is

strong, so

is

The passage

which was given them.

the law

continues

He
He

is

is

Shekinah

the

she benevolence

the prophet, so is she the

righteous, so is she righteous

is

is
prophetess as
ness
as He is King, so is she Queen
as He
so
is
she
wisdom
as
He
is
wise,
intelligent, so
;

she His intelligence

as He
His diadem, the diadem of
;

masters have decided

is

part

she the strength of all the

as He is the truth, so is she

that

is

the crown, so

glory.

all

is

is
is

she

Therefore the

those whose inward

not like unto the outward semblance shall

have no admission to the house of the doctrine.

As

the

interior

Shekinah

image of the Holy Blessed One, whose

whose outward splendour is the
is,

He
;

He,

externally, so

his interior internally, she his exterior

that

no difference

her the outward and

Him

outflow from Him, and hence

between external and

inner

He

nature of

only named with

all

internal,

YHVH

subsists

between

the inward, as she

is

the

difference

and

an

removed

as, further,

concealed,

name

is

is

therefore

the
is

of the Shekinah,

(lntten cHorb of gabalism

Adonai

hence the masters say, Not as

[YHVH] am

255

am

written

read."*

The connection

between

the

Shekinah

and

the light of the alleged unity of God

and the vestment which conceals Him, suggests the
in

Malkuth,

identity of the

divine and

the

universe, but

it

is

only in the sense of immanence. The Kabalah, as

we have seen many times, is in some respects the
very opposite of pantheism.

Our quotations must

the

to

They

pneumatology
concern,

Metatron,

who

the

the

firstly,
is

close with a few references

of

Faithful

great

Shepherd.
Presence Angel

the sole occupant of the Briatic

Adam is of that of Alz^uth.

world, as the supernal

He

is

his

form

the garment of Shaddai.

According to some
is that of a
while
others ascribe to
boy,

female aspect This shows a connection

with the Shekinah, and indeed Metatron, with the
difference of an added letter, signifies the
cohabiting
this angel a

glory.f

There

cerning

Samae

is,
l,

some information con

The

secondly,

or Satan, and his wife Lilith.

was once a servant of the Holy Blessed One

and the second a maid of Matroncetha.J Their
first

ultimate destruction
is

is

hinted, but

meanwhile

hands of the Holy Blessed One to strike the

So

Lilith

the devastation of the world and the lash in the

she, too,

of Ibn

is

God

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

Gebirol,"

t Ibid.

ii.

fol.

106^,

p. 341.

part

iii.

fol.

guilty.

s minister.

io6A

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

iii.

fol.

ij4/>.

Myer,

"Philosophy

256 ^fte Jloxtrine anb literature ot the jiabalah

VIII.

THE HIDDEN THINGS OF THE LAW

The extant
by Rosenroth
Part

col.

I.,

morsels of this work

as

follows

the

in

Cremona
Part

221, 258, 262, 370.

are located
edition
col.

II.,

250.

Dr. Ginsburg has discovered others in the Amsterdam

edition, to which his references are made.
They

ground covered by other sections of the

traverse

Zohar, such as the evolution of the Sephiroth, the

emanation of the primordial light and so forth. In
a word, the contents show nothing which need detain
As an example of the puerility and pre
us long.
tensions of

passage
"

It

adversity,

Thy

its

exegesis,

take the

us

let

following

is

written,

If

thy strength

strength

this

thou
is

the day of
(Prov. xxiv. 10).

faint

small

means,

if

in

his

grasp on the

In the day of adversity

Thorah become languid.
means, when he so weakens his strength becomes
;

this

small [thus changing the simple statement of Scrip

What is meant by
ture into a foolish platitude.]

thy strength becomes

small

It

means Ko-a h

of words signifying the Throne of Glory].

the evil is expelled, so that it cannot come

[the initials

Then

man and cannot accuse him [the meaning seems

be that when a man does not weaken in adversity,

near
to

his strength is like that of the right hand, the Throne

But when
of Glory being on the right of God].
man deviates from the Thcrah [or has a weak hold

thereon], then the strength

is

the

strength of the

hand, because that evil which is the left side

rules over man
and sets aside the Throne of
left

The

On

Glory."*

ddlrittcu

of giabftliam

<lorb

we

the whole,

to conclude simply with

most of us prefer

shall

Solomon

257

that giving

way

in

the day of adversity is a

Those
sign of weakness.
who prefer the Mysteries of the Thorah have full
for

opportunities

entering

more

deeply

into

the

Solomon s homely aphorism, for

they
have only to remember that the Throne of
Glory is
a title of Tiphereth and of MalkutJi
occasionally
significance of

because

the seat of Tiphereth.

In a more notable
passage, which

is

supposed by

to distinguish certain
stages of mystic vision,

Myer
is

it is

said that the will of the

The

colours.

first

eye can perceive

it

is

King

is

above and so

in its purity,

it

discovered in three

but

far

away

that no

it is

distinguished
(dimly) by contracting the range of vision [/.*., by the
closing of the eyelids, as in
The second
blinking].

colour

seen

with one eye shut, and cannot be

seen by the other eye except when that
eye is shut
so that it can see little, as in
The clearness
is

blinking.

of the light could not be endured otherwise.

it

is

written,

What

seest

thou

[Jer.

i.

Of
u.

this

The

prophet, however, did not see the will of God but a

branch of an almond-tree]. The third colour is that
bright luminous mirror which cannot be looked into
at

all, except between the rolling of the

eyes when
the lids are altogether closed and
move
in their
they
sockets.
There can then be seen in that
rolling the

light of the

luminous mirror, and the colour thereof

can be comprehended only by him who beholds the

shining with eyes shut, whence it is written, The li.md
of the Lord was upon

me

(Exck. xxxvii.

Ibid., part

i.

fol.

890.

i),

and The

258

^he

ub JJitemture of the giatmlah

Iportrinc

hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening (Jbid.

No doubt the Kabalists had visions and

xxxii. 22).*

means of inducing

visions, as also

John of the Cross and

this
it

the seers

all

had Boehme, St.

and mystics, but

clumsy process confuses cause and

no

offers

while

intelligible result.

As another example,
Thorah can

of the

effect,

tell

let

us see what the Mysteries

who

us of the three angels

appeared to Abraham.
"

It

is

And

written,

lo,

men

three

These are three

(Gen.

xviii.

ether,

which came down to

2).

stood by him
angels, clothed in

this world,

and were seen

appearance even as a child of man. And they

were three like that above, because the rainbow is
in

only seen

Surely

ethnologists].

men

three

white
red

is

is

should interest

in three colours [this point

colours,

this

And

is so.

white,

Michael, because he

Gabriel, because he

is

red
is

the

these are three

and green.
the right side
left

side

The
;

the

and the

green is Raphael. And these three colours are those

of the rainbow, because it is never seen otherwise

than with them.

Hence

it is

written,

And

the Lord

appeared unto him [Abraham] in the plains of Mamre

(Gen. xviii. i), that is, the Shekinah revealed itself in

And they that

be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament
(Dan. xii. 3). They shall shine with a light which
these three colours.

is

It is also written,

enkindled by igniting a splendour.

light

which

lights, is

That

brilliant

hidden, the spark of all sparks, of all

therein invisible and hidden, concealed and
is

made known,
*

seen

Zohar,

and not beheld.

Cremona

ed., part

i.

fol.

This shining

66a.

(uLlriltm (IBorl) of Itabalism

came

light

out

from

enlightenment, shown

And

night.

this

is

259

the

supreme fountain of
the day and hidden at

in

the only thing seen, wherein

colours are concealed, and

it

is

called

all

by the name

YHVH."*

The account
to be a

in Genesis,

commentary,

is

upon which

this

pretends
exceedingly perplexing, and

men are three angels clothed in

the light of the Shekinah
scarcely removes the diffi
culties.
The explanations of Christian interpreters
to say that the three

not be wholly satisfactory, but

they are

may

better than the

Zohar

much

any instance, and more

especially in that section which dissolves the mysteries
in

of the Thorah by a process of

multiplication.
As a specimen of the demonology in the Sithrai

Thorah one quotation

"

is,

When man

the

Thorah,

may

be appended

joins himself with the truth, that

he requires proving in the same

place where his father was put to the proof

so shall he ascend perfect and shall return
perfect.
Adam went up, but, not watching over himself, he was

enticed by that harlot, even

sinned with her

[i.e.,

Lilith].

the

first

serpent,

It is written,

and

And Jacob

passed out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran

And went toward Haran, that

10).
the
side
of
the
is,
harlot, which is a mystery.
From
the strength of Isaac, that is, from the
strength of

(Gen. xxviii.

judgment, from the lees of old wine, went out a spark

which comprised male and female, and it
spread itself
out to
is

many

sides

called Samael,

and

into

many

and the female

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

is

i.

paths.

The male

always comprised

fol.

8oA

260

^he

iportrine anb literature rf the Jlabalah

him as it is on the holy, so is

male and female are merged one

in

Samae

female of
the

it

harlot."

l,

which

is

on the

evil side,

The

in the other.

the

is

serpent,

called

THE SECRET COMMENTARY

IX.

We

know

that Scott provided headings to very

chapters of his romances by pretended quota

tions from old plays which existed only in his

many

imagination, and

occasionally happened that these

contained
stronger lines than much
mythical excerpts
it

Those who believe

of his acknowledged versecraft.

Moses de Leon wrote the Zohar out of

head will account in a similar manner

that

his

own

for

the

manifold fragments of unknown treatises which are

found only in that work. Of some of these it may

more

also be said that they are

interesting than the

Zohar proper. As we have seen, the whole world

Book of
of Kabalism has agreed to exalt the
Concealment over all the other discourses attributed
to Simeon ben Jochai, but for the purposes of our
"

"

present inquiry it must be confessed that considerable

Secret Commentary." The
interest attaches to the
"

extant

fragments of this

Cremona
col.

edition

at

the

work are found

following places

in

the

Part L,

257, 260, 261, 264, 265, 268, 269, 272, 273, 276,

296, 370.

The

field

which they cover

is

chiefly that

destiny of souls, future punishments and

rewards, the resurrection of the body and the doctrine

of

the

Zohar,

Cremona

ed., part

i.

fol.

86a.

38abalim

fiBritteu Sttorb of

261

concerning angels and demons. The connection of

the soul with the body and the perfection which
is

come

to

passage
"

R.

and

for

both are the subjects of the following

Abbah

Ancient rose up upon his

the

feet

Rest and peace shall be thine, R. Simeon

ben Jochai, for thou hast brought back the crown,
that is, the
Thorah.
We have learned in the
said

Mathnuthah Kadmoah that because the higher soul

[Neshamah] dwells in its perfection in the upper
place

the

prior to birth],

[i.e.,

body

it

has no desire towards

except to create from

it

other similar souls

[Neshamoth]. These come out of her, but she abides

in her place.
Thereupon R. Simeon ben Jochai
stood up and explained
If in this world which is
:

body which is a fetid particle, the

Neshamah yet enters, verily, in the time to come,
when all are made clean, when the body will be
vanity, into this

in

the fulness of

perfection, the perfect

its

will enter therein, in the

world above.

R.

Neshamah
Acha also

This very soul and this very body the Holy

Blessed One is prepared in the time to come to

said

establish

continuance, but both will

eternal

in

be

the perfection of knowledge, attaining to

perfect
that which cannot be reached in this world." *
in

Occultists

of

assumption

accustomed

are

the

same

to

physical

regard

the

re-

body

by

the

progressed and glorified spirit as an unphilosophical

and material doctrine, not at all of that kind which

we should expect
it

is

there

all

to

meet with

the same, and

in

we

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

i.

the Zohar

shall find

fol.

760.

it

but

more

^hc

262
fully

to

Jtortnne anb literature ot the liabalah

Before proceeding
us see what happens to the soul at

developed in other passages.

let

these,

death.
"

R. Isaac said

having deserved
the

body

written,
in

ascends to her superior place,

it,

Ivii.

one walking

What

2).

rest in its bed, as

enter into peace

shall

their beds, each

(Isa.

does this

R. Isaac said

in uprightness.

when the Neshantah,

that time

peacefully at

lies

He

At

in

they

is

his uprightness

mean?
Walking
The Neshamah goes

straight to the place prepared for

it

in

Paradise."

In another part of his discourse the

same Rabbi

two Edens and two places of per

distinguishes
dition

it

shall rest

The Holy

One

only created a
paradise on earth and a Gehennon on earth, but a
garden of Eden above, and a Gehennon above. He
"

Blessed

not

created a garden of Eden on the earth below, as it is

written, And the Lord God planted a garden eastward
in Eden (Gen.
the earth, as

ii.

8).

it

is

He

created also a Gehennon on

written,

land of darkness, as

itself (Job x. 22).

In like manner he created
a garden of Eden above, as it is written, But the soul
of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with

darkness

the Lord thy

written,
it

The

(Eccles.

above, as

God

Sam. xxv.

Spirit shall return

xii.

it is

(I.

7).

written,

this

unto

And

it is

again

God who gave

He created also the Gehennon

And the soul \Nephesh animal

soul] of thine enemies

of the middle of

29).

them

a sling

be sling out as out

Sam. xxv. 29)."! In

shall

(I.

exceedingly interesting passage, as need scarcely

*

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

i.

fol.

750.

t Ibid. fyb.

(iilritteu

"vThe

aHorb

of JUbalivMu

263

be observed, the citation from Job does not at all

refer to any earthly Gchennon, nor does any such

consequence as a superior place of perdition follow

from the text in Samuel. The Zohar unfortunately

abounds

kind of unreason.

in this

The next

point

upon which we may seek

mation from the occult commentary

butive justice in the world to come

is

infor

that of retri

"

R.

Judah

said,

The time

man s

of a

departure

the day of the great judgment, for

But
then the Neshamah separates from the body.

from

this

life

is

does not depart from this world until he has

Hence it is written, There
beheld the Shekinah.

man

shall

man

no

angels come

see

me and

with

the

live

(Ex.

Neshiimah of the righteous. Hence

And the Lord appeared unto him

Mamre

Three

xxiii. 20).

Shekinah

receive

to

also

it is

the

written,

the plains of
as he sat in the tent-door in the heat of

That

in

the day of judgment,

which burns even as an oven for the separation of the

the day (Gen.

xviii. i).

Neskamah from

the body.
and looked, and lo, three

is,

And he lift up his eyes

men stood by him, who

he has done, and through

whom he confesses, yea, even with his mouth. When
the Neshamnh sees this, it parts from the body as far

search the deeds which

as the opening of the gullet

it

has confessed

has committed

Nashamah

all

and there

tarries until

things whatsoever which the body

with her in this world.

Then

the

man

rejoices over her

deeds [the higher soul is presented by the Kabalists
under a feminine aspect] and because she has been so
The soul of
R. Isaac adds,
faithfully preserved."

of the righteous

"

thi-

just

man

longs for the hour

when

it

shall

depart

^he

264

from
the

fpoctritu itnb Ipteratnre of the

this vain

world so as to rejoice

in the

world of

future."*

Setting aside such grotesque details as the pausing

of the soul in the gullet, and the mere confusion

occasioned by the mention of an oral statement, what

is described in the passage above is almost identical
with the Catholic notion of the particular judgment.

According to this the Christian soul, whatever sentence

is about to be pronounced upon it, sees Christ, as the
Jewish Kabalist sees the glory of the

soul of the

We

find, therefore, that the Zohar at its

presence.
best has no richer gift to offer us than a variation

upon

all

that which the occultist has agreed to set

aside as belonging to the letter and the convention.

perhaps, superfluous, as to the Kabalist it is

certainly useless, to point out that the apparition of
the angels to Abraham in the plains of Mamre can
It

is,

by no natural process of exegesis bear the construction

It is understood, of course, that the
placed on it.
Kabalah has no such processes.

Having seen how the soul is judged, another

quotation will afford us some vague notion of the
future happiness of the righteous
"

R. Joseph said

At

that time the just

man

shall

attain full knowledge

namely, in the day when the
Holy Blessed One shall rejoice over His works, the
;

just shall

know Him

in their hearts,

joy of the soul

*

is

our

their

under

they had seen Him

And it shall be said
God (Isa. xxv. 9). The

standing shall be as great as

with the eyes, for it is written
in that day, Lo, this

and

when dwelling

if

in the

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

i.

fol.

body surpasses

750.

Herb of 38abalism

a he SBritten

265

knowing and
and
Creator,
rejoicing in the
comprehending
splendour of the Shekinah. This is what is meant
all,

because they are both constant,

their

by the good which is preserved for the just in the

Hence it is written These are the

world to come.

generations of Isaac,

This

joy and
Isaac,

Abraham

son (Gen. xxv. 19).

deserves such

the NeshamaJi which

to

refers

(Jbid.),

that

the

is,

rejoicing and cheerfulness

said unto R.

Cheyah

soul

in

Abraham begat

perfect in her elevation.

is

brought forth

the world.

R.

this

Yehudah

This have we learned that there

a feast which the Holy Blessed One will prepare

for the righteous in the coming time.
What is this

is

feast

He answered him

When

came

before those

holy angels, even the lords of learning, I knew only

this which ye have heard, but afterwards I received
the explanation through R. Eleazar, who said The
feast for the righteous in the coming time will be
:

thus, as

it is

written

drink (Ex. xxiv.

as

we have been

We. have
and

11).

They saw God and

Now

taught.

And

R. Eleazar said again,

We

learned in one place,

in another,

difference?

We

have been

Thus spake

did eat and

these are the foods, even

fed.

have rejoiced,

What

the

is

Simeon ben Jochai:

R.

Those of the just who deserve so much only, the

same shall only rejoice in the reflection, because they
cannot comprehend all, but the truly righteous shall
be satiated till they attain the fulness of under
standing.

This, therefore,

is

to

be understood

by

eating and drinking, and the same is the feast and

this also is the partaking thereof.
Whence have we
this?

From Moses,

there with the

Lord

for

it

is

written:

forty days

and

And

he was

forty nights

he

266

literature of the JUbalah

^olhe Jportvine ajib

did neither eat bread nor drink water (Ex. xxxiv. 28).
For what reason did he neither eat bread nor drink

was because he was

water?

It

even the

celestial

by another

feast,

from above.

And

fed

splendour which

is

such shall be the feast of the just in the coming time.

R. Judah said

The

feast of the just in the

coming

time shall consist of rejoicing in his joy, for

The humble shall hear and rejoice
written

it

(Ps.

Hunnah

is

All shall

xxxiv.

2).

Thereupon

rejoice

who

trust in Thee, eternally shall they sing.

R. Isaac said
in

R.

The one and

the time which

is

said

the other shall be fulfilled

to come.

have learned that wine which

is

R. Joseph said

We

guarded and kept

in

the grapes from the first six days signifies the ancient
and mighty words which have not been revealed to

man

since the creation of the world, but they will be

made known
this is

to the righteous in the time

And

come.

thus

it is

which

is

to

eating and drinking, yea, surely

so."*

must

be acknowledged that in this very

interesting passage the Zoharic doctrine is a great
advance upon the monstrous allegory of the salted
It

leviathan in the Talmud, and yet the point reached

much circumlocution in the rabbinical dis

course is summed up in a single sentence by the
Christian apostle, who says that it hath not entered
into the heart of man to conceive what God hath
prepared for those who love Him." Nor is the
with so

"

mystical significance greater, though Isaac Myer has

increased it by pointing out that the term wine
the mysterious vitality and
signifies Kabalistically
"

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

i.

fol.

80.

vlhe (SHrittcu

its

of

267

Jabaliem

an opinion based
investigation by notaricon, for wine = 70 =God
energy of created

spiritual

on

SOorb

things,"

or secret.*

As

to the future condition of the wicked, the Secret

gives the following statement by R.

The
Samuel speaking on the authority of R. Jacob
of
the
hands
into
the
souls of the wicked are given

Commentary

"

angel Dumah [the Angel of Silence who, according

to the Talmud, has charge of disembodied spirits],

who conducts them

to

Gehennon

for judgment"!

As

to the duration of punishment, the opinions expressed

Zohar are confused

in the

not conflicting, but

if

it

does not seem to be everlasting. J

Two

other passages in the Secret

refer to the resurrection of the dead

Commentary

"

R. Isaac spake and said

The mandrakes give

vii. 13).
Our rabbis
is to come the Holy

(Song of Solomon
have learned In the time which
forth a smell

One

Blessed

quicken the dead and will awaken

dust, that they be no more an earthly

will

them from the

Formerly they were created from the

dust of the earth, which hath no permanence, as it is
written
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of

habitation.

But in that time they shall be

ii.
7).
from the dust of that building and shall stand a
firm building, and the same shall be unto them a lasting

the ground (Gen.

sifted

habitation.

dust

arise

Thus
.

it is

written

Shake

thyself from the

O captive daughter of Zion (Isa.

Hi. 2).

*
358.
Philosophy of Ibn it-bin
t Zohar, Cremona ed., part i. fol.
It
Though this also is taught here and there in the medley.
be added that a quotation furnished
Jellinek from the Beth
"

<

>1,"

j>.

8ot>.

may
Hammadresh

l>y

represents that the Divine Compassion, touched by the

sufferings in hell, ordains the release of all in bondage therein.

268

Ihc

They

gtortrin*

anb

shall stand firm,

JDittratttre of the

they shall

rise

up from under

the earth and receive their Neshamoth in the land of

For at that time the Holy Blessed One shall

them all kinds of odours from the garden

Israel.

diffuse over

of Eden, as

it is

written

The mandrakes

R. Isaac added

a smell.

Do

not

give forth

mandrakes

call it

[Dudaim} but friendship \Dodini\, meaning that body

and soul are friends and companions to each other. R.
Na hman said This word truly means Dudaim, for
:

the

Dudaim [understood

as the love-apple] bring forth

love in the world.

What

a pleasant smell.

It

does this mean

?
They give
describes the rectitude of their

deeds, through which their Creator becomes

known

and comprehended by their generation.

And at our
gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old
*

Our gates/ that is, the

(Song of Solomon vii. 13).
gates of heaven, which are open and through which
the Neshamoth shall descend into the bodies.
All
manner of pleasant

New

and

old, that

from them

them

for

fruits

these are the Neshamoth.

those whose souls have departed

years and those which have left

is,

many

a few days past, yet deserve, through the

probity of their actions, to enter the world to come."*
for

Hence

it

seems to follow indubitably that the

Kabalistic world to

come

is

the millennial earth of

and hence the destiny of the righteous is

substantially identical in the Zohar and in the
Christianity,

The theory of
Commentary recalls

Apocalypse.
"

Secret

much
is

"

better expressed

sown a natural body,

*

by

St.

it is

the risen
also that

body

Paul when he said

raised a spiritual

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

i.

fol.

80.

in the

which was
"

body."

It

c&lrittcn

SBorb of gabalicm

The other passage is as follows

Neshamah has its nourishment from
splendour, the Holy Blessed One says

"

Dumah

Go and

269

While the

the

supernal

to the angel

proclaim to that body that I am

it at the time when I shall raise

prepared to quicken

up the just in the age which is to come. But the

body answers Shall I have pleasure when I have
decayed? [Referring to Gen. xviii. 12 where Sarah
says After I have waxed old, shall I have pleasure ?]
Even when I have decayed in the dust, and have
:

dwelt in the earth where worms and moles have eaten

my

flesh,

Then
is
.

shall

be possible for

it

me

to be

renewed

Holy Blessed One says unto Neshamah : It

therefore written
And the Lord said unto Abraham

the

is

anything too hard for the Lord? (Gen.

At a time which is known to me for

xviii. 13,

raising the

24).

dead,

bring back to thec that body,

shall

made

wholly new, even as it was formerly, that it may be

like unto the holy angels.
And that day is set apart
for me to rejoice with them, as it is written
The
:

Lord

glory of the
shall rejoice in

\Ve

shall

His works

endure
(Ps. civ.

see, therefore, that

for

ever

the Lord

31)."*

on the most important of

the destiny of the soul, the

Kabalah has nothing to offer us but that which Jew
and Christian possess independently of any secret

all

subjects,

doctrine.

namely,

We

have not to consider here whether

common

doctrine

that

so held by occultists.

is

it is

transfigured

which

is

is

we

insufficient,

learn

from the following

passage^

also a specimen of Kabalistic

angelology.
*

this

but to remember only

That the risen body

Ibid. fol. 66.

270

Ihe

Iportrine aitb |ptetaiure ot the giabalah

When

His servant (Gen. xxiv. 2), this

The oldest servant
means the servant of Elohim.
"

of his house

who

said

Who

(Ibid.).

is

this

appointed to glorify the

is

Hence

it is

is

it

written

It

body

And Abraham

is

in

Metatron,
the grave.

said unto his

eldest servant (Ibid.\ namely, to Metatron, the eldest

of his house, for he

is

the

of the creatures of

first

Elohim, governing all that belongs to Him. The

Holy Blessed One hath given him dominion over all

His

And we

hosts.

have learned, said R. Simeon,

Rab

that R. Joseph said on the authority of

that

all

the hosts of the servant take delight and felicity in

have learned also that
the pureness of the soul.

We

the light of the soul in the world to come is greater

than the light of the Throne and that the soul takes
the light from the

of

Throne."*

The last statement seems to mean

God is essential to the Godhead, but

that the glory

the soul must

acquire her lustre.

must leave these interesting fragments at this
Much as we may despise the imbecile theory
point.
which would attribute them to the inventive genius

We

of Moses de Leon,
afford

X.

no support

it

seems quite clear that they

to the occult estimate of the Zohar.

THE LESSER SECTIONS OF THE

BOOK OF SPLENDOUR
We

have now passed

in

review the chief tracts

and fragments which constitute the Zohar.

*

Zohar, Cremona ed., part

i.

fol.

"j6b.

Beyond

The

ollritten

of

<3Qorb

JUbaliem

271

these there are various lesser sections which

noticed

the sake

for

under two heads

Certain

a.

of

may

They

completeness.

be
fall

not

fragments,

common

portance, which are

considerable im

of

two

the

to

I, "Additional Pieces"

editioncs

2, Excerpts
namely,
from a commentary on Ruth 3 Excerpts from a
work entitled Mansions or Abodes
4, One portion
of a treatise on the Secret of Secrets.

principes,

"

"

Other fragments which are peculiar to the

edition and are therefore wanting in that
of Mantua, namely, I, The quaint history and dis
b.

Cremona

of

course

Young

Man

Excerpts from an

2,

Explanation of the Law 3, Excerpts from a Com

a discourse
mentary on the Song of Solomon
;

"

beginning
entitled

Come

and

Traditional

"

A.

See

Some

"

4,

pieces

Receptions."

THE ADDITIONS

The small additional pieces which pass under

the generic name of Tosephtha, i.e., additauienta, or
accessions, are scattered through the Cremona folio
as

follows

Part

I.

col. 83,

87,

176,

145,

188,

189,

203, 222, 259, 265, 295, 303, 318, 367, 371, 487, 513

Part
col.

191,

II. col.

48, 107, 120, 163, 238, 358,

50,82,97,98, 117, 149,

274,

331,

addressed

441.

more

Some

155,

426

163,

177,

Part III.
184,

86,

of these fragments arc

particularly

to

proficients

in

the

Perhaps the
things of Kabalistic doctrine.
most curious of all concerns the Treasury of Souls

secret

situated in the supernal Eden.

"

Before the world was created

the just

[i.e.,

all

the spirits of

the rational spirits, the Ruachin] were

^hc

272

anb literature of the Jiabalah

jportritte

Him

thought, each in his likeness

the
divine thought, possessing
they existed in

hidden before
[i.e.,

in

He

But when

characteristic individuality].

formed

then were they manifested,* remaining

before Him, in their own likenesses, yea, even in the
the world,

highest

is

treasury

then

gathered

things

do

mean ?

does this
their

into

come

Behold, the former things are

new

them

the supernal garden of Eden, and that

never filled, but cries out for ever

treasury in
*

He

place.

name, and

declare
It

this

(Isa.

means,

treasury

to

xlii.

show

and

pass,

What

9).

forth

all

by

hath neither desire

nor appetite, save only to accumulate souls therein

[the word here used signifies the higher soul, or
third principle of the Kabalists], even as Gehennon,

which hath neither desire nor

souls

and

What does this mean ?

And that treasury receives
are clothed

lust,

save only to take

to purify them, calling daily,

Give

means, Burn

It

souls

all

and come down to

till

Give

Burn

the time they

this world.

Through

[not the supernal Adam

of the Atziluthic world], which brought on the evil

the sin of

side

to

Adam Kadmon

the world, the

clothed

in

these

"

garments

soul

[i.e.,

garments,
not the original vestments of unfallen

man, but a coarser material

*

[NeshamaK\ must be
which are the other

envelope]."]*

ii. 2Oa, Mantua, where it is said that all

things
creatures before they were associated with the universe, and
whatever the time of their existence, appeared in their true forms

and

Compare Zohar

all

God at the beginning of the present creation.

See also Mantua edition,
t Brody edition of the Zohar, iii. 303^.
97, concerning the profound mysteries of that Palace of Love where

before

ii.

in are assembled all the well-beloved souls of the Celestial King,

joined to them by kisses of love.

who

(lilritteu

From

i&iovb of glabalism

273

Adam did
not take place on earth, but in a
higher region, which
is
indeed a recurrent legend of mysticism.
The
involution and confusion of Kabalistic
this

follows that the sin of

it

psychology

is

well illustrated

by another passage

Let the earth bring forth the

This means the animal
living creature (Gen.
24).
nature [Nephesh} which is the higher life
[i.e., Chaiah,
"

It

written

is

i.

meaning possibly the Nephesh of

principle of the Kabalists
tion, Cliaiah

And

system].

Chokmah

referable to

is

ChaiaJi, the fourth

according to one classifica

because this

in

the Sephirotic

of the animal nature

life

[Nephesh Chaiah~\ is holiness from above, so when the

holy earth draws up through her, and is comprised in
her, then is she called the higher soul [Neshamah].

And come,
in

see

Whensoever the child of man walketh

when his mouth and tongue utter

the true way,

forth

holy

words,

this

cleaveth unto him, and he

having

He

is

higher soul [Neshamah}

is the friend of his
Lord,

many watchers protecting him on all sides.

designated for good above and below, and

the holy Shekinah rests upon

B.

him."*

THE COMMENTARY ON RUTH

The few fragments

unknown Midrask
Ruth which occur in the Zohar will be found in the
Cremona edition, Part I., col. 61, 86, and Part III.,
col. 114, 124,

of the

130, 174, 181, 184, 332, 530.

be noted that a Midrash Ruth

is

the last master of the Tanaites,

who

* Ibid.
30 1 a,

b.

It

should

attributed to Rab,

died in A.D. 243,

274

^he

ipcrrtrittt

and as

believe

printed,

it

is

anb UJitenttee of the

that

There

quotations.

this

possible that
is

it

also

work has never been

is

the source of these

extant

an

commentary* which has been twice

allegorical

printed,

and

yet another, attributed to the fourth century.

THE MANSIONS OR ABODES

C.

We

have

work anterior
which there

is

already made acquaintance with a

the appearance of the Zohar in

to

a methodical description of heaven.

must not be confused with the excerpts which,

under the above title, termed in the original
It

HIKLVTh, rendered Palaces by Rosenroth, give

account of the structure of Paradise and the infernal
Their places in the Cremona edition will
be found in Part I., col. 116 et seq. Part II., col 358
The mansions are seven in
et seq., and col. 438.
region.

number and were the original habitations of the

After the fall of man they were
earthly Adam.
reconstituted and became the abode of the saints.
The term which signifies Mansion, Temple or Palace,
applied to Malkuth, in which Tiphereth is said
to be concealed as in a palace.
So also the name
is

Adonai [ADNI], Lord, is the Palace of Tetragrammaton, because it is the same number as
This name is attributed to
H\iL,=Palatium=6$.
Binah, and in an especial manner to Kether, on
the authority of the Zohar proper, for HIKL,
Palace,

the place

is

in

which

HKL,

that

is,

the

Commentatio Allegorica super quinque parvos Libellos, videlicet,

Canticus Canticorum, Liber R^ith, &c. See Bartolocci, Bib. Rab. These
commentaries, with "allegorical expositions of the Ancient Rabbins,"
were printed

at

Venice in 1545 and again

in 1550.

dht
is

$lorb of $abalism

(rittfu

contained,

seeing
whole world of Atziluth.
all,

is

to

applied

HIKLVTh =

all

the

Kether includes the

that

In a sense also the term

In

Scphiroth.

are

Palaces,

275

the

branches

the

Sephirotk in the inferior worlds.

the Holy of Holies corresponds,

The
says

plural,

of

the

palace

of

Rosenroth,

to the three supernals.

The Zohar proper

has also a good deal to

tell

us

concerning the seven heavens, one above the other,

like the layers of an onion.
Each heaven trembles
"

with fear of

and

its

whom

Lord, through

they

all

exist

are taken away.

Over all the Holy Blessed
holds all in His power." There are also seven

all

One

earths below, arranged after the same manner.

These
earths are disposed according to their names, and
"

between them

They

four faces,
like

is

the Garden of

are inhabited

Eden and

creatures of

by
some two, while others

They

humanity.

some of them

are

Gehenna."

whom some

have

are single visaged,

are not the children of

Adam

clothed in skins and others in

like the worms which are found in the earth."

would serve no purpose to enlarge upon monstrous
"

shells,
It

inventions

of this kind.

The concealed meaning

which some occultists suppose them to possess is

again evidently the plan upon which they are based,
and to understand them is to know the method by
which they can be calculated
neither

case

out, so to speak.

In

are

For
they justified to reason.
example, we have just seen that ADNI is the
mansion of JHVH; by counting the numbers of

names we see why the Kabalists said this,

but we do not see that it served any reasonable
It is entertaining and curious,
purpose to say it.

these

276

UIhe Jtodrine anb

but at the same time

Jtjiteratxxre xjf the

it

is

Jiabalah

assuredly theosophical

fantasia.

THE SECRET

D.

The
treatise

single

is

found

OF SECRETS

fragment which
in

Part

II.

is

extant of

Cremona

of the

this

edition,

It treats, firstly, of the con

beginning at col. 134.
nection between the soul and the body, of which a

has been conveyed by previous quota

and, secondly, of physiognomy, which, no
doubt, in a certain manner connects with the lower
divisions of occult science, but is not of much

sufficient idea

tions

It may, however, be
importance to our inquiry.
worth while to say that Kabalistic physiognomy
proves, as might be expected, to have no connection

whatsoever with any accepted principles to which this

empirical art may be supposed to have attained, and
indeed, purely arbitrary and conventional. Lavater
was something of a mystic, but fortunately for his
is,

borrowed nothing, as probably he

of
the Zohar and its connections.
nothing,
subject, he

knew
Four

types of the human countenance are dis

tinguished, and these are referred to the faces of the

general

four living creatures in Ezekiel

vision.

We

have

thus the leonine, the bovine and the aquiline types,

and another, less easy to characterise, but correspond
ing to the living creature which had the likeness
of a man." The approximation of any individual
to a given type depends upon his intellectual and
"

"

moral rank.

"

Physiognomy, however, according

Secret of Secrets,

"

does not consist

to the

in the external

lineaments, but in the features which are mysteriously

drawn within us. The features of the face vary,

flBritten

SHorb of gabaliem

277

following the form which is impressed on the inward

The spirit only produces all those
face of the spirit.

physiognomical peculiarities which are known to the

and

wise,

through the

it is

When
possess meaning.
Eden [i.e., the Supreme
form which

certain

is

only that the features

spirits and souls pass out of
spirit

possess a
reflected in the

Wisdom] they

afterwards

M. Gabriel Delanne, the latest and perhaps

most accomplished writer on the French theory of
reincarnation, would say that the Zoharic fragment
face."

here refers undoubtedly to the perisprit of the Kardec

school of spiritism, which he holds to be the plan or
type upon which the body of the man is fashioned.

The

"

pretends that every

feature in a given countenance indicates to those who
can read therein whether it is possible or not for the
"

Secret of Secrets

also

It
possessor to be initiated into divine mysteries.*
is, perhaps, unnecessary to say that the fragment does

not disclose the rules which governed the sages in

their discernment, so that the Kabalah is not likely
to be of

much

practical use to the few occultists

who

may be inclined to include physiognomy within the

charmed circle of the secret wisdom.

E.

THE DISCOURSE OF THE YOUNG MAN

The little history which has passed under

name will be found in the Cremona edition of
Zohar, Part.
*

II.,

comprised

in

this

the

a few columns, 91 et

In the writings of the Gaon R. Shereerah and other literature

the appearance of the Zohar we meet with notions of

preceding

physiognomy and chiromancy of a parallel kind.

supplements of the Zohar.

They

recur in the

278 3&ht flortriut anfo literature 0! the

which follow shortly

seq.,

It is

cealment."

after

the

"

Book

Con

the childish account of an impossible

certainly an extremely uninteresting

or

of

rabbinical

prodigy, the son of R.

Hammnuna, but living at the

period in question with his widowed mother in a
certain village.
One day two disciples of R. Simeon
ben Jochai, namely, R. Isaac and R. Judah, passed
through this village on a journey and paid a visit to
the widow.

wished to

When

her son returned from school she

present him

blessing, but

to the rabbis to receive their

he declined to approach them,

after the

unamiable manner of prodigies. The reason assigned

by the narrative is that he discerned by the odour of

garmenls that they had not recited the requisite

in honour of the unity of God.
Hear, O Israel

their
"

"

He

did not, however, disdain to converse at the table,

delivering sundry discourses (i)

On

the symbolism

some mystery,
wash their hands

of washing the hands, a function of

because

and
is,

it is

Aaron and

his sons,

of the congregation
On the Shekinah

"

So they

written,

shall

their feet, that they die not (Ex.

when

(2)

(4)

On
On

lads"

xlviii.

21), that

entering the tabernacle

grace before meat (3)
;

the utterance of Jacob,

The Angel which redeemed me from

the

xxx.

and on

all evil,

bless

other matters.

(Gen.
16)
cautious critic will not be prepared to deny that
the invention of this history was beyond the genius
of R. Moses de Leon.
However, the discourses con
;

The

vinced the disciples of Simeon ben Jochai that such

a precocious youth could not be the child of human

and the great light of Kabalism, when the

remarks were repeated to him, coincided with this

parents,

opinion.

(SHritten fillorb of

Our

as a literary
analysis of the Zohar, regarded

document, has reached

its

utmost

limit,

specimen of the matters not included

recension must be held to serve

Though

279

gabalism

he regarded the

Mantua

in

for

and

this

the Mantua
the

edition as

whole.

Codex

Rosenroth ingarnered all the tracts and

he
fragments embraced by that of Cremona when
be
must
it
but
codex
produced his own careful

correctus,

remembered that the Zohar had

in

all

probability

grown under the hands of transcribers and makers of

three centuries,
glosses during the space, approaching
between its first promulgation and the
which

elapsed

date

when

it

was

first

We

printed.

have no means

of knowing how much of it was actually contained in

The suspicion under
the script of Moses de Leon.

which

has remained

it

partly accounted for

may be

works which
frequent quotation of unknown
Zohar was
the
but
fictitious
considered
have been

by

its

edited prior to the persecution of the Jews inaugurated

and
by the atrocious edict of Ferdinand and Isabella,

many documents

existing in Spain

may have been

Again, it is
destroyed during that fiery epoch.
libraries contain
impossible to say that Continental
ths excerpts of the

no MSS. by which
be

justified.

The

been catalogued
critical

Zohar might

unprinted literature of Jewry has

by various bibliographers, but no

knowledge

of

contents

its

is

possible

by

Let us take, for example,

recourse to bibliographies.
a
the passages from
commentary on the Canticle of
Canticles,

is

peculiar, as

we have

seen, to the

These excerpts have not,

there is a MS. in the
but
believe, been identified,

Cremona
I

which

Vatican

editio princeps.

Library

which

is

mentioned by Buxtorf

^he

280

Itoctrine anb literature of the giabalah

under the very same title, namely, Midrash Chazeeth*

It is the work, as he tells us, of an unkown author, but
a uniform tradition assigns it to a Tanaite commen
circa

tator

work,
should

of
a

be called

A.D.

The

100.

course,

predicates

of

existence

nothing

such

but

why

commentary on the Song of Solomon

MDRSh ChDzITh, which is understood as

a reference to Proverbs
correction, but

know

xxii.

29?

speak under

of no ground except in the

idiosyncrasy of the author, and I am inclined to infer

therefore that the same catchword would not have

been used by two writers, but that the editor of the

Zohar quoted the alleged Tanaite treatise.

XI.

THE ANCIENT AND LATER

SUPPLEMENTS

The sudden appearance

either has or purports to

in public of a

have remained

in

work which

concealment

be expected to lead to the

discovery or manufacture of continuations or con
nections thereof, and thus we have two series of
for several centuries

may

Zoharic writings subsequent to the Book of Splendour

and distinguished as

its

ancient and later supplements.

As

productions of this kind multiply their authenticity

does not tend to assume a stronger guise, and the
documents with which we shall deal in this section
the reader will do well to regard as without determined
*

Among later MS. commentaries, also in the Vatican, Bartolocci

mentions that of R. Abraham ben Isaac Tze mach Levi, the physician,
and that of R. Immanuel ben Solomon written towards the end of the
fifteenth century.

QBritten QUorb of
claims.

Ub*li0m

281

should add, however, that considerable

importance and authority have been always ascribed

by Kabalists to the Ancient Supplements, and
according to Franck they have been known as long
as the Zohar itself.
They contain explanations of the

BRAShlTh by

term

Simeon ben Jochai after

and hence the work is divided

R.

seventy different ways,

into seventy chapters, with eleven further

added

at the end.

It

Napthali at Mantua

Immanuele

di

chapters

was printed by Jacob ben

1557 under the editorship of

in

Benevento,

and appeared again

at

Cracovia.

Among
ments we

notable matters in these Ancient Supple

members of the

find the attribution of the

human body

to the

whence the

Sephiroth,

practical

magic of the West may have obtained later on its notion

of divine and angelic names ruling those members.*

The apex

of the head and brain

is

referred to Kether,

the brain as a whole to Chokinah, the heart to Binah,

the back and breast are attributed to

arms

and Geburah, the

to Chesed

Tiphercth, the

legs to Netzach

and

Hod, the generative organs to Jesod, the feet to

Later Kabalism recognises other corres
Malkuth.
pondences, the arbitary nature of which

is

obscured

sometimes by an appearance of methodical precision.

There are better things than this in the supple

ments to the Zoharic books, and

supposed

some out of

that

of

interpreting

is

rendered"

According

the

to

the

ii.

424, Mantua.

it

the

may

Zohar

in

be well

seventy ways

much -debated

beginning"

exhibits the letters of the

all

Genesis

word

which

should

be

itself the erect figure of humanity

Tctragram superposed one upon the other,

^he

282

gtotrine anb literature oi the giabalah

suggestive as well

And

its

curious.
"

the soul

is

bosom of

the

as

suffice.

however,
created.
This
must,

In

single instance

when

mother and

it

is

from

emerges
taught

was without form, and

the earth

God

the beginning

thereof.

void,

and

darkness was upon the face of the deep (Gen. i. 2),

because the eyes of the soul were closed.
Hath it

opened

its

man

Hereafter
this then

eyes

is

And God

said

Let there be

light.

gathered in from this world, and

written about the soul.
And God said,
is

Let the waters under the heaven be gathered unto

one place, and let the dry land appear.
When the
soul
as

is

removed from a man

dry land.

his

body remains even

"

That French school of occultism which

is

just

beginning to recognise in the plays of Shakespeare a

veiled

scheme of

initiation has,

it

must be admitted,

an influential mystic precedent in the biblical exegesis

of the Zohar, of which the above passage seems to be
a very neat instance, arbitrary beyond all words, and
yet not without a certain grace of notion.

One
Ancient

of the most celebrated quotations from the

Supplements is, however, the Prayer of

though it belongs only to the prefatory part.*

Lord of the universe, one alone art Thou,
Thou art the most
but not according to number.
sublime of all that is sublime, the most withdrawn
Elijah,
"

things concealed, and conception cannot attain

Thee. Thou hast produced ten forms which we call
of

all

and Thou guidest by means of these the un

known and invisible as well as the visible worlds. In
Sephiroth,

Namely, the beginning of the second

preface.

SEritttu SBorb of gUbalism

them Thou dost

283

Thyself and, permeated by Thy

harmony remains undisturbed. Who
soever shall depict them as separated, it shall be
accounted unto him as if he dismembered Thy unity.
veil

presence, their

These ten Sephiroth are developed

in successive gra
another
short and the
long,
but Thou art He
third intermediate between them

dations, so that one

is

who guideth them, and whether from above or below

art guided Thyself by none.
Thou hast provided the
which
with
serve human souls as
Sephirotk
garments
intermediate phases Thou hast muffled them in
;

bodies, so-called in comparison

with the vestments

surrounding them, and the totality corresponds to

the

members

human

of the

form.

Thou

art the

Lord of the worlds, the Foundation of all foundations,

the Cause of all causes Thou dost water the Tree
from that source which spreads life everywhere, as
;

But Thou hast

the soul spreads it through the body.
Thyself neither image nor form in all that is within
or without.
Thou didst emanate heaven and earth,
that which
celestial

is

and

above and that which

terrestrial hosts.

that the worlds might

is

All this didst

know Thee.

can conceive Thee in

Thy

below, with the

reality

Thou do

Yet no one

we know only

that apart from Thee, whether above or below, there

can

be no unity, and

Each

that

Sephira possesses

which

the

are

angels
determinate name, for

Thou

art

Lord of

all.

a prescribed name, after

but Thou hast no

called,
all

Thee, and Thou only givest

names
them

are informed
force

and

by

reality.

Thou

shouldst withdraw [from the vestments], they

would be left like bodies devoid of souls. Thou art
If

wise,

yet

not

with

positive

wisdom

thou

art

284

Ihe

Jloctrme anb literature af iht Jiabalah

but

intelligent,

not

with a

nor hast Thou a fixed place

attributed to Thee, so that

definitive

yet

all

man may

intelligence,

these things are

conceive Thine

omnipotence and may be shown how the universe

is guided by means of severity and
If there
mercy.
fore a right or left side or

only to exhibit

Thy

any centre be named,

by comparison with human

any

attribute can be really

sponding

The

either to law or to

distinction

it

is

government of the entire universe

actions, but not because

imputed to Thee corre

grace."

between God and His

attributes,

and hence between God and the Sephiroth, which in

a manner are His attributes emanated, is insisted on
elsewhere in the Supplements by the help of a striking
illustration
"

Woe

unto those whose hearts are so hardened,

whose eyes so blinded, that they regard God as the

totality

of His

madman who

attributes

they are

like

unto

should describe the King as the totality

of his insignia.
Behold a king wears his insignia
that
he
may be known through them, and verily,
only

King of Kings, the Concealed of all the hidden,

the Cause of all causes, is disguised in a splendid
garment so only that He may be known thereby, and

the

thereby

may

impart to the dwellers on this earth a

conception of His sacred nature."*

This distinction has at first sight an appearance
of considerable profundity, but perhaps in the last
analysis

it

is

rather childish than otherwise, for

obvious that even in our

latent

it

is

finite humanity there is a

and unseen nature behind all its manifested

Supplement,

21.

o&ritteu cBorfc of Jlabalienn

Man

characteristics.

scription

is

not exhausted

285

by any de

of his attributes, and to insist that this

true also of

God seems

From what
that the Ancient

is

scarcely necessary.

has been quoted above

Supplements are

it

will

identical

be seen
their

in

teachings with the Zohar itself, and some affirm that

the original work had existed from time immemorial
at

Fez

We

Africa.*

in

this statement,

with Isaac

nor

have no means of checking

there any authority for supposing

that it was brought thither by dis
is

Myer
Rab Hay,

the Gaon of the Sages of Chirvan

on the Caspian Sea.f There is, on the other hand,
no need to say that hostile critics make use of weak
ciples of

points in the Ancient Supplements as if there were

no distinction between these and the Zohar proper.
In the section on the bibliographical content of the

Book of Splendour we have seen what

braced by the New Zohar, namely, a
"Hidden Commentary,"

is

broadly

em

sequel to the

certain additional supplements,

a commentary on the Canticle of Canticles, and another

on the Book of Lamentations. This enumeration

conveys no idea of importance, and perhaps

it

will

be

unnecessary to say that occultists are for the most part

unaware that these tracts are in existence. I should

add that they have not been

translated, nor

am

acquainted with the existence of any printed copy

beyond that of Cracow, though it has been termed
the editio princeps.
This appeared in 1703, or subse

quently to the Kabbala Denudata.

*

Its

history seems

Compare the statement which rests on the authority of the

Supplements, that the full publication of the Zohar is reserved for the
end of time.
t

"

Philosophy of Ibn

Gebirol," p.

47.

286

^he

entirely

jp0ttitt.e Jtnb

literature of the

unknown, and

it

would be preposterous to

make any

It may also be noted

claim concerning it.
that later still Isaac ben Moses of Satanow, though

otherwise of some literary repute, wrote a forged

Zohar which may have deceived a few persons, but it

was speedily unmasked.

BOOK

VI

THE WRITTEN WORD OF

KABALISM

THIRD PERIOD
ARGUMENT
The growth of Kabalistic literature is sketched, firstly, in the
commentaries on the Zohar and, secondly, in some
independent
treatises which connect with the
Two works
general tradition.
are chosen for separate consideration, one on the
Mysteries of Love,
because of

its general diffusion, and one on the

application of
the Kabalah to Alchemy, because of the
importance of its design
and the credit which it has obtained in the modern school of

occultism.

I.

EXPOSITORS OF THE BOOK OF

SPLENDOUR
THE

works which are recommended by Rosenroth as

assisting to a better comprehension of the Zohar fall
under two heads namely, those which are designed
to elucidate technical matters

and those which

may

claim to be original expository treatises.

In the first
are included the Words of Understanding," which is
"

actually a Zoharic lexicon or vocabulary; the "Gate

of the Eyes," which is concerned with the Scriptural
passages in the Zohar and Ancient Supplements
;

and the Zar Zahab.

The second

section contains

288

the famous

of

zm& literature of

32Ehe |p citrine

with

and

Wisdom,"

the

sequel

masterly digest
of
Vision

the

entitled

proper,

its

the

giabalah

of Pomegranates," the

"Garden

Truth,"

tlte

"Way

of

"Fount

of

the

"

Zohar

the

Priest."

Outside these there are a few works which

may

be regarded as extensions or developments of Zoharic

doctrine, but more especially of that part which is

The scope of our

and
too
simple
elementary for the dis
inquiry
cussion of technical matters or the pretensions of

concerned with spiritual essences.

is

word-books and other collections which deal with

these.
in the

Except

in

so far as they have been utilised

Apparatus of Rosenroth, they

to, as they concern only, the

will

be available

Hebrew and Aramaic

who has a first-hand acquaintance with the

To mention them in this place will be
Zohar.
therefore sufficient, and we may proceed at once

scholar

to

the

of

consideration

developments to which that

the names,

illustrious

the

commentaries

work gave

rise,

and

and

to

Kabalism, which are

in later

connected with these.

MOSES OF CORDOVA

A.

Assuming
in

that the Zohar

first

became known

Spain towards the end of the thirteenth century,

was a lapse of two hundred and fifty years,

according to the dates fixed by modern scholarship,
Hence this
before any literature followed from it.

there

literature

may be

largely regarded as a consequence of

Cremona and Mantua editions. Franck says* that

two Zoharic schools were founded about the same

the

La

Kabbalc,

p. 4.

vlhc eilritttn

SQort of Jgztbaliem

289

time in Palestine,
namely, the middle of the six
teenth century, the first
by Moses of Cordova, and
the second by Isaac de Loria.
On the other hand,
Bartolocci* and
Basnagef agree in assigning Moses
of Cordova to the fourteenth
The earlier
century.
date is of importance to the
of

history
Kabalism,
because certain side issues of
documentary criticism^

untouched
need

in

this

study,

depend upon

Here

it.

say that Franck does not state his

or
indeed his reason for
authority
accepting the
later period.
In either case Moses of Cordova
is
the

only

first

that

commentator on the Zohar, for,

assuming
was mistaken and that
Basnage

Bartolocci

reproduced his

error, Joseph Gigatella, called the

Kabalist and
thaumaturge, who was of the
time of Ferdinand and
Isabella, was a writer on
the Sephiroth, and connects with the
Sepher Yetxirah
rather than the Zohar,
though he refers to the
Kabalistic Work of the Chariot

divine

As his name indicates, Moses of Cordova was

a Spaniard, but he travelled to
Palestine, and it is
conjectured that he was instrumental in
founding
the Academy of
Sapeth in
nine miles
Upper

from Bethsaida.

teachers and helped

was

regarded

greatest light

Galilee,

In either case he was one

to

make

it

illustrious,

of

for

he

by his fellow theosophists as the

of Kabalism since Simeon ben
Jocliai.

Franck says that he adhered to the

real significance

of the original

monuments of Kabalism, but, althnu-1,

appears worthy of praise, he sec-ins
complain
that R. Moses was uantin- n
Howe
this

t<

Inhliothcca

Ma^na KaMnnica,

ULloirc tksjnifs,

originality.
t.

iv.

livre vii. c. 24,

t.

p,
v.

p.

1942.

290

Ihe

this

may

be the work by which he

It
authority in Kabalism.

high
"

goxtrine anb literature of the

Garden

is

is

known

of

is

entitled

the

"

of

(Pardes

Pomegranates

Rimmonivi\

referring to the versicle in the Canticle of Canticles,

plants are an orchard of pomegranates."

that, after the manner of Kabalists,
says
Basnage
he discovers whatsoever he pleases in that single
The pomegranate, with its innumerable
sentence.*
iv.

13

"Thy

a favourite object for symbolism, and the

garden, orchard, or paradise has deep lessons for
all mysticism.
Here, in a general sense, it is the
seeds,

is

treasury

of Scriptural

which

is

it

meanings

meanings, and the word by

described having four consonants, these

are classified as four
PRDS the P
:

signifies the

literal sense,

enigmatic sense,

and S the

the mystic sense,

secret

and concealed

the

sense.

Dwelling upon these involved meanings, as

may

Garden of Pomegranates is
be well imagined, the
an obscure and difficult treatise, and the attempt made
"

"

by Rosenroth

to

dismember

it

for the

purpose of his

Apparatus, while it gives no idea of its contents, creates

The attribution of
a lively image of its complexity.
the letters of the Tetragrammaton to the Sephiroth,
the mystic meaning of words deprived of their context,
the names applied to the Sephiroth, their superincession and their union with Ain-Soph, the mystery

of the Throne and the Shekinah, primeval Tohu and

Bohu, the unknown darkness, these are specimens
here and there of the subject matter.
But as the
heart of the Kabalist, in opposition to the ascribed
character of his nation, was fixed with peculiar in*

Histoire des Juifs,

1.

vii.

c.

24, vol. v. p. 1943.

The

CAlrittcn

fill

orb of JRiibaliem

291

tentness on the eternal destinies of

man and not on

so
his
chief interest was the
temporal concerns,
soul,
ever recurring in his
writings, as if it were impossible
to atone
sufficiently for the silence of his sacred books.
There is therefore no need to
that a
say

in the

"

Garden of Pomegranates

special tract

"*

is

dedicated to the

subject of the soul, discussing the region from which

emanates, its purpose in the world, the profit of its

it

creation,

its

union with matter,

chief divisions,

its

angels,

its

superiority over the

their

relation

one with

another, the Sephiroth to which they are

referred, the
places to which they resort after death, the absence of

one or both of the higher divisions

and the good and

human

The

being.

in

many

individuals,

evil

angels accompanying each

tract also devotes a
very curious

chapter to the

simulacrum which presides at generation

a phantasmal image of
humanity which descends on
the male head cum
copula maritalis cxercetur
inferius.

affirmed to be sent from the

Lord, and no pro
creation can take place without its
It is
presence.
not, of course, visible, yet might be seen if
licence
were given to the eye.
This phantom or
is
It

is

imago

prepared for each man before he enters the

world,
and he grows in the likeness thereof.
With the
Israelites this simulacrum is
them from the Holy Place.

holy,

To

and

it

comes

to

those of another

descends from the side of

impurity, and
hence the chosen
must
not
people
mingle their
simulacrum with that of the
religion

it

Gentile.f

Tract

Namely,
xxxi., translated in the Kabbala Denudata
Apparatus in l.ibntm Sohar pars .r,v//;/,/,/,
100 et j,y.
t This fantasy rests on the
authority of the X,har, which states
t is an emanation of
the celestial form of each man,
/.,-.,
i.

-Mantua

//

edition,

iii.

107.

godrine anb literature of

^Sthe

292

the

gabalah

Another curious speculation is founded on a

text of the Zohar which says that the good works
performed by a person in this world become for him
vestments of price

in

the world to come.

Here was

a poetic sentiment which had to be methodised and

made literal inevitably by a late Kabalist. When a

man who

has performed many good works finally

from
righteousness and is lost, what becomes
away
of his earlier works ? Though the sinner may perish,
falls

they, says R. Moses, remain.

a just man walking in the

If,

therefore, there be

ways of the Supernal

King, yet wanting something of his vestments, God

supply the deficiency from the good works of the

will

impious one. The preference is given to those who,

taken in their youth, have been unable to fulfil all
the precepts of the Law.

B.

Of
very

ISAAC DE

LOR A
i

Kabalist Bartolocci and Basnage have

to tell us, and it is not necessary to say

this

little

He is
ignored by writers like Graetz.
to
the
seventeenth
referred by Basnage
century* and
that he

is

as aiready seen, to that which preceded

has been regarded as the greatest rabbinical
doctor at his period in Germany.
However, he died

by Franck,
it.

at

He

Sapheth or Separth, having published nothing

himself,

though some suspected

treatises are attributed

The substantial authenticity of the great

of his doctrines collected by his disciple, R.

to him.

body
Chafm

Vital, has not, however,

Franck bases thereon

*

been challenged, and

his hostile

Histoire desjuifs,

1.

vii. c.

judgment of Loria,

31, p. 2089, vol. v.

SHorb of gabali&m

c&lrittcu

on the ground,

firstly,

that he was,

293

Moses of

like

Cordova, not original and, secondly, that he departed

from Zoharic Kabalism to indulge in his own reveries,
;

a criticism which stultifies

It

itself.

is

certain,

ever, that Loria did innovate or extend,

is

He

also his title to interest.

how

and that

this

not a mere echo or

is

and he makes good reading because he is

a wild fantasiast.
Rosenroth terms him the eagle of
reflection,

the Kabalists.

of course, impossible to say how

scribe and disciple, R. Chaim, may have de

far his

It is,

veloped his developments and elaborated his fantasies.

The vast thesaurus which represents both seems
never to have been printed, except

in so

far as

it

is

Kabbala Denudata, where the excerpts,

given
whole
embodying
treatises, fill some three hundred
in the

quarto pages of close print.

They include
The first tract, so called, of the Liber Drn shim*
Book of Dissertations, forming the second volume
:

I.

i.e.,

of the collection.

occasioned an interesting corres

It

pondence between Rosenroth and Henry More, who

was

surprised, as he expresses

ness of

its

could sympathise, as

book

it,

doctrine, but found

devoted

to

we

the

by the unexpected
with which he

much

on

shall learn later

Christian

students

in the

of

the

Kabalah.

II.

of the

commentary on the

forming the second tract

ment,"t

collection.

integrity

is

of Conceal-

the sixth volume

in

not given

maximum partcm

cujus

says Rosenroth.

It

"Book

in

its

infra

absolute

cxliilhmus,

Kabbala Denudata, Apparatus .... pars secunda,

ii.
pars sefttnda, tradatus quartus, p. 3 et scq.

t Ibid.

In the Pnrfatio

ad Lectorem,

p.

16, vol.

ii.

i.

28

et .vy.

294

Ihe

Itortrin* an& JCiteratnre ot the

III.

The

forming the
collection,

"Book

first

of the Revolutions of

tract

in

the

fifth

Souls,"*

volume of the

which seems to have been even larger than

in fact, almost the camel s load of

the Zohar itself

portion of this tract seems to have

been printed, or another under a similar title and
the legend.

attribution,

namely,

De

percussione

Sepulchri,

at

Venice
1620, together with De Precibus, recalling
another subject treated in the collection.
The Ltber Drushtm is a metaphysical introduction
in

to the Kabalah,

which discusses a variety of subtle

and abstruse questions much after the manner of the

scholastic philosophy, and there is no doubt that
Isaac de Loria would have diffused a great light of

reasoning at Salamanca had he been a Christian

Doctor instead of a Jewish Rabbi. His first point, as

he

tells us, is

one over which the Kabalists,

late

and

early, had already outwearied themselves, namely, for

what reason were the worlds created and was their

creation of necessity ?
Assuredly from the period of
the Angel of the Schools, the halls of Salamanca, of

Padua, of Louvain and the other seats of scholastic

learning, had echoed with this debate.
Perhaps the
Kabalists

owed something

they drew both from

centuries

of

offers curious

to the Scholastics, perhaps

one another.

Christianity

the

In

so-called

the early

Areopagite

points of contact with the system of

Sephirotic emanation in the angelical world, and the

of the Exile was encompassed on all sides by

Wisdom

the great debate of Christian speculation.

234

Kab. Den.

et seq.

ii.,

It

would

partis tertia tractatus secundus pneumaticus, p.

(utlritteu

be

to

interesting

and

tincture

(yHorb of JBnbaliem

discriminate

the

295

extent of the

whether the plummet of

to ascertain

Kabalism sounded lower depths than the schoolmen,

but I doubt whether the dimensions of the present
volume would suffice for this one excursion. Let me
indicate therefore the answer of Isaac de Loria,

perhaps some

student at
find

will

quartos

perfection

illuminating

The answer

Scholastics.*
in

all

among

large

the

is

that

works

scholastic

and names

the

in

parallels

God cannot

His excellence and

and

fail

of

of

His

but
His glory
magnificence,
unless those works were brought from potentiality
into act they could not have been termed perfect, as
The name
regards either the works or the names.
;

Tetra&rammaton signifies perpetual existence, past,

present and future, in the condition of creation before
the creation, and thereafter in the immutability of
But

things.

if

the worlds had not been created, with

them, it could not have thus signified

the continuity of existences in every instant of time,
and Tetragrammaton would have been an empty
all

that

name.

is

in

How

the treachery of this

reasoning, which ascribes to a name of the Deity an

very curious

existence independent
whose convention it is

of

many

parallel treacheries

is

the

intelligent

creatures

But we should probably find

among

scholastic rcasoncrs,

were there any one at hand to disinter them. So also

the name of A,i\
or the Lord, involves the idea of
ministers or servants, and if there were no ministers
//<//,

God

But after the

could not be called by this name.
worlds and the production of the

creation of the
*

He

must ^o further, however, than B. Hareau

la rhilosophie Scholar! ique,

Paris.

l88o.

in his treatise

De

^he

296

Jtodrine attb ^literature

r>f

the

Jhtbdah

divine works from potentiality into accomplishment,

God has fulfilled His perfection in every operation of

His powers, and

in

all

names without any

His

exception.

The next
is

why

that

it

point discussed by the Liber Drushini

the world was created at the time and moment
was. and not at an earlier, or, for that matter,

The answer is that the supreme

and most excellent Light is infinite, exceeding com
prehension and speculation, and that its concealed
at a later epoch.

Before any
is far from all understanding.
emanation
was
therefrom, there
produced by
thing
was no time or beginning therein. This is the solution

foundation

of

the difficulty

theology, and

which

is

offered

by

all

official

could have no aspect of novelty at

It may be affirmed
the late period of Isaac de^Loria.
in a general way that when the Kabalists touch the
it

common ground
their

epoch

also in the

of speculation they seldom surpass

profundity or subtlety, I might add

adequacy of their views, though philo
in

sophical sufficiency was not, of course, to be expected

on any side.
But it is not often and

not for long that

works like the Liber Drushim confine themselves to
the

common ground

it

is

of speculation, and the Kabalist

in this instance passes speedily into the transcendental

Sephiroth and the manner of their

another
emanation,
question, as he tells us, which has
Do they
in controversy.
all
Kabalists
involved
of the

region

proceed

from one another

successive series, or

There
third,

is

is

authority for

their

in

the simplicity of a

emanation

in

columns

both views and also

which represents them as a

series of

for

homo-

oBritteu (SHorb of Jiabalism

<<Ehe

centric circles.

hard and

These questions, says R.

difficult to resolve,

297
Isaac, are

but he offers a solution

on the authority of the Zohar, namely, that before

the order of things was instituted, they were disposed
one over the other, but
pillars,

central

time

that

after

in

three

those of Mercy and Severity, with the

column of which Kether is the summit and

Malc/uit/i the base.

In subsequent chapters the

Sephiroth are con

sidered under a dual aspect, namely, as regards the

in each and as
portion of the Divine Light contained
are again
regards the containing vessel, while these
an
inward
and
ambient
an
into
Light,
distinguished

and an external and

of
is

The

internal vessel.

existence

many worlds prior to the Sephirotic emanations

affirmed, herein following, as we have seen, both

Talmudic and

Zoharic

tradition.

Finally,

classifications of the Sephiroth are considered

several
in

the

last chapter.

The study of the Liber Drushim may be

occultists who have
especially recommended to those
been taught to regard the Kabalah as a doctrine of
certitude, whereas it is largely empirical, its leading

theorems giving
their proper

rise to as

much

meaning as the

disputation regarding
any other

principles of

speculative philosophy.

The commentary on

the

"Book

of

Concealment,"

as might be expected, is written somewhat on the

It does not yield itself
Incus a non lucendo principle.

readily to an analysis of contents, as

it

takes various

paragraphs of the text and exposes their meaning

consecutively, with the help of the Idra Rabba and
the

Idra Zuta.

The

peculiar

designation of

the

298 3&\u ilortritu anil Jpterature of the giabalah

is the
explained by Proverbs xxv. 2
glory of God to conceal a thing/ and Ibid. xi. 2
With the lowly is wisdom." The second reference

treatise

is

"It

"

explains

why

it

termed both the Book of Conceal

is

that of Modesty.
On the authority of the
Zohar, section Pekude, the balance symbol, which has

ment and

made

this treatise so

to represent the

famous

in

Kabalism,

Male and Female

is

explained

principles,

which

indeed follows from the developments of the Lesser

Holy Synod." The male denotes Mercy, the right

hand

pillar of the Sephiroth,

and the female Severity,

These principles are

the pillar on the left hand.

termed the Father and the

Mother, and

the

in

Hebrew Alphabet are referable to Jod and Nun.

The Father is perfect love and the Mother perfect
The latter had seven sons, namely, the
severity.
Edomite kings, who had no foundation in the Holy
Ancient One.

These are empty

lights dispelled

by

source of lights concealed within the Mother.

Male and female are conformations of the Holy

the

Ancient One, corresponding to Kether, and repre

sented mystically by three heads signifying
a,
:

the Unmanifested
that

it is

Wisdom, which is so withdrawn

as though it were not, in contradiction to

that which
b,

the

One

is

manifested

in

the

thirty-two

paths

Supreme Crown, which is the Holy Ancient

and c, the Head which neither knows nor is

known, namely, the

A in

Thus on the one

Soph.

side

Chokmah, and on the other is the latens

Deltas, and C/wkmah, or Wisdom, is the Father, while
the Mother is the increment of Understanding, i.e.,
of Kcther

is

Binah.

These instances of Loria

skill

in

developing

Erittcn SBorb of gUbalism

299

the symbolism of the three supernal Sephiroth must

suffice as a specimen of the whole commentary,

which,

it

be added, does not proceed beyond

may

Book of Concealment."
chapter of the
concludes that the sum of the whole mystery is
"

the

first

He

man

that

his

in

foundation

the

derive

prayers should
of

all

fix

his

foundations,

mind upon
he

that

may

himself a certain influence and benedic

to

In this manner
tion from the depths of that source.
the obscurities of Kabalism are at times redeemed

by the simplicity of the lesson which

is

extracted

from them.
"

The Book

of the Revolutions of Souls

"

is

no

doubt a more fascinating treatise than an obscure

as the Sepher
exposition of so obscure a work
Dzeniouthi, but it is also difficult to give account of
it

space because the

much involved, even

a small

in

system which

it

for a Kabalistic
develops is
work. The greatest importance has been attached

to

by

it

occultists like Eliphas Levi,

distinction
will

between Zoharic and

be therefore useful to see what

in the

famous

The

treatise of Isaac

basis of

its

scheme
and

who made no

later
is

doctrine.

It

really involved

de Loria.
is

the doctrine of the

"

Book
expository synods,
concerning the seven Edomitc kings who emanated

"

of Concealment

its

to the production of the present

In
these
universe.
kings there was good as well as
evil, and a separation was therefore made, that which

and passed away prior

was good being used

for the material of the four

Kabalistic worlds as they are

now

constituted.

Each

of these worlds, according to Isaac de Loria, has

:\Licroprosopus,

Supernal

Father, Supernal

its

Mother,

Ihe

300

gortttne mib literature of the

Microprospus and Bride,

kings.

all

derived from the seven

like origin is attributed to souls,

are disposed similarly in the four worlds,

and they

some

corre

sponding to the Bride, some to Microprospus, some to

the Father Supernal, some to the Supernal Mother,
and some again to the Microprospus in the world of
Assiah.
in

The

totality of these souls constitutes

Assiah, which

Psyche

reference to the supernal per

sonalities of that world has therefore five parts
the
in

mundus

the

Psyche, or Nephesh of Assiah, the

factivus ; the medial spirit, or Ruach of the
in

Psyche

Psyche factiva ; the mem, or Neshamah ; the vitalitas,

or Chaiah ; and the singularitas, individuality, or
all

Jechidah,

belonging to

There

Nephesh of Assiah.

the
is

Psyche factiva, or

a similar distribution

through the three superior worlds, Ruach and

its

being referred to Yetzirah, Nesha

Chiah to Atziluth, and Jechida, possibly
to the world of unmanifest
Deity which is beyond
five-fold division

mah

to Briah,

Loria

Atziluth.
five-fold

system proceeds, however, upon a

division of four

principles

only.

Each of

the five divisions are again attributed as follows in

the Sephirotic scheme
:

I.

Nephesh to Malkuth, the Kingdom,

i.e.,

the

Bride.
II.

III.

Ruach

to the Sephiroth of Microprosopus.

Neshamah

to the Mother,

i.e.,

Binah.

IV. Chiah to the Father, i.e., Chokmah.

V. Jechidah to
ether, i.e., the Crown.

We

are

now

in

standpoint of Franck

added

his

own

position

to

appreciate the
that Loria

when he observes

reveries to

Zoharic teaching.

The

A!

he CjQriltcn

developments have

of

<llorb

at the

$Ubalism

301

same time been considerably

simplified in this digest.

souls were

these

All

contained

Adam

at

the

time he

corresponding
and so with

to

the

head,

plastic

nnica

all

of

those

are

in

We

the

Edomite

and

evil

the

are

kings

must

<

souls

these

the

are

elsewhere

look

The

of the world.

rejected

of

parts

or

cortices

Adam

compose the averse

the

to

Now
who

nations

the origin of the

for

others

Israelites,

terrain.

recrements,

was formed, some

members.

the

the

the proto

in

shells

the

which

But when the

Belial.

protoplasts partook of the forbidden fruit, their fall

confounded the good with the evil of the cortices, that

Adam

of

Belial,

with the male shells of Samael or

and that of Eve with the

Adam

of his bride

evil

Lilith, the spiedtics of the serpent; for the serpent

had commerce with Eve according to Isaac de Loria,

which does not seem to be the consistent doctrine

of the Zohar.

is

It

was

after this fall that the nations

the world were produced from the shells.

of

This

the doctrine which occultists accept by implication

when they speak,

between
on

later

which

position

their

tersely,

distributed

in

as they

devotion
the

in

the

and

four worlds,

the

the

of

To

of

tiv.ditions

put the
are

Israelites

the

protoplastic

mystical extension through

the souls of the Gentiles in

his

members of Adam
foulness and venom of

Belial.

Liberation from the

the serpent

and death only, whereby the good

the

secret

fixed.

is

souls

members

the

Adam, regarded
the

do speak, of the connection

Kabalism and

evil, until all the nations of the

is

is
v-

by -eix uition
separated

fr

in

nrld shall have

^he

302

Jpoctrine zmb JJiterature ot the jiabalah;

been brought forth from the

from the good kind.

From

the time

when

evil

and the

Israelites

the good and evil were

thus confounded two things have been necessary

That the good man should be separated from

(i)

the evil

be

That the portion of the good should

(2)

The

restored.

first

is

accomplished

by

the

observation of the prohibitive precepts of the law,

a nd the second
by that of the affirmative. Both

must be accomplished in all their number,

thought, word and deed, by every soul, whose

classes

and

in

revolutions must therefore continue until the whole

law has been

each of

in

fulfilled.

its

This law must also be studied

four senses, failing which the revolu

tions of the deficient soul will again be prolonged.

scheme

This

seems

to

apply exclusively

Israelites, as the nations of the world can

to

the

only be

whence they came, and Adam

obviously not under the law. The scheme,
however, is subject to a certain mitigation, as
destined
Belial

return

to

is

revolution proper is sometimes replaced by status

Revolution is the entrance of a soul
embryonatus.
into the body of an infant at birth to experience

the

and

pain

alternative

trial

condition

prepared for that body. The

is the entrance of a soul into

body of a grown man, who must be

thirty years old,* i.e., when he is obliged
the

the

precepts.

either (a]
to

fulfil

tion

The

status

Because the soul

at least
to

fulfil

entered

embryonatus
has something
is

in question

which was neglected in the preceding revolu

(b) For the benefit of the man who is

or

The Jewish age

of reason.

Revolution

impregnated, i.e., to justify and direct him.

occurs (i) For the cleansing of sin;
fulfilment

of

33

oEorb of Jtabalism

SBrittfit

precept

neglected

(3)

For the

(2)

For

the

which case

leading of others into the right way, in

is perfect in justice
(4) To receive
who was not deserved by the soul
Four souls may revolve in
revolution.

the returning soul

the true spouse

in

the prior

one body, but not more, while the status cmbryomitns

may associate three alien souls with a single man,

The

but again no more.

object of

all

revolutions

Kabalistic embryology is the return of the

Israelites into the stature of the first Adam, all

and

all

having been involved

his fall

in

since he included

all.

Such

doctrine of

Kabalistic

the

is

revolution

It is not pure Zoharic

according to Isaac de Loria.
of reincarnation
scheme
is
it
nor
doctrine,
any

at the present
peculiar to any school of occultism
In so far as it differs from the Zohar, it would
day.

be unreasonable to regard

it

as a fuller light of an

it is very interesting and very curious,

described as a reverie, written by R. Chai

old tradition

yet fitly
Vital out of the head of Isaac de Loria, and perhaps

owing something to the

C
This German

scribe.

NAPTHALI Hn
belongs to the seven

Kabalist

teenth century, but I find no biographical particulars

His work, entitled "The Valley
concerning him.
of the
roth,

entire

King,"

who

was made great use of by Rosen-

gave,

content

in

firstly,

the

form

compendium
of one

of

its

hundred and

^he

304

"

thirty

Jlortrine anb literature ot the Jtabalah

Kabalistic

Theses,"*

with

arranged

con

the second place, the first

six sections of the treatise, designed as an introduction
siderable perspicuity

to the

Zohar

in

for the better

all

comprehension thereof ;f
it which is concerned

that part of

and, thirdly,
with the Book of Concealment
"

as a

"

and the two Synods

commentary on these works. J

of the

"

"

is

The

greater part

therefore included in the

Royal Valley
Kabbala Denudata, the excerpts extending over several
hundred pages. Its author belonged to the school of
Isaac de Loria, and appears to have traversed a portion
of the ground covered by the Lorian MSS. of R.

We

Chai m Vital.

know these only, as we have seen,

of
the
Rosenroth, which are concerned so
by
excerpts
After
largely with the doctrine of spiritual essences.
same manner that these develop and exaggerate
Zoharic pneumatic teaching, so the Royal Valley
extends Kabalistic cosmology, but not with as much
the

"

"

extravagance. The mundus prior of Kabalism, i.e., the

emanation of the seven Edomite kings, is termed the

world of Nephesh, and it was destroyed with the souls

belonging to it because evil prevailed therein. The
actual world

is

last all shall

good and evil

comes
out
of
the
evil and at
good

that of Ruach, in which

are confused, but

be good.

Then

new world

shall suc

ceed that of Neshamahy and this will be the Sabbath

of grace.
It follows, therefore, that the present order

must pass away, and this is symbolised by the death

of the second Hadad, the eighth Edomite king, as
*
i.

Kabbala Demidata, Apparatus in Librum Sohar pars

50 et seq.
t Ibid.

ii.

% Ibid.

ii.

152 et seq.
partis secundce tractatus quartits^

p.

47

et seq.

sectinad,

The
recorded

in

I.

eiBrittfu

Chron.

<&lorb

i.

of |iabali0m

305

In the day of this

50, 51.

destruction the spirits of impurity, namely, the shells,

be entirely destroyed and burnt up,

shall

God

will

new

creation and will bring forth from

His glorious light the mystery of the Xcs/immth of

establish a

His great name. The dominion of this Neshamah is

the king who shall reign over Israel, and in that
day
the Lord shall be one, and His name one.

The

hypothesis of the creation of the world

with
the contraction of the Divine Presence,
begins

producing that space which is termed primeval air.

Before the emanations issued forth and the things

"

which are were created, the supreme

When

extended.

it

will the fabrication

came

into the

light

was

infinitely

Supreme Mind

and the emission as

light of the perfection

active powers, aspects

and

was

in

to

of worlds, the issue of emanations

of His

attributes, then that light

some measure compressed, receding

in

every

direction from a particular central point, and thus a

certain vacuum was left in mid-infinite, wherein

emanations might be
It

to

is

this

manifested."

treatise

that

Kabalism owes the

curious conception of the evolution of the Sephir<-t/i

by a process of explosion through the excess of

which distended them.

light

From

the fragments of

the broken vessels originated the Four Worlds, the

good and

shells both

notion

is

evil,

and myriads of

souls.

This

fundamentally similar to that of Isaac de

and becomes

identical in its developments.

impossible to compress the scheme of the
treatise within the limits that are here possible, I will

Loria,

As

it

is

add only that the

containing
\Y

in

"

Royal

potence

all

Valley"

the

regards Kcther as

remaining

.SV/////W//, so

306

^he

jpoxtrine anb literature ot the jiabalah

Pre
that they were not distinguishable therefrom.
as
in
man
there
the
four
elements
in
exist
cisely
"

potence but undistinguishable specifically, so in this

Crown there were all the remaining numerations." It
is

added that

in the

second world, called that of the

restoration, Kether became the Cause of Causes and

We see, therefore, that,
the Ancient of the Ancients.

according to the late school of Kabalism, the first

attempt at manifestation by the latens Deltas went
utterly astray,
is

and that the

of the whole world

evil

This peculiar

the result of the failure of God.

instruction

is

also found in the

D.

Talmud.

ABRAHAM COHEN

IRIRA

This Portuguese Jew was another follower of the

school of de Loria, but tinctured with the Platonic

philosophy,

Kabalism

which

in his

"

he

sought

Gate of the

to

harmonise

Heavens,"*

as

with

we have

His other treatise is Beth Elohim, the

already seen.
House of God," containing three dissertations in
exposition of the doctrines of Loria, but directly

"

founded upon and citing at considerable length the

pneumatological portions of the

Faithful

"

Shepherd,"

the Pekude section in the Zohar, and the

"

Ancient

So much space has

Supplements" of that work.f
been given to Kabalistic psychology that it will be
permissible to dismiss this writer in a few words. The

House of God rests

on the utterances attributed to R. Simeon ben
first

dissertation in the

who

is

"

"

chiefly

Jochai,

termed the mouthpiece of holiness and the

Kabbala Dentidata, Apparatus

Ibid.

ii.

partis

tertice

....

tractatus /., p.

pars terlia,
88 et seq.

t.

i.

SBritteu uBorb of

angel of the Lord

it

$abalim

307

the emanation of the

recites

Sephiroth according to the received

doctrine, develops

the system of the

hierarchy of evil spirits, who are
still termed
cortices, or shells, and of the ten sinister
or impure numbers.
It examines also in a
special
chapter the opinion of R. Isaac de Loria

concerning

eleven classes of shells, and of R. Moses

of Cordova
concerning the connection of the angels with the
celestial

and concerning

bodies,

The second

ments.

their physical vest

dissertation treats of the different

and the seven heavens, while the

third deals with
elementary spirits and the nature of
angelical orders

the soul.

The House

God

of

has been included unaccount

ably by some occult writers*

among the books which

constitute the Zohar, but it is
simply a commentary
or development, of considerable
sphere,

yet

importance in its own

nor claiming

neither

possessing

any

pretension to antiquity.
E.

R. ISSACIIAR

BEN NAPTIIALI

This expositor of Kabalism seems to

have been
a

contemporary of Loria, and, like him, was a

German. His chief work, the Vision of the
Priest
wa* printed at Cracovia in
It is a
"

"

synopsis of

1559.1

the

entire

/ohar,

or,

more

a methodised

properly,
analysis of its contents, distributed under a
of titles, each of which is
sub-divided
to the
*

As

Mosaic books.
for

duction to Ins

It

has

been

number

according
found almost

example, Mr. S. L. MacGregor Mathers in the intro"

,
tractalns
primus,

kablnlnh
in
p.

i.

<l><

et

Unveiled."

MM*

.ivy.

Denndata,

ii.

fin p rima

,,,

^ht

308

iloctrine anb gjiteratrm cf the

impossible to

and

study,

make

it is

use of

it

for the

JUbalah

purposes of this

indeed designed only for the assistance

who may desire to consult the Zohar

given subject. The other works of R. Issachar

of the scholar

on a

are of similar character, and are, in fact, those technical

mentioned

the beginning of the present

section as outside the scope of the present inquiry.
treatises

II.

at

THE BOOK OF PURIFYING FIRE

When

given

order

possessing distinct objects

more

or less defined,

of

mystic

applied to the purposes of

expect to derive some curious

is

another order, we may

results from the analogy thus instituted
to understand the method, though, as
indicated, this

symbolism,

and a sphere of application

if

we can

get

have already

superincession of typology

is

usually

somewhat dazing in its results. The treatise

jEsh Metzareph, which signifies Purifying

entitled

an

instance

of

the

application

of

Fire,

is

Kabalistic

apparatus to the purposes of alchemy, and

is,

so far

I am aware, the sole instance of its kind.

In this
connection we shall, however, do well to remember

as

that Hermetic and Kabalistic philosophy are ascribed

by the majority of authorities in occultism to a

common

source,* while the rabbicinical influence in

alchemy

is

well illustrated

by such legends

as that

11,

their

the

Thus Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes), see Book vii.

Magia Adamica that the learning of the Jews, i.e.,
Kabalah, was chemical, and that Flamel s "Book of Abraham
affirms in his

Jew"

is

Writings of

the best proof thereof.

Thomas

Vaughan,"

See A. E. Waite,

London, 1888,

p.

112.

"Magical

SBritteu oEorb of gabalism

of Rabbi

Abraham and

work under the

is

of

Flamel.
"

The

It

true that a

is

Philosophical Stone

"

attributed to Saadiah

by Moses Botrel, but we

only by a single quotation, and we are not
a position to say whether or not it is concerned

know
in

title

309

with

it

metallic

allusions

are

transmutation.
to

be

found

few

alchemical

the

Zohar, which
the
existence
of
an
recognises
archetypal gold, and
regards the metals generally as composite substances.
in

But these references are almost

and

is

it

needless

chemistry,

seriously

to

less

than incidental,

say that there

speaking,

in

the

is

no occult

great

theo-

sophical storehouse.

The
Aramaic

Talmud

treatise on Purifying Fire is written in

Chaldee, which is the language of the
and the Zohar. It was made use of so

largely by Rosenroth in his Lexicon that practically

the whole work is found rendered into Latin in the
It was recon
pages of the Kabbala Denudata*
structed from this source in the
early part of the

eighteenth century by an occultist styling himself A

Lover of Philalethes, and was by him put into an
English vesture, f In the year 1894 this translation

was included

a series of Hermetic reprints under

the editorship of Dr. Wynn
The preface
Westcott.J
and notes which accompany this edition
appear under
the

in

pseudonym of Sapere Aude, and are of considerable

value.

No

information

is,

however, given as to the

I make this statement on Dr. Westcott

has ever seen the original since Rosenroth.

authority, hut

no one

t Aish Metzareph, or Purifying Fire.

A Chymico- Kabali*t ic
from the Kabbala Denudata of Knorr von
Rosenroth,
London, 1714.

treatise collected

Collectanea Hcrmctica, vol.

iv.

London, 1894.

Ihe

310

gloctune

mtfc

literature of the Jiabalah

and the gaps occurring in the recon

struction have not been filled.
There is no evidence available by which we can
Chaldee

fix

original,

with any degree of precision the period at which

this treatise

was composed.*

It

is

subsequent, of

course, to the promulgation of the Zohar,

It is

quotes frequently.

subsequent to the

which

Pomegranates by R. Moses of Cordova, a

to the

possibly belonging
century, which

it

it

Garden of
treatise

middle of the sixteenth

also quotes.

borrows processes

It

from R. Mordechai, a Kabalistic alchemist, whose date

I have failed to discover,*)* and it refers to the forged
Latin treatises of Geber.
that

does

it

not

We may

antedate

therefore conclude

Rosenroth

by

any

considerable period, and may be placed conjecturally

at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Finally,

contains expressions which are common to most

of the Latin alchemists, and were by them derived
He that is wise may
from the Greeks, such as,

it

"

correct

natures."

interest

or

It

does not therefore possess the

importance

would attach to a

which

chemico-Kabalistic treatise of the Zohar period, and

I have not been able to find any evidence as to the
authority ascribed to it.
In the supplement to his
Mysteries,"

Eliphas Levi gives,

"

Key

firstly,

of the

Great

what he terms

*
It is mentioned by Claverus in a treatise entitled "Observations
on the most useful things in the world," 1706, p. 72 et seq. He gives
an account of it designed to show that the Jews accommodated the

Kabalistic Sephiroth to Chrysopccia, i.e., the art of Alchemy.

He states
Jews hold the sEsk Metzareph in such high esteem that

also that the

they consider no Christian worthy of reading it.

number of writers, mostly Kabalistic, are classed under this
t

name

in the

bibliography of Bartolocci.

The

ffiriiten eSlorb of

gabaliem

311

the fragments of the ALsh

Mctzareph, terming it one
of the most important books of Hermetic science
secondly, the complements of its eight chapters, being
further fragments which he claims to have discovered
;

thirdly, the hypothetical restitution of the original.*

The methods of the brilliant French occultist are well

each case.

illustrated in

It

should be observed that the

fragments are designed to exhibit the difficulties and

the weariness which his researches have
spared to his
readers,

and to

illustrate the conscientious

nature of his studies.

examined not

The

be

to

first

the

and serious

section proves

when

fragments of the ^Esh

Metzarcpli, but a loose paraphrase which has a very

slender correspondence with the

original.
section,

which

is

The second

is

similarly paraphrase,
substantially
to be found in Rosenroth and the
English version.

The

hypothetical reconstruction serves only to

show

that Levi, like every one else, never

saw the original

which some have said is still extant, or he would
not have so misplaced his
he
ingenuity.

attributes the

work

Lastly,

Rabbi Abraham of the Flamel

legend, thus investing it with an antiquity which is
to

contradicted by its own

references.-)Before indicating, howerer

briefly, the

its

contents,

it

is

heads of

necessary to observe that the

ssh

Metzareph must be for the ordinary student only a

curious
memorial of the connections instituted
See Rensfigncmcnts
405 ft

itjnc, p.

t Firstly,

stir

Its

grands mystcres dt

in

du Jttif Abraham

the

title,

which reads, Fragments ds

secondly, in the hypothetical

treatise which connects it with the
mystic book

The sEsh
in the

la philosophic

se</.

Mctzarf/>/i

is

entirely

bibliography of Wolf,

ii.

anonymous, and

1265.

/. ././/

.IKzareph
n of the

reo.mj..,siti<,

l.y
is

Flamel.

included as such

^he

312

Doctrine an& Jittratttre of the

between two

orders

described by

than

its

of

explanatory,"

It

symbolism.

mystic

editor as

latest

"suggestive

and he adds that

its

in such a
processes are not set out
could be carried out by a neophyte
"

way

is

rather

alchemical
that they

any attempt to
something vital was
;

do

would

so

missing

true of

is

discover

that

one

at

or

stage
alchemical

all

other."

The statement
and the ALsh

literature,

Metzareph has the common difficulties of purely

Hermetic books further complicated by the system
of Gematria and the Sephirotic correspondences of
the metals.

On

the correspondences here indicated the treatise

mainly based, and

is

mysteries of
"

from

not

differ

it

is

in

this

sense that the

alchemical transmutation

are

the

said

of

to

the

superior mysteries
Sephiroth of the material world are
identical with those of the archetypal, and they are
Kabalah."

the

same

The

in the

mineral kingdom.

The

root of the metals corresponds to Kether ;

emanations from the Crown.

;

so also

is

The Crown

the metallic root.

which

all

metals

the other Sephiroth are

originate therefrom, as

cealed

alchemical

Lead

is

is

all

con

referred

immediately from
Tin has
Kether, as Saturn from the metallic root.

to

Chokmah)

proceeds

the place of Binah, Silver that of Chesed, and these

three are the white metallic natures. Among the red,

Gold

is

in

correspondence with Geburah, Iron with

Tiphereth, and the hermaphroditic Brass with Netzach

and Hod. Quicksilver is referred to Jesod, and the
"

true Medicine of Metals

tion will appear in

and

it

"

some

to

Malkuth.

cases a

little

The

attribu

conventional,

depends upon a curious use of Scriptural

Written

of

ffitorb

However, the writer adds:

authority.

hath placed these things

contend with him, inasmuch as

one

another attribution, as follows

"

The

three

any one
shall

not

systems tend to
illustration of this, he gives

In

truth."

3* 3

"If

another order,

in

the

gabaliem

all

namely, Kether, Chokmah

Supernals,"

and llinah are the three fountains of metallic things.

that is, Mercury, is Kether, Salt
The thick
"

"

water,"

is

Chokmah and Sulphur

is

says

"

the

treatise,

is

for

These are the

Bi/ta/i"

This attribution,

three principles of the alchemists.

known

Geburah

Chesed,

reasons."

as

and

Tiphereth correspond
Netzach is Tin, Hod
Silver, Gold and Iron
is
Lead, while Malkuth is the

before
is

Jesod

Woman,"

the

"Luna

of the

Copper,

"Metallic

and the

Wise"

to

"Field

into which the seeds of secret minerals ought to be

cast, that

is,

the

Water

of

The

Gold."

which

either case has a concealed sense

may be

The

permitted to utter."
here and there

nations offered
fore be taken
is

referred to

seriously, as, for

Chesed

"

attribution in
"

no tongue

superficial

expla

not

there

should

example, that Silver

on account of

its

whiteness,

The Kamea or
which denotes Mercy and Pity."
are
given in connec
Magical Squares of the planets
tion with each of the seven metals, but not always
correctly.

The
in

of the work
peculiar genius

the third chapter, where

beast with ten horns

the help of gcmatrin.

is

Daniel

is

well illustrated
vision

of the

interpreted alchemically

by

314

^He

Jtoctrine anb literature of

gabalah

THE MYSTERIES OF LOVE

III.

With the
Irira,

tlte

Abraham Cohen
whom we

exception of

sole

the succession of Kabalistic writers

have thus passed

never descended to the

in review

use of a vulgar tongue. To that exception we must

now add the case of R. Juda, son of Isaac Abravanel,
better known under the designation of Leo the

Hebrew.

must confess that there

is

no reason of

a necessary kind for his inclusion in an account of

the chief documents of Kabalism he is exceedingly
late, having been born in the kingdom of Castile
;

shortly

and

it

the

after
is

middle of the fifteenth century,

even stated that he broke away from

all

Jewish tradition by becoming a Christian. At the

same time there are two points by which he is forced
upon our notice in the first place, he is a favourite
;

subject of allusion with occult writers, and cannot

therefore be overlooked in a work which deals
in
expressly with the occult interest in Kabalism
the second place, his dialogues on love have been
;

more popular than any Kabalistic

treatise.

According

to the best opinion, they were written originally in

appeared at Rome in the year

were
1535.
They
reprinted at Venice in 1541.
Then they were translated into Latin by Sarrazin,
Italian

and

first

being published, according to Wolf, in 1564 at

Vienna. This version, which has been praised for
its

elegance,

famous

was next included by

Artis

Cabalisticce

They were rendered

version,

and

the

Scriptores,

twice into

only

Pistorius in

one

of

Basle,

Spanish, the

my

his

1587.
first

acquaintance,

SKrittcn (L&orb of jiabaliem

315

there
being that of Juan Costa, in 1584. Lastly,
have been at least three French translations, namely,
Pontus de Thiard, 1580; the Seigneur du Pare

by
Champerrois

and Alexander Weill, 1875.

he

Though

wrote,

as

it

Abravanel was Spanish by

from

his

is

Italian,

birth, but was driven

the

native

country through
This was
Isabella.

Ferdinand and

in

said,

in

edict

1492.

of

His

first refuge was Naples, where he entered the king s

fell into
service, but the king died and his realm
the
after
which
of
Charles
hands
the
VIII.,
Spanish
became a wanderer. Some say that he

Jew again

retired to Sicily, afterwards to Corfu

and,

finally,

Others

Venice, where

to

relate

that

he

and

died

Ponilles,
in

1508.

he fixed his abode at Genoa,

honour for a
practised medicine with
or pretended,
real
the
change,
long period. As to
in his religious opinions there is also serious con

and

there

Basnage says that he was a man of a mild

nature who mixed familiarly with Christians, but
inveighed against them in his writings, especially
Pistorius, on
the priests and the Pope.*

fusion.

against
the other

represents him as a converted

based on
Jew.f He is the subject of high praise,
of
in
the
intimate knowledge,
Bartolocci.J
bibliography
It

hand,

interest

must be confessed that the occult

Leo the Hebrew is not of an intelligible kind,

and it is past speculation why he was included by
in

///i/. iksjitifs, 1. vii. t. v. pp. 1898, 1899.

t So also does Drach in his notice of the Kabalah in

entre

? Eglise

et la

Hibliothtca

HHarmonie

Synagogue.
Ral>lnni>a,

iii.

86.

There

is

no mention of his

Dialogues"
conversion in the notice, but the original edition of the
as u i nnlionc Hfl>rto ct di poi fatto Christiano.
describes their aullu
"

316

Ihe

anb literature ot the gtabalah

gto-ctrine

ambitious and unfinished attempt

We
treatises of Kabalism.

his

in

Pistorius

to engarner the signal

look

vain

in

the

for

we have

Jewish theosophy, as

Zohar

the

we

essential

doctrines of

them from

learned

look in vain even for the reveries

of the school of Loria

we have

in their place the

elegant sentimentalism which characterised

we are reminded
literature at the period

Italian

now

now

and

Boccalini,

exercises

of

dialogues,

if

the

of

not Aristotle,

reference to the

mythology

the allusions,

is

it

the philosophical authority

Plato there is only one direct
;

Kabalah

in

the whole three hundred

pages which the dialogues occupy

and

it

then
of

author had

Book

of

the

when

folio

<

the

images are echoes of the Greek

the

and Latin poets

is

of

they can be said to possess machinery,

illustrations,

renewals

of

Latin

declamatory

The machinery

Palingenius.

belongs to classical

is

the

the

slender

world,

allusion

in Pistorius,

successive

to

which suggests

misconceived the

"

that

restoration

"

the

of the

As against this there is

Hebrew thought or influence there

Concealment."

not one trace of

nothing which would lead us to suspect a Jewish

authorship except such negative evidence as the
is

similarly entire absence of

If the

work can be

unwise

the

Italy,

it

is

any Christian

reference.

said to recall anything outside

literature

of the sixteenth

century in

certain Sufic poets adapted to the under

standing of Venetian ladies in the days of the Doges.

And

here, indeed,

is

the true secret of

its

popularity.

not only so pleasing, so educated according to

the lights of its period, so correct in its sentiment and
It

is

breathing so

little

but sentiment, so refined in

its

The i&lvittm SB orb

of

317

JUbaliem

amorous passion and so much above reproach, that

not

does

contain

obscenity or a single
of its French translators has

single

One

recondite thought.

it

worth while to append a glossary of its

thought
difficult words, but it has no difficulties and its words
it

are simplicity

itself.

many passages which

day may be called delightful
It

has

even at the present

from the commonplaces
reading, and it is redeemed
of sentiment by tender suggestions of shallow allegory.
The Philo and Sophia of the dialogue are enough by

mere names to suggest transcendentalism to an

occult student, and more than one criticism has

their

with the love of

supposed it to be concerned wholly
God. As a fact it discerns in all things the activity,
the influence and the power of the master passion,
popularity in the
warm-blooded world of the South, is that however

and another of the

much

its

transcendentalised in the dialogues, it

So also the philosophy of this love
sexual.

love

always

secrets of

is

the doctrine of delectation and

is
is

Delectation

felicity.

is union with
beloved, and the good and the
beautiful are identified in words that recall the light

the

metaphysics of Cousin and the blessed

The

general

definition

of love

all
vivifying spirit which permeates
universe.
entire
the
bond uniting

life
is

of Fichte.

that

it

is

the world, and a

But the proper

of the perfect love of man and woman is

the concurrence of the loving with the beloved to this
into the
end, that the beloved shall be converted
the
partakers
lover. When such love is equal between

definition

described as the conversion of the one into the

Below this human love there is not
other being
mere animals, but in
only that which subsists among
it

is

3i8

^he

Doctrine

anfc fpterattire

x>

the

things insensible, in the first matter, in the elements

and in the heavenly bodies, which are drawn one to

move

the other and

in regular

impulse and interaction of

order by the harmonious

a reciprocal affection.

Even the knowledge of God seems

as

sented,

to be pre

regards language and images, under a

sexual aspect.

God

loved in proportion as

is

He

is

known, and as He cannot be known entirely by men,

nor His wisdom by the human race, so He cannot be
loved as he deserves, for such an exalted sentiment

transcends the power of our will. The mind, there

fore, must be content to know God according to the
measure of its possibility and not that of His
excellence.

The knowledge and

love

of

God

are

both necessary to beatitude, for He is the true

intellectual agent with Whom consists felicity, which
is

not to be found in the knowledge of all things, but

One alone who is Himself all others. This

in the

does not consist

in the act cognoscitive of God,

nor
in the love which succeeds
love,
such knowledge, but in the copulation of the most
felicity

which leads to

interior

and united divine knowledge,

for this is the

sovereign perfection of the created intellect, the last

act and happy end in which it finds itself rather
divine than human.

Such copulative

felicity

with

God

cannot, however, be continuous during our present

life, because our intellect is here joined to the matter
of our fragile body.

may be added that Leo

Raymond Lully, accounts for the
It

the Hebrew, like

self-sufficiency of

the divine nature on the ground that the love, the

lover and the beloved are all one in God
that God
;

alone

is

the end of

all

love in the universe

and that

\T!u Qjllrittnx SBovb of gabaliem

His love towards His creatures

is

319

the stimulation

of a desire of good for their sake and not for His

own. It may be inferred also that a transcendental

meaning

is

as

tions

not improbably contained in such specula

of the sleep of love, of amorous

that

contemplation, of the graving of the image of the

beloved in the thought of the lover, and of the ravish

ment of

this state.

MINOR LITERATURE OF KABALISM

IV.

We

now completed our study

have

of

all

Kabalistic writings to which any currency has been

given in connection with the claims of occultism, but

we have by no means exhausted

the literature either

before or after the appearance of the Zohar.

been

classified in chronological order in

It

a special

has
list

by Bartolocci at the beginning of his great work, and

those who desire to pursue the subject further will
there see
It

place.

how
is,

impossible it is to deal with in this

moreover, outside the purpose of our

A few names, however, may just be

mentioned which are to some extent typical of the
minor literature of Kabalism.
inquiry.

When

was on the verge of the

the reign of Alphonso X., we
Toledo Rabbi Mevi, the son of Theodore,
Zohar

the

historical horizon, in

find

at

Prince

of

Kabalist

the

and

Levites

of
of

Burgos.

Though

he

Kabalism,
light
opposed
Nachmanides, thus showing that at a comparatively
early period there was little unanimity among the
doctors of theosophy and the voices of tradition on

320

^hc

JBoxtriiu anfo jpiteratur* of the Jiabalah

His book

the subject of theosophy or tradition.

entitled

"

is

Before and

Behind," which is supposed to

had approached the Kabalah from

indicate that he

every point of view.*

Side by side with philosophical Kabalism the
spurious practical part, the Ars Kabalistica, never

wanted

its

As

professors.

than the rest we

may

neither worse nor better

mention R. Chamai of Arragon,

One of his
the early part of the fifteenth century.
practical secrets was the determination of the sex of
in

an unborn child by placing the nuptial couch from

north to south, thus indicating respect for the majesty
of God, which resided between east and west, and
might suffer dishonour by marital intercourse taking
place in the

same

direction.

Such consideration,
without

its

reward

in

it

was deemed, would not go

the birth of male children.f

In the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, and a

victim of their edict of expulsion, flourished Joseph
and the
Kabalist
the
divine
Gikatella, called

Thaumaturge, who wrote on the attributes of God,

the Divine names, and the Sephiroth.%
At the period of Picus de Mirandola Kabalists

abounded

in Italy,

persecution

many

of

whom

were refugees from

Spain and Portugal.

in

Picus

in

his

Apologia affirms that his demonstrations of Christian

dogma in Jewish theosophy effected the conversion
of a Kabalist

named

Dattilius.

As

it

is

one of few

instances on record the sincerity of the change

*

Bartolocci,

Histoire desjuifs,

t Bartolocci,
Histoire desjuifs,
J Ibid.

v.

Bibliotheca

Magnet Rabbinica,

iv.

may

Basnage,

Basnage,

v.

1773Bibliotheca

v.

1899.

1895.

Magna

Kabbinica,

ii.

840

vihc $iritlen

&lorb

of

gabaliem

be allowed to pass
unchallenged.*
that

is

to say, in

1613,

Thessalonica, but

Long

321

afterwards,

Samuel Nachunias, a Jew of

residing

at

Venice,

also

abjured

Judaism and wrote the Path of Faith."

So also,
about 1672, Mordekai Kerkos
a
treatise
composed
specially against the Kabalah, but it has not been
"

printed.
Basnage hints that such an action at that
period seemed scarcely less subversive in Israel than

to

embrace

Azael,

On the other hand, Judas

Christianity.
about the same period, contributed to the

literature of the

House of

tradition

by

his

"

Thrones of the

a treatise dealing with the

Fifty
Gates of Understanding, while in
Germany Nathan
of Spire,
of

praise

David,"

better

known, however,

for

treatise

in

the

Holy Land, produced a Kabalistic

on
commentary
Deuteronomy iii. 13, under the title
of Mcgi ltn/i Hamncoth.
In Holland, a few
years
previously, the famous Manasses composed his work
on the resurrection of the
body, which connects with
Jewish esoteric theology by its defence of metempsy
chosis
and Isaac About, a Brazilian settled in the
;

Low

translated

Countries,

Abraham Cohen

Irira

the Porta

Ccelorum

of

from the original Spanish into

Hebrew.

In the sixteenth
century Paul Klhananan became a convert to
Christianity, and in his Mysterium Navum sou-lit to prove from the
Kahalah that Jesus of Na/arcth was the true Messiah. Petrus
(ialatinus
als, abjured
so did Johannes
Judai,m
Kortius, who wrote on the
mystical meanings of the Hebrew letters.
Paul de Ik-iedi.i
;

convert of the fifteenth

Bartolooci (iv. 420) mentions Louis
century.
Garret, a Frenchman of the si.xte. -nth
century, who in his "Visions of
God" defended the truth of the
Catholic faith by means of the Kabalah.

Mines are Aaron Martina, whose

many works attempted to
the Kabalah;
kittangeliu.s, the editor of the Sepher
Yetzirah, who turned Protestant
and Prosper Ruggieri.

Christianise

322

^he

of the glabalah
Jtortrine anfo literature

These meagre memoranda, which do not pretend

to represent a serious study, may close with the name
of Spinoza, who also connects with Kabalism, though

must be confessed that the tincture which he

exhibits is little more than the memory of early

it

reading.

BOOK

VII

SOME CHRISTIAN STUDENTS OF

THE KABALAH
ARGUMENT
The opinion of modern occultists that the Kabalah is a vehicle of
the secret doctrine of absolute
religion was never held by occultists
in the past ; even those who ascribed it to a Divine
source were
actuated only by the notion that it was a
disguised Christianity,
and in most cases their real interest was the conversion of the
Jews
The chief Christian students of the Kabalah are
by its means.
cited successively to
prove these

points.

The modern opinion

began with Eliphas Levi, and it is shown that his authority is

unreliable.
Some minor misconceptions are corrected and some
extrinsic

points

of interest

are

developed in the course of the

sketches.

I.

So

INTRODUCTORY

our inquiry has proceeded no

system of
would
seem
less
connected
with what is
philosophy
far as

known conventionally
to all
ever,

as magic than is the Kabalah

outward appearance.
That there was, how
a systematic connection, by which I mean a

connection permitting the philosophical doctrine to

emerge as fairly distinct, there can be no doubt. We
owe our mediaeval withchcraft chiefly to this source
;

we owe

our mediaeval demonology

and the
Jew, hounded out of Spain by the iniquitous edict of
also

324

^he

Jtoctritte jtnb JDitetature of the

Ferdinand and

Isabella, left to the Inquisition

devildom another

for

and

its

extermination, more

pretext
the burning in a word, the tremendous
The Jew was avenged in the
legacy of sorcery.
fuel

for

magician.

When
esoteric

the

enumerating

tradition

in

branches

of

endeavoured

to

alleged

Israel

While the

distinguish that of magic from philosophy.

traces of the philosophical tradition are

nowhere met

It was to
with in antiquity, that of magic abounds.
be expected that the newer order of ideas should

become

But the Sepher

Yetzirah and the Zohar are not magic, and that
interfused with the older.

which drew the Christian students of the

and

made them

seek

fathom

to

the

literature

Kabalistic

mystery was assuredly its philosophical, transcen

dental indeed, but not its thaumaturgic part.

We

are

on the track

here of

another great

misconception which prevails among the class of

thinkers who have most reason to concern themselves
with the claims of the Kabalah.
occult writers

and

as they have

done

It

useless

is

for

their too easy disciples to continue,

in the past,

appealing to Christian
authorities as to great names supporting their view of
the subject. Those who accepted and those who
vindicated the authenticity of the secret tradition had
never dreamed of the religion behind all religions,

nor did the^ look to the sanctuaries of Egypt for any

light but that which perchance was carried into it by
the descendants of Abraham.
The occult writers

make two

errors.

In the

first

place, they cite

Kabalists

many

authorities,

without the mystic

circle,

who have no

Christian

among

within

claim

and
to

ome Christian
the

title

the second

in

of the

<Stubent0

place,

gabalah

325

they misconstrue

entirely the position of those whose

title

may

itself

be beyond any challenge.

points,

Over and above these

and
names,
many
great
otherwise, which it

looks well to engross on the deeds of a brief for

the defence, bear witness only to the
prevailing
ignorance.

The purpose

of the brief studies which follow

is

to demonstrate these facts,

which possess considerable

whom I address, and are

importance for those

therefore an integral part of

my

not biographical sketches, and

scheme.

They

they are not

are

biblio

graphical notes.

They are designed to exhibit that

among the names commonly cited in connection with
Kabalism, some should no longer be mentioned, some

belong only to a Quixotic attempt at discovering an

eirenicon for Christendom and
Jewry, some are not
worth citing, because, despite their imputed

authority,

they have nothing of moment to tell us, and some, a

bare residuum, with a handful of recent writers,
may
be left on the otherwise vacated benches.

RAYMOND LULLY

II.

The name
cited

as

of

Lully has been usually

that of a considerable
authority on the

Raymond

Kabalah, as upon several other departments of the

It is time
to affirm that few
knowledge.

secret

ascriptions
It

must be

ground

for

seem

to

possess less foundation in

said, first of all, that there

is

fact.

substantial

supposing that there were two distinct

persons bearing this name, or that

it

was assumed

for

(Ehc Ilortrtne anfo literature ot the jtnbalah

326

a second time at a later date.

The

original

Raymond

Lully was that seneschal of Majorca whose legend I

Lives of
narrated some twelve years ago in the
"

Alchemystical
the

first

Philosophers."

He

was born during

The second

half of the thirteenth century.*

His legend,
Raymond Lully was an alchemist
enshrined in the deceitful memorial of a so-called

Abbot

of

as

far

was
unknown,
Westminster,f
can trace, till the beginning of

so

the

seventeenth century^ but the works by which he

from

distinguished

his

are

prototype

is

certainly

There is a
possibly by two centuries.
all
bears
the marks
which
modern
and
third
legend,
of invention by its narrator, Eliphas Levi, and this

much

earlier,

two personages by prolonging the

identifies the

the

first

through
It

elixir.

is

the

of

instrumentality
as a popular legend, but
his namesake were never of

described

Lully and

Raymond

life

of the great

enough importance to impress the imagination of the

The first was a philosophical reformer and a
people.
*

of his works, if accurate, would show

by more than a century, but
they are in a sad state of confusion, and all popular sources of information
are misleading.
See, for example, Blackie s
Popular Encyclopoedia,"

The

that he

dates attributed to

was separated from

some

his predecessor

"

s.v.

Alchymy.
f Testamentum

Ordints

Cremeri,

Abbatis

Westmonasteriensis^

Angli,

Benedictini.

% It was published at Frankfort in 1618, by Michael Maier, being

the third tract of the Tripus Aureus, hoc est tres tractatus chymici

Reformatum

1678 it reappeared in the Museum Hermeticum

Amplificatum, and is known in English by a translation
In

sclectissimi.
et

London.
of that collection, edited by myself, 2 vols.
1893.
With material derived from Eliphas Levi, and a pyrotechnic
et
terminology from M. Huysman, a bizarre work entitled Le Satanisme
la Afagie, by Jules Bois, compresses all the legends into one small

of fable which, published in 1895, is,

misconstruction on the subject of Raymond Lully.
pellet

suppose,

the

last

gome
Christian

attempt

Christian

of the

<Stubent<3

martyred

evangelist,

for

|Ubalnh
an

at the propagation of the faith

327

ill-judged

among

the

Mussulmen of Africa. The second has been described,

but on what grounds I am unable to state, as
a
is

"Jewish

This
or proselyte of the gate.
the personality which would naturally

neophyte"

therefore

connect with Kabalism.

The second Raymond Lully

connects, however, exclusively with alchemy, and his

works are evidence that he did not renounce the
Christian faith.*

It

is

him must be attributed

to

those keys, compendiums, testaments and codicils of

alchemy which are found in all the great collections
of Hermetic treatises.

He was

so far

imbued with

the apostolic spirit of his predecessor that his great

ambition was to engage some Catholic monarch in

another barren crusade for the recovery of the Holy

Sepulchre. According to his legend he transmuted
into gold sufficient base metal for the minting of six

million nobles, for the benefit of an

Edward, King
assumed
the Red
of England, on condition that he
The king did not keep his promise, and the
Cross.
adept escaped as he could from the extortion of
further projections.

The

confusion of the two

Raymonds

is

perhaps

more excusable among occultists than for ordinary

That alchemy connects with Kabalism,
biographers.
or that Kabalism became identified with alchemy, the
at the head of the 7*cstatncninm
Kaymitndi Lullii (Mangetus: Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa,
Lans honor et
the last words of its theoretical division
i. 707, 708)
gloriaJesn (ibid. 762) ; the Tfstatrientnm Norissimum, addressed to King

Witness the address to the Deity

i-i

Charles (Ideo,

mi Carole

dilecte, te infilitnn

fidei catholics arnpliatorem

7 rinitatis

eligam

sapicnti* dilectissimum itt

in nomine

and a^ ain

et ictettuc (Jnifatis,

&c.

(ibid. p. 790).

.<

^he

328

Jlortriue anb yiteratur* of the Jtabalah

treatise on Purifying Fire sufficiently testifies, but the

alchemist per se is not, as we have seen, a Kabalist,
and there is no single word of Kabalism in the

Hermetic

treatises of Raymond Lully the second.

doctor of Majorca does connect artificially with
the esoteric tradition of the Jews, by the arbitrary use

The

of certain words and methods, though he was not

a proselyte of the gate, but his system is a

mechanical introduction to the sciences, and has no

to the name, having nothing to do with a

title

tradition, exoteric or esoteric,

Jewish or Gentile.

It

has, moreover, no mystical foundation, and is con

cerned wholly with an educational method.
It is,
untrue
to
that
was
one
therefore,
say
Raymond Lully

of the grand and sublime masters of transcendent

science, as Eliphas

Magna

Levi describes him.

Sciendi and the

Ars Notoria

In the

there

is

as

Ars

much

occult significance as in the scholastic jest concerning

chimcera bombinans in vacua.
The Notary Art of

which Robert Turner first printed in

English, connects remotely with Kabalism, and the
Ars Notoria of Raymond Lully has a verbal con

Solomon,

nection,
It

is

and no more, with

the

same with the

this enchiridion of

treatise entitled

Jewry.

De Auditu

an opusculum Raymundimuu, or particular

application of the method of Lully, which has been
Kabalistico,

ignorantly included among his works.

alone is occult,
and its selection
conjecture.*
*

what

It is fair to

The name
is

beyond

The work proves on examination

to be

say that Franck takes the opposite view, but with

judgment may be gathered from the fact that he

qualification for

He
accepts the attribution to Lully of the work mentioned above.
says that Lully was the first to reveal the name and existence of the

Christian ^Jtuiiente of the Jiabalah

329

a late offshoot of the great vacant pretentious system

which enabled those who mastered it to dispute on

with success, though perhaps without

of
any. Some great minds were captivated
knowledge
by it, but such captivities are among the weaknesses
all

subjects

of great minds.

The

Ars Magna

that

Cornelius

is

was

it

and

Agrippa

Picus de

best that can be said for the

that

And

Mirandola.

of

discoursed

upon by
was tolerated by

it

these

facts,

the

at

The
present day, neither possesses a consequence.
chief philosophical mission of the first Raymond
Lully was to protest against the school of Averroes
chief practical work was the exhortation of
;

his

prelates and princes to found schools for the study

of languages so as to facilitate the conversion of

Kabalah

to Christian

thinks that

initiate of this

on

Europe,

would be

it

for

which there

difficult

mystic science

"

is

determine

to

no ground

how

far

in fact

Lully was

or the precise influence which

it

he

"an

exercised

from saying with a historian of philosophy

(Tennemann) that he borrowed thence his belief in the identity of God
and Nature (I think that Tennemann has here misconstrued his author),
his doctrine.

"

refrain

"

had a very high idea of it, considering it a

divine science, a veritable revelation addressed to the rational soul, and
"

but

it is

certain that he

may perhaps be permissible to suppose that the artificial

used by Kabalists to connect their opinions with the words of Scripture,
such as the substitution of numbers or letters for ideas or words, may
it

pr<

in no small degree to the invention of the Great Art.

worthy of remark that more than two centuries and a half before
the existence of the rival schools of Loria and Cordova, at the verytime when some modern critics have sought to place the origin of the
Kabalah, Raymond Lully makes already a distim-tion between ancient
and modern Kabalists." The passage on which Franck MVIU-, to depend
for his general view is as follows
doctrina Kablmla (/nod,
Dicitur
idem t-st st -nndnni
Hcbrctos ut receptio re r it at is aijnslr

have contributed
It is

h<rc

....

divinilns rereladf nnim,r rational!

anitri r rationalis
t

Eat i^itur Kabbala habitus

ex rectA ratione dirinaruni rcrum cognitirus.

quod apparet quod

scicntia vofari debct.

est de

maxima

This extract

dinmti already mentioned.

is

Propter
divino conscquvtivt dirina
derived from the Opus Raymuti-

etiani

^he

330

Jlortrine atxb JDiteratwe of the glabalah

the heathen

but there were few

who heard

or heeded

It was only after his death that his system

obtained for a time a certain vogue. The collapse

him.

of the process of his beatification is one of the great

escapes of the Latin Church, because it would have

helped to accredit a system which began and ended

described
It was not, as it has been
in words.
erroneously,

knowledge

science, or a

universal

it

was chaffer and noise

of

are

tabulations
standing.

Spanish enthusiast had a strain of the

if the martyrologists have told it
however,

synthesis
its

egregious
a mockery for the modern under
Even the martyrdom of this eccentric
;

its

defenders,

and

it

folly of suicide,
It

truly.

had

time

in

had,
its

So also, and for the space of

there was a quiet and intelligible

miraculous legend.

some

centuries,

cultus of

which,

Raymond

like

Balearic

Islands,

local sanctities, has

become

Lully

some other

in

the

perhaps scarcely a memory.

I should add, in conclusion, that there are works

by

or attributed to the original

have no connection with

his

Raymond

Lully which

Ars Magna

Sciendi, as

they have none with occult science, and belong to a

higher category.

When we

turn over the vast,

uncom

Onmia, and dwell, as the

gratefully do, on certain passages

pleted collection of his Opera

devout student

will

concerning the eternal subsistence of the lover and

the beloved in God, concerning contemplation in
God quomodo omnis nostra perfectio sit in perfectione
nostri

Domini Dei

union,

we begin

and the deep things of divine

to discern the existence, so to speak,

of a third Lully, who has qualities which recommend

him to our admiration which are wanting in the

Christian ^tubcnte of the Jbbalah

<ome

Doctor

though he

illuminatits,

Magna, and

in

invented

331

Ars

the

the Doctor alchemisticus, even

he

if

transmuted metals.

MIRANDOLA

PICUS DE

III.

Magical legend has availed itself of the name

of Mirandola, and on the warrant of his Kabalistic
enthusiasm has accredited him with the possession
of a familiar demon.*
His was the demon of

which

Socrates

brought

within

late

the

Cardinal
of

limits

Archbishop has
and clerical

natural

His marvellous precocity has furnished

orthodoxy.f

a thesis to the ingenuity of M. Gabriel Delanne,

for, as with the music of Mozart and as with the

mathematics

of

Pascal,

how

it

remains

ground of

Crichton acquired his

speculation
enormous erudition. M. Delanne would assure usj
that he brought it with him at his birth, that it was
this

Italian

an inheritance from a previous life, and that Picus de

Mirandola Kabalised in a college of Babylon. On
the other hand, Catholic writers, for

whom

his studies

was swindled by an
impostor who sold him sixty bogus MSS. on the
assurance that they had been composed by the order

are

unsavoury, affirm that he

of Esdras.
feveries."

Mignc

contained only ridiculous Kabalistic

These MSS. have been enumerated and

"They

Dictionnaire des Sciences OccultVj,

t See Manning

brochure,

s.v.

"The

t.

ii.

Daimon

col. 308.

Son

of

London, 1874.
+ See in particular Etude sur Us Vies Successive* Mt inoirf
prtsentd au Congrh Spiritc International de I.ondres (1898), par
Gabriel Delanne p. 6l, where Miiandola is a case in point.
,

Ihe gtottrme

332

described by
subject

will

zmfc

Gaffarel,

be found,

and

gabalah

monograph on the

his

among

the

xrf

literature

other places, in the

are not concerned

We

great bibliography of Wolf.

with these nor yet with the apocryphal stories of
their original authorship and eventual sale.
But as

Mirandola,

who was born on February

died mentally exhausted in 1494,

Christian student of the Kabalah,

is

it

24, 1463,

the

is

first

and
true

important to

know what he
Now,

derived from his studies in this respect.

unfortunately, we are met at the outset with a

difficulty

only too

common

in

such inquiries.

Of

the

Kabalistic conclusions arrived at by Picus de Miran

dola, and actually bearing this name, there are two
there is that
absolutely different versions extant
which we find in the collected editions of his works,
;

both late and early, reproduced in the collection of

Pistorius with a voluminous commentary by Archangelus de Burgo Nuovo, and there is that which we
find with another commentary, though curiously by the

same

writer, in a little

in 1564,

and again

volume, published at Bologna

The evidence

at Basle in 1600.*

though I have so far

meet with an alleged original edition said to
have been published at Rome in 1486, and therefore
is

in favour of the first version,

failed to

We

in the lifetime of the author.

may accept either
version without prejudice to the point which it is here
designed to establish, and that is the nature of the

enthusiasm which prompted Picus de Mirandola. In

the first place, though he speaks of magic in terms
which may be held to indicate that he possessed a
*

Archangelus de Burgo Nuovo agri Placentini

Apologia pro
Ostensibly a reply to an impeachment
:

defensione doctrines Cabala, &c.

of Mirandola by Peter Garzia.

(Ehrietiau

tolerant

<Stubeni0

of the Jpabztlah

and open mind as to some of

like a learned

man

its

333

claims, and,

as he was, did not regard

it

after

the vulgar manner, he cannot be considered as, in

any real sense, an occult philosopher. The only depart
ment of occult science which he has treated at any

length

is

astrology,

and

he devoted a long,

to this

savage and undermining criticism, which

salient

its

as

in

some of

as

good reading
Agrippa s
Vanity of the Sciences," and on its special subject
takes much the same point of view. We should not
parts

is

"

therefore expect that he betook himself to the esoteric

speculations of Jewry because he was attracted by

the transcendental powers attributed to the Divine

Names, because he intended

to

or because he desired to evoke.

compose talismans,
must not speak so

confidently as to possible fascinations in the direction

of Gematria and Themurah, for his was a subtle and
curious intelligence which found green spots or rather
enchanted cities of mirage in many deserts of the

and

mind,

he

might perhaps have discovered

beheaded words and achroamatica in

mysteries

in

acrostics.

There

The

is,

however, no proof that he did.

legend which

bibliographical

represents

him

purchasing MSS. on the assurance that the prophet

Esdras had a hand in their production will disclose
his probable views as to the antiquity ot Kabalistic
literature.

He

took

it,

we may

suppose, at

its

word,

and the legend also indicates that he was persuaded

it was a common weakness in men of
easily
learning
;

and enthusiasm
is

more than

On the other hand, it

he did not regard this

at the period.

certain

that

a presumption that the Kabalah was

superior to Latin Christianity the wisdom which he

antiquity as

^he latrine

334

found

;*

Rome and
scholar

fpttrature of the giabdah

wisdom of

the Kabalah was the

in

doctrine

anfc

when he hung up

his

Christian

famous theses

in

offered to defray the expenses of every

who would

dispute with him, those theses

included his Kabalistic Conclusions, but that which

he sought

to

establish

was a via media between

When

Jewry and Christendom.

he turned the head

of

Pope Julius with the secret mysteries of the

Thorah, the enthusiasm which was communicated
for a moment to the chair of Peter was, like Lully s,

of the evangelist.
The servus servorum Dei
found other zeal for his ministry, and the comet of the

that

schools blazed itself out.

The

Kabalistic Conclusions

tell that Rome had a strange dream

of
the fifteenth century.
evening
They lie in a
small compass and, as I believe it will be of interest

alone remain to

in the

to

show what Picus de Mirandola extracted from

MSS., I will here translate them for the

his sixty

ought perhaps to premise that Eliphas LeVi

translated some of them in his own loose fashion and
reader.

published them with a suggestive commentary, in La

Science des Esprits*\ ascribing them to the collection
of

Pistorius but without mentioning

Mirandola.

He

Latin originals,

the

name

of

what purports to be the

but these he has polished and pointed.
also gave

To do

justice to his genius they are much better

than the quintessential Kabalism of Picus, but as
they are neither Picus nor the Kabalah, I shall not

have
*

recourse

The

to

them

for

the

existence of Christian elements,

purposes of

or at least of materials

which might be held to bear a Christian construction,

several Jewish writers of the post-Zoharic period.
t Part

II. c. iv. p. 147, et seq.

the

is

admitted by

Christian

<omc

<tufoeut0

following version, except by

of the jiabalah

some

335

references in the

footnotes.

Kabalistic Conclusions

I.

to

As man and
God the souls

the higher
animals.

the priest of inferior things sacrifices

of unreasoning animals, so Michael,
sacrifices

priest,

the

souls

of

rational

II.

There are nine

hierarchies,

and

their

Cherubim, Seraphim, Chasinalim, Araltm,

Ophamni,

IsJiim,

names

are

Tarsisim,

Malachim, and Elohitn.

III.

Although the ineffable name is the quality of

clemency, it is not to be denied that it combines
also the quality of

judgment*
IV.

The

sin

of

Adam

was the separation of the

kingdom from the other branches.

V.

God

created

the world

knowledge of good and

evil,

with

the

tree

whereby the

of the

first

man

sinned.f
VI.

The great north wind is the fountain of all souls

simply, as other days are of some and not all.*
*

As LeVi

judicium.

He

tersely
utilises

puts
it

to

Schema miscricordiam dicit sed et

denounce the doctrine of everlasting

it,

punishment.
t Hence Lcvi infers that the sin of Adam was educational.
I have given this literally without pretending that it ha^ much
Levi reduces it to Magnus a^itilo fans est antmarurn,
meaning.
explaining that souls enter this world to escape idleness.

^he

33 6

Jlortrine anfo literature of the Jiabalah

VII.

When Solomon
in the

said in his prayer, as recorded

Book of Kings,

"

Hear,

understand by heaven the green

all

Heaven."

line

we must

which encircles

things.*
VIII.

Souls descend from the third light to the fourth

day, and thence issuing, they enter the night of
the body.f
IX.

the six days of Genesis

By

we must understand

the six extremities of the building proceeding from

Brashith as the cedars come forth out of Lebanon.
x.

Paradise

more

is

correctly said to be the whole

And
building than the tenth part.
thereof is placed the Great Adam, who

in
is

the centre
Tiphereth.

XI.

river

said to flow out

is

from Eden and to

be parted into four heads signifying that the third

numeration proceeds from the second, and is divided
into the fourth,

sixth,

fifth,

and

tenth.j

XII.
It is

true that

all

things depend on fate,

if

we

understand thereby the Supreme Arbiter.

*
sight,

Levi renders

seem

this

to represent

Calum

it.

est Kether, which does not, at first

See, however, Conclusion, 48, and note

thereto.

f This is mangled by Levi, who seems to have misunderstood its

For the night of the body he substitutes the night of death.
meaning.
J Conclusions 9, 10, II signify, according to Levi, that the history
of the earthly paradise is an allegory of truth on earth.
Levi gives, Factum fatuni quia fatum verbum est, an admirable

specimen of polishing.

<ome

Christian

<tubn\tc

of the

gabalah

337

XIII.

He who

know

shall

Understanding

the mystery of the Gates of

the Kabalah shall

in

know

also the

mystery of the Great Jubilee.*

XIV.

He who

shall

know

the meridional property in

dextral co-ordination shall

of

Abraham was always

know why every journey

to the south.f

xv.

Unless the

name

letter Pie had been added to the

Abram, Abraham would not have begotten. J

of

XVI.

Before Moses

horn

(i.e.,

all

prophesied by the stag with one

the unicorn ).
XVII.

Wheresoever the love of male and female

mentioned
the

in

Scripture, there

of

conjunction

is

Tiphereth

is

exhibited mystically
and Chienset (or

ChcnecetK) Israel, or Beth and Tiphereth.\\

*

The significance
Portce jubilaitm sunt.
knowledge.
t Levi
quarter,

and

Le"vi s
shortened recension,
explains the Jubilee as the joy of true

evaporates in

He

explanation is feeble, namely, that the south is the rainy

"the doctrines of
Abraham, i.e., of the Kabalah, arc-

that

always fruitful.*
t Per addition em

He Abraham

sennit, this being

"

the feminine

letter of the Tetragram."

I.e.,

represented

says Le"vi, they saw only one side of truth; Moses is

Le"vi
adds that the unicorn is the
bearing two horns.

ideal.

Levi substitutes Afas et f,rmina sun/ Tiphcreth et Malkuth,

and gives a sentimental explanation which has no connection with
||

Kabalism.

^ht

338

JBortrine anb literature of the Jiabaiah

XVIII.

Whosoever
in the

shall

middle night

have intercourse with Tiphereth

shall flourish in every generation.*

XIX.

The

letters of the

name

demon who

of the evil

is the prince of this world are the same as those of

and he who
the name of God
Tetragrammaton

knows how

to effect their transposition can extract

one from the other.f

xx.

When

the light of the mirror which shines not

shall be like the light of the shining mirror, the day

become

shall

as the night, as

David

says.}

XXI.

know the quality which is the

darkness shall know why the evil demons

Whosoever
secret of

are

more

shall

hurtful in the night than in the day.

XXII.

is

Granting that the co-ordination of the chariots

manifold, nevertheless, in so far as concerns the

mystery of the Philaterios, two chariots are prepared,

is formed from the second, third,

so that one chariot

fourth,

which
*

human
spirits

and these are the four philateria

Van assumes, and from the sixth, seventh,

and

fifth,

Levi interprets by distinguishing the marriage of mere animals,

or otherwise, from the true human and divine marriage of souls,

and bodies.
t Levi substitutes

Damon

est

Deus

itiversits

and argues with

characteristic logic that, could the former be said to exist, then

his opposite could certainly have no existence.

God

as

% This apparently puzzled the commentator, so he invented a

which partly reproduces an apocryphal saying of Christ.

substitute

Christian

<ome

eighth,

of the

<Stubents

and ninth a second chariot

are the philateria which the

He

339

made, and these

is

final

gabalah

assumes.*

XXIII.

More than the

be understood
"

signifies)

He

quality of penitence

applied)

(or

is

word

the

in

not to

(which

said."f

XXIV.

Who maketh peace in his

he
highest places,"
signified the austral water and
boreal fire, and their leader, concerning which things
When Job

said

"

there must be nothing said further. J

xxv.
Brashith

same

the

is

as

the

in

i.e.,

if

were said

it

He created,
Wisdom He

beginning
"

In

created."

That

m&

to say, Chokmah, Binah, Chesed

Geburah form the
or throne of the third letter of the Tetragrnm
while
Tiphereth, Netzach, Hod and Jesod constitute the chariot of the fourth
letter.
For other classifications of the Sephiroth according to the
is

chariot, seat,

symbols of a superior and

inferior

chariot,

see

Kabbala Diinaiata,

535. 536.

t This

is the best rendering which I can

Supra proprietatcni penitent id- non cst

original

offer

of the obscure

ittcndtun vcrbo

di.\ it.

quite certain that its intention is not represented by Levi s substi

tuted aphorism I\rnitcntia non est rcrlmm, wliich he translates,
To
It is

"

is

repent

meaning

not to
is

According to Archangelus de Burgonuovo, the

that he who seeks the forgiveness of sins must not have
act."

recourse to the Son nor to the

the

word rendered

dicens to the

Holy

Spirit.

dixit belongs to the Son,

Holy Ghost.

The
and

proof ottered is that

which stands for

that

This refers to certain sayings of Christ.

Forgiveness is to be sought from the Father.

/nt.
however, a commentary on the New

The Kabalah

is

n-t,

Te>tam<

Le"vi

substitutes

cxcelsi

sunt aqua aitstralis

et

ignis septcn-

trionalis et prtffccti eorttnt. Sile.

Pointed by Levi,

thi-,

appear-, as

///
/;///<///<?,

id

cst in

Chokmah.

^he

340

gortrine ani literature of the

XXVI.

When

Onkelos the Chaldean said

"

Buadmin

"

with or by the Eternals, he understood the

Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom.*
i.e.,

XXVII.

As

the

waters,

first

the

so

man

sea,

is

to

the congregation

which

all

rivers

the

of

run,

the

is

Divinity.f
XXVIII.

the flying thing which was created on the

day we must understand angels of this world,

By
fifth

which appear to men, and not those which do not

appear, save in the

spirit. J

XXIX.

The name

God, composed of four letters,

Mem, Tsade, Pe, and final Tsade, must be referred
to the

Kingdom

of

of David.

xxx.

No
*

angel with six wings

This

t Levi

shows

in his

is

ever transformed.

||

given boldly by Levi as Via ceternitatis sunt triginta duo,

sums the idea by writing fusti cupia;, Deiis mare, and
annotation how God becomes man and man God after

is

his familiar Voltairean fashion.

+ Levi gives, Angeli apparcntium sunt volatiles cceli et ani/nanfia,

I do not think it was intended
which exceeds the Kabalistic idea.
to say that birds are angels of the outer form, but that the flying things
created on the fifth day are symbols of the angels who have appeared to

men, wearing the likeness of humanity,

as to

Abraham and

to Lot,

not those seen in the interior state and in vision.

Levi reads Daniel.

II

which

Meaning, says Levi, that there

is

equilibrated perfectly

but this

is

no change for the mind

mere ingenuity.

is

<ome

Chrietiau

of the

<Stubent6

JUbalah

341

XXXI.
Circumcision was ordained for deliverance from
the impure powers wandering round about.

XXXII.

Hence circumcision was performed on the eighth

day, because

it is

above the universal

bride.

XXXIII.

There are no

do not show

letters

in their forms, conjunctions,

twisting and
in their

Law which

the entire

in

forth the secrets of the ten numerations

and separations, in their

and superfluity,

direction, their deficiency

comparative smallness and largeness,

crowning, and

their enclosed or

in their

open form.*

XXXIV.

He who comprehends why Moses

hid his face

and why Ezechias turned his countenance to the

wall, the same understands the fitting attitude and
posture of prayer, f

xxxv.

No

spiritual things

descending below can operate

without a garment.}

XXXVI.

The

sin

of

Sodom was

the separation of the

branch.

final

Liters

recension of

stint

hieroglyphic in omnibus^ according to the shorter

L\i,

t Abscond* facicm fiiam ft era, writes Levi,

praying shawl in his comment with the veil of Isis
says

+ Uesprit se rtvttent pour dcsccndrc

elsewhere in his writings.
Here

Le"vi

that, as

we cannot

live

under water, so

to exist in our atmosphere.

connecting the
!

et se dtpouillt

in his

spirits

pour

tnonter,

annotation he reasons

without bodies are unable

^he

34 2

SJartnne zmb |iteratnr^ of the

XXXVII.

we

By the secret of the prayer before the daylight

must understand the quality of piety.

xxxvm.
As

fear

inwardly

is

outwardly inferior to

love, so love

is

inferior to fear.

xxxix.

From

the preceding conclusion

why Abraham was

stood

it

may be under

praised in Genesis for his

quality of piety that all

we know by the
were made from love.

fear, albeit

things

XL.

Whensoever we are ignorant of the quality

whence the influx comes down upon the petition
which we put up, we must have recourse to the

House

of Judgment.*

XLL
Every good soul

is

new

soul

coming from the

Eastf
XLII.

Therefore Joseph was buried in the bones only

in the body, because his bones were virtues

and not

and the hosts of the supernal tree,

descending on the supernal earth.
*

Nasus

called Zadith,

Domum

Naris ; and hence Levi s abridgment is

Literally,
discernit proprieties, which he defends from the
Book of
"

Concealment."

The

distinction

between new souls and old

is

developed

at

some

length by Isaac de Loria.

Eliphas Levi overlooks this point and has
recourse to a sentimental explanation.
He takes occasion also to deny
that reincarnation was taught by the best Kabalists, but he is not quite
correct as to his facts.

(Some Christian -Students of the JtabaUh

343

XLIII.

Therefore also Moses knew no sepulchre, being

taken up into the supernal jubilee and setting his

roots ab-jve the jubilee.

XLIV.

When
within

comprehend all that is

shall be joined with
and
comprehension,
the soul

its

shall

put off from

itself

its

from
earthly garment and shall be rooted out
place and united with Divinity.*

its

the

shall

it

soul,

supernal

XLV.

When
men

of

prophecy by the

Israel

spirit

ceased, the wise

by the Daughter of the

prophesied

Voice.

XLVI.

king of the earth is not manifested on the

until
the heavenly host is humbled in heaven.f
earth
XLYIl.

By

the word

"ath,"

which twice occurs

in

the

In the beginning God created the heaven and

that Moses signified the creation
earth," I believe
"

text,

the

of the intellectual and animal natures, which

in

the

natural order preceded that of the heaven and

the

earth.

XLYIII.

That which

is

said

by the Kabalist, namely, that

the green line encircles the universe,

*

this to

said also

Levi ^ivcs Aniina plena superior! fonjnngiliir, and understands

united with a superior soul, whereas
that a complete soul

mean

the reference
f

may be

The

Post deos rex

i-,

i^

undoubtedly

veiiioii

"t

l.-

-i

to the divine soul.

i

an entirely
>~

Vi>

(errant.

dilTei<

iit

aphorism, namely,

^Itc ^octniu jwb |Dtteratute ot the jiabalah

344

appropriately at the final conclusion which

we draw

from Porphyry.*
XLIX.

Amen

We

the influence of numbers.f

is

have seen that a

rival

series of Kabalistic

Conclusions has been referred to Picus, and so also

the number of the above series is occasionally

extended to seventy. The collection of Pistorius

contains only those which have been cited, and they
are possibly intended to connect with the Fifty Gates
of Understanding, less the one gate which was not
entered by Moses. To develop any system from

these

and

aphorisms would
difficulty has

this

Their source

is

also

almost

appear
occurred

to

impossible,

earlier

critics.

uncertain like their meaning,

despite the labours of their commentator, Archangelus

de Burgo-Nuovo, who was himself a Christian
Kabalist,

but disputatious, verbose, and with pre

determined theological motives.

IV.

CORNELIUS AGRIPPA

The untimely death

place

in

of Picus de Mirandola took

the early childhood

of another Christian

According to Levi, the Kabalists represent Kether as a green

all the other Sephiroth.
I do not know his authority,
but Azariel, in his commentary on the Sepher Yetzirah, says, as we have
I assume that
seen, that it is the colour of light seen through a mist.
this is not green, though Zoharic observations on the rainbow seem to
indicate that some Kabalists at least were colour-blind.
It should be
line

encompassing

noted that Norrelius in his Phosphorus Orthodox*? Fidei, 4, Amsterdam

1720, translating from an elegy on R. Simeon ben Jochai, given in the

Sepher Imre Binah, explains that the linea viridis is the new moon.
t An affirmation of the mind, an adhesion of the heart, a kind of
mental signature, says Levi.

Christian .-Students of the Jiabahih

Kabalist, Cornelius

Cologne

in

1486.

methodical

345

Agrippa of Nettersheim, born at

It is to him that we owe the first
of

description

whole

the

Kabalistic

system, considered under the three heads of Natural

Philosophy, Mathematical Philosophy and Theology.

Agrippa is therefore of very great importance to our

and

inquiry,

his

are

Philosophia,

It

is

books, entitled

De

Occulla

starting-point of Kabalistic
the Latin-reading scholars of

the

among

knowledge
Europe.

three

needless

to

that

say

enjoyed immense repute and

his

treatise

We

authority.

must

professedly a magical
not mean that it is a ritual

remember, however, that

it

is

work, by which I do
for the evocation of spirits, but

it

unfolds the philo

forms of magic

sophical principles upon which

were supposed to proceed, and this is so true that
the forged
Fourth Book," which was added to it
all

"

soon after the death of Agrippa, and does provide a

species of magical ritual, is so much in consonance
with the genuine work that it might well have been
must therefore expect that
by the same hand.

We

the magical side of Kabalism, that which deals with

the properties and the virtues of Divine Names and
so

forth,

is

much more

fully

developed than the

cosmology of the Sepher Yetzirah or the Divine

have also to remember
Mysteries of the Zohar.

We

that,

although

Agrippa

was

the

first

writer

who

elucidated the Kabalistic system, he was far muiv

learned in the occult philosophy of Greece and

Rome

than

in that

of the later Hebrews.

He was

sufficiently acquainted with Hebrew to be able to

understand and expound the mysteries of the Divine
Names and the Notancon connected therewith. Of

^he

34 6

Jtortnne anb literature of the Jiabalah

the literature itself he gives no information from

which we could infer his knowledge
he does not
;

mention the Sepher Yetzirah or the Zohar, both of

which were then only accessible in manuscript, and I

am

inclined

think

to

that

his

acquaintance with

Kabalistic subjects was formed chiefly through the

Conclusiones Cabalisticce of Mirandola, which, as we

have seen, appeared at Rome in the year of Agrippa s

birth.
It should be added also that there are serious

Hebrew alphabet which

made by one who was
acquainted with any authoritative source of know
Book of Formation," and
ledge, as, for example, the
mistakes without number in his lettering of the
Divine Names
but the latter point cannot be justly
errors in his division of the

would

not

have

been

"

pressed,

as

the

may have

faults

with the

rested

printer.
It

noticeable

is

this

in

connection that

the

doctrine of the occult virtues residing in words and

names is expounded from the authority of the
Platonists.*

only in the scales of the twelve

numbers, dealt with somewhat minutely in the second
book, that the Kabalistic system is developed, but
It

is

has remained the chief source of information

this

among

occult students

important information

devoted

to

theology

up
is,

to this day.f

however,

and

the

The most

in the third

doctrines,

book,

mainly

Kabalistic, concerning angels, demons and the souls

of men, but creating correspondences with classical
*

It should be noted, however, that

he preceded the chief
Hellenising schools of later Kabalism.
t On the general question of Agrippa s connection with Kabalism,
see Frederich Earth
Die Cabbala des Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
:

von

Nettersheim,"

Stuttgard, 1855.

.Some Christian

mythology wherever

of the Jlab.ilah

<Stufocnt8

Thus, Ain

possible.

of

identified

with

Kabalistic

Samael with Typhon.

are

described

the

as

Night
the

vestments,

is

SopJi

and

Orpheus

The

347

the

ten Sephiroth
or

instruments,

exemplars of the Archetype, having an influence on

all created things through high to low, following a
defined order.
It

would serve no purpose to repeat

much

points of the instruction, because

of

all

the

it

has

been already given, while the tables of commutations

showing the extraction of angelical names would

require elaborate

rather than

Agrippa

My

diagrams.

illustrate

object

is

to

note

exhaustively the character of

exposition, which

concerned largely with

is

practical Kabalah, and very slightly

It
with the more important philosophical literature.
brought him no satisfaction, and before his troubled

the so-called

life

drew to

opinion
"

diligently

a
"

its

that

the

disastrous

he recorded

close

Kabalistic

art,

and laboriously sought

which

after,"

he

his

had

was merely

rhapsody of superstition," that its mysteries were

wrested from the Holy Scriptures," a play with
"

allegory proving nothing.

As

to the alleged miracles

wrought by
practical operations, he supposes that
there is no one so foolish as to believe it has any such
its

powers.

In a word,

"the

Kabalah of the Jews

nothing but a pernicious superstition

their pleasure they gather, divide

names and

letters in Scripture

is

by which at

and transfer words,

and by making one

thing out of another dissolve the connections of the

truth."
What was done by the Jews for the literature

of the Ancient Covenant was performed, he goes on

to say, for the Greek documents of Christianity by

&he

348

5} 0r * ri ne

an ^

ot the

3Pitct*ttM

the Ophites, Gnostics, and Valentinians, who produced

a Greek Kabalah, as Rabanus, the monk, later on

attempted with the Latin characters.

I do not know that a modern writer could have
I do not think that
put the position more clearly.
one
the
at
can
any
present day
regard transpositions
and extractions seriously, but the question is whether

these things were not after

a subterfuge, or

all

if

not

exactly a subterfuge, a corruption of an older system.

Agrippa adds another argument which also, from its

own

If
standpoint, could not be better expressed
Kabalistic art proceed from God, as the Jews boast,

and

if it

conduce to the perfection of

life,

the health

men and

the worship of God, as also to the truth

of understanding, surely that Spirit of Truth which
of

has

synagogue and has come to teach us all

would not have concealed it from His Church

left their

truth,

even until these

that the

last times,

Church knows

and

this the

more seeing

things which are of God,

all

while His mysteries of salvation are revealed in every

tongue, for every tongue has the same power, if there

be the same equal piety neither is there any name,

in heaven or on earth, by which we can be saved,
whereby we can work miracles, but the one name
;

Jesus,

wherein

all

are

things

recapitulated

and

contained."

Of

course,

in

proves too much.

in

Divine

Names

the

last

There

or there

Christian cannot well

analysis this

is

deny

argument

either a peculiar virtue

is

not.
it

to

If there be, the

Jehovah

and

if

be not, the doctrine of the Great Name in

Christianity is a sublety no less idle than the Tetra-

there

grammaton

or the

Schemahamphorash.

We

know,

<0me

Christian

<gtubent0

of the

gabalah

349

however, that, in so far as names represent ideas, they

moving powers of the intellectual world when

are

know

they are used without inspiration and without

ledge they are dead and inert, like other empty

vehicles.
The Kabalistic Jews believed that they
could dissect the name without losing the vital essence

The name
it, and they erred therein.
of Jesus spells grace and salvation to millions, but it

which informs

spells

when

nothing when lettered separately and nothing

To say otherwise is to rave.
transposed.

it is

PARACELSUS

V.

the great names of occultism which are

support of the influence exerted by the

Among
cited

in

Kabalah and the authority which

of Paracelsus

mentioned.

is

We

it

possessed, that

are given to under

by Isaac Myer, that

stand, for example,

it

is

to be

traced distinctly in the system of the great German

Statements like these are themselves a kind
adept.*

of Kabalah, which are received by one writer from

another without any inquiry or any attempt at
verification.
In this way we obtain lists of authori
ties,

references

and testimonials which seem

sight to carry great weight, but they will

examination and
they come
sufficient

present

into

defeat

the

patience
instance

their

hands of

to

to

own purpose when

student who has
them.

remember

celsus occupies an exceptional position

*

"

Philosophy of Ibn

first

investigate

we have

at

bear no

Gebirol," p.

In

that

among

171.

the

Para
occult

350 TUhe Jlcrttine anb |Citerat;ue of the Jiatmlah;

philosophers

erudition.*

If

we take

compare them with

fact,

literature,
it,

shall

and that he was,

When

alchemist.

we

he concerns

magic, he has few correspondences

enable him to be illustrated by other

with

himself

which

own

his

and

his alchemical treatises

Hermetic

find that they are quite unlike

in

respected or

he owed very little to tradition,

what is understood commonly by

to

little

very

man who

he was not a

quoted authorities

will

on

writers

this

And

magician.

we

subject
to

again,

come

the

to

he was his own

question

discover, on

of

the

he
Kabalah,
examination,
to
we
should
has anything
say concerning it,
expect
that it would be quite unlike anything that went
if

that

to the known lines

we
should
find that he
Once more,
of Kabalism.
would prove to be his own Kabalist. In every
department of thought he illustrated his own maxim

before

him, and

quite

foreign

It must be
Alterius non sit qui suus esse potest.
added also that any contributions which he offers

are seldom helpful.

what

is

They do nothing

obscure in previous

constitute

to elucidate

authorities,

new departures which

and they

are themselves

much

need of explanation.
Nearly two centuries elapsed between the death
of Moses de Leon, the
publisher of the Zohar,
of
the
birth
and
Theophrastus of Hohenheim, and
in

"first

though no attempt to print

forty years

after

at Strasburg, or
*

amount
ii.

He

is

wherever

it

took place
life

till

some

closed so sadly

actually occurred, there

have boasted that his library would not

Gould s
History of Freemasonry," vol.

said, indeed, to

to six folio volumes.

p. 77.

it

turbulent

his

"

(Christian

<Somc

can be no doubt

ot the

<StubenU

$abalah

351

was quite accessible in

manuscript, or that Paracelsus, had he chosen, could
that

it

have made himself acquainted with its contents.

It
seems fairly certain, however, that he never
acquired the language from which

and that

it

had not been

knowledge of the Kabalah

would in any case be limited to what he could gather
from authors who wrote in Latin or some current
translated,

tongue

his

own works show that he was at

of this kind.
As to this, it is only

but his

very little pains

necessary to collect the few references on the subject

which they contain.

The study

of Magic and the Kabalah

is

enjoined

on the physician, and old medical

are scouted on the ground that they

times

several

authorities

were unacquainted with either.*

The "Cabala" is
in one place identified with
Magical Astronomy,f
which,

the

and

disease,

ment

that

centre

at

Magic

refers

presume,

concerning

to

the

Paraselsic

man and

in

connects

with

the

the

heart.

It

of which

contextual

seems to have

is

state

animals

also

with

some obscure operations with

signified

Subsequent]}- this

exposed more plainly, when the Kabalistic

said to have been built up on the basis of the

is

DC Can sis e ( Online

1658, vol.

(.cncva,
ibid., vol.

of

it

the faculties of the astral body.

art

all

identified

is

theory

stars

forms a part*
But from
another place, Kabalistic Magic

indications given in

point

the

operations of the stars in

all

itself,

stars

i.

De
DC
D(

p.

iii.

p.

I.nis (iallitiS,

Also

193,*.

Lil>.

De

iv. c. 9,

Peste,

Lil>.

408.

Pestilitate, Tract,

Pestt, Lib.

i.,

//;.,

Vita Longa, Lib.

i.,

i/>.,

//>.,

i.

c.

t7>.,

p.

405,

6,

/
/>.,

p.

371,

l>

b.

vol.

ii.

p. 56, / .

Opera Ontnia
ii.,

//-.

352

^he

anb JJiterature ot the Jfobnlah

Jto.ctriitt

concerning the sacramental body, which

the death of the corruptible, and

doctrines

after

appears
explains

apparitions of a super
The art of judging what is

visions,

spectres,

natural character, &c.*

concealed by certain outward signs in a word, the

theory of signatures is said to be the Kabalistic art,
"

once called

afterwards

caballa,

caballia

has

"

It

termed Galamala, from its author,

of Ethnic origin, having been transmitted to

also been falsely

and

is

the

Chaldaeans
"

corrupted,
in all

the

whom

Jews, by

was

it

Jews were exceedingly ignorant

Finally, the use of certain prayers and

ages."f

signacula

and

for the

talismans, in the cure of diseases

i.e.,

is

connected with the Kabalah.J

These meagre instances exhaust the three folio

volumes which constitute the Geneva collection of the
works of Paracelsus.
there

is

a short

should add, however, that

entitled

section

"

Caballa,"

which

forms part of a treatise on the plague, but it is

concerned with the official elements of early science

and with the alchemical elements, Salt, Sulphur and

Mercury. There is also a reference in one place to
some books of the Caballa," apparently the work of
"

Paracelsus and in this case no longer extant.

student of Paracelsus that loss

it

concerned, for
others,

it

is

Dt,

its

Natura

so

far

may
as

the

Kabalah

evident that this term, like

was made use of

widely from
*

moment

not of

is

in

viii., ib.,

ib.>

is

iii.,

p.

91

b.

is

many

the lowest form

p. 101, b.

f Philosophia Sagax, Lib. i., ib., vol. ii. p. 565, b.

% De Vidneribus, Lib. v. in Chirurgia Magna, Pars,
vol.

the

a sense which either differs

wonted meaning, or
Rertini, Lib.

By

be regretted, but

iii.,

zA,

<Some

Christian

tnbent0 ol the giabalah

353

of that meaning.
The Kabalah for Paracelsus, when
it is not
something quite fantastic and unimaginable,
is a
species of practical magic, and here we shall do
well

remember

to

that

the adept of

Hohenheim

when, as we have seen, the

spurious literature of clavicles and grimoires was fast
flourished

at a period

multiplying.
It is

very difficult to judge Paracelsus, and many

statements have been made concerning him
by

false

friends

and enemies.

But it is well to know that he

was not a student of the Kabalah in any sense that

we should

care to associate therewith.

JOHN REUCHLIN

VI.

As

these sketches are not constructed

phically, there will be

no

biogra-

difficulty in regarding the

subject of the present notice as the representative of

a group, which group illustrates most
effectively the

standpoint and purpose of our inquiry as regards the

Christian students of the Kabalah.
The missionary
enthusiasm which may be said to have
begun with
Mirandola, which, if Lully had been a Kabalist, would
have been already at fever heat in the doctor illumincitus of Majorca, which ceased
only in the earl)- part
of the eighteenth
century, assumed almost the aspect
of a movement between the
period of Rcuchlin and
that of Rosenroth. It was not a concerted movement
;

it

was not the

body

it

activity of a secret society or a learned

was not actuated by any occult interests,

and perhaps

still

less

The shape which

z

it

by those of an academic kind.

assumed in its literature was

354

^he

Iptfrtrhu anfc HJiteratee of the

that of a deliberate and successive attempt to read

Christian

dogma

word of Kabalism.

into the written

does not appear so strenuously in the work of

Rosenroth as it does in the collection of Pistorius,*
It

days of the Kabbala Denudata there

more
reason to hinder such intellectual
was, perhaps,
Nor is it so strong in the writings of
excesses.
Reuchlin as in those of Archangelus de Burgo
because

in the

Nuovo.

It is

impossible to survey the vast treatises,

extending in some cases to hundreds of folio pages,
by which the enthusiasm is represented, and it is
fortunately not necessary.

We have

their proper connection with

that

it

only to establish

Kabalism and

to

show

has been so far misconceived by occultists.

are justified in regarding Eliphas Levi as

We

some extent the mouthpiece of modern occult

it is to him more than to any one that
thought
to

such thought owes

as

tradition
"

religion,

Divine

its

impulse towards the Jewish

absolute

the

to

of

philosophy

and

the alliance of the universal reason and the

was he

It

Word."f

first

who

told

us that

truly dogmatic religions have issued from the

Kabalah and return therein," that it has the keys

"

all

"

of the past, the present and the

future."

In order

to receive initiation into this great tradition he has

counselled us,

among

other books, to have recourse

to the "Hebrew writers in the collection of

*

Artis Cabalistica, hoc

est,

recondita; theologia:

Scriptorum, Tomus I., Basiliae, 1587.

f Dogme, de la Haute Magic,
"Transcendental

Magic,"

edition, p. 502.
Ibid.
Students

p.

20;
J

who know

p.

95,

2me

"Mysteries

Pistorius."

et philosophies

edition, Paris, 1861

of

Magic,"

second

Ibid.

the collection of Pistorius will be

Christian in authorship, and that, with

the exception of the Porta Lucis, none of its treatises were written

aware that a

lars;e part

originally in

Hebrew.

of

it is

on\t (Christian

Following

gtnbents of

this direction, occultists

to regard the

famous Basle

the Jiabalah

355

have been taught

folio as a

storehouse of

genuine Jewish tradition. No impression could well

be more erroneous.
The works engarnered by
Pistorius are
neither the Jewish
tradition
nor

commentary of authority

thereon.

If

add that they are not the work of

who

of persons

or Lutheran,

The

is

believed
"

that

"

wholly derived

writers are of three

types

is

well also to

occultists

Catholic

"

or

doctrine,"

from the Kabalah.

The Jew who had

I.

abjured Israel and directed his polemics against it.

He is represented by Riccius, and his presence is
fatal to Levi s
LeVi recommended the
standpoint.

become a Kabalist

Christian to
logical

for the

born Christian,

Riccius thought it
Kabalist to turn Christian.*
II. The

who

believed that the

for

Jew was in the

Judaism when the Kabalah

wrong
continuing
taught the doctrine of the Trinity, the Divine
and so

in

He

forth.

also

thought the Jew was

of

all

Israel.
is

in

is

the right because the

dogmas could be found

This type

learned,

is

laborious

Word
who

in opposition to
LeVi,

in

germ

the traditions

represented by Reuchlin,f
and moderate, but also

of

who
by

Archangelus de Burgo Nuovo, who does frequent

outrage to good sense, and seems to regard the
Kabalah as a note-book to the New Testament.
Reuchlin toyed with Lutheranism

Archangelus was

After his conversion this German

repaired to Padua, where he
He was invited hack to Germany
taught philosophy with great credit.
He belongs to the sixteenth century.
by the Emperor Maximilian.
His chief work treats of
Celestial Agriculture."
"

ful

politician,

also belongs to the .ixteenth

century.

will

be found

in

Basnage,

t.

v.

man of the
Some account of

diplomatist and

He

pp. 2059 et seq.

world.
his life

356 ^Iht Jtoctrint

a Catholic prelate.

who might be

$ittrature of the gabalah

an!b

The purely natural mystic

Jew or Gentile, who has no

III.

either

Kabalistic connections worth reciting, and to

even a name.

Christianity does not seem

whom
He is

represented by a writer who, as a fact, was born a

Jew and seems to have been included by Pistorius

because

of

his

conversion.

supposed

Abravanel, whose

Philosophy of Love

"

of special mention by Eliphas Levi

text-book of Kabalism.
already dealt with,

The

and here

their citation annihilates

the subject
were a

is

as

if it

Dialogues

have been

enough

to say that

"
"

it is

Levi, because a student of

the Kabalah might as well be referred to the

of Ovid.

As

to

refer

"

"

Art

"

regards Pistorius himself, the only point at

is in the

which he makes contact with occultism

was undertaken, among other

reasons, as a counterblast to the superstitions which
a
the Kabalah had promoted in Christendom
fact that his enterprise

reference,

we

may

presume,

to

unfortunate

the

budget of Agrippa and to the increasing grimoire

The

literature.

began

him

to

under

in

Kabalistic

boyhood, but, so

his

the boasted
their

studies

escort

of

the

Lutheran

from

editor

leading

Levi,

was conferred upon him the august

figuring as one

the

he passed
Protestantism, and there

certitude
into

far

of

distinction of

of the deputies charged to present

Confession of Faith to the Diet of

Augsbourg.
Having registered the fact itself as
an illustration of the quality of his progress towards
the Absolute,

it

is

of course permissible to regard

sympathies with the attempted purgation of the

Church in a spirit of clemency, perhaps even of

his

omt

ghtbents of the glabalah

<hr:0ttan

357

to confess, at least, that they were

on
the ground of natural infirmity, seeing
excusable
that he was for long subjected to persecution, fostered

or

interest,

by a monkish inquisitor, because he had saved the

books of Jewry from confiscation and burning
In place of them, as
throughout all Germany.

De

opportunity afforded, they burnt

De Arte

and

Verbo Mirifico
contributions of

the

Cabbalistica,

Reuchlin to the right understanding of the secret

The treatises remain all the
tradition in Israel.

same

as

the

witnesses of

standpoint of Christian

students in the sixteenth century, and they help to

warrant us in affirming that the chief Latin collection
of Kabalistic writers, outside the Kabbala Denudata,
contains

no

evidence

in

of

support

the

occult

hypothesis.

must by no means leave

inadequate
connections without
fessedly

notice

this

word

brief

and con

Reuchlin

of

of

reference

and

his

to

his

learned pupil, J. A. Widmanstadt, whose collection

of Hebrew manuscripts, for the most part Kabalistic,
is

one of the

Munich.

great treasures of the Library of

In the course of his life-long studies he

gave special

attention

to

the

Zohar

and

to

the

theurgic side of the Jewish tradition.

VII.

philosophical, or rather an occult, legend has

gathered

name

WILLIAM POSTEL

in

an unaccountable

of William Postel, and

manner

it is

round

the

supplemented by a

popular legend which has depicted this peaceable,

^Ehe ^ocinnt anfc |pt*ratttre of the

358

though perhaps somewhat

puerile,

monk

vestment

in a

of thaumaturgic splendour. The philosophical legend

we owe almost exclusively to Eliphas Le"vi, and to a

few later writers

leading,

honestly by Postel

well-intended but too often inane

among which

writings,

Postel

World."

included
the

the

"

Key

of

Foundation of the

was the son of a poor Normandy

perseverance and self-denial he

his

by

is

Secret from

Things Kept
peasant

France who have accepted his

him, appear to be impressed

in

with

and,

contrived to obtain an education, and became, on the

authority of his chief admirer, the most learned man
of his time.
Ever full of resignation and sweetness,
"

he worked

bread, and

of

crust

like a labouring

then

man

to ensure himself a

returned

to

his

studies.

Poverty accompanied him always, and want at times

but he
compelled him to part with his books
acquired all the known languages and all the sciences
he discovered rare and valuable manu
of his day
;

others the apocryphal Gospels and the

among

scripts,

Yetzirah

Sepher

he

himself

initiated

the

into

mysteries of the transcendent Kabalah, and his frank

admiration for this absolute truth, for this supreme

reason of

him

So

it

Eliphas Levi, whose undeniable influence

modern occultism has done more than

far

all

upon

philosophies and all dogmas, tempted

known to the world."*

all

make

to

anything
position

to

of

exaggerate
the

Jewish

redeeming point of Postel

which he

is

the

true

secret
is

philosophical

literature.

his exalted

connected with the mystics

Histoire de la Magic.

Paris, 1860,

liv.

The

piety,

by

the points

v. c. 4, p.

347.

(Christian

<ome

<Stubent0

of the Jhibalah

359

be regretted are his extravagance, his trans

cendental devotion to a religious and homely nun of
mature years, and his belief that he underwent a
to

process of physical regeneration by the infusion of her

To
spiritual substance two years after her death.*
the Council of Trent, convened for the condemnation

of the heresies connected with the Reformation, he

addressed

benevolent

to

bless

inviting

it

outside

the

but

unpractical epistle,
the whole world, which seems

of

purpose

deliberative

assembly

considering doctrinal questions. The result of these

errors of enthusiasm was that Postel was shut up in

some convent, a course

dictated possibly as

much by

a feeling of consideration, and even of mercy, towards

a learned man unfitted for contact with the world, as

by the sentiment of intolerance. The seclusion, in

any case, offered him the kind of advantages that he
most needed, and he died
it

in peace,

having retracted,

was disapproved by

said, everything that

is

his

superiors.

already seen, Postel connects with Kabalism

by the great fact that he discovered and made known
in the West that celebrated "Book of Formation"

As

which contains some of

its

He

principles in

also

expounded its
commentary to which I

fundamental doctrine.f

shall

a species of

recur shortly.

His

*
Ibid., p. 250.

"

Post el

was the

to

first,

my knowledge,

wli"

translated into

Latin the most ancient and, it must be confessed, the most obscure,
monument of the Kabalah ; I refer to the Book of Creation. "A.

V. Franck, La Kabbalc,

p.

16.

He

adds

"

So

far

as

am

in a

which at least equals the text in

position to judge of this translation,
faithful
in
a
it
general
way."
obscurity,
appears
Tradition also refers to him
or which

Franck sought vainly

in

\\

Latin translation of the Zohar,

the public libraries of Paris.

About

360

^he

own

Jlocttine aub Jpterature 0f the Jpabalah

some points of contact with

its summary by Eliphas

doctrine has also

Zoharistic tradition, though

Levi

loose

is

and

historical studies

The

"

man

image and
dual, and its

is

its

modern

and

adept.

made
The human
"

is constituted
by
animus and anima ;

triadic unity

two halves

masculine

literary

after Its likeness.

mind and tenderness

the

this

all

his interpretation begins,

Trinity,"

the union of
it is

undertaken by

in Its

body

like

inexact,

it is

so also

situated

The

feminine in the heart.

must therefore be dual

in

in

the

has two sexes

it

head,

and

the

fulfilment of redemption

humanity

mind by

its

purity must

heart

by

rectify the errors of the heart, and the

its
generosity must correct the egoistic

Christianity has been here

barrenness of the head.

tofore

comprehended only by the reasoning heads

has not penetrated the hearts.

indeed become man, but not till
it

become

woman

will

the

world

The Word has

the

be

Word

has

The
men in

saved.

maternal genius of religion must instruct

the sublime grandeurs of the spirit of charity
will reason be conciliated with faith, because

it

then
will

understand, explain and govern the sacred excesses

of devotion."*

The

particular

excess of

Postel

was that he

recognised the incarnation of this maternal spirit

the person of the pious nun before mentioned.

in

1890, M. le Baron Vitta, of Lyons, is said to have purchased a MS.

copy of a Latin version for 25,000 francs. Stanislas de Guaita, who
mentions the circumstance, suggests that it may be the missing work of
Postel.
The French Biographic Universelle also ascribes a Latin
version to Gui de Viterbi (s. v. Simeon b. Jochai), but does not
indicate the whereabouts of the
*
Hist, de la Magic, liv. v.

MS.
c. 4, p.

348.

twbent0 of the ^abalah

<hri0tian

<ome

361

Eliphas Levi, who took no illuminations and no

enthusiasms seriously, terms this spiritual ardour
a lyrical

puerility

no

there

is

and,

whatever

and a

celestial

element

lyrical

the

in the

source

of

hallucination, but

Latin of Postellus,
the

hallucination,

the

Into the ques

lady died making no sign.
tion of their subsequent reunion after a manner
which recalls the status embryonnatus of Kabal-

Pneumatics, it would be imprudent here to

From the period of its occurrence the mystic
always termed himself Postellus Res ft tutus it is
istic

enter.

reported that his white hair became again black,

the furrows disappeared from his brow, and his

cheeks

reassumed

the

hues

of

Derisive

youth.

biographers explain these marvels as derisive bio

graphers might be expected, as if, Levi well observes,

being insufficient to represent him as a fool, it was

necessary also to exhibit this man, of a nature so
noble and so generous, in the light of a
juggler and
charlatan.
There is one thing more astounding than
"it

the eloquent unreason of enthusiastic hearts, and that

is the
stupidity or bad faith of the frigid and
sceptical

minds which presume

to

judge
unsympathetic historian than those con
founded by Levi reduces the doctrines of Postel
under two heads, (i) "That the evangelical reign of

them."*

less

Jesus Christ, established by the apostles, could not,

be sustained among Christians or propagated
among
infidels

except by the lights of

wholly plausible.

was destined

(2)

which appears
That a future King of France

to universal

reason,"

monarchy, and

Ibid.

"

that his

362

^he

anb |tttr*ittrt

gtoftritte

way must be prepared by

rrf

the JUtbalah

the conquest of hearts and

the convincing of minds, so that thenceforth the

world shall hold but one belief and Jesus Christ
there by one King, one law and one
Given universal monarchy as a possibility
of the future, no Frenchman who is true to his
shall

reign

faith."

would conceivably assign it otherwise than

King of France. However, one or both of these

traditions
to a

propositions led the biographer in question to infer

that Postel was mad, and I cite this conclusion less on

account of

essential merit than because

its

it

afforded

LeVi the opportunity for a rejoinder of characteristic

Mad, for having dreamed that

religion should govern minds by the supreme reason
of its doctrine, and that the monarchy, to be strong
and lasting, must bind hearts by the conquests of the
Mad, for having believed
public prosperity of peace
"

suggestiveness.

advent of His Kingdom, to whom we daily cry,

Mad, because he believed in
Kingdom come

in the

Thy

reason and justice on earth

Postel was

"

He

wrote

Alas,
little

too true, poor

books at intervals

it is

must frankly admit, are almost impossible to

and in the case of the Sepher Yetzirah the

which,
read,

mad

has done his best to

printer

make

the difficulties

I have
promised to speak of the
which
commentary
accompanies the translation, I
must at least say that it should be described rather as

absolute

but as

Franck
a collection of separate notes.
no one to be guided by the views which

recommends
it

expresses,

but they scarcely suggest leading, as they contain

nothing of real importance, and some of them are

almost childish.
noted

are

(a]

Among
Defence

the points which may be

of the lawfulness and

Christian

of the Jgabalah

<Stubcnt0

363

necessity of the concealment of sacred things

(b)
pertinent and useful distinction between the terms
;

creation, formation

Yetzirah

The

(V)

and making, as used

antiquity

of the

in the

Sepher

belief in

ten

to
spheres of the heavens
(d) The recourse
numerical mysticism to show why the Sephiroth are,
in the words of the Sepher Yetzirah,
ten and not
;

"

the necessity of the number ten being shown

the
by
progression from the unit to the quaternary,
as follows
I
+ 2 + 3 + 4 = 10. And this,
nine,"

mode of calculating, brings

us back to the unit, even as the external universe

according to the mystical

brings back the soul to

God

(e)

The

attribution of

the angelic choirs to the Sephiroth, thus showing that

Postel s study of the Kabalah was not confined to the

one document which he

is

known

to

have translated.

Of

Postel s original writings, that entitled De

Rationibus Spirit us Sancti Libri Duo, 1543, seems on

the whole the most soberly reasoned if,

unfortunately,
it has no connections with
the Kabalah, it has at
;

least

some with good

occultists

who

sense.

It

is

useful

also for

are disposed to be influenced

by Levi,
and hence to regard Postel as a very great adept of
their mysteries.
While it is quite true that he was
excessively fanciful in his notions, which are extrava
gant in the philological as well as the conventional

sense of that term,

it is

not at

all

true that he

had

set

aside or exceeded the accepted doctrinal views of his

period, nor does he appear to have possessed a specific
light

on

given

points

of

teaching which

can

be

He upheld,
regarded as considerable for his period.
for example, the doctrine of eternal damnation, and
justifies

it

in

such a manner that no room

is left

for

364

^hc

attb

Doctrine

literature at the gtabalah

the conjecture that he was not saying what he meant.

Now this doctrine is not only intolerable to the
occultist,

but

For the

rest,

makes void his scheme of the universe.

was a good and single-minded

it

Postel

Christian, who, in spite of his Clavis Absconditorum

a Constitutione Mundi, and in spite of the panegyrics

of Eliphas Levi, had no knowledge whatsoever of the

Book of Thoth, and had never dreamed of

so-called

looking for a doctrine of absolute religion beyond the

seat of Peter.

VIII.

THE ROSICRUCIANS

Among many
concerning

this

adventurous statements advanced

mystic fraternity,

we

are not infre

quently told that it gave a great impetus to the study

This assertion is so far from being
of the Kabalah.
founded in any accessible fact, that one is tempted to
rejoin

that

it

gave no impetus to anything except a

and a certain pleasant fantasia in

short-lived curiosity

romantic

fiction.

The

truth

should be hazarded on either

is

side.

that

no statement

In the

first

place*

the historical evidence for the existence of the order,

though

points to certain conclusions,

it

unsatisfactory state,*

in a

may be still in existence is in the

who do not commit themselves.

kind which
of those

is

very

and any knowledge of another

custody
I have

*
It is open therefore to numerous singular constructions, one of
the most remarkable being that placed on it by Mrs. Henry Pott, in
See c. xii.
Francis Bacon and his Secret Society," London, 1891.
especially, and compare Clifford Harrison, "Notes on the Margins,"
"

London, 1897, p. 49: "There is every good reason to suppose that

the founder of Inductive Philosophy was a Rosicrucian."

Chrivtian .Stubenta of the gabalah

<ome

never met

an express statement

literature with

in

365

designed to indicate knowledge and to represent

On the
authority which could bear investigation.

have found invariably those which most

assumed the complexion of assurance were only the
contrary,

private impressions of persons

conviction,

even

nor

who had no

sufficient

title

to

for

an

warrant

estimable opinion by their acquaintance with the

exoteric facts.
I have therefore to
say that there is
no known student of the Kabalah,* with possibly one
exception, whom it is possible to fix at all as the
member of a Rosicrucian Fraternity, laying any claim
to antiquity, for it is well known that there have been,
as

there

semi

still

are,

some

several corporate societies,

England, some mystic, as in

have indicated their occult interests

Masonic, as in

France, which

and purposes by adopting the name.

There

no

is

mischief in such adoption, provided the limits of the

pretension are clear, and, with the exception of one or

two which have appeared

think, been the case.

The few
with

great

in

America,

this

has,

names of the past which connect

and at the same time \\ith

Rosicrucianism

Kabalism

are

Fraternity,

sympathy .f

not

to

be
a

identified

with

the

common

except
by
ground of
Such were Fludd and Vaughan. More-

The term is sometimes used loosely in connection with the

Rosicrucians, as if meaning a tradition of any kind.
Thus, Mr.
W. F. C. Wigston speaks of "German philosophers and writers
who each and all held up Freemasonry as a branch of their
.

own

Rosicrucian

Kabalah."

The Columbus

of Literature,

p.

203,

Chicago, 1892. The Rosicrucian Kabalah, understood in this sense,

was the Divine Magia.
t In an interesting paper read before the Quatuor Coronati

Lodge, and published

in its transactions,

Dr.

Wynn

Westcott, Supreme

366 ^Ihe Qotttint anb Jptevahir* of the glabalah

few memorials which we possess of it,

those
especially
belonging to the eighteenth century,
indicate that it was mainly engrossed by alchemical
the

over,

The possible exception I have mentioned,

the
one case in which a well-known student
namely,
of the Kabalah, or rather a well-known expositor
processes.

of Kabalistic subjects, may have received initiation

into a Rosicrucian order going back through the
last

century,

certain

and

that

is

Eliphas

Levi.

he

received

initiation

seems

It

of

almost

some

kind,

has been recently stated by a French occultist

has access to some important sources of informa

it

who

tion that the scattered groups of Rosicrucian societies

were reorganised by Eliphas Levi, presumably about
the year 1850.
But this solitary instance does not
really save the situation,

establish later

more

especially as

shall

on that Eliphas Levi, though he has

obtained a great reputation among occultists as a

Kabalist, was not entitled to it by any profound
or

even tolerable acquaintance with the literature

which contains the Kabalah.

IX.

ROBERT FLUDD

The name of Robert Fludd stands high among

the occult philosophers of England
he was a man
of wide learning, of great intellectual ambition, of
;

He was also an experimental

exalted spiritual faith.
mean
order.
If we add to this that he
scientist of no
Magus of
new

as a

the English Rosicrucian Society, describes Rosicrucianism

presentation of Gnostic, Kabalistic, Hermetic and Neo-

Platonic doctrines.

Christian ^tnbente of the Jlabalah

is

an accessible

not too remote

figure,

that a short pilgrimage in

Kent

time,

and

lead us to the

will

lovely country house in which he lived

not be difficult to understand

will

in

367

and died,*

it

the fascination

which he has exercised on many who, for the rest,

have never dared to stir the dust from his folios.
I
have already had occasion in more than one work to
account for this Kentish transcendentalist, and as
there

one

is

only a single mystery in his

to

life,

which no

I shall not need here to

ground that has been travelled. The one
mystery is whether he did ultimately enter the

likely to bring light,

is

retrace

Fraternity of the Rose-Cross.

tracts

had

which he wrote
not

in

been

then

It

is

clear from the

defence of this order that he

into

initiated

its

mysteries.f

Perhaps so much energy and devotion earned that

reward in the end, as there is ground for supposing
was the case with his friend Michael Maier, who
espoused the same cause in Germany.
not know, and the modern occult writers

But we do

who

pretend

was a Rosicrucian are either misled or are

that he

romancing.
His connection with Kabalism

is,
however, the
only point with which we are here concerned, and as

to this there

is

no doubt of

his

proficiency, for he

occupied himself a great deal with vast cosmological

hypotheses, which were drawn to some extent from
this

source.
*

See

Unknown

He was

"Haunts

World,"

Vol.

of
i.

forty years of age

the
p.

English

Mystics,"

No.

when the
I,

in

"The

130, et seq.

t Perhaps the Valete Nostrique Memores estate of the Epilogus

Autori ad Fratres de Rosea Cruce may create a different impression in
the minds of some readers.
See Apologia Compendiaria, Leyden,
1616.

368 HEhe gortrine

atvb

literature of the Jiabalah

controversy first gave opportunity to

his pen, and the
Compendious Apology," which
he then published in reply to Libavius, a German
Rosicrucian

"

hostile

add

must

exhibits

critic,

besetting

that

also

his
it

intellectual

Kabalistic

studies.

evidence

gives

an

weakness,

of

his

inordinate

passion for the marvellous, which leads him to dwell

unduly on the thaumaturgic side of the Jewish secret
knowledge. Having given the usual legend of the

oral

reception by Moses from God, and its

perpetuation till the time of Esdras, he divides

the

Kabalah

tradition, its

into

two

parts,

that

of

Cosmology,

dealing with the forces operating in created things,

both sublunary and celestial, and expounding on
philosophical grounds the arcana of the written law.

This division, he observes, does not differ materially

from the Natural Magic in which Solomon is recorded
to

have excelled, and he adds

that

the

magical

powers of natural things, concealed in their centre,

can be brought forth by this species of Kabalah.

The second

division

is

entitled

Mercavah, which

contemplates things Divine, angelical powers, sacred

names and signacula. It is sub-divided into Notaricon

and Theomantica.

Notaricon treats of the angelical

and names, of demoniacal natures and of

human souls; Theomantica investigates the mysteries
of the Divine Majesty, of sacred names and pentacles.
virtues

Those who are

proficient therein

wonderful powers, can

mand

entire

foretell

Nature, compel

are invested with

future

angels

things,

com

and demons,
Moses worked

and perform miracles.

By this art
his various signs and wonders, Joshua caused the
sun to stand still, Elijah brought fire from heaven

Somt

Christian

<StuDcnt0

of the

and raised the dead to life. But

through His Holy Spirit, which

it

is

the elect.
It

will

be seen that

not the exalted

if

this

$abalah

369

a gift of God,
granted only to

is

classification

presents

bizarre traditions of the

Zohar, but

the debased and

superstitious apparatus of the
Sepker
RastelanA of later Kabalism,
ignored if not unknown
by writers like Rosenroth. In the vast folios which
followed the Compendious
Apology the Kabalistic
connections of Fludd s
are
"

"

suggestive

and
no

think

arc

positive

with

acquaintance

mology of the
its

philosophy
implicit and
than patent
and
elaborated,

rather

chiefly

writings,

and

proof that he had

Zohar.
In his Cos

Macrocosmos* which
and

metaphysical

recourse

the

to

physical

the

deals

origin,

Platonic

and

he

with
has

Hermetic

although
many other authorities
are cited,
nothing is borrowed from the Kabalists,
except indeed the
which

Tetragrammaton,

figures

within a triangle in one of the

illustrations.

The

complementary treatise on the Microcosm recalls

Kabalism in its doctrine of
angels and demons.
Slight correspondences

may be traced in his other

but they indicate no real
knowledge. In
the properties of
discussing
the
numbersf
writings,

(/>.,

Scphirotli)

and

the

Divine

Names*

attributed

to

them, the diagram which

accompanies the remarks
shows that he misconstrued
the
totally

scheme of emanation.
Cosmi

So

also

some

Kabalistic

later observa-

.!//</,topru
Mctaphysica,
Jhystca atque Technica Historia, 2 vols.,
Frankfort, 1617 and 1629.
t Philosophia Sacra et vert
Christiana, sen
Mtttorohgica
Cosmica, 1626.

AA

,,///,r/

et

^he

370
tions

glortriiu anb literature ot the glabalah

concerning

Mctatron

and

of the Sephirotic

negative sides

the

positive

and

Tree* suggest no

When

to
Father
replying
knowledge.
his
he
terms
defends
what
Fludd
Kabalah,
Mersenne,
but the term is used loosely and has certainly very

special

to

little

do with the Kabalah of Jewry, f

It

may

be observed, in conclusion, that the Kentish mystic

was pre-eminently a Christian philosopher, and,

like

other subjects, that of the esoteric tradition in Israel

was approached by him from the Christian stand
point.

X.

The Cambridge

HENRY MORE
Platonic philosopher

as a great Kabalist

and

is

regarded

his contributions

by Basnage
to the Kabbala Denudata as in some sense discovering
the sentiment and spirit of Jewish theosophy.J

Franck, on the contrary, regrets their inclusion by

Rosenroth on the ground that they are personal

speculations which are not at all in harmony with
Kabalistic teaching.

While there can be no question

that the just view belongs to the later

critic,

interesting because of his enthusiasm

More

is

and earnest

His point of view is also of importance to our

inquiry, because his name belongs undeniably to the
literature of English mysticism.
Let us begin there
ness.

fore

by

stating that he approached the subject as a

Medic ina Catholtca^ sett Mysticutn Artis Medicandi Sacrarium,

2 vols., Frankfort, 1629, 1631.
t

DC

Sophice

cum Moria

Certatniue, 1629.

J Histoire desjuifs, Livre

Ad. Franck

iii.

La Kabbale,

c.

10, toni.

p. 22.

ii.,

p. 786.

Some

Christian gtirtcnt* of the JBabalah

3?I

Christian who desired the conversion of the

Jews, who
regarded the Kabalah as a fitting instrument to effect
it,

and not

in

He

Pagans.

the case of the Jews

only, but even of
came, therefore, to its study and eluci

dation not as an occultist, not as a seeker for

an
absolute doctrine of religion, nor even for a
higher
sense of Christianity, but like Picus and
Postel and
Reuchlin, or like his
and editor
as

Rosenroth,
spirit

correspondent
with an

one

imbued

evangelical

The

introduction of

More

to the

Kabalah was

brought about, as it has been supposed, by means of

Isaac de Loria s Liber Drushim.
There is no reason
to believe that he undertook an
independent study
of the Zohar, and hence as his contributions
to the
subject are

Denudata,

all
it

prior to the appearance of the

follows that his

Kabbala
was
not
acquaintance

exhaustive, nor was

At

the

same

it

perhaps very good of

time, his study of the Liber

its

kind.

Drushim

called forth a well-reasoned letter from

his pen,
addressed to Rosenroth,f in which the
description of
the Sephiroth under the form of
spheres is condemned

as a fiction
to the

of the

denary

the writer

is

later

affirmed.

rabbis and their relation

The

critical

position of

however, conclusively established by

the attribution of the
Pythagorean denary to a
Kabalistic origin.
This letter was
is,

accompanied
by a number of questions and considerations in
development of the debated point and other difficulties,
*

And

desiring the Ecclesitp

cmolnmcntum,

as

the

same corre

spondence shows.
t Epistola adCompilatorem,
Apparatus in
secunda, p. 52, et sey. Kab. Den. t. i.

Librum Sokar, Par,

372

<&ht

Jlortrine anb HJiteratuu of the Jiabahih

which are duly printed by Rosenroth, to whom

space seemed no object, together with his Arnica

all

responsio,
in

which

support of

More

the authority of

cites

the circular form of the

with an

replied

accompanying

letter,

belief that he has

hit

the Jewish Bereshith.

and

which

upon
This

epistle

The

Rosenroth to intimate to

is

in

conclusion
"

his

Kabalah of

true

his readers

and an

announces

he

the

worded.

quaintly

Sephirotk.*

Ulterior Disquisitio
in

Zohar

the

how

English
entreats

beneficiall

preparing of the Jews to

may prove
the
receive Christianity,
difficultyes and obstacles
being cleared and removed by the right under
the

for

this

standing of their

There
discussion,

is

own

no

Cabbala."

need

which,

it

exceedingly tedious

follow

to

must

be

this

friendly

confessed,

becomes

in the Ulterior Disquisitio.

More,
however, contributed another thesis in exposition of
the Vision of Ezekiel, i.e., the Kabalistic work of the
Chariot, together with a Kabalistic catechism and a
refutation of the doctrine that the material world

is

not the product of creation ex nihilo, in which last

the Platonist seems to have scarcely understood the
Kabalah.

Of

all

these the most interesting

is

the Mercavcz

which contains nineteen postulates, fifty-two

questions arising out of the text of Ezekiel and the
replies thereto. It affirms, (a) That all souls, angelical

Expositio^

and human, with that of the Messiah included, were

created at the beginning of the world ;f (&) That the
material world in
*

In Caput

ii.,

t For this there

its

first

estate

was diaphanous, or

Consideratio tertia^ ibid., p. 91.

is Talmudic as well as Zoharic authority.

Some
lucid

(V)

Chrietian

That

tubent

of the gfobalah

373

had two chief elements, the

Spirit

it

of Nature and the vehicle of the

Holy Spirit (d)
That it was divided into four
parts, which are the
four worlds of the Kabalists
That all souls
;

were
were
Atziluth,
subject to
the other worlds
(/) That souls which
(e)

at

first

enclosed

revolution in

in

but

the Divine decree has sent into Asst

aA, but are free
from willing sin, are sustained
by Divine
virtue,

and

will assuredly return to Atziluth

(g)

That

in

Atziluth the souls and the

angels are absorbed wholly
in the Beatific
but
that in Briah
Vision,
they have
a tendency to external
That the soul of
things
(//)
the Messiah in Atziluth made such
progress in the
Divine Love that it became united with the
Eternal
Word in a Hyper-Atzilutic or
;

and was thus constituted

Hypostatic manner,
Chief of all souls and

King of the

four worlds, which took

place at the
beginning of the Briatic world, the special heritage
of the Messiah.
At this point the Christian Kabalist
introduces the compact of the cross and
dis

solves

all

connection

with

the

scheme of Jewish

theosophy.

The
references

Mercavce
to

Expositio

another

work

contains

of

More,

numerous
entitled

Cabbalistica* which preceded his corre

spondence with Roscnroth. It is a presentation of the

Conjectura

literal, philosophical and

mystical, or divinely moral
sense of the three initial
It
chapters of Genesis.
was received, so the author assures
us, neither from
*
"A
of interpreting the Mind of Moses
Conjectural
according to a threefold Cabbala, viz., Literal,
Philosophical, Mystical
or
Divinely Moral," London, 1662.
The attempt was dedicated to
I-

>

Cudworth.

374

^he

men

nor

Pcrrtrtne anb HJiteratnr* of the

angels,

and

as

fact

the

"

"

conjecture
has very little

illustrates the criticism of

Franck, for it
in common with any ancient or modern Kabalah ever
The literal section is a bald
received in Jewry.

paraphrase of the scriptural account of the creation

is
of man.
The
fall
Philosophic Cabala

and

"

"

established on the denary after the following fantastic

manner

The
The
The
The
The

Monad,
Archetypal World
First Matter = Duad, 2.
Habitable Order

Triad,

i.

3.

Making of the Starry Heavens = Tetrad, 4.

Making of Fish and Fowls, or Union of the

Passive and Active Principle = Pentad, 5.

The Making of Beasts and Cattle, but chiefly of

Man = Hexad,

6.

What becomes

first estate Adam was wholly ethereal,

was the ground which was blessed by

In his

appear.

and

of the rest of the denary does not

his

soul

brought forth every pleasant tree

and every goodly growth of the heavenly Father s
own planting. The Tree of Life in the garden of

God, whereby

man s

soul

it

was the

essential will of

Tree of Knowledge was the

will of

God, while the

man

himself.

We

have here the keynote of the allegory, which is merely

It may, how
pleasing and altogether unsubstantial.
be noted that the sleep which fell upon Adam
The
was a lassitude of Divine contemplation.
Moral Cabala
recognises two principles in man,
It
and
flesh.
gives apparently a
namely, spirit
of
of
the
work
synopsis
regeneration, depicting,
firstly, the spiritual chaos, when man is under the
ever,

"

"

Christian

dominion of the

of the

<Stubfnt*

flesh

375

dawning of the

the

next,

gabalah

heavenly principle, corresponding to the Fiat Lux,

hut the analogy in most instances seems at once weak

and laboured.

For example, the fruit-bearing trees

are good works, the manifestation of the sun is the
love of God and our neighbour, and so forth.
On
the whole,

it

may be concluded

with the Kabalah

is

that

More s connection

an interesting episode in the life

real
but it was without

an amiable scholar,
increment to either.

of

THOMAS VAUGHAN

XI.

With the questionings, difficulties and tentative

expositions of Henry More it will be useful to
contrast what is said on the subject of Kabalism
his

by

contemporary Eugenius

Thomas Vaughan.

wise

students

by

of

the

It

byways

other

Philalethcs,

will

of

not

be forgotten

literature

in

the

seventeenth century that the two writers came into

pamphlets. When Vaughan began his
philosophical labours by the publication of two
tracts on the nature of man and on the universal
collision

Spirit

in

of

Nature,

More, who

was

after

all

more

Platonist than mystic, and had scant tolerance for

mystic

terminology,

concerning them, to

published

some observations

which the Welsh mystic replied

The

with the polemical virulence of his period.

dispute itself deserves nothing less than oblivion,

but

Thomas Vaughan

satires

in

think,

has been regarded, and not,

with exaggeration, as the greatest mystic,

and alchemist, with one exception in

thcosopher

376

^he

Jloxtrine anb literature of the Jtabalah

the last respect,* produced by his century in England

and as he died nearly twenty-five years before the
appearance of the Kabbala Denudata, the source and
;

extent of his Kabalistic knowledge will help us to

fix the state of scholarship in England
on the
before

subject

Platonists.

Cambridge

himself

confesses

formation

the

Vaughan,
disciple

of

the

group

in his early

of Agrippa,

of

works,

and

the

"Three
Books of Occult Philosophy"! represent
the general measure of his knowledge concerning the
esoteric tradition of the Jews, while the opinion
which he had formed thereon must be referred to

the

"

Retractation

work

on

"

of

his

master, that

admirable

Vanity of the Sciences and the

excellence of the Word of God."
I
must not say
the

"

that he shows no independent reading

he quotes
on one occasion a passage in the Porta Lucis\ which
is not to be found in
Agrippa, and there are one
;

or

two other

instances,

but for the most part he

represent his model and his first

my readers accept this judgment, they
must interpret his own statement that he spent some

is

content

to

If

inspirer.

The

exception is Eirenseus Philalethes, that truly "Unknown

with whom Eugenius has been so often identified, and

Philosopher,"

from whom of late years so often and carefully distinguished by myself

and other writers, that it is unnecessary in this connection to say any
thing concerning him, except that his numerous works have no points of
contact, at least explicitly, with Kabalism.

t Translated

Vaughan

first

into

English one

year after

the

appearance of

treatises.

% Concerning the restraint of the superior influences occasioned

by the sin of Adam.
Of which some are sufficiently erroneous, as, for example, in
Magia Adamica, when he states that Malkuth is the invisible,
I speak under correction, but I know of no
archetypal moon.
authority for the Lunar attribution of the tenth Sephira.

ome (Christian

<Stul)ent0

of tht $ab.ilah

377

years in the search and contemplation of the Kabalah

reflectively and not bibliographically, which further
assist them to see how the
Thomas Vaughan can offer

will

of

peculiar mysticism
distinct

of

points

Zohar without that text-book of

contact with the

Kabalism, then wholly untranslated, having been read

by the mystic.
find

In his discourse on the antiquity of magic we

him alive, like the students who had preceded

him, to the distinction between the true and the false

The

Kabalah.

latter,

manner of his period,

and wandering rabbis
than their

distraction

described after the picturesque

as the invention of dispersed
"

whose brains had more of

consists

fortunes,"

alphabetical knacks, ends always

where it begins and the vanities of

"

in

and physical
tells

it

are

grown

He

which

in

"

in

us that he embraces

sacred truths.*
tradition

altogether
the letter

more ancient
respect of the
traditions of the Kabalah," Thomas
But

voluminous."

Vaughan

in

them

for so

many

recognises also a metaphysical

the

greatest

mystery

is

the

Here we find two

symbolism of Jacob s Ladder.
extremes Jacob is one, at the foot of the ladder, and
God is the other, who stands above it, ewittens fornias
"

et inflitxus

in

Jacob,

sive

subjectum hominew.

The

rounds or steps in the ladder signify the middle

With
nature, by which Jacob is united to God."f

symbolism he contrasts the false grammatical

which
consists only in rotations of the
Kabala
alphabet and a metathesis of letters in the text, by
"

this

"

"

Magical Writings of Thomas

Waite, London, 1888, pp. 109, no.
"

t Ibid.,

p.

HI.

Vaughan,"

edited by A.

E.

^he

37 8

iportrine anb iEit^ratnre of the

which means the scripture hath suffered many racks

and excoriations." The true Kabalah only uses the
letters for

that

artifice,

is,

with a view to conceal

Of the

ment.*

physical side of the genuine tradition

unfinished presentation in alchemical

he gives an
language, which

is,

however, transfigured, for

Vaughan regarded alchemy

Thomas

and physical

as a spiritual

operations in the infinite as well

as in the mineral kingdom. For him the Sephiroth are

having

science,

its

ten secret principles, of which the

in

suo fontano, while

retrecesso

Voice of that

Spirit, the third

is

first

is

second

the

a spirit
is the

another Spirit which

proceeds from the Spirit and the Voice, and the

fourth is
a certain water
proceeding from the
"

"

and emanating Fire and Air.

It will be
of the Welsh mystic on
the apparatus of Kabalism are not elucidating, and
third Spirit,

seen

that

the reflections

while recording the Sephirotic attributions of the

Sepher Yetzirah are not fully in consonance there
with.

We
that

be inclined, on the whole, to confess

Vaughan s connection with the Kabalistic

writers

shall

is

like his

communications with the brethren

of the Rosicrucian Order.

latter

"

as to

preface to a

their

certain

He knew

persons,"

rare

nothing of the

so he tells

translation

us

of the

in

his

Fama

and Confessio of the Fraternity, and it was merely

by report and consideration on things heard at second

hand that he was aware of the mysticism in Jewry.

As time went on and he outgrew the simple leadingstrings of Cornelius Agrippa, so he strayed

Ibid.

Ibid.,

io.

further

Christian

from Kabalistic

JUbaUh

and though he never

interests,

the fascination betrayed

far

of the

<Stubtnt0

in his earlier

379
lost

works, he passed

the fields of spiritual alchemy, where no

away over

When he published
jEsh Mezareph could help him.
of
the
Waters
or the
East," in
1655, he
"Euphrates,
shows no longer any trace of the tradition in Israel.
In Lumen de Lumim\ which appeared some four years
however, a few references to the
constitutes an adumbration
subject, and one indeed
as impressed on the curious
Kabalah
of the Christian

earlier, there

are,

which

it is

The

pretext by
a speculation concerning the
or informing spirit of the earth, which is

mind of the transcendental

introduced

"

Fire-Soul,"

royalist.

is

described as an influence from the Almighty derived

the mediation of the terra viventium. The

through

is said to be
mediating being thus darkly described,
the Kabalists
the Second Person, and that which
"

the

style

East"

Supernatural

symbolism Vaughan adds

"

As

To

explain this
the Natural Light of

manifested to us in the East, so the

in the second
Supernatural Light was first manifested
the Beginning
person, for he \sPrincipium alterations,
of
manifestation
first
the
or
of
of the
God,

the sun

is

first

ways

his

Father

From

this

comes

all

of

this

amma

Light in the Supernatural generation.

Terra Vii cntinm or Land of the Living
The Kabalistic warrant
Life or
s

Spirit."*

notion

nova

is

filia

the

Orientis.^

Chokmah, which
ments, and Chokmah

is

and

axiom

is
is

Omnis am ma bona

The East

contrary to
the

Lumen De Lemine, London,

Vaughan

in

question

Kabalistic state

Son of God.

This also

is

1651, pp. 80-82.

also cites the obscure eighth conclusion of Mirandola,
Ibid., p. 83.
is Binah, the Holy Ghost.
says that the third light

llu

380

iortrine

anfc $iterattt

x>f

t!u

$abalah

opposed to the Sephirotic attributions with which we

are familiar, but there
listic

is some trace in
early
writers of an attribution of the
Three

Kaba-

Supernals

to Father, Son,
Bride, with which the later rabbins
are said to have
tampered so as to elude its Christian
inferences.
In either case
Vaughan is interesting as
a strange light of Christian
mysticism and not as an
expositor of the Kabalah.

XII.

KNORR VON ROSENROTH.

From

the occult standpoint it

is, perhaps, more
interesting to ascertain the motives which led the
editor of the Kabbala Denudata to the
consideration
of Jewish
theosophy than those of any other student
of the subject.
To Christian Knorr von

Rosenroth

the occultist owes

nearly all his knowledge of the
for
the
Zohar,
bibliographical writers who

preceded

him give only meagre notices of the

Kabalfstic
wagnum opus, and it is not even mentioned by
Mirandola, Agrippa, or Postal.
Now Rosenroth
occupies a somewhat curious position which occultists
for the most
part have failed to remark, because
they know very little about their chief illuminator in
the mysticism of Israel.
I
to show that

he

propose

was actuated by the same

missionary enthusiasm
which characterised all the Christian
neophytes

preceded him,* but

*

shall begin

who

by enumerating one

It was indeed, both before and

after, the conventional raison
detre of almost
every work on the subject.
See, for example, Beyers
Cabbahsmus Judaico - Christianas Delectus
Breviterqve Delineates
Wittemberg, 1707.

omt Christian

<Stul)ent0

of the

$abnlah

381

two points which indicate that he had occult

Born in the year 1636, a German noble
connections.
of baron, he appears on the scene
title
the
bearing
or

public curiosity had died

the Rosicrucian mystery.

of history shortly after

out on the subject of

Johann Valentin Andreae

^Egidius Guthmann, three persons to whom
have attributed the invention of
theories

Joachim

Junge,

and
rival

that

Robert Fludd, the English

apologist of the Fraternity, was on the threshold
Thomas
of death, but had not yet passed away
mystery,* were

still

alive

Vaughan was

a schoolboy

Eirenaeus Philalethes had

just written his Introitus Apertus to show the adepts

of alchemy that he was their brother and their peer ;f

Sendivogius had

and was

living

frontiers

of

exhausted
in

his

seclusion,

Silesia

John

;J

projecting

powder

an aged man, on the

Baptist van Helmont,

who

long before had testified that he had seen and

touched the philosopher s stone of a colour like
saffron

in

and

but

heavy
had christened

powder,

shining

his son

like

Mercurius

pounded
and Mercurius van Helmont, the contemporary and
glass

of Rosenroth, divided his laborious existence

friend

between a

tireless

search after the secret of trans

and

metals

the

of

the

Kabalah,
Rosenroth, Kabalist like Helmont, was, like Helmont,

muting

study

probably a chemist, and on the crowded title-page

*

"

Real History of the

especially pp. 220

Rosicrucians,"

by A. E. Waite,

t See Prafatio Authoris, which appears

in

all

Introitus aptrtus ad Occlusum Regis Palatium.

* A. K. Waite:
of Alchctnjslicall
"Lives

London, 1888,

p.

c. viii.,

222.

179.

In his treatise

De

Vita Eterna.

editions of

the

Philosophers,"

382

lite Ilortrin* aub literature of the Jhtbaiah

we

of his great work,

omnibus

The

described as Scriptum

it

philosophis,

philologis,

philochymicis

atque

religionum,

find

Theologis

quam

omnium

utilissimum.

communes CabbaCompendium Libri CabbalisticoChymici, sEsch Mezareph dicti, de Lapide Philosophico.

I have had occasion in the sixth book to
give some
is

justification

include

listici

that the Loci

account of this curious

We

treatise.

have reason therefore to suppose that Rosen-

roth was infected

with the alchemical zeal of his

friend, the second generation of an alchemical family.

may suspect, however, that he was more mystic

We

than Hermetist; we are told that he loved meditating

on the Holy Scriptures and that he knew them by

Like

heart.

countryman Khunrath, he was a

his

Lutheran, and Eliphas Levi would have said of him,

as of the author of the Amphitheatrum,
herein he
"

was a German of
citizen

of

the

his period

eternal

kingdom."*

religion his peculiar bent

that he wrote an

about which

More

rather than

is

In

a mystic
matters of

determined by the

fact

Explanation of the Apocalypse,"

forbear from wearying my readers.

"

will

a dialogue on evangelical
history, in which a Kabalistic catechumen proposes
questions on the four Gospels and a Christian replies.

With

to our purpose

this

also

is

we may connect

a treatise entitled

Messias jPurus, in which the life of Jesus Christ,

from his conception to his baptism, is explained
In a
according to the doctrines of the Kabalah.
word, the motto of his correspondent Henry More
was that also of Rosenroth
May the glory of our
"

Histoire de la Magie, Introduction, p. 33.

Paris, 1860.

Christian ^tubenta of the Jlabalah

<ome

God and

his

Christ be the end of

all

383

our writings

!"

In conformity with this he begins his enumeration of

the reasons which justify the appearance of a Latin

version of the Zohar* by affirming that at a period
when the divisions of Christendom are traceable to
diversity of philosophical opinions

and metaphysical

must be important to investigate a

philosophical system which flourished during the age
of Christ and his apostles, and from which fountain

definitions

it

the sacred oracles have themselves drawn largely.

the preface to the translation of the Zohar

In

he

expressly founds his opinion that Kabalistic dogmas

may be of Divine revelation on the ground of their

and sublimity, as well as

explaining the books of the

sanctity
in

Testaments.

He

also

Jewish writings, the

later

notes

use

their

great

Old

and

New

unlike

the

that,

Zohar does not contain

utterance

single

enumerating

against Christ.
Finally, after
twenty -four reasons why the Jews

enjoy toleration at Christian hands, he

mentions the chief things which will assist their

should

conversion.

They

course the ordinary

include of

common

places of piety and the ordinary devices of

proselytism, but there is stress laid upon the pro

motion of the study of Hebrew and Chaldaic, and

New Testament into those

on the translation of the

languages.!
*

The

disquisition

is

Apparatus in I.ibntm Sohar, Pars

Den., Tom.

conventional enough,
St

iunJa,

p.

3 et scq.,

Kn!>.

i.

t With thi* description the reader may compare a little

which belongs to the Kabbala Denndala, though unfortunately it is
AAtmlrati* Kabbala
i.e.,
met with very rarely in extant en pic
t

ad dogmata
ad convtrsionem Judtcorun

Christiana-, id cst Syncatabasis Hebraizans, size Explicit

i

Foedfris, pro

formanda

hypothesis,

384

^he

but

it

Jtoctrine sub Jpteratitre at the giabalah

important, because

is

it

indicates, firstly, the

project which was ever near to the heart of Rosenroth, and, secondly, how little he dreamed either of
an esoteric Christianity or of a withdrawn WisdomReligion, how little he looked to find in Kabalistic
doctrine a deeper sense of Christian doctrines, or

indeed anything but their consecration

in

the eyes of

Jewry, by demonstrating that they were to be found

in the Zohar.
He did not wish the Christian to

become a
Kabalistic

Kabalist, but he longed very

Jew to become a Lutheran.

have endured great

sacrifices,

much

He

is

for the

said to

outside the vast labour

involved, over the publication of the Kabbala Denudata,

but there is no need to add that it
entirely missed its
aim it has enabled a few students to get a confused
;

notion of the Zohar, and

immense
that

it

Christ,

it

service to occultists:

ever brought a single

and as Rosenroth

at the close of his

life

has in this
it is

Jew

way done

outside probability
into the Church of

failed in his public aim, so

he had the misfortune to see

daughter depart from the reformed religion and

embrace, under the influence of her husband, the faith
his

of the Catholic Church.

Taken altogether the story

of Christian Rosenroth has a touch of heroism and

tragedy, and with all its faults his gift to scholarship

is one of
permanent value, and it is, I think, a useful
task to indicate the circumstances under which

gave

it

he

and the motives by which he was prompted.*

It is an addendum to the second

proficient!s.
volume, separately paged,
and is in the form of a dialogue between a Kabalist and a Christian

It has been translated

philosopher.
quite recently into French.
At a later date the same motives inspired two small treatises

which are interesting in their way, and are worth

mentioning for the
benefit of students who may wish to
pursue the subject.
( i )
Phosphorus

Christian ^tubtnts of the gabalah

385

should add that over the

antiquity of Kabalistic
doctrine and literature he was
by no means credulous
I

for his

period, seeming indeed to admit that there

have been an admixture of late material with

may

the ancient fragments of the Zohar.

He evidently
regarded the Book of Concealment as the oldest and

most important of its treatises, and this is the

only
one which he was inclined to ascribe to the
direct
Orthodox* Fidei Veterum Cabbalistarum,
Sancta Trinitate et Afessia Deo ct

Tcstimonia dc Sacro-

sett

Homine, ex pervetuslo Libra Sohar

deprompia, qua mine primum Latin,! reddita, suisque et A\

fohannis
hempen Judao-Christiatti animadversionibus concimu
1

c.vfilicata,

iHfue ac Christianis speciminis loco edidit

Jmlris

Andreas Norrtlius

i/iti item commentaries Kemperianos si/is illustravit

notis.
Amstehdami, 1720. The prolegomena are concerned with the
praise
of R. Simeon ben Jochai,
showing the authority of the Zohar, and its
superiority to the Talmud on the ground that it, author flow
before Judah the Prince.
The Talmud is quoted (p. 10), to
that R. Simeon studied the Kabalah in the
cave, and that he and his
-son wrote the Zohar
therein, or that part of it which is in the

Stilus,

Jerusalem

The Hebrew

dialect.

portions are referred to other authorships (p. 16).

The translated matter is chiefly from the
Faithful Shepherd," and
follows the Mantua edition of the Zohar.
(2) Lux in Tcnebris, tj uam
"

Zohar Antiijuumjudieonini
Monumentiini, genii

sine occoccat.e
pncbet,

in dcnissimis return dirinarnm

tcncbris, ad mystcrhtm SS.
eo facilius
appnehcndtndum, ct Majcstatcm Christ i

Trinitatis

Dh inam

pertinaciter

more

oppupiandam,

lion fadandum

or date, but about the

first

same period as the

place
In the

treatise of Norrelius).

two chapters there

Trinity

is an
attempt to prove that th
concealed in Leviticus xvi. 18, and Deut. vi.

is

chapter investigates Gen.

the

non

Honorem Spiritus Sancti Keccntiorum

Studio M. Nicolai Liithcns (witlh.ut
ct

interest.

xix.,

2^De Domino ,/td

the

The third
a Domino pluit, in
5.

The

fourth chapter treats of the Lord C.-d .-f

35 and the fifth of the Lord God,
The .sixth
xlviii., if,.
chapter seeks to prove that the three supernal Scphircth v.
and characters under which the
,j s hcd
pre-Christian
tlie
Three Persons of the One Divin
with
>ame

il>.

(3)

Cmnpare

Diatribe Pkitobgic* dt K. Simcom- I- Hit

Jochai auctorc Libri Sa/i..qua VtH ccleberrimi Christ inn i Schc-cllgenii Disscrtatio docfns

Simconum
examinatur

/-

ilium Jochai Jteligiomon fui^c

et

contrarium pot, tis r:inciiur,

Glwenero, Hildtsi*, 1736.

BB

Christianum

modiste

am tore Justo Martina

pamphlet of twenty- two pages.

the

386

Hpcctrtne aub JJiterahtre of the giabalah

authorship of R. Simeon ben Jochai. Of the rest,

some may have been the work of R. Abba and some
of the school which succeeded these masters.

RALPH CUDWORTH

XIII.

The honoured name

of Ralph Cudworth, perhaps

the greatest theosophist of his age, is still a precious
memory in English theological literature of the higher
type, though, except
Intellectual

among

System of the

rare students, the

Universe" is

"

True

now unknown.

a mine of Platonism, learning and sapience,

and more than this, it is a deeply reasoned treatise
It

is

of

its

period

opposition to the atheism of that

points are established victoriously, and

period in
its

turning over the leaves of the colossal folio one

almost regrets that the difficulties of the seventeenth

century disturb us no longer and that their solution

no longer helps us. It must be confessed that

Cudworth

connects

somewhat

superficially

Kabalism, and the connection, such

as

with

need not

it is,

The chief thesis of the Intellectual

detain us long.
is
that behind all the
tapestries and
System
"

"

pagan mythology there is the

doctrine of monotheism, and that civilised man in
reality has never worshipped but one God, whose
embroideries

of

threefold nature

was a

successively depraved

"

Divine

and adulterated

Cudworth
disappears
unities" of Proclus and the
for

of the

or revelation,

Cabbala"

among

it

till

the

almost

"

particular

later Platonists.*

Among

For the purposes of this notice I have used the original edition
Intellectual System of the Universe," London, 1668.

"True

gome Chri0tn

gtubents of the $abalah

387

the cloud of witnesses who are convened

in support
of this view are included the later
Rabbinical writers,
the Halacoth of
the Gnolath

Tamid

Maimonides,

of Moses

Albelda,

Ikkanm

the

the commentaries of R.

Nitsaclwn
references
that

this

and

the

David

of Joseph Albo,
Kimchi, the book

of Rabbi
Solomon,
which
at
least serve to show
citings
Christian divine
had attempted some
glosses

and

curious

in
the
exploration
unknown world
Hebrew literature.
His conclusion was "that
Hebrew Doctors and Rabbins have been

of
the

generally of
Nations
Pagan
anciently, at
least the intelligent
amongst them, acknowledged
One Supreme God of the whole world, and that all
this persuasion, that the

Gods were but Creatures and Inferior

which
were worshipped by them
Ministers,
upon these
two accounts, either as thinking that the honour done
to them redounded to the
Supreme, or else that they
might be their Mediators and Intercessors, Orators
and Negotiators with Him, which inferior Gods of
their other

the Pagans were

supposed by these Hebrews to be
chiefly of two kinds, Angels and Stars or Spheres,
the latter of which the
Jews as well as

Pagans

concluded to be animated and

question
fantastic,

at

the

but

it

present

has

day

its

Hebrew mind

for

it

serves

or
to

which exists between

at the period of

that far distant epoch

The

chiefly archaic

interest,

illustrate the strange contrast

the

is

intellectual."

Maimonides and

at

when

the song of the Psalmist

described the idols of the Gentiles as
silver and
"

gold, the

work of the hands of

In addition to the

the

Universe"

men."

"True Intellectual
System of
Cudworth published some sermons and

388

ot the
J)0rtrtne anii literature

^he

a discourse on

the

Notion

"True

the

of-

Lord

Latin

into

afterwards translated
by
Mosheim, with a confutation representing the consubstantial doctrine of Lutheran theology ,f and yet
Supper,"*

"Discourse

thesis

the

is

Edward Felling
The drift
Sacrament."

upon

again enlarged

on the

by

his

in

of the

summary of
represented sufficiently by
of the Jews
custom
That it was a
chapter
the

"

first

and Heathens to feast upon things sacrificed, and

that the custom of the Christians in partaking of the
of Christ once sacrificed upon the

Body and Blood

Cross, in the
is

outside

Lord

my

Supper,

but as a Christian Mystic

alism

is

analogous

It

thereto."

this view,

province to

pronounce upon
holds that sacrament-

who

the law of Nature and the law of Grace,

is

it

no theory
passing
may just be remarked
which reduces the Eucharist to a memorial or a
that

in

banquet can be mystically acceptable.

Cudworth was by no means a mystic, and the most
that his subject afforded was an opportunity to give
further evidence of his unusual erudition, and it may
religious

be added of no inconsiderable

The

ment.

thesis

is

skill

in

its

manage

mentioned here because

it

has

recourse so frequently to the Rabbinical writers, to

the glosses of Nachmanides, the writings of Isaac

Abravanel, the

Mishna, the

commentary on

that

work by Rabbi Obadiah, the scholiasts on Judges,

The
rare MSS. of Karaite Jews and so forth.
because
it
was
but
Zoharic writings are not quoted,
on the matter in
they contained nothing bearing
doubt
no
occasion
had
hand
Ralph Cudworth
arisen,
;

London, 1676.

t This translation appeared in 1733.

Christian ^tubcute of the JUtmlah

<0me

would have given evidence of equal

389

familiarity with

that cycle of Kabalistic literature.

THOMAS BURNET

XIV.

With the Cambridge school of Platonists the

name of Thomas Burnet, some time master of the
Charterhouse, connects

rather than

by association

the similarity of intellectual pursuits.

He entered
Christ s College in 1654, when Ralph Cudworth was
master, while

Henry More was

just in his fortieth

It was probably to the last-named divine that

he owed his slight knowledge of the subject which
entitles him to mention in this place.
The amicable

year.

between More and the editor of the

Kabbala Denudata appeared, as we have seen, in
that work in the year 1677, but the
"Interpretation
discussion

of the

mind of

had preceded

Moses"

When

of

it

by a number

Burnet

years.
published his Telluris
Theoria Sacra, he gave no evidence of his interest
in
Platonic or Kabalistic subjects; it has been

described

by

romance.

It

the

Brewster
is,

as

beautiful

of course, concerned

geological

largely with

Mosaic

scheme of creation, and the more

important work which followed it, dealing as it does

with the ancient doctrine concerning the

origin of
is
its
extension
or
In this
things,
really
sequel.*
interesting volume, written elegantly in Latin of the
period, tout

un grand

of Dr. Papus describes

chapitre, as the
it, is

bibliography

devoted to the Kabalah.

Archieologia: Philosophic^ sive Doctrina Antiqua de

Originibus, Libri duo, tditio sccunda (the best), London 1728.

Rerum

390 ^Eh* Itortrine anb gDibraturt of the Jiabalah

As

already hinted, it bears no evidence of original

research, or indeed of any first-hand knowledge, but
it is justifiable by our purpose to ascertain how a

which

literature

altogether

fascinated,

the

convince,

though

did

it

Cambridge

not

Platonists,

impressed the liberal mind of a bold and not

unlearned thinker belonging to the next generation.
We find, as might be anticipated, that Burnet raises

no question

as to the

he understood what

have

understood

wisdom of Moses, by which

all

also,

other

Kabalistic

students

of

knowledge

natural

mysteries derived from the Egyptian education of

the Jewish lawgiver.
He differs, however, from the

by questioning seriously how much of

wisdom came down to the Israelites. Assuming
some tradition of the kind, there could be no doubt
that it was depraved in the lapse of time.*
In
Kabalists

this

as we now possess it,

of
figments
imagination and in nugatory
methods.
From this statement of the general
position, which may be regarded as the common
particular,

abounds

ground of
detailed

the

Kabalah,

in

all

criticism,

he

examination, with

proceeds
the

which no sympathetic inquirer

can

reasonably

quarrel.

The

to

specific

at

more

results

of

the present day

character

debased

of the Jewish tradition

is indeed, as already seen,

admitted by those who most earnestly maintain its

mystical and theosophical importance.

If

which

we

attempt, says Burnet, to separate anything

may remain uncorrupted in the Kabalah, to

divide the genuine from the spurious,

*

Fcedissime

lieet

b Neotericis corrupta

et

we must
adulterata.

first

of

omc Christian

tubcnto of the |labalah

391

purge away that numerical, literal, grammatical

part which seeks to extract arcane meanings from the

all

Names and

alphabet, the Divine

the Scriptures.

must

also be

mind, and

The magical and

this,

superstitious element

We

purged away.

must further bear

in

most sensible and

the

is

think,

the word-book of

necessary of all the secondary points raised in the

criticism, that the enunciation of common notions in

uncommon language cannot be accepted as the true

Kabalah. The warning which it implies is not less
needed at the present moment than in the days
of Thomas Burnet.
The delight in unintelligible
language because
of

some

as

of

occult

it is

unintelligible

writers

the

at

gloom -wrapped

as characteristic

day, even
according to the

present

Hades

Ritual of the Dead, and

is

a tendency which has

an inscrutable foundation in the entire subject.
It
it

is

would seem indeed that the sphinx who propounds

the arcana in terms as monstrous as herself needs
only a commonplace to overwhelm

her, as

in

the

case of CEdipus.
In accordance with his intention Burnet proceeds
to divide the Kabalah into the Nominal and Real.

The

first is

that which he has specified as worthless

Gematria, Tcinurali, Notaricon, Vocabula. Its devices,

he says, are the diversions of our children, and in
truth

would

it

seem

intellectual superiority

hard

to

whether

decide

and philosophical seriousness

should be ascribed to rabbinical anagrams or to the

apparatus of "Tit: Tat: To." In any case, they
"

do not

belong to

sane

literature,

much

less

to

wisdom."

So

far

we can accept very

readily the

judgment

39 2

^QThe

jpocitme

zinfc

fCitentture

the

x>f

of Burnet, but destructive criticism

is

always

com

paratively easy, and there was no novelty in the line

taken even so far back as the second half of the

seventeenth century. When he comes, however, to

consider what he has agreed to regard as the real

Kabalah, his insufficiency

is

quite evident, and his

drawn only from the Kabbala

not arrest his judgment, leads
when
it
does
Denudata,
him into manifest error. Thus, he tells us that the
slender knowledge,

Kabalah contains two things which are important

our consideration, the doctrine of the SephirotJi
and that of the Four Worlds, but he complains that the
real
for

conception which underlies the former does not appear

With the help of the Lexicon of Rosenroth
clearly.

he decides

He

finally that

they are emanations from God.*

what he can glean from that source con

cerning Kcther and Chokmah, and then surrenders the
inquiry in the hope of finding more intelligible state
sets forth

He

ments concerning the Four Worlds.f

however, that the condemnation of

all

concludes,

the pseudo-

mystics of Kabalism, Theosophy and Hermetics is

who continued to love the dark

that of the unbelievers

ness rather than the light

when

already into the world. +

He

the light was come

assumes, as might be
of Occupation is the most

expected, that the Book

important part of the Zohar, and glancing at the
"

"

*
Elsewhere, he attempts to consider
connection with the axiom ex nihilo nihilfit.

He

their

significance

in

mentions in addition to the Sephiroth and the Four Worlds,

Paths of Wisdom, from the Sepher Yetzirah and its

the thirty-two

through which Moses

commentary, and the Fifty Gates of Providence
his marvellous science, and concealed the same in the
"

attained

Pentateuch," i.e.,

% John,

iii.

according to the Kabalists.

19-21.

(Dirisliau

<Slubcnt0

of the

gUbalah

393

commentaries of Isaac de Loria and of Hirtz on the

and

developments, confesses his

inability to understand either from text or interpreters
tract in question

what

is

its

meant by the symbolism of the Vast and the

We are all of us liable some

Lesser Countenance.

"

time or other to be distracted by reasoning, but

common

complaint of the

be distracted by

To sum

it is

mind among Orientals

a
to

allegories."

the general position

We

know from

Maimonidcs that the Hebrews once possessed many

mysteries concerning things divine, but that they
is
have perished.*
It
at the same time scarcely
all
should be wanting to
foundation
that
possible
its doctrines were openly and
hard to say whether they would
move us to laughter or astonishment.
Thomas Burnet has higher claims to considera

the Kabalah, yet

if

clearly set forth,

is

it

tion than his ability

as a critic of

Kabalism.

He

had perhaps few qualifications from which he might

be expected to understand or sympathise with the
He was one
aspirations embraced by theosophy.
of the rare
is

said

to

precursors of liberal

theology, and he

have closed the path of his promotion

by venturing to express the opinion that the story

of the Garden of Eden should not be understood
Faith and
In a later treatise on the
literally.
"

Duties of

Christians,"!

he

is

also stated

to

have

excluded so much that seemed to him doubtful or

unimportant in accepted doctrine that it is ques

A
tionable whether even Christianity remained.

posthumous work on
*

"The

De

eschatology and

Guide of the Perplexed.

Fide

et officiis

Christ ianorum.

Part

i.,

c.

the
71.

resur-

394

^he

Jtortrine zwb Jpttrature of the

Jbbalah

rection* maintained that the punishment of the

wicked would terminate ultimately in their salvation.
I should add that some pretended English versions
of the Archaeological Philosophy do not represent
the original, and in particular omit altogether the
Kabalistic section.

SAINT-MARTIN

XV.
The

life

and doctrine of Louis Claude de Saint-

Unknown

Philosopher, who at the end

of the eighteenth century and amidst the torch lights
of the Revolution diffused in France the higher

Martin, the

spirit

of mysticism,
I

special study,f
briefly,

at

having been the subject of a

refer to

shall

him here only very

for his Kabalistic connections are

some length

He was

therein.

discussed

the recipient of an

tradition through Martines de Pasqually,

the genesis of which remains undetermined, though it
was termed Rosicrucian by his initiator, and is now
esoteric

termed Swedenborgian by his present interpreters in

France.
It is a tradition which differs very consider
ably from other presentations of occult doctrine, and
in particular it has little in common with what we

know

or

concerning Rosicrucian teaching.

In the writings of Pasqually, with which we are

may

infer

acquainted only through some excerpts published by

one of Saint-Martin s biographers and in the cate;

De

Statu Mortuorum

t See A. E. Waite

et
"

Resurgentium.
Life of Louis Claude de Saint-

The

Martin, the Unknown Philosopher, and the Substance of his Tran

scendental Doctrine," London, Philip Wellby, 1901.

J It is right to say that Kenneth Mackenzie, in his

Cyclopaedia
of Freemasonry/ attributes to him three published works which, so far
"

on\t

Christian Stubenta of the Jiabnlah

Masonic Rite

chisms of the

which are also most probably

propagated

395

by him,

his work, the tradition

It was much
presented in a very crude manner.
developed by Saint-Martin, who indeed brought to it
a gift of genius which was wanting in his instructor.
is

Saint- Martin

Now,

was a man who cared very

and does not scruple

doctrines, at

least

little,

to say so, for purely traditional

as

traditional,

nor did he show

much

deference towards doctors of authority therein.

considered books at best a makeshift method of

He

he preferred
though he wrote many
learning at first hand from God, Man and the
Universe.
Till he came under the influence of Jacob
Bohme he neither quoted nor possessed authorities,"
instruction,

"

He

with the exception of the Scriptures.

drew, of

course, from the source of his initiation, but he never

mentions

it

in

clear

correspondence

any
and

his

posthumously.

There

is

manner, except in his

life-notes, both published

nothing to indicate that he

had ever read Kabalistic

literature

presumption that he did

not.

there

Some

is

every

of his lesser

doctrines possess a Kabalistic complexion.

There is
that in particular concerning the Great Name which
I

have developed at some length in the study to

I
have referred, but it has lost all touch with

which

Kabalism

in the

hands of Saint-Martin.

So

also he

has a complex system of mystic numbers which

suggests the Rabbinical Notaricon, but it is entirely
of

out

as I

am

them

line

with

all

other

numerical

mysticism,

aware, are unknown, and I must add that personally I regard

It may be noted further that while this volume was

as mythical.

passing through the press the fragmentary treatise referred to in the

text has been published in Paris.

39 6

^He

itortrin* aitb IpUratttte at the

and makes the question of

attractive

problems

that Pasqually,

its

origin

one of the most

in later occult history.

whom

conclude

take to have been a sincere

and perhaps even a saintly man, as his Masonic

school was almost a seminary of sanctity, derived
from a source which retained some filtrations
of Kabalism, and that they were brought over by
Saint-Martin without any historical associations what

He

ever.*

has therefore

little

title

to be included

the defenders and expounders of Kabalistic

doctrine, which would have come as a surprise to

among

himself.

This

writers

at this

French occult

done, however, by

is

day,j*

who seem anxious

to

anyone, from Shakespeare to the author of

natural

one among the

modern

know

and

Religion,"

rest

regret that

who from

of Martinism

rite

differently

and the

his

annex

"

Super
must add by

position in the

has the
gifts

opportunity to
which make use of

opportunity.

XVI.

ELIPHAS LEVI

Between the period of Saint Martin and that of

Alphonse Louis Constant, the subject of the present
notice, the French literature of Kabalism may be

more

correctly said to have been initiated rather than

That man is superior to the angels, and may even instruct them,
think, the most convincing instance in Saint-Martin of such a
filtration.
This notion is found in the Zohar, and in some of its com
is,

mentators.

Le

t More especially in the case of the so-called facetious allegory

Crocodile, in which it may be safely said that there is not a single

trace of Kabalism.

tnbcuts of the gabalah

(Christian

397

new impetus by

to have received a

the publication of
Adolphe Franck, to whose views on the subject of

post-Christian religious philosophy

among

the Jews,

have already made frequent reference.* I have

also indicated that much of its value remains unim
I

the lapse of

after

paired

indeed

modern

criticism

nearly sixty years, and

has in certain definite

respects inclined to return to his standpoint, as

regards not only the antiquity of Zoharic tradition
but of much of the body of the Zohar.
Franck s

work

has,

known

to

Kabalistic
strictures

of course,

its

scholars

that

books
in

were

Germany

his

excerpts

early

subjected

but for

and

limitations,

an

is

well

from

the

it

to

severe

accomplished

and luminous review of the whole subject

nothing of
later date

can be said to have superseded

it.

Its

analyses of the Sepher Yetzirah and of the Zohar,

together with its delineations of the correspondences

between the philosophical school of Kabalism and the

schools of Plato, of Alexandria, of Philo, created

French knowledge on the subject, and together with

the researches of Munk, published some few
years
subsequently, have been practically the only source
of that knowledge down to recent times, with the
exception of such light as may be held to have been
diffused

by the writings of Kliphas Levi. As regards

motives Franck and Levi are
located at opposite poles.
The first was an academic
writer having no occult interests
the second claimed
both methods and

not

only

initiation

n -sources

ordinary
.\

but
of

adeptship,

scholarship

not

only the
on a

focussed

ahhale on la / /n losoph.f
Rcligieuse des Htbrfu.\.

Franck, Paris, 1843.

Par.

A<1.

^he

398

Jlortrme zmb Jftteratute ot the Jiabalah

and historical problem, but all the advantages

which could be derived from the exclusive possession
of its master key.
literary

the

Among

lesser

of

difficulties

Kabalistic

the proper allocation of Alphonse Louis

Constant in the throng of students and expositors

criticism

is

in

not without

its

Whether

gravity.

in

France or

England few have approached the subject with

the

of

direction

sympathies

in

philosophy

who do not owe

LeVi.

of

occult

their

and

science

introduction

of

to

the period

course,
Eliphas
speak,
subsequent to 1850,* and I may add that few persons
thus initiated have done anything but read the inter

pretations of their

of

first

leader into the obscure

dogma which comprises

body

the esoteric tradition of

Although the elegant treatise of Franck had, as we have seen,

preceded Levi s interpretatations by several years, appearing in 1843.
So far as I can recollect the professed adept never referred to the
Prior
sympathetic criticism and defence of the more academic writer.
to 1843 the most extraordinary ignorance must have prevailed upon the
subject in France, since it was possible for a distinguished philosopher to
When Christian philosophy made its appearance in
write as follows
"

the world

it

crushed Paganism and Theurgy, and in the second century

humanity was made subject

to a severe regime, which set aside mysticism.

did not reappear till the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in certain
schools of Italy and Germany.
This new mysticism, called Kabalah,
from a name known already in the schools of Alexandria, but since
It

entirely disappeared, and signifying oral tradition, issued from

of the scholastic, and acted with the instruments of

bosom

the
the

scholastic, as formerly the neoplatonist Porphyry evoked with Platonic

words.
The Cabbala (sic) of the fifteenth century put in operation

magic squares and circles, mysterious numbers, by the

power of which the demons of hell and the divinities of heaven were
compelled, as it was pretended, to appear in obedience to the wand
bizarre formulae,

mystic ecstasies of Raymond Lully, who attracted such

zealous partisans and furious enemies, causing blood to flow ; hence
Victor Cousin
the delirium which brought Bruno to the stake."

hence the

would seem impossible to record

a greater number of inaccuracies, or to display more signal ignorance,
Cours de Philosophic, Paris, 1836.

It

within the dimensions of a paragraph.

Christian

<>onu

the Jews.

If

tufcenta of the JOabalah

399

be necessary, therefore, to reduce

it

very largely the authority attributed to Eliphas Levi,

I must
expect to alienate the sympathy of his many
admirers, but this

and

so

as

far

course in

in

simple

its

is

matter there

the

But

hesitation.

for

only a question of the moment,

take a plain
possible to

is
it

first

be no

can

is

aspect,

need

real

which

the question,

looks so

no sooner raised than

it is
complicated by several kinds of considerations
and indeed by incompatible facts. When I published

few

a
"

years

my

ago

Transcendental

version

English

that

stated

Magic,"

work of a writer who had received

of
it

Levi

was the
into

initiation

a school of traditional knowledge, nor must I deny

that this school possesses the respect of its partici
certain proportion of its tradition was
pants.

made

public for the

first

time

Levi

in

treatise

and

under circumstances which seem then to have been

I
do not think that I
regarded as inopportune.
shall be making an unpermissible statement if I now
add that the course pursued by the author brought

him, as

it

and that

is

alleged, into conflict with his superiors,

barred his progress through the higher

of
that
initiation.*
On the one hand,
grades
therefore, the possibilities of his communication
it

ceased at the limit of his knowledge, while, on the

other, it can be shown abundantly that he was
not

in

any

solid

sense of the word

first

hand

student of the literature of occult philosophy.

I
an
do not think that he ever made
independent

statement upon any

*

On

tliis

point

M.-O

my

historical
letter in

Occult and Mystical Research/ July

fact

"

Light
4,

1896.

to

which

the

a Journal of Psychical,

^ht grrdrhu

400

ant>

literature at the Jiabalah

confidence could be given with prudencenever presented the sense of an author whom
he was reviewing in a way which could be said to
least

He

reproduce

author

that

faithfully.

As

the one

in

case he embroidered history by the help of what

Mr. Arthur Machen would term a decorative imagina
tion, so

it

occurred frequently that he attributed to

an old author the kind of sense which

it

would be

very interesting to find in old authors, but is not

met with except by the mediation of a magician
with the transmuting power of Abbe Constant.

He

takes,

for

example, a perfectly worthless

little

book by Abbot Trithemius, which does not

reflect

opinions of that learned

simply a trifle addressed to

but

the

Benedictine,

German

is

prince

explaining how some persons in antiquity distributed

the government of the world among certain planetary

and reassuming rule

with the importance of
achievement of prophetic

intelligences ruling successively

He

invests

in

rotation.

grand and sublime

whereas it does not show half the acumen

it

science,

of our empirical friend Nostradamus, and is equalled

in any year of grace by the almanacks of Raphael

and Zadkiel.

Here

is

an instance of what Levi

reads into an author.

Nor do we need

from

treatise to test his reliability

this

unhappy

little

to

depart

over an express matter of fact.

He tells us that the
forecast of Trithemius closes with a proclamation
of universal monarchy in the year 1879.
Trithemius
says nothing of the kind, but only modestly remarks
that the gift of prophecy so generously attributed to

him by

reviewer would be required to discern

anything beyond that period. I mention this matter,
his

(Ehriatian ^tubents of the

to

which

401

have drawn attention

previously in the
of the
Mysteries of Magic," not
wish to accentuate
charges against a writer

revised

edition

because

whose

gabalah

"

and

brilliance

literary beauty we all admire,

necessary to exhibit the quality of
mind which was brought
by Eliphas Levi to the
illumination of Kabalistic literature.
I
wish to

but because

my

prepare

is

it

more

readers,

admire him, as

also

especially

those

who

admire him, though not as

not as expositor, not as

historian, only as a
literary thaumaturgist working great wonders with
the magic of words
I wish to
prepare them, I say,
for the fact that the deliberations of
the Holy Synods
will be found to have suffered
critic,

many changes and

transfigurations through the medium of their inter

preter, and that any matter of
fact in the hands

sharp

of

this

unaccountable

pyrotechnic and

to

juggler

detonate,

seems
if

to

become

may

speak so
roughly, into the most twisted squibs and crackers.
I
will not dwell
upon the miserable plight of
I

Hebrew quotation

every

in those works which he

have passed for press.
No
ordinary carelessness would account for such blunders,
nor could they be
explained by supposing that he
was ignorant of their
His acquaintance
language.
must have been slender
enough, but it is not

may be supposed

to

to be proficient in

Hebrew

necessary

or indeed in Chinese to

ensure the accuracy of a few

The excerpts
excerpts.
in Eliphas Levi
no one can speak and no one can
"

But even

spell."

incredible.

He

in

simpler matters his blunders are

gives the three mother-letters of the

Hebrew alphabet inaccurately,* which for an

*

La

CC

Clefdes Grands

My stores,

accredited

Paris, 1861, pp. 199, 200.

*&he Jtortrine anfo gDiterature

402

the gtabalah

xrf

student of the Sepher Yetzirah is almost as inexcus

able as if an English author erred in enumerating
the vowels of our

The

own

language.

instance, however, to

which

wish to draw

particular attention, because it seems to me impressive

and even final, occurs in the posthumous work
entitled the

"Book

of

Splendours."*

Of

this the

first part is intended as a compressed translation of

the Greater Holy Synod."
Now, Levi says that the
deliberations of this conclave are contained in a
"

Hebrew
appear

treatise entitled

Idra Suta, and these words

head of his version. But

accordingly at the

the Idra Suta, or more correctly Zuta,

is

the

name

of the Lesser Synod, as will appear by referring to

the fourth section of the fifth book of the present

volume, while Idrak Rabba is that appertaining to

the record of the Greater Assembly. What should we
think of the qualifications of a commentator on the
books of the Old Testament who informed us that
the word Bereshith was applied to
will

be observed that

show

that

Levi was unqualified

It

Deuteronomy ?

do not make

this criticism to

because

he was

ignorant of Hebrew, but to prove that he was guilty

of egregious errors the indication of which neither

supposes nor requires any knowledge of the kind.

That
less

the

in spite of his slipshod criticism, his care

reading and his malpractices in historical matters

works of Eliphas Levi do contain valuable

material may, of course, be explained

by saying that
he drew from his initiation and verified his knowledge
badly by the ordinary channels. This is true up to a
*

Le Livre

Etudes sur

les

des Splendeurs, contenant le Soleil Juda ique

Paris, 1894.
Origines de la Kabbale, &c.

Christian
certain point,

and

<$tubcnt0

of the

Jabalah

403

does not do justice to the

yet
entire position,
omitting indeed one of its essential
features.
What seems to me to distinguish Levi

from

an

all

it

other occult writers

not his knowledge as

but the peculiar genius of
interpretation

initiate,

is

which he applied to that

knowledge, the surprising
which he could obtain from an old
doctrine,
even as from an old author.
were

results

They

reliable results,
they

with

any

secret

in

harmony

knowledge, they

standpoint of the agnostic

cendentalist,

certainly not

were certainly not

represented the
rather than the trans-

and

they afflicted the transcendental

standpoint in consequence, but they wore the
guise
and they spoke the
language of occultism, and it is
they which have fascinated his students, they which
have multiplied his
admirers, they also which
have undeniably imparted a new
impulse to the
study of occult philosophy.
This is equivalent to
saying that the influence of Eliphas LeVi does not

make

for a

proper understanding of occult doctrines,

it reads a
meaning
into the esoteric tradition of Israel
which is not

and as concerns the Kabalah that

fully

in

harmony

therewith.

Let us take,

for example, his inverted text of

of
chapter
Genesis, for which he claims a
Kabalistic foundation.*
It is needless to
say that it
neither has nor could have
any rabbinical authority
and that it first occurred to the mind of a
Frenchman
in the second half of the nineteenth
As it
century.
exceeds quotation in this
I
must refer the
place
reader to the work in which I have
rendered it at

the

first

Magic,

La CUf

Grands

My stores,

p.

334

second edition, London, 1897,

p.

108

ctes

e t seq.
et seq.

"

Mysteries of

404 ^Lht JRottnnt nnb ^it^catitre ot the

however, shortly described as

replacing the history of creation by God with that of
It

length.*

God

creation

be,

by man.

It

if

is,

you prefer

it,

the

of the God-idea in

evolution

much

may

humanity, though I
fear that Mr. Grant Allen must have been

hindered by the limits of his erudition from utilising

As an exercise of ingenuity it is admirable, but
it.
the point at which the sober critic must diverge from
the

is

interpreter

that

"

occult

this

Genesis

was

thought out by Moses before writing his own."

Let us take another case which, though it brings
us to the same question, is more perhaps to our
purpose, because it
Zoharic symbolism.

a construction placed upon

For Eliphas Levi the Great
Countenance of the Zohar is the evolution of the
idea of God from the shadow divinities represented
is

by the Kings of Edom.

Microprosopus is the grand

one is the God of the wise, the

night of faith. The

other the idol of the vulgar. The one is the great
creative hypothesis, the other the dark figure, the
restricted hypothesis.

tenance

that
it

attributed,

the

As it is
name of

to the Lesser

Coun

Tetragrammaton
follows that the secret of the Zohar

is

is

the mystic utterance of the adept to the recipiendary

of the Egyptian mysteries
Osiris is a black god."
"

Microprosopus is, however, neither the Ahriman of

the Persians nor the evil principle of the Manichaeans,
but a more exalted concept, a mediating shadow
"

between the

infinite

a veil

light

made

and the feeble eyes of

in the likeness of

humanity
with which God Himself deigns
;

I.e.:

"The

London, 1886, 1897.

Mysteries of

Magic,"

humanity

to cover His glory

first

and second

edition,

(Christian gtutonte ot the

JUbalah

a shadow which contains the reason of

all

405

mysteries,

Deity of the prophets, who

threatens and inspires fear.
It is the God of the
priests, the God who exacts sacrifices, the God who

explaining the terrible

sleeps frequently

of the

and

is

awakened by the trumpets

God who

temple, the

repents having

made

conquered by prayers and offerings,

when
on the point of punishing."*
appeased

man,

but,

is

That this interpretation has fascinated many

students can be no cause for surprise one is amazed
;

and delighted irresistibly at discovering an esoteric

tradition in which all theological difficulties seem to
dissolve together.

If

it

seem

at

first

sight incredible

Kabalah should conceal so reasonable and

that the

elegant

the symbolism is so plausibly

seems to enforce acceptance.

doctrine,

accounted

that

for

When we

it

come, however, to a close analysis of text

find that the one does not

and construction we

warrant the other and that the evolution of the God-

humanity had no more occurred to the

it would have occurred
Book of
recently to Mr. Grant Allen to write a
Occupation."
It is not a case in which it is
necessary

idea in

authors of the Zohar than

"

and patience by the demonstration of a

negative exhaustively, which has always technical
to tax space

difficulties.

The

validity of the construction

by the text with which

it is

how much

is

into

and

Fitzgerald

Omar Khayyam, but

line

of LeVi

upon

line

connected.

supposed to

We

all

seen

know

have imparted

his graceful verses are literal

compared with the high fantasy

As an example of this

Zoharistic analysis.
*

is

Lc Livre

des Splendeurs t pp. 69, 70.

406
it

Ihe ]Badnnt

literature at the gabalah

anfc

sufficient to refer the student

is

who may

desire

an express case for comparison to the forty-third

section of the Idra Rabba as it stands in the Latin
version of Rosenroth
in the

Book

"

Eliphas Levi,

with the excursus on Justice

"

of Splendeurs

which

the text of Rabbi

follows,

Schimeon.

says
It

is

mere

brilliant illusion and mockery.*

Another extreme instance is the inversion of the
Sephiroth which gives despotism an absolute power

as the dark side of the

blind faith as the

mah

so-called

supreme power of Kether\

shadow of eternal wisdom in Ckokimmutable dogma which is at the

same time inevitably progressive as the antithesis of

active intelligence in Binah
blind faith again as the
;

inversion of spiritual
as

vengeance

opposed

Tiphereth

to eternal justice in

willing sacrifice as the

shadow of

infinite

divine

Geburah\

mercy

in

abnegation and voluntary renunciation as

Chesed\

opposed
Netzach

in

beauty

to

the

eternal

victory

of

goodness

in

eternal hell as opposed to the eternity of

goodness, presumably in
as

opposed

in

Jesod;

Hod\

celibacy and sterility

to the fecundity of goodness,

while

number

of creation,

because

celibacy

Malkuth,
is

presumably

corresponding

said to have

to

the

no negative aspect,

and

sterility produce nothing.f

Without dwelling on the carelessness of the arrange
ment, in part sephirotic and in part transposing and

abandoning the sephirotic series, or on the

ingenuity which repeats the same contrasts,

failing
I

may

point out that advanced views on despotism, on the

transfiguration of dogmas and on vicarious atone*
Ibid., p.

86

et seq.

Ibid., p.

74

et seq.

<ome

ment
most

407

are not likely to have been held even by the

illuminated rabbins and that since arbitrary

tabulations and

and

tubcuts of the gabalah

(Ehristian

contrasts are easy exercises,

can be varied to infinity, we may appreciate the
artificial

contrasts here created

them and that

is

by the evidence which supports

simply the magisterial affirmation of

the interpreter.

Eliphas Levi represents, however, the inaugura

tion of a new epoch in the study of the Kabalah,
undertaken not as a mere object of research or as a

The students
the history of philosophy.
we have considered heretofore have been either

part of

whom

Christian propagandists or writers by the way whose

connection with the subject is unsubstantial but the
;

standpoint of Levi
all

religions

is

and that

Kabalism, from which

all

return.

telligible,

is

it

all

is

have issued and into which

Christian doctrine, in particular,

apart from the light cast on it

deliberations
precisely

a feligion behind
the veiled mystery of

that there

this

nections, that

of the

standpoint,
have created

derivatives

modern

unin

by the

Now

Holy Assemblies.
its

is

it

and

occultism.

is

con
In

the past the magician was content to evoke spirits,

the alchemist to produce gold when he could, the
astrologer to spell the dubious message of the stars,
the Kabalist of sorts to be wise in anagrams and

word-puzzles, but these things are now regarded only

as parts of a greater mystery, and in a very true sense
Eliphas L6vi has been the supreme magus who has
revealed the horizon of this mystery.

He had

his

antecedents and he drew suggestions from there and

It is
here, but he wrote it all up and he coloured it.
true that later on his

own

scepticism did

its

best to

^he ^odnnz anb

408

IpUrattire of the Jiabalah

spoil the splendid illusion, but this

is

not observed by

his disciples.

XVII.

TWO ACADEMICAL

CRITICS

to the fact that, as already stated,

has
been
there
always in England a certain number
of persons who have been interested, mostly through
sympathy with occultism, in the study of the

Having regard

Kabalah,

it

will

appear almost incredible that there

are no memorials of their interest between the period

of Thomas Vaughan and the year 1865, a space of

two

There

centuries.

a similar

is

hiatus

in

the

merely academical interest represented by Burnet.

do not say that there have been nowhere any
I

made up in
and authority
and a few valuable gleanings might be gathered from

references

to

Kabalism

number what they wanted

they

have

in learning

editions of the larger cyclopaedias, but as

there has been no occult student who wrote anything

early

of real

moment concerning

it,

so there has been no

scholar apart from occult interests

who

has treated

The work of Dr. Ginsburgh,

the subject seriously.
so well known that it scarcely needs describing, was
epoch-making, because it was the first clear, simple
and methodised account of Kabalistic doctrine and
It leaves naturally much to be desired,
arose in an informal manner out of a meeting

literature.

as

it

of

some

literary society in Liverpool,

and the nucleus

paper produced for the occasion in

afterwards
was
question
expanded into a slender
It is a meagre measure to allot to so large
volume.

of

the short

a subject, but

it

was as much as could be warranted

gome

Christian

which

49

of the giabalah

<tnbcuts

sharply determined
by the fact that a second edition was never needed.
There is good reason to believe that it did not

by the existing

interest,

is

represent Dr. Ginsburgh s knowledge at the period,

further
than cyclopaedic or
yet it went much
notices.
Dr.
theological
Ginsburgh is therefore

a place

to

entitled

of the Kabalah, and

which

is

France

in

accomplished
Dr.

origin.

of

name

and

Ginsburgh
in

Both,

scholars

both

who

recalls

believe,

of

are

Jewish

however, a Christian,
connection with the Trini
is,

am
it

is

therefore only

English prototype that

to

students

Bible Society, while M. Isidore Loeb, so far

aware, has remained in the faith of Jewry,

tarian
I

of a writer

to-day.

Hebrew

and has done work

as

Christian

purpose in this brief notice,

concerned
with a standpoint, to
mainly
I

connect him with the

him

the

among

him

in this place.

by way of contrast with

I

am

There

is

warranted

in

his

referring

a period of a quarter

of a century between the two writers, and as their

point of view is in general respects almost identical

suggests that the French critic has

the
English, it is interesting to note
profited by
the one matter over which they diverge, namely,
the authorship of the Zohar.

and,

indeed,

It has been objected against Dr. Ginsburgh that

he draws chiefly from Continental writers, reflects their
views and shows little independent research.
His
quotations from the Zohar are, it is said, derived from

Franck, and are open therefore to the harsh criticisms

passed on them many years ago in Germany.
matters are of no importance to the reader
in

search

only

of

elementary

information,

These

who

is

whose

410

^h*

purpose

Franck
criticism
fact

Jortrine anb ^iitt&tnu ot the gabalah

served well enough by the translations of

and for whom a digest of authoritative

is

about the best text-book possible.

is

itself

makes Dr. Ginsburgh s

little

The

treatise the

representative of a particular school of

of the hostile criticisms which refer the
that
research,

English

Zohar to the authorship, more or less exclusive, of

Moses de Leon. In England Dr. Schiller-Szinessy s
article

on the Midrashim

in

"

Encyclopaedia

Britannica,"

the ninth edition of the

referring the nucleus of

the book to Mishnic times and regarding Simeon ben

Jochai as the author in the same sense that R.

Johanan was the author of the Palestine Talmud, has

helped to create another and more natural manner
of

regarding the

The

Zohar.

critical

objections

of Dr. Ginsburgh derived from the work itself have

been equally disposed of in the majority of cases
and the few which still remain can establish nothing

They have been noticed briefly in Book

we take in connection with this the
3.
that M. Isodore Loe b, who so closely reproduces

conclusively.
II., sec.

fact

If

Dr. Ginsburgh, abandons

we

the

shall see that

theory of unqualified

some progress has been

imposture,
made with the subject during recent years, and as it
is one of the purposes of the present study to place
the evidence of this fact before the English reader,
in giving space to the following
s Loeb s essay, as it may not
of
M.
Isidore
synopsis
be accessible to some who are acquainted with that
I

feel

warranted

There

a literary excellence in
fairly precluded by the circum
stance that called the other into being, and it is

of Dr. Ginsburgh.
the one which is

is

really a matter of regret that the sole contribution of

Loeb

M.

tubent0 of the gabalnh

Christian

<Sonu

towards

was, however,

committee of the

tion

of

elucidation

Kabalistic

La Grande

Encyclopedic. M. Loeb
some time president of the publica

literature occurs in
for

the

French

Society of

Jewish

His other literary work comprises a

Studies.

411

mono

graph on the Jewish chroniclers, a table of Jewish

calendars, and some observations on the situation of
the Israelites in Turkey, Servia and Roumania.
the essay with which we are here concerned

In

he

records the opinion that the term Kabalah may not

be anterior to the tenth century and that the claim
to

which

antiquity

written

of

monument.

the

case

that

it

signifies

It

seems

supported by no
in the nature

be so substantiated.

should

it

is

difficult

M. Loeb, however, makes a very proper distinction

between the metaphysical or mystical Kabalah
and the gross thaumaturgy connected with the
practical

the

first

branch.

he

To

ascribes,

the

original

like

all

elements

critics,

of

high

need scarcely be said, of a

kind which would permit it to be regarded as the

antiquity, but not, as

it

much less an uncorAs we have had occasion to see,

no longer made by any competent

perpetuation of an indigenous,
rupted, tradition.
this

claim

is

student of the subject.

For M. Loeb the Kabalah is
a part of the universal mysticism which seeks to
explain the disparity between an infinite God and a
finite world
by means of intermediate creations

through which the Divine Power descends, diminishing

in its spiritual qualities as it removes further from its

and becoming more imperfect and material.

difficulty is removed by this process much in the

source,

The

same manner

as the difficulty of a terra firma for the

4i2

^h*

Jlortrtiu an& literature of the

elephant which supports the universe is disposed of

In
in Indian cosmology by assuming the tortoise.
other words,

time

not removed at

is

it

of

the explanation

which

not

is

is

assume,

not

emanationist

mysticism, as

all

At the same

all.

mysticism,

M. Loe b seems

to

the last analysis open to greater

any other philosophic attempt to

in

objection than

bridge the gulf between finite and infinite. Passing

from this consideration the French critic discovers
the

foundation

of the

theory of meta

Kabalistic

physics in the Scriptural personification of

and the chief elements of

its

Wisdom,
the

in

symbolism

prophetical books, about which points there

is

no

question whatever, and they are matters of

knowledge. So also he refers correctly the

common

He

cites the

catchword of the Zohar to Daniel

number

xii. 3.

name

or

of the beast in the Apocalypse, as every one

has cited

it

before him, as an

but he raises a

on the

less

authority

example of gtmatria,
hackneyed point by suggesting,
of Munk, that Temurah was

employed by Jeremiah.
reminding

us

that

the

He

does better service by

attached great

Essenians

importance to symbolical angelology, and that each

individual of that mystical fraternity

was required

remember accurately the names of the

however,

among

the

Jews

of

angels.

Alexandria

It

to
is,

that,

following several previous authorities, he discovers

the germs of Kabalistic mysticism, but in this con

nection he cites only the Platonic doctrine of the

Logos, its influence on the Greek Septuagint and on
the Chaldee version of the Old Testament.

On
critical

the whole,
faculty,

or

do not think that M. Loeb s

indeed

his

erudition,

is

at

all

Christian

comparable to
a

crucial

gabalah

citj

he dismisses one testimony to

instance,

"

by saying
of the Talmud, we

Johanan ben Zoccai

413

To

his graceful synthetic talent.

Kabalistic tradition
assertions

of the

<tuteut<3

Despite the contrary

refuse to believe that

or his contemporaries devoted

It
themselves to mystic doctrines or secret things."
is

(sic)

to the second century that he refers the

of Gnosticism

among

"
"

ravages

the Jews of Palestine, and cites

various subtleties of the doctors which arose at that

period.

He

schools

and

sketches
the

traditional country of

decline of the

the
of

rise

of

those

magic."

He

Palestine

Babylon, "the
cites from Rab,

the Babylonian, of the third century, that passage

which I have mentioned elsewhere, and confesses that
it

is

another germ of the mediaeval Kabalah, that is,

With a rapid pen
Sephiroth.

the doctrine of the

he runs over

the

impetus given to Jewish

literature under Arabian influence from the middle
of

the

great

He

seventh century.

century that

all-important

Measures of the Stature of

as

we have

seen, the

Macroprosopus, and

first

refers

treatise
God,"

to

the

entitled

which

is,

ninth
"The

in

fact,

form of the Zoharistic

He

mentioned by Agobad.

is

Akiba, dealing with the

places
alphabet
of
the
Hebrew
letters, about the same
symbolism
period, together with a crowd of apocalyptic treatises,
of

the

including Pirke of R. Eliezer, which has an elaborate

doctrine of Pneumatology.
Among all these he

Sepher Yctzirah as occupying a

and
He admits its
place
deserving a rank apart.

distinguishes the

comparative

antiquity,

seeming
to

immediately posterior
have been finished

affirms to

the

to

it

as

Talmud, which

he

A.D. 499.

regard

He

describes

414
it

^he

gtodrine anb literature of th* gabalah

and a

as a philosophy

to have

been written

in

and supposes it
Palestine under the direct
gnosis,

and Pagan gnosticism.

influence of Christian

The

opinion
interesting, but of course entirely con
jectural, and as the doctrine of emanation is not
is

the Sepher Yetzirah, we should not

hastily the theory of an influence which

very clear
accept

assumes

in

When

it.

he

observes further

that

its

must be sought in Azariel s Com

mentary on the Sephiroth and in the Bahir, I fail
to understand the grounds on which he attributes
fountain-heads

a superior antiquity to those works.

He

assigns
a Spanish origin, but does not
press the authorship of Moses de Leon.
Among the
fine points of his criticism is a picture of the pure

to the

Zohar

itself

Talmudists of the period of Maimonides, especially

those of the Peninsula and the south of France,

under the influence of Arabian philosophy,

without philosophical doctrine, without perspective,
living

having

only the

literature

of

the

Law, and

the

anthropomorphic mysticism of the Jewish schools of

Northern France, between which the Kabalah rose

up

as

philosophy,

and

mediator,

"completing

correcting

anthropomorphic

philosophy

mysticism

Talmudism
by

by

by

theosophy,
philosophic

mysticism."

XVIII.

THE MODERN SCHOOL OF

FRENCH KABALISM

Eliphas LeVi died in 1875, having founded, as

it

must be admitted, a new school of occult philosophy.

For the ten years which preceded his death he had

ome (Christian gtubcnts ot

made no outward
initiations

the Jlabalah

415

There are rumours of the

sign.

which were offered him and of the

rites

which he remodelled, but all that is known certainly

is that he collected around
him a small group of
private students who looked up to him as their
master, regarded his suggestive speculations almost
in the light of revelation, and,
following his leading,

Kabalah

the

accepted

It

belief.

religious

as

the great

was not

till

synthesis

of

another ten years,

had elapsed that any visible result of

became manifest. During that period a
marked change had come over philosophic thought

after his death,

his influence

in Paris
the younger generation broke away from
the traditions of positivism and materialism, and,
without returning to the Church, passed off in the
direction of mysticism, and mysticism moderated
by
;

science

became the

epoch.

When

characteristic of the succeeding

about the year

a lodge

884 the Theosophical

and began the

Society opened
of
a
publication
monthly magazine, a proportion of
the French mystics gathered round it, and one of the
most

noticeable

Encausse, the
of

the

young chef de

doctor celebrated
schools

in

in

in

Paris

group

was

Dr.

laboratoire of

connection

His

with

Gerard

an eminent

one

of

the

contributions
hypnotism.
appeared in the pages of Le Lotus and his first work,
on the elements of occult science, under the auspices
first

of the Society.
A rupture, however, took place and
the seceding members, abandoning for the moment
their interest in la metaphysique orientate, established,
so to speak, a school of Western occultism, of which
Dr. Encausse became the moving and leading spirit

and Eliphas LeVi the most immediate inspiration of

4i 6

^he

|p citrine

anb JCtterature at the

the past. The ostensible characteristics of this school

are Neo-Martinism and Neo-Rosicrucianism, but the

transcendental

conceptions

with

associated

these

names have undergone developments which have to

some extent effaced their original outlines. So also
the admired masterpieces of Eliphas Levi have been
a point of departure quite as much as a guide.
It is,
broadly speaking, nevertheless, the work of Levi

which has been continued, and along with other

occult interests the study of the Kabalah has been
under

revived

enthusiasm.

It

study, nor has

study, for

the
reflected
of his
impulsion
has not been so far an exhaustive

it,

think, been altogether a critical

began by taking too much

for granted
has not shown a comprehensive acquaintance
with the documents. There is, however, no writer of
it

and

it

this

group who has not had something to

tell

us

concerning Jewish theosophy, while its activity has

engendered consequences of much the same kind
outside

immediate

its

circle.

The two names which most

this connection are Dr.

de Guaita.
the

first

The

writer

call

for

notice in

Gerard Encausse and Stanislas

literary

and occult antecedents of

Saint Yves d Alvedre,

are

Fabre

From
d Olivet, Eliphas Levi and Adolphe Franck.
the first he has derived a systematic view of Jewish
history, from the second his notion of esoteric
mysteries concealed in the Hebrew language, from
LeVi unfortunately a burden of historical suppositions,

and from

Franck an

academic precedent

for

the

antiquity of Kabalistic literature. On the other hand,

Stanislas de Guaita belongs to what may be termed

the literary school

of

occultism

and as

such

he

<ome

Christian

of the

<Stubent0

$abalah

417

connects with Sar Peladan.

I
propose to consider
the position of both these writers in short
sub-sections
and to connect them with a third who is

governed by

very different motives and principles.

PAPUS

A.

The

word

according to a

Papus signifies physician, and

commentary of Eliphas Levi on the

"Nuctemeron" of
Apollonius, it is the title of a
genius belonging to the first hour of that
mystic

period.

It

is

also

the

pseudonym adopted by
Gerard Encausse, the head of the French
Martinists
and the leader of occult
activity in Paris, presumably
because he is a doctor of medicine.
Papus is a
voluminous writer, methodical and
laborious, and he
has done work which
along its own lines is admirable.

From the beginning of his

literary life he has
been occupied with Kabalistic
questions, and so far
back as the year 1887 he made the first
French trans
lation of the
Sepher Yetzirah, which appeared in
the theosophical review Lotus.
It is not
entirely a
satisfactory translation and has been

superseded by

that of

Meyer Lambert, which Papus himself recom

mends with the generosity of a true student.
The
chief blemish of his own version is that
by some
misconception or error, founded apparently on the
use of a dubious word in the Latin
rendering of
Postel, he has made this ancient work
for
responsible

the doctrine of
critical

the

"

importance that there

Book of

DD

Ain Soph and

Formation."

it

is

is

a point of
great

no such doctrine

in

4i 8

^The Ipodritu anb ffiterature of the Jiabalah

In 1892

Papus published a methodical summary

of the Kabalah, together with a bibliography, which

The

are both useful, but are again open to criticism.

bibliography has been constructed upon the most

debatable of all principles, viz., the increase of the

numerical importance by adventitious elements which

are not Kabalistic at all, and again by the inclusion
evidently unknown to the
writer, with results which are occasionally ludicrous.
of

works

which

are

among books in the French

Figuier s
Alchemy and the

Thus, in the one case,

we

language,

which

Alchemists,"

Kabalah

find

"

no

contains

Saint-Martin

reference

"

Crocodile,"

open to the same objection Eckartshausen

on the Sanctuary," also non- Kabalistic

number

of esoteric romances which have

claim to insertion as Baudelaire

to

the

a clumsy satire
"

Cloud

and

as

much

translation of Poe.*

In the other case, Dr. Papus, who is only superficially

acquainted with English, classifies Mr. Massey s
translation of

my own
Hartmann

"

Du

Prel

"

Philosophy of

Mysticism,"

Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers," Dr.

s
White and Black Magic," a catalogue
"

of second-hand books issued by Mr. Redway, and,

unfortunate above all other instances, the once
celebrated "Supernatural Religion." The bibliography
of works in the Latin language is much better done,
though it contains some useless numbers.
*

Another instance is Julien Lejay La Science Occulte Appliquec

Economic politique, in a volume of composite authorship, entitled
Science Secrete.
I may observe, however, that this volume contains
:

La

a paper on the Kabalah by Papus, subsequently embodied in his larger

work.
Outside this, the only reference to the subject is in an essay
by F. C. Barlet, which refers the origin of the Kabalah to the fourth
century.

omt Christian

<tubents

of the

gabalah

419

As

regards the treatise itself it has the merit

of extreme
modesty it is, in fact, mainly a series
of tabulated quotations from
Franck, Loeb, de Guaita,
Kircher and so forth, with a number of
serviceable
;

diagrams derived from similar sources. It is

altogether
excellent as a general introduction to the
subject by
an occultist and for the use of occultists.
But it makes
the mistake of
attributing a real importance to the
Hebrew influences found in the literature
of Ceremonial
Thus Dr. Papus says that
Magic.
the practical part of the Kabalah is
barely indicated
!
in a few
manuscripts dispersed through our great
collections.
At Paris the Bibliotheque Nationale

debased

possesses one of the finest examples, of which the

origin is attributed to Solomon."
Having appreciated
in another section the claim
of the clavicles to

recognition

in

Kabalistic literature, it is here

only
in the work under notice
there

necessary to say that

is

no attempt to

justify

their

inclusion,

which

explained by the sympathies of the author,

this connection owes
something to the French

who

is

in

version

of Molitor.
Dr.

Papus has

to the

also
unfortunately a bias common
of
French
and English occultists,
majority

and by

this

bias he

led
irresistibly to prefer the
imperfect equipment of past authority to the result
of modern
In Egyptology he knows
scholarship.
is

no higher name than that of Court de

Gebelin
problems of Hebrew philology his great master
Fabre d Olivet and hence, on the one
;

hand,

we

in
is

shall

not be surprised to find that he

regards P. Christian
as a source of serious information
concerning the
Egyptian mysteries of initiation, or, on the
other,

420

ot the liabalah
iortritu anb fCtteratttr*

^he

that he considers the

to be identical with

The

position

idiom of ancient Egypt*

who base their views on

the

writers

of

of the Mosaic books

Hebrew

undertaken at the beginning of this

language-studies
more reasonable than would
century is not really
to
be that of a person who should now attempt
But
defend the antiquity of the Rowley poems.
while to speak of it were
it might be scarcely worth
that it involves, at least
it not for the consequences
the descent
in the case of Papus, as, for example,
its identity
of the esoteric tradition from Moses and

debatable
-with the mysteries of Egypt, points which,
after this unscholarly

must not be determined

or not,

fashion.

have

argument, so

historical

indicate

to

sufficient

said

far as

it

that

the

Papus, is
indeed no need

exists in

and there
altogether unsatisfactory,

is

this view.
among recent French writers in taking
Histoire
de
Grands
Inities,
Les
in
Esquisse
Schure,
M. Edouard
to the
maintains
"owing
that,
Secrete des Religions, Paris, 1889,
doubt that he wrote Genesis in
education of Moses, there can be no
three senses, and confided their keys
Egyptian hieroglyphics, having
In the time of Solomon it was
successors.
his
to
and oral explanations
after the captivity of Babylon
rendered into Phoenician characters, and
The esoteric sense was
Esdras.
characters
Chaldean
by
Aramaic
into

He

is

not alone

t>

lost

more and more, and the Greek

acquaintance

therewith."

In

this case

translators
it

had a very slight

the remnant

may have been

the Jews so hostile to the Septuagmt.

intention and his
despite his serious
to the primitive sense when he made his
only
mind,
penetrated
great
The secret sense does, however, remain buried in the
Latin translation.
the
its roots into the sacred tongue of

of this knowledge which

M. Schure continues:

Hebrew

made

"Jerome,

which plunges by
and the writer affirms that

text,

temples,"

it

flashes forth at times for

tl

in the phonetic
"shines forth once more
intuitive, that for seers it
and that by the
created
Moses,"
or
words
by
structure of the
adopted
the keys which the Kabalah furnishes,
of this

study

phoneticism, by

"

and by comparative

esotericism,

reconstruct the veritable

Genesis."

it

is

this day
permitted us at

Pp. 180, 181.

omt (Ehrietian
to reckon with

summary
in

this

it.

respect

his little

might have been simplified with

regards the special motive of our

it

As

the standpoint of Papus is that the

the keystone of all the Western tradition

inquiry,

Kabalah
of

But

421

work is useful as a
of the content of the Kabalah,
though even

advantage.

own

tubents of the giabalah

is

transcendentalism

Kabalists,

and so also

that

the

were

alchemists

whether

all

mystic fraternities,
Templars, Rosicrucians, Martinists, or Freemasons
that the source of the Kabalah was Moses and that
;

Moses drew from Egypt, whence the Kabalah

most complete summary
mysteries.

Why

those

in

is

the

existence of the Egyptian

mysteries should

have

an

absorbing claim on our respect does not appear from

Papus, but the sub-surface understanding is un

doubtedly that a tradition of absolute religion has

been perpetuated from antiquity, and with all his
dissemblings and palterings, with all the hindrance of
his scepticism, that also is LeVi s
standpoint.

B.

STANISLAS DE GUAITA

Associated with the literary work and

much

of

the active propaganda of Dr. Gerard Encausse, thr

name of the Marquis Marie -Victor-Stanislas de
Guaita, though scarcely known in England, was
valued in the occult circles of Paris, and his

much
com

paratively recent death at the early age of thirty-six

I
years occasioned profound sorrow.
may perhaps
observe that outside the immediate circle of his

friends

and admirers

it is

possible to say that he

real loss to the esoteric literature of France.

is

432

^he

JBuctrine anb |ttftattxre of the

perhaps scarcely be necessary to state

will

It

was a

that he

he regarded

disciple of Eliphas LeVi,

as

constituting

whose works

most cohesive,
that can be

"the

absolute and unimpeachable synthesis

dreamed by an
Guaita

If

occultist."

we add

to this that

De

described by Papus as occupying beyond

first rank among the pupils of Levi,

is

contradiction the

we

have a

shall

his literary

began

knowledge of his position. He

life as a poet, and in that character

fair

connects with the school of Baudelaire.

His mystic
and he

in his verses,

preoccupations appear, however,

soon devoted himself exclusively

"

terial

form,"

which

recalls

occult science de Guaita

Kabalistic
"

tradition,

Neo - Mosaic

Kabalah

and

was

all

"

occult

"

for their

of his

that

"

magis

master.

considered

that

Christianity, explained by the

and

Alexandrian

In

chiefly attached to the

he

Hermeticism

certain reserves), the absolute truth

in

the

"

The Serpent of
Black Magic are much admired
"

Mystery,"

of

to

The Threshold of
Genesis and The Key

His works entitled

sciences.

in

Holy
(under

must be sought

knowledge.*

At an

period

early

of his

occult

enthusiasm

Stanislas de Guaita founded a Kabalistic

Order of

the Rose-Cross, comprehending three grades, to which

entrance could be obtained only after successful
examination, and the possession of the three grades
of the

Martinist

Order was an indispensable pre

When the numerical strength of

the association had attained the limits prescribed by

liminary condition.

From a

Lettre intditc quoted in L? Initiation, torn, xxxviii., No.

4, Jan., 1898, pp. 12, 13.

<Some

its

Christian Students of the Jtabulah

423

it was
rigorously closed by decision
Grand Master. De Guaita is termed an

constitution,

of the

erudite orientalist

the

Hebrew

Finally,

it

is

by

his friends,

which

folios

who

also mention

enriched

his

library.*

recorded that he believed himself more

thoroughly possessed of the Kabalah than all others.

Hut if we may accept the authority of Dr. Marc

Haven he seems
Kabalah, the

first

have distinguished two species of

a science which no one could teach

to

and no one could

learn, except with the most arduous

and by years of sacrifice, for it is more rugged
than Wronsky, more diffuse than Spanish Mysticism,
more complex than Gnostic analysis." And after all

toil

it

is

"

appears to be only a pseudo- Kabalah.

The

other

apparently the Kabalah as presented by William

Postel, Nicholas Flamel,

so forth.
puzzle.

Khunrath, Saint-Martin and

must confess that this distinction is a

know

well

enough that Saint-Martin was

not a Kabalist, except in the most phantasmal sense

and by a most remote derivation. I know that

Flamel the alchemist, if he ever wrote anything, was

concerned with the transmutation of metals and not

Am

with the mysteries of

Soph.
Kabalah of such Kabalists that
the pages of
active works.

the

It
is

is,

however, the

said to illuminate

de Guaita and to have inspired

his

Despite therefore tf his accredited erudition,

author of the
has no
Serpent of Genesis
"

the
message to the serious student of Kabalism
Zohar has its difficulties, and by these he was clearly
intimidated.
Hut the kind of distinction which
;

li id.

p.

32

et seq.

424

^hx

JBortritu anb |pt*rattire ot the

gabalah

de Guaita sought to establish offers at least one

Postel, Flamel, Khunrath, Saintpoint of interest.
which stand in his mind for
names
are
Martin,

Kabalistic

He

that

for

Christianity,

Zohar and the Gospel

to

which he

marriage

of

the

refers expressly.*

from his fellow propagandist

Papus, who exhibits few Christian sympathies and is
differs

therefore

attached more consistently to the doctrine of Eliphas

But in de Guaita, as in Levi, it is not the
Levi.

orthodox

Christianity,

as

understood, on the one

hand, by Mirandola and Postel, or, on the other, by

Rosen roth, with which the Kabalah is connected,
but Christianity permeated by Gnostic elements,
this is the special characteristic of all occult
students who take any interest in the light cast on

and

the religion of Jesus by the post-Christian develop

ments of Jewish theosophy. Thus, the missionary
enthusiasm of the early Christian schools of Kabalism,

and the Messianic dream constructed by Jewry out

of the wild elements of the Zohar, have been

exchanged

for

an attempt to go back

upon

the

path of doctrinal development and to discover in

the analogies between the Kabalah and the Gnostics
a practicable thoroughfare into the debated regions

of esoteric religion.

As disappointment

mistaken ardour of the

the

first

zealots,

possibly in store for the revived zeal in

The Zohar has wedded

waited on
so

it

is

Kabalism.

the spirit has fructified

the Gospel
and immortal works have been the fruits of this union.
The Kabalah became Catholic in the school of St. John, the master of
the absolute
masters, incarnate in an admirable metaphysical form
spirit of the science of justice and love which vivifies internally the
dead letter of all the orthodoxies." Le Serpent de la Genhe, p. 183.
the soul

"

-Some

<Rhri0tian

<Stufcent0

of the

C LEON MEURIN,

3nbalah

425

SJ.

to establish some points of connection

and Freemasonry, it seems just
the
Kabalah
between

Having

include

to

among

Kabalistic

students

the

laborious investigator of this subject, the late

bishop of Port Louis.

It is

most
Arch

true that his large treatise,

Synagogue of Satan," is a product

dream of the Papacy concerning the
Liberi Muratori and is saved only by the sincerity

"

Freemasonry the

of the troubled

of

its

intention from a place in bogus literature

it

connects with a squalid imposture

long since unmasked, but it shows a considerable
acquaintance of the superficial order both with
is

true also that

it

Kabalistic doctrine and Masonic symbolism, and it is

worth noticing how the transcendental tradition of

the Jews was appreciated quite recently by a Catholic

critic who was also an ecclesiastic of some eminence

and a member of the Society of Jesus.

unnecessary to say that it is an entirely
hostile criticism.
In place of the orthodox syna
It

is

"

gogue and the true doctrine of Moses which God

Himself inspired, modern Kabalists represent the
paganism with which certain Jewish sectarians
became imbued during the captivity of Babylon. We
have only to study their doctrine and to compare it
with those of civilised nations in antiquity

Indians,

Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Greeks

and so

forth,

to

become assured

pantheistic system of emanation

We

find ever)

is

that

the

same

inculcated by

all.

where an eternal principle emanating

a primeval triad and thereafter the entire universe,

4*6

^hc gbrt 1

"*

anb Eiterature of the gmbalah

not by creation, but by substantial emanation. Hence

are compelled to recognise a close connection
between Kabalistic philosophy and ancient paganism

we

which

is

of the

same

who

the

is

explain except by the inspiration

author, in other words, the Lying Spirit

difficult to

The

enemy

entire

of

mankind."

may

treatise

be

development

as

regarded

of this

the

must be

paragraph, which,
the view that would be taken inevitably
have seen that under
by the Latin Church.
the auspices of Christian Kabalists, with Picus de
confessed,

it

is

We

Mirandola as their mouthpiece, there was for one

a sign of rapprochement between the Church

moment

and the Jewish

was impossible in the

nature of both, and the Church was saved then, as
it

tradition, but

it

has been occasionally saved since, as

happy

intuition

which preceded any

by some

if

real

knowledge

of the interests at stake.

The

being thus defined with

perfect accuracy by Mgr. Meurin, he proceeds at a
general

later stage to

position

develop his impeachment by exhibiting

the fundamental error of

all

pantheism, that, namely,

which concerns the transition of the

which

Finite,

wears, he

thinker, the aspect of

his
"

us,

Infinite to the

for

hast ordered

weight,"

all

any

a fraudulent device.

argument on the well-known verse

Thou

and

tells

things

in

in

serious

Basing

Wisdom

measure, and number,

he advances that we musk seek

in these

the distinction between the Infinite and the Finite,

for these categories

they are
superior

"elevated
unity."

do not exist

God, or rather
above themselves and lost in a
in

the only
grand problem concerning the

Creation out of nothing

rational solution of the

is

Christian .Stnbents of the glnbalah

427

world which is governed by number,

a doctrine which assumes no
and
measure,
weight
of a

origin

passage from Infinite to Finite, since it does not

derive the universe from the divine substance by an
is true that ex nihilo
emanation of any kind.
nihil fit.
But in the creation there is not only the
"It

nihilum

there

is

also the Omnipotent,

and

it is

untrue

nothingness and the all-powerful,

Ex nihilo nihil fit a Deo
nothing can be made.
would be a false axiom."

to say that with

would be entirely
out of place to discuss the points at issue between
emanationists and creationists. The Kabalah is a
In a study like the present

it

system of emanation, and it is so far opposed to the

official doctrine of orthodox religion on a question of
fundamental philosophy. I think personally that the
reason

better

is

on the side of the hypothesis of

emanation on the simple ground that the conception

of nihilum cannot co-exist with that of an infinite
I shall be told, of course, that I am confusing
the notion of endless space with that of the Divine
Nature, but as God is everywhere by the hypothesis,

God.

there

is

no place which

is

not

filled

by His power and

His presence, and then where is the nihilum ? But

the whole controversy concerns a res ardua ct diffic-lis,
as

Isaac

de

Loria

would have termed

it,

which

fortunately cannot produce a single consequence of

importance to the

human mind, though

to such arid speculations that official

it is

precisely

orthodoxy has

always sought to attach an eternal consequence for

the soul.

Mgr. Meurin remains, however, the consistent

and correct exponent of the Church which he

428 i;he

Jltfctrine

represents,

and so

anb literature of the Jtabaiah

far as

this

Church

he has registered, as we must admit

nature of Kabalistic doctrine.

fully,

is

concerned

the heretical

We may

and allow that

go further
he scores occasionally
think that no intelligent

in other places

I
a logical point against it.
can
well
the
person
deny

intellectual

clumsiness

with which the system of Sephirotic emanation is

presented in works like the Greater Sacred Synod.

We

commence
Ain Soph which proceeds the

have, for example, such notions as the

ment of thought
emanation

of

in

understanding, thus reversing the

order, as the prelate well observes,

psychological
besides formulating an absurdity concerning the one
Being in whom there is no beginning. It may well

be that

in

the last analysis these things are to be

understood more profoundly than is suggested by

meaning, but they are crude and mis

their surface

leading enough in their outward sense.

XIX.

THE KABALAH AND ESOTERIC

CHRISTIANITY

discussion of the points of contact between

Christianity and the mystical tradition of the Jews

must not

close without

some

reference to a

scheme

of mystical Christianity which obtained for a period

a certain vogue in English occult circles and met

with especial commendation from certain Kabalistic,

students. I refer to the New Gospel of Interpretation,

founded on illuminations received, or believed to have

been received, by Anna Bonus Kingsford, and
developed since her

decease,

not

perhaps

always

ome

tufcent0 of the

(Christian

by

acceptably,

her

collaborator

429

gabalah

and

co-recipient,

Edward Maitland, now also passed away. The text

books of this movement were, firstly, a small collec
containing the illuminations, and, secondly a
formal treatise which, under the title of The Perfect

tion

"

constituted a philosophical development and

historical verification of the doctrines received by the
Way,"

McGregor Mathers dedicated his

English translation of some of the Zoharistic books

seeress.

Mr.

S.

L.

on the ground that it

one of the most deeply occult works that has
The dedication
for centuries."
(sic) been written
excellent and wonderful
also described it as an
on
the doctrines of the
much
book,"
touching
to the authors of this treatise

was

"

"

Kabalah and laying great value upon its teachings.

It was welcomed in terms of still higher apprecia
tion

Spedalieri, of Marseilles, the disciple

in complete
Levi, who regarded it as

by Baron

"

of Kliphas
accord with

mystical traditions, and especially

In
with the ^reat mother of these, the Kabalah."
connection with this appreciation the respectable
all

French occultist observed

(a)

That the Kabalistic

we now possess it is far from genuine,

and was much purer when it first emerged from the
Postel and his
sanctuaries,
(b) That when William
tradition

as

brother Hermetists predicted that the literature con

would become
taining the secret tradition of the Jews

known and understood

meant that

it

at

"

the end of the

would be made the basis

era,"

ol

"a

they

new

illumination," reinstating that tradition in its purity.

and this restoration have
(c) That this illumination

been accomplished in
In this book \ve find
"

"

The

all

Perfect

that there

Way."

is

He

adds

of truth in the

430

TOe

Ipoxtrine anb JCiterature ot the Jtabalah

Kabalah, supplemented by new intuitions, such as

present a body of doctrine at once complete, homo
geneous, logical and inexpugnable. Since the whole
tradition thus finds itself recovered or restored to
original

purity,

the

prophecies

of

fellow Hermetists are accomplished

Postel
;

and

and

its

his

consider

that from henceforth the study of the Kabalah will

be but an object of curiosity and erudition, like that

of

Hebrew

antiquities."

If this

be the case, the inquiry with which

we

have been occupied at such considerable length

is

New Gospel of Inter

only prolegomenary
pretation, and our concluding words should be simply
to direct the student who is in search of the true
to

meaning of

the

esoteric tradition

word of
a course would seem at first
tained in this last

could be followed.

to the doctrines con

Indeed, such

revelation.

sight the only one which

must add, however, that the

opinion expressed by Baron Sped dieri has produced

no consequence, that the Kabalistic School of
occultists

England has not followed

in

the

lead

thus indicated, and would not endorse the opinion,

though committed to a certain extent in the same
direction, while

the

New

Gospel of Interpretation

has taken no permanent hold on the occult thought

of the time.
It is still occasionally quoted with
respect

by

notably by
the
of

"

its

writers

Dr.

Book of
influence.

who

Wynn

represent Kabalism, and

Westcott, the translator of

Formation,"
I

but this

infer also that

is

the extent

Baron Spedalieri

statement as to the adulteration of the genuine tradi

tion in the Hebrew Kabalah would not be traversed
seriously, but for its recovery occultists

seem inclined

Some

(Christian

of the

<tubente

backward towards Egypt rather than

to look

43 r

gUbalah
to

any

form of supplementary revelation.

do not propose

the

of

aspects

developed
kn-Avn and

in

of

system
Perfect

"The

its

to recite here even the leading

esoteric

Way,"

Christianity

work

for the

made

substance has been

is

well

accessible in

forms, thanks to the untiring devotion of Mr.

many

It does offer some conspicuous

the tradition of the Kabalah,
with
points of contact
of God, or the Divineespecially as to the dual nature

Edward Maitland.

Feminine, and

human

"

the multiplicity of principles in the

system";

but

it

would be easy

their extent, as also, in

The

their importance.

some

to

exaggerate

less

conspicuous cases,
traceable references are few

We may

example, the
Kabalistic doctrine of Ain Soph and His emanations
God unmanifest and abstract
in the statement that

and

superficial.

find,

for

"

is

the Primordial Mind,

the ideation of that

correspondence.

prosopus reflected

and the Kosmic universe

Mind,"

So
in

but

it

is

not a far-reaching

also the conception of

Microprosopus

is

is

Macro-

thinly sketched

the Form
by the following passage.
Infinite
the
a
name,
less assumes a form, the Nameless
But, althou-h the
the Definite, and these human.
in and to the souls
man
a
as
Lord is God manifested
"

of those to

man

in

only,

whom

the vision

In

is

the

Lord

vouchsafed,

it is

not as

the exclusive sense of the term and masculine

but as

man

both

masculine

and

feminine"

is androgyne),
(Microprosopus it will be remembered
is
as
and
man
once
woman,
at
Humanity itself." I
maintained the
el
Gos;
should add that the "new
"

"

Kabalah on the ground of the purity

of
doctrine
correspondences, which shows that

divinity of the

of

its

432
"

^he

5-trrtrttte

anb

of the Jiabalah

|!Jiteratiire

famous compendium belongs

this

to a period prior

by the priesthoods of the

to that destruction

rium of the sexes which constituted

With

"

Fall."

equilib

one sense the

Divine origin

its

be brought into contrast the interpretation of

may

the claim

made by
"

its

statement of

this

in

delivery.

the Kabalah as to the

When

it

is

by God

were delivered

of

Paradise, and then to Moses on

is

Adam

to

all

Sinai,

them

when he succeeds

always discerns

of

said that these Scriptures

first

the doctrine contained in

manner

meant

it is

in

that

man

that which

in attaining to that

inner and celestial region of his nature where he

is

taught directly of his own Divine Spirit, and knows

even as he is known." As The Perfect Way and
"

"

its

connections assume to be the outcome of a similar

quality of discernment, it follows, of course, that

the doctrine commonly called
a recovery of
"

and variously

entitled

should add that

many

Gnosis,

it is

the

Hermetic and Kabba-

listic."

found

in

"

The

interpretative

thoughtful persons have

Perfect Way
a
fountain of light,

and

"

"

reconciliatory,"

that

much

of

its

quality of genius
interpretation
yet it was not free at the beginning from the fantastic
element, and it depends to some extent on philo
indicates

logical

arguments which

rare

are

more than

Also at the close of Mr. Maitland

much which must have been

life

fantastic.

he wrote

regretted by his friends,

bringing his earlier work into discredit by exaggerated

The
claims concerning it. Taking it as a whole
Perfect Way" cannot, I think, be regarded as a
"

master-key to the Kabalah, or as anything indeed but

a series of suggestions and glimpses concerning the

(Christian ^tubente of the Jiabalah

hidden

sense of

sacred

many

433

the

scriptures,

full

unfolding of which will not perhaps be accomplished

even in the twentieth century.

THE KABALAH AND MODERN

THEOSOPHY

XX.

The attempt which was made

in the

year 1875,

by the foundation of the Theosophical Society, to ex

tend and perhaps to centralise the study of Oriental
Occult Philosophy, has, in spite of its chequered
history, succeeded to a very large extent in that
If we remove from consideration certain
object.
claims advanced by the founders, about which

be unbecoming to speak positively, as

it

it

would

would be

impossible and misplaced here to attempt their full

discussion, and if we regard the Society rather as it

assumes to regard
designed to

namely, as an organisation
a
promote neglected branch of knowledge,

we have only
twenty
in

to survey

years to see

No

covering.

overlook this
possesses

at

itself,

how

its

literature during the past

large a field

has succeeded

occult student will be inclined to

fact,

and as the Theosophical Society

least this aspect of importance,

how far the

which
we owe to
philosophy

be useful to ascertain
eastern

it

it

will

expositions of
it connect with

the subject of our inquiry.

It

may

be said

correspondences
are,

of

course,

pueumatology

in

which

a general

manner

that the

have already established

The cosmology and
recognised.
of

Jewish

esoteric

tradition

are

regarded, roughly speaking, as reflections or deriva

tives

from an older knowledge and a higher teaching

EE

^he

434

Stortritu

SJtterature of iht $iabalah

<wfc

which has existed from time immemorial

East*

farthest

suppose

methods of the Kabalah

that the peculiar

the

in

would not be denied

it

are, so to

speak, indigenous, but with these there is little

sympathy and indeed little acquaintance.-)- Nor do
I throughout trace a sufficient warrant in knowledge

The author

for the expression of particular opinions.

of

Unveiled"

"Isis

and

"The

Secret

Doctrine"

had,

it

must be confessed, an enormous budget of materials,

but not very carefully selected. On the one hand,
she gives us information which we are not able to
check because we do not know her authorities

which

it

is

on

makes statements occasionally with

the other she

Thus, she distinguishes

difficult to agree.

between the ordinary, or Judaistic, and the universal,

If little be known of the one,
or Oriental Kabalah.
there

is

known

nothing, at

least

of the other.

"

heirs elect of the sages

Its

who

nothing that
adepts are few
first

is
;

definite,

but these

discovered

the starry
Shemaia of the

which shone on the great

have solved the absolute

truths

and are

Chaldaean lore

now

any
*

W.

we cannot

check,

resting from their grand

statement which, of course,

for

That

critical

Compare

Q. Judge,

labour."

study of the Jewish Kabalah

it

is

and
can,

ignorant absurdity and assurance of the late

did not scruple to affirm that Abraham, Moses and

the

who

Solomon were members of the ancient lodge of adepts from whom this
"The Ocean of
Theosophy,"
high teaching has been handed down.
New York, 1893, c. I. "Echoes" of this kind "from the burnished
Echoes from the
and mysterious East," to quote Judge terminology
("

Orient,"

p. 5,

New York,

do not

1890),

find response

among

theosophical

writers in England.

It is,

Literature

however, said that

among

the

Jews."

simply without warrant, and

% "Isis Unveiled," i.,

is

"there

was

at all times a

Kabalistic

This
Secret Doctrine, iii., 166.
contradicted by the literature itself.

17.

is

Christian

<Stnbfnt0

labalah

of the

435

no

It
weight.
may be taken to
indicate a growing feeling
among occultists of all
schools that the Hebrew tradition has been
perverted.*

therefore,

carry

be accepted also as evidence that because

the term Kabalah signifies an oral
reception it has
It

may

come

to be used in connection with

any unwritten
knowledge. Such a course is very inexact and mis
leading, but the same abuse of words is found in
Paracelsus and

many

later writers.

It serves,

however,
purpose not intended by those who use it
it
distinguishes between scholar and sciolist.
The
a

statement which we cannot check

the

we

case

present

Occultation

"
"

is

are

told

that

the

In

can,
"Book

of

the most ancient

Hebrew document
much doubt whether

on occult

I
learning,"! and
would be countenanced by any student who

this

was
"

however, usually

is,

by the statement that we

accompanied

with

acquainted

Book of

Formation,"

the

claims

strong

of

the

to say nothing of the literature

which belongs to Talmudic times.

It

is

added that

the Sepher Dzeniouttia was compiled from another

and older work which is not named, but it is stated
that there is only one
in existence,
original copy
"

and that

this

"

is

"

so very old that our

modern

anti

quarians might ponder over its pages an indefinite

time, and still not quite agree as to the nature of
the fabric upon which it is written." J Till
antiquaries

One

collection

number

theosophical

writer,

however,

maintains

that

"the

writings known as the Bible constitutes but one of a

record, which are all derived from and based
one

of

of

upon

unifying system, known at times as the Ancient Wisdom Religion, or

Secret Doctrine." \V. Kint^sland. "The Ivsoteric Basis of
Christianity,

part

I.,

p.
"

15,

London, 1891.

Isis Unveiled,"

i.,

I.

% Ibid.

^he

43 6

Jtodrine ani $it*ratxm ot the gabalah

opportunity they will be

With both these
tempted to dismiss this claim.
classes of statement we may connect the affirmation
with

furnished

are

that

is

the

not evident in

doubtful

reasoning,

Kabalists

who

science are

itself

and

Thus we
that

assert

is

supported by

are told of Oriental

the

of

traditions

their

more than seventy thousand years

old,

concerning which claim it is observed that modern

science cannot prove it to be false, but the question
is whether Kabalists, oriental or otherwise, have any
colourable pretence of evidence to produce in support
of its truth.
may pass over as circumspectly as

We

personal pretension to a

first

hand acquaintance with Kabalistic books once

indis

possible the writer

putably in existence, but now lost. Of such is the

Chaldaean Book of Numbers,* which, according to
another authority, is a companion to the sEsh
I sis Unveiled
to
Metzareph,^ but is declared in
be a part of the great Oriental Kabalah, namely,
"

"

the patrimony of the persons previously described

as having
solved the absolute."!
To the lesson
"

which

is taught by
observations of
add
the
borrowed
view which
may

kind

this

rests

the
example, that the Talmud is
even
for
most
thus
enigmas
Jews,"
"

criticism, as, for

darkest

of

attributing
*

This work

Doctrine,"

i.,

we

on bad

mystical

is

214.

said to be
It

is,

sense to the

much

commentaries

superior to the Zohar.

in fact, the only real

Kabalah,

"Secret

ib., iii.,

170.

appears to be now in possession of certain Persian sufis (id.), an

interesting statement which I have not, however, felt authorised to
It

make

use of in

Book

iii.

6,

of this study.

Madame Blavatsky adds that

t This is Dr. Westcott s opinion.
the Sepher Yetzirah is also a portion of the Book of Numbers.
Ibid., L, 579.

Ibid.,

i.,

17.

<>ome

tubent0 of tlu Jlabalah

Christian

on the exoteric laws of

has

attribution

value of which

Israel, the

been

already

admit, however, that

many

437

I
must
names and

exhibited.

considerable

one of great weight with occultists can be quoted

in

support of this opinion.*

would serve no purpose to extend further the

correction of such manifest errors or to enumerate all
It

the singular assertions which rest more or less exclu

sively on the good authority of Madame Blavatsky.
It will be sufficient to refer to her views upon the

On the one hand the

authenticity of the Zohar.f
author is said to be R. Simeon ben Jochai J again, it
;

A.D. 70 and
as
it
now
was
it
and
1 10
stands,
written,
yet again,
by R. Moses de Leon, the original being lost, though
scattered through
at the same time its contents were

was

edited for the

"

first

time

between

"

"

number of minor

Moses had

R.

MSS."

Syriac,

Such
Chaldaic, and Christian Gnostics to help him.
criticism.
serious
for
warrant
are
without
any
opinions

||

The

best test of

Madame

Blavatsky

knowledge of

first-hand

the subject is the fact that she calls the Liber Drushim of Isaac de Loria
a part of the Talmud, and thence proceeds to exhibit the Sephirotic
of

doctrine

collection.

that

"Secret

symbolism of the Lesser Countenance

Ibid.,

Doctrine,"

i.,

The

438.

also referred to the

Talmud.

350.

i.,

is

It

is

characteristic that she should regard the

sufficiently esoteric.

Zohar

as

not

Ibid.

She also says that it was on account of his

t Ibid., iii., 92.
that R. Simeon was forced to
possession of the "secret knowledge"
After this version of a matter of fact we shall
take refuge in the cave.
not be surprised to learn that St. Peter was a Kabalist (//;., iii., 125),
that the Count de St. Germain had access to unknown Vatican MSS.
on

the

Central

Kabalah, which

Sun

Midrash,"

as

(#.,
if

ii.,

MSS.

237),

or

contain
th.it

information

the Zohar

i>

regarding

the

also

the

"called

the last term were particular, and not generic

167).

Ibid.,

iii.,

167.

||

Ibid.,

i.,

114,

230;

iii.,

167.

(ib., iii.,

BOOK

VIII

THE KABALAH AND OTHER

CHANNELS OF ESOTERIC
TRADITION
ARGUMENT
Modern occultism
the great occult

regards

all

tradition, but

the secret sciences as vehicles of

thn

is

outside the purpose of the

present inquiry, which is confined to estimating the extent of the

influence exercised by Kabalism on other branches of esoteric

knowledge

in the

much exaggerated

West.

It

is

found that

this influence

has been

has been unquestionably large

in the case of ceremonial magic, but very small in that of alchemy,
of astrology, &c.
Freemasonry has also been regarded by
occultists as a

with Kabalism

in the

West.

It

channel of the secret tradition, but its connection

is slight.
The claims of the Tarot as a key of

Kabalistic symbolism are set aside, without prejudice to their

As a conclusion to
merits, because of an insuperable difficulty.
the whole research the doctrine of pure mysticism is contrasted

with that of Kabalism and the points reached in the investigation

are brought into a single focus.

I.

THE KABALAH AND MAGIC

IT was established at the outset of our inquiry that

occult speculations do not consider any single system
as the exclusive depository of occult

knowledge

variety of channels are recognised, and by the net

work of communications subsisting between these

channels the occult sciences are methodised and their

Channels

(Other

of Esoteric

UniMtion

439

There is an
identities and analogies exhibited.
enormous divergence of opinion as to what may and
not constitute a path of the secret tradition,

may

individual predilection exercising, as will be supposed,

no inconsiderable influence.
may conclude in a

We

general manner that the tradition being ubiquitous

by the hypothesis is thought to have assumed its

forms everywhere and at

all

times.

There was,

for

example, no exoteric religion which did not possess

an esoteric interpretation* and there was no esoteric

which did not connect that religion

more especially understood here by

interpretation

with

all

that

is

the secret teaching.

For this hypothesis the integral
connection of Kabalism with other systems belonging
to the far past
its

would be evidence enough that

it

had

root in the secret tradition, but, without denying

altogether that there

not dissimilar view,

resemblances

may

may

be a certain warrant

we have found

be accounted

that

for in

many

for

of the

a more natural

and spontaneous manner. As, however, it was in the

western world that Kabalism was chiefly propagated,

and may be said roughly to have developed,!

observe

to

its

connections

necessary
channels by which the arcane knowledge
to have been communicated to the West.

with
is

it

is

other

believed

These are

Magic, Alchemy, Astrology, the occult associations

which culminated in Freemasonry, and, finally, an
obscure sheaf of hieroglyphs known as Tarot cards.
*

of

John Yorker

Antiquity," p.

"

Notes on the Scientific and Religious M\

5.

iVun R. Simeon ben Jochai be

t If the derivation of the
Dr.
admitted, Palestine was, of course, the birthplace of that work.
Schiller-Szinessy, who defends [hi* derivation, accepts also what
/<>h;ir

follows therefrom.

oEhe Ipcnrtrine

440

There

anb literature of the gabnlah

also a side question as to

is

whether devotional

mysticism, apart from any formal initiation, shows

any trace of Kabalism over and above that of uncon
scious analogy. Like the studies which have preceded
it,

the object of this

concluding book

rather to

is

correct misconceptions than to establish novel views.

Far too much

stress has

been

upon the common

laid

basis of all the occult sciences, while those

who

look

their enlightenment
more especially to the
Kabalistic apparatus have been unduly predisposed
to discern Kabalism at the root of all.
shall see

for

We

that in most instances the connection

a matter of adornment, late in

of

chiefly

the

historical

its

was

accidental,

introduction, or

The paramount

order.

exception to this statement is the first system

with which we have here to deal.
There is no

doubt that Magic in the West * owes its processes

and its complexion to Kabalism, though it would be
folly to pretend that without Kabalism there would
have been no Western Magic.f
I propose in the present section to restrict the
use of the term Magic within the narrow limits of
its common acceptation.
To take it in its higher

"The

Kabalah

is

the source of

all

the vain imaginations which

form the basis of Magic, and

many Jews devoted to the Kabalah are

also addicted thereto, abusing the names of God and the angels for the
Grand Dictionnairc
performance of things supernatural." Moreri
Cabale.
Amsterdam, 1740.
Historique, Tom. ii., s.v.
t The strength of the connection is exhibited by the modern
literature of colportage in France.
La Grande et Veritable Science
:

Cabalistiqtte

is still

la Sorcellerie dcvoitie,

and

it is

under such

titles that

the mutilated reprints of the "Great Albert," the "Little Albert"

and the
Red Dragon appear in the obscure by-ways of Paris, usually
"

"

without place or date.

exhibit

it

see the

Similar productions of the last century also

Telescope de Zoroastrc on Clef de la

anonymous

Grande Cabale divinatoire des Mages,

s.L, 1796.

(Other

Channels of

superfluous to inquire

whether

connects with a

it

which lays claim to the same

question as it is understood here

tradition

The

441

Wisdom, would make

sense,* as equivalent to Divine

it

tirabitton

dreotcric

historical

than metaphysical, and

with the

Western world.

definition.
is

rather

concerned only
White and Black
is

The

Middle Ages constitutes a kind of

Magic
spurious practical Kabalah which represents Jewish
esoteric science debased to the purposes of the
of the

necessary that we should estimate

true worth, because it has been the subject

and

sorcerer,
it

of

at

its

it

is

much misconception

not only among uninstructed

but
even
persons
professed students.
study of the Zoharistic writings, their develop
ments and commentaries, even with the slender

materials which are offered in this work,

that the ends proposed

vviil show
by the speculative Kabalah

are very different from

the evocation of spirits, the

raising of ghosts, the discovery of concealed treasures,
the bewitchments and other mummeries of Ceremonial

Magic.
as

The Kabalah,

we have

however, countenance,

does,

seen, the doctrine of the

Divine Namcs,f and it

burdens of its inheritance.

in

is

Of

power resident
one of the

fact

in

the antiquity

diffusion of that doctrine there can be

one or other of
universally,

and,

its

like

forms
all

it

and
;

in

has obtained almost

universal

the insensate character which

no doubt

it

beliefs,

behind

exhibits externally

II would be unwise to deny that there is a higher sense, but

such attempts to present it as Dr. Franr Hartmann s
Magic White
and Black
are much too highly coloured to possess any historical
"

"

value.

t See the important chapter on the

Philologus Hebraits, 1672.

Name

of

God

in J.

Leusden

^he

44 2
there
it.

IBottrine an!b

may be an

of the

Jitn atttre

inward reason which accounts

Without attempting an inquiry

should

be

probably baffled,

indicate

that

tradition

is

at

the

sources

it

is

to

in

for

we

which

sufficient here to

which

Kabalistic

generally referred, namely, Akkadia,

Chaldaea and Babylonia, this doctrine prevailed it
was no doubt brought out of Babylon by the Jews,
;

and they carried

it

the third exile.

It

with them into the dispersion of

inspired a whole cycle of bizarre

More
legends concerning Solomon and his marvels.
than this, it may be said to be directly connected
with the Kabalistic symbolism concerning the divine

powers

and

attaching

qualities

Hebrew

the

to

alphabet The worlds were made, so to speak, by

instrument of a single letter, and four letters

the

are the living forces which actuate them.

There can

be therefore no question that every Kabalist accepted,

symbolically at least, the doctrine of the power of
It must have passed very early into un
words.
fortunate applications;* sacred names were written

on amulets and talismans which were used to heal

diseases, to avert evil chances

was a part

and so

forth.-f

But

it

also of the Chaidaean doctrine that the

*
The Sephcr Raziel, referred to Eleazer of Worms, and posing
With
as an angelic revelation to Noah, has been already mentioned.
its talismans and philtres, its double seal of
Solomon, its mystic or

occult alphabetical

symbols,

its

figures for

the government

of

evil

conjurations by means of the Divine Names, this work

constitutes one of the storehouses of mediaeval magic, besides being
chiefly responsible for the whole of the practical Kabalah.
spirits,

and

f So

its

far as regards the early Christian centuries,

the question

is

by a reference in the thirty-third Sermon of Origen by way of

commentary on St. Matthew, wherein allusion is made to a book of
settled

exorcisms or adjurations of

Demons

passing under the

which was no doubt the prototype of the

later

name

of Solomon,

Keys and Grimoires.

(Dther

Channels of

(Esoteric ITraoition

443

Name could, in some obscure

God to whom it was attributed.

possessor of the Divine

way, influence the

Above

all,

demons

the

and

evil

became

spirits

power of such words. Here is

the germ of which the last development, or rather
the final corruption, is to be found in the French

subservient to

the

grimoires of Black Magic.

It was, broadly speaking, somewhere about the
fourteenth century that a Latin literature rose up in

Europe, passing subsequently into the vernaculars of

various countries, containing processes for compell.ing
spirits by means of Divine Names which are corrup

Hebrew

tions of

be

the

originals are not extant.

as the

"

Key

recensions,

of

more

The

terms.*

from

translated

processes pretend to

Hebrew,

The

Solomon,"

but,

chief of

if

them

so,
is

the

known

of which there are two

correctly regarded as distinct works

under an identical

title.f

Among

the points which

should be observed concerning them is the fact that

while they are concerned with all classes of spirits,

good and

evil,

mostly
with the

dead,

illicit,

every variety of purpose, but

contain
no formula for dealing
they
for

and

this,

think,

indicates

their

Jewish origin, for the Jews had very strong feelings

as to the sacred nature of the repose of the human
*

Jean Wier, a demonologist of the sixteenth century, in his

Disputes et Discours (Us Illusions et Impostures des Diablcs,
gives a list of magical works current at his period under great names
of the past, and points out that the art which they deal with
depraved the most secret interpretation of the Divine Law, known as
Kabalah among the Jews. Seethe reprint of this work, Paris, 1885,
ffisloires,

hai>

>,

175-

f A work passing under this name was condemned in a Decree of

Pope Gelasius. ...Sec Antonius van Dale: De Online et Progressu
iiT, Amsterdam, 1696, p. 558.

444 ^fte Jodrtne anb JJiterature

xrf

the jiabalah

Out of these two works there was developed

subsequently a larger variety of processes, more

soul.

which

spurious,

distinctly

mantic mysteries.

enter

did

They begot

also

into

many

variations

for the use of Christian operators,

adapted

necro

and con

taining sacred words the efficacy of which would not

have been so promptly acknowledged by a Hebrew.
It

is

literature

and as

think an unfortunate policy, to exalt works

Key of Solomon into embodiments of

the

like

one thing to note the existence of this

and to confess its derivation it is another,
"

"

genuine Kabalistic tradition.

rabbins of the

with the

is

an insult to the

and imbecility of Ceremonial

has been done in England and is being

puerilities
It

Magic.

done

Holy Synod

It

to suggest their connection

at this

day

in

France.*

The

professed Kabalistic

would actually seem

ascribe a superior importance and an additional

occultists of the latter country

to

aspect

of

the

mystery to

worthless

Clavicles

of

Solomon, by representing that they are the only

written memorials of a most secret oral branch of

Kabalism instead of the

practical

a perfectly traceable
doctrine
concerning

observes

"

The

if

not

Divine

final

debasement of

rationally

Names.

practical part of the

accountable
Dr.

Kabalah

is

Papus
barely

indicated in a few manuscripts scattered through our

great libraries.

At

Paris, the Uibliotheque

Nationale

possesses one of the finest exemplars, of which the

There is some ground for supposing that the first express

attempts to identify Magic with Kabalism must be referred to Germany.
There are numerous earlier examples, but Welling s Opus MagoCabbalisticum, Hamburg, 1765,
of some interest.

is

a good instance, and

it is

also a

work

Channel* of

(Dther

^raiitiou

<0oteru

445

attributed to Solomon.

These manuscripts,
generally known under the name of Clavicles, are the
basis of all the old grimoires which circulate in
is

origin

country

places (the Great and Little Albert,

Red Dragon and

Enchiridion} and of those which drive priests into

mental alienation by sorcery (Grimoire of
Honorius)."

The statement does

not exhibit

with the works which

in

earliest

its

Solomon,"

it

full

mentions

forms owes

little

acquaintance

the Enchiridion

the

to

and the Grimoire of Honorius

"Keys

is

of

not more

concerned with sorcery than are rituals like the Red

Dragon. Finally, the intellectual and moral difference
between the Clavicles and their derivatives is so
slight

that

it

is

scarcely worth labouring.

As regards

their

scope and intention, the Clavicles are themselves

I
have indicated the possibility that
grimoires.
behind the ancient doctrine of the virtue resident in
certain

theurgic words and formulae there

concealed a secret of the sanctuaries

may

be

so also the

apparatus of Ceremonial Magic may be a travesty

and disfigurement of an occult practice known also
to the occult sanctuaries, but

of these mysteries
for

signatum on

no one

is

on the track

who

begins by mistaking signum

the one hand or the mutilated

reflection for the original

on the

other.

The

general fact remains that it is by the

perversion of the Kabalah that we have obtained the

and that the sympathetic student of the

Jewish tradition mu.t tolerate this unwelcome fact as
he best can.*
grimoires,

work

belonging

to

this

class,

but

more

elaborate

and

interesting than most of them, goes to show that a Jew in possession

of the
and also of the secrets of
Holy Traditions of the Kabalah
"

"

446

^he

Jocttine nub fiDitetature of the Jlabalah

should prefer to ignore altogether this so-called

practical part of the Kabalah, but so much import
I

ance having been attributed to it by modern occultists,

it seems necessary for the sake of completeness to
say something briefly of
It was concerned above
firstly,

as

its

all

materials and

method.

with the names of God,

they are found in

Holy

Scripture,

and,

were

their

as

its

developed by
mysteries
secondly,
It attributed certain
means of Kabalistic processes.
names to the Sephiroth, and these were regarded as
divine

the

to

analogous

and

forces

attributes

associated with the Sephiroth.

The Divine Name connected with Kether was

that

signifying

essence of

the

That of Ckokmah

(AHIH).

is

Deity, Eheieh
Jod, Jah, or Tetra-

the

grammaton, commonly rendered Jehovah (JHVH),

and susceptible of twelve permutations, similar to

names of

the sealing

These

permutations

Kabalists.

ALHIM)

is

of Gods.

IHV
are

in

the Sepher Yetzirah.

Banners by the

called

The name Jehovah Elohim (JHVH

and signifies God

attributed to

EL (AL)

is

Bin<ih

referred

to

meaning, according to Rosenroth,

and Ruler of Mercy. Geburah is
with Elohim Gibor, the strong

Chesed,
is

in

God

and

its

of Grace

correspondence

God who avenges

the

practical Magic, bequeathed the first to his elder and the second to his
younger son. What happened when there were more than two sons
Book of the Sacred Magic," translated by
See the
does not appear.
The original is an MS.
S. L. MacGregor Mathers, London, 1898.
"

Library, Paris, and belongs to the i8th century, but it

claims to have been written in Hebrew in the year 1458, which claim,
Even its Jewish
by the internal evidence, is manifestly imposture.
in the Arsenal

Mr. Mathers, who has a certain erudition but

authorship is unlikely.
is devoid of critical judgment, accepts every claim advanced by this
work, as he accepts that of the "Key of Solomon."

(Other

Channels of Neoteric Urabition

crimes of the wicked.

Name
or
or

of

Eloah va Daath

the Divine

is

(ALVH V DATh)

Tiphereth

447

Jehovah

Adonai Tsabaoth (ADNI TsBAVTh), the God

Lord of Hosts, is connected with Netzach ; Elohim
of

Tzabaoth,

similar

meaning,

belongs

Hod ;

to

Shaddai El Chai (ShDI AL Chi), the omnipotent

living God, is referable to Jesod ; Adonai Melekh

(ADNI MLK)

to Malchuth.

But the ten Sephirotk are naturally connected

with the ten numbers, and hence there was an occult

power resident in numerals analogous

was inherent in the Hebrew letters

names belonging

to that

the

which
divine

were those also of

to the Sephirotk

the scale of the denary, but over and above these

there were other names referred to the numbers

based

on the

number of the

letters which gave

Thus, the number one

.expression to these names.

was represented by the single letter Jod, understood

Name, and not in its alphabetical order
in which it is equivalent to ten.
The number two

as a Divine

was represented by
by ShDI = Shaddai

AHIH

JH
;

the

AL

and

number

by ALHIM,
Kabalism has added

five

Christian

or

six

Jesus;
seven by

to

by

the

four

which

number

by
I

three

JHVH

presume

and
that

JHShVH=/*vW/W/
ALVThIM and AL GBVR
;

ARARITA and AShRAHIH eight

ALVH
V DATh and JHVH V DATh; nine
by
by JHVH TsBAVTh, ALHIM GBVR, and JHVH
TsDQNV ten by ALHIM TsBAVTh and by the
;

extended
It

Tetragrammaton

may be added

Cornelius

express

Agrippa
divine

JVD HA VAV HA.

connection that according to

simple numbers were used to

in this

things,

numbers

of ten

were

for

448

lhe Uortrine anb |iteratu

numbers of one hundred

celestial,

numbers of a thousand
Divine

of the

Names and

for

their

$abalah

and

for earthly,

come.

to

things

were

qualifications

The
also

tabulated in reference to the twenty-two letters.

Of these names the greatest power and virtue

were attributed to the Tetragrammaton which was

the root and foundation of all and the ruling force of
t

the world

its

true pronunciation, as already seen,

secrets of the sanctuary and for

was one of the

Kabalistic magic was the master key of

operation.

With

this

all

successful

was connected the name of

72 letters obtained by the Kabalistic computation of

the numbers of the letters of Tetragrammaton after a
conventional manner, as follows

Jod

Jod

He

Jod He Vau
Jod He Vau He
After the

Divine

=
=

10
15

==

21

26

Names come

those

of

the

orders of the angels and the chiefs of the hierarchy,

concerning which something has been said already in
It would
the section on Kabalistic Pneumatology.
serve no purpose to enumerate all the complicated
The ten
apparatus developed in this connection.

archangels and the ten angelic orders corresponded

to the ten divine names connected with the Sephiroth
and the name of 72 letters had 72 other angels
attributed thereto,

whose names were extracted by a

conventional device

from Exodus

There were angels of the cardinal

xiv.

19,

20,

points, rulers

21.

of

the four elements, angels of the planets, angels of the

Divine presence, and in opposition to all these there

were also

evil

spirits,

princes of Devils, held to be

Channels of
"offensive

in

the

<sx>teric

elements,"

^rabition

and

so

449

This

forth.

passed bodily over to the ceremonial

of the middle ages, which the debased

apparatus

magic
Kabalah may be said to have constituted and ruled
throughout, and it is for this reason that Western
conventional

magic has so

connection

little

with

folk-lore.

THE KABALAH AND ALCHEMY

II.

Some reference has been made to the subject of

Hermetic tradition when considering the Kabalistic
treatise entitled
We have there
"Purifying Fire."
seen that the Hermetic and Kabalistic
philosophies
are generally ascribed to a
is

common

source,

and

the case with sympathetic as well as hostile

The

question,

and

though
differing from

am

not

less

however,
I
should
such
sure

is

exceedingly complicated,
have much hesitation in

a
that

consensus of authorities,* I
as regards the branch of

Hermetic philosophy which

name

we

of

careful

alchemy,
about making

this

critics.

known under

is

should

and

be

accepting

the

exceedingly
statements.

We

must begin first of all by distinguishing the

earlier books ascribed to Hermes
Trismegistus, and
not concerned
*

In a pamphlet entitled
Fra.

Aude,"
said"

Arabs,

name
the

with the transmutation of

metals,f

K.R.

et

A.C.,

"

The Science

the

"sages

of

of

"

Alchymy,"

medieval

by Supere
Europe are

have derived their knowledge of this subject, (i) from the

from the heirs of the traditional lore now identified
by the
Of these alleged sources,
Kabalah," (3) from ancient Egypt.

to

(2)
"

only is historically certain.

t Compare, however, the anonymous preface to the first
English
translation of the Divine Poimander, that of Dr.
John Everard, 1650;
first

FF

Ihe

450

itortrine an& literature ot the

from such

late

term,

stronger

compositions, to
the Emerald

When

Golden Treatise.

many

may

less veiled,

to

Hermes

only,

and

be found

the

affirms that

Myer

Kabalah, more or
the books attributed

in

the

can

be

century,
alchemists in

Greek

and

Asclepios

fourth

connection

doctrinal

no
the

Trismegistus,* the reference obtains

be intended only, to the Divine

existence of which
the

of

and

can

Poimander^
to

Isaac

use

Table

of the

doctrines

of the

make

as

other

traced

vain

for

these

the

about or prior

We may

A.D.

with

tracts,

search

any

definite

works,

though

naturally included among the great names

of antiquity who are associated with the making of

Hermes

gold,

is

and there are

also

other

While

personage.
altogether such extreme
mystical

Casaubon, who
treatises

as

references

we

to

this

discount

opinions as that of Isaac

Hermetic
represents the earlier

the work

of

was

Kabalistic

probably a Jew of
numerous general reasons

for

were

between

points

must

contact

of

Alexandria,^

adept

who

we have

admitting that there

Neo-Platonism

the possession of "the great Elixir of the Philosophers" is

See also Dr. Westcott s observations
ascribed to Hermes Termaximus.

here

prefixed to his verbatim reprint, Collectanea Hermetica, vol. 2,

London,

1894*
"The
Philosophy of Ibn Gebirol," pp. 166, 167.
f M. Berthelot, however, observes that "the role attributed to
the Jews in the propagation of alchemical ideas recalls that which they

enjoyed at Alexandria during the contact of Greek culture with the

It is known that the Jews exercised an
culture of Egypt and Chaldea.
influence of the

first

importance in this fusion of the religious and

East and of Greece, which presided at the
The Alexandrian Jews were for one moment at

scientific doctrines of the

birth of Christianity.

the head of science and

Paris, 1885.

philosophy."

Les Origines de FAlchiinie,

Channels of

(Esoteric

and the Kabalah,* as seen

The connection
through the

of alchemy

in

^rabition

an

with

451

earlier

Hermes

section.
is

not

Hermetic books of the Neo-Platonic

period, and its Kabalistic correspondences must also

be sought elsewhere. Among the
writings of Zosimus
the Panopolite, which belong to the third
century,f

there

a quotation from the

True Book of Sophe

concerning the Divine Lord of the
Hebrews and the powers of Sabaoth, which affirms
that there are two sciences and two wisdoms, that
of the Egyptians and that of the
Hebrews, the
is

the Egyptian

second

"

"

rendered "more solid by Divine

Both
come from remote ages; they do
Justice." I
not investigate material and corruptible bodies their

being

operates independently of any foreign

action, sustained by prayer and divine grace.
Then
comes the following significant passage, which
accounts for tlie philosophical work of
alchemy

generation

being likened to that of God in the creation.

symbol of chemistry is drawn from creation
*

M.

le

Hitroglyphes

Chevalier

I.

d Horapollon,

"

The

(in the

A. de Goulianov in his Essai sur Us

&c., Paris, 1827, connects Hermetic and

Kabalistic tradition on the fantastic

ground that Enoch, who plays such
an important part in the revelation of the Kabalah, is identical with the
Edris of the Orientals and witli Hermes (p. 48).

t As Louis Figuier s popular work, entitled UAlchimic ct les

Alchimistcs, is much quoted by occultists, and is therefore
presumably
in the hands of some of them, it will be well to
point out that he classes
all

Byzantine literature of alchemy as apocryphal, and the work of

monks belonging to the 8th, Qth, and loth centuries. There was never
much excuse for this opinion, and it is only necessary to add that since
the researches of Berthelot it has become
I may add
impossible.
that,
throughout, Figuier s work, though exceedingly interesting, is most
inaccurate as regards its facts, and of no
consequence as to its opinions
and inferences. Consult, on the point involved, the third edition,
p. 6
Paris, i860.

J Collection des ancicns akhimistcs Grecs, livrzison

ii.,

p. 206.

^he

452

eyes of

literature of the giabalah

Sptfjctrine aitb

its

adepts)

who

save and purify the divine

soul enchained in the elements, and, above

who

all,

separate the divine spirit confounded with the flesh.

As there is a sun, the flower of the fire, a celestial
the

sun,

become
by

gold)

which

is

sky."*

the world, so copper, if it

it assume the colour of
is, if

eye of

right

flower (that
purification,

becomes then a

king on earth, as the sun

There is no doubt that

important

citation.

It

terrestrial sun,
is

in

king

this

is

the

a very

shows why the early Hermetic

books came to be regarded as alchemical in later

times, and it institutes a striking parallel between
Egyptian and Jewish
is

to

But that the

science.

the science of the Kabalah there

is

latter

no evidence

So also the reference to the Labyrinth

Solomon which occurs among the remains of

cite.

of
still

earlier

Greek alchemists
In

polation.f
collection,

short,

which

is

no

alchemy, shows

the
so

is

celebrated

the

far

traces

a mediaeval

of

inter-

Byzantine

source

of

acquaintance

all

with

The same observation

the Jewish secret tradition.
Arabian
and Syriac alchemists
the
to
early
applies
who drew from Greek sources, though some extracts
with analyses, in a Syriac MS.
the
University of Cambridge, mention
possessed by
the talismans of Solomon, referred to the seven

from

Zosimus,

planets,

and

the

there

very

little,

power which they exercise over

demons. When we add to this that in spite of such
evidence for the connection between alchemy and the
Kabalah as is offered by the late ^Esh Metzareph
is

the Zohar,

it

as already seen, to support

must be
*

Ibid.

inferred that these

f Ibid.

two

it

in

esoteric

(Channels of Creotcnr Trnbitiou

traditions

grew up

of one another.*

453

for a

long peried in independence

Furthermore, there is no trace of

any science of transmutation

in ancient Egypt, and it

worth noting that the claim of
alchemy rose into
at
that period when certain
prominence precisely
Chinese ports were first thrown open to Western
is

commerce.

If

it

be true, as

alchemy flourished
that

in

has been affirmed, that

China from a remote period,
it

possessed a literature, and that the terminology

of this literature offers analogies with that which after
it

wards prevailed in the West, it may well be that we

must look to the furthest East for the cradle of what
is
usually understood by Hermetic Science, namely,
that of transmutation.f
The subject is far too large
to enter on in this place, but we shall do well to

remember

that the doctrine of the

Macrocosm and

the Microcosm, the

analogy between spiritual and
the
Zoharistic
material,
symbolism of the balance,

have

been traced to the oldest sacred books of

all

the Chinese. J
*

It

is

The

analogies

may

not be so striking

however, to state that the Leyden papyrus which

known process of alchemical sophistication forms
Gnostic and theurgic collection.
On this point, see
fair,

contains the earliest

part of a
Berthelot s Collection des Anciens Alchimistes Grecs,
livraison, Je. p. 6
ct seq.
Albert Poisson, whose Theories et Symboles des Alchimistcs is a
contribution of real importance to the elucidation of Hermetic
science,
observes that
Alchemy among the Greeks was, by reason of its very
t

"

mixed up with magic and theurgy. Later on, thanks

philosophic Arabs, this science became purified, and it was not

origin,

fifteenth or sixteenth
century that

it

to the
till

the

allied itself afresh \\ith the occult

sciences

Thenceforth a considerable number of

properly so called.
alchemists demanded the Key of the Great Work from the
Kabalah,

Magic and

Alchemy."

t See

% The

Op.

"The Chinese,"

cit., p.

27.

by Dr.

W.

Paris, 1891.

A. P. Martin,
of reference

most accessible work

"Philosophy of Ibn Gebriol," appendix H.
so that it may be taken for what it is worth.

New
is

mention

See Book

York, 1881.

Isaac
this
iii.,

Mycr

hypothesis
5.

454
as

^he
the

Jtorttine anb

who have discovered them have

means of
this, we have no real

scholars

thought

as

JpUratwre of the

to

deciding but they indicate at least the possibility of

a common source for both esoteric traditions at a
;

centre not as yet acknowledged and

epoch of the past.

Of

course, as time

went

on,

at a very far

and as alchemical

developed in Europe, a connection un

The ssh
doubtedly arose with the Kabalah.*
evidences
of
its
is
one
many Kabalists
Metzareph
literature

became alchemists
But

Kabalah.

it

a few alchemists studied the

is

we

which

connection

still

a slight and

must

be

occasional

not

careful

to

exaggerate there is also very little trace of it prior

to the seventeenth century ,f when writers like Fludd
concerned themselves with both subjects, and Khun:

introduced

rathj

Kabalistic

pictorial

The

best

proof

literary history of the

*
"Alchemy,

way by

its

science."

symbolism

into

the

emblems of transmutation.
of

these

statements

ALsh Metzareph

is

itself.

the

Mr.

a science of observation, could not profit in any

Kabalah, which was purely a speculative

alliance with the

Poisson, Theories et Sy wholes des Alchimistes, p. 28.

this confusion of one occult science with another

t Poisson refers

mainly to Paracelsus, but I have already given full proof of the very
slender connection between this adept and the esoteric tradition of
the Jews.
Sapientice A^terncc, with which compare the
J^rinum Chemicum Secundum. Strasbourg, 1700.
There is a treatise entitled "The Azoth of the Philosophers"
which passes under the name of Basil Valentine, and suggests a certain
connection with Kabalism, because the term Azoth is composed of the

Amphitheatrum

second

tract of the

and final letters of the Greek, Latin and Hebrew alphabets. It

has been called into requisition accordingly, but the foundation is
exceedingly slight. Moreover, the term is at least as old as pseudoGeber, while the treatise attributed to Basil Valentine is of doubtful

first

authenticity,

and was excluded from the collection of Mangetus.

<h*mul0

of (Esoteric ^Trabition

Mathers observes that

known

is

understood by

still

position in the year

its

the treatise had

to few,

flourished

never been

heard

were

be truly said

may

it

and when

If this

fewer."*

1887,

when alchemy most

that

known

"

it is

455

in

the West,

being first
Rosenroth at the end of the seven

mentioned by

of,

teenth century.
Prior to that date there is no case
within
my knowledge of its quotation by any
alchemist, and although the Kabbala Denudata was

described on

its

title-page as Script um

logis, philosophis,

theologis

PHILOCHVMICIS

quam

omnium

omnibus philo-

religionum, atque

utilissimnm,

believe

that

only one alchemical writer concerned himself with

the appearance of

after

Apparatus
of

in

Philalethes,"

fragments

its

Librum Sohar.

who

it

fragments among the

This was the Lover

collected

"

and translated the

1714 and also published in the same

Short Enquiry Concerning the Hermetic
in

year

Art,"f

which introduces certain citations from the

"

ALsh

Metzareph

and

connects

symbolism of the Doves of Diana

into

alchemy by Eirenaeus
It

follows, however,

them
first

with

the

introduced

Philalethes.

from what has been stated

previously that the literary connection between the

Kabalah and alchemy does not begin so late as

"The Kabbalah Unveiled," Introduction,

p. 15.
t Reprinted in Dr. Wynn Westcott s Collectanea Hcrmctica, vol. 3,
London, 1894 ; the preface, which is not by the editor, states that the

Short Enquiry was "written with special reference" to the JEsh

there seems no foundation for this view.
The little
Metzare/>h, but
"

"

tract is largely a collection of opinions and quotations, not always

derived from the best sources, for its author appears to regard Edward
Kelley and Elias Ashmole as of equal authority with the acknowledged
adepts of alchemy.

^he

45 6

Bortrine anb Jpittrature ot the

quarter of the eighteenth century* and

the
ALsh Metzareph seems to have been cited
though
methodically by only one writer, the influence of the
the

first

Kabbala Denudata
its

may be traced

in

Germany soon after

publication by means of an anonymous

tract

which

pretends to treat of the chemical Kabalahf (cabala

ckymica) and has these words on its headline. This
little

work

is

incidentally of importance in

one respect. On
Cabalce where the

on a bearded

16

there

is

the

in

symbols

more than

a curious Figura

from the Ens Entium

light

figure holding the

and the square

characteristic

p.

compass

in the right

hand, thus giving the

left

emblematic

of

falls

connection with the secret sciences at a

Masonry in
date when

such a connection would scarcely be expected on

the Continent by modern scholarship.
There are also

some observations worth noting on the

regeneration which are useful
of

alchemy. j

subject of

for the mystical aspects

the

Unfortunately

correspondences

between the Kabalah and transmutation seem to be

confined to the

title

which

have quoted.

I except such slender analogies as the correspondence traced by

Sapere Aitde between the three worlds of Jean D Espagnet and the
Hermetic Arcanum," Collectanea
four worlds of the Kabalists.
See
"

vol. 1

Chemica,
(Westcott
f Cabala verier Descriptio

Enveisung

aller

boieditrch das

There was a

London, 1893.
ist, Brundliche Beschriebungiind
und uber naturalischen Dingen

s Edition),
:

das

natitralischcn

Verbum Fiat das

alles

erschasun

Hamburg,

1680.

later edition, Frankfort, 1761.

J A work of similar pretensions is F. Kiern s Cabala Chymica :

concordantia chymica, Azoth Philosophicum Solificatum, Mtilhausen,
1606.

Here the term Cabala

is

simply a catchword derived from

Paracelsus, and is used in this sense by a compiler belonging to the

group of Paracelsian exponents, of whom Benedictus Figulus and

Alexander von Suchten are the names now most remembered or

forgotten.

least

Channels of Esoteric ^rabition

The most important information on

457
the subject

of
History
expected
might
an
include
exposition
Chemistry,"* which claims to

be

in

Hoefer

"

of Kabalistic doctrines concerning the philosophical

term proves on examination to be

used in the loose sense of the period, and out of
two very large volumes there are only two pages
stone, but the

devoted

the

to

subject

of

the

Kabalah.f

The

to
authorship of the Sepher Yetzirah is attributed
R. Akiba, and that of the Zohar to R. Simeon.
It is also affirmed that Jewish and Arabian alchemists

knowledge of Kabalistic books,

held by adepts in as much
were
they

possessed an old

and that
honour
evidence

those

as
is

of

Hermes

Trismigestus.

The

unfortunately wanting, and as M.

maintains that the science of trans

Hoefer also
mutation was pursued in ancient Egypt, it would
be unsafe to accept his opinion unsupported by
other authority. J

Before dismissing the Kabalistic connections of

alchemy, a word must be said concerning two works
which have been supposed to be examples of that
connection, and to which

Ferdinand Hoefer

some importance has been

Histoirc de la Chimie depuis Us temps

les

une analyse cUtiillec

plus recuUs jusqu a notre tpoque ; comprenant
des MSS. alchimiques de la Bibliotheque Roy ale de Paris ; un exposf ales
doctrines cabalistiques sur la Pierre Phihsophale, etc., 2 vols., Paris,
Mr. II. C. Bolton observes that this great work is
1842, 1843.
superseded so far as the
Berthelot.

See

"A

MSS.

are concerned

Select Bibliography

by the researches of
Smithsonian

of Chemistry,

Miscellaneous Collections, Washington, 1893,

t T. i., pp. 242-244.

p. 119.

% There is indeed one authority cited, namely, the Apparatus of

Rosenroth, /Cab. Den., i., 441-443, and this is a quotation from the

Metzareph,

c. 7.

^Ehe J&octnnt anb |iterattt

45 8

Both have the advantage, which they

with Khunrath and his Amphi-

attached.*

common

share in

theatrum,

of

Rosenroth

any

of the gabalah

over

precedence

the

publication

Kabbala Denudata, and one

printed edition of the Zohar.

It will

is

of

prior to

be needless

shows an acquaintance with the

sEsh Metzareph, nor do I observe in their contents
anything to connect them with the Sephirotic
to say that neither

attribution

of the

that work.

One

metals which

characteristic of

is

a treatise by Joannes Augustinus

a
Venetian
Pantheus,
priest, entitled Ars et Theoria
is

Transmutationis Metallicce, cum Voarchadumia Pro

pertionibus, muneris et iconibus rei accomodis illustrata.

was published

It

Venice

at

in

April

i53O.f

Following the author himself, the Plermetic Lexicons

Voarchadumia,

interpret

(a)

with the virtues of occult

as

science,"

leaves something to be desired

science of metals.

"

a definition which

the Kabalistic

(&) as

of alchemical

metallic

"auriferous

veins;"

the intrinsic fixed form and the natural

explains
yellow colour of gold
combustible,

geneous,

liberal art gifted

It is further a species

concerning

metallurgy,
it

"a

it

distinguishes the hetero

Volatile

and

parts,

exhibits

There are others naturally in the large literature of alchemy,

but they are not of Hermetic value, and, as in all cases, the Kabalistic
connection is thin and elusive.
Such is the Philosophic^ Salomonis, o
Secret Cabinet of Nature, a

German anonymous

treatise published at

Here the royal stone of alchemy is connected

1753.
.with the art of King Solomon, but there is no Kabalistic knowledge,
and the work is quite worthless. See also Cabala Spiegel der Kunst
Augsburg

in

und Natur

in Alchymia, Augsburg, 1690, remarkable for

its

curious

folding plates.

t Rare in the original edition, but rendered accessible by the

reprint in Lazarus Zetner s Thcatrum Chemicum, Argentorati, 1613,

second edition, 1659.

See vol.
also mentioned, date 1550.

etc.,
is

ii.,

p.

459

et seq.

Paris edition

(geoteric \Trabiticm

Channels of

how

to the grade of
of the work,
Matter
the

same may be conducted

the

It defines, lastly,

perfection.

heavy,

"a

459

fusible,

fixed,

corporeal,

ductile,

tinged,

Quicksilver or
Mercury, and of an incombustible Metallic Sulphur,
educed and transmuted into true gold by means of

and

rarefied

It will

cementation."*

be seen from this specimen

very nearly unreadable, even

of style that the work is

for an alchemical treatise, and
the present purpose
and to observe that

It

to note the fact of its existence

it

seeks to throw light on the

by calculations of

exercised no influence, and no import

ance can be reasonably ascribed to

The
and

it

be enough for

will

it

transmutation

of

mysteries
Gematria.

of

substance

arcane

other work

is

much

offers several interesting,

This

problems to the student.

glyphica of Dr. John Dee,

containing an

analysis

it.

better

known

and so
is

the

fame

far unsolved,

Monas Hiero-

published in
the planetary

first

of

to

564,

and

symbols

of
metals.f
composed of the crescent ^, which is

Thus, the symbol

the

attributed

to

Mercury

is

the sign of

silver,

the circle O, which

is

that of gold,

and the cross representing the fodr elements. Special

alchemical importance is attributed to their union in
the sign which represents the fundamental matter of
the philosophers as well as metallic quicksilver.

It

See the anonymous English translation of Martinus Rulandus

Lexicon Alchemia, sive Dictionarium Alchcmisticum, the edition of
This translation, without date or place, was restricted to six
1612.
and includes a large
Supplement to the Alchemical Lexicon of
:

"

copies,

Martinus
P-

Rulandus."

The

explanation of

Voarchadnmia. occurs on

438.

t For the astrological aspect of

speculations in Alan

Leo

"

Practical

this analysis,

Astrology,"

see

some curious

second edition, n.

d.

^he

460

JJrrrtrine

anb JJiterature of the JUbalah

be seen that this

not in any sense information

which helps to connect alchemy with Kabalism,
though it is highly important for the obscure question
of the origin and history of the astronomical signs.*
will

may

is

observe in conclusion that there

is

one

possible connection between alchemy and Kabalism

which would appear to be overlooked by all those

who have

instituted a comparison

between them.

It

supplied by the obscure but subsisting analogies

between the ancient document of Latin alchemy
is

known

as

Turba Philosophorum\ and the two

the

Synods of the Zohar,

am

not, of course, referring

to the accidental similarity of form, though, having

regard to the history of the Turba, this accident is

There are statements
certainly a feature of interest.

and

allusions in this obscure colloquy,

more

especially

regarding the four elements of ancient chemistry,

which offer curious points of contact with Kabalism.

When we add

to this that

some

scholars have referred

the Turba in the guise that we at present possess it

to a Hebrew original, now lost, and that its date, so
far as

it

is somewhere between the

Book of Formation and the

can be assigned,

promulgation

of the

Zohar, enough

has been said

in

indication

of

possibility upon which there is no need, as indeed

there are few materials, to insist further. J
*

For information and references see

Astronomiqiie appended to M. Bailly

Ancienne, 2nd edition, Paris, 1781.

xliv. of
s

the Eclairtissement

Histoire

de

FAstronomie

Turba Philosophorum, or Assembly of the Sages, called

t See the
book of Truth in the Art, and the third Pythagorical Synod
"

also the

Translated from the Latin

By A. E. Waite, London, 1896.
must confess that I have no theory as to the two previous Synods.
J It is due to my readers, and to the subject, to confess that I
have not made an exhaustive examination of alchemical literature in
.

Channels of

III.

(Esoteric ^Trabition

461

THE KABALAH AND ASTROLOGY

The modern

school of Kabalism

is

inclined, as

already remarked, to claim that all the occult sciences

arise out of their own, but it seems more correct to

Kabalah has been engrafted on some

in this manner we have Kabalistic
as
we have also Kabalistic alchemy. To
astrology,
infer that the

of them, and

determine the superior accuracy of either view we

must have recourse exclusively to history and
literature.

It

is

in the instance

only

Magic that the voice of both

is

of Ceremonial
in

unanimously

favour

reference to its connections with Kabalism.

I have made myself
acquainted with all sources which have been cited by those who affirm
them, but as their observations have not been based upon a wide

study of the alchemists, it is possible that my future researches may

discover something which has, so far, been overlooked on both sides.
I should note also that,
according to M. Berthelot, "the Kabalah was

bound up during the middle ages with alchemy, and the connection
goes far back," that is, to Jhe Leyden Papyrus as well as to the Greek
But

mediaeval period

is

alchemists.

infer that this great

authority has, so far as the
concerned, received only a derived impression, or
that at least his notion of the Kabalah has been obtained as such
notions most commonly are.
All his instances as to the earlier

connections must be rejected decisively.

Some of them, such as the
others are
Labyrinth of Solomon," have been already dealt with
"

mere names Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the word Sabaoth

papyri
of the same family as No. 75 of Keuven>."
It is further obvious that a
reference by Zosimus to Solomon and his
establishes no
Kabalistic analogy.
Finally, when the Greek alchemist traces the
"in

\vi>d<im

revelation of the sacred art from

published

it

to the rest of the

the

world,"

Egyptians to the Jews,

we must remember

"

who

that this view

belongs to a period which referred all science and philosophy to the

chosen people on the principle of Aristobulus and Philo, so that this also
proves nothing.

Lcs Origincs de CAlchimic

Itibliotheca Dritannica,
II.

C.

van

sophico
contents.

Observe that

179 //, gives a reference to a work by

Hyler, entitled, Tractatus Cabbali^tico
Chymico Philoii.,

Magicus, Cologne, 1729, but

am

not

acquainted

with

its

462

^he

gortriue

Jpteratee of the gabalah

zm!b

Western world.

of a Kabalistic origin as regards the

From a priori

we

be disposed to
case
of
will
the
believe that
astrology
prove some
thing like that of alchemy, namely, that its history

and

considerations

literature contain little to

with Jewry.

has the

It

air of

shall

connect

it

essentially

an exact science and

seems to suggest few possible analogies with the

speculations of a theosophical system. There are two
facts,

however, which

challenge,

it

must be admitted are above

much

that the Jews were

firstly,

to

addicted

the

that

prophetic
astrology,* and, secondly,
science of the stars, as it is known in the West, has
derived something from the later Hebrews. Against
these must be placed two other facts, not of less
significance, namely, that ancient

Israel contributed

to the science of astronomy, that Jewish

little

very
astronomical

belonging to the Christian

chiefly from Arabia, and that as

writings

draw

centuries

Jewry, during the Kabalistic

was imbedded in fastastic notions and

regards astrology in
it

period,

We

puerile processes.

history of

with the

Josephus traces
himself

had

reported

to

which

all

it

the

two

survived

the

rules

of

deal

here

we know

that

and assures us that he

the

been engraved.

have

science

to Seth

visited

have

are not called to

the

famous
deluge,

astrology

Josephus

are

may

pillars

and

on

said

have

to

been

question whether the art was condemned by the Law of

been a subject of some debate. Perhaps the best opinion
considered that it was.
See on this point the Conciliator of Menasseh
ben Israel, Sive de conventia locorum S. Scriptura qtia pugnare inter
It was also debated by Gaffarel,
se Videntur, Frankfort, 1633, p. 142.

The

Israel has

writing from the Christian standpoint.

by distinguishing it into two branches.

art

He

contrived to defend the

Channels of

(Neoteric

^rabition

463

deceived easily, or he may have been tempted to

claim for his nation on the warrant of a fable
the precedence in a study to which the notion of
Seth and the pillars set apart,
learning was attached.

we know also

that antique Chaldea was a great centre

of astrology, that it flourished among the Babylonians,
that it was practised in Egypt, and it is natural to

suppose that the Jews must have had their share

in the knowledge of each of these
There
peoples.

may have been

even

this

is,

Kabalah of

procedure communicated

to Christian

astrological

times.*

however, beside the real question

not justified in looking for the Zohar or

in

Jewish

writings

on

we

All
are

its

influence

or

natural

mathematics

philosophy, for the simple reason that the Zohar

does not connect seriously with these subjects.
It

has also
liberty,

little

concern with astrology.

We are at
to ask ourselves one question.

however,

Astrology works upon data which are very obscure

in their history ,f and there are doctrines connected
with it which even to the occult student may seem
insufficiently

would be interesting to
any Kabalistic corres
As to the data, I suppose no one has
grounded.

It

ascertain whether they have

pondences.

attempted to institute a

parallel,

but

it

thought that some astrological theorems

I

has been

may have

Christian affirms that there was, but he offers no evidence

in support of his assertion that the

Spectduw Astrologia of Junctin was

a kind of synthesis of the astrological l.ilxmrs of the "Arabian and
Hebrew Kabalists." Histoirc dt la
1.
vii., Clefs gtntiales
I? Astrologic^ p. 579.
J/</.c/>,

<k

t Which history, moreover, has never been elucidated

by any
writer on the subject.
Mr. \V. Corn Old s "New Manual,"
perhaps
the latest work on Astrology (London, 1898), docs not
attempt to

account for the grounds on which the old

judgments are based.

^he jBadnnt

464

anfc $titt*ittte 0! the

glabalah

a connection with Kabalistic apparatus.

therefore,

what

is

said

upon

this

Let us

subject

see,
its

by

students.

The

attribution of

metals to the Sephiroth in

the sEsh Metzareph suggests planetary attribution,

and a tabulation has been constructed by Papus,*
following the authority of Kircher

2.

.Kether corresponds to the Empyrean.

Primum Mobile.
Chokmah

1.

3.

Binah

Firmament.

4.

Chesed

Saturn.

5.

Geburah

6.

Tiphereth

Jupiter.
,,

Mars.

7.

Netzach

Sun.

8.

Hod

Venus.

Jesod
Malkuth_

Mercury.

9.

10.

Moon.

the d5s/i Metzareph shows, that

one truth," but this scheme
tend
to
the
systems
not in accordance with either of its own attribu
It is possible, as

"

all

is

These are followed by Rosenroth, but the

tions.

R. P. Esprit Sabathier, in that strange little treatise

on Kabalism which still exercises so much fascina

French students of the subject, refers Mars

to Geburah and Mercury to Hod.^
When there is
tion on

For Papus consult La Kabbah, already

cited

frequently

for

The synopsis of the Kabalah in this

Kircher (Edipus (Egyptiacus.
rare work has been recently translated into PVench.

A reprint
t See L? Ombre Ideale de la Sagesse Universelle^ 1679.
work has been promised in Paris. The original is rare, and
there is no copy in the British Museum, but the reader may consult the
of this

Table given by Papus at pp. 80, 81 of his treatise on the Kabalah,

where the attribution in question will be found.

Channels of

0oterir

^rabition

465

no unanimity we must infer that there is no

point
of importance involved and that attributions and
tabulations of this kind are less or more conventional
and can have little application to
In
astrology itself.
modern times, however, all the divinatory sciences,
which

in

every case possess or suggest astrological

connections,* have received some kind of Kabalistic
attribution.
Thus, the planetary correspondences
of the figures used in
geomancy have been adjusted
to the Sephiroth\
Kabalistic principles have been

applied to chiromancy
physiognomy alone, possibly
because it has never had much attention at the hands
;

of professed occultists, seems an

exception to this
although, as

rule,

direct warrant for

The most

among
Gaffarel,

the

we have
it

in the

accessible

Jews

is

who based

knowledge of

its

in

is

Zohar.f
information on astrology

the

his

previously seen, there

"

Curiosities

observations

"

of

James

on a direct

chief rabbinical exponents

during

the Christian centuries.} To reduce what he

says to
a sentence, the Jewish
astrologers read the heavens
like a book,

they regarded

it

as a book, and, for the

Thus, the "Principles of Astrological Geomancy" have been

the subject of a special treatise
by Franz Ilartmann, M.D. (London,
1899), while Miss Rosa Baughan has compiled a curious medley of

chiromancy and astrology under the

title

of

"The

Influence of

the

Stars."

t Physiognomy has been, of course, connected with astrology,

and an old work published about the beginning of the seventeenth
century under the title of "Book of Palmistry, Physiognomy, and
Natural Astrology" illustrates this connection.
See also "A Treatise
on Zodiacal Physiognomy," by John Varley, London, 1828.

summary of

s
information, with some pertinent
Eliphas Levi s Kitucl dc la Haute Magie.
See also "Transcendental Magic," part ii., and
Mysteries of Magic,"

criticisms, will

be found

Gaffarel

in

"

pp. 248, 252, 253, 254.

GG

Second Edition, 1897.

466

^he

Ipottrivu anb literature ot the

purposes of methodising
its

its

which

characters,

hieroglyphic

contents with a view to

the

collected

they

interpretation,

JUbalah

were,

into

stars

in

the

fact,

Hebrew alphabet. Their process was therefore not

an astrological process, but more correctly one of
and as

divination,

Gaffarel

of the

value,

we have only

to

Hebrew planisphere furnished by

how arbitrary was the nature
At the same time it must
arrangement.
see

to

be admitted that
the

its

the

at

glance

to

suggests a correspondence with

notion of the Sepher Yetzirah,

it

fundamental

though the

has

fact

previous

been

observed

any

by

nothing more
believed that the heavens and

who
were made by

natural for those

the earth

not

There

writer.

could

be

the inscription of letters in

the air than to discover these letters in the configura

In
tion, apparently fortuitous, of the starry heavens.
therefore, of the unmeaning mythological
of
figures
pagan antiquity they imagined the twentytwo elements of the divine word manifested to the

place,

chosen

and the imagination once

people,

delineation

the

of the

justified

characters

by
apparent
became part of the scheme of the universe

;*

it

to

read the sense of the heavens so that they could

give the meaning thereof was an operation no less
sacred

in

its

and strange

in its methods,
than
the
application of
resultsf

intention, mysterious
in

its

*
This is the Zoharic notion, and it was claimed that by means of
the signs and figures in the heavens most profound secrets and mysteries
could be discovered.
So regarded, the stars and constellations are a

subject of contemplation, and a source of mysterious delight for the

sage.

Zohar, ii., 760, Mantua.

t Compare those other strange results in symbolical astrology of

which Ruysbrceck the Mystic speaks in the

Beguines," Latinised by Surius under the title

"Book

De

of the Twelve

Vera Contemplatione.

(EhanneU of Esoteric ^rabitiou

467

Zoharistic processes to the disentangling of the

mystic meaning beneath the letter of the Scriptures.
This is the true Kabalistic astrology,* based on a
Kabalistic doctrine which is its justification and of

which

it is

in

turn the logical development. Outside

it has the countenance of the

the Sepher Yetzirah,

Zohar

But

itself.

it

has

science of the stars, as

western world

common

with

the

has been pursued in the

can offer nothing in evidence of

it

little in

it

considerations, even as astrology in the West has

nothing to tell us concerning the Kabalistic mystery
its

of

Am

It

Soph.

is

better therefore not to confuse

further the complicated issues of the secret sciences

by the suggestion of
realisable

fantastic

influences

and un-

communications.f
of course, be anticipated that a literature

It will,

so large as that of the Jews and embracing, as we

wide a range

said at the inception of our inquiry, so

of subjects could not have grown up without con

tributing anything to the knowledge of the heavens.
In

the

third

century the Jews of Babylon were

famous as doctors and astronomers and, partly for
reason, were in high credit at the Persian Court

this

during the reign of the usurper Artaxerxes.

Samuel

Needless to say this astrology is not judicial.

The late Mr. Ilargrave
Jennings has also some pleasing fantasies on the "astronomy of the
mind" in "The Indian
Religions," p. 207 et scq., London, 1890.
*

Which

what

from
"

astrology, as Levi rightly observes, must be distinguished

commonly understood by

is

of

Magic/

judicial

astrology.

See

247.
t As an instance of the extraordinary lengths to which speculations
of this kind have been carried outside astronomical
connections, see
My>teries

Dr.

J.

Lamb s

London, 1835.

p.

Hebrew characters derived from Hieroglyphs,"

The hieroghyphics in question are re-constituted, ami
"

various doctrines, passages and words of the sacred writings are inter
preted by recourse to them.

468

Ihe

|S0rtrine anb literature

famous

Lunaticus,
attributed

astronomical

the

for

the giabalah

rrf

tables

him, and head of the academy of

an instance in point, and R. Ada, also of

to

Naharden,

is

Naharden,

is

Abba

another.

Aricha, better

known

as

the Babylonion Rav, founder of the academy of Sora,

was again a deep student of astronomy, and names

might be multiplied easily. Side by side with

medicine and the interpretarion of dreams, astrology

was much pursued by the Eastern Jews of the tenth

and eleventh centuries. In 1150, or thereabouts, R.
Avi Joseph wrote a treatise on the intelligences
which move the heavens and concerning the judg

ment of the
period,

is

Jewry

as

Abraham

Aben Ezra, about the same

name among the astronomers of

stars.

a great
well

as

Chiia and

doctrine

in

and

Abraham Nasi

temporary students of the same

philosophy.

are also con

science.

In the

second half of the thirteenth century, during the

reign of Alphonso the loth, King of Castile, himself
called

the

astrologer,

the

rabbins

were

in

high

estimation for their knowledge of the heavens, and

the Tables attributed to Alphonso were the work of
a

Jew whom he employed.

the

family

astronomers,

In the fifteenth century

Alcadet

of

produced

Abraham

and

Zacut,

two
author

famous
of

the

Sepher Yuhasin, was another student of the subject

in the days of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Meagre as are these

to the fact that

indications, having regard

astronomy was usually pursued

connection with the judgment of the

stars,

i.e.,

in

with

they are sufficient to establish

that this occult science is to be found in Jewry during

judicial

astrology,

most of the Christian

centuries.

<hannel0

The

reader

of (Eeoterir ^rabition

who

469

become acquainted

desires to

with the

first

principles and procedure of Jewish

astrology

may

consult the

whose information

is

"Curiosities"

of Gaffarel,

drawn from R. Moses, R. Aben

This learned
Ezra, R. Jacob Kapol ben Samuel, &c.
but pedantic writer wholly rejected what is called
Kabalistic astrology, with

its

Sephirotic attributions,*

but the system which he develops is not less fantastic,

and is that indeed which we have described briefly
in the earlier part of the
present section.

be out of place to extend our references,

for,

It

would

as on the

one hand Sephirotic astrology is rejected even by so

determined a Kabalist as Gaffarel, so, on the other,
the

of

secrets

mysteries

of

the

stellar

Hebrew

planisphere

writing do not

the practice of the art in the

and

the

connect with

West

It may be added that a recent writer, Mr. W.

Gorn Old, has published a Kabalistic astrology,f

but it is merely a process of divination, like that

attributed to Cagliostro, which was developed at great
length and applied to the science of the stars by
P. Christian. J
It is obvious that the use of the term
Kabalistic in such a connection

unfortunately in

parler,

very

is

merely a fagon de
use.
This

common

So far as I am aware, no astrological work developing these

connections has ever been printed in any European language, but books
like John Bishop s
Marrow of Astrology," London, 1688, with its list
of the governing angels of the signs and the planets, suggest Kabali-tic
"

connections through the vehicle of Ceremonial Magic.

t "Kabalistic Astrology, or Your P ortune in your
Sepharial, London, n.d. ( ? 1892).
% In his Histoire de la Magic, books

VHomme
will also

Rouge

cks Tuileries.

Some

be found in Grand Orient

ii., iii.,

and

Name,"

"Manual

of which several editions have appeared.

Also

vi.

account of Cagliostro

by
in

Method

of Cartomancy," &c.,

^h*

47
is

made

Stortrirte anfo

literature ot the Jbbalah

further evident

by the

parallel use of the

term Hermetic, not only as an analogue, but an actual

Mr. Old s process is affirmed to have
equivalent.
been

"

in use

the ancient

among

Kabalists,"

but this

merely speculative and an inference from certain

Tarotic connections.

is

IV.

THE KABALAH AND FREEMASONRY

It is

generally agreed

Masonic Fraternity
but that

it

has lost

only as a survival.
certain legends arid
it

to

applies

is

them

among

occultists that the

an institution of mystic

its real

As

secrets

and

is

origin,

interesting

it continues to preserve
of
occult philosophy, but
symbols
a conventional meaning of an

such,

obvious and meagre character. As to its historical

origin, there is also a general opinion prevailing in
the same circles, namely, that Freemasonry, after

some manner that

is not wholly apparent, is a survival

of the ancient mysteries, but this term is used in
a catholic sense, not as signifying the initiations of

Egypt, of Greece, or of Rome, but rather the secret

power and intelligence which is thought to have been
present behind the philosophical associations of all ages

and most

During the Christian

period the knowledge which would otherwise have
perished was preserved among successive occult
civilised

fraternities,

countries.

some known

and Rosicrucians, the

to history, such as

rest

Templars

working in complete silence.

or
otherwise, they were all affiliated with
Corporately
each other and symbolic Freemasonry forms the last
link in the

Western chain of transmission.

(Channels of (Esoteric ^rabition

47 l

No
been

presentation of this hypothesis has so far

able to survive analysis, and the inductive

student must be content to recognise, (a) the mystic

nature of most Masonic symbolism to which the

now

fraternity

attaches only elementary

meanings

belonging to the ethical primer () a certain analogy

of ostensible purpose as regards the ends of human
;

existence, but

it

on

(c)

this point

not worth while to insist strongly

the affinity for Mysticism which has

is

always been shown by Masonry during its historical

It may be added that there are certain
period.
indications

which

point

to

possible

connection

between Masonry and Rosicrucianism, and

admitted, would constitute the first link in
nection with

The evidence

the past.

inconclusive, or at least unextricated.

is,

this,
its

if

con

however,

Freemasonry

per se, in spite of the affinity with Mysticism which I

have just mentioned, has never exhibited any mystic
character, nor has it a clear notion how it came by
symbols; though occultists at all times bave
gravitated towards it, and though it has tolerated and
even received them, it has shown no sense of under
its

standing on occult subjects. This being the state

of the case, and the claim which is made for

Freemasonry having never been urged by the institu

on its own behalf, there is nothing /V*d facie to

tion

accredit the idea that

it

has ever been a channel of

the secret tradition or to warrant us in supposing

a priori that

it

should

with Kabalism.
respect

is

much

And
like

have any distinct analogies

as a fact

that

of

its

position in this

alchemy, seemingly

fortuitous, a question of subsequent introduction, as

much imputation as reality, a varnish rather than a

472

"lite

Jtortriiu anfo literature ot the Jiabalah

permeating tincture, and

To

interesting.

my

all

in

that

it,

refer for

Masonry appeared
and mystics have

historical plane, occultists

always tended towards

must

point,

a third time to the fact that since

on the

such positions,

yet, like all

establish

has received them

it

amiably, and that all have elaborated the system

accordance with their particular notions. During

the prevalence of the passion for rites

alchemists, Swedenborgians,*
all

astrologers,

and

orders,

as

Kabalists,

so

Kabalistic

rites,

which

in

exhibit

masonry
alchemy,

is

as

invented
at

Martinists,

new grades
there

period

that

theurgists,

and

new

were

also

one or two instances we hear of

and especially of
Kabalistic

not
in

this

we know

spite

As

influences.

the

Elect

Free
is

not

Cohens,

the

as

Swedenborgianism,
of

and grades

rites

it

evocations and rituals of Pasqually, and all the magical

marvels of Schrcepfer, it is not theurgy, as it is still
less the

mysticism of any of the true Mystics, so it

not Kabalism, but it has been developed somewhat

is

in

Kabalistic as in other interests.

must be added that the few Kabalistic degrees

left any record
behind them beyond
their name, and the uncommon swiftness with which
they passed into extinction, give no evidence of
It

which have

acquaintance

with

the

Jewish

esoteric

tradition.

They represent the Kabalism of the period.

is no need
to speculate as to its quality
bequeathed
*

its

literary remains

in

There
;

it

grimoires

has

and

The history of the Swedenborgian Rite being exceedingly obscure,

and yet possessing considerable occult interest, it may be observed that
some account of it was published at New York in 1870 by Samuel
Berwick.

Channels of

grand

473

the spurious thaumaturgic pro

Abramelin, and in amusing Kabalistic

of

correspondence with
lees

^raMtion

in

clavicles,

cesses

(Esoteric

Astaroth,*

the

and lavations of the rabbinical conduits.

the

As

Seigneur

be well to enforce these statements by means

of documentary evidence, I will add an account of
it

will

one

Kabalistic

which

grade

be

may

taken

to

represent the whole.

of

degree

existed

among

of

Knight

Kabalah

the

once

those innumerable decorative develop

ments of the Fraternity which were termed high

by their disciples and spurious by some who
resented

innovations,

The

object

and

especially

those

which

has long since fallen into disuse.

the candidate, according to the

led to nothing.

It

of

catechism of the degree, was

to know, by means
of numbers, the admirable harmony which subsists
"

between nature and

It defines

religion."

the Kabalist

man who

has acquired the Sacerdotal Art and

the Royal Art by the communication of the tradition.
The device was Oninia in muneris sita suut. The

as a

Master of the

Lodge

in

which

the

degree was

imparted seems to have been called the President

of the Sanhedrim and the Rabbi.
The mystical
significance
*

See

sophiquc

t The

of

D Argcns

numbers*)"

was

developed

by

the

Lettres Cabalistiqucs, on Correspondence Philoentre deux Cabalistes, &c. 7 vols., La Ilaye, 1754.
numerical mysticism of the Kabalah is La-c-d, of course,
:

on the Sephiroth

most of its developments are very late, and possess

;
a magical complexion, for which reasons they do not enter into the
scheme of this study. Some of these developments are quite unknown
to occultists, as,

for example, the attempt to simplify chronology by

Kabalistic figures in Michael Aitsinger s Pentaplus Regnorum Afundi,
Antwerp, 1579. On the general subject, see Petrus Bargus : Mystica

numerorum

signific adonis liber,

Bergomi, 1585.

^he

474

Ilortritu anb

Jiteratuu ot the Jiabalah

catechism in a somewhat curious manner, which

may be worth while to summarise.

= In

word incarnate

the moral order, a

bosom of a

it

in the

the
Religion
physical order, a spirit embodied in the virgin earth,
It is the generative number in the order
or Nature.
virgin,

otherwise,

in

of Divinity, apparently a false symbolism, because

the monad neither generates nor is generated, whence
Eliphas Levi more correctly says that the monad

supposes the duad, and thence, through the

triad, all

numbers are evolved.

II

= In

the

man and woman;

moral order,

the physical, active and passive.

number in created things.

the generative

In the moral order, the three

III
virtues

It is

in

The

bodies.

the

physical,

the

reference here

is

three

in

theological

principles

to salt, sulphur

of

and

mercury, thus indicating the Hermetic connections of

Three also denotes the triple divine
this grade.
essence.

IV=the
mentary

four

qualities

cardinal

virtues,

the

four

another Hermetic reference

ele

and

moreover, the most mysterious of numbers,

because it contains all the mysteries of nature.
it

is,

V=the quintessence of religion, and the quint

It is
essence of matter which again is alchemical.
because it is enclosed
also the most occult number,
"

in

the centre of the

series."

The

precise

meaning of

statement does not appear, but it may

possibly refer to the pentagram as one of the emblems
this

last

of the grade.

VI = the
It is the

theological cube

most salutary number,

and the physical cube.

"

because

it

contains

hanncl0 of (Esoteric ^rabitiou

475

the source of our spiritual and corporeal happiness."

Is this a reference to the mystical adultery of the
first man whereby the coming of the Liberator was
necessitated

VII

=
It

planets.
it

the
is

seven

and

sacraments

the

the most fortunate number,

leads us to the decade, the perfect

"

seven

because

number."

VIII = the small number of the elect or the

because
It is the most desirable number,
wise.
"

he

who

and

possesses

it

number of the Elves

of the

is

Sages."

IX^the
of matter.

exaltation of religion and the exaltation

It

is

the most sublime number, because

and nature are both exalted thereby.

ten commandments and the ten precepts
because it
It is the most perfect number,
of nature.
includes unity, which created everything, and zero,
religion

X = the

"

symbol

of

matter and

chaos,

whence everything

emerged. In its figures it comprehends the created

and uncreated, the beginning and end, power and
force, life and annihilation.
By the study of this
number we find the relations of all things, the power
of the Creator, the faculties of the creature, the Alpha

and

Omega
XI

of divine knowledge.
multiplication of

= the

and

religion

the

It is the most multiplying

multiplication of nature.
number, because with the possession of two units,
we arrive at the multiplication of things."
"

XI I = the twelve

articles

apostles, foundation of the

of faith

Holy

City,

the

twelve

who preached

throughout the whole world for our happiness and

of nature; the
spiritual joy; the twelve operations
twelve

signs

of

the

Zodiac,

foundation

of

the

^he

47 6

Jtorirtne attb ^iteratxtu of the Jlabalah

Primum
universe

Mobile,

most

the

solid

it

extending

our

for

temporal

the

throughout
It

felicity.

is

thus

basis

of

our

left

to

the

The catechism

also

the

number, being

and corporeal happiness.

The numbers after twelve were

spiritual

discernment of the candidate.

shows

that

universal

order

this

spirit

of

concerned

itself

with

the

and

even

with

the

alchemy

quadrature of the circle. The history of the Knights

of the Kabalah is unfortunately involved in obscurity,
but it will be seen that it was Christian and Catholic,

which furnishes a resemblance to other and

institutions

professing

similar purposes

later

and having

similar religious sympathies.*

Had
in

the

Book of Occultation
been made
the
of
a Masonic
theme
eighteenth century
the

"

"

grade, had the lodge represented Atziluth, the Master

his throne in the East Kether, and the

Ain Soph,

remaining Sephiroth ; had the ritual been

constructed from the Zohar and the catechism from
officers the

the

Apparatus of Rosenroth,

all

this

would

have

proved nothing as to the Kabalistic connections of

Masonry. Within recent years a powerful Masonic
order has undergone a species of development in
direction through the labours of Albert Pike,
and there can be little doubt that it was his intention

this

to transform the

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

a seminary of occult study.

There may be
of
its
brethren
at
the
own
present time in
many
whom this statement will excite only incredulity,

into

there

Among

was

the degrees collected

that of

France dignified

Mafon
its

Cabbalistique.
8oth Grade by the

by the French Mason Peuvret,

The Metropolitan Chapter of
title

of Chevalier de Cabale.

of (Esoteric ^rabition

but

it

477

not the less certain that Albert Pike was

is

more than an ardent admirer and

far

more than an

unqualified follower of the occult philosophies, or that

he pursued it into regions of which Masonry has now

He was

no conception.

also seconded

by numerous

like-minded persons who occupied high dignities in

the United States Southern Jurisdiction, and some
of

whom

still

The

survive.

evidence of

all these things is to be found

of
instruction
which he compiled,
body
chiefly from sources in occult literature, for all the
grades of the order. No person who is acquainted

in the vast

with the

"

Morals and

hand of the

Dogma

occultist therein,

"

can

and

fail

it is

to trace the

to be especially

observed that, passing from grade to grade in the

direction of the highest, this instruction becomes

more and more

Kabalistic.

It

matters

little

that

the sources from which Pike drew were not of the

or

best,

that,

was not a

though a man of wide reading, he

for we are concerned only

skilled critic

with a tendency and its development.

He accepted,
for example, without due caution, the construction
placed on Kabalism by the most unsafe of all its
expounders, Eliphas Le*vi, from whom he translated

verbatim at great length, and, following his professed

habit, with no specific acknowledgment, while for
the rest his only source of further information was
the Kabbala Denudata, of which, however, he shows

no

analytical

Liber

Drushim

with

the

tion

on

knowledge, seeming to
as entitled to rank

regard
in

the

authority

In spite of these
Sepher Dzcnioutha.
limitations he made available an amount of informa
occult

subjects

with

which

no

previous

^he

478

JBo-ctrin* attb JJiterature ot the

giabalah

scheme had ever provided Masonry. Yet with all

strenuous efforts it must be doubted whether

his

the seal of occultism has been impressed effectually

on the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, in which
case, if

we except such

interesting

minor instances

as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, with which

I

have dealt elsewhere,

it

must be confessed that

the Ancient and Primitive Rite of

Misraim-f-

is

Memphis* and
Masonry

the only section of high-grade

distinct purpose of an occult kind

not necessary to say that in England, at least,
it has failed
wholly in obtaining recognition as a
genuine development of Masonry, and it remains

which claims a
it

is

practically in abeyance.

We

see

therefore

Kabalistic

that

confined to the so-called high grades.

absurd to discuss the possibility of

influence

is

It

would be

its

conscious

presence in the blue lodges, or seek to interpret the

legend of the master grade in connection with Jewish

The symbols, however, which are familiar

the initiates of these lodges do connect with

tradition.

to

Kabalism, among other forms of occult philosophy,

but the presence of the seal of Solomon among
the heirlooms of the brotherhood being, so far,
unaccountable,
*

it is

See Marconis

et

useless to insist

Moultet

des Mysteres Mafonniques, Paris,

on the connection,

Hitrophante>

1839.

dttveloppement compkt
or cf Eleusis,

Le Rameau

work by Marconis is also interesting as the views of an

amiable student upon the Mysteries in connection with Masonry.
another

history of this institution,

with

all

the romantic elements

which might be expected, was written by Marc Bedarride and published

in two volumes at Paris, 1845, under the title, De
Ordre Mcyonniquc

de Misratm, depuis sa creation jusuq a nos jours, &c.

The fourth Series of the Rite of Misra im
Kabalistic.

is

designated

Channels oi

<00teric

^rabitimi

because nothing logically follows from

479

So

it.

far as

concerned, Kabalism and Masonry have

history
joined hands in the sphere of the higher grades, and
is

as a historical fact this

otherwise significant
affirm

is

must

interesting, but that

be

left

to

those

it is

who

it.

THE KABALAH AND THE TAROT

V.
It

known

very well

is

to all occult students at

the present day that the Tarot is a

divination* by means of seventy-eight
picture

cards,

to

method of
symbolical

which great antiquity and high

importance are attributed by several authorities.

Their literary history is also equally well known.

They were

first

mentioned by the French archaeologist

Court de Gebelin at

the

close

of

the eighteenth

century, and were attributed by him to an Egyptian

Much about the same time the subject was
origin.

taken up by a professed cartomancer, named Alliette,

who wrote a great deal about them in several
illiterate

tracts,

and

endeavoured

to

trace

their

connection with Egypt through the Jewish Kabalah.

The inquiry then fell into neglect, except in so far
as Continental fortune-tellers were concerned, until
the year 1854, when Eliphas
contributions to occult science.

LeVi

made

his

first

* As there
may, however, be some readers who are not acquainted
with this matter, I may observe that Mr. S. L. MacGregor Mathers
"The Tarot;
is the author of a small explanatory treatise, entitled,
a set of the cards,
its Occult Signification," &c., published with

London, 1888.

480 i;he gortritu anb JDitmture of the Jhtbalah

In

1857,

A. Vaillant* endeavoured to prove

and transmission by means of

J.

their Chinese origin^

the gipsies

their connection with these

prominence
year 1865.
P. Christian,

by

adopted

subsequently

LeVi,

nomads was

who gave

to the Tarot in all his writings

The subject was

who published a

also taken in

great
to the

up
hand by

large history of

Magic

He

developed still further the Egyptian

theory, but no statement which he makes can be
accepted with any confidence. In the year 1887 I
in

1870.

was the

first

who

introduced the claims of the Tarot

to English readers in a digest of the chief

An

Eliphas Levi.

important

works of

contribution

to

the

made

shortly after by the French

elaborate work entitled the
whose
Papus,
of
the
Tarot
Bohemians,"
though scarcely of
critical value on the historical side, remains the most

inquiry was
occultist
"

comprehensive and attractive summary of

all

the

arguments.

The point which concerns us here is, of course,

the Kabalistic connections.
Eliphas LeVi says that
* Histoire
gipsies this

work

Vraie des
is

As

Vrais Bohhniens.

exceedingly good for

its

period

its

a notice of the

Tarot speculations

M. Vaillant
worthless, and its philological arguments absurd.
the synthesis of ancient faith, a deduction from
described the Tarot as
the sidereal book of Enoch
(412). Its origin he affirms to be lost in the

are

"

"

He

night of time (413).

connection with Cabul

only mentions the Kabalah to establish

its

(p. 54).

f Occult writers mostly favour Egypt as the birthplace of the

Tarot, and this is consistent with their views on the origin of the
Kabalah. So Mons. Z. Lismon has recently published a version of the
title of Livre de Thot, Jeu des 78 Tarols Egyptiens,
with explanatory booklet.
Compare R. Falconnier Les xxii. Lames
Hermttiques du Tarot divinatoire, which pretend to be re-constituted

cards under the

exactly according to
of old Egypt
!

"the

sacred texts and translation

"

of the

Magic

Channels of

(irsoteric

Tradition

481

the Tarot cards are the key to the esoteric tradition

of the Jews, and
the primitive source of divine and
"

human

tradition

"

he institutes an analogy between

the symbols of its four suits and the four letters of

the Divine Name Tetragmmmaton, and between the
ten Scfihirotk and the ten small cards
belonging to
suit
He gives also the correspondences

each

between the twenty-two trump cards and the letters

of the Hebrew alphabet, for which he
quotes the
authority of

"divers

Kabalistic

which must

Jews,"

however, be interpreted too strictly, as although

the symbolism of the Hebrew
alphabet has been
much dwelt on by such authorities there is no trace
not,

of any reference to the Tarot

by Kabalistic writers of
the past.
It must be
admitted, on the other hand,
that the analogies are
exceedingly striking, and that
although the historic evidences can scarcely be said
to exist, and have been
supplied from the treasures of
imagination, there can be no doubt that the Tarot
actually,

as

it

is

claimed

importance symbolically.

to

be,

of

is

considerable

perhaps be per
my personal belief that it has
distinct Kabalistic connections, some of which were

may

mitted also to register

broadly outlined by Eliphas LeVi.

Unfortunately,
of its symbolism which have

the interpretations

been attempted by various writers are

nearly worth
less, in the first place because they have all
proved
themselves incapable of conducting a

dispassionate

historical inquiry

they have allowed affirmation to

take the place of evidence
they have regarded a
;

hint as a sufficient ground of conviction

made

conjecture certitude.

Gebelin,
Mil

who was merely an

they have

Setting aside Court

inquirer

de

hampered by

^he

482

Jloctriue anb literature ot the

the limitations of his period

gabalah

setting aside Levi,

who

seldom made an accurate statement about any matter

of fact

observe

how

Dr. Papus pursues his inquiry

into the origin of the Tarot.

the writers

who preceded

were

to

final

It

Court de Gebelin,

if

of

to

their authority

who was

the dark during the childhood

in

by an appeal

is

him, as

a groper

archaeological

reasoning to Vaillant, with his fascinating theory of

gipsy transmission which is about as conclusive as
;

Godfrey Higgins on the

whose

"

"Celtic

marvellous learning

safely insisted

"

is

Druids";

so

to

much and

Le"vi,

so un

on by the whole French school.

Papus

nothing himself to the problem on its

historical side except an affirmation that
the game
contributes

"

called the Tarot,

which the Gypsies possess,

is

the

Bible of Bibles."
Obviously, the historical question
calls for treatment by some independent scholar who
will

begin by releasing

its

present

fantastic

con

nections.

In the second place, the symbolism of the Tarot,

which, to do justice to Dr. Papus, is most patiently

and skilfully elaborated in his work, is at once
disorganised if there be any doubt as to the attribu
of its trump cards to the Hebrew alphabet.
Now there is one card which bears no number and

tion

is

therefore allocated according to the discretion of

It has been allocated in all cases

the interpreter.
because they had nothing
the
uninstructed
wrongly, by

but their private judgment to guide them, and by

those who knew better because they desired to
I may go further and say that the true
mislead.
nature of Tarot symbolism is perhaps a secret in the
hands of a very few persons, and outside that circle

Channels of Neoteric Trabition

and writers may combine the cards as

and attribute them as they like, but they

operators

they like
will never find

the

The symbolism

ri^ht way.

however, so rich that

in

483

it

will

is,

give meanings of a kind

whatever way it may be disposed, and some of

may be strikingly suggestive, but they are

these

none the

illusory

The purpose

less.

of this short

show that the published Tarots

and the methods of using them may be
very service
therefore to

is

paper

able for divination, fortunetelling and other trifles,

but they are not the key of the Kabalah, and that

the Royal

Game

almost as

much

Papus

many

followers

readings as the

be recommended with

may

reason for the same purpose.

therefore

is

Dr.

misdirecting his
advertises his laborious

unconsciously

when he
"Absolute

Key

to Occult

Science."

THE KABALAH AND MYSTICISM

VI.
It

attempt
purely
history

is

a task of no inconsiderable
difficulty to
the
Kabalah from the
judgment upon

On

mystic standpoint.
of

Kabalism

mysticism, that

any

of Goose

it

is

is

so

scarcely

distinct connection.

On

the one hand

imbedded

known

in

that

the

of

or admitted in

the other hand, to the

pure mystic, there is so much in the Kabalistic

system which seems extrinsic to the subject of
mysticism, that there is a temptation to underrate its
real influence.

may

The correspondence and

perhaps be brought

into

the difference

harmony

if

it

be

permissible to regard mysticism in two ways as a

philosopical system, that is to say, an ordered

484

^hc

Jlojctrin* unii JCiteratitre of the

Jiabalah

metaphysics, held intellectually,* but also as a mode

of conduct practised with a defined purpose, in a word,
as transcendental doctrine and transcendental life.

The

practical mystic

is

the saint on the path of his

ascent into the mystery of the eternal union, concern

ing whom it is consonant with the purpose of our

present inquiry to speak only with great reservation,

because the mysteries of the Divine Life do not fall
within the limits of historical research.
that the

sum

of Kabalistic instruction

is

conceive

of no real

service to the disciple of this secret path, after every

made

allowance has been

for

the Zoharic doctrine

Holy Unity into which all

come forth therefrom can be

that a science of that

things return as
attained by man.f

all

Invenit sanctum.

Like

all

other

and perhaps not more

methodised theosophy, it has a certain office in the
sanctum facit. For that far larger class to whom the
so

studies,

than any other

sanctity is denied, who are in search

a guide for thought upon questions of
fundamental philosophy, I conceive that the Kabalah
possibility of

rather

of

but again, like other metaphysics has some useful

It is a source of intellectual
lights.

and reassuring

consolation that one of the most barren of

the

pursued by
flowers and fruit.

human mind

It is also, as
*

And

this

its

own

the ways

strange

no book, and there is no

moderate office can be denied.

There

system, to which this

has

all

is

have sought to show, something more

would be the correspondence of the Zohar with

For example, the doctrine of ecstasy is assuredly found

mysticism.
therein, but not in the same way that we find it in Ruysbroeck or St.
John of the Cross. It is more especially a rationalised system of mystic
thought.

t Zohar,

i.,

$\a, Mantua.

Channels

of (Esoteric

(Tradition

485

than an inheritance from the past, even an inheritance

that has been transmitted from a period far back in

human

The Zohar

history.

at least has the

power

of stirring those depths in the human heart which

are beyond the "plummet of the sense"; it seems
occasionally to

"strike

sweep through

all intelligence,"

confess

that

under the

it

beyond

the

is

common

all

time,

eternal

human

this, is

to

speaking, here

soul

influence of right reason, there in

ecstacy and vision, and again, as

somnambulism or even in frenzy.
of the

and backward

and to say

soul, in

what

it

would seem

in

Now, the speech

must be a
no need to add

state soever,

message to the mystic. There is

that on the philosophical side the Kabalah connects
assuredly with mysticism.*
With occultism, of course,

throughout

all

its

it

history.

occultism and mysticism is

a Latin equivalent for a Greek

appear

at first

sight.

the distinction which

We

connects wholly,

The difference between

much more than that of

are

all

term,

as

might

acquainted with

made between the magnetic

They have much in common,
is

and hypnotic sleep.

but they are pathologically separate, having diverse
characteristics and a divergent mode of induction.
Sleep, however,
*

is

obtained

M. Anatole Leroy Beaulieu

in

both,

says that the

and
Jew

this

is

is

their

not inclined to

"Judaism has nlway>

mysticism, and seems never to have been so.
been a law, a religion of the mind, an intellectual creed not favourable
He denies also that Kabali>m
to mystic transports or divine languors."

was indigenous
of

the

in

Hassidim,

Jewry.
the

mysteries of the Kabalah, and those

seem to have been a foreign

"The

neo-Kabalists,

according to the best judges, the Cabala itself is not

importation
Israel among the Nations, translated by Francis
rooted in Judaism."
This v ew shows little first-hand
Ilillman, London, 1895, P- 2 9 2
;

acquaintance with the subject.

c&ht Doctrine anb literature at the Jiabalah

486

and obvious point of union

superficial

and

so

obvious

that

the

ordinary observer would

to identify them, while they have also

fail

scarcely

so superficial

been identified on grounds which are not precisely

those of ordinary observation. Between occult science
and mystic science there is the common point of

union which

Beneath

is

created, let us say,

this fantastic

important

their secrecy.

by

resemblance there

is

the

more

they both profess to deal with

fact that

the inner and otherwise uninvestigated forces of the

human soul. In the case of occult science it is,

however, for the kind of end which we connect with

the notions of magic.
For example, Talismanic
Magic, so called, is ostensibly the art of infusing a
recondite spiritual power

certain

composed

it

some

object

an operation of occult
deals with a power which is, by

artificially.

because

science

This

into

is

hypothesis, of an occult or generally unknown

nature and applies it in accordance with the formulae

the

of

concealed

instruction.

powers which are latent

human

in

which

nature

not

is

the develop
of the latent powers in the direction of divine

unlikely to lead to mysticism,

ment

knowledge of the
is

There

is usually, however, no person less

than
the occultist conventionally under
really mystic

union.

stood.

The

points

of contact

between occult science

and the Kabalah are very numerous, but between

com
and the Kabalah they
are,
Mysticism
It is difficult to name
paratively speaking, few.
a branch of occult science which is not indebted

for

seen

some
in

development, though

most cases

for

not

as

we

have

a governing direction,

to

Channels of
the tradition

West

is

(Esoteric

Jews, so

of the

This

concerned.

is

AlraMtion
far

at

487

least

as

the

true in a degree even of

frankly that its

rabbinical aspects are often highly fantastic, confined
to the most general conclusions
their
it

astrology, though

must be

said

ignorance
by
and based upon absurd principles, as appears most
not with intention, in the defence
explicitly, though
Ceremonial Magic in the West had,
of Gaffarel.
so had
as we have seen, its root in Kabalism
;

all

methodised

Divination, while

the

connections

ALsh Metzareph have been the

It seems unnecessary to
subject of a special study.
The end of
the present section.
prolong the thesis of

of alchemy with the

or attainment of conscious
Mysticism is the recovery
doctrine of the creation, as
secret
The
ness in God.
that of the emanation of souls, written symbolically,

cannot

in the

absence of the

Key which

will

open

its

use to the mystic, nor can the

mysteries, be of any
is the successful
methodising of
itself, which

Key

the confused Kabalistic medley, provide more than

intellectual knowledge, even by the most extreme hypo

Should he enter within the circle of initiation

where that Key is said to be obtained the student
whether the
will in due time be in a position to know

thesis.

can
knowledge which underlies such symbolism
it is
But
his
of
enterprise.
contribute to the success
secret

not impossible that a knowledge so obtained will take

him far from any traditions of Israel. I have never

met with any mystic, except those of the natural

order,

owing,

traditions,

who

as

such,

ignored

nothing
the

to

literature

possibilities

or

concealed

behind Kabalistic symbolism, or on the other hand

I
of importance to the Kabalah.
owed
anything

488

^he

Itortrine nub literature of the Jiabalah

have never met with any mystic, as distinguished

from occult students concerned with the offices of
Magic, who had so much as a tolerable acquaintance
with the subject. Finally, the greatest students of
occult science within my acquaintance have been
invariably taken further afield.
however, that the question

number of
justice

issues to

which

by

complicated

impossible to do
may be clearly set

is

it

But

a brief space.

in

must be confessed,

It
is

it

down

that as mysticism, properly disengaged from its

adventitious associations and regarded essentially, is

a sacramental experience of the soul, not a system of

cosmology, not a doctrine of spiritual essences con
structed

hypothetically, so

extrinsic

connection

as,

like

in

manner, with

conventionally by

We

it

has at best but an

with Bereshith and Mercavah^

all

that

we understand

the occult sciences.

have now reached the term of our inquiry,

and a small space only can be spared to a summary

of its results. As regards the documents of Kabalism

we take our stand with

that later

ship the position of which

Szinessy
reject

admirable

entirely

the

is

article

German

We

regard the
centuries.

tradition

by Dr.

Schiller-

on the Midrashim.
school

whose popular English exponent

some

and better scholar

indicated

of

Dr.

We

Graetz,

Dr. Ginsburgh.
Zoharic writings as the growth of
believe that they represent a
is

We

which connects with Talmudic times.

respect the legend

by which that

name

tradition

is

We

identified

of R. Simeon ben Jochai, but we are

not pledged thereto.
admit that the final shape
assumed by the Zohar may not have been much

with the

We

Channels

of (Esoteric TTrabition

anterior to the date of

that

deny

it

may

We

do not
publication.
received additions which

its

have

489

deserve to be described as spurious, or that some

of its increment may be attributable to Moses de

Leon, but we receive every statement with regard

to this personage tentatively and under all reservation,
ascribing

little

evidential value to the account in the

Yuhasin, and confessing that outside it there

perhaps no ground for supposing that such a rabbi

Sepher
is

flourished

in

We

the thirteenth century.

consider
Akiba is not an unwarrantable

that the period of R.

date to ascribe to the Sepher Yetzirah, or to some

form of that document, but the extent to

earlier

which

antedated the ninth century must remain

We observe in the Sepher Yetzirah
conjectural.
it

and the Zohar certain doctrines which

or other belong to

in

some form

all occultism
they are part of
burden, but they go far back into antiquity.
believe these doctrines to have been derived by the
;

We

its

We

his early settlements and captivities.

the
other doctrines of the Zohar, in so far
regard

Jew

in

as they follow from Scripture, to be of various

chiefly unassignable dates

and periods, but

and

in so far

as they are philosophical subtleties or theosophical

fantasies we regard them as largely post-Talmudic.

We

look upon the Kabalistic writings as documents

of humanity, and among such as memorials of the
genius of Israel, possessing their connections with
other systems and other modes of thought, but by

correspondence, by affiliation, by filtration, by causal

look
identity, rather than by historic descent.

We

upon

the

Zohar

in

particular as one of

attractive curiosities of the

human mind,

full

the

most

of great-

^he

49

Jtoctrine anb |Citerjiturc at the

ness and littleness, of sublimity and

which

aroused on

it

measure survived

We

all

down even

has lived

folly.

The

interest

some
appearance
criticism, and the work itself
has

its

the admiration of

in

believers.

its

can be accounted for naturally and

historically as a genuine growth of its age and not
either as an imposture or as the key of all esoteric
hold that

it

contains few or no traces

It

knowledge.

of that

doctrine of secret religion which occultists look for

therein.
It is the theosophical doctrine of Jewry.
It

supposes and involves the whole claim of Jewry,

and as such
sense

its

acceptation in any serious teaching

to
the modern mind and

intolerable

is

would not be worth arguing were

trend

of

it

not for the

direction.
thought
strong
of
a
concealed
doctrine
The existence of
religion

from

perpetuated

by

recourse

far as

this

occult

to

in

cannot

antiquity

Kabalistic

its

literature,

be

proved

and

notion has been rested thereon,

so

in

to

is

it

that extent discounted, yet the question itself does

not stand or

fall

Speaking from

by the Kabalah.

the transcendental standpoint for the

feel

that

warranted to do
it is

be sought by those who assume

that the

first

time, as

venture to say
in Christian channels that this doctrine must
in concluding,

it,

by which

mean

transcendental succession has passed

the Church of Christ.

The

question, however,

into

is

not

approachable from the historical side, and in no real

sense of the term can it be said to possess such a
side.

It is therefore

inquiry,

person

and assuming

now

living in

common channels of
the moment that any

outside the
for

the flesh

existence, then he best of

all,

is

entitled to affirm

though not he only,

its
is

of (Esoteric Traoition

491

aware that the secret doctrine

is

The

Kabalah with occult

historical association of the

science in the

West could

not of this world.

not, of course,

have taken

place without a common ground between them, and

the occult students who are concerned practically

with the alleged efficacy of theurgic formulae, with

the physical possibilities said to be indicated under
alchemical

symbolism, with certain

side

issues

astrology, as with the historical aspect of

subjects,

must not ignore the Kabalah,

demarcation

all

for

of

these

which

reasons

the

influence

and operation has been much needed, and

rigid

has been here attempted, as

first

time.

it

of

is

its

sphere

of

believed, for the

INDEX
AARON

the Great, his

commentary

on the Sepher Yetzirah, 185, 186.

Abba and Aima, the Supernal
Father and Mother, 55, 127, 214,
232.
traditional scribe of

R. Simeon, 112;
Simeon, 261.
Aben Ezra, 96.

Abraham, R.,

his

eulogy of R.

commentary on
its

Ain

60.

Abraham of Beaucaire, 115.

Abraham ben David Ha Levi,

his

Aristotelian tendency, 96 ; a great

his
orthodox apologist,
158 ;
Order of the Tradition, 160, 161 ;

a second personage bearing his

name, 159,

179.

Abraham

of Posquiere, suggested
author of the Zohar, 115, 162.
Abraham ben Samuel Zakut, his
hiBook of Genealogies, 104
estimate of the Zohar, 105 ; his
narrative concerning
Isaac de
;

bn Wakhnr, 162.
Abramelin, spuriou-, work
buted to, 100.

rally under DIVINK NAMES.

.K-h Metzareph, an application of
Kabalism to alchemy, 308 ; lan
guage of, 309 ; probable period,
310 Levi s alleged reconstitution,
;

difficulties of the treatise,

sephirotic attribution of the
for
minor
metals, 312, 313 ;
references see 328, 436, 449, 452,
455, 464, 487.
Agla and Ararita, 150, 151.
Agobad, St., probable reference to
the Sepher Yetzirah, 93, 136.

311;

312

attri

Agrippa, Cornelius, sketch of, 344,

345 ; gives earliest methodical
description of the Kabalah, 345
probable source of his acquaint
ance, 346 summary of his instruc
tion, 346, 347 ; his subsequent
retractation, 151, 347-349; influ
ence of Agrippa on Yaughan, 376

see also 329, 380.

Ahih, see Divine Names.

Soph, Kabalistic name

unmanifest Deity, 33

the

ib.

meaning,

36;
I

So/>h,

to

pi-ubleiii-.

Av,

37

the

transcendency
created

Absolute, beginning of Kalndi-,tic

philosophy, 31 ; the essence of
all, 34 ; postulation of its exist
ence by the Kabalah, 37.
the

alleged

true

for

of,

the

decade and Ain

41; passage In in latency

44; central point
45; the Sephiroth

activity,
A fther,

if

concentrated

3i8, 319.

of
its

the subsistent state

of Deity, 35

Abravanel, i.e., Leo the Hebrew, his

Dialogues on Love, 314 ; sketch
of the author, 315
singular
mistakes in regard to his work,
account
of,
316, 317
summary

synagogue, 160.

Ain

105108.

Abu Alphrag on

substituted for the Tetragram, 57 ; see also 76, and gene

Soph, 1 80, 181 ; alleged identity

with the instructor of Flamel,
181, 182; see also Flamel.
Abraham Abulafia, suggested author
of the Zohar, 115; his writings,
159; his Messianic enthusiasm,

Acco,

Adni

the Sepher Yetzirah, 98 ;

Zoharic elements, 180; on

Abraham

abode in
man, 51
AtzHuth, 51, 54 a second Adam
an
in Briah, 77
averse Adam,
80 sin of Adam Kadmon, 272.
primordial

Abbah, R., the

Academy of Sora, 157.

Adam, 201-203, 243-245, 252, 274.
Adam Kadmon, archetypal and

in .-//;/ .S^///, 46,

manifestation, 49 essentially
as the Closed
unknowable, 54
Eye, 55; philo>o|.hiral claims oi
the doctrine, 59, 86; world of,
doctrine of, fundamental in
73
the Kabalah, 123; an ultimate

51

lute

494

123,
concept of metaphysics,
124; as described by Saadya
Gaon, 180, 181 ; according to
Azariel, 183 ; according to the
Zohar, 208 ; mentioned in the
Bahir, 242 ; see also 52, 56, 128,
192, 246, 347, 417, 423, 431.
Aitsinger, M., 473.
Akiba, R., traditional author of the
Sepher Yetzirah, 91 ; claims of
the attribution, 92 ; his mystical
tendencies, 120 ; his death, 146,
147; see also 457, 489.

Al, see Divine

Names.

influence

on,

the Flamel legend, 148,

alchemical allusions in the
Zohar, 309 ; alchemy and the

308
309

Sephiroth, 312, 313 ; alchemy and

Paracelsus, 350 ; general connec
tion with Kabalism, 449-460
also 8, 126.

see

Alphabet, Mysteries of, 6 1, 91, 131,

178 ; see also Sepher Yetzirah and
Instruments of Creation.
Alphabet of Akiba, 91, 92, 94, 154.

Al

Tufail, 141.

Amelineau, M. E., on the coinci

dent development of Gnosticism
and Kabalism, 128.
Angels, the hierarchies according to
Mirandola, 335 ; see also 76-78
and under PNEUMATOLOGY.

on
exegetical
Angus,
Joseph,
methods, 28.
Arabian Philosophy, 138.
Archangelus de Burgo Nuovo, com
mentary on Mirandola, 332 ;
his apparent
excerpt from, 339
view of the Kabalah, 355.
Arik Anpin, see Vast Countenance.
;

yoke

to

Gaffarel

of, in

Jewry, 96, 97,

161 ; influence on Ha Levi, 160
alleged influence on Avicebron,
164, 166 ; Saadya Gaon, an Aris

totelian philosopher, 178 ; Azariel

opposed by the Aristotelian party,

183 ; see also 144, 316.

Assiah, see Four Worlds.
Astral Light, 21.
Astrology, not essentially connected
with the Kabalah, 461, 462;
much studied by the Jews, 462 ;
astronomy and the Sephiroth, 464;

and

modern

occultists, 469, 470.

Atonement, 249.
Averroes, 164.
Avicebron, see Gebirol.
Azariel, R., on the Sephiroth, 41,

on the Sepher Yetzirah, 98, 159,

167, 174, 182-184, 414.
see Illustrious Book.
on the Astronomical Signs,

BAHIR,

Bakoda, R. Behai ben Joseph ibn,

his treatise on the Duties of the
Heart, 109.

Bar Cochba, his Messianic mission,

146.

Earth, F., on Kabalism in Cornelius

Agrippa, 346.
Bartolocci, Julius, his rabbinical
bibliography, 2 ; his prejudgment
of the Kabalah, 99 ; on Abraham

ben David Ha Levi, 161, 179 ;

on the commentary of R. Saadya
Gaon, 175 ; on other commen
tators of the Sepher Yetzirah, 185,
1 86
on the commentators of the
Canticle of Canticles, 280 ; on
on the minor
Abravanel, 315
literature of Kabalism, 320 ; see
;

also 181, 274.

Judah ben, on the Sepher

Yetzirah, 186.
Basnage, on the date of the original
Zohar, 115; importance of the
tenth century for Israel, 155;
on R. Eliezer s commentary on
the Sepher Yetzirah, 185 ; his
slight knowledge of the Zohar,
1 88 ;
on Talmudic references to

Barzillai,

on
220, 221
Moses of Cardova,

former creations,

Aristobulus, 130.
Aristotle,

ing

Bailly
460.

Albelda, M., 387.

AlboJ., 387.
Alchemy, rabbinical

of Jewish astrology,
465-467 ; Jewish astronomy, 467,
468 Sephirotic astrology accord

summary

the date of

289
292

on that of Isaac de Loria,

on Henry More, 370 ; see

also 93.
Bertet,

Adolphe, on Kabalism

in

the Pentateuch, 9.
Berthelot, on the spurious books of
Geber, 148 ; on Jewish influence
upon alchemy, 450 ; on the
Leyden papyrus, 453 ; on the

Kabalah and alchemy, 461.

Berwick, Samuel, on the Swedenborgian Rite, 472.

fnfccx
Beyers, on the Christian aspects
the Kabalah, 380.

of

of

God, description

of,

200
the

Binah, see Sephi roth.

Blavatsky, II. P., on the Kabalah
and its literature, 433-437.
Blunt s Dictionary of Doctrinal and
Historical Theology, its worthless
article on the Kabalah, 4 ; on the
language of the Zohar, 120;
absurd mistake as to the Greater
and Lesser Zohar, 193.

Body

37,

281;

339

of,
of,

in

corre

see Sephiroth.

Christian,

P.,

alleged

astrological

on

Cagliostro s
process of divination, 469.
Claverus, on the sEsh Metzareph,
310.

463

Closed Eye, The, 55.

Cohen, Samuel, on the origin of the
Zohar, 115.
Commentary on Ruth, fragments
in the Zohar and possible author

301.

Countenances, see Lesser and Vast

Countenances.
Court de Gebelin, as an authority
on Egyptology and the Tarot, 419,
479, 481, 482.
Cousin, Victor, his confusion on the
subject of the Kabalah, 398 ; see

Mysteries,

also 317.

Buddieus on the Bahirt 236.

Buxtorf on the Bahir, 236.

Kabalah, 391
392 ;

lations,

errors and specu

on Oriental alle

gories, 393Burton, Sir Richard, on human

sacrifice among the Jews, 145.

C.

II.

van,

on

Creation of

/char,

Burnet, Thomas, his criticism of the

Kabalah, 389; on the transmission
of the secret wisdom of Moses,
390 ; on the Nominal and Real

Kabalistic

according to the
201 ; creation ex

nihilo, 40, 59.

testament attributed

to,

326.

Crown of the Kingdom, Sephirotic

poem of Avicebron, 165.
Cryptography and symbolism, 8.
Cud worth, Ralph, a great theosohis
"Intellectual
386;
phist,
ib.
connection with
System,
Kabalism, xv., 386; his appeal
;

to rabbinical authorities, 387-389.

Cybele,

CALMET,

man

199

Cremer, Abbot, forged alchemical

alchemy, 461.

3.

23.

Casaubon, L, 450.
Chamai, R., on the Kabalistic

DAATH,
art,

320.

Chasdai, R., connection with Hay

Gaon and Gebirol, 158.
Chassidim, old and new, 146.
Chateau, M. H., his alleged French
version of the Zohar, 189.
Chesed, see Sephiroth.
Chiah, a higher principle of the
soul,

273

Chokmah,

126.

Byler,

Neshamah, 242

ship, 273, 274.

372.
Briah, see Four Worlds.
Bride of Microprosopus, 73, 227,
228.
Browne, E. G., on Islamic Mysti

the

of

life,

Confucianism, 127.
Converts from Kabalism, 320, 321.
Cortices, the demons of Kabalism,
52 ; attributed to Assiah, 79 as
recrements of the Edomite Kings,

Mirandola,
according to
according to Henry More,

cism, 143, 144.

Byrant, Jacob, on

name

higher

Kabalah,

Briere, M. de, on the transmission

of secret knowledge, n.

spondence with Abba, 300.

Chinese Kabalah, 126.

154, 157Bois, Jules, on Raymond Lully, 326.

Boismont, Brierre de, on Vampires,
82.

Brashith or Bereshith, mystery

Zoharic explanations
153

495

85

Gaon, 177

according to Saadya
the heavenly Chiah,

see Sephiroth.
Dale, Antonio Van, his reference to
the Key of Solomon, 443.
Alvedre, St. Yves, influence on
French occultism, 416 ; on the
Miissorah, 64.
h Ai-en-, hi- lO-odlcd Kabalistic

correspondence, 473.
Dee, l)i. John, m\ Monas

Iliero-

lnca\ 459.

Iielanne, Gabriel,

Mirandola, 331.

his referen

49 6
Delineation of the Heavenly Tem
Kabalistic
ples, important pre
treatise, 154, 159.

Demonology,

24, 79-82, 448, 449.

Desatir, Celestial, its analogies with
Kabalism, 141.

Dionysius, analogies with Kabalism,

77-

Discourse of the Aged Man, tract of

the Zohar, 192 ; excerpts from,
229-233.
Discourse of the

Young Man, 193

summary of, 277-278.
Divine Names, in connection with
;

the unmanifest state of Deity, 32,

connection with the
in
33 ;
57,
58, 446, 447
supposed occult power, 94 ;
antiquity of this belief, 118, 441
the sealing names, 171, 172
Saaclya Gaon on the names of

Sephiroth,

their

;
;

God, 177 ; speculation of Isaac

de Loria, 295, 296 criticism of
Cornelius Agrippa, 348, 349 ; the
Divine Names and the Scale of
the Denary, 447, 448.
Donolo, Sabbatai, his commentary
on the Sepher Yetzirah, 186.
Drach, Chevalier, on the uses of the
term Kabalah, 29 its authority,
162 ; on Abravanel, 315.
;

Duties of the Heart, treatise quoted

by the Zohar, 109, no, in.

Imman

emanation and Divine

ence, 41, 144; as the manifestation

of the Absolute, 38 ; the world
of emanations, 51; emanationism

and pantheism, 40.

Encausse, Gerard, see Papus.
Evangelical Design of Christian
Kabalism, 98, 147-149, 325.
Ezra, Moses Ibn Jacob Ben, his
Kabalistic connections, 158, 159;
alleged invention of the Kabalah,
162 ; see also 21 1.

FAITHFUL Shepherd,

fragments in

on the unmanifest God,

on the Names of God,
;
I
on tne authors of the
1
Zohar, 135 analysis and excerpts,
Zohar,
32, 35

34>

33>

246-255 see also 192.

Falaquera, disciple of Maimonides,
;

159-

Man, as expounded in the

Zohar proper, 202, 203 according
to the Bahir, 243, 246
according
to the Faithful Shepherd, 252

Fall of

according to the Tosephthoth, 272,

273 ; according to the Conclusions
of Mirandola, 335.
T
Farrar, F.
.,
description of the

Talmud,

17.

Fichte, J. G., 317.

Figuier, Louis, as cited

on

418;

Byzantine

by Papus,
alchemical

literature, 451.

EDERSHEIM on emanationism and

W.

school, 167.
Eliezer Hagabite, Kabalistic doctor,

T., on reincarnation
the Kabalists, 86.
Flamel, Nicholas, his instructor in
alchemy, in, 181 ; alleged evan
gelical zeal, 148, 149 ; misstatements of Eliphas Levi, 311
opinion of Stanislas de Guaita,
423, 424.
Fludd, Robert, place among English
occultists, 366 ; mystery of his
life, 367 ; his Kabalistic studies,
368 ; on the practical Kabalah,
368, 369 ; not acquainted with
the Zohar, 369 ; his use of the

156.
Eliezer, R., his mystic system, 156,

term Kabalah, 370.

Fountain of Life, treatise of Avice-

Talmudic tradi17
ditionalism, 19
cosmology of the
Sepher Yetzirah, 63 description
of, 91; on Akiba, 92; on the
the

Talmud,

Chassidim, 146.

Edom, Kings

of,

among

Zoharic sym

in

bolism, 220.

Egyptian Wisdom, 83.

Eirenoeus Philalethes, eminence in

alchemy, 375, 376

Eleazar of

Flagg,

Worms,

see also 455.

his

Kabalistic

bron, 164, 165.

157-

of
forces
Elohim,
Briah,
75
secondary gods, 76 ; a name
assumed by God, 177 ; reference
in the Zohar, 207.
El Shaddai, 177.
Emanation and the Kabalah, 40
;

Four Worlds of Kabalism, world of

its sole
Deity or Atziluth, 51
ib. ; world of creation
ib. ; world of formation
or Yetzirah, $2 ; world of action
astronomical
or
Assiah, ib. ;
;

occupant,
or Briah,

iubex
earliest
53 ;
correspondences,
traces of the doctrine, ib.
As
regards Atzi uth, sec 57, 77, 144,
as regards
208, 232, 275, 300
;

Briah, 56, 58, 60, 75, 77, 171,

300 as regards Yetzirah, 60, 77,
as regards Assiah,
79 I 7 l 3
;

>

79, 81, 300.

497

;
quoted by the
Mttzareph, 310.
Gates of Light, on the Divine Will,
39 on the Gates of Understand

good works, 292

&sh
;

ing

73

Franck, Adolphe, on Isaac

on the Sepher
75, 288, 289, 308
his defence of
Yet/.irah, 93, 94
the Kabalah, 97, 397, 398; on
the language of the Zohar, 113;
on the foreknowledge of the soul,
210 on the connection
<

Sepher Yetzirah and the

on Kabalistic eschaZohar, 211
tology, 226; on the Hakir, 239;
on Raymond Lully, 328, 329 on
William Hostel, 359
on the
Kabalism of Henry More, 370,
;

374its

Freemasonry,

mystic origin, 470 ;

471 ; con

historical origin, 4/0,

nection
with
occultism,
472 ;
Kabalistic
degrees,
472-476;
occultism and the Scottish Rite,

476-478; Masonic Rosicrucianism,

478 the higher grades and Kabal;

see also 17.

ism, 479;
Friedlander, M., 57, 83.
Frinellan, his

Vo<abulaire

Infernal,

23-

Future Happiness according to the

Zohar, 264.
Future Punishment according to the
Zohar, 226, 267.

see also 344.

Geber, Latin writings attributed to,

IOI, 148
quoted by the Ash
;

ireph, 310.

the

73-

Gates of Understanding, a sketch of

universal science, 72
late origin,

included

Gebirol,
among eavly
Kabalists, 158; his \\iitii:
their evidence on the antiquity
of the Zohar, 161
the
with which he connects, 162
his
chief doctrines, 163 ; his
Foun
tain of Life," 164 ; sketch of his.
life, 165 ; reference to the Sepher
:

"

165, 166 ; his alleged

Greek
166,
167
complexion of his philosophy,
167 ; see also 138, 139, 21 1,

Yet/irah,

pantheism,

sec Sephiroth*
Geinara, 16.
Gematria, exegetical method of, xiv.,
27 ; example of, 73, 74 ; in the

Geburah,

Ash

Afet*arepk t 312, 313.

Gikatella, Joseph, 73, 320;
see
of Light.
Ginsburg, C. D., on early Kaba
listic

44;

literature,

Kabalah, 408-410;

GAFFAKKJ.,
,

MSS.

his

astrological

pro-

150; on the Kabalistic

of Mirandola, 331, 332;

astrology and the Law of

Israel, 462.
Galatinus, Petrus, on the evangelical
value of the Kabalah, 99.

on

Gamaliel, R., 91.

Ganz, David, on the compilation of
the Mishna, 15.
Garden of Ivlen, a place of the
.ih,
205 ; the upper and
lower, 262; reference by Miran
dola, 336.
Garden of Pomegranates, on the
name Ain Soph, 34 ; authority of

this

treatise

290;

its obscurities

ib.

on pneumatology,

among Kabalists,
and difficulties,
20.

on

-n

Kabalistic literature, 154; on the

Sepher Yet/.irah, 154, 155; on
the origin of the Zohar, 162 ;
hi., d.
M-ription of the Zohar, 190 ;
of his work on
the
analysis
see

also

xi.,

xiv., 189, 256, 488.

Gnosticism, 128.

Goldschmidt, L. his translation of

the SepluT Yet/.irah, 172.
Good W.jiks, Zoharic Doctrine of,
,

292.

Gould,

on

among

Aristotelian
the
Jews,

Influence

97

on

Paracelsus, 350.

Goulianuv,
metic and
(

45

le,

Kabalistic

i,n

Ik-r-

tra<lition,

Graet/, Dr., indiscriminate hostility

of his criticism, 97 ;
on the
the Zohar,
.in of
115; his
estimate of .V
16 ;
on th- M) Series
f Simeon
i

"iu

riai,

Yetzirah,

20;
122,

on

the

154;

Sepher
on the

49 s

iniiex

160
of
Abulafia,
followed by Ginsburg, 162 ; on
definite rejection
Gebirol, 166

Hermetic Books, antiquity of

of his views, 488.

Hermetic Maxim, Kabalistic par

writings

occult traditions, 102

Great Adam, 336.

Greater Holy Synod, its literary
aspect, 217 ; on the authorship of
the

"

Book
of,

of Concealment," ib.\
ib. ; the recorder of

219;
summary
account of its symbolism, 219-226.
on
the
W.
Massorah,
B.,
Greene,
of
the
the
worlds
22
on
on
the
Kabalah,
24,
25
its

discourses,

allel,

207.

Hershon, P. J., on the divisions of

the Kabalah, 25.
Hidden Things of the Law, extracts
in Zohar, 256
specimen of its
on the stages
exegesis, 256-257
on
of mystic vision, 257, 258
the vision at Mamre, 258, 259 ;
demonology, 259, 260.
;

Kabalistic balance, 71.

Gri moires of magic, alleged place
in the scheme of Kabalism, 150;
close connection with the Magical
Clavicles, 445.
Guaita, Stanislas de,

Hillel the Great, 92.

Hirt/, R. Napthali, on the Divine
Will, 39 ; on the consciousness of
the unrnanifested creation in Ain
Soph, 46 ; analysis of his
Royal
"

Valley,"

on Christian

Kabalism, 99; on the Egyptian

origin of Kabalism, 122, 123; his
421,
422; his
literary work,
Rosicrucian Order, 422, 423 ;
his views on Kabalism, 423, 424.

HALAKHA, arrangement

of,

and

later series, 449, 450.

content

their

earlier

303-306.

Hook, Dean, on Kabalism and

Hosmer, T. K., on the Kabalah

and demonology, 24.
on Kabalism and
Hoefer,
P\,
alchemy, 457.

ILLUSTRIOUS Book,

attri

the

early heretics, 118.

its

fragments

buted to R. Akiba, 92; distinction

quoted in Zohar,

between Halakha and Haggada,

analysis and excerpts, 234-246

19.

Ha

Levi, Judah, R., on the Sepher

Yetzirah, 91, 159.

Hareau, B., on the Scholastic Phil

osophy, 295.
Harrison, Clifford, on Bacon as a
Rosicrucian, 364.
Harrison, C. G., on the pantheism
of the Sephirotic system, 169.
Hartmann, Franz, on the higher
sense of magic, 441 ; on astro
logical geomancy, 465.
Haven, Marc, on the Kabalism of
Stanislas de Guaita, 423.

Hay Gaon, and the esoteric tradition,

156; on the interpretation of
dreams, 158 alleged commentary
on the Sephir Yetzirah, 157, 174,
;

175, 178.

Hebrew

literature,

development,

its

extent

and

characteristics,

2.

Heckethorn, C.W., absurd explana

tion of the term Kabalah, 3
error as to the literal Kabalah, 21.
Hellenism, 78.
Helmont, Mercurius and J. B. van,

their alchemical researches, 381.

192

history,
;

observation of Loeb, 414.

Immanence, Divine, a foundation of
the Kabalah, 41 ; in contrast to

pantheism, 144; see EMANATION.

Instruments of Creation, scheme of,
59-65 ; in connection with the
virtue of words, 88.

Intermediaries, between Deity and

matter, 37, 43.
Irira, Abraham Cohen, notice of his

Zoharic commentaries, 306, 307

his Platonic leanings, 131.

Isaac ben Moses, his forged Zohar,

286.
Isaac de Acco, his search for the
MSS. of the Zohar, 106 ; meeting
failure
with Moses de Leon, ib.
of his quest, 107 ; abrupt termina
tion of his narrative, 107, 108 ; on
;

the language of the Zohar, 112.

Isaac the Blind, an alleged author
of the Zohar, 115; connection
his school
with Avicebron, 162
a precursor of Kabalism, 167 ;
alleged teacher of Azariel, 182
his supposed commentary on the
;

Sepher Yetzirah,
211.

186

see

also

Inbex
author of
Ishmael, K..
the
Delineation of the Heavenly

499
.h
and Agrippa,
Kabalah and

"

Temple^,"

Issach.ir

348;

347,

157.

ft

,65

hen Napthali,

his synopsis

of the Xohar, 84, 195, 307, 308.

JAM

of

his

Herat,

Thrones,"

(.lit

"Seven

the inquiry

et sei}.,

Kabbala Denudata of
motives which led
if

v
.v

his citations from

Moses de Leon,

-airificts

ritical standpoint,
385, 386; its ambitious design,
188
excerpts and references, c,
33,39, 45.47, 4 s 51. 54, 65,
75, 76, fcS, 192, 194, 213, 214,
225, 227, 228, 291, 293, 294, 304,
306, 307, 383, 457.
;

3i>

Jehovah, sec Tttra^mmtnaton.

and the
Joel, on emanationism
Kabalah, 40, 41.
K., hi- Arabic translation of
.

the Talmud, 138.

Kairites, 143.

Kapila,

Joshua ben Chananga, the iii.

Akiba, 91.
Judge, W. O., on a secret lodge of

4.

Karppe, Dr.
V.,
Kenealy,
Kabalah, 3

Adnm,

S.,

pu-h.cc,

on

V.,

on the wisdom of

Kcrner,

KABALAH, suggested

his -eeress, 84.

Kether, sec Sephircth.

derivations. 3;
true derivation of the term, 3, 4 ;
a secret traditional
knowledge,
4 ; the hidden thought of Israel,

the

conceal
of the
Pentateuch, 6
difficulty of its
;

methods, 7 two ways of

regarding its importance, 10 its
literary

interest not exegetical or historical

for the occult student, 12
failure
;

of occult expositions, t 6.; whether

a channel of the secret tradition,
13; popular identification with

mai

ic,

23; four groups of

tradition, 26-28

Hebrew

mystery infused

by the Kabulah into the bible, 31:

of a liberal and Catholic
doctrine, 54 ; the understanding
n iiu-thodi-rd, 71

88; authority
Kabalah and the

of,

sources of

Kabalah

its

of,

limitation
90; the

Xohar, 98
.mism, 103;
doctrine, 122

and mystic tradition,

153, 440, 463 ft .w/.; Kabalah
and Magic, 323, 324, 351, 438

Ju>tinus,

of

Key

\viii-\x.

th<

6.

adepts, 434.
Judgment, Last, 263, 264.

Kosenmth,
it,
380 ;

to

the preface, 383,

involved by the

work.

from the Kith Haininadrcsh,

267.
Jesod, we Sepkirotk.

sumn

488-491-

hii.stianily,

<>f

,.

140.

Jechidah,
principle of the soul,
85 ; its unique character, 177
the soul, 232;
quintessence
the mystic daughter, 233
as a
name of Ne^hamah, 242 accord
ing to Isaac do Loria, 300.
Jellinek, on the term Sg/>/iira, 42
on the names of the Xohar, ill
14

Modern

42&etseo. t Kabalah and Modem

433 ft si t/.; Kabalah
and Alchemy, 449 ct jw/. Kabalah
and Astrology,
ct
461
scq.\
Kabalah and Freemasonry. 470

fifth

sfij.

Kabaiism, 414

the revelations of

a transparent
nonsensical pro-

Solomon,

forgery,

100

150; its two recensions,

as
an embodiment of
Kabalistic tradition, 444.
reference
Khunrath,
by Kliphas
I. \i,
382, by Stanislas de (iii.iita,
,

443

424

his

connection with

Kab-

alism, 454.

Kiern, F., his Kabalah of alchemy,

456.
r. \V., on the ancient tra
ditions of the Zc
on the
anal
-n (In.sticism and
the Kab-alah, 20.
Kingsford, Anna.
Kingslanrl, \V., on the A
,

Wisdom Religion, 435.

Kircher, Athanasius, )n the
Kabalistic
t

<

corre
.

.;

132.

defendant of the Kabalah,

97-

the Sepht
irah, 159.

500
Dr.

LAMB,

on

J.,

Hebrew

the

characters, 467.

Lambert, Mayer, on the date and

character of the Sepher Yetzirah,
on the commentary of Saadya
95
Gaon, 175 ; see also 173, 417.
Landauer, M. II., on the authorship
;

of the Zohar, 115.

Leiningen, Carl, on Pneumatology,
83-

Lelievre, A., on the divinatory

sciences, 150.
Lejay, Julien, 418.
Letters from a Mystic, mysticism of
the Divine Name, 95.
Leroy-Beaulieu, A., on the Hatakha
and Haggada, 19 ; on the Jew

and mysticism, 485.

Lesser Countenance, symbolism of,
56, 73, 87, 215, 216, 219, 220,
223, 225, 227, 228.

Lesser Holy Synod, as described by

Rosenroth, 226 ; design of its
nature of the
revelations, 227
discourse, ib. Kabalistic doctrine
of the sexes, 227, 228 ; account
of R. Simeon s death, 228, 229.
;

Leusden, J, on the name of God,

441.
Levi, David, on the antiquity of
the Vowel-Points, 109, no.
Levi, Eliphas, his misconstruction
of the Talmud, 19-21
on the
Divine Name, 60 ; on the thirtyfirst Path of Wisdom, 71,
179,
182 ; on the Book of Conceal
;

on Microprosopus,
213
symbolism, 217; on the
on
Metzareph, 310, 311
Raymond Lully, 326 translation
of Mirandola s Conclusions, 334
variants from same, 335 - 343
ment,

216;

its

&sh

;
;

on the collection of Pistorius,

on William Postel,
354 - 356
358, 360, 361, 362; sketch of
;

Levi

position as a Kabalist,
396-408; as judged by De
Guaita, 423 ; see also 99, 150,
196, 3 66
3 82
415. 424,
480, 481.
Levita, Elias, on the Vowel- Points,
s

>

479>

109.

Liber

Drushim,

collection

analysis of,

excerpts

of

in

the

Rosenroth, 293 ;
294-297 ; influence on

Henry More, 293, 371.

Libavius, Andrew, 368.

bride of Samael,

Lilith, Kabalistic

81, 82, 255, 260.

Lillie, A., 130.
Li.smon, Z., on the Tarot, 480.
Loeb, Isidore de, on French and
Spanish Jews in the thirteenth

century,

18

on Metatron, 76 ;
Kabalah, 409 et

his study of the

seq.

Longelus, Ranutius, 150.

Loria, Isaac de, on the benevolence
of

the creative act, 47 ; his

developments of Zoharic pneumatology, 75, 86, 230, 287, 299-303
recommended by
his treatises
his position and
Rosenroth, 195
period, 292 ; his works, 293, 294
summary of same, 294-303.
Lover of Pljilalethes, 455.
Lowy, Rev. A., 2.
Lully, Raymond, his true work,
148; his connection with Kabalism,
325, 328 ; his date and legend,
326 the Lully of alchemy, 327
errors of Franck, 328, 329 ; his
scholastic system, 330 ; see also
;

Luria, David, 97.

Lux in Tenebris, its observations on
the Zohar, 385.
antithesis

MACROPROSOPUS,

of

anthropomorphic Deity, 55; long

animity of, 56 ; relation with
Microprosopus, 58, 227 ; doctrine
of, fundamental to the Kabalah,
the history of
late in
123 ;

124;
symbolical
body of,
development of, 213
hidden
and
ever
concealed,
214
conformations
of,
219;
215;
first
of,
221-224
description
see also 404.
manifestation, 227
Mackenzie, Kenneth, on the un
speculation,

known writings

of Pasqually, 394,

395-

Magic, popular connection with

not of Zoharic
Kabalism, 23
tradition, 24 ; not of Kabalistic
philosophy, 25
higher under
a late
standing of the term, 206
:

connection, 323, 324 ; develop

ment of the magical side of

Kabalism by Agrippa, 345 et seq. ;

Kabalism by Para
celsus, 351 ; the Kabalistic magic
of the
of Fludd, 368,
369
identified with

Inbex
modern French

occultists,

419

considerations on
the
general
connection, 438-440 ; influence of

Kabalism on Western Magic, 440 ;

White and Black Magic, 441 ;
power of Divine Names, 441, 442,
443 processes of debased Kabal
the Keys of
ism, 443, 444
the grimoires,
Solomon, 444
445 summary of the doctrine of
Names, 446-449.
Maier, Michael, his Tripus Aureus,
326 connection with Fludd, 367.
Maimonides, on the Tetragram;

5 01

Metempsychosis, rejected by Saadya

Gaon, 176 taught by Isaac the
Blind, 182 ; and by Manasses,32i.
Meurin, Le"on, on the Synagogue of
;

a troubled dream of
Satan, 125
the Papacy, 425 on Freemasonry
and Manicheanism, 425, 426 ; on
the Kabalah and
Freemasonr)
;

Pantheism, 426-428.
Mevi, R., 319.
Meyer, his edition of the Sepher

Microprosopus, emanation

his

Aristotelian
said
to
have

maton,
57 ;
96 ;
tendency,
turned a Kabalist,

159; eulogy
161 ;
with
unacquainted
Avicebron, 164 ; see also 414.
Malkuth, see Scphiroth,
Maitland, Fd\vard, 429, 432.
Mandrakes, Xoharic symbolism of,
of,

267.

Mangetus, 327.
Manning, Cardinal, on the Daimon
of Socrates, 331.

Mansions or Abodes, excerpts in

Zohar,274 symbolism of, 274, 275.
Marconison Masonic Mysteries, 478.
he brought into
Marcus, what
;

Gnosticism, 128.

Massey, Gerald, 225.

Massorah, 64.
on Gnosticism and the
Matter,
Kabalah, 118.
Mathers, S. L. MacGregor, his
gratuitous assumption, 12,
13 ;
false impression created by, 13
his translation of the occupation
;

lne importance

^9
which he attributes
I

59>

blunder

Beth

to

concerning the treatise

on the
xi., 307
devoid of
Way, 429

Elo/iifti,

Perfect

same, 212
;

judgment, 446 ; assertion

concerning the sEsh Mttzareph,
455 ; on the Tarot, 479.
Measure of
the
Height,
precritical

Kabalistic treatise, 154.

Mi-diution, 56.
Misraim, Rite of, 478.
Memphis
Mercavah, 208.
ing to the Xohar,
203, 247 ; see also xvii.
the
Metatron,
Angel of the I resence,
the Xohar.
76, 77 ;
2 55 ; according to Kludd, 370.
aii<i

a<

Yetzirah, 172.
relation

56

of,

to

Macroprosopits, 58,
a fundamental doctrine

214, 215
of
the
late
Kabalah,
123 ;
character of its speculation, 124
Sephirotic attribution, 215 ; mani
;

festation

of,

216

conformations

219 ; description of, 224, 225 ;

see
androgyne nature, 227, 228
of,

also 404.
Mid rash Conen, 156.

Miilrashim and Targumim, 103, in.

Midrash of R. Simeon, an alleged

name of the Xohar, in, 120.

Mirandola, Picus de, his evangelical
zeal,
148,
353,
426 ; not a
of magic,
partisan
150; not
acquainted with Avicebron, 164 ;
conversion effected by, 320, 321 ;
Lully and Mirandola, 329 ; his
Kabalistic MSS., 331 ; sketch
of Mirandola, 332
his Kabalistic
conclusions, 332, 335-344; his
on
treatise
astrology,
333 ;
Agrippaand Mirandola, 344, 346 ;
docs not mention the Xohar, 380.
Mishna, compiled by R. Judah,
Mi>hna as
15
part of the Tal
mud, 16 ; date according to
M"iinus, 17; sections of, 2O; error
;

of ll-.-ckethorn, 21

see also 94.

More, Henry, his contributions to

the Kabbala Denndata, 188, 370 ;
object

of his

Kabalistic

studies,

remarks on Isaac de
372; exposition of
37
Ezekiel, 372, 373 his Conjcctura

37

37

!>

Cabalistica, 373, 374, 375.

Morerus on Magic, 440.

Moriinis, 17.

Mordechai, R., 310.

Molitor,

as

interpreted

by

Papus,

ISO, 419.
on, hi* alleged author
ship of the Zohar, 96; an almost

502
impossible theory, 102, 237, 270;
evidence adduced for it, 103, 104;
narrative in the&/4*r Yuhasin,
104, 106-108 ; does not prove the
authorship of K. Moses, 108 ;
sketch of the internal evidence,
109 ; how met by the defenders
of the Zohar, 110-113; points of
weakness in the defence, 114;
further

concerning
speculation
R. Moses, 115; see also 174,
260, 279, 350, 410, 414.
Moses of Cordova, his Paradise
on the
of Pomegranates, 34 ;
simplicity of Ain Soph, 35 ; his
pneumatology, 75 ; date of R.
Moses, 289 ; high authority of
his

treatise,

account of

summary

290;

290-292.
Munk, Solomon, on the pantheism
of the Kabalah, 40 ; on the
Talmud and Kabalah, 18; on the
divisions of the Kabalah, 90 ;
on the authorship of the Sepher
Yetzirah, 93 ; on the language of
the Zohar, 103, 113; on certain
it,

between Maimonides
and the Zohar, 162 ; on the fusion
of the Kairites and Motozales,
143 ; on Avicebron, 162, 164.
Myer, Isaac, his erudition and his
similarities

13

assumptions,
between the

distinction

Kabalah and the

Talmud, 22; on the Kabalah and
on
New Testament, 5
the
on Adam
creation ex nihilo, 46
Kadmon, 51 on the speculative
Kabalah, 59 on the Aristotelian
on
and Kabalistic systems, 96
the acquaintance of Maimonides
on the
with the Zohar, 162
;

;
;

Kabalistic connections of Avice

on liay Gaon s
bron,
163 ;
alleged commentary on the Sepher
Yetzirah, 178 ; on the higher soul
of the Thorah, 197 ; on the stages
of mystic vision in the Zohar,
257 ; on Hay Gaon and the
Zohar, 285 ; on Paracelsus and
the Kabalah, 349 ; on the Her
metic Books and the Kabalah,
450 on a Chinese Kabalah, 453.
Mysteries of Love, see Abravanel.
Mysticism and the Kabalah, Kabal
istic history imbedded in that of
mysticism, 483 ; old Jewish doc
trine concerning the mystic com
;

munication between Divine and

human, 32 ; analogies between
the Mystic
Marriage and the
Kabalistic doctrine of the Proto
type, 85 ; the Kabalah of no real
service to the practical mystic,
484 ; and yet it has a certain
the points of
message, 485 ;
contact are few, 486 ; the con
nection is extrinsic only, 488 ; see
also preface xvi.
NACHMANIDES, alleged transmission
of the Zohar from Palestine, 139 ;
a pupil of Azariel, 182 ;
his
Kabalistic writings, 184,
185 ;

opposed by R. Mevi, 319.

Nagdilah, 165.
Nechoniah, alleged author of the
other
attributed
Bahir, 235 ;
writings, 236.
Nazir, Jacob, his

Book of Emanation,
53; see also 159.
Neoplatonism, 78.
Nephesh, the animal nature of man,
in
with
84
correspondence
Assiah, 85 according to Saadya
Gaon, 177 originally sanctified,
in
200
its
correspondence
Atziluth, 231, 232; correspond
ence with Jechida, 233 a name
of Neshamah, 242 ; the living
creature of Genesis, 273
accord
ing to Isaac de Loria, 300.
;

>

Neshamah,

the

seat

of

human

corresponds to
Briak, 85 according to Saadya
Gaon, 176, 177 ; the higher soul
of the Zohar, 202, 273 ; its
correspondence
judgment, 230
with Abbak, 232 ; its five names,
242 ; in male and female, 243 ;
individuality,

84

the Neshamah and the body of

the resurrection, 261, 268, 269 ;
of the righteous, 263,
265 ; the garments of Neshamah^
272 ; according to Isaac de Loria,

Neshamah

300.
see Sephiroth.
Nicolas, M., on the authorship of
the Sepher Yetzirah, 92 ; on the
antiquity of the Kabalah, 120.
Norrelius, Andreas, on the Christian
aspects of the Zohar, 385.

Netzach,

Norse Mythology, suggested ana

logies with the Kabalah, 127, 128.
Notaricon, a Kabalistic method of
exegesis, 27.

lubcx
Notary Art, its connection with
Kabalrsm and with Lully, 328.
Nuctemeron, 417.
Numbers, Mysticism concerning,
the decade as an emanation of
numbers and the
Deity, 41 ;
in the Sepher
Sfphiroth, 43;
Vct/irah,
44 ; Hebrew letters
numbers in
and numerals, 63
Kabalistic Freemasonry, 474 et
;

seq.

Nus,

Eugene,

on

the

Yi-King,

126.

503

identical with that of the

Origen on Exorcisms, 442.

Original Sin, as explained by the
Zohar, 203.
Ouziel, Jonathan Ken, his Chaldaic

paraphrase, 28.

PALMER,

E.

on R. Judah the

II.,

Prince, 15.
Pantheism, 40.
I

i.e., G. Encausse, his assump

tions concerning the Kabalah, 13;

apus,

on the Paths of Wisdom, 72 on

Kabalistic pneumatology, 84
his
translation of the Sepher Yetzirah,
173, 417: on an alleged French
;

OCCULT

Philosophy, in what way it

discloses its meaning, 9
whether
it
is methodised, 9, 10 ;
personal
what occultism
testimony, 9 ;
means and involves, 1 1 ; student
of defined, ib. ; transmission of,
ib.
438, 439 ; Kabalism one of
;

vehicles, 12 ; occult criticism,

21 ; ends of occult science, 23 ;

its

occultism and the concealed sense

in the Kabalah, 43 ; Kabalistic
doctrine important to, 86 limita
tions of this importance, 87, 88
occult estimate of the Zohar, 121 ;
occultists and Christian Kabali>m,
149 ; interest of the occultist in
the Kabalah, 150 occult estimate
of the Sepher Yetzirah, 168 ;
examination of this estimate, 173 ;
occultism and physiognomy, 276,
277 ; errors of occultism as to the
;

Kabalah, 324

occult feeling as

Hebrew

to perversion of

tradition,

occultism and the practical

Kabalah, 446 ; occultism and
occultism and
477
nry,

435

mysticism, 485, 486

historical

association between occult science

and the Kabalah, 491 ; see also
xv., xvi., 212, 220, 235, 261, 269,

301, 363, 380, 398, 461.

Simon, his translation of
the
Improvement of Human

Ockley,

"

142.

Old, VV. G., his manual of

463;

on

Kabali<:ic

as:

astrology,

469. 470.
Oliphant, Laurence, on the
islic aspect* of marriage,
58.
Rev.
on the
Oliver,
George,
diffusion of the Mysteries, 126.
i

Onkelos, quoted
by Mirai.dola,
his Aramaic dialect not
340
;

translation of the Zohar, 189 ; his

connection with the French occult

movement, 415, 416, 417

his

occult antecedents, 416 ; his sum

mary of the Kabalah, 418-421 ;
on the practical Kabalah, 444,
445 on the
Metzareph, 464 ;
on the Tarot, 480.

&sh

Paracelsus,

Kabalah

of

alleged

traces

in

system,

his

the

349 ;
value of his references, 350-352 ;
not a student of the Kabalah, 353.
Pascjually, Marlines de, 394.
Paths of Wisdom, doctrine concernin S*
5
special nature of their
translation of the
interest, 6b
>

document which embodies them,

their modern accent, 71
66-71
;

according to Papus, 72 ; Avicebron s poem on the Paths, 166.

Polling, Edward, 388.
Perfect Way, its Kabalistic allusions,
;
opinion of Haron Spedalieri,
value of same, 431 ;
429, 430
statement of the allusions, 432 ;

429

general inference, 432, 433.

Pherruts Schibbur, {ewish academy
of,

157.

Philo, his

his
pneumatology, 83
analogic with Kabalism, 130-133.
in
the
Zohar
Phylacteries, difficulty
ining, 109; how met by its
;

defender.-,

in.
mderstood by the

Zohar, 276, 277.

-erning

45 on the true name of Satan,

82; on Kabalism and the religion
on Kabalism
l_5
and Northern Mythology, 127,
;

"

128

transformation

his

of the

Scottish Rite, 476, 477, 478.

Pirke of R. Eliezer, 156.
Pistis

Sepher Yetzirah, 172 ; his group,

Lutheran
his
et
seq. ;
353
tendencies, 355.

Sophia, 129.

Pistorius, his collection of Kabalistic

writers, 354-356 ; object of same,

356 ; see also 65.

Revolution of Souls, distinguished

as
86 ;
from
reincarnation,
described in the Zohar, 230, 231 ;
the treatise of Isaac de Loria, 188,

Pneumatology, Kabalistic doctrine

according to Saadya
of, 74-88
Gaon, 176, 177; according to the

294, 299-303.
Riccius, Paulus, his translation of
the Sepher Yetzirah, 172; his

209, 210, 230-233,

255, 259, 260, 261, 263,
272; according to
271,
Moses of Cordova, 290-292 ;
according to Isaac de Loria,

conversion to Christianity, 355.

of the
Rittangelius, his edition
Sepher Yetzirah, 172, 179, 180.
Ritual of the Dead, 116.
Rodkinson, Michael, his translation

Zohar, 200,
242,
264,

299-303

according to A. Cohen

Irira, 306, 307.

Poisson, A., on Alchemy, 454.

Porter, Noah, on the Absolute, 34.
Postel, William, on the Sephiroth,
44 ; his alleged translation of the
Bahir, 246; his legend, 357;
notice of his life, 358, 359; his

connection with Kabalism, 359

extravagance of his views, 360362 ; his commentary on the
Yetzirah, 362, 363 ; other
;

Sepher

to
writings, 363, 364 ; according
Stanislas de Guaita, 423, 424 ;
see also 380, 430.
Pott, Mrs. Henry, on the Rosi-

crucians, 364.

Prayer of Elijah, 282-284.

Pre-existence, taught in the Zohar,
86 ; accepted by Saadya Gaon,
176; pre-existence of the soul of
the Messiah, 204 ; see also 209,
271, 272.

Pumbaditha,

academy

Jewish

of,

157-

RABANUS, quoted by Agrippa, 348.

Reincarnation, differs from Kaba
86; rejected
by Saadya Gaon, 176; statement
listic

Revolution,

of Eliphas Levi, 242; see

sense in the Talmud, 20.

Renan, Ernest, 57, 166.
tenet

fession of

faith

of

second

Talmud

in the

pro

of Maimonides,

as taught in the Zohar, 261,

267-269 ; office of Metatron, 270 ;
treatise of Manasses, 321.
Reuchlinus, his translation of the
ib.

his sacrifices and labours,

383
384 his critical standpoint, 385,
386; see also 75, 84, 147, 151,
;

1 88, 191, 212, 213, 287, 310, 369.

Rosicrucians, historical evidences of
the Order, 364 ; as students of
the Kabalah, 364, 365 ; Masonry

and Rosicrucianism, 471.

Rossi,

Abbe

de, his analysis of the

Zohar, 187.

Ruach, the rational nature, 84,

232 ; corresponds to Yetzirah)
85 ; reference of Saadya Gaon,
177 ; the lesser spirit of the
Zohar, 231 ; a name of Neshamak,
242 ; in Adam, 252 ; according
to Isaac de Loria, 300.
Rulandus, Martinus, on the terms of

Alchemy, 459.
Ruysbroeck on Symbolical Astrology,
466.

SAADYA Gaon,

SYCHOSIS and REVOLUTION.

and Synagogue, 83

422, 423.

Knorr von, his

C.
Rosenroth,
importance to occultists, 380 ; his
occult connections, 381 ; charac
teristics, 382 ; religion, ib. ; views
on the conversion of the Jews,

METEMP

Relandus, Adrianus, on a

Resurrection, a

of the Babylonian Talmud, 15 ;

excerpt from, 218, 219.
Rose Cross, Kabalistic Order of,

his

commentary on

the Sepher Yetzirah, 157 ; written

in Arabic, 175 ; summary of, 175178 ; scarcely a Kabalistic com

mentary,

80.

Sabathier, R. P. Esprit, 464.

Sabbatai Zevi, his Messianic Mission,
146.

Sacramentalism,

the

form

of

all

Mysticism, 56.
Saint-Martin, his esoteric tradition,

Inbcx
not a student of the Kabalah,
Kabalistic complexion of his
ib. ;
error of
lesser doctrines,
French occultists, 396 ; see also

394
395

;
;

424.

Salomon and Ahsal,

140.

Samacl, averse correspondence of

Hod, 8 1 ; according to the Zohar,
244, 245.

Sapere Aude on the Ash Mctzareph

on the
and Alchemy, 309, 312
Kahala and Chaldean philosophy,
on the derivation of alchem
125
ical knowledge to the West, 449.
Scaliger and the Knights of the
Temple, 146.
Schiller-Szinessy, on the authorship
on
of the Sepher Yetzirah, 92
modern criticism of the Targiimim
on
and Midrashim, 103
the late
date and origin of the Zohar, 1 12,
on
the
439
original writings of
Moses de Leon, 1 14 ; on the
latest date which can be ascribed
to the Zohar, 112, 119; on the
Mishnic period of its nucleus,
;

410
Schiur

see also 488.

Komah,

154.

zirah, 171, 172.

<>n

2<

on future
on the
264-267;
267-269 on angel -

retributive justice, 263

reel ion,
;

:-:el

t-j

the Secret

:.imentary, 2Sj5.

Secret Doctrine, alleged lr.ui>mission from antiquity, xv., xvi., 11,

13 the Kabalah not demonstrably
the
a part of such tradition, 86
affirmative view wa, nt held in
the past, 323, 324, and Hk. vii.
;

passim

see also 192.

Learning, an alleged early

name of the Zohar, 114.
uviit quoted
Sirret of S
in /:>har, 276; concerns Kabal
Secret

see

al.vi

192.
Secret Societies in the

Middle Ages
Ghoolat Sect, 138.
Seder Ha Kabalah, an important
orthodox apology, 160, 161 ; see
also 179.

Sepher I)/.enioutha, i.e., Book of

Concealment, on Ain Soph, 33 ;
on a holy intelligence and an
animal soul in man, 75 probablj
;

the oldest part of the Zohar, 119,

136; its antithesis, 154; place in
the Zohar, 212; summary of its
contents, 213-216; see also 192,

435-

Sepher Raziel, not the

occultism

of

in

earliest

form

Israel,

211

apparatus of, 369 ; a

storehouse of mediaeval magic,

debased

444 see also 6.

Sepher Yetzirah, as a vehicle of the
philosophic tradition of Kabalism,
28
part of a large mystical
contains the germ
literature, 29
its
of the Sephirotic scheme, 44
;

description of the Sephiroth, 45does not mention the Four

49
Worlds of later Kabalism, 53;
nor yet the doctrine of the
Countenances, 59 on the letters
;

of the Hebrew alphabet, 60, 131 ;

on the instruments of creation,
the 1 aths of Wisdom as a
60-62
dependency of the Sepher Yet/irah, 65 ; contains no reference
to Kabalistic pneumatology, 74;
;

Schure, Edouard, on a triple sense

in Genesis, 420.
Secret Commentary, fragments ex
tant in the Zohar, 260 ; on the
soul
and
connection between
tin; soul at death,
body, 261
262 ; on the two Edens,
happiness,

physiogonomy, 276, 277

istic

Schoettgenius, Christianus, on the

Christianity of R. Simeon ben
Jochai, 115.
Sealing Names, permutations of the
Tetragram in the Sepher Yet

505

traditional

authorship, 91, 116,

the
ascribed to Akiba, 92, 146
reference to a Sepher Yet/irah in
the Talmuds, 93, 94 ; its different
influence on Christian minds as
compared with the Zohar, 97 ;
commentary of K. Abraham, III,
;

180-182; latest possible

93, 122 ; commentary of
Saadya C.aon, 157, 175-178, 180 ;
commentary of A/.ariel, 167, 174,
general analysis, 168I82-I.S.;

174,
date,

174;

its

connections and depend

174-186; commentary of
Nachmanides, 184; other com
the Seph
mentaries, 185
zirah said to end where the Zohar
not a magical work,
US, 21 1
encies,

324;

ice al-o

96, 136, 153,

xii., xiii.. 63, 90,

162, 187, 345, 346,

S o6
359,
489.

S^S,

378,

435>

446,

447,

Book

of Gene
alogies, 104, view of the Zohar,
105 ; narrative of Isaac de Acco,
106-108.
Sephiroth, as emanations of the

Sepher Yuhasin,

i.e.,

their

names,

42
initial purpose of the system, 43
first
met with in the Sephtr
tabulation of their
Yetzirah, 44
qualities and symbolism, 44-49
an occult explanation concerning
them, 49, 50 the Sephiroth in the
Four Worlds, 51, 52, 58; the
Sephiroth and the Two Counte
the Sephiroth and
nances, 55, 56
the
Paths of Wisdom.
65 ;
Deity,

41

archangelic correspondences, 76,

77 ; angelic correspondences, 78,
79 ; averse correspondences, 80,
8 1 ; value of the doctrine, 87 ;
Sufic analogies,
Persian
140 ;
analogies,

141

analogies

in

Avicebron, 166 according to the

Sepher Yetzirah, 169-172; how
understood by Saadya Gaon, 178
;

Azariel

on

the

colours of the
Sephiroth) 184 ; evolution of the
Sephiroth, 256 ; according to the
Supplements of the Zohar, 282,
283 ; according to Isaac de Loria,
297 et seq. ; the Sephiroth and

alchemy, 312, 313,

Malkuth,
49, 255 ; how it rests upon the
first man, 200
as the form of
God in the likeness of humanity,
208 ; its divine correspondences,
253 ; see also 219, 265.
;

Gaon

138, 260, 278, 386,

on an error of
Walton, 21, 22 on superstitious
sciences brought by the Jews from
on magic and
Chaldea, 24
on the Christian
Kabalism, 26
;

aspect of the Kabalistic books, 98.

Simon, R. Meir ben, 235.
Simulacrum, curious fantasy of the

Zohar, 291.
Soul and Death, statement in the
Zohar, 262.
Spain and Jewry, 137, 138.
Spedalieri, Baron, on the Kabalah

and the Perfect Way, 429.

Spencer, Herbert, on the positive
the
Uncon
representation of
ditioned, 35.

Spinoza, his

reminiscences

of the

Kabalah, 321.
Spouse of God, 58.
Steiger, Isabel de, 12.
Steinschneider, 162.

Sufic Doctrine, hypothesis of Tholuck, 139 ; Kabalistic analogies

in Sufic poetry, 140 ; the doctrine

of Divine absorption, 142

Sufism

and Jewish tradition, 144.

Supplements of the Zohar, two
280 ; notice of the
series of,
Ancient Supplements, 281-285
the Later Supplements, 285.

see also 209,

281, 284, 406, 465.

Shekinah, referred to

Shereera,

see also

246;

437, 488.
Simon, Richard,

R., 157.

Simeon ben Jochai, R.,

his alleged
authorship of the Zohar, 105,
108; his scribe, 112; his Midrash
according to the Talmuds, 120;
the authorship merely traditional,
136; a pupil of Akiba, 146; his
traditional authorship of the Book
of Concealment, 217; Talmudic
account of R. Simeon, 218, 219 ;
his
Discourse in the Greater
Synod, 220 et seq. ; in the Lesser
Synod, 227, 228 ; account of his
death, 228, 229 ; conversations
with Elias, 229; in the Bahir,
243; in the Faithful Shepherd,

TALISMANIC Magic,
Talmud,

206, 486.
14 ; its
materials embodied

starting point of,

sources, ib. ;
therein, 15; by
ib.

whom methodised,

Mishnayoth and

Mish

rival

nayoth, ib. ; Tosephtoth, ib. ; the

Ge/nara, ib. ; Talmuds of Jeru
salem and Babylon, 16 ; connec
tions of the Talmud and Kabalah,
ib. ; errors of comparison, 16, 17 ;
the Talmud not Kabalistic, 17 ;
differences between the traditions,
17, 18 ; results of their confusion,
19 ; errors of Eliphas Levi, 19-22 ;

Talmud and Pneumatology, 74,

175; Talmud and Sepher
Talmud and
Yetzirah, 93, 168
Talmud and
Tradition,
95
Mystic Tradition, 119; Talmud
83,

and Mysticism, 152; closing of

refer
the Talmudic canons, 155
;

ence to Simeon Ben Jochai, 218,

219.

Targum-:, language of, 112.

Tarot, its antiquity and importance,

mentioned by Court de
views of Levi and
;
Vaillant, 480
analogies with the
its history accord
Kahalah, 481
true attri
ing to Papus, 482
bution of its trump cards, 482,
wealth of its symbolism,
483

479

first

483Tauler, his analogy with the Zohar,

85-

of Zoroaster, 440.
)egrees of Contemplation, 85.
Tephilim, see Phylacteries.
>pe

Tetragrammaton, pronunciation of,

in what manner the universe
57
proceeds from this name, 60 its
permutations in the Sepher Yetzirah, 172
transposition of, 338
mentioned by Fludd, 369 ; its
attribution to the Lesser Counte
nance, 404 Tetragrammaton and
;

the Tarot, 481.

Theosophy, Modern, object of this

its success, ib.
movement, 433
views on the Kabalah, 434 ;
various
statements of H.
P.
;

Blavatsky,

434-437

the

move

ment in Paris, 419.

Theory of Ecstasy, 144.
Tholuck, on the connection between
the Kabalah and Sufism, 139.
Thorah, its abysses of mystery, 64 ;
its
pro-existence, 65,
156; its
symbolism according to the Zohar,
!
as the archetype of the
96, 197
worlds, 211; concealment of God
in the Thorah
253 ; union of
man with, 259 restored by R.
261.
Simeon,
;

Tiphereth, see Sephiroth.

ToM-phthoth, fragments in Zohar,
where found, 271 ; excerpts from,
272, 273.
Tradition, oral, liable to exaggera
tion, 7.

Transmigration, 230.
:y of Souls, 271.
Triilu-mius, as
misprinted by
Levi, 400.
Tsure, spiritual principle of man in
the archetypal world, 85.

the

VERSE, True Intellectual System

387-

Unmanlfest Deity,

Phil. iv

Chorum, analogy with

Synods, 460; see

Zoharie

VAILLANT,

see

Ain Soph.

J.

on the Bohemian

Tarot, 480.
Valentine, Basil, alleged treatise on
Azoth, 454late
Kabalistic
Valley,
Royal,
treatise, 39, 86.

Vast Countenance, Symbolism

55, 87, 214,
228.

Turba

of,

ib.

Gebelin,

Ten

UN

of,

215, 219, 221-223,

Vaughan, Thomas,
with More, 375
Agrippa,
376
;

his controversy
a disciple of
his
Kabalistic

reading, ib. ; points of contact

with the Zohar, 377 ; on the true
and false Kabalah, ib. ; on the
Sephiroth, 378 ; Christian aspects
of his Kabalism, 379
not a real
Kabalistic
see
expositor,
380,
also xv., 308.
;

Vision, Mystic, 257.

Vital, R. Chaim, editor of Isaac de
Loria, 195.
Viterbi, Gui de, alleged translator
of the Zohar, 360.
Vitta, Baron, alleged purchaser of

the Zohar in Latin, 360.

Voice of God in its Power,

of

May Gaon,

Vowel

Points,

question

antiquity, 109,

treatise

158.

of

their

no.

WAITE, A.

E., 19, 23, 308, 354,

394, 405, 460.
Walton, on the terms Kabalah and

377, 3 s i

Massorah, 21.
of Union, ir, 484.
Weill, Alexander, on Christianity
and the Talmud, 149 on Moses,
on
and the
ib.,
pantheism
Kabalah, 169, 170.
on
KabalistuWelling
Magic, 444.
Westcott, Dr. Wynn, on the word
his
translation
of
Kabalah, 26;
the
Sepher Yet/.irah,
67-70;

Way

antiquity
122; his

Zoh.;ric

>!

Collect an--ii

doctrine,
Ilam.-tica,

123, 455; on the ./:.// M.-txircph

309; on
365,
366; on the ChakLean 1;

Numbers, 436.
Widrnanstadt,

J.

A.,

lu\ collection

;ss., 357.

136.

lean,

on magical books, 443.

W. F. C, on the
Rosicrucian Kabalah, 365.
Will of God, prior to the creation,
Wigston,

38 ; operating in creation, ib. ;

in the production of the emana
tions, 39; manifestation in Kether^
44; according to Avicebron, 167.

Wisdom

Religion, 127.
Witchcraft. Kabalistic sources

purpose of his rabbinical

bibliography, 14 ; on the
Metzareph, 311 ; Kabalistic MSS.
of Mirandola, 332.
Work of the Chariot, see Zohar.
Work of Creation, see Sepher Yet-

ssh

zirah.

Writing Name, 108.

Wronski, Hoene, on the Absolute,
34-

WILLIAM BYLKS AND

the Mysteries of
Antiquity, 6.
Yetzirah, the third world of Kabalism, 52, 53, 60, 77, 79.

Yi-King, alleged connections with

Kabalism, 126.

ZANGWILL,
of,

323-

Wolf,

YARKER, John, on

Israel,

on the Zohar as

a forgery, 119, 146, 147.

Lazarus, his Theatrum
Zettner,
Chemicum, 458.
Zohar, for date and authorship, 1031 14 ; for age of Zoharic tradition,
115-121 ; for full analysis, 187for minor references, 33,
;
35, 37,38, 39, 74, 75,^1,84,85,
95, 96, 97, ioo, I3 1 * l6 7, 324,
345, 369, 377, 385, 4H, 489Zoroaster, religion of, 125.

286

Zosimus, Greek alchemist, 452.

SONS, PRINTERS,

LONDON AND BRADFOKD.

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE

CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF

TORONTO LIBRARY